Allie Pembleton is the most earnest, conscientious, and hardest-working realtor I have ever met…read more She took on my quest, to find a place to live in the Berkeley/North Oakland area on a frugal budget, as though it were her own. Even when I was recovering from a broken leg in the hospital, and due to complications, ended up stuck there for weeks, she noted how disappointed I was to have to stop the search and came up with a plan for us to continue. I began getting to do walk-throughs via Allie's facetime app. And they were great! If you are a genuinely mean person, don't hire Allie. She is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and she will shame you into being nice, too, if you aren't already. I believe that she is motivated by the desire to help people, not by the desire for money. The one area I wish she were a little less nice is in the area of negotiation. I felt she could be a little tougher with the other side. So as her client, you may need to be firm about what you want her to offer and where you do NOT want her to give in. And she WILL abide by your wishes if you are clear. Allie is also firmly settled in the East Bay and active in the community. So, she knows all the people you might need in terms of contractors and other service providers. Boy, is that convenient! I highly recommend Allie for your real estate needs. You won't regret hiring her. I am thrilled with the house we found for me and the price, and I couldn't be happier. Allie and I developed a genuine friendship during our work together, and I look forward to staying in touch with her and seeing her successes continue.

Allie was the perfect realtor for us. She let us be the decision makers of what we wanted to see,…read morewas never pushy on anything, and never made it seem like we had unreasonable expectations of a house (even though we probably did). In the end, we got the perfect house after Allie graciously spent months scheduling open houses with us (in the middle of a pandemic!). She was super proactive and quick in doing everything possible for us to win our offer and close the deal. Where Allie really shines is her experience and connections in the Oakland/Berkeley area. She has a wealth of knowledge and gave us the best advice. I am so glad Allie was our realtor because we got our dream house! Besides being a fantastic realtor, we have no complaints spending so many hours with Allie. She was a pleasure to be around!

I cannot say enough positive things about our experience with Jen. She helped us navigate the sell…read moreof our dad's home after he recently passed during what was a profoundly emotional time. She was polished, supportive, timely in her assistance and responses, and overall a wonderfully strategic partner in guiding us through a constantly changing housing market. She led us to an above asking close that was seamless. I would welcome the opportunity to work with Jen again and would recommend her to anyone who is in the market for an incredible realtor. Thanks Jen!

When my wife and I first began considering selling our home and downsizing I originally contacted a…read morerealtor who, from early on, did not make me feel overly comfortable. We moved away from that realtor, and, after a new search, I found a highly rated realtor in Jennifer Watkins. I left a message and she contacted me promptly. From my first conversation with Jen, I felt that I had found the perfect realtor. She visited us at our home and we explained why we were selling, what we were looking for in a home, and where. At the same time, Jennifer did a walk through of our home and suggested improvements, from minor to major, that would help us to obtain a better selling price. Jen helped to arrange the appropriate contractors and inspectors for our home. When a home inspection revealed dry rot, Jen visited our home with the contractor and we all discussed the work that needed to be done, as well as any optional cosmetic work, such as painting, and upgraded fixtures. At the beginning of our search for a new home, Jen hooked us up with a website that sent us emails alerting us of homes coming on the market. As our search for a new home progressed, my wife and I became interested in a new retirement community. When I told Jen that we were going to visit this development, she warned me that she should accompany us on our initial visit because she would have to be registered with the developer as our agent, from the start. If she wasn't registered, she would not have been able to negotiate for us. One of those technicalities that we would otherwise have been unaware of. Jen walked us through a marketing and pricing strategy that was formulated to get us the best selling price for our home. When we bought our home over thirty years ago, the paperwork was minimal compared to what it is today. Jen sat down with me one morning and went over all of my questions, one by one, helping me to complete the online documentation. In the end, my wife and I did not sell, but that wasn't because of anything that Jen did or did not do. We decided that we love the house that we've called home for more than thirty years and couldn't bear to leave it. The old saying that selling and buying a home are two of the biggest and most complex transactions most of us will ever make is indeed true. Successfully completing those transactions requires dealing with someone who we trust will be friendly, diligent, knowledgeable, and ethical. Jen is all of those. If and when we decide to sell, my first call will be to Jennifer Watkins.

Marisa is exceptional. Smart, committed, action-oriented with fabulous efficient communication and…read moreexcellent judgment. I'm an over-busy professional who has bought/sold many homes and have worked with dozens of service providers. Marisa handled the sale of my parent's home in Walnut Creek and she exceeded my expectations on every dimension. What impressed me most: - Analysis and assessment: From meeting #1, she brought value and insight about the market and how to position my parents home (which was lived in for 50 years and needed lots of attention)) - Proactive: After meeting #1, she followed up with a detailed written recommendation of the work, purchases, service providers with cost estimates and a timeline for execution. The proposal was spot-on and I approved it. - Turnkey: I told her I need someone who can program manage all the service providers. She said I can just hand her the keys and she delivered. - Purchasing and delivery: She made specific recommendations and arranged the purchase of tiles, lighting, carpeting, other fixtures etc. She arranged service providers from her proven set of relationships. They worked hard and executed on pace. - Strategic: Marisa knows the community and knows how to nurture the market, other agents and neighbors with previews and mini-events to build interest - Communication: She met my needs. Live when needed, but a lot via text and email. - Organized: I asked her to create a share document that tracked expenses and stored receipts for the work, fixtures, etc. She did that so I could keep track of everything - Pricing guidance: Her judgment was sharp. We had to make one price adjustment after 3 weeks when didn't get an immediate sale. Once we did, we had 2 clean offers (with potential for 3) within a few days. We she signaled smartly to the prospective buyers and we ended up accepting a buyer above the asking price. - Accountable: She brings an ecosystem, but Marisa was completely on it for us. I was dealing with Marisa, not junior inexperienced people. I also didn't have to deal with the service providers. Marisa handled it all. - Thoughtfulness: Marisa executed her job while also being very kind and thoughtful in her communication to my 90yo Mum after we had just lost my Dad. We always felt comfortable with her at a sensitive time. Marisa has my highest recommendation. Very grateful to her and we are looking forward to having a nice dinner to celebrate the sale and show our appreciation for her fantastic work. It's a no brainer to recommend Marisa to anybody. 10+ out of 10.

We have now sold two houses ( one in Pleasant Hill, second one in Danville) with Marisa, and I…read morecan't recommend her enough! She is incredibly efficient and always moves quickly to get trusted contractors lined up to prep the house for sale. Her communication skills are outstanding -- we were always informed and never left wondering what was happening. On top of that, she brings such a positive attitude to the entire process, which makes a stressful experience feel manageable and even exciting. Professional, knowledgeable, responsive, and truly dedicated to her clients. We are so grateful for all her hard work and support!

Horrible!!! She cost me the house of my dreams! I was bidding on a piece of land Helen was selling…read more She was asking $695,000. I came in with my realtor at $788,000 all cash no contingencies and closing in 25 days, because Helen said there were multiple bids. They said if I came in at $800,000 the land was mine. I came in at $800,000, but since they were asking me to go up in price, I thought I would ask if they would give me more time for the closing. They said yes. I thought the deal was done except for all our signatures. My husband and I then signed ahead of the deadline of noon on Sunday. At 11:45, before the deadline, we were told we didn't get the land! We were shocked!!! We were told someone came in with a better deal. Well, I just found out the land sold for $721,000! MUCH LESS than what I was willing and able to pay! THIS WAS NOT A BETTER DEAL! Helen never even came back to me to negotiate and honor my original offer! TALK ABOUT NOT DOING WHAT WAS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF HER CLIENT!

Kathy and I cannot say enough kind words about the support and representation provided for the sale…read moreof our house. Beyond the expected professionalism of walking us through the interminable paperwork and constant communication and answers to our questions, Helen had a cadre of professionals for house repairs and remodeling, designer, house staging, which we took full advantage of. Our thoughts of how the house should appear for sale were a bit off, like perfect for the late 1900's off! She priced it properly, had productive open houses and helped us find my re than one buyer interested in the house. She even took the time to water every other day until the new owners moved in (we had moved out of the state). As the market (potentially) adjusts in this economy, I know Helen will be a tremendous resource to have on your side.

So far I have had an awful experience. I have been trying to get my house on the market since March…read more2024 and it still isn't listed as of September 2024. The first problem was the first agent, Regina Jacobs, who didn't seem to be engaged until just until almost ready to list. Then she did not want competing bids to do work on the house and only wanted to work with specific vendors. "Her" gardener was Efrain Sian, who in the meantime have found isn't a legit business. She authorized him to start work on my garden when I was not okay with the budget and had not signed a contract. He started work, tearing up cement and breaking outdoor plumbing, then walked off the job. He was totally careless and damaged or ruined some of my personal belongings in the yard and has no intention to replace any of it. He did more damage than if we had just left the yard as is. But Regina was insistent and wouldn't take no for an answer. So this was escalated to DJ Grubb, the owner of the company. At first he said, "what are we looking at, a settlement?" Now that I've had more bids to fix the damage, they are three times my original budget and they refuse to pay for the damage. I don't have the 30K needed to fix that damage. So they told me to take out a loan to cover it. I feel that it's totally unethical to tell me to pay for damage their agent had done without a signed contract. So my house is going no where fast and remains damaged and unsellable!!!

Dana Cohen at Grubb is nothing less than superb. She represented us in the sale of our Rockridge…read morehome in July 2020. Her expertise, patience, flexibility, empathy, demeanor, and decisiveness all contributed to an excellent experience culminating in a perfect outcome. Dana began working with us in 2019 when we weren't entirely sure we wanted to move. She wasn't pushy or looking to force a deal, simply there as a resource. When we decided to move, she helped us with every step of prep while maintaining a collaborative approach with how to do it all. Despite the pandemic pushing the sale date and creating an incredible amount of uncertainty, her steady hand guided us through it all - from setting a new date to pricing it perfectly (and talking me off the ledge multiple times). Her deep bench of relationships, from stagers to licensed professionals, helped keep everything on track so we were ready when restrictions lifted (and where less experienced agents may have stumbled out of the gate). We explicitly remember her stepping into our empty home - post move-out, pre-staging - and seeing her light up with excitement about how to make the house magical. It became quite clear that this is her life's passion, which fuels her dedication to the craft. Dana also knew that our priority was to get great people in the house that would positively add to the neighborhood, not simply to maximize selling price. She was sensitive to our needs and designed the process with those needs in mind, and still got us what we were looking for in the sale. If you're selling your home in Oakland, Berkeley, or Piedmont, there's really no other choice. She's the best in the business.

Buying a home is incredibly stressful, but Erin made the process feel easy. She is so much more…read morethan just a realtor; she was our advocate every step of the way. As buyers, we had tons of questions, and Erin took the time to answer every single one with patience and clarity. We really leaned on her expertise to cover our blindspots, and she pointed out critical details we never would have thought of on our own. Beyond her expert advice, she was amazing on the logistics side and took the heavy lifting off our plate by scheduling all of our inspections. She did a great job negotiating our price (she's a pro) and stayed incredibly diligent about keeping us aware of important deadlines. She even maintained constant communication with our lender to ensure a smooth closing. We felt supported and informed the entire time. Thank you, Erin! A++++

Erin McKeon's expertise in pricing, marketing, and negotiating helped us sell 2 houses. I would…read morerecommend Erin McKeon to anyone looking to buy or sell a home.

If you're looking for a sign, this is it. Sophia helped us purchase our first home and we truly…read morecouldn't have had a better experience. She is extremely knowledgeable, relatable and responsive. In the midst of a pandemic and highly competitive market, she went above and beyond to help us understand every detail of the purchasing process, went on countless home tours and provided all the tools to help us write our most competitive offers. Home buying is such a personal (let's be honest -- stressful) experience yet Sophia helped us feel supported and confident throughout the process. She knows the area, is dialed-in to the ever-shifting market and can be trusted to give honest, insightful feedback. Without a doubt, we would work with Sophia and team at PDX Inspired in the future and would highly recommend them to anyone looking to purchase or sell! We're elated to be in our new home, but honestly? ... we miss chatting with and seeing Sophia on a daily basis. And if that's not a rave review for a real estate broker, I don't know what is.

If Yelp would give a million star review option, Sophia would be the poster child in that…read morecategory. By far the best experience that we could have asked for. Sophia and her team handled everything. She touches on all the reasons you called it home for so long and it makes a HUGE difference! For us, it was multiple offers six figures over asking price in a weekend. Its because of their marketing genius, the way they market your property is cutting edge and it pays off huge, they handled all the logistics from start to finish. It was punctual, communicative, professional and efficient, I could go on and on about how great it was working with Sophia and KC. They are great people and are great at what they do. I highly recommend them, they are my go to realtor team from now on. They killed it.$

Selling a house in a slow market can be a roller coaster of emotions. We recently went through…read morethat, and were so grateful to have Claudia working with us. We loved her enthusiasm, encouragement, can-do attitude, and incredible responsiveness. Her deep expertise in the Montclair neighborhood and how to price a house was extremely helpful, as well.

We love Claudia! She knows the Bay Area market so well. We found her by chance during our home…read moresearch and I'm so happy to have had her guidance and expertise.