We've been renting through them for almost five years now, and I must say that the team has been…read moreincredibly responsive to issues. This week, we lost hot water and they had a plumber out the day of to take a look at it. He got it back up and running, but after a couple of days we were seeing intermittent issues. Now we've got a new hot water heater and all is good in the world. Thanks Sadie, we really appreciate you and your team!

She said I lived in a "Ghetto"?!…read more I came on here to write a review about Sadie Pfyffer. After showing my sister and I an apartment, to which she let us know we were top contenders for, she reassured us we would hear back from her on Monday. Monday comes around, and we receive an email saying, "I wanted to reach out and let you know that I'd love to move forward with you both as tenants". We got excited and asked when we could move in, and she responded the next day, letting us know she drafted a lease for someone else and we would not be getting the place. Though this is a bit sneaky, I understand the competitive nature of house hunting and would brush it off if she weren't so rude otherwise. Letting us know her family has been here for generations, she started talking about the town. I let her know I've lived here for a few years too, so I knew my way around, which led her to ask where I currently live. I responded with an area, and she scoffed and said, "wow so you really live in the ghetto!" and laughed. I would not trust this company and would steer clear of their "holier than thou" employees.

Kaelin is an outstanding real estate agent. She knows the market and can guide you in what to do…read moreand what not to do in preparing your house for sale. I can't speak highly enough of her integrity and doing whatever needs to be done to sell your home. In our case, we were not able to do the upgrades, as we had left the area. Kaelin jumped in and lined up contractors, supervised their work, and beautifully staged out home. She was always present at the Open Houses, followed up on leads, regularly communicated, and kept our best interests foremost in her thought and actions. I highly recommend her and her team. They kept us appraised the dates for the work, Open Houses, and any bills. Simply a wonderful, warm, and engaging agent with a dynamic team who will work with and for you!

In June 2025, my sister and I made the decision to sell the rental property we jointly owned. Since…read morewe had never sold a home before, we were on unfamiliar territory. We interviewed four different realtors, and honestly, they all appeared to be trustworthy and knowledgeable individuals who could guide us through the sales process. After narrowing down our choices to two realtors, we requested proposals for selling our house from each of them. These proposals included information about the costs of necessary repairs and upgrades as well as estimated selling prices. During the interviews, it became evident that we were entering a buyers' market, which may limit our ability to achieve the desired selling price. In the end we chose Kaelin. Her proposal kept us within our budget for repairs and upgrades, and she was confident that she could sell the home for its fair market value. Our other 'finalist' was not so positive on achieving those goals. One of the daunting aspects of preparing to sell a home is finding reliable and trustworthy contractors to undertake the necessary work to prepare the property. Once you have these contractors, you need to ensure they begin work as soon as possible. Additionally, you must closely monitor the progress of the work to ensure it is completed on time and in the manner you desire. This becomes particularly difficult for owners selling a home that is located far from their primary residence, making it challenging to meet with contractors and monitor the progress. Kaelin truly shines in this role. She already knew the contractors we needed and managed to get them to provide us with quotes. Once approved, she swiftly put them on the job and ensured timely completion of the work. Initially, the ambitious goals we set together at the project's beginning seemed a bit too demanding, but we managed to meet them. When a buyer wanted to make an offer before the house went on the market, she made sure it was a strong and compelling offer that aligned with the high end of the sales price range she had specified in her original proposal. She also didn't hesitate to incur the cost of staging the property (she pays for this), as this demonstrated our readiness to proceed with other offers if theirs wasn't satisfactory. Long story short, she made it happen. We ended up putting in less money than we planned in repairs and upgrades and sold the property right at the high end of what she said she could do. We found Kaelin very easy (even fun) to work with over the 2.5-3 month timeframe as we went from planning and starting repairs & upgrades to closing escrow.

Dana is our current landlord and has been since 2023. This is my eighth or ninth rental in my adult…read morelife and I've never had a landlord who is as responsive, compassionate, efficient, prompt or understanding as Dana! She's one of a kind! We've had just as many issues as the next renter (all typical things that come with renting) and she never makes us feel bad about the frequency with which we reach out or attempts to minimize our concerns. Instead, she meets each concern with an imaginative solution and makes us feel seen and heard. I know she truly cares about the tenants that she works with and she works hard to make it so everyone has safe, happy and healthy living conditions. I've spoken with lots of neighbors who feel the same gratitude for such a caring and proactive landlord. We are very lucky! We hope we never have to move because she makes us feel so taken care of.

My wife, 2 children, and I have been living in a rental that Vista Properties manages for a little…read moreover 5 years and it has been great. Dana has been attentive, understanding, proactive, easy to communicate with, and personable. Her proffesionalism is notch when common/complex issues arise and we have had a great rapport. Thank you Dana and Vista Properties.

All responses and site visits have been professional and thorough. Rick and Jo's years of…read moreexperience are very apparent in every encounter. I can't recommend Cal Weat Appraisal enough!

I needed a date of death appraisal. I first hired an appraiser from San Jose who was obviously…read moreunfamiliar with the Santa Cruz real estate market. I then switched over to Cal West Appraisal Services. They were easy to work with, showed up on time and did a very thorough job. I have recommended them to the estate planning attorney who we are using for administering the estate. We will also let our real estate agent friends know about their services.

Called 3 times before they remembered to send me an estimate. Decided to take my business elsewhere…read moredue to this.

Hanagan Surveying was professional, on time, and got the job done. We enjoyed having Jack on the…read morejobsite. Highly recommended, and their services come at a fair price. Thanks Jack!

Just closed an escrow with this office and Stefanie who was our main point of contact was overall…read moreexcellent! I was really impressed that she was fast, accurate and on it! She had clients signed quickly and went above and beyond for a closing to happen on time. Really great and highly recommend for anyone in Santa Cruz area looking for an escrow company.

I work as a Transaction Coordinator with approx 15 realtors and I've worked with Karen Talbot and…read moreteam on approx. 20 transactions or more and never have had any problems so I'm shocked and surprised at some of the past unfavorable reviews here. Part of my success working with Karen and team is the great communication from my realtor to Karen's team and it goes both ways. Karen and team always keep us up to date on anything that is needed from us. Again, I've had nothing but great customer service from them.

Pacific Appraisers did an outstanding job establishing the value of a residential property that I…read morehave in Santa Cruz. Their charges were very reasonable and I was able to get the appraisal scheduled quickly and they turned around the valuation report just a day later. Both Shain Holden and Brett Marshall were a pleasure to work with and provided meaningful market analysis. I wouldn't hesitate to work with them again and would highly recommend Pacific Appraisers to others.

This is probably the best AMC in the mortgage industry. They answer the phone, respond quickly to…read moreemails and get the job done. Don't waste your time going with another appraisal company.

My husband and i scheduled a tour of a property in Felton yesterday at 12pm. We drove an hour and a…read morehalf with our baby to view the property, all for NO ONE to show up. We called PMI Santa Cruz, and received only a "we will see if an agent is available and call back in ten minutes". To no surprise, there was no phone call 10 minutes later. Very disappointing. Would never go through this agency for anything. Very unprofessional.

This review is specifically for John Morris, PMI's maintenance worker. We've encountered a few…read moreissues at our rental in Lompico--some of them quite unusual, like a mysterious leak under the stairs that only appears during torrential downpours. John approached the challenges with a methodical, careful mindset, testing potential causes and following through until he finds a solution. His attention to detail and logical problem-solving stood out in every interaction. Previously, John replaced a faulty light fixture in our kitchen that had been flickering and eventually stopped working altogether. He didn't just install a new light; he took the time to assess the problem thoroughly and ensured the replacement was a meaningful improvement. The new fixture works perfectly and is a big upgrade! Having dealt with less-than-reliable handymen in the past, I truly appreciate John's professionalism, deep knowledge of construction and home maintenance, and courteous demeanor. His breadth of expertise and understanding of how things work is genuinely impressive. We're grateful for John's excellent communication, dedication, and reliable work. Thank you, John, for going above and beyond to help our family!

They managed my partners property. Chaz was not a bad guy who tried to coordinate logistics for us,…read morebut Margaret was the one in charge. She thinks she is a "know it all" but really knows nothing. One example was with our AC that was fixed with new thermostat, but the company did not test the heat (one thermostat for both functions). When fall came, heat did not work and Margaret was giving wrong information to the contractors and warranty company that required is to get involved. We ended up having to work directly with warranty and contractors because she had no clue how to coordinate issue or that it was possible that the thermostat was still to blame. Another example was a water leak on the fridge at the place where you fill up cups on door. It did not shut off properly and dripped down to the floor. The tenant confirmed this when I personally went over and looked. Margaret kept insisting that leak was at valve behind the fridge, but I confirmed via testing and visual checks that it was not leaking there. She denied my assessment - basically accusing me of lying. I feel as though she did not like me suggesting that tenants were responsible for not notifying her of the issue since the water damage was so severe at this point that it damaged about 100sq foot of flooring (maybe they did and she did not convey to us - based on other reviews?). She insisted that she bring in her people to rip up the floor and assess the damage when I already did that via close visual and measurement checks. I told her that we should buy the material first so we can get it all done in one day and not have a kitchen with ripped up flooring. She basically called me "stupid" (in other words) and said that there was no way I could assess the damage properly. She never visited the house, nor understands my background or experience in this area. It seems that she just wants to be in charge and drive things (poorly I might add). I won't accuse her of suspected motivations - but I have my ideas. To me, she should be supporting us and not discounting or arguing with us over everything. Remember - she did not even bother to go and take a look! I would not recommend this company at all. esp with her working there. Dave should do a better job of tracking his employees performance and make changes when need to be a top notch business in this area.

Blue Sky 'managed' my property from 2022-2023…read more DO NOT USE BLUE SKY for your property management needs. There are plenty of other reputable firms in the area. The entire team (except Cory) has shown incompetence time and time again. We initially engaged Blue Sky to manage our property in April 2022 for a short-term summer placement, then a long-term placement from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023. Issue 1: In the management contract, they are required to get approval for any spend or repairs greater than $500. In the first three months, Margaret authorized a total spend of over $2,600 without so much as an email or call to let us know what was happening. Furthermore, $500 of this was for towels and a set of sheets that we already purchased. Get this, when we asked them to return the towels and bedding at the end of the short-term lease they were unable to account for them... Issue 2: They are unable to provide monthly statements that tie to their cash flow report. I'm an accountant by trade and I spent hours attempting to reconcile the statements they were providing and 24 emails (!!!) between David P. and his bookkeeper. Ultimately they found and corrected only one of the errors I brought to their attention. Quote from David, "Ryan, we did have a double payment charged for this work order but it was changed to just labor on 6/22/22." Issue 3 (See attached image): The most recent issue is: Our June statement's ending balance was $500. On the July statement, the opening balance is -$492. How can your closing balance not match the opening balance of the next period? I don't know and Blue Sky can't provide an explanation either (see statements attached). Their accounting is atrocious. The combination of all these factors (and more) has earned them 1 star. I can't reiterate this enough, DO NOT USE BLUE SKY. There are plenty of other companies who will treat you better without the headache and expense.