Dan the man Living as a permanent resident of SF for 25+ years convinced me that there was no other place I could live. But when it came time to buy a home, It proved to be impossible despite my loyalty to this city . After many agents and disappointments we had a recommendation to meet Dan Joy a real estate agent specializing in the East Bay . It's really difficult to articulate how grateful we are to have met Dan Joy. And its also difficult to articulate the combination of highly skilled real estate agent and emotionally intelligent person that Dan is . EXTREMELY intuitive and perceptive on picking up our verbal and non verbal asks. He honed in on who we were as individuals and as a couple. Purchasing a home in the Bay Area is no joke and its not for the weak . There were MANY times I thought this process was a drag and ridiculous. BUT BUT BUT, Dan lead us down the right path and he made it enjoyable for us. Every weekend he gave us a curated list of homes to check out and every single weekend we put an offer in. And every offer got us closer to the home we finally purchased. He got us a home within 6 weeks of our initial meeting ! And it did not stop there. Dan was really there to help us through every hoop and answered our endless questions even after we got the keys to our house. I have to truly say, the process was memorable and we will forever miss our conference calls (especially when Dan graciously took us off our self inflicted emotional roller coaster ). BONUS: He also specializes in talking people off the ledge. It was such a privilege to work with Dan. I highly recommend him as a real estate agent. He runs with a small herd of unicorns in the SF Bay Area ... but if you are lucky (like we were) he can be found. read more

We worked with Dan Joy and Costa to sell our townhouse and also to buy a new single family home, both in the Lamorinda area. The team helped us to sell our townhouse for above asking price, and also above our target price. This was despite the pandemic and the impact that the pandemic has had generally on townhouse properties. The team offered helpful guidance on what needed our attention to prepare the property for sale. They got us connected with all of the right vendors and with the Compass Concierge program, which helped us get everything ready for listing smoothly. In the end our home showed really well and we got the result we were looking for. Dan and Costa also helped us find our new home despite a very competitive market. They gave us close attention when we were looking at open houses. They got us connected with a great lender, who helped get us pre-approved for a loan. They worked with the selling agent to understand what our bid needed to look like to secure the home. In the end we landed the home we wanted and everything went smoothly. We are very happy that we could follow the advice of professionals and have the right results. Highly recommended. These guys are great. read more

Dan and his team were amazing from beginning to end! We followed Dan's recommendations and suggestions which turned out to be the definite right choices as Dan really knows and understands how to maximize the sale of your house. Dan was patient and thoughtful and guided us through a difficult situation with grace and ease. If you go with Dan and his team you will not be disappointed! read more

Selling a home during a pandemic? Dan is your go-to agent. When we decided to sell our home, it was October of 2019 with a target to market date of March 2020. We originally reached out to our previous real estate agent and it was a disaster. Despite having our home appraised just a few months prior at $655k, that agent came in like a used car salesman and tried to bulldoze us saying we would be lucky to get $550k for the home and she would list it at $499k. Everything about that appointment felt wrong so I reached out to Dan and, wow, what a difference! All of those items on "How You Know You Have a Good Real Estate Agent", Dan checked. On our first appointment, we instantly built rapport, he asked us valuable questions, and treated the home selling experience holistically. He wouldn't talk figures until our second appointment (one of the items on the good realtor checklist), did great research, and came back to us with a full marketing plan. I didn't tell him what the appraised value of our home was but he nailed the figure based on his own research. I had to think that the impression Dan gave us, the non-pressured, seeing you as a person and determining your needs is exactly how he'd be with potential buyers and that could only be positive. In addition to the attention to detail, marketing plan, and overall great personality, Dan also helped us with cosmetic upgrades to make our house really shine. We continually upgraded our home as we lived in it but interior decorators we are not. Dan coordinated multiple bids for painters, handymen, stagers, and landscapers, handling all of the updates needed. I can't tell you how phenomenally he did here. Plus, his realty office has a concierge program that allows you to take out a 0% loan against the equity of the home to do those upgrades which was also a lifesaver. And, getting our house on the market? Dan perfectly executed this step. We prepped those months along the way but, by the time we were ready to move out of our home, it was March 2020; the precursor to the pandemic. Dan was so flexible, innovative, and open to making the process work. Plus, he and his assistant Costa used every cutting edge digital and social media marketing tool at their disposal in addition to the traditional real estate campaigning to get our house seen. Result? We received a no contingency, above asking price offer from an extremely qualified buyer within a week of our home being put on the market AFTER THE PANDEMIC HIT. Dan navigated those chaotic waters like a champ and we are so very fortunate he was our agent through the entire process. If you need an agent, I give Dan Joy my highest recommendation. https://www.942amador.com/ read more

We can't speak highly enough of Dan! We are so grateful for his expertise, candor, and guidance throughout our home buying process. We relied on his deep East Bay knowledge and smart recommendations to guide us through the best approach for viewing homes, making offers, and negotiating on our dream home. He was with us side-by-side through the all steps through closing and beyond with tips as we started renovations. Dan is a trustworthy, genuine person who cares about your best interests and invests the effort and time to make the home buying process not only smooth but enjoyable. We had a simply wonderful experience working with Dan and are thrilled to recommend him to East Bay buyers. read more

Based on other Yelp reviews, we found Dan to help us buy our first home. We had no idea what to expect from the process, and Dan guided us every step of the way - from our first meeting, to moving in. After a brief conversation about what we were looking for in a home, he quickly zeroed in on introducing us to new neighborhoods (we knew very little about the East Bay) and homes that fit our needs. After touring just a few homes, Dan also knew what we would like and wouldn't, and made the process easy for us. We really saw how great Dan was as an agent once we presented the offer, went through some negotiations and saw him take care of a myriad of details to get us from our offer all the way to closing - we hardly had to do a thing. Add that he's just plain wonderful to work with, and I'd say you couldn't go wrong. read more

We recently worked with Dan to buy our first home in East Oakland. We were grateful to have Dan as our agent. He gave us the grand tour on the first day of house hunting, showing us over 15 homes throughout the area! He was attentive and responsive to our needs, and worked with us through the exhausting process of multiple offers, dozens of open houses and private showings, and managed our needs in a really crazy market. The process of purchasing a home in the Bay Area is a combination of excitement, disappointment, stress, sleeplessness, gratitude, and eventual joy when you find your new home. Dan had a clear knowledge of the market, having worked in real estate for many years, which was super helpful for us newbies. Dan sent us a list of open houses each week, and was on call to answer our continual questions and concerns. Dan also understood our needs and style and was intuitive and helpful throughout the process. Dan was a real "Joy" to work with and we highly recommend him for anyone who needs a professional, well-connected agent. read more

When my wife and I decided to "downsize," we met Dan Joy at an apartment he was showing. He was friendly, knowledgable and helpful. Although we did not want that particular apartment, he worked hard to find us a place, and a YEAR later he found the one we were looking for--get this--before it went on the MLS listings! We went into negotiations with the seller, bought it, and started renovations. In the meantime, we gave Dan the listing on the house we had to sell. He hung in there, spent countless hours and tremendous energy and effort to sell our house in the worst real estate market in decades. He helped us find great contractors to get the house looking terrific, recommended a savvy stager and a plant person, and was at our house every week to make sure it looked just right for the numerous open houses he held. He is VERY attentive to details. It took several months to sell our house, but Dan was encouraging and positive through the entire trying process, regardless of how depressed we felt. Dan deserves this 5 star rating, for sure! read more

My husband and I began working with Dan in 2006 to purchase our first home. We were unfamiliar with the area and Dan quickly realized we needed a lot of help. Dan took the time to understand the type of home that would be best for us and to educate us about the neighborhoods. He quickly narrowed our options and within 10 days we put an offer on our future home. We loved it and wanted to stay forever but our growing family wouldn't fit in it. Four years later we began planning to sell our home with Dan and he started hunting for a larger home for us. He found us exactly what we needed even when we weren't sure of it. Within a few months we had purchased a new home under the asking price, Dan ensured all details were tended to on our behalf. For the sale of our first home, even though it's a down market, Dan ensured we didn't price it too low and we still sold it for over asking - exactly what a seller wants! He listened, followed up, and ensured the buyers, sellers and their agents did all of of the agreed upon items for the transactions to progress smoothly. He is fair, honest, and will work on your behalf for exactly what you want and need. read more

Dan Joy is a realtor who is very attuned to his clients' needs and tastes. We were moving from NE Florida to the East Bay area in CA. Dan sent us links to condos and homes in the East Bay and we responded to him about our likes and dislikes. He was always responsive, answered questions quickly and gave his thoughts about various properties ( often information that we would not have known since we lived across the country). One Friday evening, we received a couple of videos of new condo property in Point Richmond on the SF Bay. Somehow this email and video content were different than those previously sent. Dan indicated that he thought that we would really love it. Two days later, I was on a flight to SF, saw the property and we made an offer. Less than 6 weeks later, we had closed on our FL property, moved across country and closed on our new condo in CA. Dan was involved and most helpful throughout the process - with our financing, dealing with the builders, sales people, moving timeline, etc. My husband and I highly recommend Dan Joy. He is a knowledgeable, highly professional and responsive realtor. read more

Dan Joy is an incredible agent! He helped us find the perfect house in a few short weeks. Dan is professional, caring and helpful. He wasn't all about money. In fact, he gave us a lower number to offer than we were thinking! Besides being an incredible agent, Dan has a lot of wonderful recommendations for painters, contractors, etc. We plan to use him in our future purchases and have recommended him to all our friends and family! read more

We worked with Dan Joy since 2012 on four transactions and highly recommend him to anyone looking to buy and/or sell a home. He is incredibly knowledgeable and thoughtful, listens carefully, provides practical advice, has great relationships and contacts (other agents, mortgage brokers, inspectors, contractors, electricians, plumbers, roofers, stagers, etc.) and gets amazing results time and again. In 2012, we were first time homebuyers and knew little about the bay area market. We emailed many agents with our goals in an introductory email that in hindsight probably made us appear unrealistic and not the "easy" sale. Only one agent provided a courteous and realistic response to our unrealistic email: Dan Joy. He then sat down with us for about two hours to discuss and get a better feel for our situation, followed by a couple Saturdays driving us around east bay neighborhoods. We then went through several disclosure packets, made a failed bid (where Dan predicted the exact final sale price but we were simply unable to go that high over ask), and finally found a perfect starter home in Oakland with Dan successfully navigating us through a multiple offer situation by barely beating out the competition. In 2016 we decided to move, and our first call was Dan. He got us in touch with an excellent stager who also did beautiful upgrade and repair work before the sale. Dan took care of everything else, and we closed for 26% over asking price. We then bought another home, and of course we called Dan, who yet again helped us eek out the competition in a multiple bid situation. Most recently, in 2020 we decided to move away from the bay area, so again we called Dan to sell our home. Dan and his colleague Tauan Costa ran the show just as perfectly and consistently as in the past, and we were amazed to get an offer at 21% over asking price. This was the highest sale ever in our condo complex in Lafayette and he navigated the transaction in the mist of the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place. read more

Yikes. When we told Dan we no longer wanted to work with him and thanks but we would be moving on to another realtor, he acted very unprofessionally. Like a jilted lover. Wasn't good. read more

Nightmare agent when selling home. Can't recommend him as one of the first things he will say is "all of my sellers hate me but I get over the asking price". Take heed to this statement. If you want high pressure tactics to hire his friends, at excessive rates then he is the agent for you. Not a pleasant experience overall. read more

Dan recently help me sell 3 properties at the same time, two in Richmond and one in El Cerrito. I can't tell you what a great job he did. I had three rental properties that I had owned for a long time and they were not in great shape. He helped me work with the tenants living there, and then after they moved out, coordinated upgrades and a mini remodel to make them look really fantastic. He managed all the vendors as well. Dan's assessment of the market was spot on. We even exceeded my price expectations on each property. The escrows were well coordinated, well managed and everything closed as planned. I trusted Dan and he came through. It was a lot of work and he never made me feel like I was asking for too much. I would highly recommend Dan to use as a Realtor and would come back to him without hesitation. read more

Dan worked with me to remodel our home and to sell it recently. He is an excellent agent, knows the construction industry, and knows what buyers want. He really proved that to me because our house got $65k over the asking price. Frankly, there could not have been a more difficult project than the remodel of our house in order to prepare it for sale. Our house needed a major upgrade to the electrical system, we needed a major kitchen remodel, and we needed to make the downstairs area which had been used for laundry and a tool room into a livable space. Add to that termites were found during construction and also dry rot! Dan was very good at recommending a team of experts to remodel the kitchen, transform the tool/laundry room, get rid of the termites and dry rot and paint the house inside and out. He even picked out a new sink/vanity for the bathroom and selected new lighting. Dan is a hands-on agent and he brought with him a team of skilled contractors who gave me reasonable prices for what they accomplished. He made some good calls about what was needed to make our house stand out -- in the end the house looked quite beautiful, like a designer showplace. read more

As co-trustee we hired Dan as our realtor on recommendations and past experiences. His integrity, ethics and knowledge base could not be higher. The unit we worked as a team to prepare to sell sold for $136K over the asking price with 13 offers. We couldn't be happier and I'd use him to buy or sell in an instant. read more

My wife and I lived in SF but wanted to move to the East Bay in order to get some peace and quiet. We knew nothing about Oakland, Berkeley or any other town in the area. Luckily we ran into Dan at a house he was showing. Dan spent many, many months educating us about the differences in east bay communities and taking us to houses for sale. He was extremely knowledgeable (and patient!) and we ended up buying a great house in a neighborhood we just adore. Dan provided an extra bonus in suggesting an excellent set of contractors for painting, plumbing, electrical, design/color, and so on. I would recommend Dan to any of my friends or colleagues who are interested in learning more about East Bay real estate. read more

On 01/17/2012 I posted a review for Dan. My review, rating Dan as excellent has not changed! He sold another home, a condo in Oakland, in November 2013 for me and my partner. His guidance, integrity and knowledge base resulted in a selling price that was considerably higher than our wildest dreams. Kudo's to Dan for continuing to demonstrate exemplary customer focus. As a repeat customer of Dan's I couldn't be happier and would ask him to sell property for me again with no hesitation. read more

3 years ago we moved to the East Bay from the East Coast with little clue about the real estate market, neighborhoods or schools. We rented for six months while we looked for a house. Thank goodness we found Dan. He got to know our whole family and really understood the kind of niche property we were looking for (the need for a mother-in-law apartment, for instance, and a family-friendly neighborhood and good schools). He was dogged on our behalf from the time we started looking through the day we took ownership and beyond. Three years later, we love our house, and we love Dan. He's the best. read more

Dan helped us buy our first home, he guided us through every step and explained what would happen next. he explained the ins and outs of the real estate market along with showing us what we could get for our money. he has excellent communication skills and stood up for us during negotiations. he answered every question and concern quickly and honestly. it was a pleasure to work with Dan. read more

Dan Joy is a dream agent, a lovely person, and someone who obviously takes great pride in acting with integrity. We were house-hunting in early 2009, a time of a dispiriting, often dishonest, real estate market - and with my home price in the low figure, so he knew there was not much of a commission for him. Yet his efforts in finding me my dream house went above and beyond anything I could have asked. We spent long, if fun, days house-hunting in the various areas, checking out seemingly a hundred houses. And when I made offers on 3 of them, Dan was right there with me during the procedure, finally getting the right price for my ultimate dream home purchase. He also helped me fix up the house with good advice and great contractors. I should also say that, during this whole process of house-hunting, I briefly had another agent in Vallejo and one in Pittsburg (areas Dan doesn't serve), but they had no staying power because they simply didn't give me much, if any, time. The contrast with Dan was like night and day. His hard work and dedication to me, his client, were extraordinary. And, I'm happy to say, we struck gold! read more

Dan is an agent who has a positive outlook for the real estate market of today. Other agents told us "the market is not what it used to be." Maybe not, but with Dan's positive outlook and his driving the direction of what marketing was needed to sell our home, event taking us beyond our desired preparation costs, yielded us an above market listing and quick sale. Not only did Dan have a team of subcontractors to work with, he was there for us when we had differences in style opinions. Knowing our home was an estate sale Dan Knew he would be dealing with daughters that had a lot of emotional attachments and respected our desires when we wouldn't change some things. However, he did direct us to do what he knew would sell the home. To follow his lead is a good thing. Dan is definitely the agent you will want to list and sell your home so you may reap the value you anticipate and possibly more. read more