August, 2009

I’m glad I trusted my intuition about choosing Grace Bishop as the agent to sell our house. I had a feeling she was the right person for the job and it turned out she exceeded my expectations.

Grace knows her stuff. She’s a top-seller at Red Oak Realty who really “gets” real estate and knows the local Berkeley market. She stays on top of developments in local real estate and related areas such as regulations and mortgages. Her high level of competency and professionalism was immediately apparent from our first meeting and showed up time and again throughout the selling process.

The other part of this successful equation was, of course, that we were able to recognize Grace’s abilities and have confidence in how she steered the process. This confidence allowed us to follow her recommendations with regard to home improvements and staging with our own furniture as well as which inspections to choose.

Ultimately, Grace’s competence and our confidence in her paid off well. After two weeks on the market we were presented with multiple offers on our Berkeley home and chose an offer free of contingencies. We couldn’t have asked for a smoother process or a better experience overall. So it is with complete confidence that I recommend Grace Bishop as first-rate real estate professional and an excellent choice to help you sell your home.

Connie and Bill Dillon

July, 2009

Thank you again for all of your help and hard work. We were very nervous first-time home buyers who had shied away from the market for as long as possible. Just to add to the difficulty, we decided to have a short escrow. But this had to be one of the most painless home-buying experiences a family could have. I don’t think the phrase “on the ball” even covers it. You were incredibly responsive and informative; great with bidding strategy and keeping track of all the minutiae that goes along with this process. Even though you did all the hard work, I feel like I’m now an expert in buying a house thanks to your patience and guidance. Things I thought I would have to worry about weren’t even blips on our radar. From our first meeting until the day we got the keys to our new place in Kensington, this has been a wonderful experience.

Thanks!

Leslie Sommer and Rodolphe Pineau

May, 2009

My husband and I had a very positive experience working with Grace Bishop and will recommend her to friends looking to buy or sell in the area….

We had an unpleasant experience with another agent a few years ago when we purchased our first home in North Berkeley (the same one that Grace recently helped us to sell).  We were understandably apprehensive going into the process again.  Grace was recommended by a trusted realtor and friend who does not specialize in the Berkeley area and who works for a different agency (which said a lot about Grace’s performance and reputation).
Upon meeting her, we knew that Grace was the right agent for us – she has a great deal of experience in the area, she excitedly answered our questions and alleviated our many concerns.  But we were most reassured by Grace’s grounded optimism, especially in light of the daunting housing market we were entering.  Grace explained her unique sales approach, asked that we fully trust her and take her recommendations.  We did everything Grace recommended and Grace more than delivered on her part – we received multiple offers that led to a better-than-expected final sales price.  It was also a great feeling to turnover our beloved home to a nice couple, to whom Grace introduced us after the sale.  It should also be noted that Grace has an amazing attention to detail, diligently worked on putting together a complete disclosure package, and was responsive to all of our questions.

Thanks for everything Grace!  We look forward to staying in touch with you.

Jemma & Leif Kalberg

January 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

We have recently purchased our first home with the help of Grace Bishop. When we moved back into the area, she took us on a tour of the various cities and neighborhoods within each city, listing the pros and cons of each. The tour was very helpful and gave us a good feel for the area. From it, we were able to narrow down our housing search to two cities.

Over the course of the following year, Grace remained very patient with us. We toured open houses every Sunday and revisited several of interest with Grace. She quickly discovered our likes and dislikes, and helped us refine our preferences. With her discerning eye, she pointed out things we may not have seen and why we may or may not be well suited to the particular house. She went the extra step and even entertained our children during these second viewings! She faithfully forwarded us open house listings each week based on our preferences. She knew what we were looking for so well, that when the house that we eventually bought came on the market, she requested the disclosure packet before we had even viewed it. She was confident that this was the house for us.

We were in a competitive offer situation with our house. Grace was very calm despite our nerves, and gave us solid advice on how to make our offer the most attractive. She worked honestly and with integrity. Throughout the offer and escrow period, Grace walked us through the process step by step. Since this was our first home purchase, we had many questions and concerns. Grace never waivered in her patience with us. Her assistance did not end after our offer was accepted. She arranged for various contractors to come out to the house for inspections or estimates. She went above and beyond what we expected a realtor to do.

We happily recommend Grace without reservations to anyone with a realtor need. Her hard work, patience and integrity make Grace a wonderful realtor and friend.

Sincerely,

Nicole and Terry Taylor

September 26, 2008

To Whom it May Concern:

My wife and I were quite new to the home-buying realm. We had moved across the country from New York City seven months prior to meeting Grace, and we had no designs on pursuing a home in the near future. Our plans for owning a home were closer to reality than we expected, however, and for that we have Grace to thank. We highly recommend her as a realtor and a friend if you are considering her to guide your transaction. The following is our story.

One evening we were with friends when we casually mentioned our desire to own a home within several years. Our friend, Sharon Lee, excitedly referred us to Grace, giving us her card and telling us we should call her, even if we had no immediate plans. She and her husband, Austin, had purchased their first home with Grace several years prior and gave us the glowing recommendation because of their positive experience. Although we felt unready to buy a home, I still made the call, and soon thereafter we were sitting in Grace’s office.

Meeting Grace was an incredible blessing. Through the course of our first conversation, we realized that owning a home was much more within grasp than we anticipated. Through our extremely novice and sometimes naïve notions of buying a home, Grace showed patience and gave us zero pressure. She was extremely professional, informative, and insightful, and we decided that day to take the plunge and begin our search for our first home.

Over the course of the next several weeks, I scoured internet listings and sent them to Grace, upon which she would review them and give me a list of viable options based on our needs. She took us to the homes that best suited us both in price range and ideal. Again, with zero pressure, she laid out the pros and cons of each home and neighborhood, and made us feel extremely comfortable with our decisions. When her schedule became a bit hectic, through no fault of her own, she made sure to take care of us by having a realtor she trusted handle our situation.

On the fateful Saturday that we found our home, Grace was ready. We may have never found our home were it not for Grace’s savvy. On a whim, she had us look at a home in the same courtyard where earlier that day we had seen a different, smaller home that we did not like. Lo and behold, the home was in our price range, and it was perfect. We knew nothing of bidding on a home, but Grace laid everything out for us and answered every question as honestly and knowledgeable as one should expect. We nervously put down an offer on the house. This property being a bank-owned foreclosure, the process was more stressful and business-like than a typical home transaction, but Grace saw us through it with an ease and calm about her that allowed us to get through the process.

After our offer was accepted, Grace was spectacular. We had a financing problem that took some amazing maneuvering to overcome, and Grace was there every step of the way to help. She not only put up with my incessant phone calls and emails, but thanked me for my thoroughness through the process (though I still believe I was quite annoying throughout the ordeal). She was able to foresee and jump hurdles and avoid pitfalls that we could have never foreseen on our own, and ended up saving us quite a bit of money. When we finally closed, Grace celebrated us with a gift of champagne and we toasted our new home to her.

To sum up Grace’s service, she is both the epitome and the antithesis of a fantastic realtor. I say this because she is what every home buyer or seller should expect in a realtor, but utterly defies the stereotype and stigma that bad realtors have given the industry. Grace had zero self-serving intentions throughout the entire process, and helped us in completely unexpected and unintended situations. She is not only a great realtor, but a wonderful woman and friend. As long as we are living here and she is a realtor, she will be our realtor and ultimate recommendation. We could not be more pleased with our first home and our first buying experience, and for this we have Grace Bishop to thank.

Sincerely,

Alessandro & Eileen Miglio

August 2008

Grace Bishop went beyond my expectations – she sold my house in two weeks, and at a very good price.  Grace worked hard, and was unfailingly pleasant, thoughtful, and attentive to detail.  Always very professional, and of the highest ethics.  I found her advice very good.  She and her associate, Carolyn Sherry, made selling the house as pleasant and quick as possible, sympathetic and understanding of both the house and my needs in selling it.  Grace and Carolyn complement each other in their skills and they are a very good team.  Whenever I needed to find someone to help with the house, a list of names was given immediately, including an excellent stager, Christine Mattson.  Grace and  Carolyn are a very professional team and I highly recommend them.

Hadley Haden-Guest

July 2008

Dear Grace,

THANK YOU so much for your assistance in selling our house.  I have been in the Real Estate Property Management business for 40 years, but my knowledge of home sales is limited to a few courses required for my licensing.  I was considering selling our home of 30 years, myself, but wasn’t really sure where to start.  When we ran into you at the open house on Mendocino Ave, your enthusiasm, spark and “presence” spoke volumes to both of us.  We were convinced that you were the person to handle the sale for us.

It was great to have you take us through the process one step at a time.  Considering the large basement and house full of stuff we had to move, it was great to have you as a ready resource to get the various trades people and inspectors we needed, to prepare the house for market.  Your honesty, integrity, organization, attention to detail, and knowledge of all the forms, requirements, and possible pitfalls of a transaction, were all a great relief to us.  It was like having one of our own daughters taking good care of us.

This has been such a fun experience – with you!  We wouldn’t go so far as to say “We’d love to do it all again”, but if we HAD to, we’d not hesitate to do it with you.  Thanks, too, for choosing such a perfectly able assistant in Carolyn Sherry!  She was wonderful – knowledgeable, efficient and quite personable.  What a team!

Thanks so much for everything!

Sincerely,

Joe & Barb Kelly

June 30, 2008

To Whom It May Concern:

I have known Grace Harbo Bishop and her family for the past 15 years.  I was Principal at The School of the Madeleine in Berkeley from 1993-2007 and during that time our families became quite close.  Grace is the product of parents who instilled great values, a work ethic, and integrity that is serving her well in the Real Estate profession and as a wife and mother.

It was very clear to me that when the time came to sell my home, Grace would be my agent.  Last fall we started the process of preparing the house for sale.  Grace found the various sub contractors needed to enhance my home, both inside and out.  She helped with the landscaping, painting inside and out, remodeling, staging, and marketing.

She knew the East Bay neighborhoods and their peculiarities.  She knew the trends in the market and how to price the house when the time came.  I was thrilled with the final offer, and I attributed that to Grace’s expertise.

I would recommend Grace without reservations.  She is professional, relaxed, intelligent, and makes her clients comfortable and confident in the entire process.  Should anyone wish to speak to me further, I would be very happy to do so.

Sincerely,

Mitch Calegari

May 10, 2008

Dear Grace:

Working with you on the sale of my home has been an exciting, fun experience that is really hard for me to put into words.

Our journey began months ago when I started remodeling my home in El Cerrito. You were always there helping me with small details, paint choices, referrals, unexpected issues and always available to answer my questions. As they say, “little jobs turn into big jobs”. Mine was not any different. You were there each time to help me find the correct answer.

Who in the World would provide this level of service before any contractual document had been signed?

Grace Bishop provides this level of service and beyond for her customers!

Needless to say, I chose Grace to represent me in the sale of my property and I clearly made the right choice. I felt that Grace had a knock-out Marketing plan and I saw first-hand how Grace works. Her personal service and attention to detail far exceeded my expectations and she always seemed to be a step ahead of me.

“The proof is in the pudding”. Through Grace’s efforts and her hard work, my home sold in 13 days for a significant amount over the asking price.

Thank you Grace,

Robert M. Bowen

May 2008

To Prospective Buyers or Sellers:

After months of searching, negotiating and enduring the rigors of purchasing Real Estate in a time of “mortgage meltdowns” and economic crisis, we recently purchased a condo with the help of Grace Bishop at Red Oak Realty.  Without hesitation, we would highly recommend her as a Real Estate Agent.  She helped us over a period of several months with all aspects of the purchasing process from beginning to end, which as it turned out, was no small fete.

Grace came to us indirectly from the recommendation of someone we didn’t know, but was trusted by one of our friends.  We had interviewed other Real Estate agents prior to meeting her, but none seemed quite right. Grace was willing to come out to our rental condo to meet us in person.  She came fully prepared with an organized and impressive array of materials to leave with us after the initial meeting, but the best part of her presentation was actually not what she brought, but who she is.

As we became better acquainted, we discovered her to be not only a great real estate agent with a high level of expertise and professionalism, but a terrific person.  She is somebody you can depend on and somebody you can trust.  This woman “walks her talk”.

Grace is first and foremost a good listener, taking time to really get a sense of who her clients are as people.  She pays attention.  She cares.  She listened to what we wanted, as opposed to trying to “sell” us on a particular house, location or price etc.  She answered every question we had for months, from the beginning to end of the entire process. She is extremely knowledgeable, but if she didn’t know something, she admitted it.  Then she would quickly research it by consulting with colleagues, and let us know what she found out.  She is really on top of answering your calls or responding to your emails in a timely manner.   We never felt like she was too busy to help us or we were not important enough as clients because we weren’t looking for expensive properties.

Grace is bright, articulate, determined, courteous, respectful, well organized, efficient and hard-working.  She is also honest.  She embodies all those qualities you want in a person representing your interests in business transactions or in professional relationships.  She has that rare combination of integrity and good values to go a long with her incredible knowledge base, years of experience and effective communication skills.

As time went on, we found out just how important her personal qualities were in addition to her level of expertise, because we had to make multiple offers, deals fell through, we had to negotiate with a large Real Estate Developer with special circumstances not typical of most sales, and at one point we wanted to learn about the world of “short sales” and foreclosures, which can be very tricky.  (Although we did not ultimately go in that direction, the fact that Grace was willing to if need be, spoke volumes about her desire to help us in any way she could.)

In summary, Grace helped us to face all the various obstacles we encountered while trying to buy a home with uncommon persistence and patience, as well as by keeping a positive attitude when we were discouraged and demonstrating a tenacious resiliency in the face of adversity.  We can’t thank her enough.  If we ever decide to sell our place, we will give her a call again.  You could look a long time and never find anyone better.

LeeAnn Cohen & Jennifer Looney