Around ten years ago my husband and I decided it was time to purchase a home. I called the phone #…read moreon a home we wanted to see, and thus met Barbra Williams of Whitson Realty. She was very patient with me and my husband as we were both first time homebuyers, on a budget, and with widely varying tastes, wish lists etc. I can't tell you how many houses we dragged her through, but it was a lot, from Berkeley to Hayward! We looked for at least a year or more without finding "our dream home". Finally the search was taking a toll on my relationship, as well as Barbra's patience, so I caved in and we bought what I came to call "my temporary home" or to my husband "the house YOU wanted" in San Lorenzo. Don't get it wrong, it did fill many of the wish list items, it just wasn't the HOME I wanted, or in the area I wanted to live "forever". Barbra kept saying, just get it, get some equity, save up some down payment money, then buy the one you want later! We paid more than I thought the house was worth, but not too much. We refinanced, made some renovations and improvements, got our three teenagers through high school, that's when the housing market took a dump! Now the house is worth less than what we originally paid for it! Boooo. Fast forward a few years. I saw that houses that were formerly out of my price range now seemed reachable. I got bit by the "dream home" bug again, and started prowling the internet, and dragging my husband to open homes. This went on about two years. One day we were out driving around looking at properties, we saw one we both liked (I had been drooling over the listing for at least a month before I got him up there, haha) and my husband said "have you called Barbra yet?" So we called Barbra (after not calling her in a couple years) and the Very Next Day we were inside the home with her looking around. We all three agreed, this is our house! The home right across the street was having an open home as it was for sale too. People kept coming up to us asking about the place I was looking at while we were there, but I told them it wasn't nice and that it needed too much work etc (LIE, just wanted to keep it secret!) It did need quite a bit of work as the former owner was elderly and ill for several years, and couldn't really keep up with such a big place. It was on the verge of being in foreclosure as the owner (who was the original owner since some time in the late 1950s!) had taken a reverse mortgage loan before the financial crash, and subsequently passed away, leaving the headache and the loan to her elderly brother that lives in another county far away from the East Bay. It had been empty for around six months since her passing. I know the brother really wanted more from the home than he got, but had to face the reality of the housing market or risk losing the home to the bank. The best part for me is that I didn't put someone out of their home due to their inability to pay, as it was due to her passing that the house went into default, so no one was harmed. Finally, after several months of negotiations, paperwork, and sleepless nights (because of the loan process and the seller, not Barbra!) I finally am the proud owner of a new home. Throughout the entire process Barbra was patient, helpful, available, a never ending source of reliable contractors, advice etc. I hate that the process is almost over because I like talking to her and hanging out, we feel like she's a member of the family! A long story I know, but it spans a decade so please don't be too harsh on me! Suffice to say that Whitson Realty is the shznit, and will help you get into the home you need, or the home you want! It is a family run business, but very professional with years of experience to draw from.

me and my wife and went to a different real estate office which was rated great on yelp and tried…read moreto get a house but the real estate agent said we need more money and once we found a house he ended up messing up the paper work and we lost the house.... Discouraged we where done looking and seen a house with whitson real estate sign and decided to call even though i know it would be out of my range(already was sold). But talked to MICHELLE WHITSON and she listened to my story and said she will get me into a house. And seriously within a few weeks we found a house we wanted and she fought for us and got it for 10 thousand Less then asking price. the house was ours. Waiting for the renovation To be over to move in..... She never cared how late i called she always had a answer for me. She never stopped fighting for us even when i thought it wasnt going to go through she never broke a sweat and kept us upbeat!!!! If your looking for a real estate company that pays attention to your needs I recommend whitson real estate michelle is the best I can't thank her enough

Mary was referred to my wife and I by another renowned agent (Linda Schultz of Intero Real Estate…read moreServices in Los Gatos, CA). We were looking to buy a property in the San Francisco, East Bay Area and Linda knew Mary would best serve us with her vast experience and knowledge in this area. Mary met with us initially to discuss and ascertain what we were looking for; the type of property, features, amenities, areas of interest, price range, etc. She was very thorough in this process so she could direct us appropriately. Mary is the consummate professional who remained focused and determined throughout our lengthy search. Mary personally showed us many properties and also provided us listings and advance knowledge on properties becoming available that matched our criteria. This enabled us to utilize the tools of the Web and allowed us to broaden our search as well as focus on or eliminate properties as needed. Mary never pushed us, but instead guided and advised us along the way. She would offer advice and we always felt she was collaborating with us while looking out for our best interests as opposed to simply trying to close a deal. We ended up looking at over a hundred properties and submitted offers on three. Each time, Mary always kept her cool, protected our best interests and properly advised us throughout the process. She never missed an email, a deadline or mis-stepped in any way. We regularly noticed other realtors respected Mary; it was more that just professionalism on their part. It was apparent that Mary has earned respect within the community. Additionally, Mary also has an excellent network of professionals ready when needed like inspectors and trades people. Those people too were well qualified and collaborative. The third time was a charm and we found our dream house! Looking back, we were not easy clients. We were very choosey, sometimes unreasonable, sometimes emotional and even pulled Mary into some longshot situations. She was always a champ! We took an inordinate amount of her time, yet Mary consistently made us feel we were her only clients (which we weren't) and remained extremely professional throughout. During the process, Mary's mother unexpectedly passed away, yet to her credit Mary never missed a beat. Mary is part business woman, part psychologist and marriage counselor. In the end, she proved to be a skilled facilitator with the utmost integrity. We highly recommend Mary Smartt.

Mary was brought on board to sell my grandparent's home. Throughout that process, she was been…read moreunprofessional, untruthful, and unethical. I feel that she preyed upon our tragedy to make her commission, even going so far as to provide legal advice when it was not warranted (or necessarily accurate). She made false statements about the home on the listing, opening my family up to later lawsuits. I would warn anyone against using her to sell a home.

I referred a good friend of mine to Laura for the selling of his house and the start of his…read moreretirement. He was very nervous about selling his home because it would be one of the largest transactions in his life. He was consolidating down to retire to northern California. He has been a longtime friend of mine and neighbor, and when it came time, he asked me what and how he should sell his home. I referred him to Laura Zeidan because of her reputation and experience that I have had with Laura. I can say that I fully trust that Laura would take care of my friend and his sale. During the process Laura educated my friend on all the processes to sell his house and get top dollar for it. My friend was very impressed with Laura's knowledge of not only the selling process but how to get the most for your house. She managed the project from start to finish, including the light remodeling that was done to capture a higher selling price for the property. My friend had a price in mind for his home of 40 years and was shocked that he ended up with almost 20% more than what he thought he would get for his house. I applaud Laura and her team on taking care of my dear friend and would recommend Laura to anyone selling or buying a home in this crazy market we live in. Thank you, Laura, for taking care of Tom

Laura helped my husband and I purchase our first home and we are forever grateful for her help and…read moresupport during our search. Laura helped us explore options in Oakland and also helped as we expanded our search to Pleasant Hill/Walnut Creek. Laura has a wonderful attitude and a positive energy that helped us stay optimistic during a long and exhausting search for a home. She was a joy to work with and we highly recommend working with Laura! We would hands down work with her again!

Totally recommend Sante for any real state needs! Contact him 24/7 and he will answer you! He made…read moreour home hunting and buying process a breeze. I would recommend him to anyone looking to buy a property! Thanks Sante!

We just got the keys to our new home a week ago and couldn't be happier thanks to Sante!!! He…read morehelped us in every step of the whole process from start to finish! He was also very prompt to answering texts and phone calls which was super convenient for my husband and I. If I was to buy a new house I wouldn't think twice to call Sante!!!

I dont usually give bad reviews but in this case I really had to speak my mind. Tracy along with…read moreother realtors on her team have been continually calling my personal cellphone even though I have told them to stop in the past. Their office uses predatory cold calling tactics which are a total breach of my privacy and likely a violation of the law. They keep calling me from different phone numbers so I can't block them. Today however was the last straw when Tracy had the nerve to call me at 8am on Easter Sunday. PLEASE STOP CALLING ME!

We had the good fortune to meet Tracy when we had only just begun to look for a new condo wanting…read moreto move from San Francisco to the East Bay. We met her by chance at the first condo we wanted to look at and after the first meeting we knew we wanted to work with her. She was so kind and very conscientious with finding out exactly what we were looking for and it wasn't easy because we both use wheelchairs and knew that most condos would never work for us and could not be made accessible. Tracy instantly made us feel comfortable and very attuned to our needs as well as patient and accepting that the search would probably take much longer than the usual real estate search. This was in December 2018 and miraculously in February 2019 the second condo we actually looked at and that Tracy had sent our way was our dream place. From then on she was not only by our side step by step in making an offer and actually having the offer accepted but also in walking us through the whole process with kindness and a wellspring of information. After closing of escrow she helped us find a plumber who is fantastic and helped us make the bathrooms accessible and she also connected as to a wonderful countertop installer. And then it was time to list our condo in San Francisco and of course we chose Tracy as our listing agent. Again, she made the whole process much less painful than it could've been, she oversaw the renovation of the condo, was so kind and patient again when it came to pricing it and we sold the condo within three weeks after listing. Tracy is a fantastic realtor who helped us truly make a dream come true. Her knowledge and experience were invaluable and we would highly recommend her to anybody who is looking to buy or sell a place in the Bay Area

As first time home sellers, we were very nervous about the real estate process. Luckily, we…read morereceived an excellent recommendation to sign with Bill Boze. Bill has all of the qualities you would want in a real estate agent. He's very responsive, proactive, honest, and detail oriented. His knowledge of the Bay Area market is nearly priceless in terms of marketing and negotiation. We asked a lot of questions about the process and logistics of selling a house and Bill gave us terrific advice. All of his recommendations were excellent. He was glad to discuss all facets of the sale as often as we needed- and always answered my favorite question, "What's next?" with detailed explanations. The convenience of having a realtor in your neighborhood or close vicinity should not be overlooked. Bill saved us several trips back to our house once we had moved by quickly responding to various issues. He was also very respectful of the property by keeping it show-ready at all times. If you hire Bill to sell your house, you'll also get the benefit of his wife, Mary, who is also a realtor. In our case, she took wonderful pictures of our home and designed beautiful marketing pieces. We were completely satisfied with the market analysis provided, the marketing of our home, and the negotiation of the sales terms. We could not have asked for a better real estate experience

Bill is solid, super knowledgeable, nice, and reliable. I'd recommend him to all my friends. He…read moreused to be a developer so he brings additional structural insight.

1. pain point 2. ease of use…read more3. support 4. price 5. advantages - auto annual increases, log on and see any outstanding balance. I give iManagerent 5 stars for the following reasons: 1). need, 2). ease of use, 3). support, 4). price and 5). advantages. The software addresses a pain point that I have had for a very long time as I own real estate as a hobby. Previously, I use Qiuckbooks to keep track of the income & expense, excel to compute the annual increases and box to file my rental leases. Imanagerent can do all this plus a lot more. It is a total chore to keep track of the anniversary dates of the leases to ensure I compute and communicate the increase to the tenant. The problem is compounded if you own multiple investment properties. Once I set up the profile, the software sends out monthly invoices and I receive an email when the funds are debited against the tenant's bank account. I can even determine whether to apply any late charges when the funds do not arrive in a timely manner. i was pleasantly surprised that over 90% of the tenants were receptive to me using the iManagerent software. Ease of use - The menus are fairly intuitive and easy to use. I am not a computer geek and can maneuver between the screens. Support - This was very important to me as I would be uploading confidential information onto their site. On many occasions, Hatef, the CEO, held my hand thru the teething process. Hatef was professional, calm, responsive and very knowledgeable about the software. Price - The software charges between $5 to $10 per month per unit. At the beginning, I balked at the price as I did not see the value. Now that I have everything up onto the software, I feel the price is fair. Advantages - The biggest advantage to iManagerent is a peace of mind. Being a small property owner, I am juggling multiple balls in the air. it is imperative for me to know the funds are received in a timely manner to ensure the mortgage payment does not bounce! I have spoken with Hatef multiple times over a six month period before I tried using the software. I was a big skeptic. Strange thing....now that the system is set up, I cannot envision how I manage beforehand?

The ACH payments take way too long to settle. My previous management software payments settle in 48…read morehours.

Rebecca and Angela are powerhouse agents and consummate professionals. They are not only mindful…read moreof your needs, they anticipate them and are very proactive. They have spent years helping buyers and sellers navigate the market and their combined knowledge is invaluable. Rebecca is a delight to work with. She is willing to do what it takes to close a deal AND help all parties involved achieve their goals. Both Rebecca and Angela are, in my humble opinion, two of the best real estate professionals in the East Bay Area. They know the all the various neighborhoods and all the nuances that go along with purchasing a home there. They think of every solution to every issue, they work hard to get it resolved but their ultimate goal is to go through a transaction as smoothly as possible. They are my go- to in real estate.

My wife and I worked with Rebecca on both buying and selling our house in Upper Rockridge. I can…read moreunequivocally write that Rebecca is the consummate professional as she patiently and successfully shepherded us through both transactions in what can become a stressful situation whether one is buying or selling. She provided well reasoned advice during our search for our house as well as listing the house earlier this year. She has not only an excellent understanding of the local real estate market but also a wealth of connections throughout the industry. This professional network of high quality contractors, stagers, inspectors, and title agents is invaluable whether you are buying or selling. Through both transactions and nearly a decade of owning our house we saved a countless amount of time and money through these connections. We cannot recommend Rebecca enough.