It means the world to us to own our home – to feel safe – to have the freedom and peace of mind that goes along with that. And you were so right – our quality of life has improved 20-fold and we LOVE, LOVE the place.

Thank you, thank you.
You're my hero,

K.M.

Don!!!

I never would have guessed when we first met you 5 years ago that you would have turned out to be our guide, mentor, therapist, cheerleader and sage. What an experience! THANK YOU for patience and understanding, for the "reality checks," the advice you gave us, and ultimately for steering us here … It is lovely and we are very happy!

Much appreciation,

T.

G. & J.

E.B.

In the negotiation phase, when I had an acceptable offer, Don was meticulous in all the details to make sure delays were minimized and the sale went through smoothly. As I write this, I also noticed that some other similar homes which also hit the market around the same time still stand unsold.

A lot of buyers and sellers think realtors do "hardly anything" in a transaction but having dealt with Realtors a number of times, I can say that usually is not the case. When you have a good surgeon, he or she makes the operation look easy and you think nothing is going on. In reality, it's because the surgeon is working behind the scenes to MAKE SURE nothing does go wrong.

Don was pro-active in a similar way and has many years of experience as well as the ethical backbone to make him an ideal choice. I'm sure anyone choosing Don Dunning as a realtor will be as happy with their choice as I was.

C.P.

Don always kept us informed and up to date. This gave us peace of mind, especially since we had just lost our mother a month and a half earlier to lung cancer. Our mother's wishes were for us to sell the home immediately. The house went on the market June 2nd, 2006, a full price offer was placed on June 13th with no costs or contingences and we closed on July 10th.

I work and live out of the bay area, so having an experienced and knowledgeable realtor such as Don was very important. Your calmness and expertise was most reassuring. We can say with confidence, choosing Don Dunning as a realtor will make the sale your home a most pleasant experience.

Many Thanks,
K. & C.

Thank you for all your hard work in making us first-time home buyers!

When we started this process, we couldn't have imagined the complexities that lay ahead. For 11 months, you stuck with us, patiently helping us wade through the pros and cons of each potential property, enabling us to find the house that fit us best. Your breadth of knowledge and attention to detail made our experience much less daunting than it could have been.

We also greatly appreciated your flexibility. The fact that you were willing to work around our availability was a great stress-reducer for us.

We love the house, and couldn't be happier with it!

Best,

R & J

Thank you for assisting us in the sale of my house.

Your organization and opinions were greatly appreciated. It was a pleasure working with you. Every aspect of the sale went smoothly.

Thank you again for all your help.

Sincerely,
B & M.K.

Thanks for an outstanding performance as my Broker, in the purchase of [our home], and your contribution to the successful 1031 Exchange which resulted. I can say that, without your help, the exchange would have been far more difficult, if not impossible.

The value of your service was multiplied many times by the "extras" that you provided. These included the recommendation of an excellent Broker to handle the sale of the Santa Clara property, your influence with an uncooperative title company who almost killed the 1031 Exchange, and your ability to be there whenever we ran into a "bump in the road" that needed to be smoothed out, or roadblock that needed to be blasted out of the way.

I would also like to thank you for straight talk even when it was not always what I wanted to hear. You were also willing to listen to my wife and I. The result was team approach that worked. The result of both the sale of the Santa Clara property and the purchase of the Brickyard Landing property surpassed our expectations. We estimate that the successful completion of the 1031 Exchange has netted us a saving in excess of $100,000 in capital gains taxes.

As a Real Estate Broker myself and a Certified Property Manager, I appreciate professional work in the world of real estate.

Thank you,

A.M. & J.M., CPM

I cannot begin to thank you for all your help in finding a home, but I would like to let you know about the things I appreciated most.

As a first-time home buyer, I was feeling very overwhelmed by all the things I'd heard that I should and shouldn't be looking for in a home. You sat down with me and helped me figure out what was most important to me, and you helped me understand what things actually contribute to the value of a home and what things are relatively trivial.

You also kept me focused. After 4 months of house hunting, I was willing to buy just about anything with indoor plumbing. But you kept me focused on the things that were important to me, kept up with my changing expectations as I learned more about my own preferences (which seemed to change with each home I saw) and saved me a lot of time by helping me whittle the huge number of possible homes down to the few that were right for me.

Also, I felt lucky to have a realtor I could depend on and trust. You came highly recommended by several close friends as a responsive, trustworthy and thoroughly reliable person. I was looking for a realtor to help me find the right home at the right price, even if it took several months, and I was worried that about working with one of those agents who become mysteriously unresponsive at the first signs of wavering interest in the buyer and or one who bullies them into homes for the sake of a quick commission. I knew from our first meeting several years ago that you are the furthest from that kind of agent, and that you would not only help me find a home but that you would help me find the right home. Even though I decided not to buy a home when that first time we met, a few years ago, you were the only realtor that I wanted to work with this time around.

Most of all, I appreciated your flexibility. I'm sure that my being out of town most of the time didn't make things easy for you, and I very much appreciated all the late night conference calls and faxing that you did over the months we worked together. I thought you took that last big change very well, when we were about to write an offer on the house I finally purchased, we found out at the last minute that my brother was pulling out, and only I would be writing the offer. I am still amazed that you were able to change all the documents so quickly and still get the sellers to accept an offer that was so close to the asking price on a nice Piedmont/Montclair home.

Finally, I wanted to thank you for all the people that you mobilized for me once the offer was accepted; I found them all to be quality people. We would have missed our recording date without the relationships the closing agent you recommended had with City Hall because the Sellers were so late in getting their documents notarized from New Zealand and we were trying to record during the Thanksgiving weekend. I had my doubts about having my own home inspection done, but I quickly changed my mind when not only did the person you recommended find a $16K problem that the seller's inspector had missed, but you negotiated a creative monetary resolution that was acceptable to both the seller and me.

I've been in my new home for six months now and love it. Considering all the complications in finding and buying this house, though, I honestly do not think I would have been able to close without a realtor with your experience and expertise.

Bravo!

J.J.

Your system is just amazing!

In less than 6 hours, my aunt's funds were electronically sent to her financial adviser and the following day we moved the cash proceeds to several of her mutual funds. Don, I want all who come in contact with you to hear our story.

My 86 year old aunt lost her husband two years ago and finally agreed with the family to move to southern California last fall to be near sister and nieces. Her house of 25 years was vacant for 6 months when she decided to sell. Since no family was still in the east bay area we relied on word of mouth. You were one of two referrals and since you returned my call immediately, I gave you the listing. When the second realtor finally called, we told her that thanks but we had already selected our realtor of choice.

Although, I have never met you, throughout our two months of phone calls, emails and overnight express mail, you handled yourself as the true professional that you are. Suggesting or as I might say "requiring" pre inspections was one of your many very wise recommendations. All issues, good and bad were now on the table and you were able to sell my aunt's house for more than we thought it worth. I have bought and sold 6 houses in my adult life and can only hope and pray that someone with your qualities and knowledge comes into my life when I next need a realtor.

Thank you again for all that you have done and I will look forward to one day while in the Oakland area picking up the phone and calling you to buy you a much deserved lunch.

I wanted to write you a brief testimonial, in light of how satisfied I've been with your efforts on my behalf in the recent sale of my North Oakland home.

As you recall from when I was interviewing prospective agents, I mentioned that I felt as if I already knew quite a bit about you, from having read your periodic real estate column in the local weekly, The Montclarion, for nearly two years. Your column's title, "What You Don't Know Can Hurt You", alludes to your realistic attitude about working with a client to gain as much information about the upcoming transaction as possible, in order to minimize any disturbing surprises. I know that the condition of my nearly 90-year old Craftsman home gave tangible meaning to the phrase "disturbing surprises", but you weren't discouraged by the issues involved and suggested a logical plan of action. This led to the setting of a realistic asking price for the home and to the generation of substantial buyer interest, ending ultimately in multiple offers and achievement of our target selling price.

Realtors are fond of the expression - "location, location, location", in description of what is important in buying and selling real estate. But, as a client, I'd suggest a second expression is equally important in selection of a suitable realtor - "experience, experience, experience". I knew little about real estate transactions and placed my trust totally in you to understand the issues involved and to advise me thereof. This you did - promptly, accurately and tactfully - and I was relieved to see how expertly you maneuvered our selling process through a few potentially awkward situations. I was especially appreciative of the network of reliable and competent service personnel whose services you availed yourself of throughout the selling process, including inspectors, contractors, title companies, and the inevitable handymen needed for basic house preparation, staging and cleanup.

You did all that you said you would do, Don, and I couldn't be more pleased with the final outcome. I've spoken highly of you to all of my neighbors and recommended you in particular to one who envisions moving in the next few years.

Thanks again, Don.
D. S.

I selected you over other real estate agents because your experience and knowledge of the real estate market is outstanding. Your professionalism in designing an action plan and creating a timeline which was practical and achievable met my needs. As you know, I was under time constraints with my 1031 exchange and we managed to find the perfect house, negotiate the sale (competing with other buyers), finance the property and close the sale on schedule.

Don, you did more than your share of the work on our transaction. You took the initiative to get things started and picked up the slack when things were going slowly. Calls to you by me with request for general or specific information were returned promptly and always included a thorough perspective on the situation. I appreciate the ability to go to you with such questions knowing that I will get qualified and expert advice.

You are an honest, considerate and supportive person who has the ability to see and understand things from another person's perspective. You also are a great direct communicator and know how to raise and discuss problems in a non-threatening manor. I admire that. Thank you for being so hardworking and highly committed to your clients

YOU'VE HELD UP YOUR END BEAUTIFULLY! ! ! ! !

Continued success to you,
B.D.

[note accompanied by a fabulous, homemade pie!]

I just wanted to say thank you for helping me find this house!

You were right about the neighborhood, it's great. The neighbor's I have met now are all really friendly. And it's quiet. It's funny, I had trouble sleeping when I first moved in because it was too quiet.

The extra space is so nice to have. I have room for everything I'd stored up in my apartment and will still have room for my artwork and collections when I get them from up north. And I can finally have all my tools out and easily accessible!

Some friends helped me pull up the carpets to discover that the hardwood under the carpets was in really good condition. With the light floors and open spaces, the house was the perfect setting to host my family for Thanksgiving.

I even found a table and chairs just in time to surprise my family. I kept telling them we would be eating off our laps in the great room. We had several days of comfortable relaxing while they were in town and my family is all very approving of the house.

I love being able to spend my weekends worrying about furniture yard work and football. It's a lot less stressful than worrying about the housing market.

I wouldn't have found this house without you, thanks again for all your hard work!

M.F.

When I told you I was looking for a four-plex with a large, three bedroom, two bath owner's unit in a good area, I thought it would be a long-shot and it would take months, if not years, for you to find. Amazingly, you found the perfect property in only a few months.

You had warned me about the possibility of multiple offers and you were right. I took your advice and beat out eleven other buyers. I was even happier later, when you told me the seller's agent said we were the second highest offer, but the seller thought your presentation of my offer was the most professional.

Throughout the escrow, you took every step to protect me, especially by recommending all those inspections. Even the advice you gave me on renting the vacant unit was perfect. We rented it for much more than some people told me I would get.

It is rare to find someone who really cares about doing the best job for someone else. You did that and more. You treated me like a friend, not just a client.

I will recommend you to everyone I know and will definitely want you to represent me in any future real estate deals.

People who work with you don't know how lucky they are. Thanks again for everything you did.

Now I do. You were always on top of every detail, every unanticipated event. You covered every base, all the time. Best of all, you kept in steady and continuous contact with me. I never had to guess what was going on, or wonder where you were, or when you would return a call or answer a question.

So that was the "personal service" part. The other part is the bottom line, where again, you personify the highest standard. You worked hard and intelligently and with convincing ideas, to get a price and a high quality offer that was better than I hoped for, even at a time when the market was cooling down.

This letter sounds like a "gusher", and it is, but it shows how I truly feel. I'm grateful to have had you as my agent, and as my continuing adviser and friend.

Sincerely,
R.H.W.