Client Testimonials

Bernhard Schmidt and Karen Schwelm / Hopkins Street
"When we needed to sell our first house, we thought we needed to interview at least three realtors, and we had already seen two that we liked. We liked the friendly Red Oak logo that we saw everywhere in our neighborhood, and so we explored their website and clicked on the list of agents.

Barbara Hendrickson's name linked to her own web site "justsellmyhouse.com". What a joy! A bright, friendly site that spoke for itself with the right amount of very useful information without the need of any unnecessary hype! Hmm, we thought, that could at least be fun to explore further. I send her an e-mail, and received an answer within 15 minutes, apologizing that she is in a meeting and didn't answer earlier! OK, I thought, she is not beating around the bush, is she? So we met a few days later, and Barbara quietly walked around the house with a big smile on her face.

It became quickly apparent that she understood our situation completely: why we had bought this house, what we liked about it, why we were selling it, and to whom the house might appeal to. Her enthusiasm was infectious from the beginning on, and over time we learnt to deeply appreciate the thoroughness of her preparation instructions, her wide-reaching network of inspectors, contractors, gardeners, painters, stagers, and colleagues, and lastly her skill in negotiations that quite frankly left us in awe!

It was beautiful to watch the wheels of experience and care work together in such focused unison. And most of all: the entire process was fun from beginning to end. Barbara gently nudged us along when we were getting off-track, but knew to give us room when we needed it, and was always cheerful.

She turned a dreaded, stress- filled endeavor into a fun, not-to-be-missed, and utterly rewarding experience. We feel thoroughly privileged to be her clients."

Giovanna Brennan/Blake Street - October 2009
Almost a year ago, I was reluctantly preparing to take on the duty of executor for our best friend's estate--mainly his house --when a couple of native Berkeleyan friends recommended I call Barbara Hendrickson. She is pro-active and persistent, they said, but also sensitive and kind.

I soon had my own words to describe Barbara's style: effective, reliable, thorough and fun! Minutes after my first call, Barbara called back and we went for a first look at the property, an old Victorian beauty with good bones that had missed years of maintenance and TLC. Barbara pointed out both the encouraging and the challenging items and immediately took charge. She made herself a spare key and arranged for a team of experienced realtors to come take a look and offer comments and recommendations.

Barbara then prepared a detailed report, outlining the various marketing options and related strategies and the order in which we might approach them. As the executor, I wanted to work closely with both the beneficiary and the attorney for the estate, so as to eventually reach a consensus decision. Barbara gracefully and appropriately kept all three of us informed.

Although Barbara had agreed to supervise basic restoration such as sanding, painting, repair and more, and had actually collected estimates for such work, we eventually decided to first go on the market strictly as is. Barbara hired the cleaners, gardeners, window washers, and took care of the repair work required by law. She marketed the house with honesty as regarded the many warts, but also with enthusiasm for its charm and value.

We had 20 plus offers, plenty of opportunity to choose the best fit for our situation: an all-cash, no contingencies offer that closed in 3 business days. Given the current market, the difficulties to secure loans and the particularly needy state of the property, we all felt we got a very good deal.

Throughout the process, Barbara was patient in answering my many questions; she also was graceful in nudging me back to task through the frustrating delays. I feel lucky to have enjoyed Barbara's ability to produce solid results coupled with her very personal approach to business.

You guessed it, I recommend Barbara without reservations.

Lisa and Chris, Berkeley CA
We have now puchased 2 houses and sold 1 with Cindy Wilson and wouldn't consider working with another Realtor. All three deals were very different and Cindy amazed us with each.

Cindy's first walk through of our first purchase nailed down all the significant house faults and assigned dollar values that came out uncannily close to the contractors later bids. She has a sixth sense for house construction and repair costs. We got the house for 6% less than asking, and Cindy referred us contractors that we found professional and economical to work with.

We sold the first house with 3 weeks notice and it was a rush from start to finish. Cindy and her Red Oak connections did an truly astonishing marketing job and brought in at least half of the staggering numbers of people who came thru our Open Houses. We had multiple offers even tho the market was sliding downward and inventory was high. Cindy's pricing and marketing are an art form and we sold over our asking price only 3 weeks later!

Buying our Dream House to spend the next 60 years in was a painstaking job. Cindy worked tirelessly in the 9 months it took to find the perfect Normandy/Storybook style house with our exact light exposure and suitable neighborhood. From taking us with her on Brokers tour and sending us all the possible new listings across most of Alameda County for 32 WEEKS, to hundreds of emails and deeply researching several close calls, Cindy's commitment and generosity were unprecedented and went way beyond the call of duty.

We got the house for 75,000 under asking and are again working with those same contractor referrals from Cindy's impressive network. The joy of being in our Dream House has truly changed our lives.

There are more flashy agents out there, but Cindy is the best combination of qualities for us from both a buying and a selling perspective. Her negotiation skills are subtle and shrewd, she has proved herself ethical,hardworking, well-connected, and she saved us money at every turn.

We had purchased AND sold 2 houses by owner before finding Cindy. Everyone seems to love their agent, but time and again we hear how our friends lose on their real estate deals. The combination of Red Oak's spectacular marketing support and Cindy's skills make all the difference. We sure wish we had found her earlier!

Dorene/Liberty Street - October 2009
I just sold the house that I grew up in but had not lived in for many years. Being a first-time seller in a crazy market, Barbara was like my own personal Sherpa-guide through the process. She had improvement suggestions and the crew to do it. Staging, marketing, contacts - she had it all. She guided me through all the paperwork and answered all my calls and e-mails. Reassuring me the whole way. My mantra was "Don't panic, Barbara's on it". The house sold for more than the asking price and in only one day - amazing!!!

Gary Ginstling
Thank you so much for helping us in the sale of our home in Oakland. We couldn't have chosen a more difficult time to put our home on the market; yet throughout the process your guidance, expertise and experience helped us make the right choices and ultimately enabled us to close on our home during a very difficult economic climate. Your years of experience in the Bay Area real estate market made a significant difference and allowed us to make a number of strategic decisions that certainly paid off for us. If we had more houses to sell we would certainly use Barbara!

Connson and Jason Locke
Barbara Hendrickson represented us when we bought our first house, and we were so pleased that we hired her to sell the house as well. As first-time buyers, we benefited from Barbara's extensive knowledge of the local market. Her expertise landed us the first home that we bid for - while our friends were repeatedly bidding on homes and losing out to other buyers.
As first-time sellers, we were even more grateful for Barbara's experience, integrity, and professionalism. Despite an increasingly soft housing market, we sold our house after only two weeks, while other houses on our street remained unsold for months. Barbara's judgment was excellent regarding which improvements and repairs needed to be made and which should simply be disclosed. And she saved us money with her list of contacts that provided quality work at a reasonable price. Barbara went beyond the call of duty. She agonized with us over paint colors, attended meetings with the landscaper, and supervised the preparation of the house after we left town. We highly recommend Barbara. Particularly in the extremely challenging Bay Area housing market, you need the help of a professional of her experience and calibre!

Susan Levin, Buyer & Seller
Cindy Wilson made buying and selling a home in Berkeley an adventure rather than a chore for me and for my son who is 25. I was buying a home for him and I live in Santa Barbara so she became not only his real estate agent but also "mom in absentia". With respect and friendship she guided him to the perfect home. She took care of every detail from beginning to end without a moments hesitation. She was easy to trust, and these days that"s saying a lot! When it came to selling, I went right back to Cindy, knowing she would do the best job possible. The transactions were smooth and relatively free of pressure. I am so grateful to Cindy and recommend her to anyone who is buying or selling a home.

Raul and Mia Posada
We had such a good experience working with Barbara that when it was time to move again, we didn't have to think about it, we just called Barbara. Again, she came through for us. Since we were moving out of the state, she handled much of the preparations for getting our house ready to put on the market. She went above and beyond, handling the painting, remodeling, staging and landscaping. We knew we could trust Barbara's judgment, which helped ease the stress of selling a house from a long distance. Once on the market, we could not have been happier with the results: 5 offers after one week of marketing. After some skillful negotiations on Barbara's part we received well over our asking price with an offer that closed two weeks later.

Keith Butler, Buyer & Seller
Cindy Wilson is quite probably the best real estate agent in California. Circumstances compelled my wife and I to buy three homes and sell two homes within the last seven years; Cindy represented us in all five transactions. With Cindy, intelligence, technical knowledge, and street smarts are only the tip of the iceberg. She has an encyclopedic familiarity with real estate markets all across California, particularly in the East Bay, and the negotiation skills and tenacity to deliver the goods at the best possible price. Above all, however, she is warm and honest -- an absolute pleasure to work with. That is why, when we moved out of the area, we asked Cindy to represent us in the purchase of our new home in Pacific Palisades. There is simply no one else whose advice and counsel we trusted more. She earned this trust, and our friendship, not by telling us what we wanted to hear, but by telling us what we needed to know. She is the best.

Margie Mader-Clark
Making the decision to sell our beloved Berkeley house was a difficult one for us. It had been our weekend getaway for a few years and then the source of great rental income! We got married in that house and still enjoyed it when our son was born. We couldn't trust just anyone to sell it for us. Our first meeting with Barbara and Cindy produced the proper ooohs and ahhhs - it may have been old and in need of some "post-rental" repairs, but it was ours and we loved it. They walked the rooms and pointed out a number of easy-to-fix and improve-the-looks of items. We agreed, and followed every one of their recommendations - we used their network of people to do the jobs and were so impressed with the ease, the quality and the speed of the work.

After two weeks on the market, we met to take bids on the house. Our jaws dropped at some of the offers and then, "The Big One" walked in the door. We couldn't believe our little house of joy was worth so much. But thank heavens Barbara was there to guide us through the process. She pointed out that the financing obtained by "The Big Offer" might be difficult, if not impossible to obtain. She hopped on the phone, called the Second Biggest Offer, with a solid buyer and financing package and skillfully negotiated a much higher price with them. Twenty one days later, escrow closed. Our beloved little house was gone, but our son's college fund was all the richer!

Thanks to both of you for all your help.

Jonathan Bailey, Buyer & Seller
Cindy Wilson has represented me in five transactions as both buyer's and seller's agent in the Berkeley market over the past eight years. As a buyer's agent, Cindy's 20+ years of expertise lead to three successful purchases in the extremely competitive market of the past decade. Cindy's perception, reputation and presentation as a buyer's agent is unmatched - in one case when competing with seven other buyers on a unique investment property, we came out on top and weren't even the highest bid. Selling a home for top dollar in an unsettled market also requires a special understanding of dynamic market forces and emotional factors. In a recent sale Cindy finessed a successful transaction near full price, and we were in contract within 6 days of listing. Cindy understands the psychology of real estate deals better than anyone I know, and in our work together has never failed to close the gap between buyer and seller. I have learned to trust Cindy's instinct, market knowledge and negotiating skills more than I trust my own because she has proven herself repeatedly. I cannot give a higher recommendation when I say 'trust her more than you trust yourself' in real estate - real estate is perhaps the most important financial decision we make in our lives, and only the very best can earn and do deserve our trust.

Jim and Michaelle Van Meter
We are very pleased with Barbara Hendrickson and the great job she did selling our house in Kensington. She not only negotiated a great price for us, but made the transaction painless....she managed the entire transaction from pre-listing to close while we were living in Colorado. Moreover, the sale had some additional complexity as it was part of a 1031 tax-deferred exchange, and was an old house with some need of repairs. A lot could have gone wrong, but did not, since Barbara was on top of all the details.

We also found her to be very responsive, and she always followed up and provided clear explanations. And she was fun to deal with!!

If we were ever to do a property transaction in her area, or if my friends were to do so, we would contact Barbara first. We are thrilled with the results and the process.

Kathy
I am so happy in my new home! It has been such a wonderful and positive experience to work with you, and Cindy too, on this project. The idea of selling my special Berkeley home where I have lived for the past 30 years, and buying a smaller replacement property that I would like as well and feel just as comfortable in seemed almost impossible to me when I first called you last summer, but you provided the support and professional expertise every step of the way. Getting my house ready to sell with all the help you provided actually turned out to be a fun project and not the chore I was dreading. It was a quick and profitable sale.

I was very pleased to find out that you were just as good at buying houses as you are at selling them. You were so patient showing me house after house and encouraging me to keep looking when I thought I would never find that special new place. I'm sure I would not be in this wonderful new home with its beautiful garden today without your professional magic. I am very grateful and I want you to know how much I appreciate all you have done. Thank you!

Frederick Hertz
I write to express my enthusiastic endorsement of Barbara Hendrickson as a real estate agent in the Oakland Berkeley area... As any of her clients can tell you, having Barbara as your agent is a tremendous asset. As a real estate attorney ... I can strongly endorse Barbara as an excellent agent. Barbara has her client's interest in mind at all times, she is willing to work diligently to meet her client's needs, and she knows how to represent her clients in the challenging Bay Area property markets. Her focus on her client's needs and her knowledge of the local area makes for a wonderful combination of skills and concerns. I would be happy to talk with anyone interested in hiring Barbara as their agent, either as a seller or a buyer.

Vernita R. Naylor
Cindy helped me to get my first home and even though it was a lot of work she was excellent. She went the "extra" mile to make sure that the transaction went smoothly even during the "bumpy" times. At all times she was professional and maintained her good spirits. I highly recommend Ms. Wilson for your real estate needs whether you are buying or selling.

Caroline & Raja
We began seriously looking for a house last winter. Several months of roller-coaster emotions later, we found a wonderful house that Barbara showed to us on a grey, rainy morning ...she made sure that ours became the official back-up offer when the second buyer backed out, and then several weeks later, when we truly got lucky--the accepted offer bailed at the very last minute and our offer finally was accepted--she made sure that we got the house for less than our original offer.
Luck and Barbara--that's all you need to buy a house...

Judy Schlosser>
Buying a house through Cindy Wilson was so easy..I had no anxiety and all the information I needed. Cindy also gave me referrals to contractors etc. Going through the house sale and closing was easier than finding the right handyman! And she is so friendly and funny too!

Carol
Cindy, It was great working with you on the purchase of my home. I love everything about home ownership, including yard work! And you made getting to this point - fun.
You were on top of every detail - giving me plenty of "heads up" if I would need time form work, frequent updates about the process, remind calls at every conceivable phone number, and very clear communication about what was happening.
Your advice about the inspection, the condition of the house, the structuring of the offer, and the subsequent negotiations has proven to be very accurate. The referrals you have given have been very well-matched to my needs and budget.
I would wish a realtor like you for anyone, and have been enthusiastically referring you ever since I got my house. Thanks so much for everything you did. This house has been life-changing.

Alex
I contacted Barbara Hendrickson when I was first looking for a house and she was very helpful throughout the process. She helped me to look objectively at the market and do some comparison shopping to know what I was getting. She has a great feel for the east bay housing market and knows the right questions to ask.

Marcia
Cindy, I wanted to let you know how lucky I feel to have work with you.
Thank you for your conscientiousness, your caring, your generosity and for simply being so genuine. Having you as my Realtor was a bonus because I also found a friend.

Raul
My wife and I were looking to buy our first home in the East Bay but we didn't want to go it alone... Barbara's name came up.
We were told that in addition to being very experienced she was a tough, no-nonsense business person. Barbara drove us all over the East Bay to view what seemed like dozens of open house showings in our price range. She stayed patient with us and was full of suggestions for selecting the right home. She is so well-connected that we never had to do any searching on our own for inspectors, electricians, plumbers, contractors, etc.. As first time buyers, Barbara saved us from making costly mistakes.

Mikee
My husband and I began looking for a house in San Francisco. After prodding from some friends, we contacted Barbara just to see what the East Bay had to offer. Barbara's expertise and familiarity with the area helped us find a great house with everything we needed -- easy commute to the City, great school for our kids, friendly neighborhood. After selling us on the area, she tirelessly searched out our house (and we are quite picky!). Through it all, Barbara was remarkably patient with our first-time buyer jitters -- carefully taking us through each step, always having just the right questions and answers for us. I look forward to working with Barbara again.

Barbara Hendrickson

Cindy Wilson