We first met Michael before we were ever his clients--he was our neighbors' Realtor, and his attentiveness and genuine care throughout their process immediately stood out to us. So when it came time to sell our own home, there was no doubt who we wanted to represent us. Michael went above and beyond, especially after we moved out of state. He kept us informed every step of the way, handled details we couldn't, and gave us complete peace of mind. His communication, creativity, and dedication truly made all the difference. We highly recommend Michael to anyone looking for a Realtor who is professional, proactive, and truly cares about his clients. We're grateful for everything he did and are happy to now call him a friend. read more

This review is for Michael Lane and Jake Coyne Realto We really appreciate their clear communication, proactive approach, expertise and great humor. We learn something new each time (this is our second home sale) and they were both generous with insights and strategies that we'll remember in the future. Highly recommend with high confidence to others. Thank you so much. read more

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We worked with Jake Coyne from Michael Lane Group to buy our first home in Alameda, and we can't recommend him enough! From the start, Jake was super easy to talk to and always responsive (even over text which was nice). We actually had to pause our house hunt for nearly a year, but Jake was really patient and understanding about it, and when we were ready to start looking again, he jumped right back in like no time had passed at all. Jake knows the Bay Area really well, being a local from Alameda. He was able to give us tons of helpful info about Bay Area cities, different neighborhoods, HOAs, and even the layouts of various homes in Alameda. Jake understood our needs and the vibe we were going for, and suggested we check out a house that was never even on our radar. It turned out to be perfect! Great for hosting dinners, extra rooms to have guests stay over, and space for a small garden (which was a big deal for us). As first-time buyers, we had a lot of questions and the market seemed really competitive. Jake's relationship with the selling agent helped us negotiate a good offer and get a few things fixed before closing. He also connected us with a great loan officer, which made the whole process way less stressful (and secured really good rate). After we moved in, we wanted to remodel the bathrooms, and Jake recommended a team of contractors who did a solid job. All in all, Jake made the whole experience really easy and stress-free. If you're looking to buy or sell in the Bay Area, definitely reach out to him! Once we start looking to size up, we will be! read more

5+ stars for Michael & Jake! Where do I even start with our gratitude for their tremendous work... We relocated from Alameda (Bay Farm) to SoCal at the start of the pandemic & had been renting out our single family home. When the tenants gave us 30-days notice, we realized we had just over a month to prepare / sell our home in order to avoid the capital gains tax. Challenge was we wouldn't be able to travel back to be directly involved. Given the tight timeline, we knew it would benefit us to find a truly local based agent & Michael's team came up in the top results for Alameda. We actually interviewed 3 separate top agents & chose Michael/ Jake because they gave us the most confidence we could get our house sold before the target date - it was clear they had a lot of experience, knew Alameda market extremely well, had a Rolodex of local vendors (painter, plumber, staging, etc), knew the surrounding agencies to help promote the home, etc. Michael was VERY responsive & easy to communicate with - he offered very reasonable advice, provided clarity whenever needed, never came across as pushy, and made sure all details were in order. He & Jake quickly assessed the state of our property, helped us determine what few updates could be done in a timely manner, and quickly scheduled vendors to complete everything (the staging received a ton of compliments by both agents & interested parties). We found out they had 2 buyers going into closing on the only limited inventory on Bay Farm while we worked together, implying A) they are great at balancing their time bc we never felt unattended B) They clearly know this market if their clients are scoring the limited homes available It feels like a blur now, but they literally got our house ready for market in a little over 1 week! They held 3 open houses (2 weekends), were always on site, & very helpful in getting any final details situated (even getting their hands dirty with clearing out our attic & trying to fix a running toilet!). We received so many offers & Michael helped us negotiate to get exactly what we wanted to feel excited for closing. Michael and Jake made us feel so well supported despite never being in person with them, and they made the process super easy (desperately needed because we had a newborn & truly couldn't invest too much effort ourselves). We would recommend them to anyone & feel lucky to have found this great team read more

Mike Lane Group - Compass - Real Estate Agents Near Me - Alameda, California

We worked with Jake Coyne to find and buy our first home. It's a daunting process for sure, with so many open houses, different house characteristics, and neighborhoods to get to know. Jake was a great help in navigating all of the trade offs that go into buying a home, many of which I had never considered and never would've thought of without Jake's help. When we got down to putting in an offer, Jake did a lot of leg work to help us understand what a competitive offer would be, what the current owners were looking for, and what the overall housing market looked like for comparables in the area. He was also a big help in walking through the due diligence, which was intimidatingly long, and he helped us understand the state of the house we wanted to purchase. Overall, Jake made the long, admittedly scary process feel easy and approachable. I really appreciated Jake's help, and I would highly recommend Jake and Michael Lane Homes to any prospective home buyer. read more

Michael Lane...Mike Mike Mike (old Geico camel commercial reference). Thesis: I have not only met a realtor who created a sense of trust and safety with me during the entire home buying process, but I have also built a friendship which I have a feeling will be a lifelong one. I am deeply grateful for who Michael Lane is in the world. Background: I am a first-time homeowner (!!!!), typing this up from my home office (!!!). When this all began, I didn't know ANYTHING about the process. I did know that I had a little bit of cash to my name and I wanted to invest in a home. I had never lived on my own and was so excited about the possibility. So needless to say I met Michael with a very very very vague mindset. The Search: in my day job as a recruiter, I know it's important to "screen" multiple folks for a role...when it comes to my personal life I think similarly. I spoke with about 5 realtors through the process and Michael spent a large amount of that first call just meeting me as a person. I felt heard, seen, and understood. I also was clear that Michael was an expert as he offered (constantly) priceless advice as I began this journey. Michael remained consistent in his communication (always answering my calls, even if it was a BILLION times in a day), kept me balanced and calm through the search, the close, and overall made it fun! From the moment I met Michael to move in, it took about 2 months. I can confidently recommend Michael Lane to ANYONE looking to buy a home, even if you have no idea where to begin, talking to Michael is a great start. Owning a home has been nothing less than magical for my sense of connectedness and it's a powerful privilege I wish for the world. Warmly, Kyle read more

Mike Lane Group - Compass - power ball of excitement - Real Estate Agents Near Me - Alameda, California

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(Updating 2017 review) Selling or buying a house is always stressful for anyone. We know because we have bought and sold four homes over the years. We too experienced that stress until we met Michael Lane who helped us buy (2017) and sell (2022) our most recent home in Alameda. Michael was great on both the buyer and seller side. He has a calm, friendly, no-drama personality. Furthermore, he is knowledgeable, well-networked, and is a fabulous communicator, both in keeping us aware of every moving part, as well as clearly and patiently explaining things to us. Both times we were out of town during most of the action and he still made sure we didn't miss a beat. He quickly earned and kept our trust. When we bought the house, he stayed with us even after the closing until the very end when there was a problem to resolve after the closing. Then when he represented us this year to sell our home, he delivered us an excellent deal in a very short time almost as if he had a magic wand. His thorough knowledge of the market, the excellent vision to present the house beautifully, and the admirable team he put together to prepare for the sale were all 1st class. You will not regret working with Michael and his team! read more

Michael and Jake helped us sell our home in Alameda. Michael is kind, hardworking, genuinely honest and very responsive which I find is vey important in real estate, especially with this crazy market! Michael is so great to work with. He truly puts his clients best interest in mind and that is why he is one of the top agents in Alameda. There are many agents to work with, but we feel so lucky to have found Michael. Whether you are buying or selling or just want information about Alameda or the Bay Area, if you are fortunate enough to work with Michael and his team, you will know exactly what I am talking about. I can't say enough good things read more

Mike is the very best real estate agent I have ever worked with (and I've worked with a few). My husband and I spent several years looking for a home. Mike was so patient with us and was super responsive. Any time we wanted to see a property, he would make himself available. If we had questions, he would jump on getting us an answer. He listened to what we wanted and never pressured us one way or the other. I am so glad we picked him to represent us in our real estate journey! read more

Working with Michael has been amazing! He's super professional and always goes the extra mile for his clients. He is very responsive. I've had the chance to work with him on several projects and I'm really excited about building a lasting relationship together. Big thanks to Michael! read more

There is no better team to work with, Michael and Jake are a dream. From start to finish, these guys have it dialed in. Planning, inspections, contractors, staging, open houses...you name it and they have the resources on hand. Mike helped us navigate buying our first house (which he snagged for us among 20 offers) to selling that house a few years later (and getting 16 offers). They actually make buying and selling real estate feel easy. 10/10. read more

We worked with Michael and his team to purchase our first house. We were clueless, and Micheal was very understanding from the start. He asked many great questions to understand what was important to us and was very honest about what we might like and not like about a house. He's very knowledgeable about the home buying experience and negotiation. We never felt pushed into anything, and he was able to help us understand what we might want right now with young kids versus what we might want with older kids. We appreciated his approach, style, and helpful advice while searching for our dream home (which he did help us find and close on!). He also knows all the people you need to help with any project around the house. I text him just as much after we purchased a home as when we searched for one, and he's always very responsive. read more

Michael and Jake are an absolutely phenomenal team. Professional without being stuff, efficient without being short, kind without being soft - they are everything you could ask for in a seller's agent. They listened to the goals we had in selling our house, were incredibly responsive and resourceful when issues came up, and took the time to carefully explain all of our options whenever we had to make a decision. If you're selling in the bay area, this is the team you want to partner with! read more

Jake was awesome! Made our whole experience very easy and smooth. He was able to answer any questions we had, quickly. He did very well adjusting to what we were looking for and actually found us a home, at the right price, right before all other surrounding homes were swept off the market. If we waited another two weeks, we would not be in the home were are in now. All this because of Jake. We will be using Jake and Michael in our future investments and would recommend to anyone we know. 10/10 read more

Michael was our agent when we bought our home, and we liked him so much we asked him to help sell it years later. Michael did everything he could to get us the best results both times, and we absolutely profited from his hard work, savvy, and real-estate wisdom. Michael is a 100% trustworthy agent and will always be our #1 choice. He's also a great guy!! read more

Michael Lane recently sold our home in Alameda. His team did an excellent job. When we first met Michael and his associate Jake, we felt an immediate rapport with them. They were very easy to talk to and seemed truly interested in getting to know us and what we wanted. Their commitment to us (and meeting our needs) was consistent from that initial meeting to close of escrow. We initially decided to interview Michael because he had recently sold another house on our street. We were impressed with how well he handled that property, from the careful preparation and elegant presentation to the ease of sale. Throughout the whole process of preparing, presenting and closing escrow on our house, Michael was very organized and efficiently managed the entire process. Michael's team was first rate and demonstrated a thorough understanding of how to prepare and present a property to obtain maximum appeal. Michael only suggested improvements that were necessary and cost effective. His suggestions gave our house a modern look that was designed to appeal to a wide range of buyers. After the improvements and the staging were done, the house looked completely modern. When we came back to see the house after it had been had been fully staged it looked dramatically different and definitely had a new appeal. In fact some friends of ours were so impressed with the new look they saw from a video tour that they responded by saying, "I'm buying." Michael took great care in putting together a website with excellent photos and videos that highlighted the property's winning features. Michael was friendly throughout the whole process. When we first called him to set up a time to meet him we were impressed (and surprised) that he answered the the phone himself. No secretary! His friendly, easy going nature was beneficial in solving problems during the preparation stage. His ability to engage buyers enabled him to effectively showcase the property's features and charm. Michael went above and beyond in providing us with personalized service. When we needed to move some furniture out of our family room to have some work done, his associate Jake eagerly helped us. Michael and Jake also helped us move our refrigerator. Michael was always available when we needed him. He was also very flexible and understanding of our living situation and didn't prod us to move out of our house to make his job easier. He considered our needs when scheduling necessary work with painters, electricians and other contractors and successfully managed a schedule that worked for everyone. Michael demonstrated his expertise in managing the various improvement projects and provided us with with a helpful projected completion of work timeline. Michael was very adept at sensing the direction of the market and making sound course corrections based on his own personal intuition and consultation with other realtors. He also visited and studied the competition so he could expertly advise us regarding our asking price. He demonstrated a solid understanding of the market and how our property fared against the competition. He carefully pointed out our property's relative strengths and weaknesses and gave suggestions regarding pricing and other selling strategies. He offered us his experience and insight but never forced his opinion on us. He demonstrated keen insight into how our property should be marketed and who it would appeal to. He knew how to create a "coming soon" excitement which generated a lot of interest. When our property hit the market, more than 40 families came and saw it the first weekend. That interest prompted several good offers. Michael devised an excellent listing strategy that encouraged more offers as well as higher offers. He worked with the buyers' agents to get only offers from qualified buyers and to get as high of an offer as possible. We set the asking price with a particular strategy that Michael devised. Through Michael's strategy, we obtained more than 20% over asking price. It was a better price than we had expected. Michael greatly aided us in evaluating the offers we received. He weeded out the offers that were not serious or well qualified. He carefully reviewed the offers, pointing out weaknesses and "holes" in the offers that would allow the buyers to delay, back out, or tie up the property. He expertly guided the process so that we obtained a rock-solid offer that eliminated all possible ways for the buyer to back out. His careful analysis of each of the offers allowed us to make the most informed and best decision. We highly recommend Michael as a real estate agent. He truly puts the needs and desires of his clients first and offers them expert advice and service. David & Laura Hoff read more

Michael is fantastic. He helped us (pretty clueless first time home buyers) navigate the Bay Area real estate market during an especially difficult time to find something on a semi-limited budget and we ended up with a home we are really in love with. He is excellent at asking the right questions and really listening to his clients to find out what they want. We particularly appreciated his willingness to take the time to talk with us about several homes we were considering but weren't sold on, and his handling and explanations of all the rigamarole with paperwork, inspections, and the like once we were in contract. We definitely panicked a few times and Michael was always there to talk us back down (thanks, Michael!). As a side note, we initially sat down with him to chat about what we were looking for/our budget, etc. in 2019. He had to take a call for a client who was in contract at the time during our meetup, and watching him go to bat for that client is what sold us on working with him. You can tell he really enjoys what he does and that he works hard to get his clients what they want. read more

Michael and Jake handled both our transactions (purchase of a house in Alameda, sale of another in El Cerrito) in succession. They are a great resource of real estate knowledge, connections to fast-performing contractors and can-do financial professionals. When buying and selling you must do so many tasks PRIOR to actually getting into contract in order to achieve an UNEVENTFUL close. As a former licensed real estate agent myself, I know what it takes to do a good job, especially in, arguably, the most competitive market in the US. They guided us with an even keel through what can be a stressful, emotional time. When it came to decision points they never pushed us but gave us all our options with respect and their recommendations. My husband and I work full time and they took care of so very much of the work to put a house on the market. As a bonus, the staging was beyond my expectations. read more

It was such a pleasure working with Michael to buy a home in the east bay. Michael was very thoughtful in listening to our specific needs even before we started the search process. We were relocating from out of state and Michael was very helpful in providing all the resources needed to zone in on our preferred neighborhoods. He's very knowledgeable about the east bay and it showed in good but affordable recommendations he made as per our request. When it came to putting in an offer on our dream home, he was on top of the contracts and negotiations and got us the best of deals. Even after closing on our home, he went above and beyond in getting us settled into our new home. Thank you Michael for making an otherwise complex process very seamless for my family. We're truly grateful! read more

Alameda real estate agents, Michael and Jake represented me and my family as the sellers of my father's Alameda home after he passed away. From the moment I first met with Michael I felt assured that the entire process would be handled with professionalism, efficiency, and sensitivity. Michael and Jake assisted in all aspects of the design, remodel, staging, marketing, and sale of the home. As East Bay real estate agents, they knew the market well and established an appropriate sales strategy based on the market conditions. They were responsive to my questions and communicative about every aspect of the process. With Michael and Jake's expertise an emotionally challenging transaction was handled smoothly and with ease. We couldn't have had a better experience and I whole-heartedly recommend Michael and Jake for any real estate transactions you may need assistance with. read more

Michael was essential in helping us find and buy our first home! I would highly highly recommend working with him. He is so knowledgeable about the different neighborhoods we looked at and very prompt with responses. Once we found the home we wanted to purchase he was essential to the home buying process. He really goes the extra mile for clients! read more

Michael has been fantastic to work with!! We have worked together twice now! Initially, when I purchased my home in Oakland and when I sold the same home. He is very responsive, trustworthy and provides great insights. He does his homework and always provides honest and thoughtful feedback. He works very hard for you on both the purchasing as well as the selling end. He goes over and beyond things that many agents would not do. One example is when the movers damaged my floor during my move out. He made phone calls and sent emails to several companies, builders and repair companies in order to get it fixed. He worked with my buyers and with the moving company so I wouldn't have to worry about it post my move to LA. He really takes a genuine interest in you as a person. He listens to your concerns, makes recommendations and will practically do most things to help you. He has reached out to me after I moved out of the area to see how my transition was going. I would highly recommend Michael to anyone. He is more than an agent, he is a friend!! read more

My partner and I worked with Michael to sell my condo in Oakland and buy our new home in Alameda. Throughout the process, Michael was diligent, thoughtful, balanced and responsive. He has superb communication and negotiation skills that helped us move swiftly first through the purchase of our dream home in Alameda (the area he knows in and out), and then the sale of the condo in Oakland. Even though finding the right home and selling the condo are usually tedious processes, Michael made the search and the sale a far less stressful experience for us. He would always make himself available for a call or a meet up to check out new houses that appeared on the market. During the sale of my condo, Michael stepped up in a major way on many occasions. I was in New York for the weeks when we were showing the condo and getting offers, and not only he made sure that things were taken care of while I was away, he was constantly updating me about the offers and strategies to move forward. During the final stages, the leak found by the inspection caused doubts and concerns that could have jeopardized the sale. Michael worked hard to negotiate with the seller, the HOA board, the management company, contractors and etc. Although the cause of the leak was found to be from a different unit, after all, Michael dealt with the situation with a lot of grace and patience and the escrow was closed as planned. Thank you, Michael! read more

Michael was highly recommended to me by a good friend who is an out of state realtor. Michael made the process easy and we had my home prepped and sold for a great price so quickly. He is a great listener and was able to meet my perfectionist needs of wanting to do a top notch prep job. Though my home was already attractive and in good condition, I wanted to do some exterior painting, and he found some terrific painters. Additionally, Michael brought over an amazing stager who honed in quickly with the best suggestions. Michael went so far as to personally deliver and set up a day bed that I wanted to add in an office. So the bottom line is, you will be very pleased with Michael and his skills. read more

There are really not enough stars here to properly rate Michael. Without going into a great amount of detail, we got ourselves into a difficult situation by trying to buy a new house at the same time as selling a house in this crazy market. Sure enough, we hit a snag and the buyer of our house backed out after stringing us along for 6 weeks - they had requested two extensions of the initial closing date only to back out after the second extension! Given we were already in contract on buying a new house, we then had an extreme crunch to try to get our house back under contract ASAP. Although it wasn't our original agent's fault, they really hadn't given us a good level of service and so at that point, we reached out to Michael for help. It was an especially tough spot as our staging had already been removed and could not be restaged with the original company for ~2 weeks! Also, we had to jump through hoops to extract ourselves from our agreement with the old agent in order to switch to Compass. But Michael stepped in like a super hero before we could even official engage him. First, he arranged for us to re-stage our house in a matter of not weeks, not days, but hours do to his relationships and connections! He also got us a deal on the price of staging and other discounts that he covered out of pocket as he knew cash was tight for us after 2 months of unexpected carry costs. He also offered very good strategic advice on how to reposition the house and help with messaging. Our experience with Michael was like night and day from the prior agent. His customer service is off the charts. He also thinks ahead and is very value add from a strategic advice standpoint. A lot of agents sit back and let the market do the work. But when you run into problems and you need an experienced agent, the "Michael Lane difference" really comes through. You are in very good hands with Michael and I can't recommend him highly enough. read more

Michael was enthusiastically referred to us by a mutual friend. After several months of working with him, I can see why. My wife and I have experience dealing with a couple of different realtors, but Michael is in a class of his own. He was a jack-of-all-trades throughout the months-long process and I was impressed by his wealth of knowledge. He was an amazing advocate for my family and I, which absolutely matters in the Bay Area when you're up against 10 other similar offers to yours. My advice to anyone looking for a realtor is to stop looking for a realtor. Michael's your guy. read more

We feel so blessed to have crossed paths with Michael when we were looking to buy our 2nd home. From the minute we started working with Michael, we could tell he was genuine, very easy to work with, incredibly smart and extremely knowledgeable about the housing market and pretty much anything house related. Throughout the entire process, Michael was there for us every step of the way. He was reliable and always got back to us quickly with answers to our endless questions and always gave us all the information and the best advice in order for us to make the right decisions. It took us quite some time to find our house since we were looking for the perfect one. Michael remained extremely patient and never made us feel we had to rush or that there was any pressure on us for anything. Most importantly, Michael always made us feel that he was truly looking out for our best interest. He is passionate about helping his clients and never hesitates to go the extra mile. With Michael, it isn't just about making the sale/purchase, but really more about helping people find the right and best place for them to call home. His great work ethics and credibility is very evident in the good rapport he has with countless realtors. When we finally found "the one", Michael moved swiftly and helped us submit our offer within 2 days! It was accepted on the 3rd day and we were in contract on the 4th day! This was our first offer we submitted out of viewing probably at least 50 homes and Michael worked his magic to help seal the deal! We know that we couldn't have found and ended up with the home we purchased (and LOVE) without Michael's help. He also has a lot of awesome and helpful connections/referrals. He linked us up with an amazing mortgage consultant that offered us the best rate and helped moved things along quickly. Michael made our home experience very easy, smooth, painless and believe it or not, fun! If you're in search of a great realtor, no doubt about it, Michael is your guy! We were so lucky to have worked with him and you will be too! read more

I have nothing but great things to say about Michael. Michael helped my parents and I buy a condo in Alameda. It is extremely close to Park St. (7 minute walk to the theater) and to my sister and her husband's place (10 minutes), and we had our heart set on this place the moment we walked through the property with the features of the private patio and much more. With all of that being said, Michael updated, called and emailed us frequently. He is very professional, really knows the market, and his connections to other agents in Alameda is remarkable. The condo was extremely competitive and I believe there were at least 8 offers in total. I was so nervous Michael called me the night before the offers were to be submitted and allowed me to ask any questions, no matter how small, to make sure that I was OK. This is my first time buying so I was very anxious and Michael made it simple and easy. If it were not for Michael, then we would not have been able to even be considered for our current home. Michael's advice and knowledge of the market and of Alameda makes him one of the best, and the reason why we were in the top offers as well as why we were ultimately chosen. We could not have done it without him and we are extremely thankful. read more

Michael is great - I can't recommend him highly enough. I couldn't be happier with my new home and Michael was there every step of the way, advising, researching, and making sure there were no unexpected surprises. He was attentive to my needs from the start and was always available to answer questions. He's diligent, reliable, knowledgeable and smart. Best of all he's genuinely interested in making sure his clients are happy and he is willing to go to the mat to make it happen. You can't go wrong with Michael! read more

Bottom line up front: Mike is incredible! Mike helped my wife and I purchase our first home, and made the process both seamless and fun. Mike is professional, prompt, incredibly hard-working and an absolute joy to work with. He listened to our priorities, and helped us find the right home for us. We enthusiastically and without reservation recommend Mike as a realtor, and 100% plan to work with him again in the future. read more

Michael is the best! Above-and-beyond to help us find our dream home. My favorite examples: 1. Fighting for us. We really wanted a few extra days to close for reasons that the sellers were understandably annoyed about (getting a much lower mortgage rate during COVID-19 craziness). Michael fought very hard for us 2. Understanding the market. In our first bid, Michael saw that the house was going to get bid up, understanding the other buyers and recent history. He had a really good read on the right price throughout 3. Helping first-time home buyers. We're a bit clueless when it comes to home inspections, etc. Michael always looked out for our best interests, would make sure to check out a home / read all the disclosures one more time before putting in a bid 4. Building relationships with sellers agents. We bid in a city where Michael had a bit less of a history, but he built relationships with the relevant sellers agents in town 5. Willing to source leads. When the winter months were kind of dead, Michael was willing to go out and try and help us identify potential off-market opportunities Michael is the best! We talked with other agents at the beginning of the process - so glad we went with Michael! read more

This review is based on buying a home with Mike. Buying a home entails ALOT of work. After this experience, I have alot of respect for Real Estate Agents! As a newbie, I'm glad my first experience was with Mike. When I think of Mike and the process we went through to find a home, I'm speechless. WOW WOW WOW. I knew how Mike worked because he sold our condo in December but he FAR exceeded my expectation when it came to buying our first home which we got in March. First off, I never felt any pressure from Mike. He listened to our wishes and was very patient with us. We saw many homes both with and without Mike. At first, I thought my husband and I should just look at houses without Mike and BOY DID THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Mike saw things we didn't see in terms of the details of a home. He asked the agent and sometimes homeowners questions that I didn't think to ask. I emailed him many homes I liked and he had no problems taking us to see those homes and if possible he tried to get us to see them even before (or sometimes after) the open house. We saw homes even late into the evening to accommodate our schedule. Again, he was very patient with us. My brother in law and another girlfriend were buying their first home the same time my husband and I were. I know with confidence that Mike goes above and beyond for his clients. I can't get into too many details because I don't want to give away Mike's secret but suffice it to say when I talked to my BIL and GF and told them information I had about the house they were surprised with the information I knew. Mike communicated with us and kept us in sync with what was going on with the home we were interested in. We put in 2 offers in a home. The first one had multiple offers and we just did not want the house enough to put a higher offer in. We knew this even when we put the offer in. The house we eventually picked, i know without a doubt MIKE GOT THIS HOUSE FOR US. Again, can't get into the details but it was because of HIM that this was possible. We saw the house on a Tuesday and the offer was accepted by Thursday. We closed 20 days later. Here I am deciding what paint to color our walls. Thank you Mike for your exceptional work!! YOU WILL NOT REGRET WORKING WITH MIKE. HE IS AN EXPERT IN HIS CRAFT AND HE CARES AND LISTENS TO YOU AND YOUR WANTS. THIS REVIEW I WISH I COULD GIVE HIM MORE STARS BUT OF COURSE IM LIMITED TO FIVE MEASELY STARS. read more

EXTREMELY Happy with Michael and his success in helping us through first time home buying. We met Michael at an open house and instantly clicked. He was professional, knowledgeable of market trends, and happy to help with ANYTHING we asked him for. Michael goes above and beyond to satisfies his costumers and create long lasting relationships. Michael was able to accommodate our unique situation and help us through a rocky transition from a large corporate lender to a local lender who finally provided us the flexibility we needed to succeed in purchasing the home with money left over for future renovations. Michael's likable personality helped bridge a new relationship with an out of town selling agent, giving us a leg up on the competition and eventually closing the deal. We would recommend Michael to everyone! read more

Very positive experience working with Mike. My wife and I worked with Mike to find and purchase a home in Alameda. Mike's knowledge of the local market and his connections across the community enabled us to find a property "off market." Mike guided us through the process, starting with market education, discovering our needs, and understanding the intricacies of bidding in these crazy times. After our offer was accepted, Mike helped to explain the overall closing process to us, then proceeded to guide us through the entire journey... including sharing thoughts (and connections!) for making the house our home. You'll get transparency, good communication, knowledge, experience, patience, and coaching when working with Mike. What you won't get is pressured, rushed, or misled. His personality and approach add comfort to the process, and ensure he is building a lasting relationship - not a short term transaction-oriented one! read more

Wow! We are so lucky to have found Michael! He worked hard to find us the perfect home. We were first time home buyers and had lots of questions. He was patient with us yet expedient in getting things done. In addition, we were still unsure of an exact East Bay location but Michael was very thorough in helping us look in cities and neighborhoods that he thought fit us well. We finally found the perfect home for us in Alameda and were very impressed by the escrow team that Michael set us up with. Inspectors, mortgage brokers, and title office...everything worked together smoothly and within a few weeks, we had keys! read more

Michael is an Alameda expert. He knows every vendor, every patch of land and all of the agents you are likely to find yourself across the proverbial table from should you elect to put an offer in on a home. But, these are table stakes. I am taking the time to write this review because Michael is more than a highly competent agent, he's an advocate for finding what you need, what you want and helping you to separate out those two when it gets fuzzy. Michael is the agent that shows up without complaint at 9pm on a Tuesday night to stumble through the dark with you to get an early look at a property you are excited about. He is the agent that sends you notes that matter to you after every visit; not some generic overview, but a meaningful account of what you said you are looking for and how this property might compare. Michael is the agent that looks at whatever number of properties you need to look at to be sure without hesitating or rushing. He is infinitely patient. He is consoling and understanding if you lose the bid you insisted on putting in a form he knowingly and gently counseled against. He is your advocate in a real estate market hostile and unforgiving to buyers. Michael is your east bay neighbor. He is the person you actually hope shows up to your home-warming bbq to welcome you to the neighborhood. He is the person you could call long after the transaction has closed to ask a few more questions or get some advice. He is the person I would whole-heartedly recommend to help you find your next home. read more

VERY happy with Michael! He was great throughout our long process of searching and finding the perfect home. It took over a year, but we were able to secure the home we wanted thanks to Michael. He really knows the East Bay, and even though we were primarily looking in Alameda, he was able to widen our search into Albany and a few other parts along the bay. He was essential during the bidding process, and we credit him with guiding us to the winning bid in such a crazy market. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend him, and will definitely use him if we ever decide to move. Not only that, but he guided us through the purchase, escrow and title signing for a lightning fast close. It was incredibly smooth with the team he lined up for us, all while some friends of ours were having trouble with their close. Couldn't have had a better experience- thanks Michael! read more

I want to say that I'm so glad I chose Micheal. I've been shopping around agents and couldn't find one that is patient, knowledgable, and really thinking in the buyer's shoes until I met Micheal. The experience has been smooth and easy. His insights and suggestions are very helpful when we are browsing properties. He goes extra miles to read and summarizes all the documents for me for every single offer I put (which requires a lot of work!). Sometimes, he even tries to talk me out of the deal even though he has already put so much work on it. I'm very impressed by his dedication and his notion of customer-centric. In the phase of closing, I put my 100% trust in him and he is able to handle all the details exceptionally well when I was so occupied by my job. Eventually, I'm able to buy a place I really like thanks to him. I will contact him again for my next purchase. I recommend Michael to everyone I know. read more

My husband and I just purchased a new home in Alameda thanks to Michael's help, and I'm so unbelievably thankful we were introduced to him! From the day we started working together, Mike was like an extension of our team - it's obvious he's a big advocate for his clients, and I really felt like he had our best interests at heart every step of the way. He was patient with my millions of questions, extremely responsive/flexible with his schedule (which was crazy given we only had a frantic 2 weeks to find the right house and get an offer accepted), gave us sound advice whenever we asked for it (and sometimes when we didn't), and went out of his way to make sure I was comfortable and informed throughout the entire process. Michael knows the local market and other agents really well too, which is how we were able to present the right offer and beat out a few other parties to snag our house. To top it all off, Mike is a really great guy we enjoyed spending time with - a huge plus when you're working closely with someone on such a big decision! If you're looking for a real estate agent you should run to Mike immediately!! read more

If you are buying in the East Bay, look no further then Michael Lane. From block to block, he can guide you through the area. You want to know about farmers markets, running paths, bus lines, food recommendations in the neighborhood... just name it, and he can tell you or do some quick research. I had just come off working with a couple of lazy agents and was skeptical about agents in general. Michael debunked all of my assumptions. He truly is a partner in the buying process, calling on his years of experience in this market. He'll guide you through the disclosures, ask the good questions to the other agent, give you great advice when going through the bidding process, and most important to me - he was incredibly proactive and responsive through the whole process. Buying a house in the Bay Area can be soul draining, but I honestly was able to enjoy the process because of working with Michael. In short order, we found the home perfect for me in Oakland. If you are buying a home in the East Bay, its a no-brainer to choose Michael Lane - it will make all the difference in your process. read more