Dear Elena, Larry & Lilli, Ken and I want to thank you for your superlative service in selling our home and finding us our new one. As you know, the prospect of selling one’s home encumbered by 22 years of accumulation was a daunting one. However, from the first, you put us at ease by providing a timeline and outlining the steps which would need to be done. One of the biggest helps was linking us with reliable, quality service people from the start--a handyman, inspectors, painters, to final housecleaning service, all responsive to our needs. With your guidance preparing our home for market became a manageable task. Thanks to your suggestions we had termite reports and house inspections done so that there were no unwelcome surprises for us or for prospective buyers. And then you worked your magic by the charming way that you staged our home, presenting it beautifully. We were thrilled by the market’s positive responses and the multiple offers, testimony to your marketing expertise. The escrow went smoothly without a hitch.  Thank you.  We also are grateful for Lilli Rath’s help in finding our new home. She is a credit to your team. Lilli is such a pleasure to work with. She listens well, very quickly understood our needs and preferences, and as soon as possibilities came onto the market she alerted us. She was patient as we narrowed our search by community and the features which we decided we must have. And when our prospective home came on the market, she called to show it to us the same day. Nothing slipped by her. We felt Lilli always had our interests at heart and on top of mind.  As soon as we were ready to make an offer the benefits of working with your team were apparent. Lilli graciously and generously gave of her time to show us properties; then we segued to your expertise in writing the offer. You guided us through negotiations, protected our interests, and we came out the winner in a multiple offer situation. We are so pleased that we were successful. We also appreciate Larry’s thoroughness in going over the inspection reports and suggesting further inspections where appropriate. The best part has been no unwelcome surprises, just pleasant surprise as you consistently exceeded our expectations.  Elena , Larry and Lilli you deserve your well earned reputation. We have already recommended you to several friends. Thank you.

Elena:
I want to thank you for your excellent assistance in selling my house in Moraga.  I got a very good selling price on the home and I am very pleased at that.  The house was not in very good shape when I first contacted you.  You suggested several things: interior and exterior painting, refinishing the wood floors, installing new sinks and cabinets in the bathrooms, new garage door, moving a fence to open up a new area, replacing plants in the back yard and more.  Although these things were expensive and took awhile, they ended up being very worthwhile.  So by the time the house was put on the market, it looked great.  It sold in the first week which is pretty remarkable given the state of the real estate market in Contra Costa County.  You also responded promptly and competently whenever I had a question or need during the fix up process. Indeed, a few times one or the other of you came over to do the work yourselves. That was definitely service beyond what one can normally expect. In short, you two are the best. I would tell anyone that is selling a house in the Lamorinda area to hire you. Thanks very much for your excellent help.

 

Furthermore, Elena and Larry are thoroughly organized in getting together all the paperwork necessary to sell your home, such as home disclosures, reports, etc.  This makes the process of selling easier and less stressful for the seller. 

Elena:
Many thanks for all the work you did to insure my condo sold.  It was rocky most of the way, but with you and Larry there sourcing contractors for the roofing problems, oven and heater issues it took a lot of the pressure off me.  I would recommend you to anyone needing a real hands on Realtor!   

 

Elena:
Thanks you for professional service and for your personal kindness.  Both were appreciated.  I'd recommend you in a minute.  If you need a reference, you got it!

 

“Elena was outstanding   She worked tirelessly to photograph our house, arrange for the gardeners, decorate and market our house.  It sold in less than a week!  We would definitely use Elena in the future.” 

 

“ Elena went ‘way above’ and beyond the call of duty during very difficult circumstances that required me to both sell my home and buy another within 9 days. Since my home needed much preparation work, it seemed impossible for me to get it ready in such a short time. Enter Elena & Larry Hood. They worked tirelessly and at one point had 17 people working on my home to get it ready. In the end, the house was ready and sold immediately after an open house at over the asking price!! In the meanwhile, Elena also searched for and found my next home. She also negotiated that transaction in an extremely smooth and professional manner. Looking back, every aspect of her work was done with ease and in a timely fashion. It is uncommon to find Elena’s combination of high standards, professionalism and genuine caring … she is a gem, and I enthusiastically recommend her!

 

“ It is a given that she is thoroughly professional and knowledgeable of the upscale housing market in Lamorinda. In addition, I felt that I had her personal involvement (not an assistant) and had access to her around the clock. Furthermore, she brings with her good supporting and organizational resources for staging the home in order to bring it to market in the most favorable light. Results were excellent.”

“Elena represented us as both sellers and buyers, and was both delightful and amazing to work with. Both transactions took only about a week  each to complete! From carefully listening to our needs, to masterfully executing a plan of action, Elena excelled in every category … always placing us first. She was prepared and always responsive, making us feel as though we were her only clients. We can truly say: “Elena did not just manage our expectations, she exceeded them! ”

Elena:
We can't thank you enough for all you have done for us!  You were wonderful to work with from day one and we will certainly miss our home shopping with you.  We look forward to continuing our friendship beyond home shopping.  Thank you for your time, patience and persistance.  Please thank you family for sharting you with us for the past year as well.

 

Now that all the activity and excitement has subsided, we are settling into our beautiful new home and wanted to thank you both for all your assistance with managing what can be a very stressful transaction and transition.  We really appreciated your guiding us through the intricacies of planning, preparations, inspections, disclosures, etc. and your marketing strategy proved to be right on! We were thrilled to have multiple offers to consider and for our house to sell so quickly (and over the asking price).  I am sure your preparations played no small part as our house never looked better after all the staging, decorating, patching, painting, etc.  I certainly never expected to see the realtors pitching in with spackling cracks and touching up the paint.  You truly exceeded our expectations with your follow-up through close of escrow, including help with lining up the movers and scheduling minor repairs at our new home.  I would not hesitate to recommend you to my family, friends or neighbors.  We look forward to having you over to celebrate our good fortune -- once the new dining table and sofa arrive!