Jodi and her team are great! Would highly recommend them as your Realtor if your are buying or selling!

We highly recommend Jodi and her team! As first-time buyers coming from outside the East Bay, we had a steep learning curve ahead of us--and we couldn't have hoped for anyone better to guide us through the process. Jodi and Maria were highly attentive to our needs and consistently available through the many ups and downs of the home buying journey. They were patient and supportive when we changed our minds more than once, encouraging and optimistic when things didn't work out as we hoped, and helped us refine our vision with zero pressure. They're not only extremely knowledgeable about the Berkeley-Albany housing market, but also have a broad network of vendors and professionals--from inspectors to contractors--who were reliable and helpful when we needed to make quick and informed decisions. What really set them apart was their creativity and vision. Jodi and Maria offered smart, practical suggestions for renovations and layout changes that could make the space work for us. Their ability to help us see the potential in a property was invaluable in the Berkeley-Albany market, with its often quirky homes. We're now happily settled in a home we love, and we truly couldn't have done it without Jodi and Maria. If you're looking to buy in the East Bay area, you'll be in excellent hands with them. read more

I've worked with other real estate agents in the past, but Jodi and her Kai Real Estate team are by far the best. They made the process of buying and selling during this difficult economic time easy for me to understand. Jodi accomplished what I had hoped without stress. read more

Jodi is an incredible, knowledgeable real estate professional. Her expertise of evaluating the repairs I needed to maximize my selling price was valuable. I am grateful. Jodi helped me negotiate the market during a slow December, too, and got it sold. I highly recommend Jodi and her team. read more

Jodi and Kai are absolutely the best agent/firm ever. Just completed the 4th transaction (2 buys 2 sells) with her/them and as always her expertise and savvy and professionalism resulted in excellent results -- she handles everything big and small and makes the selling/buying process seamless and as stress free as one can hope. In this tight and quesy market, Jodi and Kai got my house on the market, sold and closed (over asking!) in a flash. They have a great sense of needed upgrades and personal touches that add value to your home, and a keen strategic sense of the market -Jodi and Kai are realtors/firm you can always trust and work with your best interest in mind - all with caring and kindness read more

Jodi brought a polished and practical approach to the whole process of helping us sell our house. She put a strong team together of landscapers and stagers etc. She has great energy and confidence; was easy to work with and felt like a strong ally. We got quite a bit more than our asking price! read more

We had a wonderful experience with Jodi and her team. They were incredibly professional, patient, supportive and friendly with us throughout the whole process and even beyond! Always on top of things, made sure we didn't miss anything, and proactive in showing us properties. We were impressed with personal touches as well! We would wholeheartedly recommend Jodi and Maria to anybody in the Bay Area! Thank you! read more

My experience with Jodi and her team at Kai Real Estate was nothing short of perfection. My brother and I hired Jodi to sell our father's house in North/Central Berkeley in Spring 2024, and from the moment we first met with her to the day it closed, everything went exactly as planned and projected. In the beginning, Jodi presented us with area comps, which was a bit of a challenge since there were barely any, but those plus her thorough knowledge and understanding of the local market, neighborhoods, even down to specific blocks, we were able to get an idea of the value of the house and set our expectations. We discussed/decided upon various updates to the home to maximize the value, and her team was able to handle all of the work such as manage the contractors, painters, ordering of materials, gardeners, and everything else that was involved which was a huge relief to us. She would present us with a few materials/colors options that her team had already filtered and we would pick one. It made the process simple, quick, and not overwhelming at all. Kai Real Estate already has established relationships with local contractors who do excellent work and made themselves available for our project in order to keep our timeline on track. For the first few weeks of the process, I should also mention that Jodi's team patiently worked around my brother and I as we finished clearing out the house as there was still quite a bit of furniture and other possessions that we had to relocate. Once the house was empty though it was game on and they went full speed ahead, and the house was staged and looked amazing exactly in time for the first open house, which was a huge success thanks to Kai's excellent and extensive marketing. Every member of Jodi's team that we interacted with was professional, punctual, highly competent, honest, and friendly, reinforcing our decision to hire Kai Real Estate to sell my father's house which was a very emotional process for me and my brother. I felt very assured that we were in good hands every step of the way, and I knew all the details were getting handled without either of us having to micromanage or inquire. That being said, when curiosity got the better of us and we sent a text or email in between their update reports, Jodi always responded quickly to answer all our questions. With so many moving parts in a short timeframe (it was about 8 weeks start to finish if I recall) it was a huge weight off our shoulders to hand the process over to a local, established, professional team that I knew was going to absolutely crush it, which they did, and for which I am forever grateful. Caroline read more

We worked with Jodi and Dana in Winter/Spring 2023 as first time home buyers in Berkeley and Albany and highly recommend their team. They know this local market very well, down to the exact block and house. We've been living in the neighborhood we're interested in, so we also knew the area very well. However, we didn't know the intricacies of the real estate market and the nuances of this industry. We ended up buying a house that we identified ourselves, but Jodi and team were very helpful in touring our top candidates and presented their views on what questions to ask and their opinions on certain features of the houses. The most helpful expertise they had was connections to home inspectors and they even had a former home inspector as part of their team. We used this service a lot in our search. We even had a structural engineer recommended by the team come inspect the houses that we bid on. One of which crucially had a big foundation issue that we ended up passing on. It was money well spent to avoid a big mess. I highly recommend the team for this expertise and connections. For the actual price negotiations / disclosure review / submitting a strong offer needed to win in this market, Jodi and Dana are one of the very best and know exactly what to do to win a bidding war. However, for our case, in Feb / March 2023 the market cooled considerably and we were looking for very renovated homes that others have passed for many reasons, so we had no competition at all for the three houses we bid on. We ended up putting in a number below what they recommended. Because there wasn't competition, we got it. In conclusion, If you're looking to buy a craftsman bungalow in a desirable neighborhood with a bidding war, follow their instructions to a T. But if you're bidding on a house with no other competition, you can take into account their advice, but do what makes sense to you. Overall, Jodi, Dana and team are great at what they do, are extremely responsive (necessary in this industry!), and have a wide network of businesses and services who can help with what you need. Lastly, their office parties have good food!! read more

Words cannot describe how awesome Jodi and her team are. We first spoke with Jodi in December and a month and few days later, we have keys to a first home we love. We started with Jodi giving us the high level tour of the market and educating us on broad topics, and gradually transitioned to working very closely with Jules. Jules is out of this world helpful and knowledgeable. She held our hands and guided us throughout the process. She's also accountable and detail-oriented. She remembers everything and is always reachable. We went to see our home on a Thursday night, and Jules put together the offer package overnight and helped us land the offer the next day. She proceeded to work through every detail of the closing process, including referring us to an amazing mortgage broker. She negotiated terms with all parties when things did not go right, and she always came back to us with solutions that eased our minds. At the end of closing, we felt wonderful! Jules and Jodi have blown us away with their professionalism, work ethic, and passion for their work. 2020 definitely ended on a high note for us, and so did 2021, all thanks to these ladies! read more

Highly recommend working with Jodi and her group. We had a very good experience buying our first house. She took time to understand our needs and over time proved that she cared to find the right home for us. read more

Jodi is an amazing realtor! The constant professional who knows the east bay market so well. She came to visit us and view our home. She told us that our home will sell and recommended a price. We decided to do a "coming soon" release on MLS to test out our current market. We had to leave town so she staged our house (using our furniture), took gorgeous pictures, held gatherings and showings while we were away. It sold! The first family who viewed our home gave us our asking price. Later we found out that it was her personal conversation with that broker that motivated him to show our home. We were so relieved to find her and so happy how she got us through selling a home in this market. We highly recommend her! read more

I cannot recommend Jodi and her team highly enough if you are looking to buy a home in Oakland/Berkeley! As first time home buyers in a very competitive market and a particularly competitive year, we would have been completely lost without Jodi and Jules. They walked us through everything patiently, were always around to answer questions, always responded quickly and gave us a lot of their time as we mulled over what offer amounts to make. We really valued Jodi's evaluation of a home and she was always extremely realistic with us. She was honest about what she thought the true value of a home is as an investment and her gut was always right about the price. She was very focused on making sure we don't get carried away with some of the crazy bidding processes here and kept our attention on getting a house with good value but also one that we loved and saw ourselves in! Jodi is also extremely knowledgeable about the area and helped us decide on neighborhoods by putting us in touch with her other clients. We put in a few offers over the six months we searched and Jodi was always there for us when our offer wasn't accepted. We were finally able to get a great house in North Berkeley thanks to Jodi and Jules. We wanted to get some work done before we moved in and Jodi helped us design the modifications and provided a great contractor recommendation which we ended up using. It was a pleasure working with Jodi and Jules and if you are looking to buy or sell a home, you should not hesitate to hire them! They are really one of the best out there! read more

We're thrilled to be writing this review for Jodi and Jules. We were first time homebuyers looking to purchase a home we loved in the Berkeley/Albany area and Jodi's whole team made this incredibly stressful process much easier with their personalized hands on approach. This year was a crazy time to purchase a house but through their guidance and even keel demeanor, we got clear on location, tradeoffs and whether or not it was a "good" deal or not. From the beginning it's been obvious that they've been committed to making sure we found a home we loved without losing sight of it's investment potential. We felt seen and heard through this process and we never felt like Jodi pushed us to go one way or another. She was really forthcoming about what she expected certain houses to go for and where we should land to have a competitive offer. We put in a few offers within the course of many months and we always felt in lock step with the team. They would offer their wisdom around the concern areas in the disclosures as well as construction estimates if we needed them. Overall we couldn't have imagined a more supportive process with anyone else as knowledgable as Jodi's team. Thanks to Jodi we found a beautiful home in Kensington that we're happy to call our own. Hire Jodi immediately, you won't regret it. read more

We worked with Jodi and Maria to purchase our first home, and we would recommend them to anyone looking to buy in the East Bay, especially in the Oakland/Berkeley area. They were super knowledgeable and helped us navigate an unfamiliar and emotional decision. * Deep History and Knowledge in the Area. We were looking in Piedmont, Rockridge and Elmwood, and it was obvious throughout that they were familiar with the local market and price differences/types of houses/competitiveness in these submarkets. The advice they were able to give on these different neighborhoods helped us narrow down and focus our search. They also had relationships with all the listing agents, and that helped ease the process, as the Bay Area is a very insular market, so there is a lot of value to having your agent know the seller's agent. * Flexibility and Responsiveness. Jodi and Maria were always responsive to us and our many questions, willing to respond to texts or emails or hop on a zoom. This was very comforting as everything seemed to move quickly. Also, because we were not living in the East Bay when we were looking we were only able to meet in person on the weekends, and Jodi and Maria were always willing to give up their weekends to meet on our schedule (including scheduling last minute private showings). * Truly Represented Us. We feel like Jodi and Maria were looking out for us and representing us through this process. With the house we bought, when we met to discuss the offer amount, they advised us to offer an amount that was less than we had been expecting. Then the night before offers were due they let us know that we would likely be the only offer and recommended that we drop our offer amount by $150,000, and we ended up getting the house for less than we expected. We would never have known that we were the only offer if they hadn't told us, and they could easily withheld that information or not pressed the seller's agent about what other offers were coming in and received a larger commission on the higher home price, as we would have been pretty content with our initial offer amount. Their representation also continued after our offer was accepted, and they helped us navigate the escrow period and even initial items after closing. * Made Us Feel More Comfortable. Because we were first time home-buyers, the entire process was new to us, and we truly couldn't have navigated it without Jodi and Maria. They had multiple hours-long meetings with us about how to read disclosures, they explained the cycle of the market, they helped us determine offer amount and were generally able to answer any questions we had. Basically, whatever we thought a buyer's agent did before working with Jodi and Maria, it turned out that they actually do at least 4x as much. There were times they'd say something like, "well when I called the Piedmont school district" or "so I talked to sellers' agent about the screens," and our reaction would just be, "wow, didn't know they were doing that." We felt that whatever we didn't know we were supposed to be doing or inspecting or asking about, it was OK because Jodi and Maria were doing it for us. read more

We had the best possible experience with Jodi Nishimura and Kai Real Estate. There was not a single moment when we felt like "closing a sale" was the most important thing for Jodi and her team. She went the extra mile so many times. At the very first house she was showing us, a neighbor dog attacked our dog who was with us. She vigorously shooed it off and slipped while doing so. She got up off the floor, and while I was effusively apologizing, she said, no problem, I'm fine. During our search for a suitable property, our family had a significant health crisis that forced us to withdraw from a pending purchase; Jodi just turned on a dime and succeeded in handling a difficult and stressful situation in a supportive and caring way. All about our best interest, all the time. She has a great team of professionals who prepared our house for sale in a seamless manner. They even moved a large and heavy piece of furniture from our house to that of a relative and shared our priority of putting as little in the landfill as possible. We were kept informed at all times about the volatile real estate market and given good advice on pricing to elicit maximum interest. In multiple interactions with several members of the Kai team, we were impressed by their punctuality, competence and care. Kai Realty is committed to make the process work best for their clients. Kai's slogan is Kindness, Authenticty, Integrity. These are not just fancy aspirations; they are the actual experience of being their client. And to top it off, Jodi is a delightful person to interact with. A great experience that left us extremely grateful to Jodi and her team. Ellen and Irv read more

My wife and I chose Jodi for the sale of our Berkeley home, and we were not disappointed. She has impressive real estate acumen, which includes an understanding of design concept, pricing strategy, and Berkeley's unique, distinct neighborhoods. Additionally, Jodi has a team of individuals who seamlessly handle everything, e.g., operations, listing related matters, documentation, etc. And all the above benefits resulted in our receiving a sales price for our home which was beyond expectations! Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention what a joy it is to interact with Jodi, for she has the wonderful combination of competence, humility, and kindness. And, she is a very focused, "present" listener who was attuned to our needs and always remained calm, balanced. and graceful. If you are in need of a real estate professional, look no further than the Jodi Nishimura Group; you will be very satisfied with both the results and the interaction. read more

Jodi is an exceptional realtor, and frankly one of the most seasoned and knowledgeable pros I have met. My experience working with her was phenomenal, and I wholeheartedly recommend you reach out to her if you are in the market. I contacted Jodi last year for help with buying a home in Oakland or Berkeley. This was roughly a 6-month search, due to some unusual complications on my end and the challenging nature of the market. Jodi was thoughtful and completely engaged throughout the search, using an initial interview to gauge what I was looking for and then throughout the process offering suggestions about neighborhoods and forwarding additional listings and that I hadn't considered, along with comparables and market research. If I had to pick my favorite thing about working with Jodi, it is her absolute honesty. She never hesitated to give me her unvarnished opinion about a property, at least twice encouraging me away from properties I was considering and would have regretted purchasing if I had made an offer. At times she reached out to her past East Bay clients to pull their hyperlocal perspective on neighborhoods and even specific streets. It was an absolute relief to know that I could always rely on her honesty and judgment, seasoned by her contacts and exceptionally deep understanding of the Berkeley and Oakland real estate scenes. Moreover, while Jodi was more than happy to arrange tours, I'm the type of person who is also constantly checking new listings and visiting open houses on my own. Every listing agent that asked who was representing me recognized Jodi's name, and many mentioned that they'd worked with her in the past. This was again a huge relief, and a testament to her professionalism, experience, and work ethic. I eventually entered contract on a property Jodi suggested I see, with a ton of potential in a great neighborhood, and which should be an excellent long-term investment. Jodi was likewise a dream to work with during the offer. While I'm sure her time is at a premium, she was always fully available and efficient in driving the process to completion. We easily closed on time, and I honestly think I lucked out in a great neighborhood I would probably otherwise have been priced out of. Post-close Jodi has remained as available as ever, answering my random questions and leveraging her network to provide recommendations on contractors, electricians, and so on. If you have the opportunity to work with her as either a buyer or seller, please do so. She is one of the top realtors in the Berkeley / Oakland scene for a reason, and working with her is truly as good as it gets. read more

We stepped tentatively into the Oakland housing market, expecting to be met with confusion, intimidation, and frustration. Our experience was anything but thanks to Jodi and her team's fantastic depth of knowledge and personal support. Jodi spent time getting to know our situation and our priorities. She helped us set expectations and educated us on factors that were of particular importance for our situation. Jodi's recommendations, both in terms of resources as well as opportunities were carefully curated to our needs. And she was and continues to be readily available for the questions that come up. We are now proud homeowners, having been comprehensively supported by Jodi and her team. As a second time buyer, I can't speak highly enough of the experience. Somehow she managed to guide us to our new home in a neighborhood we thought was out of reach and we had an offer accepted within a week of starting to look! Jodi has a deep network of colleagues as well such that she has always been able to steer us in the right direction with regard to our real estate needs. We have nothing but the highest regard for her level of service and expertise and have enthusiastically recommended her to our friends. If you need a supportive realtor in the East Bay to get the job done, call Jodi and her team right now! read more

I live out of the US, and was selling my residential /commercial property. Jodi came highly recommended and I completely agree with other reviewers. Excellent service and Trustworthy. She worked with my budget and provided options. It was a big deal to sell my property when I lived so far away, but she made the process go smoothly. She was on top of everything that needed to be done and made sure all the details were taken care of. Three days before the Open House the roof leaked and there was water damage. She arranged to have the painter retouch the walls and ceiling and worked with the stylist to replace damaged artwork, all in time for the Open House. She is a miracle worker. Trust her if she says to replace kitchen appliances. The upgrades made a big difference and I believe it was a key motivator for the buyer. My experience with Jodi was beyond excellent. She made all the difference. Great realtor and great person. Deborah Roundtree read more

Jodi and Dana are amazing! We got a referral from our SF real estate agent when we started looking in the east bay - and after one offer, we got our amazing house in Crocker Highlands! Jodi/Dana worked together on everything and helped us prepare our offer to be competitive (as well as being extremely available to let us tour the house multiple times before offer date). On the offer date - they worked their magic by talking with the selling agent to figure out if we needed to update our offer (we did) - and quickly got into contract. After we closed on the house, Eric from their team was very helpful in helping us scope out some work we wanted to get done on the house. The experience and knowledge (plus amazing personalities) of the team are all top-notch and truly helped us land our dream home. WORK WITH THEM!! read more

Josh and Jodi helped us buy our first home in Berkeley and we would highly recommend them. Every step of the way, they showed their expertise and commitment to doing what's best for us - understanding the pros and cons of neighborhoods / properties, relevant comps, pricing strategy, creative deal structuring, and keeping morale high when we thought the deal was dead multiple times. read more

After many years/delays, we put our Berkeley family home on the market through Jodi Nishimura's office. Jodi was selected by my late sister and my remaining sister and I honored that request. Jodi exceeded all expectations, from her knowledge of the real estate market in the neighborhood where the house was located, to the improvements made to the house, prior to selling. Jodi has a pretty good-sized team as well and if she wasn't readily available, Eric or Jules were. All were courteous, professional, and good listeners. Finally, the house wound up selling for far more than the asking price, so Jodi's pricing strategy worked beautifully. Jodi works with all facets of the market, from humble dwellings to high end ones, and judging by the renovations she does with a lot of properties, she gives each property the same loving care that she gave ours. From start to finish, she did a great job! Jodi is definitely on my recommended list for real estate agents. If you need a good real estate agent, she's definitely one of the very best. read more

I can't recommend Jodi highly enough. She makes sure she understands your wants, priorities, price point, even personality, then gives you all the information you need to make an informed decision. And when it's go time, she is on it! In our very first (virtual) meeting, Jodi stood out from all the other agents I interviewed. I provided all the realtors I reached out to with our estimated price range and potential neighborhoods in Berkeley and Oakland we were interested in, and Jodi came to our first meeting with an online report, customized for us, that showed recent sales in the neighborhoods and price range I'd sent her. She talked me through why various houses went for what they did, and the ways we could get more for our money depending on what our priorities were. She seemed very focused on making sure that we not only found a house we loved, but made a sound investment as well. She also seemed very familiar not only with different neighborhoods, but even individual streets! The market had gotten wild just as we started to look, but Jodi was great at setting expectations for us and making us aware of the various challenges of getting a home here (teaser pricing, pre-emptive offers, no contingencies, fast closing, the "charm" factor, etc.). She also leveraged her network to get us updates (sometimes changing overnight!) about the expected sale price of homes we were interested in. Thanks to Jodi, we ended up not bidding on a couple other houses that started out seeming reasonable but ended up going way out of our price range and had more costly disclosures than the home we ended up purchasing. Instead we freed up our time and emotional energy to pursue other houses, and ended up getting the first house we bid on! We couldn't believe it given some of the horror stories we'd heard from friends and coworkers about bidding fatigue (people giving up, buying homes they didn't love, spending extra just to be done, or buying in a different city than they'd hoped). Jodi was super responsive in prepping our offer and helping us respond to the counter-offer from the seller (as was the mortgage broker she recommended to us). She also asked us great questions that ended up making us feel so much more confident in our decisions, like would you be sad to lose this house at X price point? We started working with her in January, had our offer accepted March 1, and were moved into our new home the first week of April. And since closing, we have only continued to feel the love from Jodi. Thank you for everything, Jodi! It was a pleasure working with you and we'll be forever grateful that you helped us get our wonderful first home :) We wish you all the best and hope many awesome clients come your way! read more

My partner and I could not have been happier with our decision to work with Jodi Nishimura to sell our home in the Berkeley Hills. Jodi is of the utmost professionalism and it shined through every step of the selling process from getting the house ready for market to a smooth closing. Jodi is very empathetic. She understood the level of involvement we could offer during the transaction and effectively took care of everything for us. This was was so appreciated given our extremely busy schedules. I felt everything was taken care in the most professional way of and always up to date with what was happening. Finally, I would be remiss not to mention how patient Jodi was with us answering every question and alleviating any concern. We cannot recommend Jodi and her team highly enough! read more

Jodi and Jules helped my wife and I buy our first home during a challenging time to buy. Believe the 5 star reviews! Jodi is extremely knowledgable about the market and helped us find a home in the extremely competitive neighborhood we were hoping for, just when we were starting to worry we would not be able to compete with so many cash buyers. We also ended up with a home that has everything we were looking for, and didn't need to settle for a less-desirable house to get our ideal location (although it does need some renovations which Jodi is guiding us through as well). Jules prepared our offer and saw the deal through; and was always responsive and willing to go over each step quickly as it came up through escrow. Some of the other reviewers have mentioned that working with Jodi and her group, things have a way of falling into place; after working with her we can attest that Jodi does have an uncanny ability to understand what we were looking for and find a way to make it work out. read more

My husband and I had a great experience with Jodi and her fantastic team as we bought our home during a competitive market. Jodi answered every question we had, educated us throughout the process, and provided valuable insight and compassion as we went through the highs and lows that occur in the home buying process. We are grateful that Jodi made herself available for us whenever possible - and for Dana who spent time making sure we understood all the paperwork involved. Jodi provided us unwavering support even after we closed and moved in. We value her feedback and knowledge immensely and highly recommend Jodi and her team if you are looking for a home in the east bay! read more

I found Jodi through a Yelp search and decided to contact her as she seemed to have such glowing, whole-hearted reviews. It was the first time selling property for me. A couple single family homes I inherited from my dad, one of which had been my childhood home. It soon became apparent that I was in great hands. I had been impressed with the many testimonials by those who had inherited property and entrusted the entire sale process to Jodi without even setting foot in the area. And she was indeed quickly able to take the wheel. Jodi is well-connected and, was, on short notice, able to pull in various people that could be trusted to do great work. What would have been overwhelming for me to deal with personally - a makeover that, among other things, included painting both the inside and outside of my childhood home and required scaffolding the entire exterior of the building - was made stress-free and simple by her complete handling of it. (Her partner, Eric, oversaw the on-site operations and was lovely to work with as well.) Though Jodi handled everything and exercised her qualification to make the decisions I needed her to, I never felt left out of the process or that the sale was no longer within my control. She kept me closely updated and I always felt consulted appropriately... and very much given the space to take things in whatever direction I desired. The sales went very well. Both of the leading offers exceeded expectation. And there was no doubt in my mind that it was owing to Jodi's exceptional skill. Not only does Jodi clearly possess significant knowledge and acuity when it comes to the real estate market; she brings a wonderfully thoughtful touch to her work, operating, always, with presence and deliberation. In a process which, I learned, can be so rife with delicate matters - and involve a variety of parties with conflicting/competing interests - her measured and listening approach helps guide all involved toward a mutually beneficial conclusion. She is a truly talented mediator, collaborator, liaison. By the closing of the sales, I realized that with the initial Yelp search, I had been choosing so much more than a real estate agent... rather, someone who would function, over the coming months, as a companion and confidante. What a stroke of good fortune that it turned out to be Jodi Nishimura! read more

First time seller - Jodi and her assistant Eric (and their crew and specialists) didn't just sell my home. They took the process, took over all the infinite details, and nailed the selling price. As a first time seller I managed to get some free advice from other seasoned brokers, but it was her expertise that got me a ridiculous final offer; and almost more importantly, in the end, managed to protect me from a broker and buyer's who could have used better advice. Jodi had to go up against us interviewing six brokers, but when it came down to the final three Jodi knocked it out of the park. She understood precisely how to answer the questions my trustee and I posed and she and her firm positioned me perfectly. When it came to the process of upgrading my home, pricing it, positioning it in time, she made my home "... the bell of the ball." Her contractors, workers, and experts we're affordable, did excellent work, and made my home look so good I almost didn't want to sell it! My job was to get out of my own way and I'll confess to arguing about how much we should have invested in upgrading the property; I'll tell you that even if I'd gone with her top budget it would have still paid off handsomely. In the end her professionalism and her recommendations for disclosure ended up protecting me from what could have been some unsightly fall out. If you hire her to sell your home my advice is to listen to her, let her handle all of the creative process of upgrading your home, and do not argue her recommendations. Point being, use whom she recommends, take her advice, and get the heck out of the way! read more

We are lucky to have found Jodi and her team. Everyone has been attentive and responsive. We have worked with her and her team for a few years now and we have never been disappointed. The have consistently over delivered and every transaction has been a smooth process. We look forward to continuing to work with them. Erick has been a joy to work with. He has followed through on every promise. We continue to look forward to his support read more

Jodi guided us through buying a home in Oakland this spring, and we're so happy with the level of experience, professionalism, good judgment, and insight she brought to the process. We met for the first time last fall, and she helped us understand her strategy working with buyers, vs. working with sellers. With buyers, she stresses finding properties that can be a good long-term value. She likes looking for diamonds in the rough, and her own experience with renovations lets her help her clients imagine the possibilities for homes that might be overlooked by the masses. I've worked with a few other agents in the past, and where I think she excels especially is in communication and deal-making: working with other real estate professionals, getting good intel from them, and helping you make a successful offer without overpaying. I highly recommend working with Jodi! read more

Jodi is amazing and I highly highly recommend her. As a first time home-owner, I was very daunted by the prospect of trying to buy a home in the Bay Area. Jodi found an wonderful deal and our offer accepted in less than a week! That is almost unheard of here in the Bay Area. I am so impressed by Jodi's professionalism, knowledge, experience, and negotiation skills. She is also incredibly responsive and has fantastic recommendations for lenders (yay Bryce Anderson at WF!) and contractors etc. Thank you Jodi again! read more

Jodi and team are excellent partners. We have bought/sold/bought with Kai Real Estate and if our loyalty doesn't say it all - I'll also add that we bought under market both times and sold substantially above market. Jodi, Dana, Eric and everyone else behind the scenes are always hustling and it shows. Plus they are delightful to work with. Highly recommend! read more

I'm so grateful to Jodi for guiding me through my first home purchase this past year (during a really, really crazy Covid market). I worked with both Jodi and Jules (who is on her team). They are both honest, responsive, and incredibly hard working. I could not have asked for a better team. Below are some of the things that really made them stand out: 1. Jodi was very accurate with her comps and price estimates for various properties. This is especially important for putting in a competitive bid in Berkeley where a lot of the homes are listed with teaser prices and the actual sale price may be 30-40% higher. Though I did not end up purchasing a fixer-upper, Jodi also has a lot of knowledge about the cost of renovating a home, so if that's the type of property you're looking for, she would be a great resource. 2. I was away from Berkeley during the closing process and Jodi and Jules were amazing in making sure everything went smoothly. For example, they secured a sewer lateral bid for me that was $1000 below the one from the seller. They got a roof inspection, checked the window installations for me, etc. It would have been a very stressful situation (closing remotely), but by then I knew that I could trust Jodi and Jules to be thorough, communicative, and detail oriented. 3. Eventually, Jodi helped me find a property that hadn't gone on the market yet! This way, we did not have to compete with a horde of other buyers. This is probably the only reason why I was able to buy a place in this crazy market (on some of my previous offers, there were as many as 10 other buyers bidding on a property). 4. Even after closing, Jodi has continued to follow up with me about the property. There was a slightly stressful situation that developed which she helped me to resolve. She doesn't just abandon you once you close but is dedicated to ensuring that you will love your new home. I could not have asked for better agents than Jodi and Jules. read more

Jodi is not only an amazing real estate agent, she's an amazing person overall. Her knowledge of the market and expertise on real estate matters really helped us through the entire process of buying a house. She was very engaged in the entire time and was quick to respond on every matter. She really cares to help you get your money's worth as she gives advice that takes into account current market values and it's potential development value. She's also an expert on duplexes! read more

Believe the hype! Jodi is so wonderful to work with. I'm writing this review from a beautiful Berkeley bungalow, 2 weeks after moving in, and my husband and I can't believe our luck-- and we owe it to Jodi. I honestly believe we would still be house hunting, scrolling through Redfin every day, and scheduling our weekends around open houses if we hadn't worked with her. Jodi was generous with her time, excellent at explaining the process, and always looked out for our best interests. We'll be in this house for a long time, but next time we need a realtor it will be Jodi (if she'll have us!). In the meantime, we're recommending her to everyone we know. read more

As first time homebuyers, my partner and I had lots of questions about the process and didn't know what to expect. We found Jodi online after conducting research on potential realtors and speaking with some friends who had bought houses in the East Bay. After an initial conversation with Jodi we knew we would be in good hands. From the get go, we were drawn to Jodi because of her professionalism, thoughtfulness, and calm demeanor. A week after our first meeting with Jodi in early March, shelter in place orders took effect and we decided to put our home search on hold. Jodi was patient and let us take our time in reactivating the process to find our first home. We actively worked with Jodi for a month, looking at listings and visiting homes before placing an offer. Jodi sent us listings, talking us through the pros/cons of different homes and neighborhoods. She was honest with her opinion and incredibly supportive of our decisions while guiding and listening to us. Jodi followed up on listings we sent her ourselves and was proactive throughout the entire process. Jodi recommended an excellent mortgage broker to us, helped explain complicated disclosure documents, and provided us with a home warranty. She was with us every step of the way and enabled us to place a competitive offer on our home. Jodi is incredibly savvy when it comes to real estate, the market, and how to close a deal! She is professional, kind, and made us feel secure and excited about this intimidating process. We would highly recommend working with Jodi and feel grateful we had the opportunity to do so. read more

Jodi is an amazing realtor! She helped me and my husband to SELL our condo and BUY a house in East Bay. About selling our place, it was pretty quick we got a great offer after we put our condo on a market. Because she is knowledgeable and working so hard. She always meet our needs, also has great friendships with other service professionals. Thanks to her, our condo was sold a great price more than we expected! About buying, it was a very competitive market to buy property but we bought our ideal home with a great deal. We were so luck and happy to have her in our both processes sell & buy! Without her, we couldn't have owned our lovely home in such a convenient location(North Berkeley)! Highly recommended! read more

Jodi helped my husband and I find our home in the spring of 2017 in the highly competitive Berkeley market, and exceeded all of our expectations. Jodi helped us navigate through the many complexities of this market - understanding what homes we had a shot at when many were going $300k+ over asking, understanding which neighborhoods would be the right investment for us at our price point vs. what to avoid (including slide zones!), crafting competitive offers for homes with 10+ coming in, and ultimately using her expertise to help us sneak in to be the first offer on a house unlisted on Redfin, Zillow etc to miraculously get it as asking price (unheard of!) that was also well within our budget. It took us ~4 months of house hunting, and coming in as a 2nd place offer for several properties before we found our home and Jodi was with us the whole way, making herself available on weekends to privately show us homes, answering emails and calls and steering us in the right direction. Jodi truly had our best interest at heart -- when we got excited about properties that she had concerns about she was careful to be vocal, versus have us purchase something that would have ultimately been a weaker investment for us, even though it meant a longer search process. She built our trust by patiently steering us forward vs. accepting a quick win on a purchase we would have regretted. When we went into escrow, Jodi stayed by our side through a complicated negotiation and repair process, amazingly getting the seller to meet all of our demands, and then made sure they did right by us through the close date and beyond. When our seller failed to complete some of their required tasks Jodi personally saw that they were followed through with post close. We ended the process with a home we are tremendously happy about a new friend in Jodi. Whether you are first time home buyer like us who requires extra time and patience or a veteran I cannot recommend Jodi enough. Simply put, we are in the right home for us because of her (and now settled just in time, two months before our first baby arrives :) We are so thankful. read more

We were referred to Jodi by a mortgage lender we found online. We were told Jodi had extensive knowledge in the locations we were looking in and they were correct. Jodi holds an incredibly vast amount of knowledge about the housing industry! We were sending her potential homes left and right and Jodi would reply with so much information on the properties. It helped having Jodi on our side during this "sellers market" period, where people either get outbid or are just not quick enough to put a bid in. As first time homeowners, we could not have asked for a better realtor. I don't know what the process is like for others during this pandemic, but Jodi made the process seamless. Although it has been a few months since we purchased our home, Jodi still does not hesitate to answer all of the questions we still send her from time to time. Additionally, Jodi referred us to a mortgage lender that we would not have discovered on our own. This move saved us thousands of dollars on closing costs and over the lifetime of the loan (due to such a great interest rate). Finally, we never felt pressured by Jodi, not even the slightest bit. I understand realtors are in the business of making money, but believe us when we say that Jodi has your best interests in mind. She has been nothing less than exceptionally professional, attentive, and caring. If/when we decide to sell our home and upgrade, we will not hesitate to ask Jodi to help us. She is amazing! Period. read more