I'm so glad that I found Alex to guide me through my recent home purchase! I wasn't ready to buy when I was first introduced to Alex but he didn't push. He patiently explained how it would work and let me know that he'd be available when I was ready. It was months before I contacted him again and he remembered every detail of the type of home I was looking for. He was straightforward from the beginning letting me know that since I had some, let's say interesting, requirements for the type of home I was looking for, and given how insanely competitive the bay area market is, that the pool of homes might be diminished, and that the competition would be very high. It was a journey, to say the least, being outbid a few times was really disheartening, but Alex was always kind and encouraging. And I can't say enough about his depth of knowledge, not just of the market, but of the ins and outs workings of a home. The detail to which he went through each disclosure packet was exemplary. He really wanted to make sure I understood what I was getting into with each home and even came over after I'd moved in to spend almost two hours going through the details of my home so I could prioritized any work I wanted to get done. I love my home. And I'm so grateful to Alex for his persistence, kindness and patience through it all. I can't recommend him enough. read more

Alex is a quintessential professional and we could not imagine conducting our East Bay home search with anyone else. We actually first interacted with Alex when we were just casually looking at an Open House many years ago, and were so impressed with his style and demeanor that we immediately thought of him when we began our home search more seriously in 2020. With Alex, three words come to mind: (1) Knowledgable: Alex seems to know every street, every neighborhood, and has a natural intuition for value. He also has a deep understanding of all the various facets of real estate: transactions, permits, costs for improvements, etc. He was a wealth of knowledge, and he gave us a great sense of not only what we would be getting, but what we COULD be getting if we elected to change things around. We learned an incredible amount simply by working with him as our buyers agent. Additionally, he has a vast network of relationships with the East Bay, and he found numerous pre-market opportunities for us to consider as well. (2) Service-oriented: he is also highly responsive and answers every question with care and intention. Because he's such an intent listener, he quickly developed an intuition for what we like, and sometimes even uncovered things about a home that we may not like, that we didn't even realize ourselves at first glance. (3) Integrity: Lastly, Alex is high integrity and I would trust him to buy or sell any home in East Bay. There were numerous instances in which Alex actually steered us down from a pricepoint or away from a house, because he was so focused on making sure we would be happy with our purchase. While some agents are more focused on closing, Alex was most focused on ensuring that our individual interests were optimized, even if it meant diminishing the likelihood of a close. He was helping us to buy a home as if it were he himself doing so. This, to us, was one of the biggest reasons we would trust Alex with anything. I highly recommend Alex and would go to him first (and without hesitation) for any East Bay real estate transaction! read more

Alex is a total pro: detail-oriented, patient, clear communicator, trustworthy, prompt, and savvy negotiator. We worked with Alex to prep, list, and sell our home in Oakland. From helping identify the upgrades that made our home shine during staging to navigating complex bids, and from shepherding us through escrow to reprograming our garage opener so that everything was in working order for the buyer, Alex does everything with integrity. He has a rare ability to design the strategy and execute on the details. We're so pleased that we'll be working with Alex to purchase our next home. If you're looking for someone to help sell your home, or buy a new one, we cannot recommend him highly enough. read more

Maybe it´s just me, but as a first time home buyer, the entire purchasing process had the unique ability to make me feel unqualified to be involved in the buying of my own house. While the complexities of a process I´m likely to only go through a few times in my lifetime are daunting and numerous, having Alex in our corner was the best thing my wife and I could´ve done to set ourselves up for success. Our house hunting journey was a far cry from how we´d imagined it´d be, and Alex was a wealth of knowledge and support throughout its entirety. My wife and I found the house online after the open houses had already come and gone, so we called up Alex to show us a house for the first time as our agent. Our tour took place the night before the sellers were accepting offers, and, of course, we fell in love with it. Getting the house required going from 0 to 60, and we ended up meeting Alex in person for the first time, seeing the home for the first time, making an offer, making a counter offer, and having our offer accepted all in the span of 24 hours. It was a whirlwind of a day, and Alex was an absolute champ to say the least. Both before and after making our offer, Alex did an incredibly thorough job of walking us through each step of the way and answering our numerous (and I mean NUMEROUS) questions with patience every time. His communication was impecable, and his knowledge and experience made us feel confident and informed while making some of the biggest decisions of our lives. We love our home and are all moved in already, and just last week we asked Alex to help us make sure we understood the ins and outs of our disclosure packet and double check that my wife and I weren´t missing any key action items on our maintenance to do list. He came over and took almost two hours out of his morning to go through the whole disclosure package with us, break it down into layman´s terms, and point out various things around the house while passing on tips and nuggets of wisdom along the way. If you need a great real estate agent who´s whip smart, experienced, and an all around good guy, you're looking at the right Yelp page. read more

We can offer only the highest recommendation for Alex Michas; he is intelligent, honest, empathetic and an expert at what he does. Without Alex, we don't think we would have successfully purchased our home.  As first time buyers, we had been following East Bay real estate for two plus years before deciding to enter the market. Alex not only patiently answered our questions and listened to our ideas, he also provided constructive advice and guided us through several homes (pointing out which issues were actually more urgent and walking us through what potential work might entail, in terms of timeline and cost) - this empowered us to become smarter home buyers. On top of all of this, Alex is efficient, an excellent communicator and very well connected (in terms of being able to give informed advice about mortgage lenders, contractors, etc.). Thank you, Alex! read more

Alex cares about his clients before, during and even after he helps them with a real estate transaction. He helped us purchase our first home, and we had minimal experience in all the confusing and complicated matters that come with buying a home. He took us through the process step by step, was painstakingly patient and available at all hours. He clearly cares about relationships - he even went to bat for us when we had trouble with an outside vendor following our home purchase. Alex really goes above and beyond. And he knows his stuff! It is clear he loves what he does and loves to help people find a home. Thanks, Alex! read more

We had just started looking for a home when we stumbled into an open house that Alex was holding in Oakland. We struck up a conversation before we left, and unlike the hard sell we got from some listing agents when we told them we didn't have an agent yet, Alex answered our absurdly naive questions and seemed to genuinely want to help us. After we left that open house, my wife and I discussed how much we enjoyed speaking with him. His cool and calm demeanor was a stark and welcome contrast to the other pushy realtors we had spoken to thus far. At first, we had also spoken to an agent who was a referral from a friend. Both Alex and the other agent set us up in their RealScout software. Alex reached out multiple times to ask about things we were looking for in a home and neighborhoods we liked. After a short while, Alex was sending us really great listings while the other agent hadn't even followed up once. At that point, we knew Alex was who we wanted to work with when we sold our condo and started seriously looking. Alex was extremely patient with us. We didn't know the East Bay very well when we decided to concentrate our search here, so there was a lot of flip flopping and inconsistency from us regarding what we wanted. Alex took it all in stride, listening to what we were saying, and using that information to further tune our results. I really enjoyed our debrief conversations with Alex after long open house days. East Bay listing prices are insane. Alex was honest and transparent and gave us great guidance as to which ones would likely land within our budget, and which ones we shouldn't focus on. Alex takes a highly objective and analytical approach to market analysis, which really resonated with me. We ended up getting the second home that we made an offer on, which I'm quite happy with in this competitive environment. Our home got 16 other offers, and thanks to Alex's market expertise and relationship building, we went in with a strong offer and ended up with a beautiful home. Alex helped us choose an offer that was strong enough to get us the house without overpaying. I wholeheartedly rate our experience working with Alex five stars, and would recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell in the Oakland/Berkeley area. I can't say enough about him. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions regarding our experience! read more

We are so grateful that we had Alex to guide us through our first home buying experience in the otherwise intimidating Bay Area market. As first timers, we were unsure of what we wanted (or what we could even afford), but Alex listened carefully, asked thoughtful questions, and helped us focus in on the types of homes and locations that would work best for our family. When we did in fact find the perfect home, he knew exactly what to do and worked tirelessly to prepare a winning offer. Through escrow and even after closing, he was calm, communicative, endlessly available, and incredibly knowledgeable about the entire complex process. Having Alex as our agent took all the stress out of our home buying experience so that we could really appreciate this wonderful step in our lives. read more

We had the very good fortune of having Alex referred to us by a friend. My family and I were in the process of relocating from Chicago to the East Bay and knew next to nothing about the insanely competitive, costly Oakland / Berkeley market. Alex dedicated a lot of time to deeply understand what we wanted in a home, walk us through what to expect during our search and provided a thoughtful "10 steps to finding your home" process that helped us immensely. Alex is extremely knowledgeable about the Bay Area market and has a great feel for what it will take to submit a winning offer. What's more, he's calm, the antithesis of salesy and not afraid to provide real feedback about whether he feels a home is right for you. In the emotional rollercoaster of buying a home, Alex was always our voice of reason and thoughtful guidance. Most importantly, Alex is a great guy who will do anything to help you find the right home. Do yourself a favor and strongly consider Alex to be your realtor. read more

With a baby on the way, my husband and I had outgrown our rental and wanted to relocate to the East Bay. We first met Alex by chance at an open house as we began the search for our new home. We clicked instantly through design style and common love for bikes and dogs. Alex took the time to get to know us and tirelessly scoured the market and toured numerous homes with us - patiently and eagerly speaking through potential modifications/renovations, offering insight on improvements and cautionary measures as well. Alex's renovation experience and sheer patience are astounding and were more than we had hoped to find in a realtor; his skill-set is unparalleled. After making several offers on Berkeley homes, all of which Alex calmly guided us through, we ended up in Marin County. He encouraged us to keep searching for "our home" knowing it was out there somewhere. We are beyond thankful for Alex. read more

Alex helped us navigate through the home purchase process seamlessly and we couldn't have asked for better service. Alex was knowledgeable about the market, a strong negotiator, great communicator, endlessly patient, and incredibly generous with his time. He was a valuable resource throughout the process and dealt with challenges tactfully as they came up. Alex directed us and kept us informed through the process. He was very professional and very timely in his correspondence. Buying a home in this market is challenging, but working with him made it as painless and straightforward as possible. If you're looking for a personable, smart agent who sincerely cares about you finding the home you want, we highly recommend Alex. read more

Alex is an amazing asset to anyone looking to buy or sell a home - he is honest, intelligent, grounded, calm & kind - traits I don't usually use to describe folks in real estate. After 6 years on and off the market in Marin County I'd all but given up finding a home we'd truly love, could afford, and had a chance winning in this ridiculously competitive sellers market. When our dream home came on the market I needed someone who I could trust and work with in a high pressure situation. I wanted someone who could give me honest and informed feedback on the integrity of the building structure, help me comb through the disclosures to identify red flags, and then negotiate on my behalf with the selling agent. Alex was all that and more. The combination of Alex's temperament, integrity, compassion, attention to detail, knowledge of building construction and experience with home renovation makes him an invaluable asset to his client, and pleasure for all parties involved. The sellers agent actually told me Alex was one of the best realtors she's closed a deal with! read more

I have just finished the purchase of investment property with Alex's assistance. The process is quite daunting and requires quite much knowledge and expertise both with the laws and regulations and the fit of property to client. Through the last year and a half Alex introduced and guided me. The properties, excel sheets, inspection and city files were translated by him to a clear report for making the right decision. Alex was available at any time to answer any inquiries. After finding the property his assistance with mortgage, management and escrow were invaluable. I recommend Alex very highly, his knowledge with sensitive and human approach will make your experience a success. read more

I first bought a house in the Bay Area 5 years ago. When my real estate agent from back then was working on other projects when I started looking for an investment property, he suggested I work with Alex instead. When I met Alex, I apologized immediately for how long the purchase I was planning on was likely to take. (There were very few properties in the Bay Area worth buying as a money making investment right now.) Alex just said that he was interested in the search, and that it would keep him up-to-date on properties he might not otherwise get to see with just helping people buying owner-occupied homes. Alex gave me lots of assistance in learning to quickly figure out if a property was a worthwhile investment or not, and he emailed back and forth with me regularly in what ended up being a 10 month long search. With his help, in that time I bid on 3 properties; the first he told me he didn't expect I would get at my offer price (and he was right), the second he though I had a good chance at but we didn't get it, and the third we got! I closed on my triplex a bit under a month ago, despite a grueling escrow period and super-unpleasant seller! Alex just emailed me asking how the renovations were going and saying he kind of missed the hunt, as he'd enjoyed the regular "financial analysis" emails we'd been exchanging on various properties. Don't worry, Alex! Assuming all goes well here, I'll be purchasing my next investment properties in about another 3-4 years, and I'll go to you when I do! read more

I've worked with Alex 3 times in 5 years. He's amazing. He's now become a true friend. Fast, reliable, wonderful. Extremely helpful, makes great recommendations and very attentive. A true find! read more

My experience working with Alex Michas transformed my understanding of what the Realtor/Client relationship can be. Every step of the way, Alex was warm and compassionate, deeply knowledgable, sensitive to our needs, straightforward, and practical. He served variously as therapist, design/architecture consultant, financial advisor, real estate guru and, ultimately, friend. His understanding of the Bay Area Real Estate landscape and the housing market more generally is deep and nuanced. His ability to accommodate our particular proclivities, schedule and priorities was supernatural. His intuition about how best to allot our resources and how to time our listing was spot on. He oversaw a complex year long renovation with an eye for detail and always an eye on our budget. And guided us through the subsequent offer process with patience and savvy. We always felt protected and in good hands. It would be impossible for me to more highly recommend a Real Estate Professional. read more

Alex is really one of a kind in terms of the service he provides. One thing I learned after going through everything is this industry is about relationships. Your agent is not only selling you, but they are selling themselves and they are selling the loan. It makes sense then to have an agent who is put together, calm, confident, and honest. That is Alex Michas in a nut shell. This was my first home purchase and I knew very little about the process. Most good agents understand market, demands, rates, procedures, etc. That is all important information. For someone like me who has never dealt with or even read about the steps involved in buying a home, there are many things your average agent doesn't have expertise in. In particular, the loan process. Not only does Alex understand the Bay Area market very well, but he has an extensive background in the loan side of it as well. His knowledge was instrumental in helping me at every turn. I made mistakes as we all do in buying a first home, but Alex had the patience and experience to guide me through all my missteps. In the end, he was invaluable to my eventual purchase. As he learned what I needed he was able to proactively make sure I was keeping loan and underwriting current at the same time he was narrowing down the perfect list of homes for me to look at. This all-encompassing approach is something you will not find in a real estate agent today. What is normally a very stressful process for a first timer, felt completely taken care of from all angles thanks to Alex. I could not recommend him more highly. It would be a mistake on your part not to call him. read more

Alex Michas, Realtor - Real Estate Agents Near Me

My husband and I were searching for a home in the Bay area for about a year before we met Alex, my sister recommended him to us. I gave him a call and after one conversation with him I immediately felt comfortable with him. There was no pressure from Alex and he was very patient with us even after it took us a while to start looking again. When we finally did restart our search, Alex was readily available. He requested our home wants and needs, got us on his website and began looking for our home. Now I have to say, I can be extremely picky and difficult when it comes to things of this nature, especially when it boiled down to being able to trust a perfect stranger. Our story is actually pretty noteworthy and speaks to just how effective Alex was when it came to purchasing our first home. To start, we began our search before we had all of our duckies in a row. Meaning we hadn't even been preapproved yet. I understand that realtors usually come with their own recommendations for mortgage lenders, however we already had a good person in mind. Alex was totally flexible with this and even called Chris to get acquainted with him. My husband initially saw a home out in Pinole that he wanted me to go see, so I called and arranged a meeting with Alex. The time and date had been set, but me being the picky person I am, began having second thoughts about the home. One, it was an attached townhome with no back yard and two there were HOA fees. So I started looking for homes elsewhere. I found just what I was looking for and decided at the last minute I didn't want to see the home out in Pinole and called and cancelled the meeting with Alex. Alex was very understanding, but was unable to meet with me to go to the open houses I planned to see. Totally my fault, and I remember thinking he must think I'm nuts. So I went to four open houses, one of which was appointment only. The last home I saw took my breath away. I called Alex and told him I wanted that house. He encouraged me to schedule an appointment with the other house just to be sure, but we needed to act fast because the offers were due soon. Alex made an appointment to see the house the next day and that's how we actually physically met. He walked through the house with me and my two kids and asked me all the right questions that made me feel he was trying to make sure I wasn't acting too hasty. He didn't get a chance to see the other house yet. I could tell Alex could hear in my voice that I was anxious about getting things started for the house I was really interested in. So he and Chris, my lender, got on the ball immediately. When I tell you we were pushing the envelope on this one, that's exactly what we were doing. I believe I probably even made Alex feel uncomfortable because things were moving so fast. But when you know what you want, you know what you want. And I wanted that house! Through the entire process Alex was very thorough and kept making sure that we were comfortable with how fast things were moving. I assured him we were, and he put together an offer for the house using a love letter I wrote to the sellers. I don't know how he did it, but he even managed to get us an extension on the time the offers were due. The offers were due on Tuesday at 12, we got ours in by one. By Wednesday evening Alex called and told us that our offer was accepted!!! And we didn't even have the highest bid, it was his offer package and the love letter that did it! Imagine that!!! The journey wasn't over there. We hit a few bumps along the way to getting the deed to our house, but we did it and Alex was with us every step of the way. He was rooting and vouching for us the entire time, I felt he was very supportive throughout this whole process. It was such a surreal moment when he handed us the keys to our new home. I even had to give the man a hug, and I'm not a hugger. His help didn't stop there either, he not only walked us through the disclosures and the house inspections, but he came by to help us understand what the house needed in terms of maintenance. However, he reassured us the home we purchased was in top condition and the previous owners did an excellent job with taking care of the home. My husband and I are completely happy with our new home! Alex is definitely invited to our housewarming party!!! read more

Alex is outstanding. Here are three reasons why: 1. He has renovated homes professionally, so he can tell you what is not obvious about the home you're looking at, in terms of the potential cost of hidden problems as well as the potential to improve the property. Perfect homes are rare, and expensive; Alex can help you clearly see any home. 2. He is low drama. Buying a home is stressful, and Alex helps everyone breathe. If you can breathe, you can make good decisions. 3. He is really good with numbers. If you happen to care about the financial implications of your home-buying decision, whether single family or multi-unit, Alex is the best possible person to help you understand what it all adds up to. Great person, great skillset, great ally! read more

Alex Michas is a true professional in every sense of the word. As first time home buyers, he made the process both educational and rewarding. We are truly happy with our house and felt well-represented throughout the entire process. read more

Alex's depth and breadth of understanding around anything to do with home sales/purchases and renovations makes him a key asset to have on your side. From providing comps on specific rooms in a house to providing his experienced perspective on what renovations will be valued/desired by future owners, I feel much more confident making decisions with the support of Alex's perspective. We just recently purchased a home without the support of real estate agents. Alex provided clear step by step guidance on how to go from concept to purchase agreement to escrow/title. Without his assistance, the process would have been much much harder. We hope to have the chance to work with Alex on a few upcoming projects. He comes highly recommended by my wife and I. read more

Purchasing a home under normal circumstances is extraordinarily stressful. More so in the Bay area today. You need to be working with a real estate agent who is knowledgeable, has good judgement and can stay calm while you are overwhelmed and filled with anxiety; someone who can provide excellent council in evaluating the market, assist in putting together an appropriate offer, guide you through the process to avoid pitfalls and help in overcoming obstacles. Alex is there to help you in reaching your goal with understanding and care. He did just that for me and my wife. He can do that for you! read more

Alex is extremely informed about the Berkeley / Oakland real estate market. He is calm and very cerebral in his approach. I can't imagine finding a better agent who doesn't hard sell and instead, provides fact-based research in a very challenging market. I would absolutely recommend working with Alex. read more

It was great to have Alex as our agent in buying our house in Oakland, CA. We found the property we wanted promptly due to his hard work and he made the whole process of buying a house very pleasant and efficient by letting us know exactly what we need to do in every step of the way. Obviously, his most up-to-date knowledge and extensive network and experience made all of these possible. Thank you, Alex! Great job! read more

My partner and I recently purchased a home in Oakland in December 2014 through the assistance of our awesome realtor, Alex Michas. In a competitive market such as Oakland, we needed a realtor that would be willing to hit the pavement to meet our "non-negotiables"; advocate for us to ensure our offer would be considered (and accepted); conduct the necessary market analyses on potential homes so that we would have confidence in our purchase; provide us with vision and imagination to see a home's potential; and treat us as family and not just clients. We found all this and more through Alex. We were lucky enough to find our home after having only viewed one other house---that is how attentive and responsive Alex was to providing us with listings that met and exceeded our parameters. Throughout all facets of the home purchase, from the offer, to disclosures, inspections and closing, Alex was always one step ahead of the process, keeping us in the loop and being readily available to answer questions or troubleshoot issues during all hours of the day. Alex even went as far as to water our plants after we closed escrow on our new house because we were traveling for the holidays! If you are looking for a professional, experienced, well-rounded, detail-oriented and caring realtor, then look no further because Alex Michas is your guy! read more

I can't say enough good things about Alex! He was the perfect realtor for us! Never pushy or pressuring us into anything. He LISTENED to what we wanted and was always interested in feedback so he could do his best to find us what we were looking for. He was endlessly patient and never made us feel uncomfortable about our long journey. It took us TWO years to find the perfect home. Alex was our constant, steady source of information. And, all through the purchasing process, he was key in providing us good, reliable information regarding the value and condition of the home in addition to recommendations for vendors and resources for the work we wanted before move-in. Alex is the perfect realtor for anyone looking for someone with lots of patience, professionalism, and a sound knowledge of the market and renovation costs. He was our all-in-one resource for everything we needed. Top notch! Anyone buyer would be lucky to have him. read more