When you're selling your home you need to make a lot of decisions along the way - when to list? how…read moremuch to ask for? how much work to put into the property? how to manage multiple offers over asking. Mark has a lot of experience (and success) selling real estate in the bay area, over multiple market cycles - in our case he put together a strategy to address the questions above - fully comprehending the market dynamics. His strategy worked very well - we maximized the value of our property - in a timely efficient manner, without unnecessary upgrades - finally taking an offer well over ask and closing on time. His marketing machine had our place shown over 100 times in the 6d it was on the market. On the other side of the transaction, Mark is very fluent in real estate investing frequently making on-site trips to relevant places like Austin, Salt Lake City, and Nashville. His wealth-building seminars put us on the right path... 5 stars, great experience!

Mark and David helped sell our house and buy a new one. In this market with very limited inventory,…read morewe were fortunate that we made one just offer during our home search and got it accepted. We interviewed other agents and visited a few houses with them. These searches have not been fruitful because houses quickly became pending even before we had a chance to make an offer. We don't think we could have bought a place so quickly without their help. We really appreciated their access to unlisted properties and their motto of "No sign, No problem". They also did a very good job of selling our house. Their selling price was quite accurate, and they found us painter, gardener, handyman and staging crew, all at very reasonable prices. Execution was very crisp and per plan. When a problem arose, they resolved it very quickly. For example, when the sign installer ruptured a landscape pipe, they sent a repair person the same day to get the issue fixed. We liked having home/termite/roof inspections done early and making the reports available to potential buyers to avoid any surprises. We appreciated having our own website domain featuring our home and 3-D tour including drone-captured videos/photos. Complementary landscaping and staging were very nice. The only small disagreement was with the listing price of our home. We ended up getting $116K over the asking price with 7 offers in 7 days. If we had priced it a bit higher, perhaps we could have avoided wasting time with a few low-ball offers.

Adam was great at helping us through the home-buying process. We bought an older house that needed…read moresome work, and the buying process inevitably involved some contingencies and back-and-forth with the seller. I really doubt we could have done this on our own, and am really grateful to Adam for staying on top of the whole process. If you're looking for someone to guide you through the home-buying process, especially as a first-timer, I highly recommend Adam as a buyer's agent.

My wife and I really enjoyed having Adam as our agent. We had a quick close of escrow and Adam was…read morethere for us every step of the way. Anytime I need help understanding a document, even when it had to do with the loan Adam tried his best to get me to understand what it meant, and directed me in the direction where I could get the answer I needed. We were truly lucky to have him in our corner. We highly recommend! Ok

Rob represented me as a buyer. I didn't get exactly what I was looking for but instead I got…read moreexactly what I wanted. Realtor recommendations might come a dime a dozen but what makes Rob Ross stand out is that he is a true conduit for what you want. He is diligent with the tasks you need him for and respectful of your desires even when what you are asking for might be unorthodox to the real estate world. For example, I made a couple offers that were probably laughable low but he followed through with them and gave them the legitimacy which led to good bargaining. Also, there were some houses I was interested in that were not conventional and Rob went through the appropriate effort to find ways where I could have a valid position to get them. ( For instance a 203k FHA loan offer. ) These are strange market times and Santa Cruz is a strange housing market in general. There were a few times when I wish that Rob would just give me the right number to offer etc.. but he was good about not being a direct market influence on my pricing and instead pulling from me what I actually felt I wanted to pay for a property. All the while offering advice that he and his family has gained over their years of being active members in both the real estate and rental markets in Santa Cruz. This is a huge bonus for buying, where you need to know if you are buying an investment or just a place to live. Additionally, he knows exactly what paperwork to unearth to make sure everything is on the up and up. What earns Rob the fifth star is that he hasn't abandoned me now that we've gone through my transaction. He continues to check in on my needs and is a trustworthy e-mail correspondent when I have homeowner questions, recommending quality professionals and giving me an idea of what to pay so I don't have to learn by being a sucker. All in all, I'm very happy and will use Rob again when it's time for my next real estate action.

We just purchased our first home with Rob as our real estate agent and were impressed at every step…read morealong the way. Rob's deep understanding of the market and good relationships with other agents allowed us to succeed in getting the home we were looking for in this competitive Santa Cruz area. His great communication skills, professionalism and responsiveness helped us to manage the ups and downs of the home buying experience. We would recommend Rob Ross and his team to anyone looking to buy a property. Buying a home can be a stressful experience at times and having an agent with integrity that you can count on to represent both your interests and your values makes all the difference. Whether developing bidding strategies on competitive properties, trying to navigate short sales, or understand the potential of fixer uppers Rob was always on top of the situation and able to help us understand our options. We ended up getting one of our favorite properties even after being out bid because Rob took the time to follow up with the selling agent and make sure we were in position when the original high bidder deal fell apart. Rob also walked us through the county assessor and city planning office on multiple properties to help us ensure that we were getting the property we thought we were and what potential restrictions there would be. On top of Rob's expertise and ability to deliver results he's also a really nice guy. He's a devoted father who makes it to his kid's soccer games and works with his parents in the family business. He's a great listener and took the time to understand our family and what we were really looking for in a home. He's a great communicator, always helping us to understand our options and how the real estate market works. He's very responsive, answering technical questions and calming frayed nerves in a timely fashion over text, email, telephone and in person. Thanks Rob for helping us to find a wonderful home and giving us an education to last a life time about real estate!

Armando the owner is a straight talker, honest, knows what he's doing, and seriously a really great…read moreguy with a lot of integrity. The workers are also amazing. I've really could not tell you how much I recommend them and I will use them for everything I need in the future!

Armando and his team did a fantastic job - reasonably priced and FAST (finished putting our…read moreshort-term rental condo back together after a major water leak in a week!! Others were saying it would take them 3 weeks to a month at a higher cost). Very good communication too. Highly recommend them!!

I couldn't be happier with the work Luis and his team did on my bathrooms. They installed quartz…read moreand tile, and the results are absolutely perfect--exactly what I had envisioned. From start to finish, the entire team was professional, respectful, and easy to work with. They showed up on time every day and completed the project much faster than I expected without sacrificing any quality. It was clear they take real pride in their work. What really stood out was how they went above and beyond. They offered thoughtful design suggestions that truly elevated the final look, and their attention to detail was exceptional. Every finish is clean, precise, and beautifully done. If you're looking for a contractor who delivers high-quality craftsmanship, stays on schedule, and brings great expertise to the table, I highly recommend them. I would absolutely hire them again.

Luis from central Coast Countertops is fantastic! He fabricated marble for our new master shower…read more Great attention to detail, great communication, and fantastic advice on care. We would recommend him and his crew for any fabrication needs you have.

I decided to get my old tile kitchen countertops replaced with a solid material. I decided to go…read morewith Adrain and so glad I did, Adrain was always available by text and would always return my phone calls. He answered all my questions. The results were great and we are so happy. I did replace the sink and love the total look. His crew showed up in a timely manner and the clean up was done. Thanks guys

Adrian and his team were excellent and responsive. They worked with our family to get a bathroom…read moreremodel with walk-in shower done. Their estimate was a fair price and the work was done on time with no surprises. They worked with us to manage the project from afar. Highly recommend.

Erik and his team was amazing to work with. They did some flooring replacement for us. They were…read moreprompt and reliable. He delivered exactly what they promised at a great price. We would definitely use him again.

As seniors we felt it was wise to have grab bars installed in our showers. Erik and Jesus did a…read morefine job installing bars in 2 showers and toilet rooms. They were prompt and respectful of the house and left no trace of their work other than the wonderful results. It was a pleasure working with Erik on this project and would recommend EFZ to do your job!

Bertao Real Estate did a very good job helping us find a house in our budget in a very challenging…read moremarket. Our agent Calla really listened to the specific features that were of most interest to us and worked to find us places that incorpoated as many of our wants as possible. Besides looking finding houses, she also helped guide us through the whole house buying process and went the extra mile to help us get the information we needed to make an informed decision. For example, she contacted the city to get information on a septic tank placement on a property we were considering. She was very responsive and prompt with follow-up and utterly professional, yet very warm and personable. Augie and the rest of the Bertao group staff were also great, making sure someone was always able to help us with time-sensitive needs. Highly recommended.

Calla and augie have helped us buy and sell several homes. They are wonderful to work with and…read moremake the process stress free. They are wonderful people to work with and I would highly recommend them and their staff