Testimonials
At Homes By Connect, our mission is built on three pillars: connection, communication, and collaboration. We don’t just facilitate transactions; we build lasting relationships that turn clients into neighbors and friends.
This commitment to excellence is why our Broker/Owner, Katy Donovan, was named the 2025 NCBR Realtor of the Year. This prestigious honor recognizes her professional integrity, industry leadership, and the tireless dedication she brings to every client—whether they are buying their first pet-friendly home or selling a cherished family estate.
But the true measure of our success isn’t in awards—it’s in the voices of our clients. From “flawlessly executed” sales to “reassuring and calm” rental experiences, our team thrives on providing the expert guidance and local insight you deserve. Read on to see how the award-winning agents at Homes By Connect are making a difference across Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts.
Great Insider Advice About the Area
What a blessing to have Katy help us find a home! Being from out-of-town, we relied on Katy’s wisdom and knowledge of the area. Katy listened, provided homes for us to tour immediately, and helped us find exactly what we needed. She was professional, friendly and gave great insider advice about the area. She even recommended delicious local restaurants and coffee shops that we enjoyed. We highly recommend working with Katy to find the perfect home!
Practical Suggestions and Remarkable Insight
Selling one’s home can be stressful, but thanks to our realtor, Kate Haslam, our experience was reassuring and calm! Kate made a few practical suggestions as to how we should prepare our duplex for sale and then she went to work. Her energy and insight into how best to present our property for sale were remarkable. Within a week we received and accepted an offer! We would recommend Kate without reservation to anyone looking for a realtor..
Flawless Execution and Professionalism
In the past 5 years, Katy has successfully helped me to navigate selling, buying, and moving 2 times. Each and every step of the listing, sale, and purchase process has been flawlessly executed. Katy brings tremendous professionalism, patience, wisdom, and a much appreciated sense of reality to the real estate market. She has gone well above the expectations of a trusted realtor time after time. Thank you Katy! You and the Connect team are winners.
Katy Doesn’t Just Sell Homes, She Builds Relationships
If you are searching for an extraordinary real estate experience in Middletown RI, look no further than Katy Donovan. Katy doesn’t just sell homes, she builds relationships. From the very first moment, her warmth and dedication embraced me like a familiar seaside breeze, making what could be a very stressful journey into something memorable.
I was navigating the daunting process of buying a home from far away, but Katy made the distance feel like meters instead of niles. She doesn’t just send photos or generic walkthroughs, she went above and beyond, visiting the property herself and painstakingly recording a detailed video of every square inch. She made sure I didn’t miss a single detail, from the sunlight streaming through the big bay window, to the tranquil corners of the backyard.
Throughout the process she met every question with patience and clarity, addressed every question with a wealth of knowledge and honest advice. She took the time to listen deeply, understanding not just what I wanted in a home but what I needed in a community.
Her genuine care shines through every step, elevating the experience far above the transactional. Katy crafts each relationship with the devotion of an artist – anticipating your needs and ensuring you feel seen and valued
If you want to find the right home in Middletown, and have the whole experience wrapped in integrity and kindness, just trust Katy.
She is not just helping you buy a house – she is helping you find your place to truly belong.
Knew the Area Inside and Out, Understood our Unique [Military] Circumstances
Karen is a fantastic agent and was an incredible blessing to us during our search for a new home in Rhode Island. We were living out of state and knew we would need to purchase our house sight unseen, so it was very important we worked with an agent who knew the area inside and out, understood our unique circumstances and criteria, and had the patience to work with us during a time where we had limited availability and communication due to my husband’s deployment. Karen exceeded all of that and more! We could not be happier with our new home and we had the most wonderful experience working with her. She is kind, knowledgeable, proactive, and always available to answer our questions. We highly recommend Karen to anyone looking for an amazing agent to work with!
Fosters Relationships With Her Clients
Katy Donovan of Homes by Connect, represented me as the selling agent for my condo in Middletown this January (2025). Katy provided all of the needed coordination with; the buyers agent, utility companies, her recommended lawyer, the town inspectors, buyer’s building inspector, and in this case, a rather challenging condo association Board. She also spent significant time supporting requests from the buyer to allows access for contractors to assess wanted renovations. Not to mention, dealing with a seller who may not have been the easiest to deal with :). As in most cases, determining the asking price as it balances selling interest versus actual profit is difficult. List it to high and it may sit, list it to low, and the seller misses out. Katy’s experience balances that tricky aspect exceptionally well. Katy’s experience, attention to detail, excellent communication skills, and professionalism was evident from the very first time we met Katy. Her wonderful personality fosters relationships with her clients as she was the person who sold me the condo more than 12 years ago. Since then, we have gone to Katy to sell my girlfriend’s home and my niece’s home that had very special circumstances, which Katy addressed on behalf of my niece. I wouldn’t hesitate recommending Katy and her professional staff for any future real estate needs.
Katy Floored Us With Her Knowledge
We were so happy to be working with Katy and her team! From the first time we met with her, Katy floored us with her knowledge of the local area, the real estate market as a whole, and (as time went on) all of the different intricacies within each house we viewed. Throughout the entire time we were searching, Katy was extremely responsive, and patiently answered all of our questions and calmed our concerns. We absolutely love our new home and cannot recommend Katy and her team highly enough!
Knows How To Get the Job Done!
Katy Donovan knows how to get the job done! Katy is not only my go-to realtor but truly a family friend! We have been making real estate transactions together from 2015 through present day. Katy is knowledgeable about the market, the restrictions of the recent STR market, and tells you like it is. I have always sold my properties over asking and purchased them under asking with Katy’s help and guidance! Appreciate her and her advice a great deal and her handwritten notes are just the absolute sweetest snail mail to ever receive! You’d be lucky to have Katy as your agent for your next sale or purchase! Thank you Katy!!! Cheers to 2025!!!
Katy Has Unparallelled Industry Knowledge
Katy and her team were absolutely amazing in helping us navigate buying our first home. We felt so supported throughout the entire process and are so happy to be spending the holidays in our dream home. Katy has unparalleled industry knowledge, has connections with everyone in the community, and is the nicest person you will ever meet. We are so grateful for everything she did for us. If you are looking for the best realtor, look no further than Homes by Connect.
Goes That Extra Mile
Our realtor, Kate Haslam, was an absolute delight to work with. She gave us very clear guidelines and we managed to both sell our home and get a lovely new one very quickly! Very kind and goes that extra mile on moving day too.
Rebekah…Went Above and Beyond
Rebekah was extremely professional and helpful. She went above and beyond to help me get an apartment. She made the experience incredibly less stressful than it would be jumping through the hoops yourself.
Very Responsible & Professional
Rebekah was wonderful to work with. She was very responsive and professional. I could not have asked for a better experience. I highly recommend her!
Not Possible To Hire A Better Realtor
It’s not possible to hire a better realtor. Period. I inherited my family home that was packed with stuff and hadn’t been updated since 1972. I felt alone and overwhelmed. Katy was an unyielding source of help and support. To say that she went above and beyond would be a severe understatement. She washed windows; helped with flooring; referred me to reasonable, helpful, and honest contractors; staged & photographed the house for the sale; provided expert guidance throughout the whole process; and myriad more assistance. Hire her! You won’t regret it.
As A Military Family, We Felt Supported in Every Way
Expert in All Aspects
We found Katy through recommendations when we were looking to sell our property. Highly recommend Katy if you are looking to sell or buy. Katy is professional, kind and an expert in all aspects of home selling and buying. She was always reachable and responsive, her attention to details made the entire experience easy and seamless. Thank you so much Katy!
Made the Entire Process Seamless
Experience Was Wonderful
Katy Is A Top Notch Real Estate Pro
Katy, at Homes by Connect, just finished helping me buy my first South Shore MA home. I was coming from the North Shore of MA and needed big help, and Katy was it! Within 45 days of setting up a profile in her Connect Portal – we found and won the bid on fantastic house! I conclude Katy is a top notch Real Estate Pro who knows the region and knows the towns and villages of RI & Southeastern MA. She understands the quirks of New England’s older homes and their “systems” to help prevent you from buying yourself “into a burden”. She was the ultimate dedicated customer-servant working day and night and through her vacations to keep me current and focus on my search. She will not hesitate to share her opinion, and you will want it, because she has a trained and refined eye for gems. Besides being very professional in all aspects of the real estate transaction, she’s a helluva cheerful and fun gal to work with!
A Wonderful Realtor
Katy Donovan is a wonderful realtor. She went above and beyond what any realtor is asked to do. She was cordial, communicative, realistic, kind, understanding, and much more. For anyone looking to sell or buy, Katy is your girl! Thank you Katy!
The Absolute BEST To Work With!
Cannot Say Enough Good Things
Excellent communication, very timely responses. Always looking out for clients’ best interests. Cannot say enough good things about the experience.
I Need More Stars!
Helped Us Through a Challenging Time
Katy and her team were truly amazing during the sale of my family home, she really helped us through a very challenging time, her knowledge and compassion was so key !! Thank you !!
Every Detail is Covered
Katy was our real estate agent for a house sale in Middletown. She has excellent knowledge of the housing market on Aquidneck Island and the market in general. She is professional, responsive, and honest. She helped my family every step of the way with the selling process. She goes the extra mile to make sure that every detail is covered. When you work with Katy, you are working with the best. She deserves 5+ stars!
Incredibly Responsive, Hard Working
Katy helped me buy my first home- she was incredibly responsive, hard working, and a pleasure to work with. She was able to arrange viewings as soon as homes come on the market, and knew exactly how to best position me for success. I highly recommend Katy to anyone who wants to buy or sell a home!
Buying My First Home…Easy & Stress Free
Buying my first home with Katy by my side made the entire experience easy and stress free. She answered every question I had at any time of day. Between meeting me at various open houses along the way to signing the closing papers, Katy truly was amazing. I couldn’t have done it without her and the Homes By connect team.
Most Knowledgable Real Estate Team
Katy and her staff are the most knowledgeable real estate team I have ever worked with. They operate in Rhode Island, SE Mass. and Conn. and know the rules of each state. They sold my condo in RI and helped me buy a house in Mass. Any problem big or small, she knew how negotiate a resolution. I enjoyed working with her.
Lucky to Have Katy on Our Side
We were lucky to have Katy on our side during our home sale. She made the whole experience easier with all her help and guidance.
First Time Homebuyer…Truly a Stellar Experience
I can’t recommend Katy Donovan and Homes By Connect enough! As a first time homebuyer, I was very nervous to go through the homebuying process by myself – but I was helped every step of the way by Katy and her team. Truly a stellar experience.
Great Advocate For Us…Assessing a Property’s Pros/Cons
I have only the BEST things to say about working with Katy. I really appreciate her kind and communicative way of working with us and her ability to be a great advocate for us, and also get into the weeds of assessing a property’s pros/cons, flaws, heating and electrical systems, etc. I highly recommend working with Katy if you want a true team member on your side. And the ppl she brought into our team for inspections, lending, etc, were also all great.
Knowledgable About Everything Real Estate
Lynne is extremely knowledgeable about everything real estate. Whenever we had a question big or small, she responded quickly by phone, text or email. She was always available to show us all the properties we were interested in. Lynne sold our house quickly and helped us find our new dream home. Our relationship started as a business relationship and ended as a friendship. I highly recommend her for the job!
Stress-Free [Commercial] Transaction
I worked with Stephanie Banister as a buyer’s agent for the purchase of a commercial property. Stephanie was a pleasure to work with both personally and professionally. She was responsive and followed up on even the smallest detail. She did much more than would be expected from most realtors! We were able to have a quick close and a stress-free and very successful transaction. I would highly recommend Stephanie Banister…for any real estate transaction, and I plan to have her represent me in all future purchases and sales.
If You Want The Best, Choose The Donovan Group
This was our second time working with Katy and her team and we highly recommend them for your home buying or selling. We’ve done both and it’s been a seamless experience. Her knowledge of all areas of the business helps during the process. Once a client always a client. We had an issue with plumbing 3 years in after a purchase and we knew to call Katy and she would find us a plumber, same day – problem solved. If you want the best, choose The Donovan Group.
Worked With Us As Our Partner
If you want the house of your dreams, Lynne DeBeer will find it. Lynne is an A+ realtor. She knows the Southern New England market and helped us find an incredible house, in the tightest market in history. She not only found the house of our vision, but also connected us with people to make the buying and closing process seamless and easy. I’ve worked with a lot of realtors, and she is the best because she listened to our needs and worked with us as our partner. After we bought our house Lynne partnered with us to find the best resources to renovate our house and to orient us to the town.
Made My First Home Purchase A Breeze
Stephanie made my very first home purchase a breeze. She is very thorough, well organized, and has a great team to support the efficiency and execution to finalize a purchase. Super responsive to answer any questions or concerns via phone call or text and is very patient in assisting in finding the RIGHT home. She is patient and easy to work with and provided me with a vast amount of knowledge and information to optimize my home purchase. Stephanie exceeded my expectations and will assist me in my next purchase this year.
Keep Her Number on Speed-Dial!
Our recent home purchase was the second time we’ve worked with Karen Dill and both times her professionalism, competence and dedication to our satisfaction were first rate! She is calm, honest, communicative, and obviously well-liked by her peers making the whole process smooth and enjoyable. If you are looking to buy (or rent) keep her number on speed-dial!
Made it Easy!
Katy is the best of the best to work with. Made it easy! Did all the heavy lifting, set expectation and executed the plan. She kept you in the loop through the process, did check ins so you never had to guess where you were in the process. I recommend Katy to anyone and I promise you will not be disappointed. Congrats Katy on another sale.
As Professional, Hard Working & Knowledgable As It Gets
Suck a lovely experience working with Homes By connect and Katy Donovan. As professional, hard working, and knowledgable as it gets with incredible insight for the area.
Used Katy To Purchase Two Homes and to Sell One
We have used Katy to purchase two homes and to sell one. Katy has made the process so easy. She is always available to answer questions and do any legwork necessary. We can’t say enough good things about her. She is the best real estate agent and more importantly she has become a special friend!
There Every Step of the Way
Awesome. We have known Katy for 7 years now. She is the hardest working Real Estate agent we’ve ever met. Katy was there every step of the way when we purchased our home in Middletown. We have and will recommend Katy to anyone who is looking for property in Rhode Island.
Outstanding Support and
Excellent Guidance
Katy is extremely knowledgable, and excellent at what she does. She was a joy to work with, and provided outstanding support and excellent guidance every step of the way. I’m so glad I was able to work with her to purchase a home.
One of the Best Real Estate Agencies in RI
[Homes By Connect] Is one of the best real estate agencies In Rhode Island.
Positive Energy & Passion For This Work
We could not have hoped for a more supportive Realtor® than Lynne as first-time home buyers. Lynne’s depth of knowledge and experience was clear as she helped us understand the complex and sometimes nerve-wracking process of buying a home. Lynne was patient and respectful and invested energy in helping us understand the process every step of the way, and raised topics that we weren’t aware of as first time homebuyers. She helped us ask the questions we didn’t know to ask, while also giving us space to make informed decisions. She was instrumental in making referrals to relevant actors in the home buying process and continues to share resources and recommendations in our ongoing journey as new homeowners! With her strong communication skills and commitment to transparency, it was easy to trust Lynne right away. Her positive energy and passion for this work is infectious, and her calm and confidence made our entire experience accessible and enjoyable. We are overjoyed with the home we purchased, thanks to Lynne’s attention, commitment, and guidance in our search. We cannot recommend Lynne enough – there is no one better!!
Went Way Above and Beyond
Stephanie Banister went way above and beyond during our home search and throughout the purchase phase. While we were looking, she helped us to expand our criteria, which is when our current home appeared in our listings of available properties. She really listened to our checklist of features that we wanted in our property. Stephanie made really good use of our time, showing us only properties that we would be interested in. During the offer and purchase phase, she was with us every step of the way, explaining each step in great detail and making sure that we understood the market and the transaction completely. She was really invested in making sure that we were happy and supported throughout the whole process. We highly recommend Stephanie and Connect Real Estate!!
Someone We Can Trust
We were fortunate to find a realtor who truly cares about her clients. Karen is a good listener and responds very promptly. She is always working for you. She takes her job very seriously and will negotiate on your behalf. We have purchased 12 properties over the last 7 years, own 17 properties and have 6 businesses. We know how important it is to have someone we can trust and that we know always has our best interests at heart. You will not find another realtor like Karen. She works hard and she works well. She will do whatever it takes. She manages all of our properties. We love her and our tenants love her too! Hire Karen, you won’t be disappointed.
Above and Beyond
Katy and the Homes by Connect Team went ABOVE AND BEYOND during the sale of our home. Katy and team had outstanding communication throughout the whole process and when some unforeseen issues came up during the final stretch, they were there to help us through them. Not only did Katy provide guidance, but she also didn’t hesitate to roll up her sleeves to address a “I’ve never seen this before” challenge. Katy’s commitment to her profession is top notch, but what really won me over was her selfless attention to my needs and her superb client service. I highly recommend working with Katy!
Experience was Seamless
I highly recommend Katy Donovan-Connect Real Estate Group! The experience I had was seamless & Katy helped me to reach my goal realistically & efficiently. Her knowledge, expertise & solution finding was more than I could’ve expected; she made this process not only successful but quite positive!
Incredible to Work With
Katy at Homes by Connect is incredible to work with. Her personality is kind, supportive and informative. We connected with Katy through our loan officer’s referral as first time home buyers. When we reached out to Katy, we already had a home chosen that we wanted to put an offer in on. She was responsive immediately, even working during the late hours. She stayed in touch with us during our lengthy buying process, which on the sellers end took from August-September. She came to our inspection as well as our final walk through. Communication is key…if you have questions, ask! Katy is very knowledgeable. Overall, we recommend Homes By Connect!
Would Recommend to Anyone
I was referred to Katy from a family member who also had a positive experience. We were moving our family from the Boston area to Rhode Island while I was pregnant and while dealing with the pandemic. Needless to say there was some stressful times. She was so helpful and thoughtful. She even went above and beyond watching our two young boys so we could walk through homes! I’m so appreciative of her expertise and patience. We went to many different homes in different areas throughout the state. We our happy to say we found our forever home. We are grateful for Katy’s help! I would recommend Katy to anyone who asked.
Recommend Without Reservation
Katy and Elise gave us great service and advice. We were long-distance purchasers and took 3 years to find our new, amazing home. They had expert knowledge of the areas and were so nice to work with. We are pretty finicky and they understood that and acted accordingly. We recommend this dynamic duo without reservation.
Made The Process Easy For Us
We listed our mother’s home with Katy and she did everything a realtor should do: Effective marketing, several open houses allowing us to attract buyers and assess the market and get a very good price. And all that with a totally supportive and positive attitude. She made the process easy for us.
The Best Person On Your Side
Contact Katy only if you want the best person on your side. She works effortlessly, as she controls every movement of your sale. This person and her team will not stop until the sold sign is signed sealed and delivered. From the start of our very lengthy project, almost 6 months of renovations to sale date, she was there for us. Dedicated, intelligent, with a can do spirit is what you get. Highly recommended.
Awesome Guidance & Insight
Katy was recommended to us when we planned our relocation from out of state. Her personality was instantly a comfort. She always conducted herself professionally, was attentive, full of awesome guidance and insight regarding areas/neighborhood nuances and had a secure handle on the housing market including financial considerations. No question or situation was ever too small or too grand…she consistently and promptly was in our corner. Even after the closing, Katy connected us with high-quality area services and vendors.
On Top of the Local Market
Katy and her team were great! In this market, we needed a Realtor® who was on top of the local market and who could react quickly when the right house was listed. Katy is definitely that person and helped us find a house. I highly recommend her and her team!