Working with Derrick has been an absolute pleasure--not just once, but twice now. As my neighbor…read moreand someone I've known personally for years, I already had a great deal of trust in him. He helped me with both selling my home and purchasing a new one, and each time he brought professionalism, honesty, and a calm, steady approach that made the process so much easier. What makes it even more special is knowing that his wife Aziza is right there behind the scenes, helping to make everything run smoothly. They make such a great team--organized, thoughtful, and genuinely committed to the people they work with. I always felt supported and well-informed throughout the journey. It's rare to find that kind of care and connection in real estate. I'm so thankful for their help and would recommend them to anyone looking for not just a realtor, but a team who truly cares.

Unprofessional, disorganized, and incompetent. Negotiates in bad faith and communicates poorly.read more

As first time home sellers, we were very nervous about the real estate process. Luckily, we…read morereceived an excellent recommendation to sign with Bill Boze. Bill has all of the qualities you would want in a real estate agent. He's very responsive, proactive, honest, and detail oriented. His knowledge of the Bay Area market is nearly priceless in terms of marketing and negotiation. We asked a lot of questions about the process and logistics of selling a house and Bill gave us terrific advice. All of his recommendations were excellent. He was glad to discuss all facets of the sale as often as we needed- and always answered my favorite question, "What's next?" with detailed explanations. The convenience of having a realtor in your neighborhood or close vicinity should not be overlooked. Bill saved us several trips back to our house once we had moved by quickly responding to various issues. He was also very respectful of the property by keeping it show-ready at all times. If you hire Bill to sell your house, you'll also get the benefit of his wife, Mary, who is also a realtor. In our case, she took wonderful pictures of our home and designed beautiful marketing pieces. We were completely satisfied with the market analysis provided, the marketing of our home, and the negotiation of the sales terms. We could not have asked for a better real estate experience

Bill is solid, super knowledgeable, nice, and reliable. I'd recommend him to all my friends. He…read moreused to be a developer so he brings additional structural insight.

Mary was referred to my wife and I by another renowned agent (Linda Schultz of Intero Real Estate…read moreServices in Los Gatos, CA). We were looking to buy a property in the San Francisco, East Bay Area and Linda knew Mary would best serve us with her vast experience and knowledge in this area. Mary met with us initially to discuss and ascertain what we were looking for; the type of property, features, amenities, areas of interest, price range, etc. She was very thorough in this process so she could direct us appropriately. Mary is the consummate professional who remained focused and determined throughout our lengthy search. Mary personally showed us many properties and also provided us listings and advance knowledge on properties becoming available that matched our criteria. This enabled us to utilize the tools of the Web and allowed us to broaden our search as well as focus on or eliminate properties as needed. Mary never pushed us, but instead guided and advised us along the way. She would offer advice and we always felt she was collaborating with us while looking out for our best interests as opposed to simply trying to close a deal. We ended up looking at over a hundred properties and submitted offers on three. Each time, Mary always kept her cool, protected our best interests and properly advised us throughout the process. She never missed an email, a deadline or mis-stepped in any way. We regularly noticed other realtors respected Mary; it was more that just professionalism on their part. It was apparent that Mary has earned respect within the community. Additionally, Mary also has an excellent network of professionals ready when needed like inspectors and trades people. Those people too were well qualified and collaborative. The third time was a charm and we found our dream house! Looking back, we were not easy clients. We were very choosey, sometimes unreasonable, sometimes emotional and even pulled Mary into some longshot situations. She was always a champ! We took an inordinate amount of her time, yet Mary consistently made us feel we were her only clients (which we weren't) and remained extremely professional throughout. During the process, Mary's mother unexpectedly passed away, yet to her credit Mary never missed a beat. Mary is part business woman, part psychologist and marriage counselor. In the end, she proved to be a skilled facilitator with the utmost integrity. We highly recommend Mary Smartt.

Mary was brought on board to sell my grandparent's home. Throughout that process, she was been…read moreunprofessional, untruthful, and unethical. I feel that she preyed upon our tragedy to make her commission, even going so far as to provide legal advice when it was not warranted (or necessarily accurate). She made false statements about the home on the listing, opening my family up to later lawsuits. I would warn anyone against using her to sell a home.

Rebecca and Angela are powerhouse agents and consummate professionals. They are not only mindful…read moreof your needs, they anticipate them and are very proactive. They have spent years helping buyers and sellers navigate the market and their combined knowledge is invaluable. Rebecca is a delight to work with. She is willing to do what it takes to close a deal AND help all parties involved achieve their goals. Both Rebecca and Angela are, in my humble opinion, two of the best real estate professionals in the East Bay Area. They know the all the various neighborhoods and all the nuances that go along with purchasing a home there. They think of every solution to every issue, they work hard to get it resolved but their ultimate goal is to go through a transaction as smoothly as possible. They are my go- to in real estate.

My wife and I worked with Rebecca on both buying and selling our house in Upper Rockridge. I can…read moreunequivocally write that Rebecca is the consummate professional as she patiently and successfully shepherded us through both transactions in what can become a stressful situation whether one is buying or selling. She provided well reasoned advice during our search for our house as well as listing the house earlier this year. She has not only an excellent understanding of the local real estate market but also a wealth of connections throughout the industry. This professional network of high quality contractors, stagers, inspectors, and title agents is invaluable whether you are buying or selling. Through both transactions and nearly a decade of owning our house we saved a countless amount of time and money through these connections. We cannot recommend Rebecca enough.

I was a little intimate with the whole first time home buyer process. I am so grateful my realtor…read morereferred Jennifer. She made the entire process painless and was always there to answer all of my questions. I highly recommend her services.

My agent put me in touch with Jennifer in October 2021 when I first began my home search. In May…read more2022 I entered into escrow on my first home, a Condo in Antioch California. Jennifer ordered the appraisal and additional documents that are required when processing a loan application. The appraisal came in low and the sellers cancelled. In September 2022 the sellers went back on the market at a lower price. We went back into contract and finally had the appraisal come in at the purchase price. Day's later Jennifer calls me (days before closing) and tells me the condo is considered not warranted, stating that "the loan is dead". This was extremely upsetting to me, as I had not even had time to confer with my agent about additional options. Jennifer admitted to me that they had hoped enough condo's had sold since January to make the association warrantable, but this was not the case. Jennifer was very abrupt and laid the blame on the seller's agents. I pointed out to Jennifer that the Lender Questionnaire which showed that one person owned more than 49% of the condos was available as early as May 26, 2022 which was before the appraisal came back the first time we were in escrow. Jennifer responded that the Lender Questionnaire is "back end" and that it does not make it's way to the Lender unless there are issues. I feel that Lenders have an obligation to ensure that their clients are informed and that the Lender investigates the eligibility of the property. In this case, the Lender did not due their due diligence and allowed me to enter into contract on a project they should have known was not warranted. My agent and the sellers agent worked extremely hard and spent two days contacting 25+ lenders. We ultimately found a lender who could complete the loan with a lower interest rate, greater down payment assistance, and who was able to answer all my questions and worked with me throughout the process.

An absolutely fantastic agent and team - the best in Piedmont and East Bay! We were very lucky to…read morework with Jane Strauch throughout the entire process of selling our home in Piedmont. She and her team are incredibly communicative, responsive, and helpful with every resource needed. She is deeply connected to the real estate community in the area - understanding the pricing dynamics, what buyers expect, knowing all of the other top agents, etc. She also is very pragmatic and helped us along every step of the way which was especially helpful as we were selling from out of town in Southern California. We cannot highly recommend Jane enough.

When your ready to sell your pride and joy (that's exactly how we see our home), don't settle for…read moreanyone else call Jane. We deliberated for more than a decade, interviewed multiple people (all considered the best at what they do) BUT Jane stood out as the clear leader, from the first time when I called her and she answered "Hello Kevin" I was like, wtf did she really save me in her phone from some random phone call from years prior :) yes she did! We followed every suggestion she had, and even though she did her best to manage our expectations in the end she exceeded our expectations! Jane thank you so much for all you did for us, you will be the only call we make in the future wherever it may be. O.C. here we come (with Jane) be well The Bohm's

I highly recommend Rick Richetta at APR Montclair. To make a long story short, Rick helped us…read moresell our home in 2011 with great success. Timing was not good as the economy was in bad shape and it was right around Thanksgiving time (arguably one of the worst seasonal periods of the year) but we still got it done. I had previously used realtors from other local outfits, both Grubb and Pac Union, but I chose to try someone different this time because at the end of all the other transactions, I never felt like I had received a great value for the commission I was paying. In essence I always felt that we could have done better. Rick paid close attention to all the details and arranged for everything (documentation, inspections, stagers, marketing, etc.) to be done quickly and easily, without intruding too much on our schedule. We also had some challenging logistics on our side that probably made things more troublesome for Rick but he never ever showed the slightest displeasure with us. His patience and positive attitude are really worth highlighting here because he is truly one of a kind. One more great example of this is when we received initial offers on our home. Some were all-cash and reasonable with quick closes and we declined. Was he mad? Not a chance. Here's a guy that we hired to help us sell our home and when he had an opportunity to sell it, we declined the offers. I would understand if he were very annoyed with us but he wasn't. He was on our side, plain and simple. No pressure, no attitude, nothing. He stuck with us and genuinely wanted us to do what was best for us. In the end it worked out great and despite having to cut a substantial check for his services (i.e., the standard realtor fee), I can assure you it was well deserved. Also, it's worth mentioning that his marketing material is second to none. The photos, website and print collateral are above and beyond what I received from any other realtor. Thank you Rick!

We recently had a great experience with our real estate agent Rick Richetta, who sold our home in…read moreMontclair. Our home sold for way over asking price in a short time frame and it was primarily due to Rick's expertise and marketing. We had tried to sell our home in 2014 with another realtor, but that was a disaster and we had to take the home off the market. We were very careful in finding our next realtor. In looking through many many listings, we saw Rick's homes. Rick's online listings set him apart, every one of his houses seemed well represented no matter what the price point. We felt that Rick was trying to tell a story with each of the homes he represented. He seemed able to find the strength and grace of each house and accentuate it. We arranged to meet him and his team and from the beginning we had a good feeling. Rick and his team (Nick Rose), came to the interview well prepared with lots of study, research and the past history of our home. He is very honest in his assessment. He did not promise us some high price nor did he bombard us with the problems or our house like some of the other realtors. Instead, he used his experience and research and find the best angle to present our house. We knew we needed to do a few things to the house to bring it more in line with the aesthetics of today's market. After the initial meeting he presented us with a specific plan for how he would proceed to market, the schedule and the estimated costs, etc. He also made specific suggestions for what would maximize our sales price. Rick and Nick Rose stayed very close to the budget and schedule they proposed. Our house was bought high during the 2007 so Rick was very conscious that we might not sell for higher than what we bought for unless we prepared it very carefully. He really had our best interest in mind. He and his team were able to focus on cost-effective things to do and handling all the work. Before we made a commitment with him, he and his team had already spent a lot of time thinking about how to tackle certain issues. Right after we signed the contract with Rick, his team started to work with various vendors to improve the house. Rick and his team deployed an arsenal of pro's who worked with him to stage, photograph and present the home in its best light. We are basically hands-free and were able to continue with our busy lives. Throughout our process he worked through a number of creative solutions to help us get the best deal and was always willing to offer advice when we weren't sure what to do next. We felt we had a trusted partner whom we can rely on for unbiased opinions. After meeting he will write up a summery to go over some details. He also always answered our calls, emails and got back to us when he said he would) To sum it up, Rick has a high level of integrity and deep professional knowledge and skill. His professionalism, honesty, and organization/support team were all amazing. We cannot recommend Rick Richetta and his team highly enough.

Teresa did a good job overseeing some updating of my house prior to sale, but at a price. Seemed…read moreto have no sense of reasonable cost on certain items (eg: $3500 just to clean grout?). I spent well over what I had said my budget was, nearly $100K "fixing up," so I was not cheaping out, but frankly I think certain costs were overboard. When Teresa put my house on the market, it was listed for a few hundred thousand below what I had told her was my absolute minimum. (I also made it very clear that I did not "need" to sell the house, so the minimum was the minimum). When we didn't initially get acceptable offers, she advised me to take house off market or raise the price, even though it was only 3-4 weeks in, and it was prime month of June! Who takes a house OFF the market in June?? I thought this would look questionable to potential buyers, and was also very premature to be in "panic mode." Again, it hadn't even been listed for a month. Within a week or two, we had a better offer, but still below what I had said was my minimum. So I wanted to counter offer. Teresa tried to talk me out of that. First, she repeatedly told me that based on the opinion of "all the other realtors" my house was worth less than what that offer was for. (FYI, that number turned out to be about $300K less than what I got). That can be a matter of opinion/market, so I won't necessarily hold that against her. But here's where I think Teresa was completely inappropriate from a professional standpoint: She then told me (this is a quote): "nobody counter offers in Piedmont." (I still find it hard to believe any one, much less a realtor, would say such a thing). Second, Teresa said I'd "scare the buyer away" if I counter offered. I ignored this "advice," and although Teresa agreed to submit the counter, I just say she seemed almost miffed about it. Well, I got my number, and the house closed soon after. Obviously, no real thanks to Teresa. FYI, my price was not unreasonable. I knew it was a downward trending market, but the house had walk in wow factor, with original Mediterranean details , desirable neighborhood in a desirable town with a desirable school district, and Thermador/Sub Zero kitchen to boot. I knew the comps, and had a fair idea of value, and I just think Teresa should have as well. Instead she aggressively tried to talk me into accepting hundreds of thousands less. I've bought/sold many properties, and this is the only time where my own realtor really felt like she was working for her benefit, and not for mine. It was unpleasant. PS: I had hoped her business partner, Matt Heafey, would have provided some "balance," he seems steady and straightfoward. But frankly he seemed to defer to Teresa, and wasn't much help. So that was a disappointment as well.

Teresa is the absolute best agent you'll find. My husband and I were selling our home of 39 years…read moreduring the pandemic. This had many inherent challenges regarding: the timing of sale, availability of vendors to prepare the house, anticipating the level of buyers' interest, etc. We thought there were 3 major areas to judge an agent: 1) Strategy (what buyers were we targeting, in light of the surrounding comparables, etc.), 2) Execution (what needed to be done/who was going to manage all of the vendors to prepare the house to align with the strategy) and 3) Managing the Bid Process (when to go to market, determination of asking price, what channels of advertising, etc.). Teresa rated A+ on all of these areas. She was the most professional, positive, knowledgeable and customer responsive vendor we have encountered in decades. We always felt that she was OUR advocate, not her own advocate (as many agents seem to be) ; she proactively communicated with us perfectly--in content as well as frequency--which was very important to us. She negotiated, arranged for and managed to completion a half dozen vendors who were preparing our house for sale--and stayed within the budget! She involved us in all the critical decision point junctures--from vendor selections, house enhancements/modifications, to the final analysis of the bids-- that was extremely comforting and just the level of involvement we desired. We had made some suggestions along the way, which Teresa heard and responded to immediately, without argument or pushback. We would highly recommend her to anyone without a single reservation-- she exceeded our highest expectations.