Kara is amazing. My husband and I recently purchased our first home and Kara stepped in to help us close the deal! She is so knowledgeable in the business and will always put her team and clients at the forefront of everything. She genuinely cared about making sure we understood everything throughout the closing process, always answering questions and getting answers from the seller. We are truly grateful to have worked with Kara in buying a remarkable, new home! read more

Kara did a great job for us. She handled all the issues quickly and without fuss. Sold fast at a good price.

I don't know where to begin! Kara is not only a great realtor, her customer service is outstanding and her honesty, integrity, hard work ethic and commitment to her clients is unmatched. My husband and I are first time home buyers and we are so grateful for her representation. She was always available to answer our questions. She kept us apprised of next steps, appointments, and was beyond helpful every step of the way. Her responsiveness and communication not only helped with the logistics of the transaction, but also made us feel comfortable and secure. Kara is organized, knowledgeable, and her positivity through what many people consider a very stressful process is an absolute asset in this tough housing market. I can't speak highly enough of Kara as our real estate agent. She provides the utmost professional and personal service which we appreciate and respect. She is not just our realtor anymore, we consider her our friend! read more

Kara and her team are the best of the best here in San Diego! Kara represented me in buying my first property and from start to finish the experience was best in-class. We worked together for over 2 years finding the right property and she was always patient, informative, and with my best interests at heart. She is professional, genuine, attentive, and helped me find exactly what I was looking for without ever feeling hassled. If you're in the market, you can't go wrong working with Kara! read more

In my 40+ years of being a real estate attorney in San Diego, I can say without reservation that Kara is the best real estate agent with whom I have ever worked. She recently negotiated a $2.2 million dollar sale of a single family residential property located on Mt. Soledad in La Jolla owned by our family trust. She is knowledgeable, efficient and has a charming personality.. She sold our house in a matter of days. She really knows what she is doing. Kara had the kind of personality that made it so easy to work with buyers, Escrows Agents and Title Officers. Kara was also very respectful of whatever decisions we made. She never pressured us. I encourage you to meet Kara in person because her personality, knowledge and experience in connection with the single family residential market in San Diego is such that once you spend a little time with Kara you will, like my sister and I, want to engage Kara whether you are a buyer or seller of real property. You will rarely meet a real estate professional with Kara's rare and special combination of charisma, knowledge, efficiency, experience and respect for clients Martin Weiss read more

I can attest with the utmost confidence - Kara is the BEST realtor in San Diego. Not being located in San Diego and having very specific requirements, I presented Kara with a unique challenge that she enthusiastically stepped up to the plate for. Her vast market knowledge and passion for real estate, coupled with her intuitiveness, diligence, and attention to detail made the world of difference in the home buying process for me - a first-timer and also a remote buyer. Whether it was sending countless videos of listings, negotiating offers, reviewing inspection reports, or checking the direction of the front door for the optimal feng shui, Kara was on it. Using this as an investment property, Kara also helped me secure fantastic and well-qualified tenants, as well as provide on-site support for maintenance and repairs. I know this is not the typical duties of a realtor, but that shows how committed Kara is to providing the most seamless experience for her clients - before, during, and after the close of escrow. Besides being an incredible realtor, Kara is a genuine and outstanding human being. She's filled with positive energy, a light-hearted sense of humor, and is an excellent communicator. These qualities are always much appreciated when navigating a difficult negotiation or escrow process, especially when speaking to someone multiple times per day for weeks on end. It was a true joy working with Kara and I would highly recommend her to anyone interested in the San Diego real estate market. read more

Kara is an amazing real estate agent and all around great person. When I first met her, my wife and I weren't looking for a home. But I knew instantly that I'd want to work with her when we were ready to start looking. She has such a dynamic personality, and her positive energy fills up the room. We ended up working with Kara to purchase a home in Encinitas and we're so glad we did! Kara is the dream combination of being someone fun and personable to work with, and also exceptional at her job. Usually you only get one or the other. Buying a home in San Diego, especially Encinitas, is a real challenge right now. It's such a desirable place to live and the buying process is super competitive. Kara was great in making our offer stand out - emptying her bag of tricks to get our offer accepted all while staying within our budget. Kara is also a San Diego native, and her knowledge of the area was a huge asset throughout the process. She has a really great network that made the whole process seamless. We had previously bought a home and planned to use our previous lender. Though we ended up going with her recommended lender and are so glad we did. She also had great recommendations for other things like inspections, and was very hands-on with helping us figure out a plan for the work that needed to be done on the house after closing. Kara is truly special and a genuine pleasure to work with. Both my wife and I wouldn't hesitate to call her if we ever sell our home or buy another property. Reach out to her now before she ends up on Selling Sunset! read more

Kara Kay & Rob Donahue, Realtors at Compass based in La Jolla, CA represented me when I was selling 13874 Bruyere in San Diego last year.   Kara and Rob were an amazing combination to help me not just to sell my house but to advise me on all things I needed to do to maximize my return and to better understand the process. They became my trusted advisors. They not only both worked REALLY hard to help me, but they are both hilariously funny and enjoy each other and they used that as a means of attracting other agents and potential buyers. I have to tell you that some of the things they advised me to do I was initially against because they sounded counterintuitive, but they used their knowledge of the market and the buyers they expected to be most interested in my property to help prepare my property and position it in the market in a remarkable way. Many people on our block were surprised by what my home ultimately sold for, and part of that was timing, but and I have to tell you that most of it was because of Kara & Rob. They are just REALLY good at what they do. By the way, I have a real estate's license and could have sold it myself and tried to save the commissions, but because I trusted them, they sold the house at a margin that more than covered their commissions. I can't tell you that will happen every time, but I know with their help, you will have the best chance to maximize your return.   A couple other things I have to mention. Kara is the vocal lead and part of her strength is that people just like working with her. She has an engaging personality. She is strong but also very convincing with buyers. That's a big reason the couple who bought my property and their agent hung in there so long even when issues came up. Rob is also a strong partner, but I found he also brought an attention to detail, an ability to see things from multiple angles, and a willingness to do whatever it took to help me with the prep of my house and the sale. He and Kara both went above and beyond the call of duty to be involved in things I had no right to ask them to help with, but they did so willingly and happily. They treated me like a partner and a friend.   I can't emphasize enough that if you want a good experience, the best experience, there is nobody better, no team that works as hard and as well as they do together. And you will have fun along the way! read more

If I could give more than 5 stars, I would :) Kara was absolutely AMAZING to work with and helped my husband I find our dream home. This was our first home buying experience and Kara was extremely patient, communicative, a great listener and attentive. More importantly, she was a rockstar agent who helped get the job done. Would recommend Kara to anyone and everyone! read more

Kara and team are the best in the game. Please do believe the hype! We started this journey during a difficult time in the market and stressful time in our lives but Kara and her team put our nerves at ease by not only being an expert in the industry but also an infectious positive light every time we connected. It's very rare to find this combination. She was able to answer all of our questions, then find and close on our dream home within just a few weeks, when based on other stories from people who used other realtors, we fully believed it would be months of struggle and let downs. If you not only want the best real estate team on your side that will fight for you but also want to enjoy the entire experience, go with Kara! read more

Love working with Kara! I have bought and sold numerous properties through Kara and she kills it every time. She's navigated me through high demand/multiple counter offer situations on the buying side and helped me sell my property for way over asking. What you can expect: Prompt communication, friendly and easy to talk to but a bulldog through the tough agent to agent conversations, attention to what her client wants/needs, thorough - doesn't cut corners, expert in her field. She also grew up in San Diego county which is a huge plus. She's assisted me on properties all over San Diego county ie Oceanside, Carlsbad, PB, Clairemont, UTC, Del Mar and everywhere in between. I recommend her to all my friends and would to anyone reading this review! read more

We met a few years back for evaluation of our property. She was great and brought many experts with ideas how to improve our property in Mission Bay to get top price. Very helpful, professional with great organizational skills. read more

Results-focused. Responsive. Professional. Highly communicative. An absolute pleasure to work with, and a true expert in her craft. This was easily the best and most successful real estate experience of our lives. My family recently had the privilege of working with Kara Kay to manage the sale of a condo in San Diego. The situation was somewhat complex because we are all located on the East Coast of the United States, and we needed an agent who could handle every aspect of the transaction without us ever needing to travel. My parents were understandably daunted by the idea of having to clean out a fully furnished condo from over 3,000 miles away and then figure out how to prep the unit for sale. From the moment Kara finished her listing presentation, all fears and concerns were assuaged, and we knew we found the right person for the job. Kara made it clear that she and her Team of professionals (who are all just as great as Kara) would handle everything from A to Z, including the clean out and clean up before we even went to market. The entire Team at Kara Kay & Associates far exceeded our expectations and lived up to their promise! The condo was show-ready over the course of a single weekend, and within 36 hours of hitting the market we were already in receipt of multiple offers! The entire transaction was seamless. My parents are thrilled with the outcome. Kara is incredibly thoughtful and thorough, she has a deep understanding of the local markets, and her approach to pricing and negotiation strategy is second to none. We truly appreciated her constant communication and reassurance during every step of the sale. There was no question left unanswered, no part of the process she didn't explain in detail, and her results speak for themselves. Throw in the fact that Kara is one of the nicest people on the planet, and you have the perfect combination of industry knowledge and personality to get things done the right way. When it comes to selecting a real estate agent, most of us want the same things. It ultimately comes down to picking someone we trust, who we believe is going to work the hardest and get the best possible price. For my family, we have no doubt that Kara Kay was that person, and we would highly recommend her to anyone buying or selling property in southern California. She is amazing! read more

Kara is the absolute BEST. Best real estate agent and genuinely the best person. When my boyfriend and I started looking for a home we had no idea where to start. Kara made the process so fun and exciting. She was so in tune with what was important to us and how she could best support us. Always celebrating the small wins and ensuring that we were more than comfortable with the whole process. Kara's charm, attention to detail, and undeniable passion are unparalleled and make a huge impact in ensuring you get everything you dream of in your future home. Our experience with Kara makes me want to shout her praise from the rooftop and We could not be more grateful. You seriously couldn't find a more competent, dedicated, and (I repeat) passionate realtor if you tried. We love you, Kara!! read more

Kara Kay is the BEST realtor in all of San Diego County. My husband and I had the absolute pleasure of working with Kara to purchase our first home and she made home buying experience a magical event. Kara is truly a once in a lifetime person and realtor; she above all else loves and cares about people, and this is so abundantly apparent in the passion and love she brings to her work and every aspect of her life. Kara is the amazing and rare mix of positivity (she will always keep your spirit up especially when you need it most), while also being completely realistic and honest with you always (she will tell you like it is and if a property isn't right for some reason she will tell you upfront). Searching for houses, especially your first one, can be a rollercoaster, but with Kara as your guide in the process you will always feel informed, taken care of, and on track. She is professional, thoughtful, patient, and goes more above and beyond to make sure her clients end up in the best possible home for them. On top of all of these traits, Kara has many connections and relationships all over San Diego county which enable her to find houses that might not have hit the market, help set you up with renovations, whatever you may need she will know the right person to call. One of our many examples of Kara's extraordinary heart and commitment to her clients was on our closing got delayed because of an extra credit check that our lender needed to do and Kara made magic happen and moved mountains to negotiate with the seller and his agent so we were able to move our stuff in on the date we had our movers booked. She is an absolute rockstar and there is no one better in San Diego that you could work with than her. We ended up with an incredible first home for our growing family and we have Kara to thank for this. We unequivocally recommend Kara Kay to anyone we can--you will be beyond happy you did!!! read more

5 STARS!!!! Wow. Wow. Wow... as I write this I am in complete disbelief. Kara is a magician!!! We had such an unbelievably complex and unique set of circumstances... she knew what to do at every turn. Using her services, we sold a condo and bought a duplex within 2 months. The condo sold for $10K over our asking (because she knew where to set the price) and she helped us extend Escrow on our duplex purchase. The end result? We now own a duplex property in a beachfront neighborhood that appraised for $200K above what we paid!! I know it seems too good to be true, but it isn't, Kara is a miracle worker. I tell everyone about our home-buying story, and highly recommend her! read more

When it comes to finding an excellent real estate agent, mutual trust and respect are hard to come by. Kara Kay exemplifies those characteristics and goes above and beyond to ensure the stressful home buying and selling experience is as seamless as possible. Kara is the consummate professional in the San Diego real estate world and it is clear why she is one of the most well respected, honest, and trustworthy agents in the industry. She is incredibly knowledgeable about the current market and regions throughout San Diego. Kara is the perfect mix of incredibly intelligent, passionate, and an excellent communicator - these characteristics truly set her apart from any other agent. Her passion about real estate shines clearly when working with her. We worked with her as both a listing and buying agent and it was a wonderful experience to feel that we were in such good hands with her representing us. Kara is an incredible communicator and excellent at "reading the room" - she knows exactly how to effectively get our points across in deliberations and excels at direct, yet kind and professional communication. She has a warm personality that immediately makes you feel comfortable and taken care of that stabilized us during all the twists and turns of escrow. She knew when to be stern or put her foot down as to not be taken advantage of and ensure the escrow process was done fairly. We listed our house with Kara and she helped to transform it into a picture perfect dream home in order to quickly bring it to market. From start to finish, she was very hands on, whether it be fluffing pillows for the perfect listing photo, adding her creative touches throughout the home, and being by our side during every appointment. She brought on a team of professional photographers videographers to effectively market our home. She helped us to set realistic expectations throughout the process which aided in keeping our stress levels to a minimum. She got to know us on a personal level and it has very clear since day one that our best interests were her best interests. Kara is bubbly, effusive and a true joy to be around. She has made our home buying process fun and low stress. She pays attention to what we like and don't like - and really listens - to effectively curate homes that are in our price range and fit our style. I trust her opinion completely - she has a keen eye and knows a diamond in the rough when she sees one. She always provided us with bound booklets of the MLS pages so that we could be organized on days that we looked at many houses in a row, which is always so helpful. She utilizes her strengths with effective negotiating strategies to get us the best "deal" in town. Her patience holds no bounds and I have never felt an ounce of pressure from her to make a decision - it is more important to her to take all the time we need so that we can be certain our decision is the right one. Between Kara's market knowledge and passion, she is my only choice when it comes to a realtor in San Diego - she is the BEST. read more

Amazing attention to detail. Wonderful listener and extremely knowledgeable. The last real estate agent you will ever need.

I'm an estate planning attorney and I've worked with Kara to help provide provide tax solutions for her clients who were considering their options trying to sell their house. I don't normally write reviews for advisors and realtors that I work with, but Kara isn't an ordinary realtor. Her empathy and compassion towards her clients is evident in every way possible. Her response time and updated plans of action are immediate and always on point. She's always a step ahead of the situation and she does this because she genuinely cares. I don't think it's possible to find a realtor with more knowledge and compassion than Kara, and I can't recommend her highly enough. read more

I had such a great experience with Kara helping me sell my first home, I had to work with her again on buying our new home. She was such a pleasure to work with from beginning to end on both transactions. She literally held my hand through the whole process and walked me through anything I had questions on. I loved getting her booklets with all the house details and information every time we met for open houses. Her fun, bubbly personality made looking for our forever home such a fun and exciting process. Thank you Kara for working with me on finding our home. You and Rob are so fun to work with and the best team someone could ask for when buying and selling! Not only were you our agent, but have become a life long trustworthy friend we can always count on! I can't thank you both enough! read more

KARA. IS. AWESOME. I repeat AWESOME. Consider her the new Queen B of San Diego real estate. She's truly amazing to work with and even more amazing of a person. She's transparent, personable, trustworthy, and wildly passionate. But most importantly, she cares about your needs and puts them first. I just closed on a new place here in PB and am stokeddddd! She knows this market better than anyone and delivers it with an ear to ear smile. Kara is my #1 and will forever be in my front row both personally and professionally :) read more

Where to begin...where to begin. I've known Kara for about for about 10 or 11 years now and even though we didn't hang out with the same circle of friends I knew that she was a great person by her character and wouldn't succeed in any path that she took. Fast forward to the end of 2018, I find out that I am being stationed back to San Diego for my last few years and I'm ready to settle down in this great city so I decide I need to find a realtor. Initially, I reached out to Kara but due to her being stranded on an Island I didn't hear back from her and decide to rely on the opinion of others when I asked on social media if anyone could recommend a realtor. A friend of mine did, mentioned he was a former Marine and I decided to give him a shot. Well, after two weeks I stopped hearing from him and reached back out to Kara for some advice. Kara, being the great person of character she is, gave me some advice to try to work it out with the realtor and didn't want to interfere with them. I am 100% positive that if it were anyone else they would have told me to leave them and let them find me a home. But not Kara, didn't want to step on anyone shoes and said that if nothing changes she would be glad to help out. A week later, I told Kara that I was ready to be her client. Now, this is about six months before I was moved back to San Diego and was living in Hawaii. Kara did everything she could to give me an idea of how the properties that we would find together looked, by going to the locations, filming the interior so I can really see what it looks like and then uploading it to Youtube. I felt a bit bad because she was running around San Diego making these videos for me to view and at times.I just said nope, not interested. All Kara said was, "Okay, gotcha". Eventually, I made my way to San Diego for a week to view some properties. Kara was there to pick me up and show me around all the properties that we found and while we were viewing properties I was also learning about what to look for in homes and understanding certain words I kept hearing and pretending I knew what they meant. Once I made went back to Hawaii there were two properties that I liked, can't remember the first one, but the other one was in Adobe falls. Let's just say when it went into Escrow I was heartbroken. Nothing on Kara's part, it was just not in my budget. Kara knew something was up with me by out text conversations and we had a talk where she gave me her word that we would find the perfect home for me. Cheered me up and was energized to continue the search. Eventually we found the home that I am currently living in now and I don't believe this would have happen without Kara doing her job. Overall, Kara is a great person who goes above and beyond what I believe most realtors are willing to do for their clients. She is all about her clients and what they want. Always listening and paying attention to their wants and needs and making it happen to the best of her ability. She's not happy unless YOU are happy and it takes months for her to find you your perfect home she doesn't because she loves what she does and by finding her clients their dream home is what she lives for. Thank you Kara. *hug* read more

Doesn't get better than Kara Kay! The level of knowledge and professionalism is the reason I will always use Kara as my realtor.

Kara Kay is the epitome of a true professional. She's polished, motivated, personable, and incredibly hard working. But above all, she genuinely CARES about each client, and each transaction she's representing. And she's fun! After a 5 minute conversation with her, you will FEEL how much she invests, and how good of a person she is. Put the phone book down, she's not your grandfather's realtor. Check out her videos on social--she is on the cutting edge of technology and new age real estate, and she knows what sells a home in 2017. Do yourself a service, and call Kara Kay. read more

The most professional aggressive realator I've ever worked with. Made me more money than any other realator said was possible. Great negotiating skills. Record closing and per sq. footage sales in houses history. If you have a house let this realator turn it into what the economy is looking for and you'll be happy you did. Thank you so very much! read more

Choosing Kara as my agent was hands down the best decision I made when buying my house. Mere words cannot even begin to describe what an absolute pleasure it was to work with her. Kara is one of the most passionate, hard-working, caring, and dedicated professionals I have ever dealt with, in any field. Always prepared, super responsive and enthusiastic; her business knowledge, savvy, and attention to detail are second to none. Her strong rapport with others in the industry gives her a huge advantage as well. Thanks to these outstanding qualities, Kara made the entire home-buying process unbelievably smooth and easy for me. Not only was she able to get my offer accepted over others that were higher, but we were also able to close in less than three weeks! Real estate agent? More like miracle worker! Literally every recommendation Kara gave me was 100% spot on. Although I still had complete control over every decision, I came to trust her advice implicitly, and she never led me wrong. At the same time, she was never pushy in the slightest and always took the time to fully address any questions or concerns I had. Kara worked tirelessly behind the scenes to get everything done smoothly, while always keeping me up to date on important developments. Whenever we hit a snag, she was always right on top of the situation, handling it efficiently and effectively. She even used her magical powers to somehow convince a notary to come out to my place at 5:00 AM so I could sign the closing documents before I left for work! If that's not going above and beyond for one's client, then I don't know what is. Simply put: Kara is awesome, and I would recommend her as an agent without hesitation or reservation. read more

Kara helped me get my first property and I am very happy with the purchase. After literally years of looking, I was finally able to get a property for a great price in an extremely tough market. Kara's very knowledgeable, energetic, personable, and professional. She even picked me up at work a couple of times (way out of the way) when I was having some car issues. She's also committed to getting the right fit for the buyer, not just making a sale. There were several close calls where she helped me make my own decision rather than persuading me. Her expertise was very useful during those times. She's contacted me several times after purchase to make sure I'm still satisfied with the buy which I am. Would definitely recommend! read more

I can't say enough good things about Kara. As a first time home buyer, I was told that the process would be very tedious and unpleasant, however this experience was the complete opposite. She is knowledgeable, approachable, personable, endlessly patient, and incredibly generous with his time. She is a one stop shop when it comes to buying a home, starting with the pre market viewing of the property, all the way to having a reliable general contractor. Buying a home in this market is challenging, but I am looking forward to getting my next property with Kara. Not only was I able to purchase a beautiful home, but I also gained a good friend out of this who I still keep in contact with. read more

This being our first house we were very uneducated in the way of how hard things can be when finding a home in this competitive market of San Diego. Not only did Kara educate us every step of the way, she was patient and always positive. After 5 offers on different houses, we found our home! I would highly recommend Kara and her team to help with any real estate needs. This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for her and her fabulous team!! read more

My attorney referred me to Kara some years ago, when he described her as someone who was spot on with contracts and also highly regarded in the industry with respect to integrity. As my expectations were already high due to her reputation, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was being undersold because she far exceeded my expectations in every way. Since that initial transaction, I have been a repeat client of Kara's on both purchases and selling properties for me in San Diego. Quite honestly, I haven't had a better experience and couldn't imagine a smoother and more professional outcome with any realtor in any city. She is extremely committed to her clients, always professional, and demonstrates the absolute definition of what it means to be a fiduciary. I was and am extremely impressed with her ability to make you feel as if you are her only client, and that your needs and concerns are addressed every step of the way. She is an extreme type A, in every possible regard. She never misses a detail, is always prepared, and is a timeless researcher with figures, history, and comps. On the purchase side, you only have to tell her once what you are looking for, where, budget constraints, and she will deliver countless options that are within your parameters quickly. Because she is so pleasant and patient, she just will not stop until she delivers on the assignment given to her. While she is very easy going and cordial, watching her in action during the negotiation process is night and day. In a respectful manner, she is very aggressive and firm during the process, typically not giving up an inch unless asked to do so. As an investor and being focused primarily on the numbers, I simply have never been disappointed with any property we have closed on. Though it goes beyond saying that I have been extremely satisfied with Kara's efforts on the purchase side, I feel it is apparent that her dominant strength comes from representing properties on the sell side. She always has a definitive, well thought out plan, based on tireless research and attention to detail. She values your input, but in my experience it is better to just let her go and trust her expertise. She sets the bar high in a realistic manner and is naturally aggressive. Every dollar counts with her and she treats your property as if it were her own. I've been very impressed with how strong her internal network of other agents and former clients are, to the point that it seems like every listing I've done with her, closes so fast that it seems like it was a pocket listing, and barely on the MLS. One of Kara's biggest strengths, is her vision and taste. She stages and designs properties so well with creativity and flair, that the properties seem to sell themselves. My last two properties sold with Kara, were both records for price/sq ft in those areas respectively, and both sold in a matter of days. She kept me in the loop throughout the process and honestly I wondered if any transaction could be that easy again. I cannot say enough about how thrilled I am to be a repeat client with Kara and how much confidence I have in her talents and abilities. She is a tremendous asset to me and I look forward to further transactions in the future. read more