I had the pleasure of working with Stephen Bloom this past summer to sell my home, and I want to…read moreset the record straight about the lone inaccurate 1 star review which has been left about him: I was the other owner of the home which the other reviewer was discussing, and I agree with Stephen's response. The root problem was that our home had some negative features which drove away buyers, and the "concerned Piedmont citizen" was unwilling to cooperate with Stephen's recommendations regarding lowering the listing price to get the house sold. We had a financial necessity to sell our home, and unfortunately we paid more for the home than it is worth. The other owner, who left an inaccurate negative review, was unwilling to see reason and insisted on a high initial listing price, and was unwilling to accept Stephen's guidance regarding lowering the price after we received no offers for many weeks. The other owner and I have been in legal conflict regarding this house, among other things, for years, and Stephen was very patient and accommodating and took great pains to remain neutral in this difficult situation. He always communicated with us both in a respectful way. We did eventually receive one offer through Stephen's efforts, but unfortunately the buyer backed out due to factors outside of our control. We got consistent feedback from potential buyers about certain factors which made the house undesirable and Stephen took steps to mitigate the issue, and I believe he was close to getting another offer from a new buyer. However, the "Concerned Citizen" insisted on taking the house off the market and switching realtors, which delayed the house sale for another month or so. Our new realtor has also done an excellent job, just as Stephen did, and after new staging/photography and multiple open houses we once again got just one offer - this time lower than the last offer - which is unheard of in Piedmont and in the Bay Area in general. Usually there is a bidding war, but not for this house. The buyers who spoke to our new realtor gave the exact same negative feedback as the ones who spoke to Stephen Bloom, which illustrates that it is the house which is a problem, and not the realtor. I am thankful to have the privilege to sell a house and to have had Stephen's help, and most of all I appreciate his kindness and patience with our very unusual and difficult situation.

I regret NOT listening to other esteemed real estate agents that recommended me against considering…read moreStephen Bloom for a premium Bay Area home market listing. Stephen significantly underperformed and had to be removed from the listing. Unfortunately, he was not nibble and could not offer solutions once there was adversity from his own recommendations. Stephen struggled and failed with many aspects from the home valuation, to the custom marketing of the property and / or delivering on any of his professional projections. It was as if he did not understand the community or the customer at all. I would recommend avoiding him in any / all of the premium East Bay neighborhoods unless you think your home can sell itself or are selling snake oil. He did not get it done and I suffered expensive losses taking his guidance. The feedback I received from his peers was consistent on what it would take to fix his miscalculations.

I attended Preferred Rate's first-time homebuyer seminar last Saturday. I heard about it via a…read moreflier at an open house I went to in Oakley. These seminars are held on the second Saturdays of the month. I am in the early stages of planning to buy a home. I know some things, but definitely not everything and was looking to learn more. The seminar was very helpful with Rob in attendance who answered my questions about the loan process. He explained the different types of loans, programs, and everything about the process. They also had a realtor team in attendance to help explain more about that side of things. I would encourage those looking to be informed on the loan process to attend one of their seminars. I appreciated their time!

Our Preferred experience with Preferred Rate during the loan process for the buyers of our home was…read moreextremely frustrating and costly. What should have been a straightforward transaction turned into a drawn-out ordeal that lasted over 40 days due to mismanagement, poor communication, and a lack of accountability. Key Issues: 1. Unacceptable Delays: Despite assurances that the loan was "clear to close," the process dragged on for weeks. This led to multiple missed deadlines and forced us to repeatedly extend rate locks, jeopardizing our own contingent purchase. 2. Lack of Accountability: Communication from Chris Lekousis, VP of Operations, and his team was vague and inconsistent. We were given conflicting information and left without concrete timelines. The team failed to address critical issues in a timely manner, requiring us to step in to advocate for progress. 3. Significant Financial Impact: Due to Preferred Rate's delays, we incurred over $3,000 in additional costs, including: 1st Rate Lock Extension: $750 2nd Rate Lock Extension: $375 3rd Rate Lock Extension: $375 Storage Fees for Belongings: $577 Option Money Paid to Sellers: $1,000 4. Prolonged Stress: The process forced us to live without our belongings for weeks, caused unnecessary stress, and left us scrambling to meet deadlines for our own purchase. he 40+ day delay and lack of professionalism demonstrated by Preferred Rate caused undue stress, financial loss, and significant inconvenience. Despite repeated follow-ups and clear communication of our concerns, the resolution has been inadequate. We strongly discourage others from working with Preferred Rate and recommend seeking a more reliable and professional lender.

I worked with Chrishel to purchase my first home. Diving into the home buying process solo was…read moreintimidating at first but Chrishel quickly put me at ease with her thoughtful questions to understand my needs and clear communication which reassured me we were on the same page. She was patient with me through viewings and guided me step by step through the process once I was ready to put in an offer. I never felt pressured and felt in control through the whole process thanks to her guidance and expertise. She advocated for me strongly and was a tough negotiator. She took the time to check in with me regularly to make sure I felt good about what was happening making herself available whenever I needed to reach out to her. Even after closing she continued to support me by connecting me with the right resources to fix a few things up and make the new spot feel like home. Needless to say, I would highly recommend working with Chrishel if you're looking to buy or sell.

Ms. Divinagracia made our home-buying process extremely smooth from beginning to end. Even after we…read moremoved in, she continued to check in with us. She treats every client with the utmost respect and goes above and beyond to help them find their dream home. She ensures that her clients feel seen and heard throughout the entire process. Having an honest, transparent, communicative, and genuine realtor made this experience incredibly enjoyable!

Update: It's almost been four months to the day since we closed on our home…read more.. Here's our final review of our experience with Michael and Haley. We first met Michael and Haley at an open house where we were so impressed by their warmth, knowledge and professionalism, that we knew we had to work with them. As first time home-buyers, we had a lot of questions and didn't know where to start. Michael and Haley were so patient and took to time to provide us with invaluable education so that we would feel confident in navigating the home buying journey from start to finish. Even with our crazy irregular work schedules, they made themselves available to answer our many questions, concerns, and requests via phone and text.   Michael and Haley worked seamlessly as a team to ensure that we had all the information available for our list of prospective homes so that we could make informed decisions. The duo was so detail oriented and responsive, that we felt like we were in good hands. We never felt pressured to make a decision and they genuinely wanted us to find the home that we would love and not settle for anything less. Looking back, we could not have imagined going through the incredibly stressful process of buying our first home without the expertise and authenticity of Michael and Haley.   To our surprise, we were able to close on our new home in just over a month and with our first attempt at making an offer. If that isn't a testament of their expertise, I don't know what is. But even more amazing, is that Michael and Haley both continue to check-in with us after we received the keys - to see how we are doing and to ensure we are taken care of because there's so much to home ownership beyond walking through the door. We are so thankful to have found Michael and Haley with One80 Realty and can't recommend them enough! Thank you for making our first home buying experience a positive and memorable one!

This is perfect agent for you if you are looking for an agent with an attitude…read more "The relationship ends when the deal is closed". That is what you get from the agent who you give 2 home to sell. Not any more for sure. I am real estate agent but I hired this company due to the fact that I live in San Jose and want to be fair to this sale. Big mistake. Big mistake. Could have done better remotely. What I have learnt all these year in sales is that the relationship starts when the deal is closed but these guys are different. No wonder all other agents in the area are not too excited to work with this company. Results: you don't get what the home is worth in the market. One of the buyer who became a friend confirmed after the sale that he would have paid another $20K for this beautiful home but his agent got him a great deal. Another buyer's agent confirmed that no correspondence from this company even though the offer was sent. Not sure if it is even legally correct. Anyways, sellers (or even buyers) not a good choice to list with company. My 2 cents.

Lynnda Mitosinka is the Broker/Owner of Morningstar and as someone told me "she is THE AGENT if…read moreyou are looking in the East County for real estate". They were right. This nice smart lady knows Real Estate. She does not waste your time driving you around looking at homes that will not fit your needs. When you first meet with Lynnda tell her what you are looking for, she will then only show you homes that work. As she is a long time resident and realtor in Oakley she knows the area like the back of her hand. Lynnda is nice, knowledgeable, smart and knows how to put and keep your deal together. If you are somone who hates real estate agents , Lynnda will definitely change your point of view.

Lynda is very knowledgeable and will put forth the extra effort to help you sell your home. She…read morewas able to push my sale through when all hope had been lost. Lynda gets results in a timely fashion which in our case was critical.

So..... I'm a fellow realtor and I've closed deals with Mike…read morein the past, he's always been easy to work with which I appreciate. This yelp is about the character of a person, Mike showed me today that he's the real deal. He didn't know that he was interacting with me. I like to lie low in my rare downtime. So this is what happened. I was at our local Safeway deli waiting to order 3 sandwiches and boy the line was not moving! We waited for at least 30 mins to get to the counter and just as I approach Mike strolls in gets in the front of the line because he had a phone in order. The clerks hadn't made his sandwich either because they were so busy but started his. He started chatting and quickly realized that the rest of us had been waiting quite a while. He said to the clerk as he was being rung up "I'd like to pay for all their sandwiches", I immediately said, oh wow thank you but that's not necessary. Nope he insisted and proceeded to pick up the tab. I asked for his name (knowing in my mind who he was already although never meeting in person before), I told him my name, we shook hands wished each other well for the day and went about our day. In a world where you can be anything, and often times I'm short or stressed, BE KIND! It was a pleasure to see that and receive that today from Mike! Class act all the way, proving once again all realtors are not the same. Thanks Mike! Till we meet again buddy! My son was excited to tell his dad about the "cool" guy that paid for his sandwich. Next one is on me!

Just saying - aggressive!! Open house every Saturday and Sunday. Marketing on every platform…read more Creative and supportive team. We knew we needed the Guzzardo team to sell in this slow market and they delivered. Experienced experts and so pleasant to work with.

Michael Jr. (from here on just "Michael") gave us stellar service from showing us house after house…read moreto handing us the keys to our new home :). He also introduced us to Tambra Jenkins of Advanced Global Mortgage who is an *ABSOLUTE FINANCIAL WIZARD!!!* He successfully helped us write an offer for a short sale and told us to "hang in there" for the long ride. Over the course of the next six months, Michael **patiently** responded to my "nu-mer-ous" (lol, seriously, that's an understatement!!!) emails, txts and phone calls inquiring about the status of the sale and any possible updates. Unfortunately, one of the pitfalls of negotiating a short sale is that the lenders involved can decline the offer, even after all that time. So, long story short: the contract was cancelled by mutual agreement (we wish the Seller the best of luck & hope that things turn out okay for her). As with any good relationship, communication is KEY -- by this time, Michael knew what we were looking for in a home & was committed to helping us find it. As a team, we negotiated aggressively & wrote contract after contract until finally we got the one that we wanted. The business is family owned and operated, so if you want to work with people who place a high value on family relationships, I wholeheartedly recommend working with Michael & his team.

Michael Gourkani is quite possibly the worst property manager that exists in this area. To put it…read moresimply, he works for the tenants, not the clients who are paying him. Property owners are not in his best interest. He allows tenants to not pay rent on time, and charges no late fees or NSF fees. He also had a tenant sign a new lease agreement prior to talking with owners and having owner agree on rent amount. He will make excuses why tenants aren't able to pay on time, and not offer to help correct the unwanted behavior. Also is horrible at record keeping and takes forever to respond to simple emails or phone calls requesting information. He clearly needs to retire because his business practices are antiquated.

The staff at Bob Gunson Real Estate is dependable, responsible, and reasonable. I am very glad to…read morehave dealt with Bob Gunson who was always fair and square with all his dealings from the time I met him in the 80s.

April 2025 No changes. What is truly egregious as she's not…read moreeven refunding me the credit balance on the owner's account. Bob Gunson is no longer the owner of the business and all of the issues are Edwina Pounds' responsibility. Highly recommend going with any other property manager who has better business practices and ethics.