We are kind of speechless about how amazing Linda was. My husband and I have pretty different styles, really picky parameters, and limited time to look in-person because we have a two year old at home. We were also SO intimidated by the bay area market, and have a very specific budget window that doesn't totally match our luxurious taste :) Despite all these limitations, Linda got us into our DREAM HOME, after only two full days of looking together (+2 months of email/text back and forth in between). We had our first offer accepted, which is unheard of in the bay area, and the mortgage broker she recommended was phenomenally responsive and fast. We had the complete opposite experience of bay area real estate compared to all of our friends, thanks to Linda, and we feel like we won the lottery at the end of it.
Underneath all those excellent outcomes was what actually makes Linda magic:
- incredibly organized: our tour days were impeccably constructed and extremely efficient, which mattered for us given our babysitter setup. On our first day, we toured 14 houses back to back, and not only were we presented with a beautifully organized folder and impeccable logistical schedule, Linda packed snacks, drinks, and a lunch that she shared out of a cooler in the back of her car! Seeing that Linda was this detail-oriented and impeccably organized in the tours gave us confidence that she would drive a very organized closing (the paperwork is insane!!) and boy did that expectation bear fruit.
- Honest and direct: Linda is a straight shooter. I adored a house that had some foundation issues, and she very warmly and directly barred us from buying it :) she was very right, and we relied on her candor throughout the search.
- a steely work ethic: Linda responded to all emails and texts basically instantaneously, which is important in a fast market like this
- excellent taste in people: every single person she recommended was fast, competent, kind, trustworthy, and expert at what they did,
- a deep knowledge of the market and family needs--often to a much greater extent than we could know our own needs: other real estate agents might not have been able to handle how different our two tastes were and the couples conflict this sometimes caused. Linda was calm, honest, direct, solutions oriented, light-hearted, and very practical about it. She obviously had a systematic approach to help calibrate against both our needs and figure out a type of home we would both like. She then helped us find lots of options that fit that mold, fast. Her creative mediation saved us a lot of marital strife!
- imagination: people don't often cite this as an important quality for real estate agents, but bear with me here: we do not have the type of budget that would get us into our dream home, we have the type of budget that gets one into a home with dream home *potential*. When we toured the house we ended up buying, we both loved the overall feel of the house and the neighborhood, but I was a "no" because of the kitchen and lack of a master bath. Brilliant Linda pointed out a simple, creative fix that would both add a master bath and fix the kitchen. She insisted that it was everything else we were looking for, and a true diamond in the rough as a result, and she was so, so right. We offered very quickly, sent a heartfelt video at her encouragement, and something like six hours later, under her trusted care, the house was ours!
- Committed to the whole process: for most real estate agents, I can imagine their commitment starts and ends at the sale of the house. Not Linda. In between having our offer accepted and closing, we had countless contractors, designers, engineers, etc come look at the house to give us estimates (so that we could do the rennos that would turn it from potential dream house into dream house). Not only was Linda there to host every single walk through, she came with expertise and ideas that we came to rely on. Having a real estate agent that knows houses, foundations, construction, basic engineering...it turned out to be invaluable.
- Sweet and thoughtful: by the time we closed, we felt like Linda had become an official part of our community. She continued to go the extra mile for closing and gave us the most thoughtful gifts to help make the new home even more ours. We celebrated with her on our new roof deck and truly felt like it has been a team win.
We are really exacting people--both hiring managers at work, and type A perfectionists. We talked to in-numerous real estate agents here and in other states during our search, and no one could compete with Linda and the team she assembled around her. If you are serious, kind, competent, responsive, and ready to make things happen--truly you will not find someone better. We hope to stay in this home for many years, but will be evangelical about Linda to friends until its time for us to use her again. Thank you, Linda!! You are truly exceptional at your job. read more