Robbie helped me buy my very first home - which I still am so happy in. This was 12 years ago... so just a little tardy with the review... But I just happened to see him here on Yelp, and all of the exclusively lovely things that people have to say about him both professionally and personally - and I just had to chime in and say SAME, SAME! LOVE this dude. Always. 5 stars and then some. read more

We got referred to Robbie by a couple of friends who raved about their experience working with him. They undersold him! Robbie is flat-out exceptional as a person and a realtor. My partner and I were searching for our first home and he treated it as delicately as we did. We started our search from living out of state and he visited ever single house that were were interested in and even took videos for us to consume. He didn't have to do that but it was clear that he was committed to helping us find a home that met our needs without any agenda of his own. He was exceptionally patient with us, communicative, and offered a high level of expertise. His experience showed through our entire process and without it we would not be in a home that we adore. This guy goes above and beyond and will not let up until you're in a house that is as great as he is. read more

If we could give 10 stars we would! Robbie was an absolute pleasure to work with. Our buying and selling process turned out to be a bit more complicated than we had anticipated, but Robbie was gracious, calm, level headed, patient, reassuring and very communicative every step of the way. He went above and beyond for us and completely exceeded our expectations. We truly could not have had a better realtor or experience. We will recommend him forever and always. read more

There is no other way to put it: WE ADORE ROBBIE!!! He was proactive, always quick to respond and knowledgeable. We've heard so many horror stories about the travails of buying a home, but it was a smooth and easy process for us. We would 100% recommend him! Bonus: he has the cutest dog that often accompanies him on house viewings read more

I am so glad my sister referred Robbie to us, Robbie is one the most professional most helpful most knowledgeable most reliable realtor I have ever met!! Robbie went over and beyond for my family he has been there guiding us through this whole process until we found our home. Robbie is the person you want when searching for a house he will treat you like family and make sure you are absolutely happy!! If you are looking to buy or sell let Robbie be there for you, you will not be let down he is dedication to help you is second to none!!! read more

You would never believe this story! Way, way long ago I wanted a home in Portland! I lived out of state. I could not get to Portland. Robbie found my home and sold it to me totally site unseen. I saw pictures only....this was before smart phones. Robbie went above and beyond to be helpful. He had to do much more work given I was in another state. He was a stranger to me when we started the home buying process. I have only 'met' him on the phone. I still own my gorgeous home he picked out, we picked out together. This guy is as solid and trustworthy as they come. A Godsend True story, I promise! Xo Love you Robbie forever read more

I reviewed Robbie under the business (Portland's Alternative Realtors) but I just have to be clear: Robbie is the ultimate real estate professional. His expertise is top notch. He gets the transactional elements and the personal elements of real estate. We bought a home (fun!) and sold the same home (not so fun) with him. He always acted like we were his only clients. His time was our time. I recommend him without reservation. He made a stressful time (selling, then relocating out of town) easy and stress free. I only wish he was licensed to help us buy our next home in Seattle. read more

Knowing little to nothing about the entire home-buying process, my fiancée and I figured we ought to reach out to an agent to help out once we were ready to start looking at houses seriously. We had heard some good things from a friend of ours about Portland's Alternative Realtors, and wrote them through the contact form on their website. Robbie got in touch the same day, and set up an appointment for that following Saturday to check out some listings and go over what we were looking for. My fiancee and I both work all day Monday through Friday so it was great to meet someone who was available on evenings and weekends. Being that this was our first time buying a house, we had a bajillion questions. Robbie clearly and happily answered ALL of them. TWICE. Robbie is AWESOME. He's incredibly patient, knowledgeable, funny and was really a pleasure to work with. He knows his stuff about what to look for in a house, and provided a lot of insight in pointing out some potential concerns with houses we looked at. We were looking at a pretty small pocket of the inner SE, and Robbie was great at working within our super picky criteria and sent us listings anytime possible houses of interest popped up on the market. I had a somewhat negative preconceived notion that realtors may try to constantly upsell and rush you into making a decision at every corner, but that was exactly the opposite case working with Robbie. He knows what's up. After learning what kind of people we are, and what kind of house we were looking for, at no time did he ever try to sell us on something else, or push us in a particular direction. Ultimately, we ended up in a RAD house, EXACTLY where we were looking, in the price range we were working within. And Robbie helped negotiate back and forth until we were satisfied with the conditions of the sale. I really feel like he went to bat for us, and knocked it out of the park (obligatory baseball metaphor). Without boring you with the details, let me just say that I'd recommend Robbie to ANYONE looking for a cool house in Portland. He really clarified the whole process for us, made it fun, and a whole lot less scary. 6/5 stars. read more

Robbie was excellent. I recommend him to anyone I hear is thinking about buying a house. He is very flexible and really listens to what you are looking for. He does a great job of weighing what you want with the realities of the market. He was very professional and his familiarity with the Portland Metro area was obvious. Without making this sound like a personal ad, I'd say Robbie is smart, funny, and a source of calm when you need it the most. He also entertained our 9-month-old while we walked around and when we signed our closing documents. After talking to my friends about their realtors, I've discovered this is not the norm. When we get down to it, Robbie is a good person. I never felt pressured or stress coming from him. When ever we were in a panic, Robbie slowed our crazy down and said, "No problem, we will do..." And that was that. If you are looking for someone that is efficient, smart, and has a sense of humor Robbie should be your one and only choice. read more

Robbie is the whole package deal: he's a seasoned professional, has your best interests at heart, and his no-nonsense personality will bring much-needed levity to the home buying/selling process (you need a little humor in this hot real estate market). We interviewed four realtors before selecting Robbie, and he was hands-down our top choice. As first-time homebuyers we had a ton of questions and he answered them all in language we could understand and with limitless patience. He also has an eagle eye! He can spot water damage, fire damage, faulty foundation, shoddy contractor work and other red flags as soon as he walks through the door. He was super responsive, knew the neighborhoods like the back of his hand and in the end landed us a house in the neighborhood we wanted at BELOW asking price (in this market that is unheard of!). I could continue to gush about Robbie, but why don't you call him and see for yourself. He's the real deal! read more

My husband and I have had the pleasure of working with Robbie for not only finding our first home, but now our second. The first go around Robbie probably showed us 50 or so houses until we found the right one for us. And that's not to say we didn't find houses we liked before finally making an offer! Robbie did a great job maneuvering us as fist time buyers, from construction disasters, and fixeruppers far beyond our talents. The whole process was fun, easy, and I never felt pressured to buy something. Our second house was a bit of a surprise to us all. I randomly came across my dream house (years later) and asked Robbie to show it to us. A month later we were again buying a house and moving! I highly recommend working with Robbie has your realtor! God forbid I decide to look for yet another house, I will be calling him! read more

I love Robbie! As a nervous first time home buyer going into this process alone, I asked a million questions during the process and always felt confident in Robbie's advice, experience and knowledge in this insane Portland market. He would steer me clear of any potential headaches and was always looking out for my best interest. It took about 10 months to find my dream home as it was full of ups and downs and heartaches and frustrations, but Robbie was so patient and positive throughout the process. If it weren't for him being so flexible with his schedule and being willing to drop everything to meet me for a house viewing at 8pm in my pj's, or helping me write a kick-ass-you-can't-refuse-this-offer, I don't think I'd be sitting in my lovely home at this very moment writing this review. He was so enjoyable, professional and fun to work with. Robbie definitely made a positive influential impact on one of the biggest adult decisions of my life, and I am forever grateful. read more

I was referred to Robbie from a friend who had purchased multiple homes with Robbie and he lived up to the hype. Very patient, honest, and knowledgable about all things residential real estate. If he takes you to see a house that is kind of a dud, he will turn around and say "nope" and continue on to the next place. Won't waste your time. Driving around on tours with him was also a really fun experience. He should really be the star of his own home buying show on TLC or something. read more

I don't write a lot of online reviews, but I had such a great experience buying my house with Robbie's help that I wanted to write a glowing review for him. My wife and I originally met with Robbie because he had recently helped a friend of ours buy a house. From the first meeting, we felt extremely comfortable with him and felt like he understood what we were looking for. Shortly after our meeting, Robbie started sending us listings. We started the process in early 2013 when there was almost nothing coming up on the market. Because this was our first time buying a home, we wanted to just get out and look at houses to get a better sense of what we liked. Robbie went through many houses with us that we all knew we had no interest in buying, but were worthwhile for educational purposes. My wife and I don't have a car so Robbie picked us up and drove us around during our tours. He even picked us up downtown during our lunch breaks a few times. When we had a better sense of what we wanted and started seeing houses we were more serious about, Robbie was always straightforward and honest about what he thought of the property. I never felt like he was trying to sway me one way of the other. Instead, he just gave an informed, honest opinion. He has a lot to say about both real estate market dynamics, as well as home construction considerations. Once we found the house that we ended up buying, we asked Robbie to talk us out of it. Even though he probably knew he was about to make a commission on a sale, he continued to give us his unvarnished opinion and didn't pressure us one way of the other. During the negotiation process, he got us excellent terms. Aside from Robbie's excellence as a realtor, he is also a fun guy to tour houses with. When you realize how much time you end up spending with your realtor, it is an important consideration. Since buying the house, I have recommended Robbie to friends and also my parents. I will continue to strongly recommend Robbie to anyone that asks. read more

Robbie is The Bomb. He was recommended to us by a friend (who took 8 -eight- years to find his dream home!) and helped us with the purchase of a home in North Portland and the sale of a condo in NW Portland. He is incredibly organized and on the ball. He forwarded us listings within minutes (even while on vacation!) and was available to look at houses at all times of the day. He is very professional and is a great listener. On the first home we made an offer on he arranged the inspection, contractor, electrician, chimney inspector, sewer scope and radon within a day. We found a home that we liked better and he rolled with the withdrawal and new offer without a blink. The sale of my condo in NW was fast! Rather than accepting the first (cash) offer he recommended that we wait to review offers until the end of the day. We had six offers and he showed up with a spread sheet of the different pros and cons of each. He gave us excellent advice at key points in both the purchase and sale process that resulted in great financial gain and two happy homeowners. My husband and I have purchased four homes between us and Robbie was by far the best realtor either of us had ever worked with. I cannot recommend him highly enough. P.S. His coworker Allan at Portland Alternative Realtors covered for him while he was away on vacation and is also excellent. P.P.S. His appreciation gift to us was 2 months of organic veggie boxes delivered to our door. Very classy! read more

Robbie represented me on the sale of my Portland property in 2016. He's professional, ethical, nice, trustworthy, calm, and really exceeded my expectations. As an out of state owner, I really couldn't have handled a lot of the details (related to preparing and listing my property for sale) without him. Thanks, Robbie! read more

My fiancé and I worked with Robbie Ratkai for 8 long months before finding our first house. Not only is he extremely patient (we looked at upwards of 75 houses!) and always available to show a house or hop on the phone to talk something through, but he's also FUNNY and a joy to spend time with. And he's been around the block-- he knows Portland construction and home styles inside and out, and he was always able to point out potential problems in houses and give honest insight about why a house might be priced a certain way. If I could give him a sixth star for dealing with my stress and neuroticism during the offer / inspection process, I would! read more

Robbie helped us buy our first house, and we are so grateful for his dedication, kindness, professionalism, expertise, warmth, and patience as he guided us through the process of finding a home we truly love. He made us feel like we were his only clients and made time for us right away every time we reached out to him with questions. And even in a competitive market, with Robbie's guidance we were able to get our house in under a month and at a great value. He was truly a delight to work with, and we would happily recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a house. read more

Portland's Alternative Realtors, and specifically Robbie Ratkai, were recommended to us by good friends who we trust. And we were absolutely not disappointed. Robbie is organized, on top of the details, and he really listened to what we were looking for. And we changed what we were looking for, as we navigated the process. We ended up finding a home much more quickly than we expected, and Robbie handled all of the inspections for us. He offered calm advice when we needed it, and stepped back to let us decide, when the situation called for that. Highly, highly recommended. I wish he were licensed in WA so he could help us sell our home there... read more

I feel very fortunate to have worked with Robbie on the sale of my house. The housing market in Portland is pretty crazy in 2016, so having the knowledge and guidance of a true professional like Robbie was extremely helpful. Robbie was super responsive, honest, and dependable throughout the sale, and he worked diligently to help solve unforeseen issues that came up during the process. I appreciated his straightforward approach and his ability to communicate with me and with other agents and contractors on my behalf. I would recommend him to anyone. Thank you, Robbie! read more

We didn't think purchasing our first home could be such a smooth process before working with Robbie. He was very responsive, flexible, and made us feel like a priority. He even picked me up from my work downtown to fit in a showing on my lunch hour and scheduled last minute showings outside of office hours. Robbie was good at spotting and communicating areas of concern in houses we toured while always reminding us that the right house was out there. When it came time to put in an offer we felt very comfortable following his advice. We didn't have the highest offer on the table, but he was able to work with the lender to close quickly, making our offer more appealing. We're so thankful we had Robbie on our side! read more

Robbie was an all-around amazing realtor. I found him through a recommendation from a friend, and I am extremely glad I went with him. He was thorough, efficient, and very well educated on the market and the entire process of selling a home. Due to a job offer outside of Portland, I had to sell my home and move quickly. I was completely stressed out with packing up my life and moving, and really needed someone that would not only walk me through selling my home, but would completely take over the entire process. I knew very little of what to do and how to do it, and Robbie made everything easy. He was attentive to my needs as a seller, and showed me that he was not only capable but more than qualified at what he does. He was well organized, productive, and always had my best interest in mind. It always seemed that he would drop everything for me, and I appreciated his dedication. And after just a few short weeks, Robbie sold my home quickly and with ease, and helped me make a good profit too. Overall, Robbie isn't just a great realtor. He has great energy, enthusiasm, loyalty, and he made me laugh. It was important for me to find a realtor that I felt was a good person, and as soon as we met, we just clicked. I can't stress enough how much of an asset he was to me and to my sanity in selling my home and moving quickly, and I would highly recommend Robbie to everyone!!! read more

Hire Robbie. He sold our house in August, which he found for us 7 years prior. In the space between, he responded to all of our referrals and helped many of our friends buy their first homes, too. Robbie makes this process as easy as it can be, in part because he is lighthearted with a great sense of humor. He takes the edge off what can be an opaque, overwhelming task. He knows the Portland metro market inside and out--you'd be hard-pressed to find a more knowledgeable, experienced realtor. He is well-connected and respected in the realty community, which is super helpful. Also, Robbie loves and respects his city and its people. Robbie goes above and beyond, e.g. showing up at 9pm to install new CO2 detectors for the next day's inspection. If he ever sweats a part of the process, you won't know it. He works his ass off, but he's easygoing and unflappable. He makes good jokes to dry your (inevitable) tears of frustration. He takes excellent care of his clients and loves his job. The buying and selling processes were not easy for us. Especially in the selling phase, our circumstances were anomalous. I am pretty sure we wouldn't have managed such positive outcomes without Robbie's magic. All this to say: Robbie isn't your average realtor, folks. When you've bought or sold your house, you'll feel a lot of sad mixed up in the relief and gratitude because you know your days with him are coming to an end. Best. Realtor. Ever. read more

I'll keep this review short and to the point - Robbie is an amazing realtor and will work tirelessly with you, on your schedule, to help you find the house of your dreams. We worked with Robbie for 9 months before finding our perfect house (it took that long due to our pickiness and the tight housing market). Robbie was always professional but fun to work with, and he always gave us great advice. He was also a strong advocate for us during negotiations and when we got ourselves into a difficult scenario (even when it would have been much easier and profitable for him to put us into a house we would not have been happy with). He is incredibly knowledgeable about the Portland market and doesn't hesitate to share his informed opinion when you ask for it. Robbie was also always accommodating and willing to work with our inflexible schedule. He made a potentially stressful and tiring experience fun and got us into an amazing house. Five+ stars! read more

Reasons we loved working with Robbie: 1. He knows his stuff. As first time buyers, we relied heavily on his knowledge and he helped us learn what to look for and more importantly, what to avoid. 2. He let us do our thing. We told him our budget and he made sure to show listings within it. When we needed to discuss the pros and cons of a house, he let us have our space--but was always there to provide his insight when we needed it. 3. He's persistent. After looking at dozens of house with us and making a few offers, we finally found our house. Robbie got us in to see it before anyone else which allowed us to be the only offer on the table, something that is insane in today's market and a major reason we got our house. 4. He's fun! Looking at houses with him was always enjoyable and his humor really saved us during our nerve wracking inspection. He remained cool as a cucumber and kept the mood light. We are so glad we chose Robbie to be part of our first home buying experience and we plan to use him the next time we're looking to buy! read more

I have never experienced a realtor with such professionalism and such a broad knowledge base. He is not pushy, responds to problems effectively and swiftly. Robbie sold my home in a short amount of time with amazing attention to detail. He has extra qualities, such as a great sense of humor, great calm counselor skills, patience, and tenacity. I would recommend him and always call on him for any real estate needs I ever have. read more