My husband and I just purchased our first house and Sharon was awesome to work with! She is extremely down-to-earth, transparent, and knowleagble about the east bay market. Would definitlely recommend working with her! read more

I recently purchased a condo for the first time, and was lucky enough to have Sharon Alva as my guide. I began my search without even knowing what types of questions to ask, and Sharon took me though each step showing an amazing amount of patience ( I had the habit of asking the same questions in different ways). We looked at properties throughout the Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin counties before settling on Albany. Again, Sharon was able to make this complex process an easy one. She was with me from start to finish, and consistently followed up to ensure everything went smoothly. I would highly recommend her for anyone searching for a new home. THANK YOU SHARON!!! read more

Sharon's knowledge of the East Bay market runs deep. She is plugged in, genuine, a straight-shooter, and a great conversationalist! What stands out most about Sharon is her commitment to educating her clients. She wants you to know the market, too, and to understand all the ins and outs of home ownership, and this is especially true for first time home owner women clients, and those who want to start investing in real estate. If you want an honest, down to earth, realtor who will always tell you the truth, and have your best interest at heart, Sharon is the one for you! read more

Sharon has helped me buy two homes and sell one. She is very good at what she does, and I trust her. She is honest, kind, professional, and committed. I've really appreciated her support through buying and selling, as it is a difficult and emotional process at times. On the sell side, she did a fabulous job with the marketing and outreach! She was great at interacting with the other agents and ultimately I was very happy with the sale of my home. She was also great at helping to relieve my stress and anxiety. I would highly recommend Sharon to anyone looking to buy or sell real estate in the Bay Area. She truly knows a lot about the markets and is a pleasure to work with! read more

If you're looking for a professional that knows the business and that truly cares for your best interests, look no further. I had the pleasure of working with Sharon and would now consider myself a raving fan of hers. Sincere, classy business etiquettes, straight shooter are just the tip of the iceberg to describe Sharon. Even at moments of rough patch(es), Sharon held her composure and was even tougher on the situation bringing a peace of mind to everyone involved in our sale. Again, if you are in need of an expert, look no further. Thank you Sharon! read more

Sharon was a true advocate for us from the moment we met her and became a friend in the process always looking out for our best interest. She was always real and upfront with us but made sure we didn't settle for just any house to start our family in. After almost a year of searching, being outbid, and finding out we were pregnant, we had basically decided to give up our search and rent a larger condo for the foreseeable future. Sharon never gave up on our dream to own a home and when she came across the perfect opportunity for us, at the most unexpected time she called us up and was able to get us our first home at a much lower purchase point than we had ever expected. We are now living our dream of owning a home in Oakland and couldn't be more thankful! If you are looking for an agent who will always have your best interest in mind, Sharon is it. read more

Sharon took care of us like a good mom. She guided us along on this adventure of not only selling our condo but buying a new home - going above and beyond to prepare the condo for sale, from communicating with and booking the painting, carpeting and staging, to making sure the condo was looking its best. The marketing for the sale was top notch, a beautiful printed brochure and hip and stylish website, with social media boost! When it was time for us to really have laser focus on buying a house she was patient and flexible taking us to multiple homes until we found "the one". She was there through the whole process with helpful advise and a steady hand. read more

We made 8 offers over a year and a half of house hunting. Sharon was patient with our finicky and budget conscious approach and could have easily said to us, "You are never going to get a house in this market if you keep bidding with this strategy." Thanks Sharon! read more

During a period of low inventory and high demand Sharon was instrumental in helping me find my dream home. This was my first time buying a home but she made me feel secure and explained to me each step of the process so it was never overwhelming. Since I am a single woman I especially appreciated these qualities. Sharon is a careful listener, knowlegeable, a keen strategist, and a heavy lifter when needed. She also provides a website that will alert you the moment listings open up, and she also provides listings from the newspaper. (Not all sellers use the internet.) Sharon also comes with very special bonuses -- she is honest to a fault, warm, and actually cares about the world and what she can do to make it a better place. She is not your typical realtor. You will love working with her. I can not rave about her enough! read more

Buying a house is stressful, I won't lie. But working with Sharon made the process smooth, relatively pain free, and dare I say, fun. Sharon is amazing. We started our housing search nearly two years ago, before the market took a turn, and she patiently stuck with us as we hemmed and hawed over what we could afford, where we wanted to live, and what we were looking for in a property. She was never pushy and never tried to urge us to buy something that was outside of our means. Not knowing what we wanted at first, we must have been very difficult clients, but she took us around to view a wide range of properties in Alameda, from condos and town homes to ranchers and duplexes, to the beautiful, funky old Victorian we ended up in. She was incredibly patient in explaining the tricky real estate process to us and never once got exasperated with our dumb and panicky questions! She hooked us up with an amazing lender who also had nothing but our best interests in mind, and we were able to secure a fantastic loan at a great interest rate that we never before would have thought possible. One of the first things Sharon did when we met her was take us on a personalized tour of Alameda so we could see the neighborhoods and amenities that the island has to offer. She is warm, funny, easy to talk to and a has a wealth of insider information on Alameda, from the best contractors and inspectors to the hidden away coffee shops. Above all else, Sharon is a very dedicated mother, and was eager to show us the kid and family-friendly features of Alameda. Being pregnant while house shopping (we're expecting in October), it was a huge comfort and extremely important to me and my husband to learn about school districts, kid friendly restaurants, playgrounds, and which local gyms have free daycare. When you call Sharon remember that she may have to schedule viewings around family dinners and bedtimes, but that being said, she is incredibly flexible and generous with her time. During our escrow we hit some bumps and snags that Sharon and her team worked overtime to smooth out. In fact, I don't even know the gory details of what she went through to get us in this house, but that's the best part- we never had to worry. I can't thank Sharon enough for helping us find our perfect home in a great community. The best part is, she lives just a few blocks away and we're delighted that she's still a part of our lives and will be for years to come. Whether you're just starting out, merely curious, or at your wit's end with real estate, I can't recommend Sharon enough to navigate the process and get you into your perfect home. read more

I worked with Sharon to sell my condo in Alameda. She was very knowledgeable and helpful. She explained the whole process to me and made the whole process painless. I would recommend her to a friend. She helped out a lot during the process in making sure that my condo was ready for an open house. I liked the fact that she was straight forward with the buyer and the buyer knew what he was getting into. That was my first time selling and it was a great experience. read more

I have used 4 real estate professionals in my lifetimee and Sharon is by far the BEST!! Thorough, Persistent, and Effective! She's a great person who genuinely cares about her clients and tries hard to match you with your perfect home. It. was fun to work with Sharon and once I found the place I wanted to live, she worked her tail off for me. When buying my home, Sharon was on top of everything, managing the bank, title company and listing agent. The seller was not communicating with the title company, so Sharon stepped right in.and cleared up the lines of communication. The place I bought t was a foreclosed property. There were some problems with the documentation, she ran around, made countless phone calls, kept me informed, and got it cleared up.. There were problems with the mortgage, she gave me realistic expectations and deadlines and told me exactly what I should expect. Unlike some realtors, Sharon did not over-promise and under-deliver. She got me exactly what she promised. She told me she'd try for something and many of the items, including credits from the seller, rebates on closing costs and transfer taxes paid, she got for me. I had a difficult purchase and Sharon definitely went above-and-beyond, even doing other peoples' jobs or making sure their work was completed. Exemplary communications and follow-through. I would hire her again in an instant. read more

I have known Sharon for several years now. The reason I am giving her 5 stars is because yelp doesn't let me give her 20 stars. You couldn't get a smarter, better agent. What you see is what you get and she is a no non-sense person. You never have to second guess if you're in good hands. She's is HONEST with the highest level of integrity. Sharon's a real pro, a true real estate ninja with a big heart!! read more

As a first time home buyer, I really had no idea what I was doing. I wanted to make sure that I was in good hands and had someone on my side but I had heard some nasty stories about real estate agents and how they are only looking out for themselves. Entering into this brave new world, I never expected to find someone with so much knowledge and honesty. We were looking for a house around the Bay Area. We did not want to limit our search to only the Peninsula or just the East Bay because we wanted to see what we can get for our money in different areas. I asked all my friends for recommendations. I received several referrals but the agents either did not work in all the areas we were looking at or did not return our calls. But one person that did call back and was flexible with our wide search was Sharon Alva. Sharon Alva is hardworking, honest and smart. She has a wealth of knowledge not only about homes, locations and all those things but she was able to work with our not so conventional loan too. She was able to answer our questions or knew someone who could. Throughout the search, she was not pushing one house or location over the other. She would give us the pros and cons she would see of each house including what she knew about school districts and the vibe of the area. She maintained an amazing level of professionalism with out being cold or unapproachable. She listened to what we liked and what we wanted and in the end, we bought our first home September of '09 in a cozy neighborhood of San Lorenzo that gets plenty of sunshine and we actually have meet most of the people on our block. One of the best suggestions Sharon made was for us to look for a house with more then 2 bedrooms and in a few months, the extra room will come in handy because we are expecting our first baby. Since our home purchase in September, my uncle bought his dream house in Alameda and now my friend is looking for her first home with the help of Sharon. Buying a house is stressful, full of paperwork and people that may not have your best interest in mind but with Sharon on your side, she will make sure that you will have all the knowledge to make the best decision. Give Sharon a call and meet her in person. She will give you the best she can give. read more

When we first started looking for a house we were completely lost. We did not know the process of buying a home, loans or contingencies. We had another agent who we were unhappy with and we met Sharon Alva at an Open House. She is was real without any B.S. or fluff. She will tell you what she knows, and what she really thinks. She gets to know her clients and wants them to find the right home for them. Sharon spent three hours with us the first week we met her. She wanted to be sure we knew the process of looking, buying and offering. She even called and was there for us when she was on vacation in Israel. She is so knowledgeable and does not make you feel stupid for asking questions. She makes you feel like there is a house out there for you, even if you do not have a lot to spend... She was available for us with questions, at open houses and offering. Once we found the home of our dreams she walked us through escrow, inspections, contingencies, etc. All the way through to the end. She is the best and we would HIGHLY recommend Sharon Alva! We expect to be friends with her for a long time to come. read more

Sharon was great! We were first time homebuyers. She was calm and thorough, no drama, and very easy to work with. She always advocated the rights of for her buyer. She wanted us to be happy with our choice and we are. She always emphasized integrity during the entire process and she educated my husband and I a great deal about the purchasing process. We came to Sharon after being a bit shell-shocked from a previous failed attempt to purchase a home via short sale with a different agent so working with Sharon was a breeze! It felt so good to be able to trust a real estate agent again. Highly recommend! read more

Sharon was incredibly helpful in getting my wife and I into our first property. We were completely unfamiliar with the myriad aspects of buying a house and Sharon was instrumental in both narrowing down the locations to consider and in how to structure the financing. In addition to being very knowledgeable and professional herself, she was able to connect us with good people for the lending, inspections and escrow processes. Through Sharon we've been able to build relationships with people in every part of the property purchasing chain. Sharon was able to move at the speed required for the Bay Area housing market. She was able to meet early and often to show us listings and explore neighborhoods. She was very friendly and easy to get along with and was truly interested in finding the right situation for us. She was always responsive with our many questions and we always had our answers via phone, text and email. We are very happy with where we ended up and how quickly it all happened and we would recommend Sharon to anyone. read more

Sharon helped us buy our first home in San Leandro, then five years later sell that home and buy a new home in Castro Valley. Sharon is extremely knowledgeable about the market, homes and neighborhoods in the entire East Bay. She helped guide us to areas that fit our needs and budget and took us to visit homes for sale when we couldn't make it to an open house. Sharon was very, very helpful in staging our house for sale, getting professional photography, and marketing it to get a sale price that was much higher than we expected. She even purchased pillows and rugs to give our house that little "something" that would help impress prospective buyers. We are so very happy with the result of our newest home purchase! read more

We met Sharon Alva a few years before when we were visiting open houses and really liked her. When we were ready to purchase our first home, we contacted Sharon. She helped us clarify what we wanted in a home, where and how we wanted to live in the future (not just where we could buy a home now), and then she showed us the available properties. The whole process was surprisingly very simple and went very smoothly. I was initially prepared to spend months (years even) finding our first home, and Sharon said she'd gladly help us for as long as it took. But we actually purchased a home very quickly because Sharon really helped us figure out exactly what we wanted and then only showed us properties that fit. She gave us really helpful information on the types of homes available in our target area, what the inventory was like and how that compared to the past, and so forth. We had a realistic view of our options, and it was easy to pick our first home and purchase it. Sharon is knowledgeable, on top of details, warm and friendly, caring, hard working, honest and easy going--the perfect agent for us. I highly recommend working with Sharon! read more

Sharon helped my husband and I buy our first house last year and we feel SO LUCKY that we had her to help us! As first time home buyers, we were completely clueless and fairly overwhelmed by the process, but Sharon made it seem easy, walking us through each step with patience and grace. She listened carefully to what we were looking for and helped us find the house of our dreams. Sharon is completely down-to-earth, funny, caring, honest and just an all around awesome person who just happens to kick ass at real estate. We can't thank Sharon enough, and hope she moves to our new neighborhood soon! read more

My husband and I could not have enjoyed or valued our relationship with Sharon more, and without her, we would not have found an amazing home in an incredible neighborhood. She has a keen eye and a steady hand and is deeply knowledgeable about each area in Oakland, down to the block level. We appreciated her ability to keep things in perspective and help us first time home buyers understand what was a big deal and what wasn't and stay sane throughout the process (no small feat!). We closed on our home in the fall of 2014 but still reach out to Sharon as we remodel for her advice. Sharon is a gem! read more