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WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY ABOUT WORKING WITH ME
"After several interview with agents, we selected Katie Macks to represent us in the sale of our Lafayette home. We chose her with the impression that she would aggressively market our house, representing it in the most positive ways possible; and once offers were received, would tenaciously negotiate in our best interest. We absolutely made the right choice in that Katie did not disappoint. All the characteristics that drew us towards our decision to hire her were fulfilled. We were grateful to her for not only acting as a thorough, shrewd professional who knows her business, but also for her without hesitation, interjecting decision-making guidance to what was and can be a difficult process for sellers, especially in a buyer's market. She clearly demonstrated heart felt empathy for us and our needs, fostering what turned into a highly personable partnership. Without a doubt, we would have Katie represent us in future selling or buying transactions, and have no reservation whatsoever in recommending her to anyone fortunate enough to consider her as their realtor. Katie, we can not thank you enough for steering the course, seeing us through with results (multiple offers) that certainly exceed our expectations!"
-Ken and Charlotte Schmitz
"It is a rare and seldom experience in today's world that one is the recipient of extraordinary professional and personalized service, but this is exactly what I so surprisingly received in my very recent home purchase. I want to sincerely praise Katie Macks for her skills of communication, preparation, negotiation, and for her very, very personalized handling of the purchase process acting in the capacity of my realtor agent.
Katie advised on every detail of the negotiation as if it were her personal purchase and counseled me on aspects of the purchase I would not have considered. She anticipated and prepared information and details before I was even aware of or thought of the question I should be asking. She met me at the residence more than a dozen times and was available for consultation on the minutest of details on an almost 24/7 basis. She scheduled and coordinated multiple specialized inspections and remained on-site with me until their completion. And above all, she presented a thoughtful explanation of each of my offer and counter offers by way of a skillfully written narrative that I believe was extremely helpful in the negotiation process.
This purchase was a significant one for me and not without the normal decision complexities and concerns that everyone faces in a home purchase, but even more so considering today's real estate environment. I can only say that this transaction would not have closed without Katie's involvement and counsel as my agent. Pacific Union should appreciate her wonderful combination of personal integrity, acute business and communication skills and credo for extraordinary personal service. Thank you Katie Macks!! I would not do another real estate deal without her as my agent, buying or selling! With Great Appreciation."
-Allen Della
"In a challenging sellers market it is crucial to list with an agent who knows how to MARKET, who knows how to SELL, who knows how to NEGOTIATE, who knows how to CLOSE. Katie Macks is that agent! She is aggressive, creative, ethical, smart, friendly, classy, and fearless. Her entire focus is to serve the best interests of the client, making the arduous process of selling a home as painless as possible: anticipating problems before they occur, maintaining good will with all parties, and communicating constantly... all with a smile, a joke, and uncanny intuition. Katie is not just professional, knowledgeable and exceedingly hardworking; she is one-of-a-kind!"
- John Michels
"We met Katie Macks at an open house in Orinda and that was the beginning of our great real estate relationship! Katie found our dream house for our family in Lafayette and negotiated for us the Best Possible Price! Katie let us know in the beginning that her value to her clients is her negotiation skills and we soon found out that she was telling the truth. After having great success with the purchase of our home we had Katie sell our house in Kensington. Once again, she did an incredible job negotiating for us the Highest Possible Price as well as developing a strategy for this difficult and challenging market. We can't say enough about what Katie brings to the table. Not only is she a tough negotiator, but she also has the ability to read people and anticipate how to best navigate through the multitude of situations that occur during an escrow. Katie always has a great attitude and is a joy to work with. We trust her implicitly and would not work with anyone else! We recommend that you do the same!"
-Teri Ebert and Zoe Trujillo
"Selecting Katie Macks as my Realtor is one of the smartest things I have ever done. I was impressed with her the first time we met. She prepared me for the entire selling process from getting my home ready for market, to putting together a great marketing plan and exposing my home to as many agents and buyers out there in my price range. Katie is a tenacious and fearless negotiator. Even in this market, we garnered two offers and were able to negotiate up to the very Highest Possible Price for my home. Katie's commitment to my best interest was unwavering. The list of all the many ways she supported me and worked to keep the sales process moving forward is too long to mention here. You will just have to trust me! If you are even thinking of selling your home, you absolutely owe it to yourself to contact Katie. I promise that you too will say it is one of the smartest things you have ever done!"
-Deborah Fry
"Katie's combination of integrity, professionalism, experience, and shrewd strategizing helped us get great deals both when buying our new home in Piedmont and when selling our old home in Oakland. Despite an extremely challenging housing and mortgage market, our old house in Oakland went into contract after having been listed for less than two weeks. We received nine offers and it sold for 20% over our asking price, and closed after a mere ten days of escrow--all thanks to her strategic recommendations and her negotiating skills. Through it all, even in stressful situations and tough negotiations, she remained warm and reassuring--a real pleasure to work with. We highly recommend her!"
- Morrisa Sherman and Nj Jaramillo
"Having Katie Macks sell our home was the best decision we made. She came with her "can do" optimism and her high energy, "roll up your sleeves" approach. She guided us and supported us in making decisions regarding cost, staging and direction and we quickly became partners. She worked tirelessly holding our home open, continually checking on our home when we moved out, and garnering an unbelievable amount of interest in our place. When we received an offer, her ability to negotiate a deal for us came through loud and clear. With our best interest at stake, she knew well how to hold our ground! Bottom line: we came out winners! We got the Highest Possible Price for our home and we closed in record time. For anyone in the market of selling or buying a home, we highly recommend Katie Macks!"
-Ron and Nancy Guinther-McKenzie
"While visiting family in San Francisco, we toured Alameda and happened to meet Katie Macks at an open house. Knowing we wanted to move from Nebraska to the Bay Area sooner rather than later, we exchanged contact information, not knowing for sure what the future would hold. In two months, it held a job offer in San Francisco and a move from the Midwest!
A local move can be a stressful situation, but a cross-country move can take it to a higher level; especially when one spouse is in the new location early and the other spouse is following a few months behind back in Nebraska. Katie sat down with us in person and over the phone to find out what our goals were, and she was refreshingly honest and forthright in her recommendations. She truly looked out for our family's best interests. Representing her clients and protecting their interests is extremely high on her list of priorities. Her dynamic and positive personality, integrity, negotiation skills, commitment, drive, follow-through, and communication skills are top notch. If she were licensed in Nebraska, we would have signed her up to sell our house there!
Our experience with Katie Macks was wonderful. We'd recommend her to anyone buying or selling a home, and we plan on doing just that!"
-Sarah and Jeffrey DeLong
"I met Katie at an open house in Orinda. Good luck was with me that day. As Katie and I began to work together I quickly learned that she has an excellent knowledge of the housing market and that she is skillful as a negotiator. After I purchased my new home in Lafayette, I got to see just how important her skills as a Realtor would turn out to be! I then asked Katie to list and sell my condo. We listed at the beginning of a declining market and Katie was able to close the sale. In fact, it was because of Katie that the sale closed. Katie did a truly fantastic job!
Katie is an agent that stands apart from the others. She has integrity, takes responsibility and maintains control of the process. She has cultivated business relationships with other professionals with similar values who can help with the purchase or sale process. Katie is a true professional, but even more, she cares about what she does and she cares about her clients!"
- Mike Adler
"If it weren't for Katie Macks, we might have given up on our dream to relocate. We initially listed our home with another agent and we had two failed escrows. When that listing expired we were referred to Katie Macks. Katie not only rescued us, she got us to where we wanted to go! Her mantra that we were ultimately in control helped us feel confident that we were making good decisions in this very tough market. Katie's focus and dedication saw the process to fruition. While she is extremely professional and market savvy, she understands that the process of selling a home requires more than that. Katie is compassionate, caring and always puts forth good-will and positive energy making the process an educational and pleasant experience!"
- Betsy and Paul Snow
"Katie Macks made the impossible, possible for us. She succeeded in getting us a great deal on a house in a hot market in Albany. We didn't seem to have much leverage (bidding war) but her tenacious ability to negotiate helped us achieve our dream of living in Albany and being able to send our kids to great schools.
Not only did Katie succeed in getting us our house at a great price, but she also succeeded in negotiating for all the repairs on the house to be paid for and completed (by the Seller) by close of escrow. The cost of the repairs was over $25,000. Katie has become more than a Realtor to us; she has become a good friend!"
- The Nihei Family
"Katie Macks helped is realize our dream of home ownership. As first-time home buyers, we were frustrated for several years as we watched housing prices rapidly rising year after year. We felt our dream slipping away until we met Katie. She took the time to get to know our family and to truly understand our needs. With Katies guidance, we discovered a charming home in a neighborhood of which we were previously unaware. Katies expert advice and incredible negotiating skills (we were in competition with two other buyers) are what ultimately led to our offer being accepted. I'm confident that without Katie, we would still be frustrated potential home buyers rather than very happy homeowners. Finding Katie was truly a gift!"
- Audrey and David Koening
"As an Alameda native, I like to support Alameda businesses, but when it came time to sell my home, I knew I needed to market my home not only here on the Island, but also to the greater Bay Area to maximize it's exposure. I looked for the best realtor I could find who could do that and that's why I hired Katie Macks. Working with Katie was a rewarding experience. I have bought and sold many homes and have never worked with anyone of her caliber. Katie did everything she said she would and much more. I know that I got the Highest Possible Price for my home and the best marketing possible. She is professional, tenacious, energetic and a joy to work with! Katie Macks is her word, and that is an uncommon virtue these days in any profession!"
- Clay Doherty
"We contacted Katie because she had just listed and sold a property in our community. After meeting with her we knew that we wanted her to sell our home. We discussed everything in the beginning which set the tone for our successful sale. She is a true professional, as well as a dynamic negotiator and she understands how to work with people in a very positive light! Katie was accessible and consistent throughout the entire process and we knew that she always had our best interest at heart! She was in communication with us regularly (even though we had moved out of the area) regarding the market and strategies for staying ahead of the game so that we could achieve the goal of selling our home for the Highest Possible Price while making sure that our equity was protected in this ever changing and challenging market! We achieved our goal, and we came out the winners in this market because we had Katie on our side! Anyone thinking about buying or selling their home would benefit greatly from having Katie Macks represent them!"
- Kish and Mirka Amrit
"We met Katie at an open house and struck up conversation about finding our Dream House. We were less than confident that our ideal home (within our budget) existed in Orinda, but Katie assured us that our goal was reasonable and that with the right combination of persistence and patience we would succeed. At that point, the search began.
We did indeed find our Dream House! But it turns out that our idea of the perfect home matched that of many other families and we had to move fast. Katie got us in for an early morning preview on a Monday on our way into San Francisco, and by 5:00pm we were faxing a signed and accepted counter offer to her office. The combination of Katie's presentation to the sellers, her well drafted offer, and her negotiating skills won us our Dream House (despite 4 other competitive offers, one of which exceeded our price). How exactly did she do it? You'll have to ask her!
This story should now come to a happy end, bit it doesn't. It was time to embark on the hard part: meet the rigorous demands of the 21-day escrow and sell our hillside home in Orinda. Katie was on the job and provided excellent guidance through the entire escrow process, complete with recommendations for inspectors, who could adequately assess the condition of the 60 year-old home. In addition, she gave advice and recommendations on getting our current house ready for sale. Needless to say, there was a lot going on and the pressure was intense, but Katie stuck by us and did an excellent job keeping "all of the balls in the air".
Our hillside home sold in 10 days despite a changing market. We received two offers, we countered both and we received the offer that we were hoping for! We closed escrow without any major hiccups, and we moved into our new home after a three-week rent-back.
All was well. Until... about two months after close when the water heater in an attic space on the second floor of our new pride and joy decided to give up the ghost and drain its contents into the room below. The ceiling, the insulation, water and assorted other items had rained down into our first floor guest room. Do you call a plumber? A dry waller? A psychiatrist? No, we called Katie with a plea for help, and help we got.
Katie again helped to guide us through a difficult situation. She contacted contractors, spoke to the sellers agent, and provided moral support. Ultimately we got things cleaned up and put back together without losing too much sleep. Could all of this have been handled without Katie? Maybe, but I wouldn't recommend it. My wife Stefanie and I have a great new home and a great new friend and confidant!"
- Jonathan and Stefanie Peischl
"My husband and I selected Katie Macks as our real estate agent to sell our home in Berkeley. We are thrilled and delighted that she delivered all that she promised in her initial meeting with us, bringing us the Highest Possible Price while making sure that we didn't leave any of our money on the table. We were also able to accomplish this within our very narrow time constraints.
In every phase, from inspection reports to showing the property, to negotiating with the buyer's agent to closing the transaction, Katie did exactly what she said she would do and more, showing great respect to all parties involved and always working on our behalf to protect our interests and pocketbook with a big smile and a great attitude! Throughout the entire process we knew that she had our best interest at heart. Katie is a consummate professional, is savvy and knowledgeable about the market, and has an amazing work ethic that provided us with the results that we were looking for! In our opinion, anyone looking to buy or sell his or her home would be so very fortunate to have Katie represent them!"
- Susan and Robin Beauchamp
"Katie Macks is an exceptional agent. I felt that Katie had my best interest at heart, whereas agents in the past seemed more concerned with just closing the deal. Katie keeps her promises, is on time for appointments, manages all the details with ease, and makes the whole process seem effortless."
- Charlie Glynn
"In the Bay Area's ultra competitive, fast moving real estate market, Katie's professionalism, real estate knowledge, and ability to deliver helped us to get into our new home. In addition to providing sound business advise, she was there as a friend; we felt completely taken care of in her hands. During the entire process, not only did she make us feel as if we were her only clients, she also proved to be accessible and dependable. We felt that she always had our best interests in mind. With Katie handling our transaction, we had complete faith that there were no loose ends overlooked. She made the process of finding a new home a very enjoyable one. Katie Macks epitomizes the phrase "world class service" and we were lucky to have found her!"
- Nancy Leung and Jerry Wallerstein
"It was a real pleasure working with Katie. As first-time home buyers the whole process seemed a little scary to us. Katie's expertise, thoroughness and diligence made the home buying process very straight-forward and enjoyable for us. Katie truly had OUR best interest in mind and took the time early on to understand our needs, goals, and financial situation. We formed a true partnership with Katie and together we ended up buying the perfect home in a great location for us and our two kids. And, to top it all off, Katie is truly a wonderful, warm, and genuine person, a person we are privileged to have as our realtor...and now as our friend"
-Alexander and Fabiola Vojta
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