The Collective

★★★★★
"If the review process would allow it, we would give Lara 150 stars, not just 5! Lara assisted my wife and I recently in the search for a suitable property in Boston. She really took the time to get to know what we were looking for and she was a miracle worker at arranging showings, comparing properties and providing keen insight into the Boston market. When we found a property that we were ready to purchase, Lara represented our interests with skill, humor and a relentless attention to detail. She was a seemingly inexhaustible resource in managing the offer, inspection and closing and her efforts have continued even after we bought the property. No problem or concern was too big or too small for Lara to resolve gracefully and in our best interest. Lara Shuqom is star professional and we recommend her without qualification to buyers and sellers of real estate in the Boston area." - Stuart S., Back Bay

★★★★★
"We were so impressed with the level of service overall, from recommendations on staging to pricing and timing of the listing, which made a huge difference in the success of our sale. We really think we could not have done better with anyone else as far as marketing, pricing, expertise, and overall sales success. We are so happy we used The Collective Compass and were thrilled to work with such masterful realtors." - meganedolan

★★★★★
"We worked with Lara and Kevin to buy our first home in the South End. Lara possesses the perfect mix of client service skills and keen market insights. She got to know us and could anticipate what mattered most to us even before we knew it. She was also patient and extremely communicative throughout the hunt and the negotiation with the seller. She knows the Boston market very well and was even able to find us off-market listings! I could not recommend Lara and The Collective at Compass highly enough. When the time comes for us to "trade up" we will definitely be giving Lara a call!." - Ryan Bash

★★★★★
"Lara was exceptional in every way during this process and transaction. She was super responsive to all my emails texts and calls and very easy to schedule with. She knew every step of the process perfectly, predicted exactly what would happen like an oracle and anticipated and planned for all the next steps and tiny details that I knew nothing about (smoke alarm inspections?!). She was so warm, friendly and kind and very patient with me, a first time seller with about 1 zillion questions. Her extended team is filled with professionals as well. She knows the Boston and Cambridge market in great detail and was a trusted advisor from start to finish.." - zuser20150508100842680

★★★★★
"Kevin did a wonderful job helping us find our new apartment. He proactively found us an off-market listing that met all of our needs and helped us negotiate a 2-year lease within our budget. Additionally, when I had a medical emergency crop up before our lease started, Kevin helped us negotiate an earlier lease start and helped in our search for temporary housing. We are so happy in our new home! We highly recommend Kevin." - mschroed00

★★★★★
"The Collective at Compass was efficient, effective, knowledgeable, approachable, helpful, friendly, reachable, confident, beyond capable.. they made my home sale as important as a Beverly Hills mansion!! I want to thank each and every one of them: from my first meeting and showing our happy home with lots of STUFF and feeling relieved in her capable hands; to Lara Shuqom, who got to visit our home when all that stuff was gone to see the roomy, cozy place it always was, and give another level of me being in good hands; and Jenn Demaio's help was invaluable & appreciated guiding me through the process and always reassuringly; she happily whisked me through all of those "have to get" documents & such with great ease and assurance. Thank you to Team The Collective Compass for the steadfastness throughout - comforting me, reassuring me, guiding me, supporting me, and keeping me informed and educated.... Please accept my heartfelt thanks, it has made all the difference!!" - Deekiilee

★★★★★
"Lara is an absolute professional with a lot of experience. Her passion and dedication to her profession is evident in all that she does. As a single woman purchasing my first home all on my own, I had so many questions and worries. Lara was always incredibly responsive and proactive. Not only did she negotiate me a great deal, she held my hand through each step giving advice and calming me down when I was stressed. Every time I had a problem, Lara had a solution. I never knew all the things a Real Estate Agent does to help you through the buying process. I learned how important it is to work with someone you trust and who truly cares about you as a customer. The team of people Lara recommended was amazing and all of them were so patient with all my questions. From the inspector, to the lender, to the lawyer to the lovely man (Ray) who painted my very dark cabinets white, Lara has great connections and contacts. She also has a great eye for detail and design. Even after I purchased it, she went back and forth with me on paint colors and gave great advice on improvements I could make. I had a wonderful experience working with Lara and I look forward to working with her again. I highly recommend Lara to anyone looking for an amazing Realtor who is 100% going to go the extra mile for you." - jessijackson1

★★★★★
"Working with Kevin was an honor! He made my first home-buying experience, something that is generally confusing and stressful, a thoroughly enjoyable process. He is caring, knowledgeable, and so detail-oriented that I knew I would never have to think twice about missing something. He also clearly always has his clients best interests in mind. Would recommend him to anyone and everyone." - Audrey Vonraesfeld

★★★★★
"I moved from an awful situation to a great one all because of Kevin. I can’t recommend him enough and couldn’t be more pleased with my place. He made it fast, easy, got what I was looking for and even recommended a great moving service after I had a disaster of one a few months earlier. I recommend Kevin to everyone I know who are looking for a place." - grizlies98

★★★★★
"This was my second real estate transaction with The Collective at Compass, and once again they came through for me in a challenging market made more challenging by the COVID-19 pandemic. I received excellent advice about the market and my (then) relatively uncertain situation during an initial consultation with Lara Shuqom, after which my home was expertly and creatively marketed and shown by Kevin Gehl. Through several ups and downs, Kevin provided sound advice and negotiated a fantastic sale - the price and terms were ideal. I went into the sale confident and supported by a team of consummate professionals who were never more than a text of phone call away. Thank you, The Collective at Compass!" - lap1326275

★★★★★
"When I asked The Collective if they were interested in selling my parents' home, they of course said "yes." I then said there was one caveat. They had to treat this sale as if they were selling their own parents' home. They didn't flinch. Selling this type of property is never an easy task, but it was obviously only made that much more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Loren and Lara made multiple suggestions to make the property more attractive for buyers, which we agreed to...and it worked. Despite all the challenges of finding a buyer in this market, they came through...and for that I will always be grateful to them." - TheSon1d

★★★★★
"I was referred to Lara and The Collective to sell my mother's home in Hyde Park. They came to the home and was so helpful and hopeful from the get go. She and her team gave me advice about how to clean out and prepare the home, and they helped keep the whole project on track by regularly sending me updated to do lists with deadlines. Most importantly, they took the reins and managed to work with the City of Boston to close out all of the open permits on the property. They updated all of my smoke detectors and ensured that the home would pass the smoke detector inspection. Best of all, the home received multiple offers (I could not believe it) and we had an offer within the first week of listing, and we closed within a month over asking. The Collective was a pleasure to work with, and I would recommend them to anyone selling in the area." - salcat171

★★★★★
"Kevin & Lara were great, responsive, professional, patient & receptive to our needs & questions. Without the Collective our search was stalled. But with Kevin's help we landed our new place in weeks. Would recommend and will work with them again." - Robby Bitting

★★★★★
"We worked closely with Lara Shuqom and Kevin Gehl over a period of about six months searching for our first home in the Boston area. The multi-family house we purchased is the first investment property in our portfolio. Lara and Kevin work together seamlessly and are incredibly knowledgeable, available, and patient. Not only did they use their expertise to find us our home, but they listened and responded to us as we pivoted on locations and buying strategies. Throughout the process, they provided helpful feedback and insights while visiting properties and also at a higher, strategic level. Lara, Kevin, and Company have a deep portfolio of contacts, ranging from contractors to structural engineers and more; they put us in direct contact with their network as needed. We always knew that we could reach them for time-sensitive matters, as they made themselves very accessible. We enthusiastically recommend this team and plan to work with them for future investing. We were concerned about searching for a property during COVID, but Lara and Kevin made us feel physically safe and very welcome with their kind and professional interactions. The team at Company is absolutely fantastic—look no further for your real estate investing needs!" - meredithdost0

★★★★★
"Kevin is an amazing real estate professional who understands the market and how to put together a competitive offer to secure the house or condo of your dreams." - zuser20150311172852296

★★★★★
"The Collective are miracle workers. We engaged them for their concierge service and it was wonderful. We were relocating for work and one of us was already on the way to California when we engaged Compass to help us get the house ready for sale. They were extremely helpful, providing great guidance, and arranging all of the work to get the house ready for sale. Within 2 months of first contacting them, we had a house that we had lived in for 14 years fixed up, staged, and had full price offers the first weekend it was on the market. Most of the work was done while we were both already in California. The Collective are extremely knowledgeable, very easy to work with, and provide excellent service for a reasonable price. We couldn't have been in better hands!" - rkunin3