Anya and Collette were my agents for the sale of my home in Berkeley. They did what they said (got…read morethe best price) they promised to work in my best interests (and they did). And, they did this professionally and responsibly. The home was in perfect condition to be sold. I could not recommend more highly the fine work these women did. They are the best in Berkeley.

Okay, folks...there's another star in the real estate firmament!…read more We went to a number of open houses in our area today.I know, we're real estate junkies but what do *you* do of a Sunday afternoon when you're all dressed up with no where to go without spending money? Stumbled in on a spectacular house that had been remodeled under our watchful eyes. It was a golden opportunity for us to see how gentry lives...this house in Albany, CA is listed at $995,000 and they are going to get the full price for sure! Alexis Thompson was showing the house. The the house had an open fire place, cherry flooring, Mediterranian kitchen, private upstairs balcony...the setting looked like a portrait from Architectural Digest. It was wonderful indeed. To her credit, Alexis didn't ask us to take our shoes off. In fact, she was genuinely nice, genuinely interested in us, and most charitable *not* to notice our doggy bags of take-out Thai. I exaggerate. We ate *after* the open house. But you get my drift...Alexis treated us like interesting folks who just *might* have enough money to plunk down on the house despite our outward appearances. We wish her well on the sale of this house, and in her real estate career. She'll do well. Grubb people, you have yourself a winner! And I say this despite my love of chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were sadly lacking....but Mykah Larkins had them at her open house just down the road. Mykah was showing a sweet little two bedroom that we could easily see would soon occupy a young family who wanted to be near Harding School. Alexis, Mykah...you guys ROCK as realtors! Good to know that real people are in the real estate business! Keep shining, ladies!

TL;DR - Tracy is amazing and choosing to work with her will truly be one of the best decisions you…read morecan make during your home buying process. When we made the decision and felt ready to become homeowners, we felt overwhelmed by the amount of things we needed to do and figure out. After beginning to work with Tracy, it felt like everything just clicked into place. She referred a fantastic lender to us, told us straight when our heads were in the clouds (it felt like they were in the clouds a lot), had empathy and eased our apprehension when we were overthinking things, patience when we asked repeated questions, stayed up late for us, and it really felt like she knew what we wanted and what our limitations were when we felt clueless. Two months after making the decision, we closed on our home. I cannot thank Tracy enough for the time, commitment, and thoughtfulness she gave us and am sad that our time working together is over. If the time comes again, we'd for sure choose her again and rest easy knowing we'd be in capable hands.

God bless Tracy Palma!…read more It was my husband and my first home-buying experience. Suffice to say we had no idea what we were doing, especially in a market as competitive as the East Bay. She thoughtfully led us through the whole process (from introducing us to disclosures to final walkthrough!) with patience, grace, and insight like no other, and we ended up with our dream home! What I especially appreciated about Tracy was that it never felt like she was trying to "sell" us a house. She had us approach each home with an open mind but a critical lens. We would talk through the pros and cons of each space, and when we were ready to bid, worked with us to strategize our best offer. Tracy also took seriously my preference for older houses with charm! It was a delight to see what she chose for us to explore, she totally got our style. Besides her professionalism and experience, she is just a sunny human being. I don't know how she did it, but on days where we were seeing multiple houses, she would beat us to the next house every time! When we pulled up she's always be there waiting with her zippy Mini Cooper nearby. She is magic!!

I heard about Mischa through one of my closest friends who bought a house a few years ago. My wife…read moreand I had been saving up and had talked to a few agents that we had met through Zillow but we never really felt like they had our best interest in mind. Working with Mischa has been fantastic! After these last couple of months she has become part of the family. Her knowledge of East Bay neighborhoods, history, local codes, and housing trends has been a valuable gift. Mischa has been flexible, responsive, and patient enough in dealing with our incessant questions and anxieties. What I can't say enough about is her empathy in working with us, 2 people with no generational wealth to speak on, who work at non profits, trying to raise our daughter in a crazy political climate, a pandemic, and housing costs that would normally price out people like us. Mischa helped us get into a dream house in San Leandro at a price we didn't think was possible. This was only done with her network of contacts. We were able to seal the deal on a house before it went on the market, where we would definitely have been outbid on. During the closing process, Mischa was great at yelling at the lender and helping us navigate escrow and contractors. We highly recommend you call her right now if you are looking to buy or sell a house or condo here in the East Bay. You won't have a better agent looking out for you and yours.

We are so lucky we found Mischa as our real estate agent. In a few short months, Mischa helped my…read morehusband and me find and buy a home in East Bay, San Francisco. As first time home owners, we needed a lot of extra guidance and support. From our first consultation, Mischa began addressing our questions and concerns in such a courteous way. In a market where every moment counts, Mischa was quick to respond and helped us stay ahead of the game. When we finally found a house we liked, we had only a matter of hours to tour and make an offer. This was the first offer on a house we'd ever made, and we got it! Without such a quick turnaround time, we'd have never have scored our dream house in Pleasant Hill. So thank you, Mischa! Mischa has an extraordinary attention to detail. She read all the contracts and pinpointed key details that we might have otherwise overlooked. We felt confident making such a large purchase with Mischa. We are so glad that Mischa was always ten steps ahead in the home buying process, and we would highly recommend her to anyone in need of a knowledgeable, professional and honest real estate agent.

Team Plowright was an incredible team to work with--we worked with Anja and Emma from our initial…read moresearch to the close of our first home. Emma found us our home and negotiated an offer that was favorable to both sides. Both Anja and Emma were extremely knowledgeable about the East Bay market, including Berkeley, Oakland, and El Cerrito, and personable, trustworthy, and highly responsive. Just as importantly, they have a stellar reputation in the East Bay real estate community, which helped us move quickly. We even used their recommended mortgage brokers and insurance agents, all of whom were excellent. We would recommend them to anyone looking to secure a home.

Anja and team are true professionals. Selling a home is stressful, and we are so glad we found…read moreAnja. We were initially sold on her and her team's understated confidence, competence and experience. They took over the process and were a well-oiled machine in getting our home ready for sale. She communicated regularly with us and we felt like we had all the information we needed to make a decision every step of the way. Rena's preparation of our home and marketing materials were high-end and made us feel confident that they squeezed every ounce of value possible out of our house. Overall, they took much of the stress out of our laps, without making us feel in control of the process. They were excellent partners and we can't what it would have felt like selling our home without them. Couldn't recommend them more highly!

I really don't know what's up with everyone here. I've been renting my apartment from ERI for the…read morelast 4 years, and they've been nothing but nice and professional. Renting my apartment has been a ridiculously seamless experience, and I've never felt a sense of dread going to anyone at ERI at all because I know they're nice people. A few stories: 1) There's been several occasions I've been, like, a day late on my payments because of how much I travel around. Everyone that I've spoken to at ERI - Sasha, Mary, Slavka, etc. - has been super nice to me about it. They always told me "don't worry about it, we won't penalize you, we understand." 2) Once, I had to mail in a money order because I was away for a while. I was scared because it would take a while to reach ERI, and it possibly wouldn't have reached the offices before the deadline for rent. In any case, though, they were super nice about it, and told me as long as it was postmarked before the date, I'd be fine. 3) My old car broke down once, and I totally forgot to tell them I had a new car (for parking spot purposes). They left a note on my car, saying it was the third time they'd warned me, and that they'd tow me if they see me again. I was like "...third time? I'd never received a note like this." I walked into ERI's offices ready to unleash a barrage of complaints on them. But when I walked in and told them about my situation, they weren't mean about it at all! They told me that they were sorry about worrying me, and they registered my new car right away. As for the "3rd time" mystery? Turns out some random person had been parking in my spot while I was away sometimes! And since I've never seen that again, I assume they must have caught that person. I admired their integrity in striking directly at this matter, and the kindness with which they treated me. Also, they've always been professional and transparent about maintenance going on in the apartment, as well as things regarding services I needed (shower head fixing, sink repair, etc). Possibly the best landlords I could have ever asked for.

Repairs (Slavka), and finding new tenants (Terry Simms) are good; accounting (Mary Oram) is…read morehorrible. She counts approximately and always in her favor, withholds more than stated in the agreement, does not provide original repair receipts, runs late with depositing rent to the owner, and, according to her own admission by email, keeps one account for several properties. Perhaps this comes together in the final count --I do not know. I left after three difficult months of trying to receive from her due rent in full.

My husband and I purchased our home in Southwest Berkeley in December 2013 with the great help of…read moreAnne and Josh Keller. Despite the fact that we were new to the Bay Area (we moved to SF from Washington, DC in Jan. 2013), and despite the insanely competitive housing market, we were able to find an absolutely wonderful place (within our budget!) in just a few months. Buying a house is not easy, and there are many issues, small and large, that can put a wrench in your plans. But working with Anne and Josh made it as painless as possible! They are a husband/wife team that works seamlessly together. We first met Josh at an open house, and we were impressed with his honest, candid insight into the area we were looking (North Oakland/Berkeley). Likewise, Anne's straightforward candor is very refreshing. Josh has extensive contracting experience, and he worked with us on a few different houses to get us estimates of renovation costs, what was possible (and what wasn't worth it), and also provided us with great insight into each microhood. Anne handled a lot of the paperwork and financial aspects, and she patiently walked us through every aspect, from sewer lateral compliance, disclosures, legal jargon, etc. etc. Both Anne and Josh were always accessible by email, phone, or text. We didn't feel at any time that we "slipped through the cracks" or that we were the only ones doing any legwork. They also gave us a lot of advice on the quirks of the local real estate market. We thought that because we had previously bought a house in Arlington, Virginia, we wouldn't need a realtor. But after working with Anne and Josh we realized that we avoided a TON of headaches and learned sooo much. I really feel like they educated us, as well as kept us boosted so we maintained optimistic but realistic expectations. After we bought our house, they made sure to help us with warranties, taxes, insurance, etc. -- things that would have been overwhelming all at once without them. All in all, Anne and Josh are a great team!!

Highly highly recommended. We recently worked with Ron, Anne and Josh to buy a house and then rent…read moreit out. The first word that comes to mind is "integrity." The second word is "knowledgeable." They value doing the right thing over the lucrative thing. The three of them spent the time to give us thoughtful advice and counsel. With their help, we identified and successfully bid our property in less than two weeks (highly atypical in this market they assured us!). The other side presented a few challenging moments during closing, but working with a collaborative close-knit team really gave us the tools to close out the transaction successfully. Since we were not ready to move in, and were not in the area, they quickly helped us to fix up minor issues and rent it out it to a great tenant. One last comment, we really appreciate the way that Ron, Anne and Josh went the extra mile for us on a number of occasions.

Recently my husband and I purchased a home in Oakland. We went through 3 different agents before…read morewe went with June Iwasaki. Please let me boast on how well our purchase went. We went through a short sale and from what I am familiar with, Short Sales tend to take a long time. June promised us a 45-day turn around and we were in home two days after the previous owner left, which was exactly 42 days after we put in our offer. My husband and I highly recommend June because of her extensive knowledge and years of experience behind her. I have been through purchases before and was always promised many things from turn around times to new appliances after the purchase. I must tell you that everything June offered, she delivered and we couldn't be more happier with our new home. If you are looking for an agent, I must insist on June because of her experience and delivered promises. Please let me know if you have any specific questions, I would love to help!

This is a review for Laura as a real estate agent, but also as a solid human being. She helped me…read morepurchase a house that my mother had found a block away from the house I was born in. Although it was 10 years ago, the experience was quite memorable for me, I had worked with another agent before her that didn't even compare. The house was in pretty good shape, but after the inspections, Laura was able to negotiate 10%+ off of the accepted price due to the need for a sewer lateral upgrade and some foundation work. She really had my best interest in mind and I don't take for granted her integrity, and her absolute passion for what she does. Anyone would be lucky to utilize her expertise in the field, and to be blessed by her overall good spirit and energy. If I ever decided to sell, she would be my go to with absolutely no hesitation or reservations. I hope you are well Miss Laura, I send you all the best from Berzerkeley, keep kickin' butt in all your endeavors me lady. *Insert heart emoji here.

Laura is that one in a million agents and people that you always dream of finding. She truly takes…read morecare of every detail and actually finds a way to make the extremely stressful real estate process fun! I can't give enough stars or accolades - you will be blessed to work with her and highly regretful if you choose otherwise.

When my wife and I decided to sell our house in Alameda, we started the daunting task of trying to…read morefind a listing agent. It's a tougher decision than you might think as we quickly found out, so when we met with Daniel at our home we knew right away it was going to be the right fit. He was not only kind and insightful, he was also very upfront about expectations in regards to what kind of selling price we could realisticly expect, the timeline from beginning to sale, and noted some ideas to help us improve the value of the home in what he noted was a slightly down market compared to the last few years. Yali and Daniel are a great team and Yali really took the lead in regards to design ideas and small renovations that could really provide good value for us in a tougher market. She even nixed some other ideas that she thought wouldn't provide much return and saved us some money and time which was truly appreciated. Yali was on top of the renovations and the schedule, providing us daily updates while we were out of the country and really kept our minds at ease. I can't tell you how comforting it was to receive updates and photos of progress considering you're a 16 hour plane flight away, it was so appreciated! Once the house hit the market, Daniel was in frequent communication with us about every offer and kept us in the loop about the craziness of these offers and what would eventually be the sale bid. He fought for us for every detail and dollar like someone representing you should, we felt like we were definitely represented well. Overall I would highly recommend Yali & Daniel if you're looking for a realistic broker team who will not give you expectations that can't be matched by the market they deal everyday in. It was an amazing experience and even with the market being what it was, after a few weeks of showings we ended up getting an offer that was slightly better than our expectations. They are a great duo and we walked away from the whole process knowing we made the right decision in hiring a real estate team who cared about us not only as clients but as friends. Highly recommend!

Working with Daniel was truly exceptional from start to finish. We sold our home for 30% more than…read morewe expected (above and beyond what the market called for), and I have no doubt that was becasue of his strategy, market expertise, and negotiation experience. He managed what could have been a very stressful transition for our family seamlessly -- every detail was handled with care, communication was constant and meaninful, and I always felt confident that he had every detail locked and loaded. Daniel is not just a talented negotiator, he's also incredibly thoughtful, organized, and supported by an amazing team who made the entire process easy and stress-free for us. We could not recommend Daniel, his team, and his partners highly enough.

Five years ago, when I was looking for the perfect home in the Berkeley Hills, Tomaj found it and…read morehelped negotiate/close a great deal. Today, my work takes me to a different place but I made sure to call Tomaj to list my Berkeley Hills home. Tomaj's attention to detail and professionalism made the whole process seamless. Tomaj, once again, helped negotiate a great deal and got it sold! I'm very happy with the value he added to the entire transaction. I will call Tomaj without a doubt next time for any real estate needs.

We recently sold our apartment in Emeryville. Due to the market conditions for the loft style…read moreapartments and multiple units for sale in the same complex that was not easy nor straightforward process. Tomaj was a great help with his creativity and tenacity to get the deal done. We highly appreciate his effort and I would wholeheartedly recommend his services to others!