Tracy Palma – Bay Sotheby’s International Realty

This is a very very long over due review. Let’s just say without Tracy I wouldn’t be smiling everytime I turn my doorknob and step into my condo! But that smile almost didn’t happen.
Months ago I decided that I was ready to buy! That was the easy part, now I just needed to find someone who can help me as a first-​time buyer (I am picky and had a thousand questions). Tracy Palma was referred to me by a close friend of mine. Our first conversation she put me at ease. She went over every want/​need and questions that I had. As you all know the market is CRAZY out there, but I was determined to be in the Adams Point/​Grand Lake area. Then the search began with excitement and nervousness all at the same time. Then excitement turned into heartache and discouragment as my offers were getting rejected. After the third rejection, I wanted to give up. Tracy was patient with me and assured me that the right place will come along at the right time. She was so right! A few days later she sent me a property listing. I fell in love with it as soon as I walked in. Not only was it in a great location, it was not overly priced. Once again I put my offer in and crossed my fingers. A few days later while waiting to hear back I called Tracy about another listing. As I am describing the listing Tracy stops me mid sentence and tells me that we do not need to look at the new property. In a confused tone I asked what do you mean? She yelled out… YOUR OFFER WAS ACCEPTED!!! You can imagine my excitement. I was ready for the next steps (of course with a thousand questions) Everything was going according to plan, until mid way through escrow. My escrow was a nightmare! Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. This is where Tracy became more than just a realtor for me. Tracy was fantastic, she was unbelievable. She talked me off the ledge of giving up on more than one occasion. With every road block escrow put up Tracy was right there to help me through it until the end. That is why I smile everytime I turn my doorknob and walk through the door, because it almost wasn’t mine. I almost lost the place I call home if it wasn’t for Tracy.

Absolutely fantastic. Detailed and thorough during inspections, knows the right questions to ask, and a pleasure to work with. Went through the process clearly and thoroughly for a first-​time buyer, and her thoughts about the market were on point. Very responsive by email and phone, and extremely organised in general. The entire process from start to close went extremely smoothly due to her experience and dedication. Would recommend whole-​heartedly!

Tracy is a fantastic realtor! I have used her services three times in the past: once to buy a house, once to help me sell a relative’s house, and just recently to sell my own home (all in Oakland), where I got 30% over asking.
One of the things I like best about working with Tracy is her communication skills. She answered all my questions promptly, and she kept me posted during open houses and showings as soon as she got new information.
She also has great taste and was able to advise me on how to best show the house. She has a wonderful marketing sense, and she knows what will sell a home.
Last, but not least, I trust her, and I value her advice. She’s optimistic without being unrealistic, and I would highly recommend her services for buying or selling a home in the Bay Area.

My husband and I just closed on our first home in Oakland by Grand Lake area and we couldn’t have done it without Tracy’s guidance and expertise. As a first time home owner in a super competitive and hot market, it’s not only important to work with a broker that understands the market but is also very communicative and can help guide you through the complicated process of buying a home.
I can’t recommend Tracy enough! I had worked with another broker through a friend’s recommendation and wasn’t 100% satisfied. Another friend & co-​worker recommended Tracy and swore by her. She had helped him buy his condo in Berkeley. In total, we had been looking for 6 months and with Tracy for about 4 of those.
This is what makes Tracy great:
She’s always ON. She’s literally is always answering emails and is super responsive. Her responses are also very detailed and she’s also very accommodating.
As a first time home buyer, she will walk you through the steps from reading inspection reports, to helping with the right bid, to the really big steps once your bid is accepted. This is where all the work happens actually, especially as a first time home buyer. I had lots of questions on the closing cost and she walked me through each line item and said which ones should be lower vs. what the bank outlined.
I also love that she has a strong POV and is honest. This was one of the big differentiators from the other broker we had. Our last broker would only tell you what she thought it would go for, but she never gave an opinion on whether she thought it was a good home etc. Tracy will give you her opinion if she doesn’t like a house. Especially a house that you may love for example. She looks at what the resale value is and thinks longer term. For example, what if you wanted to sell it down the line, would the house be easy to sell again. She will dissuade you from bidding on houses she doesn’t think is a good long term decision.
She truly has your best interest at heart. She’s not looking to just sell you a house and make the commission and move on. She’s very much about the relationship and as well as the long term.
I would recommend Tracy 100% to my friends and co-​workers in a heartbeat!

My wife and I worked with Tracy for over 2 years as it was extremely difficult to find a home with all of our wants and needs and within our price point in the Bay Area. Tracy worked with us weekly in looking for that perfect home and got to know us and our kids extremely well. She literally watched our kids grow. All in all I cannot say enough great things about Tracy. She knows the Bay Area real estate market better than most, all the agents know her, can dissect what you like /​don’t like, and has a good sense for how to realistically navigate such a competitive real estate market. I recommend Tracy blindly and am happy to have stuck with her throughout the process. In the end, we found a beautiful home that we will be moving into soon.

I haven’t bought a house from Tracy yet, but I just have to write her a review. I found Tracy on Unilocal from these great reviews. I knew she was going to be amazing, but she went above and beyond all expectations! She is extremely professional, personable, and is very responsive. She makes herself available almost all times of the day and truly takes customer service to the next level. Moreover, as a first time homebuyer, she makes this process very easy and provides me with such honest and knowledgeable feedback. She’s shown me some great listings so far within the pay range/​area that I am targeting. I’m hopeful for a positive outcome! :)

My wife and I can’t say enough good things about Tracy. As first time homebuyers, we were quite green when we first decided to leave our small apartment in San Francisco for a home in Oakland. We knew very little about the home buying process in general, and even less about the area and neighborhoods the East Bay had to offer. From our first meeting, Tracy listened to what we were looking for in a home and assured us that we were in good hands. She went over the entire process, recommended neighborhoods, and provided us with comprehensive lists of properties and helped us get the most out of our budget. When we picked out a wide array of listings we liked, Tracy helped us narrow them down and we all went and looked together. As luck would have it, our very first offer was accepted, and a few weeks later we were homeowners! Tracy was an integral part in all of this — she was very thoughtful, extremely responsive (even when we bugged her on nights and weekends), patient, understanding, helpful, and most importantly, effective. We love our new house, and owe it in large part to the help Tracy provided. Go with Tracy!

Tracy helped us sell our Rockridge home recently. We chose Tracy based on the Unilocal reviews that we researched. We had to make a decision as to whether to sell the house with minimal improvements or to go full board and take down a wall for a more open concept home. We decided to go all out and really create a new home. Tracy helped us select light fixtures and bathroom fixtures, colors, kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, and countertops that were particularly on trend. Beyond that, she demonstrated her expertise when it came time for reviewing the offers we received and giving us her input. We were impressed with her aplomb as she navigated the delicate process of finding just the right buyer and then delivering a winning price for the house as well!

Tracy found us our very first home and we couldn’t be happier. She did a great job securing the house in a very competitive neighborhood and also helped us negotiate for a better price. Everyday, I appreciate what a great decision we made and amazing luck we had to find a home like this and and we know it wasn’t possible without Tracy’s help!

Tracy did a great job securing our first home purchase. We interviewed a few realtors and selected Tracy for her local knowledge and responsiveness. She walked us though the process as first time buyers and was there while we made our first offer to help us fully understand the offer.
She was patient with us and supported our decisions. She took the time to view houses with us to understand our needs and eventually she used her network to find a house before it hit the market. She helped us strike the deal and was there throughout the closing process. It was clear she was also working behind the scenes with our lender and escrow officer. Her work ethic really does shine through, and we appreciate the time she took to view houses on our schedule which was generally in the early evenings and also on weekends.

The management at my apartment complex decided to sell off units as condos, and I was given 60-​days notice to vacate. I looked around for a new apartment, but pickings were scarce, so I decided to take the plunge and buy a place of my own. I checked Unilocal for local realtors with good reviews and sent out e-​mails to three of them.
Tracy replied right away and scheduled an appointment for the next day. I met with her, and she was well-​prepared with a folder for our meeting in her conference room. I had told her I was a first-​time buyer, and she said she could take me through everything carefully. I asked her if we could get this done in two months, and she said it was possible if we were willing to hit the pavement.
I was impressed with our first meeting; Tracy listened to my needs and concerns then got down to business, telling me what needed to happen. I cancelled my appointments with the other realtors I had contacted.
Tracy gave me a list of contacts so I could proceed with finding a mortgage broker, and started sending listings. She was really good about asking me exactly what my requirements were, and we looked at a wide range of places. She had a perfect balance of asking the right questions so I could figure out if I liked a property, instead of filling my head with her own opinions– though she didn’t hesitate to tell me if she didn’t like a place, or to point out key features. She guided, allowing me to make the decisions, rather than deciding for me.
Tracy worked hard, and when the first place fell through, we went on another journey, and when we found a place that I said would work as a backup, that wasn’t good enough: she pulled out her laptop and we expanded the search. That was when we found the property that I wound up purchasing.
Tracy was all over the contingency period– making sure all of my concerns were addressed before contingencies were released. She genuinely seemed concerned with having me be happy with the purchase. Tracy was organized and on time, and managed to make time to be available even when she was very busy. I would definitely recommend Tracy as a realtor. She knows the area, knows the business, and is friendly, supportive, energetic and empathetic. Not to mention resourceful, determined and perceptive.

Tracy is a class act! She’s super responsive, organized and clear in her communication, which made it relatively easy and fun to buy our home in this crazy, off-​the-​charts expensive Bay Area market. Through her smart strategy, we were able to buy our top pick and beat out over a dozen other bids. She gave us a very helpful calendar that meticulously detailed the timeline of the escrow and neatly organized all the paperwork that we signed in a binder and in digital format for us to keep. After the sale finalized and we moved in, there were some issues that came up at the house and with the seller. Rather than abandon us since her work was done, Tracy was completely supportive and took necessary action to ensure a satisfactory resolution. She clearly takes great pride in her work and really cares about her clients. You’ll definitely be in excellent care with Tracy.

Tracy was absolutely incredible. We spoke to three other realtors (two by phone and another in person) and Tracy was by far and away the kindest, most patient, and most confidence inspiring. She took the time to explain small and large details to us in a way that made us feel empowered and excited about buying a home. After 10 minutes in her company, we knew that she was the realtor for us.
During the home buying process, she was always super quick to respond, almost always within the first 30 or so minutes. She was super knowledgeable when we toured homes and often times pointed out aspects of the house that we might have missed if we would have been by ourselves. She was a tough negotiator when we were ready to buy. She was very firm with the other realtor and, in the end, saved us thousands of dollars with her negotiation and knowledge of the industry and the area.
Tracy operates with integrity, honesty, and a true desire to have people matched to their perfect home. It is because of Tracy that we are currently in our dream home! I am beyond grateful to her and her amazing team.
Thank you Tracy for all that you do!

I was fortunate enough to work with Tracy on a deal recently. She was extremely professional, diligent and focused on her client’s interests. I would highly recommend her to someone looking to buy or sell in the East Bay.

This is the first time I ever wrote a review in my life but this time I had to …
My husband and I decided to sold our beautiful Victorian house in South Berkeley in order to move to the city.
We used Tracy for the whole process. We found a house we loved in the city and we put in an offer. As unbelievable as it sound we got it right away. But this is not just a luck…
This is Tracy skills that got us here … Knowing how competitive the market is right now.
Later on we moved here and she started fixing our old house with all her team. Aware of our budget she took really good care it form «A to Z» we didn’t even went back once.
Selling your old house, buying your new house is suppose to be a stressful event in your life but not with Tracy.
It was such an amazing experience and went on so smoothly because of her wonderful work.
Thanks you Tracy for everything you’ve done for us.

My husband and I were very fortunate to have collaborated with Tracy Palma in purchasing our first home in Oakland. In fact, Tracy was our second realtor because our first one looked down at our teacher salaries and budget for home shopping in the East Bay and basically said we would not be able to buy a home. Tracy was the exact opposite and supported us to the finish line in the competitive East Bay housing market. We highly recommend her as your real estate agent and would easily give her more than five stars if possible.
What does support from Tracy mean? She spends time with you to understand your needs for your home. She is highly proactive in matching you with your preferences, and as a result you will get frequent emails or phone calls as new homes come on the market. She returns calls, emails, and texts. She is patient with new home buyers and will honestly answer your questions and makes sure you understand. She has a depth of knowledge in the real estate field and has outstanding professional connections to assist with the inspection process.
Most importantly, Tracy is a wonderful person that genuinely wants to help you purchase your home. We found Tracy here on Unilocal and we hope you do the same, so please connect with her today.

You will love working with Tracy. Five Star Service! She’s efficient, knowledgable, knows the process and knows how to win. I felt safe with Tracy. She took care of so many things that I simply felt safe in her care. She was so good at helping my partner and I figure out what we wanted. She would ask skillful questions to decipher what we wanted and what we needed. She knew what we wanted more than we did! Call her, now, don’t wait! She’s great.
PS: I think she must work all the time because she always got back to us even if it was late at night.

If you’re looking to buy a home in the East Bay, I would definitely recommend working with Tracy. She was extraordinarily helpful in our search, and ultimately helped us find the perfect place in a very competitive market.
Tracy is very knowledgable about the different neighborhoods in the area and is well connected with other real estate agents, so she has the kind of insight and access that we didn’t see from other agents. Tracy found us off-​market opportunities, helped us get chances to re-​bid when we fell short, walked us through remodel options, and steered us away from bad situations.
Several times she went above and beyond in her efforts to help us, ultimately resulting in our purchase of a great new home (one she showed us before it went on the market). Having an agent who is tireless, dedicated, responsive, and well-​organized is a huge advantage when dealing with our crazy real estate market. I wouldn’t hesitate to use Tracy as my agent again in the future.

My wife and I were feeling chewed up by the Bay Area real estate market. Our spirits were low, and then we found Tracy Palma. She is a true professional and has the power to make stuff happen. She knows a lot of other realtors in the area, which is an asset in this crazy market. We felt that her connections helped get our last minute bid accepted. Once we were under contract, she stayed on top of everything and made sure we met all the tight deadlines (foreclosure). We liked that Tracy didn’t want for us to overpay and worked with our smaller budget. Tracy’s performance as a realtor is superior and we wouldn’t hesitate recommending her service or use her down the road. In a nutshell, do yourself a favor and hire Tracy Palma! Hands down, she is an expert.

Tracy is very professional and very organized. Tracy has a unique ability to stay focused and calm in the situations with a lot of time pressure and many things to handle for urgent sale related deadlines. I really appreciate that Tracy created the strategy, the timeline and the list of all costs involved to sell my house. It helped me to stay clear and focused in navigating what was needed for a successful sale. Tracy was able to stick to the original plan and executed the sale very well. She was able to handle successfully the unique and difficult situation selling the property for two parties where she ensured that everybody’s needs got met. She did an outstanding job coordinating and handling my house renovation prior to the sale. I thought the house looked amazing after the transformation. Tracy was available any time I needed her and took as much time as necessary to make sure that my questions got addressed, and that I’m satisfied as a customer. The sale of my house was a great success. I highly recommend Tracy’s services and I’d use her again in future.
Yana T.

Tracy is the best of the best. I highly recommend her assistance if you are looking to buy a home in the East Bay. I had previously tried working with a couple of other agents, but none came close to the level of knowledge, communication, and confidence that Tracy exemplifies. I constantly thank my friend, a commercial real estate agent in SF, who referred me. With Tracy’s help, I am now a proud owner of a condo in Adams Point!
Tracy continues to impress me with her experience and knowledge of neighborhood trends, condos to single family homes, and everything in between. She is very well connected with the real estate network and other vendors. Her attention to detail is outstanding. She has a fine-​tuned ability to detect both flaws and quality work. It’s been said many times before in her Unilocal reviews, but I have to say it again — Tracy is on top it. She gets the information to you before you even think of asking for it. Her organization style really makes the process effortless and enjoyable.
Another wonderful attribute about Tracy is that she is easily accessible and reliable. She responds very quickly to any communication and her responses are consistently professional and comprehensive. Tracy works hard and I can’t imagine trusting anyone else as much to act in my best interest.
It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Tracy. Besides her massive skills, she is such a down to earth person, very well-​rounded, and passionate about her job. Tracy really takes the time to listen and easily switches gears no matter how many times I change my mind. I learn so much from her about staying positive, advocating for what I want, and not settling for anything less. Congratulations for finding her too and I wish you the best of luck!

I don’t know if I can share anything more than what everyone has already stated beautifully about Tracy. She’s responsive, knowledgeable, trust worthy, family friendly, and an all around great person. What I do for a living requires me to pay close attention to detail, so I recognized and appreciated that I could rely on Tracy to be organized and so on top of things. I especially loved the binder we got that included every single document/​report/​disclosure/​inspection/​etc. we signed throughout the entire process. Sure saved me a ton of work and time!
When looking for a house for as long as we have, you have to partner with someone who doesn’t get tired of being there for you, being willing to go up to bat numerous times (and in some cases even writing multiple offers simultaneously), and who is always concerned with your best interest. The undivided attention that Tracy dedicated to our needs made us feel like we were her only clients. As a first time homebuyer, she guided me when I felt lost, and yet let me take the lead when I felt compelled to do so. This effective partnership is what led us to a beautiful and affordable home in a loving neighborhood, where we can raise our growing family.

tl;dr:
Tracy did an excellent job in helping me sell my condo this fall! She was efficient, friendly, and had an excellent sense of the market. The transaction was smooth and fast and Tracy helped me get a great price for my condo.
Full review:
I interviewed five agents before deciding who to use as my listing agent for the sale of my modern loft condo in Oakland. Tracy stood out in the interview process with her professional presentation and friendly demeanor. She came to our meeting prepared with a complete package detailing the services she would provide, including current comps for my condo. We did a quick tour of the property at that time and she provided her opinion as to what improvements should be done to appeal to buyers.
Tracy has a great eye for design, but also a practical mind, and she has a very good sense of what a seller should do and not do in order to achieve a good return. She worked with us to find painters, floor refinishers, carpet installers, etc, who could work quickly and in concert to get us ready to go on the market. I really appreciated her honesty in assessing paint choices, styling, etc. I wanted to do some sprucing up, but only in ways that would result in a positive return on investment in sale price, and Tracy was excellent at helping me decide what was worth it and what to leave be.
When it came time to market the property, Tracy again excelled. The photographer she hired came out twice for both daytime and twilight shots and perfectly captured what is special about my (former) condo. She chose the best photos and put them into a very impressive bifold brochure. She listened to what I wanted to feature as far as desirable aspects of the property and wrote an enticing and elegant text to go in the brochure and on the MLS. Since neighborhood was a key feature of my property, she went the extra mile in sourcing open-​house snacks from a hip local bakery to highlight the special location.
Communication was always easy. Tracy is available via text and email whenever you need her. She put up with me nervously texting her throughout the day on the day we took offers, and was able to put me at ease. When it came time for her to present the offers to me, she was again professional and efficient, offering advice on their various strengths and weaknesses.
We were in a multiple offer situation and Tracy helped us navigate it effectively, deciding who to counter and on what terms. In the end, I found myself with an excellent offer with few contingencies and a very quick escrow!
I liked Tracy’s work as my listing agent so much that I decided to go ahead with her as my buying agent. Update about those services to come, hopefully soon!

This review is long overdue!!!
I don’t even know where to begin with Tracy, other than the fact that she truly is the most amazing realtor out there!
Words can not describe how thankful my husband and I were to find her to represent the selling of our home in Berkeley. We had previously used another company before finding Tracy at SRG and had a horrible experience with them. In a sellers market, we were finding it odd that the previous group we hired was unable to sell our house. After ending our contract with the previous company, my husband went to Unilocal to find another realtor, and came across Tracy’s profile. He gave her a call, she picked up right away, and from that moment on, she became instrumental in selling our home.
Tracy is beyond professional, she is caring, generous, and her timeliness to respond to our questions, concerns, and needs is unmatched in her field. She always went out of her way to make sure things were taken care of in our house (since we had moved out of the house for staging and selling of the house). She always responded to our text messages and phone calls as though we were the only clients she had. She always had our best interest at heart and for that we are truly appreciative of Tracy!
Don’t think twice about having Tracy represent you when it comes to buying or selling your home!

You’ve probably landed on Tracy’s Unilocal page because you’re searching for a realtor to buy or sell a home. You’ve probably spent some time combing through the reviews of other highly rated realtors on Unilocal and perhaps feel overwhelmed because they all sound great. I know this because before I found Tracy, I was doing the same thing.
Now that you’ve landed on Tracy’s Unilocal page, your search is over. You’ve found the most amazing realtor in all of Berkeley/​Oakland. Call her and hire her immediately before she gets booked up. Still not convinced? Read on…
What makes Tracy so good?
1) Tracy is accessible. She almost always answers the phone or immediately responds to texts/​emails. The first time I called her from her Unilocal listing, she picked up the phone. This might seem like such a small thing, but trust me when you are selling one of the biggest assets you own you want to be able to reach the person who is selling it for you. My wife and I are up late so most of the time that we had questions, it was 11pm at night. We would send Tracy a text and within minutes we would receive a well thought out response. Even though we knew Tracy had other clients, she always made us feel like we were her only clients.
2) Tracy is one of the most organized people I have ever met. As soon as you hire her, she puts together a complete timetable of the process of selling your home and walks you through every step with completion dates. She does everything in her power to stick to the dates as well. This is so important because there are so many things involved with selling a home and the realtor helping you through this process needs to be able to juggle so many different things.
3) Tracy will do everything in her power to help you buy/​sell your home for the best price. I knew we had some fixing up to do on our house to get top dollar. I discussed these ideas with Tracy and she gave me detailed feedback on what items she thought would be attractive to potential buyers and which ones would be a waste of our money. Almost all our money was in our house so we let her know we were limited on how much we could spend. She understood our situation and called one of her trusted contractors and he did an amazing job at probably 50% less than I would have paid a contractor. Tracy is connected and she uses those connections to help her clients. Tracy truly cares about you, your family, and selling your home.
I could have gotten a realtor referral from a friend (and trust me everyone including my mother had a referral to give) or called one of the many realtors who had bombarded my doorstep with glowing marketing pieces showing off their pearly whites and the latest home they sold for way over the listing price. In fact, before I found Tracy I had met with a couple of these realtors and even hired one (Big Mistake!). The problem with many of these realtors is in a hot market like Northern California you are nothing more than a number to them, a number with a dollar sign in front of it. Tracy treats you like a member of her family.
I will call Tracy for all my future real estate transactions and you should too. You won’t regret it. She is amazing!