What can I say about Martha? She has spent six months of a seller's market with our family showing us literally dozens of houses and writing over half a dozen offers before we finally found our new home. It's been a tough and frustrating search for the right home and she's always been cheerful and supportive. She is amazingly patient with her clients and awesome with young children too. Shopping for a home with an infant and a preschooler is a challenge! It was great to have Martha on our team. The kids love her. We love her. We could not be happier and it was completely by luck that we even have her as our realtor. My husband met her at the Petaluma Welcome Center when he came up for his job interview. Thank goodness he did! read more

We just bought our first home, thanks to Martha!! Martha is a rockstar realtor. Martha was literally the perfect agent. She's incredibly responsive, super funny and easygoing, connected, knowledgeable, persistent, creative, and supportive. In our case, we had a worst-case scenario realtor on the seller's side. The seller was totally non-responsive, nearly impossible to get a hold of, and generally crazy-making to deal with. But Martha persisted, and was wonderful at moving things forward. We closed on time and with relative ease, considering how difficult the seller was to work with. Martha has a critical ability to walk into a house and assess it honestly and quickly with you. She won't let you waste your time on places that aren't up to par, and, at the same time, she'll help you keep a good attitude and even have fun in the process. At the time we bought, the market was competitive, but with Martha's help we purchased one of the first houses we saw. We have already referred a friend to Martha, and will continue to do so. She is the perfect realtor!! read more

This review is long over due! Martha is amazing! She is honest, straightforward and to the point, and REAL. She's a GREAT listener and has a great ability to get to the heart of what we wanted and also explain complex matters. She provides sound advice (particularly needed for first time buyers like us), but makes sure to listen to our wants and needs. She is extremely knowledgeable about Petaluma and also gives great restaurant suggestions. Just fyi, we met Martha at an open house and got to talking with her about Petaluma. We had worked with and interviewed other realtors before and fit was really important to us. We needed someone who had our best interests in mind and would be patient with us since we're newbies to real estate. We needed someone who knew the area, smart and had good judgment. Martha has all these qualities. If you meet her, you'll see why we love her so much! AMAZING! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Martha O'Hayer. read more

When we walked into the Petaluma office of Frank Allen Realtors three years ago, in the summer of 2007, we met with Martha O'Hayer. She immediately accepted our situation of retirement in one year and a possible move from the East Coast. From that day, Martha listened to our wishes and followed through with the process of our relocation to Petaluma, a place we had chosen after careful study of many areas in northern California as the right place for us. Never was she a salesperson trying simply "to make a deal." Instead, she was patient, kind and generous with her time and attention to details. Always professional, Martha conveyed the sense of personal interest in our desire to move to Petaluma even though it would be well into the future. At the same time, Martha persisted in taking the initiative that was necessary to keep us focused on our goal. As a result, mutual trust was established; it never wavered. Martha respected and believed in our word that we did indeed intend to buy a house in Petaluma. It was never Martha trying to sell us a move; rather it was Martha serving as the person helping to make it happen. As a former East Coast resident herself, Martha understood our desire to move on and settle in California. In addition, we share many of the positive impressions we have had about Petaluma, in particular. After struggling through the sale of our home of 25 years in a difficult market, and experiencing a very active and steady wave of potential buyers, we finally sold our house. Martha advised us wisely in securing our current residence, one we had chosen in the winter of 2009 while on a visit here. She patiently took us to many sites and helped us determine a location that fit our needs. Later, she guided us through two contingency contracts, a process that required much time, expertise and commitment. Throughout the process, Martha did a huge amount of work on our behalf, including supervising an engineer's inspection and the closing, all while we were absent. She accepted an impressive degree of responsibility while we placed confidence in her judgment. All the while, Martha never once lost her calm, professional, yet human voice in our very many communications. Martha is an intelligent, bright, funny, energetic, caring leader who demonstrates great talent. Her expertise in real estate among varying state regulations and laws is evident and her use of research and current real estate market trends contributes to a satisfying conclusion to a sale. Martha never made false promises but instilled confidence by always securing the facts for every issue. That Martha became our realtor was surely our gift because this was truly a life change that required some empathy as well as knowledge. Today, Martha remains interested in our resettlement, continuing to advise and recommend as we learn about our house, our neighborhood and our town. As a resident herself of Petaluma, Martha represents the best qualities of her community. On a scale of 1 to 10 for a person and a realtor, Martha rates a 10! read more

I highly recommend Martha to anyone looking for property in the Petaluma area. She is not only knowledgeable about Petaluma, but also the surrounding areas. Her keen eye for observing problematic features in homes coupled with her understanding of potential structural flaws (specifically in older houses) was tremendously helpful. She knows the market values well and is a professional/conscientious person to partner with. Her integrity and candor is refreshing. Martha's help in educating us on what the area has to offer made for a worry-free transition. read more

Upon receiving a strong recommendation, we asked Martha O'Hayer to show us the cities of Sonoma County as possibilities of where to live. Recognizing the decision to be a difficult one for my husband and I, Martha remained patient and guided us to Petaluma where she believed we would fit in well. What sets Martha apart from most real estate agents is the purchase of our house was only the beginning of our association. She advised us on who in town would be well-suited to help us with modifications on the house, introduced us to other newcomers and we gradually became friends. Paying the favor forward, we also give a high recommendation for Martha's real estate acumen and outstanding care. Call Martha today! - Elinor Stutz read more

I'm very grateful that I chose Martha O'Hayer to work with us and show us around Petaluma. Not only is she extremely helpful and knowledgable, but she is also fun and honest. I never got the feeling she was just telling us things with the hopes we would buy. She was always very upfront and professional about everything and really a great realtor to know if you are considering moving to Petaluma. Thank you Martha for being such a PRO! read more

Bottom Line: You want Martha on your side! Im a real estate investor with 16 transactions under my belt in four different markets. Martha is the best agent Ive worked with. She achieved the impossible--finding a house that met my needs in the W Petaluma hot sellers market in less that a week. Not only did she take on the challege as her personal mission, she scoured the area to find even off market properties to consider. She knew every street, knew property histories, which to avoid (eg "There's a creamery down the street and trucks start lining up to take delivery at 4 am. You'll wake up to the sound or air brakes." Or "too close to the fair grounds... you'll hear nothing but race cars every summer Friday night...")--she KNOWS Petaluma and kept us out of towners out of trouble. Moreover, her recommendation to get local lending approval (despite(already being pre-qualed in CA) saved the deal before it started--she connected us with a local lender who identified errors in our original prequal underwriting, worked tirelessly (on a Sunday) to get us requalified, and kept the deal moving without missing a beat. She even twisted arms to get inspections done within 48hrs so I could be present for them. Bonus: great restaurant recommendations! Without Martha, I have no doubt that our trip from Ohio to find our next home would have ended in failure. Not only did we get the house we wanted (5% under list where avg sale price is 3% ABOVE asking), we had time left for a great Northern CA vacation as well. IF YOU ARE A SELLER: We met Martha at one of her open houses (the first of TWO she was having that same weekend for that house)... To my chagrin, I asked her about representing us, knowing that with dual agency, we might get the inside track on a hot property (double commission for her). The first thing she said is she would be happy to introduce us to one of her associates if we wanted to make an offer on that house... she said she couldnt adequately represent both the Sellers and the Buyers interests. A true statement, but dual agency is legal and often sought after by agents in CA. Her commitment to her client and personal integrity spoke volumes to me. Like I said, you whant Martha on your side! read more

Martha O'Hayer is that rare blend of "seasoned business professional" and personal guide through the uncharted waters of buying property in today's Real Estate market. She has boundless energy, ideas and resources to make the "trip" both pleasant and productive. Couldn't have found the property we did, put our bid in - in such a timely manner and succeeded in "getting our dream property" without you Martha - you are indeed, "As Good As it Gets". read more

Martha was referred to me via a friend of a friend when I decided to move to Petaluma. I contacted her before I got to Petaluma and she got back to me right away. Thankfully she didn't turn out to be a pushy salesperson. Instead, she really got to know me (poor Martha!) and figured out exactly what I wanted and needed. It took 18 months of looking in a market where there were very few houses available and where I didn't think I could find something I liked in my price range. Martha was patient, and for all that time, she showed me houses on a moment's notice. She never complained about the constant viewings or my endless phone calls or the length of time it took for me to find something. And she always made me laugh. She allowed me to bounce off her all my crazy worries and hysterics and even when I was adamant about something and she disagreed, she'd tell me what she thought but do whatever I said. I found it so easy to talk to her and I liked her incredible honesty. I finally found just the right house for me and I'm very happy. Thank you, Martha! read more