Tenant screening and placement (credit, employment, prior-landlord references)
Property management · Cambridge
Property management for Cambridge and Boston-area owners
Local team since 2008. Transparent fees, three-week vacancy turnaround, eighty units across Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline, and Allston/Brighton.
Northwind started in 2008 with four buildings in Cambridgeport. Henry Caldwell had been a Cambridge contractor for thirty years; his daughter Eleanor wanted to run a property firm that did this the way you would if you were also living in the buildings. Seventeen years later, that's still the test. We charge a flat 7% with no surprise fees, our average vacancy is twenty-one days, and our owner-retention rate is over 90% past the first contract year.
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Tell us about your property.
17
Years managing local property
8
Services included
Cambridge
Where we operate
< 24h
Owner response time
What's included
Services we handle for you
24/7 emergency maintenance dispatch via our Charles River Trades partnership
Monthly statements and IRS-ready year-end tax packages
Rent collection via portal with automated reminders
Annual unit walk-throughs with photo-documented condition reports
Lease compliance and Massachusetts-compliant notices (notice-to-quit, security deposit accounting, etc.)
Vendor coordination at zero markup — you see the actual invoice
September-cycle leasing calendar managed for you (mid-July listing, August showings, August 31 turnover)
The difference
Why owners choose us
**We've been here since 2008.** Through two recessions, a pandemic, and a Cambridge rent-stabilization debate that's still going on. We didn't grow during the cheap-money years and we didn't shrink during the hard ones.
**We're small on purpose.** Eighty units total. We've turned down portfolios that would have pushed us past 100 doors because past that point we wouldn't know every building.
**We answer the phone.** Owners get a direct cell number for Eleanor or Theo. Maintenance emergencies go to a 24/7 line answered by a real person from Charles River Trades — not a voicemail.
**Vacancy is the enemy.** Average time-to-lease in our portfolio is twenty-one days. Compare to the Cambridge MLS average of forty-one days for unfurnished 1BRs. The difference is mostly that we list with full requirements upfront — qualified applicants self-select, unqualified ones don't waste anyone's time on a tour.
No surprises
Transparent fees
**7% of monthly rent.** No leasing fee, no maintenance markup (we pass through actual invoices from Charles River Trades and approved third-party vendors), no "administrative fee" tacked on monthly statements.
Month-to-month — you can leave any time with 30 days' notice. Our owner retention past year one is over 90%, which we take as evidence the work speaks for itself.
Owner stories
What owners say
I inherited a four-unit brownstone in Cambridgeport that hadn't been actively managed in fifteen years. Northwind walked through it with me, gave me a frank punch list, leased the two vacant units inside a month, and my net cash flow went up 28% after their fee. They've been managing it for nine years now.
I switched from a large national PMC and immediately stopped getting random charges added to my monthly statement. Maintenance is faster, my tenants seem happier, and the math is way clearer. The team also actually walks the property — which is not something my prior manager did.
I live in California and own one duplex in Brookline that I bought in 2010. Northwind treats it like one of theirs. I get monthly photo updates of common areas and the basement — no contract requires that, they just do it.
Common questions
Frequently asked
What size portfolios do you take on?
Anything from a single duplex up to a 20-unit building. Most of our owners have 1-6 units. We turn down portfolios that would push our total above 100 units.
How do you handle maintenance markups?
We don't. Our maintenance partner Charles River Trades sends us their actual invoices, which we forward to owners. We don't add a percentage.
Do you require a minimum contract?
No. Month-to-month with 30 days' notice on either side. Our owner retention past the first year is over 90%, so the model works for us.
What neighborhoods do you cover?
Cambridge (all neighborhoods), Somerville (all neighborhoods), Brookline (the inner four villages), and Allston/Brighton. We turn down properties farther out — Newton, Watertown, Medford — because we wouldn't be able to get to them quickly enough.
Do you handle the September turnover cycle?
Yes — and it's the part of our calendar we put the most planning into. We list September-1 vacancies in mid-July, run showings through August, and coordinate cleaning and turnover crews around the 31st. Most owners we manage for never think about September because we've already handled it.
Do you place tenants for owners who self-manage?
Yes — flat $1,500 placement-only fee. Includes listing, showings, screening, and lease prep. Owner takes over from there.
Ready when you are
Let's see if we're a fit.
Tell us about your property in Cambridge. We'll send a no-pressure quote and walk you through what we'd do differently.