Compass
My diverse background and intimate knowledge of the Bay Area allow me a unique approach to working with Buyers and Sellers in real estate transactions. I am a native San Franciscan, and have spent over three-quarters of my life living in the Bay Area, a place to which I have returned twice from living out-of-state. I have lived in Texas and Massachusetts, as well as in France and Israel, but my heart lies in the Bay Area. I have most recently made Oakland my home since 2000, and live in the warm and friendly Oakmore/Dimond neighborhood.
I have an extensive academic background, including an undergraduate degree in Religious Studies, graduate-level courses in Business and a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. With these I bring a broad range of knowledge to the real estate arena, helping advise both buyers and sellers on optimizing their transactions. A student at heart, I continue my academic tradition by regularly attending courses on real estate and related topics, so that I may enrich my knowledge base and be able to offer information and value to my clients beyond real estate transactions alone.
My real estate practice focuses mostly on single family homes, but I have also closed transactions with condominiums and residential income properties. I work with investors as well as those looking to live in the homes they buy. I have also represented both Buyers and Sellers in Distressed Property Sales (short sales, foreclosures, etc.) I particularly enjoy working with First Time Buyers, and those moving from San Francisco to the East Bay. Although most of my transactions are in Oakland, I have served clients in a wide area, including a variety of cities such as San Francisco, San Leandro, Alameda, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Hercules, Dublin, Walnut Creek, Pittsburg, Antioch and Stockton.
My varied professional skills serve my clients well. Prior experience as a practicing Family Therapist allows me a special understanding of the impact changing homes (and going through family changes or distressed sales) can have on my clients. With proven success also in consultative corporate sales, I can skillfully negotiate transactions and use my established relationships in the extended real estate community to manage all aspects of home purchases and sales. My honesty, loyalty, accessibility, reliable communication and consistent follow-through leave my clients feeling secure through their transactions. Sometimes we even get silly together, just to take a break from the stress of it all.
In addition to my roles as Realtor and Mother, I have also held leadership positions in my community. I served two years as President and Chair of The Board of the Parents’ Association at The Renaissance International School. I have served on committees of our local neighborhood association, and keep my finger on the pulse through local social media outlets such as NextDoor. I have also contributed significant time to fundraising and other efforts for multiple public radio and public television stations. With other community-involved Realtors and Affiliates, I have served since 2015 on the Community Funds Board Committee of the Oakland Berkeley Association of Realtors. Last year we raised over $100,000 and awarded grants to multiple arts and education organizations in Oakland and Berkeley. My passions include music, travel, finding great bargain restaurants, and making friends. I have sung backup for Rosemary Clooney, walked on burning coals and been on the cover of People magazine.
I live every day with gusto! My favorite motto, care of Eleanor Roosevelt: "Do the thing you think you cannot do." I look forward to a wonderful real estate experience with you.
6211 La Salle Avenue , Oakland - CA 94611
Apr 06, 2013
Tracy is amazing.
She helped my husband and I find a beautiful first home in the neighborhood we wanted, well under budget. She was strategic, patient and involved every step of the way. My husband and I started to house hunt right as the market picked up - so that meant needing to turn paper work and inspections around immediately and living through the anxiety of multiple bids. She was thorough and full of great resources. And she's hilarious. We can't recommend her enough.
Nov 19, 2015
Tracy researched the market in Oakland and made 37 calls one morning and took us out to several properties that afternoon. We found the home we've been in a year - that very day!Ah, but it should be so easy. We had numerous inspections which became contingencies. For example, the heating unit we were told was just fine. But none of the inspectors would dare to turn it on. Uh-oh. It had been under water and rusted with mildew. A few other items too-vents not connected to the roof, water heater not strapped were all pointed out by Tracy's network of great people. None of the stuff we had to do broke our bank though. We signed three times before we got the loan on the house that we love. Six months later, our home was refinanced VA and had increased in value by 54% Even with minor repairs and the HUAC I insisted on, we still got a great deal. Really!The whole experience with Tracy could not have happened without her "we're about to reach the top of the mountain but the sky is falling" humor. God, she really worked hard for us on this one. We saw several realtors in the months before we met Tracy and I'm sure none of them would have stuck with us.We've got all the space we need here in the Foothills of Fruitvale in Oakland, our cats are thriving, the garden out back has fresh food, the front lawn is fashionably brown, we're in home heaven thanks to Tracy and all who work with her.
Aug 12, 2019
We had the good fortune to meet Tracy when we had only just begun to look for a new condo wanting to move from San Francisco to the East Bay. We met her by chance at the first condo we wanted to look at and after the first meeting we knew we wanted to work with her. She was so kind and very conscientious with finding out exactly what we were looking for and it wasn’t easy because we both use wheelchairs and knew that most condos would never work for us and could not be made accessible. Tracy instantly made us feel comfortable and very attuned to our needs as well as patient and accepting that the search would probably take much longer than the usual real estate search. This was in December 2018 and miraculously in February 2019 the second condo we actually looked at and that Tracy had sent our way was our dream place. From then on she was not only by our side step by step in making an offer and actually having the offer accepted but also in walking us through the whole process with kindness and a wellspring of information. After closing of escrow she helped us find a plumber who is fantastic and helped us make the bathrooms accessible and she also connected as to a wonderful countertop installer.And then it was time to list our condo in San Francisco and of course we chose Tracy as our listing agent. Again, she made the whole process much less painful than it could’ve been, she oversaw the renovation of the condo, was so kind and patient again when it came to pricing it and we sold the condo within three weeks after listing.Tracy is a fantastic realtor who helped us truly make a dream come true. Her knowledge and experience were invaluable and we would highly recommend her to anybody who is looking to buy or sell a place in the Bay Area
Feb 07, 2014
I was not thinking a housing search would end in me buying a house, as I had a two months window. Yet, we very aggressively checked out houses. (I think I saw about 30 in total). Then I saw one she had not, and we immediately changed our route on one of our "house search" days. I fell in love. She made it work! She listened to my needs, and once I went into contract she very aggressively fought to ensure I got all the allowances I could! Even after I have closed escrow, she is still working with the company and helping me out as I am a first time home owner, without family nearby!
Oct 27, 2013
I was extremely picky in who I used to buy a house, and admittedly went through several agents (over the course of several years) to buy my house before deciding to stick with Tracy. She was indeed 'masterful' at knowing the ins and outs of the process of buying, but also knew so many different *tricks of the trade*, all totally above board, that ended up landing me my house, after a nearly 6 year journey in an extremely competitive market. I tend to be someone who educates myself as much as possible in any process I'm involved in, and every time Tracy and I would meet up, I feel like I learned another 10 things about buying- and I did not come into this process with Tracy "green" or naive. She just knew a LOT, and made me realize what good decisions I had made in letting go the other realtors I worked with whose knowledge and skill paled in retrospective comparison. She is outstanding.
On top of all that, Tracy returns calls and texts with promptness and conscientiousness every time, and in a time when flakey-ness and pressing delete without response is fast becoming the norm of communication (and my biggest peeve ever), her responsiveness was impressive. And comforting. When you're waiting for some of the most important soundbites of news of possibly your life, every little text and email feels like the most important thing you've ever sent- even when it's not and it's just compulsive worry and diligence about some detail- but Tracy responds to all of them, and even with empathy and support. She negotiated hard - and I mean HARD- on my behalf, getting inspections I'd never have even thought of, which got factored into the final price, and simply put, really knew what she was doing. She is solid. I highly recommend her to buy a home. I write this now from the house of my dreams, perched atop a hill overlooking a canyon and the Bay beyond that, and still blissed out at the miracle that is my home.
Susan Thomas
Mar 27, 2014
We decided to sell our house this year after relocating out of the Bay Area several years ago, and really could not have gotten through the whole process without Tracy. She managed everything - tenant and neighbor relations, estimates and bids on repair work, contractors and much, much more - with extreme professionalism and knowledge and always with our best interests in mind. We trusted Tracy with our home and our finances and could not have made a better decision in a realtor. Tracy's honesty, attention to detail and understanding of the local market made what could have been an incredibly stressful process full of pitfalls a smooth and successful sale. She communicated frequently and clearly, listened attentively, understood our budget and never pushed us to do anything we were not comfortable doing. To top it off, she is pleasurable and has a great sense humor. We highly recommend Tracy.
Oct 21, 2013
I have known Tracy for six years now. She was my broker on my home purchase in Oakland's Temescal district five years ago. It's fair to say that thanks to Tracy, I own the nicest home in the neighborhood!
Everything about how Tracy handled me and handled the transaction was excellent. She is a savvy negotiator, she is very knowledgeable about the law and related rules and regulations around home buying, home ownership, disclosures and all of those things. And any time something came up that required a bit of research, she was right on it.
The way we found the house when it came on the market speaks volumes to her commitment to provide excellent, personal service. I was not looking for a house when Tracy called me to tell me she saw this one coming on the market and thought it was perfect for me and my kids. Long story short, it was, and I bought it. And all thanks to her looking out for me and my family's best interests.
I have been a CFO for about 15 years of my career. With my financial hat on, I can assure you that Tracy knows how to manage the numbers and how to be strategic about structuring an offer to your advantage.
I would call her first ahead of anyone else when I next want to do another real estate transaction. And on a personal level, I would trust her with my kids or with my money. She is a solid resource and a solid person.
Andrew Wang
Mar 28, 2022
Zillow connected Tracy with my fiancée Taylor and me. We are first time homebuyers and were looking to buy a single-family home in the East Bay. Tracy is knowledgeable about the housing market in the East Bay. She is personable and easy to work with.She is an excellent teacher and walked us through every step of the homebuying process in detail. She willingly dedicated a lot of her time to showing us the ropes and making sure we understood everything she was explaining to us. When we submitted our first offer, she was with us every step of the way and made us feel comfortable going through the whole process.She is very responsive and responded to us quickly. She was always willing to jump on a call with us to help explain things when we asked.We eventually decided to end our house hunt in the Bay Area so we stopped working with her, but we would definitely recommend her to others!
Feb 20, 2014
Tracy helped my girlfriend and I buy our first house in Oakland, and we feel very lucky that we found her. Tracy is exceptionally conscientious and very knowledgeable about the home-buying and financing process. She listens well and works hard to make sure her clients have a great experience and find what they are looking for. We were involved in very competitive process against multiple offers but with Tracy's guidance and support, we were able to make a successful purchase. Tracy was superb when it came to sharing her knowledge and experience about the entire first time home-buyer process--all the way through the closing and beyond. I would absolutely recommend Tracy, and will certainly be working with her again in the future.
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