OK Full Disclosure: I'm Chinese, so I believe in Value. Actually, maybe that's not particular to being Chinese. Anyway, I'd give Tom more stars of Yelp actually allowed it. Last year, I made the decision to make the biggest purchase of my life so far: a 2-bedroom apartment at Duboce Triangle/Castro/Upper Market. I did my research on the market, calculated how much I could afford, and looked up real estate agents. I've talked to a few real estate agents before (mostly through family friends) and they turned me off immediately- some were way too pushy, others were aloof, they were clueless about the SF market, and some were maybe just a bit too eager. Either way, I really questioned whether they provided any value at all in the age of RedFin. That's when a very experienced and established neighbor of mine introduced me to Tom Cooke, and I can safely say now, having bought my house, that Tom Cooke was WORTH EVERY PENNY and I'm pretty sure I couldn't have done it without him. Upon meeting him, I really got the sense that he was not only knowledgeable about the SF real estate market (he's been at it for almost 20 years), he is extremely astute and intelligent, and he REALLY understands the neuroticism of a first-time home buyer. Upon meeting him, I thought to myself, if there is ANYONE I need on my side in a negotiation- it's this guy. He really knows this sh*t. Despite being super busy (all his business being from referrals and loyal repeat clients) Tom makes himself available, he isn't at all pushy, and makes you completely comfortable with the whole process- which can be a frustrating one. I really saw the value in having Tom by my side during the negotiations/offer-making process, and especially during the closing of escrow. The paperwork, deadlines, and the insufferable personalities of the lender/seller/previous homeowner/HOA association/bank was difficult to sort through, but Tom walked me through everything, handled most of it, and gave me his honest opinion throughout the entire process. I felt I could trust Tom to give me his unbiased and honest feedback, whether or not it benefitted him, and that in itself is difficult to come by. Tom was my confidant, therapist, and advocate through the entire home-buying process, and a year later, he still continues to be my main resource in all things relating to real estate. And I am happy to report that I am still very, very happy I bought my place. And, I know it wouldn't have happened without Tom. If you don't believe me, just set up some time and talk to him and decide for yourself. I'm just happy to give credit where credit is due. read more

Thomas Cooke - Compass Real Estate - Thomas Cooke - tcooke@hill-co.com - Real Estate Agents Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Tom is the BEST! I wish I could give more stars! We recently purchased in San Francisco and the process was absolutely seamless, which was completely different than what we had expected given what a competitive market SF is. From our initial meeting we could tell that he was a perfect fit - calm, patient, realistic, honest, we couldn't have asked for more. I am convinced that his personality combined with an extensive knowledge of the market (properties and agents) is what got us into our new home. Being very anxious about the process, it was reassuring to have Tom on our side. He explained every document we signed, analyzed offers, spent hours walking through every part of the disclosures, and fought for us when it mattered most. He is available 24 hours a day and was always incredibly responsive. There will always be surprises when closing, but Tom was right by our side and took all the stress out of it. We are so grateful to have found Tom and could not be happier in our new home! read more

I cannot recommend Thomas Cooke enough as a realtor!! In 2012 I was looking for a 2-bedroom condo in San Francisco. I was recommended to Tom by a friend who raved about him. As a first time buyer in San Francisco, Tom did a great job consulting me on what to expect from the process and how to think about and prioritize the things I wanted from my future condo. I saw numerous properties over several months but finally found one that checked all (or most) of my key boxes. That is when Tom really shined. He did a great job corresponding with the selling agent. He coordinated all of the inspections and advised us on how to approach our offer. He was a great negotiator and we ended up getting the condo. Tom made the closing process very smooth. He did the majority of the work behind the scenes and told us what we needed to do. If it was not for Tom, I really believe I would not have owned my lovely condo. This past fall, my wife and I decided to move out of San Francisco. We searched for a house for a year in the east bay and finally purchased one. After my great experience with Tom purchasing the condo, I knew I wanted him to help me sell it. He met with me before we purchased our new home to discuss how we would approach the sale when the time came. When the time came, we had a very tight window to get the property ready and sold. We moved out over Thanksgiving and were concerned about getting our condo on the market and sold before the holidays. Tom worked some serious magic to prepare the condo to be listed and shown the following weekend. He has an amazing network of painters, inspectors and stagers. He pulled lots of strings and went above and beyond to get our condo ready with amazing speed and efficiency. Our condo received lots of interest and sold for more than we could have imagined. Throughout the negotiation and closing process, Tom was (once again) a tremendous asset. He made the process seem very smooth and easy, even though I know he was working very hard to make it come together. If you are looking for a realtor in San Francisco, I can't recommend Tom highly enough. He is very experienced in the city, knows the ropes and the people. Throughout the process, he never told me what to do. He provided me with information, recommendations, and guidance to help me make informed decisions that I was comfortable with. I was never disappointed. Whether buying or selling, if you are looking for a top realtor who will go above and beyond your expectations, Tom is your man. read more

I met Tom in 2008 after moving to San Francisco from New York and not knowing anything about the San Francisco real estate market but needing a place to live. I came across him from a referral from a family friend that had an extremely positive experience with him so I was happy to have someone that could be there to help me buy a 2 bedroom condo in Russian Hill. Tom has been in San Francisco and lived all over the city (including on Russian Hill) so he knows quality properties that will be good investments and which ones will be difficult to resell. Within a week, we had narrowed our focus on one property and submitted a bid (under asking) that was accepted. I lived in the property for five years and in early 2013, I contacted Tom as I was moving out of SF and needed his advice on selling vs renting. Tom had great perspective on this and helped me debate the pros and cons. We decided to go for the sell route and the next weekend he was hosting an open house packed full of potential buyers and agents. We accepted a bid after 12 days on the market (for over asking). Finally, I'd like to highlight the over and beyond effort put forth by Tom. I moved away from San Francisco before the closing of the transaction. Tom generously offered his time to meet the movers at the apartment and wait while they packed and loaded the moving truck (nearly a full day of waiting on site!). He also helped in doing some of the minor repairs (patching nail holes in the wall, etc) around the condo that needed to be done before closing for no extra compensation instead of my having to hire a handyman from out of state to get the job done. Tom has a very practical approach to investing in San Francisco real estate with his knowledge of value and quality very apparent as you go through the buying and selling process and evaluate comps to triangulate a fair market value and represent your interests accordingly. I wholeheartedly recommend contacting Tom to help with any real estate advice or potential transactions as my experience was positive on both the buying and selling side with him as my agent. read more

Tom is great. He helped us through the first time home buyer process and was hugely valuable. He dealt with our odd timeline, we casually looked at places roughly 1x/month for about two years. He was knowledgeable on all the city neighborhoods. He was not pushy at all. He gave us honest perspective and didn't just tell us whatever he thought we wanted to hear. Overall, it was a great experience and I'd definitely recommend him! read more

I've known and worked several times with Tom. He is the embodiment of professionalism, kindness and extreme real estate savvy. This is what a true professional used to be and now such a rare breed. As a buyer's agent he had been so fierce and loyal and had gone to extreme length protecting our interest during a recent transaction. The outcome saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars all thanks to his vigilance and knowledge of the field and the nventory at hand during that crucial period. If you are lucky enough to hire him as your realtor you will be delighted in every way. Plus, his sense of humor has no equal :-) read more

Tom Cooke is amazing. When my wife and I decided we were ready to find and purchase our first home, more than anything we wanted an agent we could trust. That's why even though we were looking outside of SF (along the coast in HMB), we immediately called our old neighbor, Tom Cooke. Being a first-time home buyer is DAUNTING, especially in a crazy seller's market like the one we're in now. If we did anything right, it was calling Tom straight away and following his guidance and advice through the entire process. in the end we found and purchased a beautiful home at a reasonable price and we couldn't have done it without him. SEARCHING Looking for the right home can be a discouraging process. We must've gone to 50+ open houses and nearly everything we saw was either full of issues, out of reach or - in the case of a few really great houses at a reasonable price - seemed to have every other buyer in the Bay Area ready to make an offer. Several of the most promising properties were sold before the first open house, leaving us feeling like we would never be able to keep up. Meanwhile, Tom was so reassuring, promising us that, "There's always another house..." and he was right. OFFER Making an offer in this market feels insane. Often the asking prices is more like a starting bid, and you have to guess how much more than the asking price will get the deal done. At the same time, if you offer too much you'll feel like a chump when it turns out you paid far more than anyone else offered. In consultation with Tom, we avoided making offers on several houses that - seeing the sale records after the fact - turned out to be the right move. Tom has an uncanny ability to gauge the activity for a given property and predict what it will take to "win" the bid. The several houses we let pass buy ended up selling for WAY more than we would've been comfortable paying and the house we finally offered on and got accepted was perfectly within our comfort zone. ESCROW This is where things really start to get interesting. You've got a contract in place and you've deposited enough money to purchase a brand new car into escrow while you sort through inspections, your loan, etc. You fill out insane amounts of paperwork, produce documents going back years and generally give up any sense of privacy while you try to prove you're a decent, responsible person who can pay for this house. In our case the bank (credit union) put us through the ringer and nearly bailed on final approval. We came extremely close to having the whole thing blow up and throughout the process Tom was there, advising, helping, providing alternatives, keeping the sellers from panicking and more. This is the part where I can say for sure that without Tom the process would've crashed and we'd be stuck in our apartment forever. Also, as little things (not deal killer things) came up about the house along the way, Tom successfully pushed to get the sellers to credit escrow to cover all of them. Being so sapped from the process with the bank, we would've rolled over to avoid any more trouble, but the result of Tom's efforts saved us thousands of dollars. CLOSING Oh the sweet, sweet feeling of closing. By this point you're exhausted but so happy that it's finally done. Leading up to closing you really get the sense that NOTHING is for sure until you close. Meanwhile, Tom is still there holding your hand and reassuring you, explaining all the little things you need to keep in mind as you move forward: how and when to pay your property taxes, where to find inexpensive outdoor furniture - really anything he can do to make the process smoother and less scary. CONCLUSION I have no doubt that there are lots of wonderful real estate agents out there, but for us Tom was the one we knew and trusted, and at the end of the day I'm convinced we ended up with one of the best agents in the bay area, for which we feel lucky and grateful. If you're out there looking for a house and you don't already have an agent that you know and trust, do yourself a huge favor and call Tom Cooke. read more

Tom is simply the best. Zero exaggeration here. We have now used Tom both in purchasing our first home, nearly 6 years ago - and again just recently, for the sale of our condo. In both situations, he guided us flawless through the processes and always had our best interests in mind. Over the years, I've recommended him to 4 other friends who have purchased in San Francisco. In each case, my friends came back to me raving about Tom and in each particular deal, it had its own nuance or complexity - and each of my friends all felt that without Tom, they would not have been able to acquire their respective properties. As for our recent sale, Tom helped us achieve a record setting price on a $/S.F. basis. Not only was he able to get us a price on the sale of our condo that was beyond what we could have fathomed, he made the process incredibly painless on our side. He took the time and effort to properly market our property. Every little detail and step necessary to prepare our condo for sale, he took the initiative and legwork, roping us in only when needed for high-level decisions. I've heard too many stories of people who had agents who are either too lazy, too inexperienced, not savvy enough to navigate through complexities or hiccups in a process, and/or simply not good negotiators. Tom truly is everything you could ask for in an agent - and then some. Would not hesitate a single second to recommend Tom to anybody I know who is looking to buy or sell in San Francisco. read more

Tom Cooke is absolutely the best person to use if you are selling a home in San Francisco. He is warm, caring, and so meticulous that he literally dots every 'I' and crosses every 'T'. What I like most about him is that he is HONEST. He told me things I didn't want to hear but his reasoning made total sense. I trust him implicitly. He was also humble enough to say he didn't know something, and would check in with his office colleagues on things like pricing my home. My home sold way over my asking price. He went the extra mile on everything. The day after the movers came, I had a flight to the Midwest. The garage wasn't completely emptied of empty boxes and neither was the house. He worked the next day to get that all cleared out. He even cleaned chandeliers after the cleaners did before the first open house to make sure everything was spotless. Tom was even sweet enough to find an agent for me in my new hometown. I'll be closing on that home at the end of May. read more

Tom Cooke is really fantastic to work with. With Tom's help we purchased two san francisco houses. The first one in 1996 and the latest in February of 2015. The first was easy but the second was not. This last transaction was full of twists, turns, and lots of surprises from the seller, the city, the lawyers and even the seller's own agent. Tom handled it all with patience, persistence and professionalism. If it had been anyone but Tom we would have lost sleep wondering if the house would ever close, but with Tom we knew he would keep at it until he resolved all the issues and got us our house. Our mortgage broker gave us a nice compliment about Tom one day and said Tom was one of the best he had ever worked with..what more can i say? read more

Tom Cooke is a real estate agent's agent. Those sounds like a cliché, but in this case it is a fact. I have been a licensed real estate broker for more years than I care to count. I don't work in residential real estate and so have not remained current on the ever-changing regulations and market conditions. So when the time came for my wife and me to purchase a home in the Bay Area we sought the services of a consummate professional. Tom fit the bill perfectly. We met Tom several years ago when first considering our move from Southern California. Tom showed us a condominium he had listed, though we didn't buy at that time, we were sold on Tom. His professionalism was immediately evident, balanced with personal warmth and a great sense of humor. Tom patiently worked with us for many months before we recently closed escrow for a home on the Peninsula. Tom's input on structuring the offer was invaluable, but the thing that impressed us most was his effortless coordination of the inspections and the closing process. Through his many years of experience in the Bay Area, Tom has established an outstanding network of trade professionals, so the inspections were quick and thorough. He managed to create a collaborative environment in a process that is frequently adversarial. The end result was the successful close of escrow in 21 days, with no drama. Whether you are buying or selling it is always prudent to interview several agents, do that, and then hire Tom. read more

Tom is the best!! My husband and I looked for houses in SF on and off for literally years. It's obviously a tough market and we were waiting to find real value. Tom was persistent, but hands-off enough that we felt informed, but not pressured, every step of the way. We just closed on a beautiful home in our neighborhood and couldn't be happier. I can't recommend Tom highly enough. read more

My partner and I recently moved to San Francisco and sought a home. The market is insanely competitive so we were anxious about the whole process, but a family friend recommended Tom. He showed us around the city, made appointments for us with house viewings and open houses at short notice, drove us to those appointments, gave us his advice on houses and their suitability and the often confusing real estate laws and terms, and answered emails and phone calls late into the night. Long story short: we now have a great house. We'd tried house hunting without an agent before, but working with Tom was a thousand times easier. Tom's great. read more

This is the first time I'm writing a review on the internet and it will likely be my last, but this review is important to me to write - that's how much I LOVED working with Tom Cooke. I have worked with a few other very well-known, reputable realtors in the past and did not have the best experiences with them - primarily because I was not convinced they worked particularly hard, nor did I believe they always had my best interest in mind. My experience working with Tom could not have been more of the opposite. On any given day, Tom was looking for ways to help my house look better to a buyer whether it was changing lightbulbs himself or recommending resources to help with small improvement. He was honest, fair and fun. He also explained every part of the process - something previous realtors had not offered without being asked, and often their reaction was that I was wasting their time. I had none of those experiences with Tom. He is simply the best realtor I have worked with to date. You cannot go wrong with Tom, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND him. read more

I've been meaning to write this review for a while...but I've been busy...moving! Yes, Tom helped me find a new home...my first home...and I LOVE it! Just over one year ago my boyfriend and I, realizing that the rental market in San Francisco was continuously not meeting our needs in our personal cost-benefit evaluation, starting saving for a house...and set a goal of starting to put in offers in January 2015. At the time it seemed completely impossible - the SF buying market is pretty scary - but it was a goal...a starting place. At one point toward the end of 2014...to keep "our dream" on track...we starting looking for a realtor and that's when we found Tom. It's probably worth mentioning that my boyfriend and I are NOT who you'd typically see buying a house in San Francisco. We are young, self-made (not from wealthy families and not in the tech industry...we work regular 9-5s), and first-time home buyers. Tom met with us, listened to our needs as well as our wants, looked at our finances and helped us understand what we could afford given the current market, answered all our questions and taught us things we didn't even know to ask. Tom (and his colleague, Jennet) showed us all the properties that we wanted to look at (even over the Christmas holiday!), helped us decide what was right for us, helped us create and put in offers (two total, both were excepted), helped us schedule inspectors, helped us get out of an offer that ultimately didn't meet our needs, and helped us with all of the details in our final purchase. Tom (and Jennet) even got us our first house warming gift! Tom has tons of experience in San Francisco (a very unique real estate market) and is extremely knowledgeable, he is well connected and has an extensive network of connects and industry relationships/partnerships, and he is very fun (dare I say entertaining?) to work with while taking is job very seriously and making sure to advocate on your behalf. I would highly recommend Tom to my friends and family...I'm positive that my home buying experience was the best possible outcome...what was scary at first is now one of my biggest accomplishments. Thank you Tom for helping us find our home sweet home! read more