If it's your first home purchase, how do you find the right agent? This is how I started my search. A first time homebuyer is a special breed, one that requires lots of patience, understanding, explanations, and re-explanations. Tracy Palma knows this and really enjoys working with first time homebuyers. She helped us close on our dream home last week (Oct 25) and in the process became someone we consider a friend. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone. We've rented for years in San Francisco and were looking to buy in Oakland or the surrounding area. We wanted an agent who knows the East Bay well and came highly referred. We can confidently say that Tracy lives up to and exceeds her reviews. Her method is warm and approachable. She starts by thoroughly explaining the process, taking care not to bombard with excessive information. She knows the right questions to ask to help you sort out what it is you like or don't like about a property, especially when you find it hard to put into words what it is you are feeling (you'll know what I mean once you experience this). Although she makes recommendations, we always have the final say on offers. We started out not knowing at all what offer price was competitive and ended up able to make a strong winning offer. Toward the end, when we found that dream home, we felt empowered with information and that we had gained strong negotiation skills. Most would consider the two month process it took for us to find and close on that perfect home grueling but Tracy let us decide the pace. She prepared us for the "roller coaster ride of emotions" that we did indeed experience and was very encouraging along the way. We were immersed in the process and wanted to look at homes every week. I know she has a family and other clients but she really made us feel like we were the only ones. In addition to weekends, we saw homes in the morning before I went to work and on weekdays when I was off. On multiple occasions, we took BART to the East Bay and Tracy even picked us up. How's that for service?! Thank you Tracy! Some would say that real estate has a lot to do with relationships and you can tell by how she works that Tracy truly understands this. Therefore, I am extremely confident in my recommendation of Tracy Palma.