Michael Friedman

Just wanted to drop a quick, but long overdue note for Michael, who checked every box for our family while selling our house in the Berkeley Hills. Michael is easy to work with -- fun to work with, really -- but never over promised anything. He made it clear what needed to be done to sell our house for the price we wanted. We trusted him and he went to work. Even during a time when the supply chain was causing myriad headaches, Michael was able to engineer several key remodels by leveraging his connections. It's a scary thing to invest additional money to make money but I can assure you every recommendation he made paid off. Our house sold way over the asking price -- typical for the Bay Area, but this was above our must-have price. The remodels happened quickly and looked great. The buyer's went so far as to point out a kitchen remodel as their favorite part of the house. Beyond all that, Michael was extremely easy to communicate with, but also respectful of the many things we were juggling in our own lives. And he did all this during the pandemic, when his professionalism was a source of comfort in a stressful time. Have worked with the Grubb Co. multiple times now and have always been happy, but even among that elite group of agents I think you'll find that Michael stands out.

I worked with Michael to both buy a new home and sell my previous home. I can't state enough how great of an experience it was working with Michael as both a buyer and a seller. For buying / looking for our new home, Michael was really great at figuring out what we wanted and guiding us towards the right properties. He did a great job at matching our pace (we had a period where our search halted); When we wanted to look at places or get advice about a property he was totally available to us.... but was never pushy or salesman-y when we wanted to take a break. He did a great job of helping us understand the pros and cons of the different places we were considering and helping us figure out how to navigate the bid/offers so that we were competitive. In the end, the timeline between once we got "serious" and when we found our new home was only a few months. He helped us find a place in the middle of COVID which had a whole additional set of challenges, yet we always felt safe and are so happy with the home we found in Rockridge. For selling our new home, Michael made this a very simple process. He did a great job advising us on how to prepare our home to maximize the interest and sale price while minimizing our expenses. We had already moved out, and so he was super hands-on in helping manage the people preparing our home for the sale and found us all the folks to do the various repair work and staging. In the end, we ended up having 8 offers and a sale price much higher than we were anticipating. Michael did such a great job making it as stress-free and simple of a process as possible. The whole time we worked with Michael, he made us feel like we were his only clients. I was so impressed with how available, patient, and helpful he was with us. He seems to really enjoy what he does and it shows in how fun he is to work with. I've sent several friends his way, and would definitely work with him again in the future if we were to ever move again.

We met Michael at an open house in Oakland when we first began considering buying a home. We were immediately struck by his sense of humor and friendly yet authentic demeanor. Right after we met him, he invited us to sit down and discuss the home-buying process and share his expertise with us. As first-time home buyers, he left an impression on us immediately and was so helpful even in that initial meeting to help us move forward. Fast forward a year or two later, we reached out to Michael out of the blue after finding a potential home that we wanted to put an offer on. After several months of searching and striking out with offers, Michael always gave us straight forward and strategic advice that was much welcomed to us, as we were very green. He was always patient and even fun to work with along the way on what could have been a frustrating journey! In the end, he steered us in the right direction with his advice and we're now enjoying our first home. A true class act, he even brought us our first at-home meal after we moved. We would definitely work with Michael again in a heartbeat and recommend him to anyone looking in the East Bay!

I was doing research on a different realtor when I came across Michael's info, and decided to contact him instead of the original person I was referred to. Despite us being on the needy and particular side, Michael hung with us and was a great advisor and helped to align us on expectations within the current market. He was calm and rational at all times, and comes across as an all around good person- every time a listing agent asked us who we were working with and we said his name, ALL of them knew him and had a positive reaction. After honing in on what kind of house we were looking for, and striking out on a few offers, Michael caught wind of something coming on the market "soon", and this turned out to be the one that checked all the boxes for us. Worth the wait, and in November of 2019 Michael guided us through another offer, an exciting acceptance, and the closing of a house we couldn't be more excited to now call our Home. He continues to be a great partner, adding valuable insight to all things home related, and we couldn't recommend him more to others.

It's hard to describe just how much of a real partner Michael was for us throughout the home buying process. It's obviously a stressful and complicated experience on the best of days, doubly so here in the Bay Area. Michael helped keep us sane and calm, he is the master at bringing a thoughtful and rational perspective to a complex and emotionally charged decision. He's extremely knowledgeable about local market and different home types generally, he guided us through evaluating a number of tricky properties, and on several occasions helped us walk away from options that would have easily distracted us. Michael is a true professional with an easy, candid, low pressure communication approach. Having finally found our ideal home in Glenview, we can't imagine what this process would have been like without Michael by our side. He's a true gentleman, I'd recommend him to anyone trying to navigate the market and marital challenges of choosing and buying a home in this market - your marriage will be better for it! A huge thank you to Michael for all his support!

My husband I recently worked with Michael to buy our dream home in the Crocker Highlands neighborhood in Oakland, and shortly afterward to sell our loft in Jack London Square. Both transactions went seamlessly (and much quicker than we could have hoped!) and he was totally wonderful throughout the entire process. He was so patient, incredibly responsive (and we were texting him pretty much constantly), kind, genuine, extremely knowledgeable and well-connected (which we learned is super important in this market). He's also just a ton of fun to hang out with, and we loved getting to know him and his lovely wife during the process. We feel so lucky that we were able to work with him, and truly feel we have him to thank for the amazing house we now get to call home! We would recommend him wholeheartedly to anyone looking for a trusted guide and champion through the home buying process in this crazy Bay Area market.

What a pleasure to work with Michael Friedman! Prior to working with him, I had met him at an open house & found his approach very appealing (knowledgable without being aggressive), so I tucked away his business card for future. When that future arrived, four years later, I reached out to him to help me buy a home in Oakland, and my instincts paid off. He was an invaluable agent to have on my side, with a great deal of experience & knowledge of Oakland/Berkeley real estate. He helped me write multiple offers and offered sage advice when I needed it. I ended up with a beautiful home in Oakland, an easy closing process, and a friend for life in Michael. You would be well served to work with Michael even if you don't know what you are looking for!

I don't know where to start. My wife met Michael at an open house in Berkeley, and instantly jived with Michael. She came home and told me she found our realtor. From day 1 of meeting Michael, we received multiple emails about open houses and reports for the areas that we were interested in. First off, dude is fashionable and has so much charm. If he doesn't make you smile, then you're just cold hearted. Secondly, he's very genuine and he listens to your needs as a buyer and seller. I know this because he was our realtor on both ends. Here are some bullet points: //Aggressive when you need it Michael will get you the ins-outs when you need it. As a buyer, this is important because you're anxious and want to get the low-down with the other realtors and buyers in specific areas and especially here in the bay area where it is super competitive. As a a seller, you want to make sure all you're outlets are covered. Marketing and word of mouth with other realtors. Very important. Michael has a great network. //Responsive and fast When you need a disclosure packet or someone to make some noise or get the digs on comps or neighborhood information, Michael will have them lightning fast for you. No BS. //Friendly, patient and with a wide network Like I said, Michael is a charming guy. It goes a long way. Need a contractor for some remodels? check. Need a discount on some appliances? check. Need a Mcintosh hi-fi stereo? check :) Need a friend? double-check. Michael and his wife, Carol are great people. Michael was patient with us through our emotional rollercoster. Calm. Collected. Fun. Honest. Michael, if your're reading this, thank you. Everyone, Michael is your dood if you're looking in the competitive east bay area.

It's a challenge to describe how incredible our experience with Michael Friedman was. We were not the easiest of clients, had a very complicated situation, a terrible loan company and myriad other issues that made us very high maintenance. That all being said, we were first time home buyers and stumbled upon Michael at one of his open houses last Summer. We immediately knew that he was the guy for us and we couldn't have been more right. He supported us through all the ins and outs of pre-approval, kept us updated on all the current market trends and always gave us sound, realistic and unbiased advice as we were looking. When it came time to actually bidding, Michael made magic happen. Literally. Somehow we were able to come in under our anticipated offer price and win the house!! It was all thanks to Michael's attention to detail and diligence. Then we went through what turned out to be a horrific escrow that almost cost us the house due to mistakes made by our loan company, but Michael somehow smoothed everything over and made sure that we didn't lose the house. I don't even know what he had to do but he did it and we closed last week. Michael is not only a broker of the highest quality and integrity but he is just a phenomenal human and a warm, loving individual who truly cares for his clients. Now, we are about to move into our perfect home and it is all because of this gem of realtor. We cannot recommend him highly enough.