We truly cannot say enough good things about our experience buying a house with Celia Concus and her Red Oak partner Ben Levin. The best way to sum it up is that we were treated like family. The two of them consistently went above and beyond over our 9 months of looking for a house to ensure that when we bought, it was a house that they would choose for their own loved ones. We were first-time, rather clueless homebuyers at the beginning of this process, and through their mentorship we have learned a ton about not only buying but also maintaining a home. The house we wound up in is more beautiful (and a better investment!) than we could have imagined when starting this process.
Just a few examples of what "above and beyond" means with Celia and Ben: When my partner and I were serious about a house near a major street, Ben and Celia went to visit it on their own accord and took a walk to learn about the area. They found out through a conversation with a nearby realtor, and subsequent super-sleuthing, that there used to be a dry cleaning business adjacent to the property and that it was purported to be contaminated with chemicals that could have been very dangerous to us or our future kids. We would never have discovered that, nor the other subtle red flags - incomplete pest reports, seismic weaknesses, landslide risks - that Ben and Celia found with their fine-toothed combs and made transparent to us. Celia knows EVERYONE in East Bay real estate, and she used that network over and over to ensure that we had all the info we needed to make a responsible decision. She and Ben also know a tremendous amount about home construction, what various repairs might cost, and who we should hire for what tasks, not to mention the neighborhood personalities and school districts throughout this area. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when everything in real estate became harder- and there was maybe even more incentive to close a deal- Celia and Ben continued to put our interests first. They were expert negotiators in closing this deal and helped us find an awesome team for closing- we closed in just 15 days!
In addition to their professional excellence, Celia and Ben are two of the loveliest people to work with. We can't wait to invite them for dinner at our new place, and will be excited to partner with them if we ever need to move again (which we probably won't, thanks to them!). read more