We worked with Chris to buy a home in San Mateo in spring 2013, when the market was exploding. We were first time buyers living in SF and were pretty clueless about the local market, financing, and everything else related to buying a home. For anyone in this position, you need someone who is not only knowledgeable, patient and willing to explain things every step of the way, but also persistent and knows when to be more aggressive to make sure your needs are well-represented in the transaction.
Chris is all of this and more. She is very savvy and negotiated several things on our behalf. She is very likeable and was able to build a genuine relationship with various critical parties (e.g., sellers, lender). She knew we were very busy and took the time to really understand what we were looking for up front, I think she knew better than we did at some level after looking at a few houses together. She made the process smooth for us, carefully choosing properties that she thought we may like and setting up private viewings when we were available. She never pressured us, but set our expectations clearly early on. She also really knew the San Mateo area and had strong connections with local agents, which enabled her to keep a close eye on what was happening in the market and ensure a smooth escrow process. Finally, we teased her for her German efficiency, which we saw through her responsiveness (text msgs, emails, were always responded to promptly), her preparation and organization (she created binders for us to ensure information was easy to read/organized), and her timeliness (we've never waited a second for her).
Even within a crazy, competitive market, within 5 months of our first open house, we are now proud owners of a single family home that we love. We are confident that we would not be here today if it was not for Chris. read more