Tracy McBride in Berkeley

Review №1

2023-01-24 22:23:23

Tracy expertly managed all phases of moving out of my home of 25 years and preparing it for sale. Tracy brought experience, vision and strategy, which was executed to perfection. We met bi-weekly to schedule, coordinate and plan each task, which Tracy managed. The house was on the market a week earlier than planned, received mulitple offers, and closed without a hiccup in less than 2 weeks. Tracys expertise, integrity and professionalism are unsurpassed. She was a joy to work with every step of the way.

Review №2

2023-01-07 22:56:55

I engaged Tracy McBride of Compass Realty as my broker for the sale of a home at 1440 Summit Road, Berkeley, CA. My experience with her was so outstanding that a few months later I contacted her to assist me in finding and purchasing a condominium apartment. For both transactions, I give her my most enthusiastic, unqualified recommendation. On a scale of 1-10, I would give her a 10 for all of the qualities a buyer, or a seller, would want in a real estate agent.I am a retired commercial attorney but the law, customs and practices for real estate purchase and sale transactions have changed greatly since I graduated from UC Berkeley Law in 1965 or when I purchased my first home in 1967. There is no way that I would want to engage in either a sale or a purchase of a home without skilled guidance. Having Tracy on my side gave me a high degree of comfort in both the sale of my house and the purchase of my condo.In the sale of my home, there were numerous details and decisions to be made. Tracy made a very thorough inspection of my house and gave me a list of things that either had to be corrected or disclosed to prospective buyers. I followed that advice in every instance so that, after the transaction closed, I not only felt that I would have no legal liability to the purchasers for failure to disclose but also was satisfied that I had acted with utmost integrity and “turned square corners” in the sale of my home.Even though my home was in relatively good condition, Tracy gave me flawless advice as to what needed to be “fixed up” to improve its chances for a successful sale. I accepted almost every recommendation she made and I’m glad I did. Likewise, her advice regarding pricing proved to be excellent. And when it came time to open the bids, she again gave me excellent advice. After I had accepted one of the bids, she guided me through the closing process—which I was astonished to find involved a large stack of documents, most of which were unheard of in 1965 or 1967—with great and calming skill.Selling one’s home is often a complicated and emotional thing. In my case, my wife and I had built our architect-designed, prize-winning home and I was very proud of and emotionally attached to it. Moreover, my wife and recently passed away. Tracy’s guidance throughout the transaction was so expert and professional that I made the decisions I had to make largely without drama or emotion. I was comfortable with the entire process from beginning to end, and in retrospect as well.A few months later I asked Tracy to keep an eye out for a condominium apartment for me. The Berkeley condominium market doesn’t have much to offer, but she found an unusual—perhaps unique—condo for me. Once again, she gave me incredibly sage advice as to how to structure my bid so that it would stand the best possible chance of being accepted. (This transaction was at the peak of the 2022 real estate market; as I recall, there were 14 offers on this condo.) And, once again, her advice was spot-on, and I emerged the successful bidder.In both of these transactions, I never had any reason to doubt that Tracy was acting 100% in my best interests (which in my experience, both personal and professional, is not always the case). I found her to be a person of the highest integrity and skill. I also found her to be easy to reach (emails and phone calls were responded to quickly), and that she would then promptly do whatever she said she would do. Finally, she is a lovely person who makes a challenging process as relaxing and pleasant as possible.

Review №3

2021-02-19 23:15:05

Tracy is everything I can ever imagined what a real estate agent can ever be and more! We are not first time home buyers in the Bay Area. Yet, we struggled really badly in the current tough Berkeley house market. The fast-changing dynamics and bidding wars are so hard for the buyers. We had a healthy budget and a very moderate expectation, but we were not even close to get in contract after over 6 months with another agent. At some point, we realized that we were repeating the same thing and expect a different result.Before we met Tracy, we often saw her name on our favorite Berkeley listings. The houses she listed seemed to sell for a higher price than the current market like magic. We believed that we needed some of the magic. Until I got to work with her, Tracy has shown us on daily basis that all her success was backed up by her unparalleled work ethics. She is the most professional and hardworking realtor I have ever met, period! She is someone who does not believe in “secret connections” or “pure luck”. From day one we are interested in a house, she put in tremendous amount of work to help us understand the ins and outs of the house, from inspection reports to neighbors. She always gets us ready way ahead of the game. She makes hours long appointments to sit down with us (on zoom) going through line by line all the disclosures and offer letters we sign, and help us to understand all the recent sell comps (what features made each house sold more or less) and understanding the work the property would need in the future.Tracy is a great communicator and a master negotiator. With Tracy, our needs and wants were completely heard and respected. She always offers her professional opinions without any personal bias. She never brushes away any of our concerns on a property no matter how small, and always finds ways to address them prior to writing an offer, so we are very confident to put our best foot forwards!We came in to the market thinking we are experienced buyers who have done multiple translations and stud-up renovations, But Tracy really helped us in the short 3 months to understand what is REALLY our top priority and secured a house that fits all our wants and need. She puts our interests as her top priority—she fiercely advocated for us, represented us professionally in difficult situations. She steps in instantly when anything confusing comes up. As Tracy likes to say “When things go smoothly, they go smoothly on purpose.” That is a pretty accurate summary of our experience with her!I used to believe most real estate agents work similarly. But Tracy completely changed our whole experience of house buying. She is also a super kind and compassionate human being, absolutely pleasant to work with! I recommend her wholeheartedly as your buyer’s or seller’s agent.

Review №4

2020-01-08 06:00:00

We highly recommend Tracy. We were thrilled to work with her to buy our Berkeley home in 2019. As recent transplants from NYC, we are seasoned home buyers with a long list of home wants/needs; however, we were new to CA real estate. After hearing horror stories about Berkeleys competitive market, we expected to house hunt for 1-2 years. Instead, with Tracys guidance, we bought the first house on which we made an offer!Tracy was simply amazing in helping us navigate the market to find a perfect house. She is a consummate professional - quick to respond to inquiries, incredibly organized, lightning fast in providing documents to our lender & title company, and utterly calm in high-pressure situations.We were especially grateful to benefit from her expertise in evaluating the pros/cons and structural integrity of prospective properties. Careful walk-throughs with Tracy helped up decide between two homes we loved. Thanks in large part to Tracys diligence, we closed a week early and celebrate the holidays in our new home.

Review №5

2020-09-17 13:20:02

I feel so fortunate to have found Tracy McBride when I began the process of selling my home in Berkeley. I first contacted Tracy in 2016 when I was thinking about downsizing. She helped me look at other homes for sale in the area and we discussed options and what I might need to do to fix my home up for selling. Then I decided to put it on the back burner for a while. Tracy never pressured me or even contacted me about continuing with a sale of my house.In 2019 when I knew it was time to sell I contacted her again. Tracy was patient, kind and incredibly helpful. She calmly began to help with the process, working on disclosures and what needed to be done to get the house in the best condition for the best outcome.Before Covid we met at my house on Fridays and made plans for what to fix: new lights for the hall, which rooms to paint, which floors to refinish. She was sensitive to how much I could spend and never insisted on anything. She made suggestions and found consultants when needed but always respected my aesthetic choices and was aware of the emotional impact of moving out of a house I had lived in for so many years. It was always so much fun to work with her.After Covid shut everything down we met weekly on Zoom and discussed how strange everything was. She was always in contact with her company to know the requirements for navigating real estate in the midst of a pandemic. I saw that working with Compass gave her many resources and knowledge about the latest developments.With Tracy it wasn’t just about selling a house; it was about a relationship. I got to know Tracy as a friend and appreciated that she was always respectful of me and of everyone we dealt with in the process of selling the house.Tracy was resourceful in everything: who to ask for fixing things, where to go to buy a vanity at a good price, who to call for hauling, where to go to recycle. Over and above Tracy helped guide me through the whole process. She met with workers when I couldn’t, picked things up that were needed and communicated with all who worked on the house. She even helped me dig through my storage unit to find the crystal door handle that had accidentally been put in a dresser drawer. It was an original door handle from when the house was built and Tracy knew that it would be hard to replace and that it was an important detail for selling the house. As always we had fun doing it. And thinking of it reminds me of her ability to see the details as well as the big picture.That attention to detail extended to her reading over all of the fine print and catching things that needed to be corrected. Also remarkable as was her ability to explain everything that was happening step by step.In the end as offers came through she helped me so much, guiding me through the process, dealing with all parties in a calm and considerate way. She kept me informed about what was happening and what I needed to do and what I needed to do next. If I called her with a question she got right back to me. She understands the stress that comes with selling a house and does all that she can to minimize that stress.With Tracy McBride you are working with an intelligent individual who sees the big picture, is philosophical and very ethical. It was truly enjoyable to work with her. I cannot imagine a better outcome with anyone else. I cannot recommend her highly enough.Suzanne Lacke

Review №6

2019-09-07 18:43:01

When my fiancé and I first started looking for a house we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! People say its a process but that really is an understatement, especially in the Bay Area. Luckily for us, Tracy was a lifesaver! She helped walk us through the process every step of the way. We thought we knew what we were looking for as first time home buyers, but after Tracy helped us hone in on what our priorities really were and what our after purchase expectations could be, we realized that what we really needed was actually quite different than what we first expected. Tracy listened to all of our ideas and expectations (no matter how unrealistic they may have been at times) and took them to heart. She was critical in pulling together a team for us and giving recommendations for other professionals as their services arose during the process. Every step of the way, other listing agents knew and had nothing but positive things to say about Tracy, and believe me, having that network does make a difference.The house Tracy found for us, we would never have looked at by ourselves, and we could not be happier. She made a challenging and stressful experience as smooth as possible. I cannot recommend working with a Tracy enough. She is a professional, an advocate and ultimately a friend.

Review №7

2020-05-09 07:29:59

My husband and I feel so lucky to have had Tracy as our agent. She helped us sell a lot we owned in Berkeley that we loved and felt very attached to. Not only did she help us successfully navigate our sale, she gave us excellent guidance and information without ever being pushy. When we decided to decline an offer she helped us to re-strategize how we wanted to sell it and they type of buyer we were looking for. She was patient and we waited for something right for us. We werent in a rush to sell, and she never pressured us to take something that wasnt what we wanted.She kept us involved with updates during the entire process and was extremely transparent with all of her discussions with other agents and other stakeholders. When we were deciding between two offers, Tracy helped us think through the pros and cons of each and brought up a lot of points we never considered.Also, she is meticulous and thorough, which is unbelievably valuable during the buying and selling process. There is a lot to know and consider and Tracy is a wealth of knowledge. Anything she doesnt know, she researches! We felt like we were in the best hands with her.I could sing her praises for days, but heres the bottom line: work with her. You wont regret it.

Review №8

2020-12-09 01:36:44

Wow, what can I say! Tracy McBride was truly the most exceptional real estate agent I have ever dealt with. I have bought & sold six rental properties & four primary homes and I’ve never had an experience like I did listing my deceased mother’s home with Tracy. I had seen Tracy‘s excellent ads dating back to 2015 and have kept in touch with her and received advice on the first stage of renovations of this beautiful Victorian in 2016. In 2020, I contacted Tracy to list the home. We had over two months of remodeling and renovations performed and Tracy was there every day 2 to 3 times a day monitoring the progress and assisting me in sourcing materials and contractors. I live 90 miles away from the home and could not have accomplished this task so efficiently and effectively without her assistance. Absolutely blown away by this level of service. Five stars does not do justice to that type of professionalism and assistance. Her staging, photography and actual sketch of the home were eye popping. I’ve done nothing but tell stories of this experience to anyone who will listen to me because it is so unusual. Do not miss the opportunity to work with this unbelievable professional. You will not be disappointed. Thank you Tracy!

Review №9

2021-04-17 21:04:01

We have worked with Tracy 3 times now, this being the first time weve sold a house with her. She was extremely helpful getting the house ready for sale, taking on extra as my wife and I have an infant to handle and Im facing some serious health difficulties. Her communication was great and we trusted her judgement on a majority of the decisions and she was very responsive to any of our input on how we wanted to present the house. She guided us through the tricky process of choosing a good offer, and we ended up closing with an extremely good price. We wouldnt work with anyone else!