We recently engaged Gaylen Roberts ( www.soodo.US or 510.761.95360) for the sale of two residential properties in the Oakland Hills. We had not been aware of him or his firm prior to the first engagement. However, as we prepared for the first sale, and began to look around for an agent with whom we could work, we became aware that he was an active real estate professional and actually lived in the neighborhood. We were impressed with Mr. Roberts from our very first meeting. He asked all the right questions about the property, our goals for the sale, and any unique issues or conditions that might be involved in the sale, And he fully and professionally listened to our responses. When he brought back the first draft of the sale/marketing plan, it was clear he had listened to our responses and had developed a plan, approach, and timeline that took all of our information into account. The first sale was somewhat complicated and required some delicate interaction with the existing elderly/occupant and others in and around the property as well as the neighbors. Mr. Roberts managed the sale and all the complications smoothly and professionally. He was always timely and communicative throughout the process. And, he consistently went "over and above" the expected support and sales planning, when assisting us in solving problems or gathering information regarding local laws, and other issues associated with the property. The end result was a smooth, timely and extremely satisfactory transaction process. We not only received more than our expected price for the property, but throughout the transaction process, Mr. Roberts consistently anticipated, managed, and resolved many small to large issues that arose during the transaction allowing everything to proceed as planned for both SELLER and BUYER. In the case of the second sale, we were not in the vicinity during the sale process. Mr. Roberts worked closely with us to identify, manage, and resolve issues that needed to be handled prior to the property going on the market, from maintenance projects to solving unforeseen issues that arose. Throughout the entire process, Mr. Roberts kept us informed, moved expeditiously to resolve issues, and consistently exercised appropriate and welcome initiative in a timely and efficient manner i.e, while seeking our input and necessary decisions in a timely and appropriate. Our listing and sales experiences with Gaylen Roberts were positive, productive and very successful. I highly recommend Gaylen Roberts and Sodo.us Realty and consider Mr. Roberts to be among the very best real estate agents with whom we have had the pleasure of working throughout the Bay Area. Fran D & Nancy Van read more

Gaylen and his team are absolutely amazing to work with. I've worked with Gaylen on both purchasing AND selling homes now and there is a reason I keep going back to him and his team. You need an agent that knows what he is doing and can help explain and guide you through the process? Choose Gaylen. You want an agent that will help find your dream home and negotiate the best price? Choose Gaylen. You want an agent on your side to help you sell your current home for top of dollar prices? Choose Gaylen. Here's concrete examples of how Gaylen has helped me on multiple occasions. When buying my last home, he helped me negotiate with the seller and even though I was not the highest offer, we were able to get the home for what I was looking to pay and he facilitated a smooth closing process. When selling my last home with Gaylen, he helped walk through with me even before it was ready to be listed and pointed out tremendous value add small touch ups that I could do before I even got it onto the market. Then we got it listed and sold in record time. PLUS, it doesn't just stop there. Gaylen was there for me answering questions and helping me when it came time for tax season and I was scrambling to find the paperwork. This is a man who exemplifies customer service and professionalism. read more

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My husband and I were referred to Gaylen by a trusted family member and he went above and beyond our expectations. As first-time home owners and newcomers to the Bay Area, we had lots of questions and concerns. Gaylen always took the time to walk us through different neighborhoods and housing options while explaining the various nuances of homeownership and buying. Gaylen has impressive insights into the literal "nuts and bolts" of every house we saw and we felt certain that we knew what we were getting into when purchasing our home. Gaylen always made time for us during last-minute visits to the Bay Area to see homes and coordinated schedules to ensure we saw as many houses as we needed to find the right home. Gaylen and his team are clear and quick communicators that make the processes of buying a home, even from across the country, seamless. We never felt pressured and appreciated Gaylen's positive but realistic and straightforward attitude. Even with the ups and downs that may come with finding a home, we can genuinely say that thanks to Gaylen and his team we have found our dream home and made a lifelong connection in the Bay Area. read more

First time home seller, and absolutely I would sell with Gaylen and team again! They are true professionals with a deep understanding of both market fundamentals AND, perhaps most importantly, the local market in Oakland Hills. They exemplify proactive communication, management of expectations, and real talk when it needs to happen. Ours was a complicated deal with a lot of contingencies and happens-before relationships, but Gaylen and team were able to handle all the pitfalls and roadblocks. I don't think it was an easy deal by any means, but at the end of the day it did happen, and it worked out to our satisfaction. You want an agent who can CLOSE, and Gaylen certainly is that. My one regret is moving away - because I would happily work with Gaylen again! Killer agent, killer team! read more

Where to begin?! My husband and I kind of knew we were going to work with Gaylen Roberts before we knew we wanted to sell. We were aware of his focus and local expertise in the Grass Valley neighborhood (Oakland, CA) and had received marketing materials while we were living here. Once we had a chance to meet him in person - it was a no brainer. We discussed possible timelines, what needed to be done, personal goals, and the ever-changing market. It was a great partnership from the beginning, middle to end. If you are looking for a true partner and value great communication with your partners, you have come to the right place. Attention to detail is above and beyond. You will be impressed, be treated with utmost respect, feel comfortable in every twist and turn, admire your beautiful home once it goes on the market and learn how a real estate agent literally raises the bar. Gaylen, Soomi, and Iris - We appreciate the perseverance, dedication and hard work you have put into closing our deal. We will forever remember the first home we sold and the great partnership we had! Thank SO much from the bottom of our hearts. read more

Gaylen helped me buy my house years ago, and it was such a relief having found him. He has a lot of knowledge, not only about the market but of what kinds of things to look out for when looking at a home (which could amount to future repairs). On top of it, he was able to work around my mother's involvement, and she is a challenge and a diva. If you are looking for a shrewd realtor and great all-around guy to lead you through the complicated process, look no further than Gaylen. read more

I cannot image buying a home in the Bay Area without the expertise, professionalism, and reliability of Gaylen and his team. After only a couple home visits Gaylen understood my preferences and provided insights to questions I didn't even know to ask. With Gaylen I never worried about not finding a house in budget and that hit all my preferences. Once an offer was accepted I always felt well informed of where we were at in the process, what actions were needed on my end, and knowing the next steps because communication from Gaylen and his team was always quick, clear, and concise. I'd recommend Gaylen and his team to anyone looking for a home in the Bay Area. read more

We were very fortunate to have Gaylen and the Soodo Real Estate team recommended to us by friends. They were truly professional, patient, and always willing to spend the time to make sure we understood and were comfortable with the home buying process. It was great to have them on our side. read more

We worked primarily with Adam Sandow, but the whole team was great. We are first-time home buyers and had a LOT of questions, and Adam was patient and gracious in helping guide us through the process. We ended up under budget, in a place we love, in the exact (very specific) location that we wanted, which is a major win in this housing market! read more

My wife and I were recommended Gaylen Roberts Group, and they did not disappoint! We were unfamiliar with East Bay, and Gaylen demonstrated his expertise by teaching us about the market, neighborhoods, and home architecture. We never once felt pressured to make a hasty decision, and Gaylen was incredibly patient with us. Along the way, he educated us about many new considerations. Ultimately, we found a wonderful home without compromising our wishlist. Thank you Gaylen Roberts Group! read more

We were exploring the idea of moving to Tri-Valley area and received a recommendation from our trusted realtor in South Bay. When we called Gaylen and explained our situation, he carefully listened to our needs and offered us a tour of the whole Tri-Valley area on a weekend. He prepared a wide range of properties to visit all the way from Danville to Pleasanton, gave us a lot of insight of the market and detailed info about each city. We learned so much from him in just a day, which was very valuable for us in the long run. Although we ultimately landed a place in South Bay, we can't thank him enough for his service and will definitely reach out to him if we ever decide to purchase a property in Tri-Valley. Thanks Gaylen and his team! read more

Was recommended to gaylen and him team and am very happy I choose them to represent us in the sale of our home. Gaylen is a leader with strong communication skills and a keen negotiator. The documentation process was easy as they utilize current digital/online resources. Gaylen was present to every detail of the process taking the time to make sure we knew the what the request/issues were and helped with the resolutions. read more

As a first time home buyer with little to zero knowledge, Gaylen guided us throughout the whole home buying process with extreme patience but quick execution. We found our perfect home in Oakland within a month and closed escrow within weeks. Despite another buyer's competitive bid, he helped to outbid and close the offer on our dream home while keeping us updated every moment. Gaylen is a real estate agent you can definitely trust. His quick-thinking and efficiency is your key to buying a home in the Bay Area. read more

We could not have had a better guide than Gaylen through the process of selling our house in the summer of 2020. Several months into the pandemic and everything was uncertain, and we made the very sudden decision to move. Gaylen was an incredible partner through the process of prepping our home for sale, strategizing around asking price, talking us through our options, and negotiating a sale price we were very happy with. He connected us with other great people too to lock in a good mortgage rate on our new home. He was honest and transparent, and efficiently and quietly got things done for us as we had our hands full with our move. We interviewed several realtors and we chose Gaylen because he seemed to have the most in depth local market knowledge. This paid off, because with that local knowledge he counseled us to ask for more and we got $50-100K over what the other realtors predicted we would. Gaylen is very practical and was focused on getting us a good ROI for making small upgrades and fixes to get our home ready for sale. I am amazed what a big impact he made on our home for not very much money. He advocated for small things like changing out hardware and touch up paint, while advising us to hold off on bigger changes that he didn't think would translate to the sale price. At the same time, he was also very open to brainstorming ideas, and was a great listener when it came to fielding our ideas and concerns. He's also very level headed and analytical, a really important quality to have in general for a realtor, and it was plenty tested b/c we were selling in the early days of the pandemic, when the market was really erratic and the rules were changing weekly. Gaylen continued to go above and beyond by helping us deal with things at our place after we'd moved out. He regularly came by to check on the place for us, and found that the movers had disconnected something in the kitchen and there was water on the floor. He went and got towels to clean it up. By Murphy's law, our skylight happened to get a crack in it, and he noticed that too, and mobilized to get the glass replaced with little effort on our part. Gaylen also helped us with purchasing our new home. We knew the sellers personally and didn't need a realtor, but his office helped us with the paperwork, and Gaylen spent a lot of time helping us think through the best way to structure the transaction. Honestly, "above and beyond" doesn't quite cut how valuable it was to have Gaylen on our team. read more

After interviewing 4-5 realtors serving the Oakland area, my husband and I picked Gaylen Roberts and could not be happier with our decision. From the moment that Gaylen walked into our home, he had a notebook ready to jot notes regarding what needed to be fixed/updated before we put our house on the market. We also knew he would take care of our home since we were moving across the country and needed to take care of my husband's elderly father who is in a skilled nursing facility. Gaylen's team was efficient and absolutely lovely to work with. They made sure to not disturb us too much while we were still in our home packing. (moving across the country is super stressful!) But after we moved out, our house was transformed into a gorgeous, modern oasis that we barely recognized after his team cleaned, staged and prepared our home for sale. We had 70 people come to our open house and received 8 offers within a week of putting our house on the market! Gaylen was able to use his astute negotiating skills to get us the price that we wanted and we could not be happier with how smoothly closing went. Gaylen knew exactly how to get our home ready for a smooth closing by ensuring our inspections were up to date. If you are looking for someone to sell your home expertly with a fabulous team of stagers, house cleaners, painters handymen and support staff (shout out to you Iris and Soomi!), then look no further. Gaylen Roberts will take care of you and your home like you are family. We cannot recommend him enough! Thanks Gaylen for everything!! - Joanny & Anand read more

Adam Sandow, on top of being a fantastic realtor, is a great strategists. I really appreciated Adams insight into the local market movements, timing, and the financial landscape in general. With an ever-changing market, and fluctuating (rising) interest rates, Adam employed a great strategy to ensure I would be successful in having my offer accepted. He acted swiftly, tirelessly, was very detailed, and stayed on point with great communication with all parties to ensure a quick close. It was a very smooth process. read more

This is our second real estate transaction with Gaylen and we were once again extremely satisfied. Communication was prompt and clear. I am a licensed real estate broker and Gaylen's knowledge of the market is second to none. I could not recommend him and his team any more highly! read more

Gaylen knocked it out of the park! As a first time home buyer on a limited budget, I had TONS of questions and concerns. He provided the necessary foundation for me to successfully navigate the Bay Area real estate waters by giving a direct and honest assessment of each property, coaching my many thoughts and ideas, and so much more. The boy's got talent! Gaylen has a deep background and proven track record in architecture/design, a keen ability to assess investment opportunities, and maintains an incredibly realistic and positive outlook. All of this was exceptionally valuable. Gaylen rapidly and effectively evaluated the many situations that pop up in the home buying process and took action to keep me on the right track. Gaylen is well known in the area for building relationships and developing trust between buyers and sellers. Always willing to go the extra mile, he had me out to dinner with other clients to share perspective and advice. His attention to details, availability off-hours, and numerous check-ins cultivated the connections and environment needed to seal the deal on a lovely house! read more

Gaylen has bought and sold a couple houses for me and has been a wonderful advisor and resource. He has experience with transactions on a ton of property in the East Bay and he knows exactly how to approach each submarket and neighborhood. With so much experience, he knows how to handle unusual situations, finicky or uncooperative buyers and sellers, and fluctuations in the market. He knows what upgrades are worthwhile to make on your house, and how to handle all of the reports and documentation required for a transparent set of disclosures. Ultimately, he is also decent and honest person to know and work with. He has a good team that helps him get the work done, responsive and dependable. I highly recommend him for any home buying in the East Bay. read more

Gaylen is the best!! He is patient, professional and very easy to communicate with. He helped us both buy and sell a home. On both sides of the transaction, he was with us every step of the way. He showed us so many homes and spent so much time with us in 2013 that I lost count. After competing in such a tough buyers market and getting outbid so many times, I was starting to loose faith that we would ever be able to purchase a home. All the while, Gaylen kept calm and cool headed about it reassuring me that we were good buyers and that the right home would present itself. He kept my spirits up when I was loosing faith. And as predicted we finally found the right home and Gaylen beat out all the competition by being prepared and presenting our offer ahead of other potential buyers. Because of his persistence, experience and feel for the market, we are now in an amazing home! I'm so glad we used Gaylen on both transactions. If you are looking for a smart, intuitive, communicative realtor with a lot of experience not only buying and selling but on the architecture side, Gaylen is your guy. read more

Working with Gaylen made the process of home buying something to look forward to. Gaylen is extremely down to earth, kind, knowledgable, efficient, and easy to work with. He and his team were supporting my husband and I every step of the way. We feel he went above and beyond to meet our needs and knew right away what we were looking for. He helped us be competitive and patient, and ultimately we found our dream home with his support. He knows the area we were looking in super well, and had the knowledge and experience to set us apart. He and his team made what is a very intimidating and stressful process as easy as he could for us as first time home buyers. We cannot recommend him enough! read more

We were so unsure of the home-buying process, but Gaylen and his team were amazing and helped us through every step of the way! Gaylen really takes the time to get to know you and had great recommendations about neighborhoods that we didn't even think about. When it came time to closing, he and his team made it as smooth as possible. Thanks to Gaylen and his team, we were able to buy our wonderful house and can't be any happier! read more

We decided to sell our house a little last minute and Gaylen was on top of everything. It was so easy and we got way more than we thought we would for our house. The photographer he works with was amazing also. There are so many realtors and it's hard to find one that is truly reliable and knowledgeable...but you will not be disappointed here! Definitely recommend Gaylen and his team read more

As we began the search for our new home in the San Francisco Bay Area, my husband and I interviewed many well-qualified real estate agents. Our ultimate choice to work with Gaylen Roberts at BHG Highland Partners was the first important, and wise, decision that we made. Gaylen proved himself a top-notch realtor whom we now strongly recommend. He successfully guided us through the entire process from start to finish, always maintaining a consistent and thoughtful approach. Gaylen took the time to get to know us and understand our needs - everything from location, size and budget to architecture, design and lifestyle. His high degree of professionalism allowed us to feel at ease and in good hands from the very beginning; in the end, this same personal quality helped seal the deal on our wonderful house! We are confident that Gaylen's unique ability to represent his clients with integrity is the number one asset that any homebuyer or seller would want in a prospective agent. Our goals became his goals, and Gaylen became a trustworthy partner. He brings all the essential resources to the table, including research and analysis, with a keen knowledge of the local market. Gaylen also possesses the invaluable skills of organization, timely follow-through and effective communication. Gaylen immediately dedicated himself to helping us achieve our dream. He remembered all the little things and made certain that even our toughest questions were fully answered. In facing a competitive market, Gaylen was able to leverage his experience to provide us with a winning strategy. We were so fortunate to find Gaylen Roberts and believe he is among the very best realtors in the East Bay. Michael & Trey read more

Gaylen was a professional. He was well prepared throughout the process of selling our home. He listened to what we were setting out to achieve and made it happen. Communication throughout was excellent. Every decision was well thought out, analyzed in such a way to give us the best possible position for negotiating. Gaylen far surpasses other realtors that we used before! read more

Working with Gaylen was more than we could have asked for. He was extremely professional but down to earth, which was exactly our speed. He was very knowledgeable concerning things to look for in a house like condition of foundation, roof etc. Whatever we wanted to see, even if it was last minute, Gaylen and Iris did their best to accommodate us. We honestly could have not asked for a better agent. We are just so thrilled that Galyen was HIGHLY recommended to us and we see why. Nothing but quality from him. This was very important for us as it was our first time buying a home and we literally had to learn EVERYTHING there is to know about owning a home during this process. Luckily we had someone who was on top of things and a professional on our side! Thanks again Gaylen! read more

I've been working with Gaylen for 5 years. He is the most honest and down-to-earth real agent I've ever worked with, always having my best interest at heart instead of just wanting to earn his commission. He is good at negotiating offers down and getting the best bang-for-your-buck when talking to sellers, whether it be the offer price or maybe upgrades/fixes noted from your inspection. His expertise and knowledge in real estate and home-ownership in general will help you greatly especially if this is your first home purchase. Little things like the caulking used in bathrooms, the different materials of your floor/kitchen/bathroom, what to expect from the HOA, how to read disclosure and inspections, Gaylen will help you translate everything you don't know about your prospective home. When I found properties I disliked, he'll still tell me the positive aspects of the property I might be overlooking. When I found properties I did like, he'll still give me the negative aspects of the property I might be overlooking. He never hid any information from me just to get a sale, so he gained my trust, and I hope he gains yours as well! read more

In the incredibly competitive Bay Area real estate market, Gaylen really delivered the goods and helped us secure our dream home in Montclair, Oakland. He's the secret weapon that we needed to win out in a highly competitive bidding wars of this current market. Gaylen is savvy, smart, and creative which gave us the needed edge to have the winning offer to a home that we really love. At the beginning of our search, Gaylen helped introduce us to many hidden gems in the East Bay which aligned with our myriad requirements. Despite our many, many specific constraints Gaylen just rolled with it and miraculously found us homes that checked all the boxes. We also loved that Gaylen always had a mountain of knowledge which added thoughtful considerations to the houses we were viewing. He brought so much insight into our search whether that be pointing out potential system and foundation problems, the aesthetics of the home, trees that could be a hazard in the future, down to pointing out architectural flaws that we wouldn't have noticed. Working with Gaylen, you not only get a great realtor but an architect, designer, and business adviser too! When it comes to finally making an offer, timing and execution is crucial; Gaylen & his team delivered this in spades. He put together a spectacular offer with just a few days notice and never left any detail to chance. All details were finely tuned and everything worked like clockwork - it was this level of service that enabled us to accomplish the unthinkable: finally win an offer in the home of our dreams in this cut throat market! As time constrained professionals, we really appreciated all the legwork he did for us like reading disclosure packets, and using sites like Docusign, Google docs, and other apps that helped make the process very efficient. He also had great trusted contacts which helped us round out a very competent team of finance and insurance professionals. Did we mention that Gaylen had a great knack for making compelling offers too? He's a great advisor in finding the sweet spot for just the right offer - given the ever shifting market. For the five offers that we made, Gaylen was always responsive and available at all hours - including late nights and weekends when needed. Now we live in a home we love ( something that we really thought was beyond our reach). We can't thank Gaylen enough and recommend him highly. read more

Gaylen worked hard to make the house-buying process as easy as possible for us and he was very patient and helpful, and quickly figured out what we were looking for. He is professional, knowledgeable, super sharp, and I couldn't have hoped for a better person to work with. It was our first time looking for a house to buy, and we had tons of questions and hesitations, and Gaylen was always available to walk us through all of that. Most of all, I really appreciated his honesty and integrity and how straightforward he is. Thank you, Gaylen, you are a rock star! read more

Gaylen and team were invaluable in our home search. He was incredibly detail-oriented and helped us understand the Bay Area home market. Gaylen took the time to deeply understand our thought process and preferences, and he visited many homes with us over several weekends. With Gaylen we felt we had a trustworthy expert on our side, rather than a salesperson trying to close the first possible deal. Once we found a place, Gaylen deftly handled the offer and closing process. He gave us straightforward advice on pricing, built a relationship with the closing agent, and worked directly with our lender to ensure the deal went according to plan. We will recommend Gaylen to any friend considering a home purchase in the Bay Area. read more

Gaylen is a five-star agent! He took us around to look at houses in the Oakland/El Cerrito area. Even though he knew we might not buy for a year, he came fully prepared and spent half a day with us! He obviously knows the area and the business; he is professional; he listens; and he gave us some great advice. He let us look at places at our own pace and did not talk our ear off while we were looking. We will definitely ask him to be our agent when we are ready! read more

Gaylen helped us buy a house. He was a wonderful Champion for us in a really hard market. He found creative ways for us to do whatever we can to get the house that is right for us. He was available day and night for us. I would recommend him to anyone. We couldn't have asked for more. read more

Gaylen really does deserve a five star rating! He and his team have just assisted in renting out our small condo in Berkeley in what has been a low-market time of year impacted by weather. But, Gaylen persevered and brought us the right candidate for the rental. I first met Gaylen when he was working to sell a unit next door. He then was successful in helping us purchase a home in Adams Point in Oakland during a highly competitive market. He has many contacts in the trades and is always happy to assist in any way he can with providing suggestions, and is willing to share details for plumbers, electricians, and building contractors. Gaylen is detail oriented and never fails to return a phone call or e-mail. He is all about building professional relationships for the long term; I highly recommend Gaylen Roberts and Team if you are looking to buy, sell, or rent in the Bay Area! read more