Jim and Natasha – North Oakland Buyer

Natasha and Jim

Before I decided to move out to California from Illinois in 2007, I
wanted to get a feel for the housing market in the East Bay area. I
found Deidre online and, upon visiting Berkeley, met up to look at a
couple properties. I could tell immediately that she knew the “lay of
the land” very well. Being a broke student, I visited several
properties that were within my budget AND met the stringent criteria
that I had for purchasing a property. After 2 years (!!!) of looking,
my fiance and I found the perfect place in Oakland. We couldn’t have
done it without Deidre’s limitless patience for picky people! When the
ball got rolling after we made our offer, Deidre was there for us 150%
of the way. At no time was the ball dropped or were we left hanging.
She made our home purchasing experience very easy… and fun!
Thank you Deidre!

Jesse Hahnel – Buyer

My wife and I have been working with Deidre since Spring of 2009. We can’t recommend her highly enough.

1) She works tirelessly on our behalf, educating us as to the marketplace, neighborhoods, things to look for in a house, types of financing, etc.

2) She’s extremely sensitive to the fact that the house has to fit with who we are, what we need, and what we can afford, so she pays attention to who we are, what we need, and what we can afford.

3) She’s incredibly well informed; frequently leading us to neighborhoods and houses we would not have looked at otherwise.

4) She never pressures us in any way, but knowing that we have a mind of our own, she expresses her opinion.

5) When we have made offers, she has done everything in her power to get us the house.

We haven’t closed on a house yet, but we are completely confidant that working with Deidre we’ll find the perfect place for us.

Yasmeen Boulware

Yasmeen Boulware – Oakland Buyer

A family member referred my parents and me to Deidre, and we are so happy to have found her. We were looking for a Realtor that was experienced, outgoing, hardworking, and honest. Deidre possesses all these qualities and more! From the start Deidre began working tirelessly, emailing us daily with new listings, referring us to a great mortgage brokerage, showing us houses during times that fit our schedule. Within a couple months, we found a house, put in a bid the day after it listed, and closed 30 days later! But don’t get me wrong, the process was not that simple. There were delays with the appraisal and our loan almost fell through at the last minute, among other issues. I truly believe we would have lost the house if we didn’t have Deidre fighting for us and doing everything in her power to overcome these obstacles. In today’s market, the home buying process is very difficult; anything from a delayed appraisal to not dotting an I can result in a transaction falling through. Deidre meticulously guided us through, set up and attended all inspections, and her rapport with the mortgage brokerage and title company really benefited us. In the end, we were blessed with a beautiful home in a beautiful neighborhood for a beautiful price, thanks to Deidre. And Deidre still calls to check up on us, and has referred us to a great hardwood floor guy, who I will yelp next!

Robert Chen in front of his new (vintage) Rockridge duplex

Alastair and Julie Paulin – 4138 Coolidge Avenue, Oakland – Seller

We selected Deirdre to sell our house because we were taken by her evident affection for our style of house, a mid-century modern in the Oakland Hills. We were convinced that the style of the house made it a special marketing proposition and Deirdre took to the project with enthusiasm and good ideas.

As it turned out, the road to market was rockier than we expected because we still had tenants in the house and it seemed as if it could not have been a worse market in which to sell. To complicate things further, we live in New Zealand and had to do everything long-distance and deal with the time difference. But Deirdre handled the challenges with good grace and humor and took on many extra responsibilities to make up for our absence. As well, she Skyped with us at all hours and set up systems so we could handle documents and signatures online.

The end result was an offer before the house was even put on the market. Deirdre had it on her website as a “coming soon” listing and as soon as it was possible to view the house, a couple who had had their eye on the listing made a preemptive offer, which was above our listing price. Deirdre guided us through the negotiation, had good ideas along the way, and the sale closed on time—all of which seemed remarkable given the market at the time (May-July 09).

In the end, our only disappointment was that Deirdre didn’t get to fully market the house on the open market, because we think she would have done a great job. As it was, we were very happy with her hard work, attention to detail, and professionalism in dealing with a difficult situation, and happily recommend her to our neighbors.

Erin and Byron Taylor – Sequoyah Heights, Oakland Buyer

Thank you so much for helping Erin and I find our first home.  We had been looking for months with the help of another agent and the frustration had begun to mount.  Erin and I like to think it was fate that led you to being our agent as we had met you months prior at another open house.  You stuck out in our minds because you were friendly and knowledgeable about the real estate market.  We appreciated your genuine willingness to provide us with valuable information without wanting something in return.  Unfortunately Erin and I were committed to another agent and we were trying to be patient with their lack of attention and ability to listen to our housing needs.  And after being taken to yet another house that didn’t work for us, we terminated our relationship and resigned ourselves to renting for a few more years.  Still our dreams of homeownership drove us to visiting local open houses on the weekend just in case we found something we loved.  It was at a random open house that we weren’t even going to attend where our paths crossed yet again. We witnessed the personal level of attention you were giving to you clients and we knew at that moment you would be the agent for us.  The next day we found your email on your real estate blog and you got back to us right away.  Fast-forward to a month later and we are closing on a new home in the Oakland Hills!  Erin and I still talk about how your personal relationships with other agents and business savvy was key in our offer being accepted over an even better one which was amazing.  For that reason we are eternally grateful to have met you!  This year when we are celebrating our first Christmas in our new home you will be in our hearts!  Thank you Deidre!  The next time we are in the market for a new home, or simply need to refer a friend or loved one to a competent realtor, you will be our first choice!

Josh and Traci – Montclair, (Oakland) Home Buyers
“We found Deidre like we find most things… online. After casually looking at houses on our own for a couple of years we decided we were serious enough to find a Realtor. We were specifically interested in mid-century homes and that led us to Deidre’s blog and website. She seemed like a good match from what we saw online so we scheduled an appointment with her. At our first meeting we went and looked at a few homes and discussed what we liked or didn’t like. She was great about pointing out the good, the bad, and the questionable. She never tried to gloss over potential problems and instead made sure we were aware of any challenges a home might have. Within a week of working with her she found a house during her Realtor’s tour and called us immediately. We saw it with her that very evening. While it wasn’t really mid-century, it was a great fit for us; it was the right size, the right layout, the right amount of yard, in the right neighborhood… I could go on. A week after that we were submitting an offer. Since we were first-time home buyers it was a major learning process and she was patient and helped us understand everything. She worked hard and used her experience to help us make the best offer we could while staying within our budget. Deidre had a team of inspectors already scheduled when our offer was accepted and she was present during all of the inspections. One thing about Deidre, she works with great people and knows who can get things done. From mortgage brokers to contractors, she’s got great recommendations. We did run into some information that meant we would need to have some work done to make sure the foundation was properly supported. Deidre came through for us working with the selling agents to cover whatever costs the sellers could to offset our expenses on needed work. It’s been 6 month’s now and while the market has dipped a bit more, we have no regrets; this was definitely the right house for us. ”

Stacie Batiste – San Leandro Home Buyer
“I knew buying a home would be one of the biggest decisions I would make in my life and because of that I had been looking for a long time. I didn’t want to settle. I was a little hesitant going with a realtor that I had only met online, but I decided to go with Deidre. I’m glad I did. It was great working with Deidre on my home search. Given that I’m very picky, she was extremely patient and understood my wants and needs as a homebuyer. If I were to describe Deidre I would say she was very professional, highly ethical, hard working and had a lot of enthusiasm and I appreciated that. I love my home and I have no regrets. If I were to do it all over again I would still choose Deidre as my agent. ”

Eliza McNulty – Berkeley Home Buyer

Liza and Matt in front their Berkeley bungalow

“We feel so lucky to have found Deidre to work with in buying our first home! Every step of the way she gave us the support we needed when we needed it, but knew when to give us the space we needed too! When you are working with Deidre you can be sure that your happiness and comfort is
her first priority – she has a wonderful no-pressure attitude, but was always available for us at the drop of a hat when we had questions or concerns. After months of looking, when we finally found THE house there were multiple other bids – Deidre helped us figure out ways to make our offer as
strong as possible, and got us into our dream house! Most importantly, her support and help didn’t dry up once the offer was accepted, or even once we had closed – she continues to be a source of knowledge and wisdom for us as we figure out the details of home ownership! We couldn’t be more pleased with our experience with Deidre, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to anyone purchasing a home, but most especially first time home buyers.

Maria Sison – Oakland Home Buyer

Maria, Yvan and Zoe, new baby and new house!

“Yvan and I were paying very little rent in SF, but knew that this period would be a great time to try to purchase a home. We just had a baby and I was extremely busy managing several programs for a nonprofit. We thought we would have a hard time finding a house we would like because we had so many desires and needs for our growing family, but not a lot of money. Deidre Joyner was a referral from a friend of a friend and from the beginning; she listened to us and responded to our interests and concerns. Even when we were not very conscious of location and potential appreciation possibilities, she reminded us to also think of resale value because she knew we were interested in staying in the Bay Area for about 7 years. I thought I knew Oakland, but she helped guide us through up and coming neighborhoods with an eye on appreciation and a safe community where we can raise children. There were a lot of homes for sale at so many different price points; it was hard to sift through so much information online. Deidre did a lot of work sifting through listings after hearing our interests and seeing our reactions after several home showings. After only a few months, we found a charming home in a great location. It was a bank-owned with lots of potential, and we were willing to do the work. Deidre guided us through the different appraisals and inspections and helped negotiate a fabulous deal from the selling bank. She did a lot of extras like hook us up with a homeowner’s insurance agent that offered us the most competitive rate we found, reminded us of the great neighborhood communities that we would enjoy within close driving distance, and referred contractors for the extra work we were going to do. I knew bank-owned purchases would be difficult, and, even in the midst of my crazy work and travel schedule, Deidre stayed on top of the deadlines, on top of the paperwork and in 30 days our escrow closed successfully. This process managed to be less stressful than the things I had to deal with at work. We were truly lucky to have found a professional real estate agent with years of experience and know-how. Without Deidre, we would not have been able to buy this house, gotten such a great deal and with minimal stress. We would definitely refer her to friends and family looking for a home in the Bay Area.”

Michael Ashby – Oakland Home Buyer
“Deidre was able to understand quickly what we were looking for. In fact she was able to target the right homes for us to view better than we expected. When she told us of one listing that we had already dismissed without viewing, she insisted we at least go view it. It was perfect and we ended up buying it. ”

Patty O’Hara – Oakland Home Seller
“My husband and I hired Deidre Joyner to sell our home in the Oakland Hills in early 2008. From the very start, Deidre jumped in head-first and worked incredibly hard to set our home apart from the rest. The market was very tough and Deidre took it upon herself to come up with unique and innovative ways to market our home and get people in to see it. An added complication – my husband and I were out of the area and she was juggling communication with us in multiple time zones. Deidre tackled each challenge with great professionalism and made herself available to us for questions and follow up. I would confidently hire her again to represent me in any real estate transaction.

Many thanks, Deidre, for your excellent hard work and thank you for making our house sale happen in record time in a very challenging market.”

Artie Thomas – El Cerrito Home Buyer
“I don’t know if I thanked you for all…and I mean ALL OF THINGS THAT YOU DID FOR US. Your guidance and patience with a couple of first time homebuyers cannot be understated. ”

John Johnston – Hayward Home Seller
“Thanks for a great job; and I would absolutely use you again!”

Doctor Leslie Smith – Berkeley Seller
“…you provided excellent service…I really do appreciate all of your help; especially your efforts to try to finish escrow in December, the month I needed escrow to close. ”

L. Cort French – Oakland Home Buyer
“I cannot thank you enough! you took great care in making certain that I was knowledgeable and comfortable with the purchase process. If I am ever again in the fortunate position to buy or sell home a home, you will be the first person I call.”

Will Lenzner – Oakland Home Buyer
“Deidre is genuine, sincere and a team player.”

Sue Russell – Oakland Home Seller
“You are an extraordinary real estate agent. ”

Alec Kerachi – Oakland Home Buyer
“with Deidre’s attention to detail and professionalism? I was able to not only find my dream home, but also buy it with as many as a dozen other buyers in the race.”

Jo and Leah Rivers – Oakland Home Buyers
“As first time buyers, we were quite anxious about the whole process? Deidre was very helpful every step of the way. She really listened to what we liked and didn?t like about each house we visited and helped us refine exactly what we were looking for. ”

Diana Parker – Colleague
“I have enjoyed everyday that we have worked together.”

John and Elizabeth – Oakland Home Sellers
“Dear Deidre,

We want to express our sincere appreciation and admiration for the work you did in selling our property. We found that we were constantly amazed and pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm and professionalism that you showed throughout the entire in process. We did not think we would find someone even more conscientious than ourselves, and are still thankful that we found you. Even before we decided to sell our property you provided us with information that helped us to make a sound decision. Once we asked you to be our agent, you were available with affordable and effective marketing ideas as well as cost-effective contractors for various repairs. You even served as ?project manager? for some of the work, and kept us informed about the sales status every step of the way. You were simply fantastic!

As you know, we have recommended you to friends who have let us know that you were every bit as generous and competent in helping them. We will continue to do so, but also want to extend our willingness to serve as a reference to anyone considering working with you. We wish to confirm your skills and your commitment.

Thanks for your invaluable help and guidance.”    - John and Elizabeth

Lara Blake – Senior Mortgage Consultant, Holmgren and Associates

“Deidre is a tenacious negotiator on her client’s behalf.  Her proactive attention to every detail ensures that she has addressed what is in her clients a best interest throughout a transaction.  She is a well respected member of our local real estate community, and I would strongly recommended her services to either buyers or sellers.”