I rented a spacious 1 br apartment in Maxwell Park from Myerhoff & Associates. I snagged it during…read morethe pandemic, and the price was well below market value. The property was safe, had laundry facilities, and management was always attentive with maintenance requests. I outgrew that apartment, but would happily rent from them again. Shame I couldn't find a listing that matched my needs in my new move!

My partner and I lived in a Myerhoff & Associates unit for just over 6 years. In that time, the…read morewhole team has been responsive, respectful and courteous. Maintenance requests were taken seriously and remedied quickly. We really loved our unit and would rent from them again if we didn't leave the country.

SLUMLORD. Would give zero stars if possible…read more From the moment I moved into that apartment I realized I was in a slumlord situation. When I arrived on January 19th there was no working heat and it was in the 40s at night. I was provided with a very small space heater by the "property manager" (that term feels like a big stretch) and I was absolutely freezing all night. The only reason I didn't go to a hotel was because I had just driven for 5 days straight and was literally too exhausted. Additionally, the apartment was ABSOLUTELY FILTHY (I have photos to back this up). The apartment was vacant for months so it is unclear how they did not have time to check the heat or do a basic cleaning. When I complained, Pedram gave me a credit of like $70 for both those issues which is wild as a cleaning service and a hotel stay would easily total $500. Pathetic. I knew I was in for some bullsh*t based on this. From this point on, every time something broke or needed to be fixed, and there were a lot of things that were broken UPON MOVE IN (again, this place was empty and could have been repaired beforehand), Pedram ignored my service requests in the app and my emails. I fixed things with my own time and energy and had to hound him to be reimbursed for the supplies. The whole point of renting is so that I don't have to fix things. I literally had to have a friend fix my leaking kitchen sink because the person who "fixed" it initially didn't actually fix it and Pedram would not respond to my emails at all. I begged him for help. In addition to my actual unit being terrible, the general condition of the property was abhorrent. Overgrown weeds and bushes, filthy walkways that haven't been power washed in years, garbage all over the alley where the bins are, etc. It looked totally ghetto and therefore, people treated it as such. Also, we were told with literally ZERO advanced warning that we would lose access to the washer/dryer for at least a month due to the construction project taking place in the back parking lot (earthquake retrofitting). So then I had to start taking my clothes to a laundromat which is hard to do as a professional working 50+ hr weeks. Additionally, Pedram told us we had to park our cars on the street for this project despite the workers only being there during business hours. There was no reason we had to park on the street at night, other than his negligence with regard to understanding the actual scope of the construction project. My car and several others suffered vandalism/damage due to being on the street. It was completely unnecessary, but he would have known that if he ever stepped foot onto that property or put even the smallest amount of effort into managing it. I finally had to threaten him with legal action to be allowed to break the lease, as I could not continue living in that hell hole. He will not return my security deposit and states he kept it as the lease break fee, which is of course illegal under California state law. So not only did I lose my 2k deposit, I have to pay 1k to fix my car and I paid another 1k for moving expenses. Still very seriously considering taking him to small claims court. I had a completely horrific experience at this place and I have no idea who would write a positive review. I spoke to numerous other residents who all had similar experiences and were completely frustrated and fed up. Pedram, you take advantage of people and you know it. Absolutely disgusting behavior. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. You can say I'm disgruntled about the deposit or whatever you need to, to make yourself feel better, but we both know the truth.

Terrible property managers. They rarely respond to service requests and if they do, it is after…read morerepeated calls and service requests. Their voicemail box is always full. If you are a landlord, do not use them because your tenants' maintenance needs will not be addressed, and then they will do their best to fix things on their own, which usually isn't a good idea.

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 was new to the area and call up Norheim & Yost to find some new office space. Steve followed up…read morewith me right away and took me all around the area to look at options. He put up with me changing my mind a million times in addition to looking at the same spaces more than once. Fantastic job, great service. I highly recommend.

Steve Smith has been honest and helpful. He is well networked in the bay area commercial market,…read moreexperienced with perspectives from both seller and buyer representation, and insightful to his clients, taking a consultative approach each step of the way.

Jodi was responsive to set up the first meeting but then started to slow down after we did the…read morelisting agreement. She took a week just to skim through the inspection report and then gave hasty repair recommendations much of which I didn't end up needing and would have been a waste of money. It was peak home sale season but that was the same for other realtors who made more time for us. When I asked if she could respond faster she basically said she was busy (so then don't take me as a customer), I was a low priority for her and we could end our agreement so we did. This delayed an already difficult home sale process by a couple weeks and wasted my time. I suggest finding a different realtor who will make you a priority and save you time and money.

We recently worked with Jodi and the Kai Real Estate team to sell our Oakland condo, and the…read moreexperience was exceptional. Jodi brought an impressive depth of market knowledge, strategic pricing, and local expertise. She and the team managed the entire process flawlessly, and we secured an excellent outcome. They completely live up to their name - bringing kindness, authenticity, and absolute integrity to the table - and we highly recommend them as a top-tier brokerage in the East Bay.

We just completed our search for a new office/warehouse and Andrew Schmieder of Cornish & Carey…read moremade it so easy! After telling him what we needed, he showed us a few spaces, understood exactly what we were looking for and found us the space. Andrew is professional, calm, courteous and all around enjoyable to work with. We would recommend him to anyone needing a commercial real estate broker.

The management of this work/study/art space is absolutely first rate. I have rented…read more studios here for 20 years, and have generally found management to be attentive, responsive, and pleasant, but I have to single out the present manager Marina Vayner as above and beyond- any issue or question she will resolve promptly and competently. If you need workspace this is the place!

Excellent creative space. Marina is great! They keep the…read morebuilding very clean and safe Thanks to Marina and activspace. paul

Kevin Ho was amazing in helping us buy our first home! We were competing against multiple offers,…read moreand the tenant-occupied property added extra challenges. When unexpected issues came up, Kevin communicated with everyone involved, and found solutions that kept the deal moving forward. He was always responsive, patient, and made us feel that our best interests came first. His market knowledge and negotiation skills were invaluable in getting our offer accepted. We're incredibly grateful for Kevin's help and couldn't recommend him more!

Kevin goes above and beyond as a realtor. During the home search process, he toured potential…read moreproperties and recorded videos highlighting all the relevant details, giving me a thorough preview of each home. When evaluating a property, he prioritized investigating every detail--sometimes literally digging around--to make sure it was safe and sound. He took the time to understand my priorities and helped me purchase a property I'm truly excited about. The property needed some updates and changes, and Kevin helped with the heavy lifting by making a list, identifying the key issues, and helping prioritize the work that needed to be done. When I shared everything Kevin was helping me with, friends were surprised. They said their realtors were no longer involved after the sale. Kevin clearly loves the process of matching homes with buyers. I'm grateful for his help and support.

We can't recommend Ellie highly enough. My wife and I relocated to the East Bay for work on a very…read moretight timeline, and she made the process feel manageable from day one. Ellie educated us on the local market and how to compete effectively in it. Her background in construction meant she raised questions we never would have thought to ask, giving us real confidence in our decisions. She was patient with every question and a true advocate during negotiations, helping us land our home in a competitive market. What sets Ellie apart is that her support didn't end at closing. She's continued to connect us with trusted professionals as we've settled in. Thanks to Ellie, we found our forever home.

Working with Ellie Ridge was key to our unexpectedly quick success buying a home in Berkeley's…read morefamously competitive (and famously opaque) market. Recent transplants from the East Coast, we knew little about the mechanical and structural systems and real estate practices peculiar to the East Bay. Over the course of a few short weeks, Ellie taught us how to evaluate the condition of older homes, spotting key features of sellers' disclosures and crab-walking crawl spaces with us to scrutinize the physical facts. She arranged pre-inspections by expert engineers, providing us helpful clarity and perspective and signaling to sellers that we had done our homework before making our offer. Ellie helped us evaluate the actual market value of homes (quite untethered from the list prices!) and positioned us to make a strong offer. By astutely attending to our reactions, she quickly and accurately discerned our needs and wants in a home and a neighborhood, mindful of market conditions and our budget. Eventually, it was Ellie who brought us to the home we ultimately purchased, correctly anticipating our positive reaction (despite knowing our focus had been elsewhere). Ellie then set to work, suggesting a successful offer strategy aided by financing and insurance professionals with whom she maintains excellent relationships. Ellie, an East Bay native raised by a realtor and a construction contractor, "sees through" houses, recognizing untapped potential and hidden flaws. She also reads people with commendable skill, understanding a seller's expectations and sizing up the competition. Barely half our age, Ellie earned our entire trust to navigate and negotiate this high-stakes process. Her remarkable combination of expertise, intuition, and drive won us over. Every seller's agent lit up when we identified her as our agent, and each (correctly) assured us that we were in excellent hands. Ellie takes her clients' interest as a sacred trust, and (with a smile) will deploy an Olympian's competitiveness to secure your aims. (Perhaps she will help you first clarify those aims, as she did for us.) Ellie won't pressure you. She will make the whole process of buying a house fun. And she won't rest until she achieves your goal. We cannot recommend her highly enough. You won't go wrong with Ellie as your agent!