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October 2022 by Meagan Garcia
A complaint will be filed with CA Dept of Real Estate for the manner in which Diane Petek with Coldwell Banker Realty – Orinda Office – conducted business as the listing agent on our purchase transaction. Even though they reduced their commission drastically on this transaction the service provided by this office did not appear to warrant the discounted commission. I do not see how a full commission could be justified to clients who were not offered the same discount (on a purchase transaction of 520k the commission was reduced to $9900 then another $3000 was refund at closing).By the time Diane Petek with Coldwell Banker Realty – Orinda Office was introduced into the transaction, escrow provider had been selected, we were already selected as the buyer’s, our file had been thoroughly reviewed and approved by our lender, and our agent had a verbal agreement in place with the seller and was preparing the purchase contract to be signed. All that was left for Diane Petek to do as a listing agent at this point was to prepare disclosures and to be the point of contact for the sellers in communicating with our agent, it was decided her office would charge the seller’s $6,600 for this service. Unexpectedly the seller wanted to request an amendment to the contract after receiving a copy of the appraisal and notified Diane Petek. Instead of following the proper protocol by communicating with our agent and presenting him with the amendment, Diane had a meeting with the Jeff Gillett who is the Managing Broker for Coldwell Banker Realty – Orinda Office and the seller, to determine the best course of action. What they agreed upon is that the seller should handle the responsibilities of the listing agent and try to negotiate the amendment herself. It was also decided that the seller should not reach out to our agent to negotiate the amendment, but instead should contact us directly as we were 1st time homebuyers and had very little knowledge of the process.After the seller contacted us regarding the amendment, I informed our agent and he immediately contacted Diane Petek to let her know how unethical it was to have the seller contact us directly and pressure us into amending the contract. Perhaps Diane Petek was truly unaware of how unethical it was but it’s inexcusable for Jeff Gillett, a Managing Broker for a Coldwell Banker office, to advise their client to take this course of action. After the seller’s attempt to handle the amendment failed, Diane Petek had no choice but to handle the amendment herself or at least make it appear as though she tried to. What she did regarding the amendment was to request a “talk” with our agent, during the conversation with our agent all she did was state how “ the buyers were not grateful for the generous and kind terms the seller had offered us and that she was confused as to why we would not show our gratitude by accepting amendments to the contract the seller presented.” Ignoring the absurdity of her claim that an average homeowner would make decisions on a 520k real estate transaction solely out of kindness and generosity, our agent presented her with factual information indicating that the terms were mutually agreed upon by both parties for mutual benefit. Instead of processing the additional information now available to her, Diane Petek simply confirmed she was not aware of the additional information and that she was still confused by the buyer’s lack of gratitude.This is the extent of the services provided by Diane Petek and Jeff Gillett, the Managing Broker for Coldwell Banker Realty – Orinda Office, perhaps they could list additional services they provided but I would question the quality of any additional service provided and doubt it’s value would be anywhere near $6600.
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February 2021 by Hao T.
Colin was super helping in helping find and purchase my home in San Francisco. While looking at properties, he helped point out insights that wasn't immediately noticeable. He rearranged his schedules so that we could see numerous places when available. He was there to help me find my home and not just sell a unit. He helped navigate and kept communications with all parties during the purchase process. We had numerous snags during this phase and Colin went out of his way to try to rectify these by exploring different options and going above and beyond to keep things moving along. His contacts also helped secure a low interest rate as well. When I finally go the keys, he went out of his way to help me move some things over so that I could begin experiencing my new home sooner. I truly appreciated all of his help throughout and definitely recommend him for your real estate needs.
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January 2021 by Ting T.
We worked with Colin & Nima, who make an ALL-STAR real estate agent team. We've worked with a number of buyer real estate agents during our house-search in the Bay Area, until we found Colin & Nima who helped us land a winning offer on our dream house in the highly competitive SF market. Colin is very responsive and enthusiastic. He has a great work ethic and we appreciated his style -- we've never felt pressured to make an offer on a house that we didn't like. It was fun touring with him, and he often had informative thoughts on the houses we saw. He's very open to show us many houses and a wide variety, and we've had many tours with him that helped us get the right house. We appreciate all the Colin and Nima have done for us and we would love to work with them again!
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September 2020 by Edward S.
We moved from New York City to the East Bay, so Lana was our guide to an entirely new and unfamiliar part of the country for us. We were extremely fortunate to have Lana as our realtor. She made our family feel welcome to the area and worked extremely hard to find us an amazing home. Full of integrity, honesty, and patience, Lana helped us make a huge transition. We highly recommend Lana, who went above and beyond for us. She helped us find not only our new home but a new lifestyle! Thank you Lana!
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February 2020 by Debbie L.
We worked with Colin Elbasani and Nima Kazeroonian and they were helpful throughout the whole process of renting our home. We appreciated their timely responses to our questions and their friendly attitudes. Highly recommended!
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October 2019 by Valerie Colber
Knowledgeable agents.
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August 2019 by Tiffany P.
It can be extremely difficult to find a home in your price range, find a home you love, and find a home in the right neighborhood, but Melanie accomplished this for us. Being first time homebuyers, the experience was even more daunting. Once we found Melanie, she immediately went to work for us. She gave us the ins and outs of each neighborhood within Lamorinda, she toured many homes and reported back to us, and checked in before the weekend to give us her top picks. This was very important being both my husband and I are busy professionals, and house hunting was becoming a second job. Her expertise and experience became apparent in her interaction with other agents, her knowledge of the current market (which can change weekly), and her ability to hold our hand through the bidding process. We worked with Melanie for at least 6 months and eventually bought the perfect home that we likely would not have been able to secure without her. She also kept her promise (fingers crossed- three bids max!). Melanie knows the game well and without hesitation I would recommend her to others.
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July 2019 by Melody Marigny
I recommend Maram Bata. She is an associate broker. She is smart, compassionate, an excellent trouble shooter. She will hold your hand through the entire process.
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June 2019 by Ryan D.
We met Melanie at an open house for another home, and chose her as our agent because she was refreshingly straightforward and very knowledgable about real estate in Lamorinda. Melanie worked magic under very tight deadlines. We hadn't even contacted Melanie before we found the house we were interested in, but Melanie made herself available to meet the next day (even though she was hosting another open house) and we put an offer in a few days later. She was helpful and accessible throughout the quick close (~3 weeks). Definitely recommend!
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March 2019 by Lenard Castaneda
We are selling our condo in Concord, CA. Margaret Price called on Sunday morning wanting to show it to her clients, and requested a 3-4pm appointment. Of course I agreed. I want to sell as soon as possible. Even though my pregnant wife and I were very comfortable wearing PJ's and watching movies on our only day off together. So, I spent a couple hours cleaning and staging the place for viewing. After a shower and putting on something presentable, at 2:45 I turned on all the lights, lit a candle, turned on some relaxing music, and kicked my 3rd Trimester wife out of her own home.
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March 2019 by L.C. C.
I am selling my condo. Margaret Price called on Sunday morning wanting to show it to her clients, and requested a 3-4pm appointment. Of course I agreed. I want to sell as soon as possible. Even though my pregnant wife and I were very comfortable wearing PJ's and watching movies on our only day off together. So, I spent a couple hours cleaning and staging the place for viewing. After a shower and putting on something presentable, at 2:45 I turned on all the lights, lit a candle, turned on some relaxing music, and kicked my 3rd Trimester wife out of her own home. After waiting a painfully long hour, I texted and called Margaret. No answer. I had specifically asked her to please let me know if they weren't going to make it, and she said, "Of course!" Many agents have done this since I put my property on the market 4 weeks ago, and I'm sick of it. So, I kept calling until she had no choice but to talk to me. She said, "Oh. Didn't you get my message?" A bold faced LIAR. An INCONSIDERATE and wholly uUNPROFESSIONAL person. And she's not the only one. I will not let you people steal precious time from me and my family again. Not without consequence. Just wanted to let you know the type of people you may be doing business with.
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February 2019 by Eric S.
Melanie is a wonderful agent. She represented us in the sale of our home in Orinda, and we were extremely happy and heartily recommend her. Her deep experience and connections in the Lamorinda community were very helpful. She made a very difficult process very manageable. She was very attentive to our needs and always extremely responsive. She also managed to keep a positive attitude throughout the entire process. She's the best!
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January 2019 by Rachel T.
We found out that you truly need an agent who is an expert in the community where you'd like to buy a home... someone who knows the neighborhoods, what is possible at each location, and has all the inside scoops that can save you a lot of time, money, and heartache. If you are looking for that invaluable expertise in the Lamorinda area, look no further than Melanie Snow. Her decades of experience, passion, and dedication are unlike any I have ever seen. She gave us so much time and insight to ensure we really knew what was what in order to make the best decisions both on a personal and financial level. I have come to realize this is not always the case in the real estate world which makes me appreciate Melanie that much more. Furthermore Melanie will absolutely fight for her clients making sure you get the best possible outcome... she really knows her stuff and I can not recommend working with her enough!
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December 2018 by Christina K.
Working with Melanie was absolutely wonderful. She made the entire search/buying process as stress free as possible from beginning to end. She went above and beyond to ensure that our questions and requests were answered. We could not be more happy with the outcome and the trust that we have in her to get the best job done is reflected in our choice to have worked with her on multiple properties. My husband bought and sold properties with Melanie in 2014,2016, and most recently 2018! We highly recommend working with Melanie for world class service and expect nothing but the best!
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October 2018 by Shayna A.
My husband and I were referred to Melanie by some colleagues. For years we are talked about buying a home but never really pulled the trigger on finding an agent...or even getting pre-approved for a loan. On September 8th we met with Melanie for the first time and she took us to look at 3 houses. She also drove us around for almost 3 hours to show us all the different neighborhoods to help us get a feel for the area. We fell in love in with the 3rd house; it had everything we were looking for. In under an hour she was able to put us in touch with a local bank who was able to sent us a pre-approval letter and 48 hours later not only had we put an offer on the house, but it was accepted. Fast forward to October 1st, and what may have been the quickest escrow of all time, we are now the proud owners of our first home! We have not even moved in yet and she has already introduced us to so many people in the area, including a colleague who's daughter can babysit for us :). As first time home buyers we could not have asked for a better experience.
