Realty Advocates: Comments by Clients

Comments by Clients

My husband and I had a very positive experience with Brett Weinstein when he sold our first home for us this fall. He has a nice nature, and always listened thoughtfully to our concerns, and he led us through the process with a gentle but firm hand. For sellers, he takes really good photos of your house and displays them appealingly on his web site. I appreciated that throughout the entire process he was always up front and honest with both us and the buyers. Most importantly, when it came to the deal, he was a skilled negotiator who always kept our best interests at heart. Recommended!
— Louisa Spier

I recently worked with Brett Weinstein on my first real estate transaction (as a buyer). Since this was my first experience in real estate, I was nervous, to say the least. I found Brett through a referral from a friend. Having Brett guide me through the process and offer his advice was invaluable. I never felt like he wasn't engaged. He's honest, candid, friendly and above all - trustworthy. I honestly can't imagine having gone through this process without him.
— Raquel Domgaard

Brett Weinstein from Realty Advocates brings it all: he is smart, strategic, and supportive. Thanks to Brett, we just bought our first house, on our first bid - great bones, in our target neighborhood in North Berkeley, on a big lot, and for a price we can afford.

We were successful with Brett because he has multiple and nuanced intelligences - market intelligence, construction and design intelligence, and emotional intelligence. His many years following the Berkeley market meant his predictions on what to expect were spot-on. He has an amazing eye for good design. He is able to identify at a glance structural strengths and weaknesses of a home, and very good at explaining how those attributes aligned with our priorities.

He is an excellent communicator - he's comfortable getting technical about structural engineering and construction materials, he's comfortable talking about race and class, school choice, marital conflicts, family dynamics and financial planning. We trusted Brett. He was encouraging with us - always hopeful - but never unrealistically rosy. He instilled confidence and calm when we were anxious. Brett is patient and wise - we took six months to bid, and he supported our effort to wait for the home we really wanted.

When we found that house, he demonstrated one-of-a-kind strategic know-how. Brett counseled us on how to bid aggressively but responsibly. Because Brett knows the market, because he has mastered bidding strategies, and because he had come to know us as a couple - he maximized the strength of our bid and saved us at least $35 thousand. I'm left with no regrets, excitement about living in our new place, and total gratitude for Brett's counsel.
— Liz Jackson and Tarek Rached

Dear Brett,
We are constantly reminded how crucial you were in making it all happen. We are very impressed with your perfect sense of which things to sweat and which to ignore, when to give us time to reflect and when to give us a reality check, and where to look for skeletons in the closet. Your experience really shows. Thank you so much.
— Gus and Lizzy

I heartily recommend Realty Advocates and Hal Feiger. He did an excellent job of serving our needs, going above and beyond the call of duty. He was patient, confident, punctual and very detail oriented. He held many open houses (some with catered food!) so that our home got maximum exposure to other agents and buyers. Our home was not an easy sell. It was the smallest house on the smallest lot in the neighborhood during a "buyer's market." We got the price we needed and the lower commission meant a great deal to us.
— Doug Munro and Kate Nathan

Brett sold our house on Acton Street for what was then the highest price for a two bedroom in the neighborhood. He also represented us in the purchase of our current home. Brett is a savy negotiator and his backround in architecture and construction was extremely helpful. In hindsight, the fact that he also saved us some $5,000 in commissions was the least of his accomplishments!
— Joel ben Izzy

I've done four real estate transactions with Brett and have had consistently positive experiences. When I was a buyer, he's carefully guided me through the process and assisted me in obtaining high quality expert advice about any issues I may be facing with the property. He helped me identify and plan for improvements or upgrades that need to be made and connected me with excellent, very reasonably priced professionals. When I was a seller, he has again gone above and beyond. With my recent sale, I wanted to make several improvements to get my home in top shape, and he made sure that the scope of work I was undertaking to prepare my property for sale made sense: "I don't want you to put a dollar into it that you won't get back out of it." When I was busy and away from the property, he was always there to provide access to workers and checked in repeatedly on their progress. His marketing skills are outstanding. In a tough sellers' market, his advice has been invaluable in getting my property sold. He's patient, knowledgeable and friendly. I refer him often to clients and friends. I've never chosen to work with Brett because his fee is 25% less than others. It's simply been a wonderful benefit.
— Deborah Dubroff

Dear Hal,
A great deal of thanks and appreciation for everything you did on both the sell and buy of our homes. We know none of this could have happened without your tremendous efforts and expertise. Your wisdom and strength over these last few months made the buying and selling experience so much easier on what might have been an overwhelming experience for both of us. You also got us a great price in a short period of time on the sale of our home and saved us thousands of dollars in commissions. Thanks again to both you and the rest of your office for a job well done.
— Abro and Aliza Sutker

Dear Hal and Brett,
I want to express my thanks and appreciation to you both for your guidance in the journey of the recent sale of my Piedmont property. In a process that, like producing a play, can be fraught with tension, panic and despair, your well-rehearsed and professionally seasoned directions led the way to well-deserved acclaim. Thank you for a job so well done. Your considerable experience was always evident every step of the way.
— Andy Partos

We had coffee on Saturday in a sunny breakfast nook in our new house because Brett Weinstein was our realtor. Brett helped us tune out the noise of the housing market and focus on the facts that shaped our search. His expertise and energy put us in a house that we love.

We were first-time home buyers and initially found the process in a competitive market obtuse and frustrating. We interviewed with Brett after leaving our first agent and liked his approach immediately. He actually wanted to talk to us before taking us as clients, to make sure we could work together well. What a reassuring change from agents who immediately assured us that they would find our dream home and that we could have everything we wanted before they even knew what that was. Brett talked about the tough choices (budgets/schools/commutes/space) that helped us to focus our search. We are very grateful for Brett's calm and realistic approach to the housing market. He understands the access that we all now have to home listings and immediately communicated that his biggest value would come after we saw a house we were interested in.

Brett helped us be selective about the houses we visited. Once we did find a house we liked, Brett helped us evaluate the condition of the house and prepare a fact-based strategy for submitting an offer that was tailored to our budget and our approach to the house. We didn't know how the seller would respond to the offer, but we knew what our options would be, and why. As the offer played out over a week, Brett's counsel was spot-on and it made the difference between us getting the house and staying in our apartment.

As the transaction wound its way through the financing and inspection process, Brett's direct, low-key advice kept us calm, kept the deal on track and consistently saved us money. As closing grew near, Brett helped us transition from first-time buyers to homeowners. He guided us through turnover of the house and continues to be invaluable in recommending tradesmen to help us get the house ready to be our home.

Brett's a smart guy who knows his stuff and likes his job - a lot. That comes through every step of the way and it makes every part of the house hunting process easier. At every step we were well taken care of by an advocate we trust completely. We look back on our work with Brett, unsuccessful bids as well as our purchase, and find we enjoyed buying our first house. Our only regret in the whole process is that we like our house so much it may be quite a while before we can work with Brett again. If you are trying to buy a house, talk to Brett!
—Lynch Family

Dear Hal,
Thank you for al that you did to make this home transition (sell one, buy another) go so smoothly and successfully. Of course, please use us as a reference.
— Donna and Ed Kaplan

Right from the beginning, I was impressed with Brett's market acumen. We were in a competitive offer situation, and Brett's experience and calm counsel directly resulted in us not only getting the house, but at a price below what we were willing to pay. We felt very grateful to have him as our agent.
— Kris Starr

Dear Brett,
We just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate all your help in buying this beautiful house. And thanks for your help with the successful sale of our little bungalow and for always being available and working calmly through all the little (and bigger) problems that arose along the way. You guys rock!
— Laura Counts and Mike Mechanic

Dear Brett,
You were the greatest thing about all this house "thing." Really! I felt lucky and safe and taken care of by you, from beginning to end. Thank you.
— Hagar Oren

We are very grateful to Brett and Realty Advocates. First, his attention to detail and knowledge of construction helped us tremendously on the house we bought in Piedmont. Secondly, his orchestration of all the elements involved in getting our current house on the market (like arranging for inspections, painting and various handyman projects), and advising on the staging were all flawless. Third, we thought his marketing material and newspapers ads were fabulous. His large ad in SF Chronicle really stood out and made most of the other listings look skimpy by comparison. Brett's marketing plan and discipline resulted in us getting not just two, but ten great offers. The fact that Brett's commission was $13,000 less than what other agents wanted to charge was just icing on the cake. Great service and great value. Brett Weinstein gets our unqualified and most enthusiastic endorsement."
— Sharon Stafanson and Jason Altieri

Dear Brett,
I so appreciate your unflappable professionalism in the service of selling our house on 10th Street. I am so pleased to know beyond any doubt the great service and fabulous value that Realty Advocates offers. I hope that this is only the first time we will be able to enjoy your superior work in East Bay real estate transactions.
— Fern Leaf

What impressed me most about Brett was his great enthusiasm for both my house and the neighborhood, his first-hand familiarity of all the recent sales, and the fact that his commission was thousands less than the other agents I interviewed. I was especially pleased that he was able to convince the buyer to "forgive" the $10,000 termite report and take the house as-is. I think people are crazy to pay a 6% commission when someone as good as Brett is available for thousands less!
— Ivan Rosenblum

Most of the other agents we interview seemed resistant to, if not actually offended by, the idea that they should sign for less than 6%. Some of them warned that "cut-rate agents" would mean cut-rate service. In your case they could not be more wrong. We found your handling of our home sale to be highly professional from start to finish -- from providing us with your best opinion of the anticipated value of the house even when it diverged from our expectations, to getting the house ready to show, getting it listed, getting it shown, helping us evaluate offers, and providing us with calm counsel throughout the offer and escrow process. I can hardly imagine what better service any "full-price" agent could have provided.
— Ryan Werner and Julie Parr

While we were initially tempted to sell "by owner", Realty Advocates' low commission convinced us otherwise. We chose their full service and with just 5 days on the market, Hal brought us eleven offers resulting in a sales price exceeding our wildest dreams. He has our unqualified endorsement.
— Pamela Grove and Gerald Nelson, DDS

Dear Brett,
You did a great job! Never missed a beat-no matter how crazy we got. Thanks,
— Roslyn Fuerman

Dear Hal,
I couldn't have been more blessed than to have you as our agent. As you know, the process was difficult for me -- symbolic of a necessary loss and life-change. Your understanding and grace helped me get through. Thank you.
— Lynne Miles