I've worked with Philip Hou at the Park Hou Group at Splice through the years multiple times.  He helped me buy a single family in Cambridge, a townhouse condo in Somerville, and then sell the condo later on.

For my first purchase in Cambridge, his team hustled to get me an early showing before the open house. This allowed me to submit an attractive offer prior to the open house. Without him doing that, I am confident that I would not have gotten the house, as the Cambridge single family market was extremely competitive.  Prior to making the offer, he performed an extremely detailed CMA that showed other houses in similar price ranges. This gave me a lot of confidence that the amount I was offering was justified but still competitive. He also convinced me to renovate the single family from a 2 bed 1.5 bath to a 3 bed 2 bath, which was one of the best pieces of advice I've ever received from a realtor. It made my home more versatile to have a home office and guest room. On top of that, when I decided to relocate, it made the home more valuable as a rental property.

Phil knows a lot about real estate and has a lot of personal experience with rental properties and renovations. He was an invaluable resource through my renovation process, since it was my first time tackling such a large project, I had many questions. He didn't shy away from any of my inquiries as a typical realtor would - he actually gave me more advice and resources than I ever would have imagined, even after the sale closed.  He definitely went above and beyond as a realtor.

I found out that he has developed properties himself and manages a large number of investment properties for other clients.  He's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to understanding what to buy, what NOT to buy, and how to best leverage the money I set aside for home improvements to achieve the highest ROI.  He knows when a home is worth it to buy as a fixer-upper, roughly how much it would cost, and when to stay away with a 10 foot pole!

Phil runs an efficiently managed team. He has a network of vetted vendors to help with the purchasing or selling process from start to finish. These are high quality, competitively-priced vendors that he's used with previous clients. When he recommends someone, I do not need to worry about looking at reviews or finding other companies. I know they are competent and fairly priced and will get the job done right. He has anyone and everyone imaginable in his rolodex (really, iPhone). This includes property inspectors, architects, roofers, plumbers, electricians, photographers, stagers, floor plan makers, loan officers, attorneys, and more. This is information that money cannot buy!

For my condo sale, he had people ready to do staging for me last minute. I was deliberating whether or not it was worth the hassle and investment.  He convinced me to do it, and it was absolutely the right decision.  When it came time for the open house, he staffed it with multiple people to ensure every prospective buyer got their questions answered, while also keeping my home properly supervised with strangers coming and going.  He was always available by text/phone to answer all my questions and sometimes simply just to ease my anxiety about the process. What really impressed me on the listing side was how many phone calls he would make.  He would make sure every single person that ever came to see my house got multiple call-backs and emails to solicit feedback and keep them engaged with my property until the sale.  He didn't just put the house up online and wait passively; he was proactively selling my house to as many people as possible.

I have recommended Phil to all my friends, and I truly believe that you won't find a better realtor in the Boston area.