Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion, which is what makes Yelp a great resource. After reading the latest review, I feel compelled to update my review a year after working with Deb to buy our house. We have to leave Portland. We like living here but things didn't work out as we intended. Deb, with the help of her team, Jerry and Sally, have given us our options for our home. We have listed it and Deb has held a brokers showing as well as multiple open houses. She doesn't have a crystal ball, who knows what the economy will do. She keeps on top of the trends and, given the uncertainty of the market, does the best she can to help us make the best decisions possible. We've discussed many options, and again, she doesn't push us to make a decision but gives us information. This is an emotional and stressful issue, and Deb has been helpful, kind, and encouraging. She uses her team's years of knowledge and experience to her clients' advantage. Until our house sells, I trust Deb and her team to work for us and give us information to make good choices. Deb will always be our Realtor, and whether we decide to sell now, rent it out, or sell later, she will be the person who lists our house and represents us. read more

I am hesitant to write this because I know that being a real estate agent has to suck and especially in this economy you have to realize that selling things is difficult and not nearly as care free as it used to be. that said, Deb Shiffren made what is normally a stressful experience (I was expecting that) totally awful. She was unrealistic ("You are going to need to spend 400k to get a house you like"), condescending ("you are in for a real reality check when you sell your first house") and did not perform any of the functions I am told an agent on the buyer's behalf should (get you the lowest possible price, negotiate, honestly discuss the market). I went to Deb due to these two glowing Yelp reviews and really wanted it to be a good experience. I was traumatized by the way she spoke to me and how callously she dismissed my concerns over things like failed inspections ("You can fix that yourself") and our small young families hard earned money and credit rating. She was concerned with having us "sign on time" but that was no help to us. In her effort to complete the sale without incident (I guess closing is getting more and more difficult as the credit market tightens) she seemed to lose sight of who she was working for. She made me feel stupid and cheap when I wanted credits or to bid lower than exactly what sellers were asking. She just wanted us to buy a house, any house, and get her commission. Needless to say, there was no champaign in our fridge when we moved in, we didn't even have an agent, just someone who eventually got 10k for taking me to a house I found on the web. I would have rather saved $10k by having an agent confident and intelligent enough to make bids in this market when (it seems like) every other house is for sale, and unafraid to work on behalf of the buyer instead of worrying about offending the seller ("they really took good care of that house.") We have had a contractor here for three weeks fixing the house that she said was in perfect condition and the money I was guilted into spending on mortgage could really help right now paying for the new water heater and kitchen and bathroom renovation. I love our house, we are going to be here a long time and it is all worth it every day our daughter says "NICE NEW HOUSE", but Deb made the process so much worse than it needed to be by saying things like "you are in for a real wake up call when you go to sell your house..." (who says that? "wake up call??" really? is that good customer service anywhere?) and I can't, in good faith, allow her to be praised on Yelp without a dissenting opinion. I probably shouldn't write this because she does know where I live, but after two months I feel that this isn't written out of anger or vitriol and it is just me being honest about what turned into a terrible experience. This is a very personal and complicated decision and, based on how we were treated, I don't think that Deb is capable of helping anyone through this process. We didn't feel for a moment like she was working for us, it was quite obvious that she was working for the market. read more

Start to finish Gina Gunderson blew our socks off! We are proud owners of our first home thanks to Gina and her hard work. We looked at plenty of houses and her honestly and knowledge was astonishing. I'd use her a million times over! She is the ultimate closer and her tenacity makes you feel secure through the entire process. There of course were things coming into play that seemed out of everyone's control but she always figured out a way that was favorable to us the buyer. We just love her! Terra and Justin Gast read more

My wife and I were pretty picky when it came to home buying because, truthfully, we only wanted to do this once. And, since we were only going to conduct this process this one time, we couldn't have asked for a better agent to help us find the house of our dreams than Gina. One of the many great attributes about Gina is she's truthful and isn't going to tell you "yes" to a house just to close the deal and get the sale. Case in point, the three of us (my wife, Gina and myself) looked at a house in North Portland (out of respect, I won't provide address or street). Not long after walking in, Gina did not hesitate to let us know she was not getting a good feeling from the house. That's exactly what we wanted, someone who's been in enough homes to know when something doesn't feel right, make it known. I say this because, before the recession hit, my wife and I were looking for a house and our agent then pretty much had the attitude of "this is your home. You ready to buy?" with every house we looked at. Another great attribute is Gina's responsiveness. My wife and I were always looking at houses while on walks, on RMLS or Red Fin, etc., in addition to receiving listings from Gina. If we saw a house we were interested in, even at 9 p.m. on a Sunday, and texted it to her, Gina would respond in no time flat. Sometimes, she would work her magic and get us into that house not long after contacting her. She was amazing, Further, once we finally found our dream home, Gina was masterful at negotiating with the seller to get everything we asked for..and all at a great price. She was realistic with us when we would say "well, what if we ask for this...". If she thought we were pushing the envelope, she'd let us know. I mean, our goal as home buyers is to get everything we want and at the lowest price. But, sometimes, you risk offending the seller and possibly losing the house. Gina would not allow that to happen to anyone she represented. Finally, Gina has such a great personality and was so easy to get a long with that, by the time this home buying process ended, we considered her a friend and not just our realtor. You would be hard pressed to find an agent more personable, respectful, knowledgeable and willing to go the extra distance for their client than Gina. My wife and I would highly recommend the services of Gina Gunderson to anyone looking to buy, sell, etc. In fact, when any of our friends or co-workers are ready to begin the home search, we will be throwing Gina's name their way (and we've already done this). Thank you Gina for making the home buying process a memorable one for us, we truly appreciate it. read more

Where to begin? Ultra-shady, cheap, greedy agent named Dana McKillop, works for this office, unreal how bad she is. She tried to hide $100,000 worth of siding damage. Errant sprinklers were running water into the den and she thought it was the a/c. She didn't even look in the open crawlspace. The sellers were her family, so she enabled them to be greedy, petty, and cheap. They stole black pipe, for goodness sake. They *stole the chandelier and put a cheap one in to replace it*. They flooded the basement with sprinklers and the Windermere agent said "we'll take care of it" as though she intended to rent a Rug Doctor; we demanded a water damage restoration company immediately. She tried to prevent our inspector, agent, and the siding company from documenting the incredibly extensive damage to the property. They all have confirmed this, separately. We are looking at suing next. Terrible. Run away, buyer OR seller. There's plenty of terrible real estate agents out there, and some decent ones. Hasson did us right, and this Windermere office is going to be sued for fraud and damages. read more

My wife and I had our first home buying experience with Deb Shiffrin as our real estate agent early summer, 2008. Deb took us through every step of the "first time home buying" process and offered extremely valuable advice and guidance. We were very cautious and saw multiple homes before we found out exactly what we were looking for. Thanks to Deb's patience we found a wonderful home after many months of looking. Deb was professional, fun, and energetic - just the feeling you want when looking for a home. Her attitude was infectious! She showed a prominent knack for this business and it showed in her level of dedication and commitment toward us as customers. I feel comfortable passing her name along to friends and loved ones. In business, there are those who do things right, and those to do things well, both of which you want. It's rare to find someone who does them both, FOR YOU! -Thanks Deb! read more

Deb Shiffrin worked so hard for us I was amazed. We wanted to find acreage no more than forty five minutes from Portland Oregon and we were on a small budget. Deb spent a lot of time with us and showed us every new place that came on the market and that fit our criteria. We made several offers before one was accepted. she helped us through every step of the buying process with honesty, integrity, and professionalism. She really was looking out for our interests. With Deb we didn't just have an agent, we had a friend. read more

i was recently trying to ask my realtor agent to make an offer $1000 over the asking price for a property listed by an realtor agent name James Surgeon, a broker with Windermere..in which his reply is : "i hope your joking. Don't waste my time please!" what a horrible response for a license broker who on his website saying that customer service is in his blood! Greed is in his blood would be more appropriate.... i found out that it was its own house that he is selling and i suppose he is expecting an over price offer, anything less than that is a "waste of his time". I would never hire such company who employee act that way to represent me in any way! Stay away from doing business with this broker James Surgeon... read more