Mark went (and continues to go) above and beyond for us in our search for our forever home. The real estate market in the Bay Area is absolutely crazy, and he navigated it for us in a way that kept us sane. At the start of our relationship, he did a great job at listening to what we wanted and, through the process, helped us prioritize that wish list to hone in on the best properties to look at. He would go into properties ahead of showing them to us and make 1-2 minute video vignettes of the houses. These were very helpful to refine our list down for what we would actually see the upcoming weekend. In the offer process (which we got some experience with... 5 offers total!), he was realistic about what he thought the home was worth vs. what it would sell for, and would tell us if he thought someone would throw "stupid money" at the house. That definitely happened, with two of the houses we bid on selling for over half a million above asking. As we started to become downtrodden about our lack of success, he put together a mailer on our behalf and sent it out in the neighborhoods we were interested in. At the same time, he reached out to his large network of local agents with a plea - if they have any sellers who might be willing to sell off market, to keep us in mind. In the end, the latter is what worked. We recently closed on an a house through an off-market offer. This comes with its own logistics, including organizing the inspections and negotiating based on the results of those inspections. Not once did Mark steer us wrong. In the end, he was able to negotiate on our behalf that the seller to pay for 50% of unexpected termite damage. Now that we have closed on the house, he is orchestrating all of the work that needs to be done and guiding us through the renovation process, including sending us a list with everything that we need to do! With his years of experience in this area, he knows "the guys" to go to for repairs, flooring, electrical, etc. The relationship with Mark does not end at the close of escrow. Poor guy is going to be stuck with us and our naivety for months to come! And he does it all with a dry sense of humor and a smile on his face.