Why Work with The Grubb Company?
Here's what our satisfied customers are saying about us:
I can't say enough great things about Pam! She was absolutely instrumental in being able to purchase our home. Not only did she make us feel like we were her only clients but she always made sure we were well educated and prepared for the next step. Her negotiation skill were essential in making sure we remained competitive even when we weren't the best offer.
Ruth M.
5 June 2020, 06:13 AM
If you've ever shopped for a house in the bay area, you most likely know most of what I'm going to talk about. If you haven't, then don't worry - you're not alone. The vast majority of people living here have never had the opportunity to take on this grueling, panic inducing process. We've had the opportunity to interface with a number of real estate agents, and Pamela stands out as head and shoulders just plain BETTER than any agent we've even heard of in this area. This area isn't for the faint of heart... you need to have grit, patience, and an agent people like to work with. The first two qualities are personal and you either have them or have to develop them on your own. That last ingredient - an agent people like working with on BOTH sides of the negotiating table - is the thing that you should spend a lot of your time researching. Pamela is that agent.
Truth be told - Pamela may not seem like your first choice when it comes time to select an agent, but she SHOULD be your agent if you're buying a house here. She's outgoing, outspoken, and extremely competitive. As first time home buyers we thought she may be inclined to get us to spend more than we wanted to at that point once she told us how much houses cost, because she was literally the first agent, bay area or otherwise, that we had ever even spoken with - so when we were first matched up with her through Zillow we thought she may not be the right fit. It's impossible to know what you want until you start looking for it right? My wife was about to enter into a 5 week trial, so I didn't want to waste anyone else's time looking at houses. I was basically left to my own devices - to window shop and make my way through extremely crowded open houses, just to get a feel for the market and areas we might like. During this process I met an agent at another agent at an open house, and she convinced me to work with her on an initial search riiight before the coronavirus SIP order for SF was put in place. We started to see houses virtually and luckily had memory of a couple houses that we saw in person that were still on the market by the time in-house viewings were banned. We put in an offer about 10% below list price on a transparently priced house thinking that "if it's meant to be, it's meant to be". For that first bid we stayed up practically all night waiting for the day the offers were due to see what the seller did. Alas, it was not meant to be, and a strange thing happened to us. Instead of feeling dejected, we started to feel more determined than ever... to try harder, coronavirus or not.
Following that, we decided to contact more agents to see if they may be better for us. At that point we found a very highly rated realtor on yelp who primarily worked out of the SF area. We didn't know this at the time but the problem with extremely highly rated agents in the bay area is that they're usually highly rated by SELLERS. They spend most of their time preoccupied with how much houses that they're about to list are going to sell for, for their can't-miss clients - the ones who actually have guaranteed business available. Buyer's agents or agents who focus on the buying process are few and far between, and they don't have much insight. The SF based agent we found didn't do us any real favors. He didn't pick out houses we might like, tell us about the quirks of any neighborhoods, the reasons for liking any houses at practically any price point. Basically, he was waiting for us to research on our own and present houses to him so that he could find their flaws... and see if we would live with them. On top of that, we lost a couple bids because he just plain wasn't convincing enough to other agents.
When it comes down to it, you want an agent that's going to give you the sense that you're not making a mistake during this process. You certainly don't want yes men, and you also don't want negative nancies who will prevent you from even liking a new home. You want an agent who really Gets what you're looking for (with the same taste, same life goals) and most importantly you want a friendly agent who Everyone likes! Pamela is all of those things to us. She's a former litigator, extremely accomplished, proud mom, and friendly neighbor. She's a community pillar, outspoken activist, volunteer, board member, and family oriented member of her community. She's the type of person I could see my wife turning into. She gets what we were looking for and why we'd look for it - schools, community, commute time, space requirements.. all of it. When we called her we found out that she knew the game better than any of the other agents out there. She has a few tricks up her sleeve that I can't disclose here that make her better at her job than any other bay area agent out there. There's a reason why we won our bid once we started working with her (in about 5 days total time, no less).
Trust me when I say she's the agent you're looking for... you just don't know it yet.
Raghu R.
8 May 2020, 05:31 AM
Pamela was a huge factor during the purchase of my dream home! She is very knowledgeable about the Bay Area housing market and best neighborhoods for you! Not only was she quick to respond to questions, but she listened to all my requests and found exactly what I had in my head. Pamela was there throughout the entire process- and hand-held me throughout the whole transaction- she made sure everything was done fairly and accurately and I felt very safe by her side. Shes a total expert!!! She even helped set me up with contractors, cleaning crew, repairs... after my home was purchased! If you are searching for a dedicated, responsive and extremely helpful and professional realtor, Call Pamela. Shes the best!! Love her.
Pedro P.
2 April 2020, 04:15 AM
We had an amazing experience with Pamela, who is not only a consummate professional but also a truly wonderful person. As first-time homebuyers, we were completely overwhelmed by the competitiveness of the market, and asked a million questions. Pamela was incredibly responsive, answered every question with patience and care, and helped us every step of the way. Pamela is also an excellent and experienced negotiator, and her skills in this area helped us secure our dream home in a multiple offer situation. Throughout the process, Pamela was a joy to work with and even helped us learn about our new neighborhood long after the sale was complete. I can't recommend her highly enough, we are so lucky to have worked with her. She made our dream come true!
smallcat p.
29 November 2019, 08:06 AM
Pamela was amazing in helping us find a home quickly and easily. When we found one we loved, Pamela was on it in full-force, making sure our bid got in first. After that she was on top of all aspects of the purchase, working nights with the bankers and making sure everything fell into place for closing. The Bay Area real estate market is crazy, and I'm so glad we had Pamela on our side for this journey.
Frank B.
26 November 2019, 11:39 AM
Pamela made our dreams come true. We were sure we couldn't find a house in our budget in our first-choice neighborhood, but Pamela found the perfect fit, and gave us a ton of support in making the offer, closing the deal, and making it easy for us. She gave us step by step guidance on everything that we needed to do, and so it didn't feel nearly as difficult as it would have otherwise. She recommended excellent professionals for everything we'd need. She negotiated brilliantly on our behalf, sought to get a private audience with the seller to plead our case, and got us a fair price on a beautiful house. Then, on moving day, she brought us the most delicious pumpkin muffins ever!
Jed B.
19 November 2019, 07:10 AM
We met Pamela by chance when looking at a Zillow listing and connected with her through a link there. Thank goodness for her! My husband and I are now in the home of our dreams - which would not have happened had it not been for Pamela.
We found an amazing home very spur of the moment, after having taken some time away from searching the market - reached out to Pamela, and she immediately went to work on our paperwork. Mind you this was during Memorial weekend, and we were calling her late Sunday after the Open House, with offers due Tuesday! (She had also just stepped off a plane - but jet lag was going to have to wait!)
Pamela is friendly, but fierce. She knows how competitive the market is in the Bay and what it takes to be a great contender as a home buyer, when making an offer. She worked with my husband and I guiding us through the process to know what to expect, was always available and quick to respond to emails, texts. Truly a go-getter.
She is well connected with reputable lenders, which facilitated us being able to get things done on such short notice as well. The respect and relationship she had already with the lender we worked with, meant our lender worked through the holiday Monday too, to ensure we had our loan approval letter in time, as well as the necessary documents.
Pamela surprised us with a gift when we closed, which was exactly what we needed - a testament to her thoughtfulness.
Can't say enough about Pamela. This review is a bit overdue as I wasn't quite sure how to convey in words the immense amount of gratitude we feel. My husband and I (and our two pups) are now enjoying the beautiful house we are in because of her.
A J.
14 August 2019, 08:37 AM
The Bay Area is a pretty fierce real-estate market. Being passive here simply doesn't work. Fortunately Pamela is far from passive. I'm writing this review from my dream home that she worked tirelessly for us to own. Always available, and always ready to get things done, my wife and I were fortunate enough to see a home in the middle of a long weekend with offers due the next business day. It's not a small feat to get everything together, especially on a long weekend, yet Pamela made it happen. The ugly truth though, Pamela will tell you what a home will go for, and it will upset you, but she will be right. This area is tough to buy, but she's a tough agent, and she knows this area.
Ryan J.
23 July 2019, 11:12 AM
Thanks to Pamela, we found and got our first home in Rockridge - and we absolutely would not have gotten it without her. We were not familiar with the Oakland area, and in our first meeting, Pamela not only familiarized us with various neighborhoods given she has been through this process herself but ALSO volunteered to show us multiple houses on our very first day. From that first day, through the end of the process, Pamela gave us comps, good advice, and even would tell us when she did not like a house for us. Personally, I prefer to work with someone who will give me their honest opinion and as much information as possible - and that's what I got in the house buying process. Pamela knows how to give you the best chance at actually getting a home - which is critical in this area! Finally, when there was gap between the lease end for our old place and the closing of escrow for the new house, she even let us store boxes in her garage.
Sonali K.
29 June 2019, 08:00 AM
We interviewed several agents to sell our house and they all proved to be disappointing. Our friends told us that Pamela had sold their house and got top dollar. We called Pamela and told her we wanted to sell our house and she shot into action. In less than 2 weeks our house was on the market. She has a list of resources who helped us pack up our house, deep clean the inside, power wash the outside, replant our gardens, do repairs, trim our overgrown trees and order parts for our oven and refrigerator. She found a stager who would let us live in the house with our pets. Pamela came and swept before every showing, brought fresh flowers and food for the Open Houses! There is nothing she would not do including walking our dogs! She also did all the marketing and ads for us.
In the end, Pamela was the one who found our buyer and had another agent represent them. Pamela is also an attorney and negotiated very well for us. We are now great friends and she has had us to dinner and introduced us to other parents. What stands out about Pamela is how hard she works, how smart she is and how kind and ethical she is. I will recommend her to all my friends and family. Thank you Pamela!
Anna R.
19 June 2019, 08:28 AM
