Lisa Cartolano and Ellen Diamond

We recently worked with Lisa and Ellen to purchase our fist home here in Oakland. With such a contingent and stressful market we were very apprehensive about the home buying process, but Lisa and Ellen made it happen quickly and with ease.
Lisa and Ellen were so great about holding our hands through the whole home buying process, really taking the time to answer any and all our questions (which we had a ton). They were also very responsive and always had our best interest at heart. I explicitly trusted their advice and decisions and they made us feel optimistic at each turn in the road.
I would highly recommend Lisa and Ellen. They are a proactive, hard working duo that does what it takes to make it all happen. They also have great personalities that make you feel comfortable and open to asking questions or advice.

Ellen and Lisa did a great job for us. We sold our house in only 3 days and got an offer above what we expected. Selling a home is much more complicated than I realized. There are many points along the way that can bite you in the financial or legal butt. Don’t try to do this without professional help.
I have to admit I was against staging the house ($ 1800), but found out that it helped get us the final offer, so just bite the bullet and trust them.
Finally, we had the great pleasure of dining with Ellen and her husband after the sale and they have become our friends.
I highly recommend Ellen and Lisa to handle your real estate needs.

My wife and I recently bought a home in El Cerrito Ca. We knew the market was tough and that homes were selling for way over the asking price so we were expecting a rough road ahead.
As soon as we met Lisa and Ellen we were blown away with their professionalism. They made us feel very comfortable from the beginning. Lisa and Ellen were extremely patient with us since we were first time buyers and didn’t know much about the process. They always made themselves available and were super responsive. They were thorough and made sure we understood the contracts and what to watch for when putting in an offer. Also, their knowledge of the East Bay neighborhoods is impeccable.
It was truly an amazing experience and even though we were outbid a few times, Lisa and Ellen always made us feel optimistic. We knew, having them on our side, we would find our dream home. Sure enough, we did and we couldn’t be happier! Ellen negotiated with a tough seller, worked late nights and never gave up on getting us into our dream home!
Lisa and Ellen are one incredible team and we feel so very lucky to have worked with them! And most importantly, they are great people!

I recently bought a home in Laurel District, Oakland. I had been watching the market for over a year. When we visited the open house for the condo we bought I knew I this was the property for us. Luckily I had recently connected with Lisa Cartolano. As soon as I met her I knew there was a connection and that she would do a great job in securing us a home. Lisa helped us make our first offer on a home and guided us through the negotiation process. She was able to win the home for us even though there were multiple offers. Lisa held our hand through the inspections and the unexpected details. She made the process as painless as possible.
Thanks Lisa,
Jim & Ricardo

From the day we met Ellen, she was fully engaged in helping us find our new home in Oakland. Her knowledge of Oakland neighborhoods was invaluable in helping us select an appropriate space that would address our needs and lifestyle, and her patience and market expertise helped calm us when we hit any bumps in the road (of which there were several). She went way beyond our expectations in gathering information and comparisons, arranging viewings, drafting appropriate offers, dealing with the rejection of said offers, all the way to the signing of loan papers for our new condo near MacArthur BART.
Buying our first home in the Bay Area seemed like a scary, overwhelming experience, and I’m extremely glad we had Ellen to help us through it. If we had to do this again, we would definitely ask her for help!

We had the greatest experience purchasing a home with the help of Ellen diamond! She was so accommodating and helpful to us… especially with us being first time home buyers. She was super professional and knowledgable and would recommend her to anyone I know. Thanks Ellen for being our realtor and friend.

As a buyer in the Oakland market, you cannot get representation to help find you a home from anyone better than Lisa Cartolano. Starting in the summer of 2013, we began looking for a larger home, as we had outgrown our 2 – 1 with the addition of our third child. We worked with Lisa for nearly 9 months by the time we got into our new home at the end of January 2014, and through the wild ride, she was our rock!
While there are so many things that make Lisa the ideal Realtor if you are looking to purchase a home in Oakland, my review will focus on the four qualities that I think make her the best.
First, Lisa has a lot of experience in the Oakland area, with solid relationships with other agents and the local real estate professional community. Having those connections greatly facilitated our access to information when we were structuring offers and counteroffers on the multiple homes we considered along the way. She would do her homework about the properties we considered and she’d usually know the listing agent and the history of the homes with details that were not always from the MLS. Whenever we would tell another agent that Lisa was representing us, each responded positively and that they thought very highly of her. This confirmed to us that she has a solid reputation in her own professional community.
Second, Lisa is smart and honest. She really listened to us and understood what we wanted in our new home. When we would stray from our goal or tried to stretch a bit too much, as many are inclined to do when met with competition from other buyers, she would steer us back to our reality. She kept us grounded, and helped us strategize in ways that were right for us, keeping in mind our own personal goals and budget. The process of buying a house is very emotional and Lisa kept us straight the whole time.
Third, Lisa is extremely accessible and punctual to a fault. Whenever we called to ask to see a home, she would usually have something set up within an hour of our request and at a time that worked with our schedules. With appointments, we would be on time, and she was usually there before we arrived, already waiting. We purchased our home right around Christmas, and Lisa was there through the holidays working diligently on closing our transaction.
Fourth, Lisa is an advocate, which is exactly what you need when dealing with multiple offer Bay area home purchases. Along the way, we made 4 offers, and each time, Lisa personally presented our offer to the sellers, pitching us and our family as the best buyers for the homes we wanted. We bumped into one of the agents to whom Lisa pitched one of our offers, and she told us that Lisa did a fantastic job for us in the presentation.
Needless to say, with Lisa’s help, we ended up in a fantastic new home, which we love. It literally has all of the features we listed when we started the process. The close process for us was not the smoothest (through no fault of Lisa), and if Lisa had not been our Realtor with the connections she had, the deal very likely would have fallen apart.
Like another reviewer here, we also decided to rent our previous home, rather than sell it. Lisa helped us with that process with as much skill and professionalism as she demonstrated during our search to buy a new home. Lisa really can do it all, and I could go on-​and-​on about all she did for us.
The bottom line is that based on our experience, we would ask Lisa to represent us again in a heartbeat, in another purchase or if we ever decide to sell one of our homes. Thanks for helping make our dream come true Lisa!

I was fortunate to find Lisa and Ellen as realtors when I was transitioning from apartment living in Oakland to buying a home. I have lived in the East Bay for many years and own a condo in another city. My work brought me to Oakland and I decided that I wanted to make it my home. I wasn’t familiar with the various neighborhoods here, and Lisa and Ellen showed me a great variety of homes! They were always available to show me properties when my schedule allowed. After a lot of searching, we found the perfect place in the Oakland Hills that I now call home! Ellen and Lisa were so helpful with the buying process, making sure that I had all of the contacts that I needed to make sure that my best interests were served. I would highly recommend them to anyone buying in the Oakland area! They have become more than just my realtors, they are very respected friends!

I have an active brokers license and prefer to have them as representatives of my personal real estate transactions!
Words does not give their service justice! I highly recommend working with them to see how difficult it is to put into words the joy you feel!
Outstanding partnership!

Lisa is an AMAZING realtor. We were in the market for a house in late 2012. The market was CRAZY — very low inventory. Lisa worked diligently with us to find us a home. I felt like she always had time for us, on the phone or in person. And when things went a little weird with the bank owned property we purchased she came through more than I think any other realtor would have. Lisa really knows what she is doing and does it very well. I can’t wait to work with her again!

In Nov. 2012 my husband and I bought our 2^nd home. With our expanded family, our cozy 2 bedroom/​1 bath house wasn’t a good fit any longer. It was a tough decision to jump into the market again, but with Lisa as our realtor, we had full confidence we would be successful.
Lisa showed patience, kindness, thougthfulness, and insight into the then-​current state of the market (and always changing). She provided candid perspective on homes, cities, neighborhoods, and even commutes with each house she showed us (many!). At last when our dream home came along, Lisa guided us through the entire inspections process including paying for a 2^nd roofing inspection herself when there was a question about the accuracy of the first one — completely unexpected, amazingly generous. Using her email alert tool is awesome and she had no problem when we did our own searching via other online options. With solid knowledge of the inventory, Lisa often knew the «backstory» of homes we would bring to her attention (i.e. cash only sale; ultra trashy condition; unstable foundation, too costly to fix within our budget, etc.).
Ultimately we found our current home, a short sale (in surprisingly great condition), through Lisa. AND since we wanted to hold onto our first home so we could rent it out (not the right market to sell), we hired Lisa to list the home as a rental property and to screen potential tenants. She found a fabulous fit for us, at the rent we were looking for, during the holidays when traditionally there is little rental market movement.
Lisa and Ellen are a dynamic duo! Though we worked much more often with Lisa (98% of the time), when she wasn’t available for a short time during the summer, Ellen always was willing to show a home or provide the backstory on a home we were interested in. We think the world of Lisa, and for those concerned about jumping into the market, with Lisa by your side, there’s no reason to fear.

Lisa was great to work with in our home-​buying process. My wife and I had been working on finding a home for awhile, and Lisa was very prompt in listening to our needs. A lot of times you can come across a Realtor who is looking to sell you a house without truly «listening» to your wants & desires, and we found that Lisa asked the right questions, and didn’t waste our time on homes that did not fit our needs. She was very straightforward through the entire process, and we are very happy with the entire experience. Thanks Lisa for helping us with this great milestone in our lives, and we would definitely refer you to our family & friends.

We just used Lisa’s services again. This time she helped my father-​in-​law buy a home. It was not easy as he was living on the East Coast at the time. She sent both of us updates, took my husband and me to look at houses, and basically stuck with the process for close to a year. The result is that we found a great home for my father-​in-​law. Lisa is patient, knowledgeable, and down to earth. We never once felt pushed to make any sort of decision. She was truly concerned about my father-in-law’s well-​being rather than making a commission. That is what makes Lisa so special. I cannot recommend her services enough.

It doesn’t get any better than this!
Ellen Diamond is, as her name implies, a gem of the highest quality!
That someone so knowledgeable could be so down-​to-​earth, patient and understanding through what could be a harrowing process is amazing. Our house-​buying process — a short sale, no less — was anxiety-​free, smooth as butter and dare-​I-​say-​it, FUN! I never worried. I knew I was in good hands. I trusted Ellen with everything — and she never let us down.
She is a rare find — a deeply kind person with a big heart and a thorough and complete knowledge of her business.
I’ve already recommended her to my oldest friend! I would use her again in a heartbeat! In fact, as soon as we can scare up some more funds, we will be knocking at her door!

My fiancé and I worked with Lisa in Jan 2011 when we were interested in buying a condo in Oakland/​Berkeley.
Lisa worked very patiently with us as we explored neighborhoods, price ranges, etc. We never felt pressured and Lisa was always easy to reach by e-​mail/​phone whenever we had questions. We weren’t 100% sure of what we wanted when we started and we slowly figured this out while we condo hunted. We eventually ended up buying a condo in Jack London area and have been happy with our choice.
We would recommend Lisa wholeheartedly for anyone looking to buy in the East Bay.

My wife and I used Ellen Diamond as our real estate agent to find the first home that we bought this summer. We loved her.
Ellen was initially recommended to us by a real estate agent friend in San Francisco when we decided to move to the east bay, so we had no idea what to expect. We actually interviewed multiple agents when we decided to take the plunge and we chose Ellen. From the get-​go, she was attentive and patient with us and proactive with our search. She explained to us the ins-​and-​outs of exploring neighborhoods, finding the right house and then closing in and making the purchase. She spent a lot of time with us in the beginning checking out different homes and then was flexible with our style of searching that developed where we would look ourselves and then brought her in if we were intrigued or interested in a place. Several different times, Ellen got us into a house that we had heard about before it officially opened for open houses– which put us in the prime position to consider an offer.
At every step of the way, we felt like we had a loyal advocate and advisor in Ellen. She also has a great reputation among other realtors, which we found is very helpful for hearing about places coming online for sale.
It took us over a year to find the great home that we are now in (we were pretty choosy!). The whole process involved ups and downs with offers and decisions, and we were SO thankful to have Ellen with us. She made the whole adventure a positive experience. It goes without saying that I’d strongly recommend her to friends, families and any fellow Unilocalers.

I would like to endorse Ellen Diamond for many reasons. She understood my financial crisis and took the extra step to help me stay out of foreclosure while offering assistance with rentals and affordable properties. She was always ready to respond when I had a question. She is reassuring and resourceful. Ellen helped me move forward in ways I couldn’t have without her support. She priced my house well and it sold within 2 weeks all cash well over asking price. She was there for me every step of the way. Along with her knowledge of the market, she has a great attitude and patience beyond belief. I was a tough customer and it didn’t phase her in the least. I highly recommend working with her.

I’ve just purchased my first home with Lisa’s help! I had never ever thought of owning my own home, but with Lisa’s advice and patience, that dream has become reality. Her website with weekly listings were extremely helpful in getting a feel for the marketplace. Setting up appointments to view the properties were a breeze. But being a first timer, Lisa was most helpful during the offer and escrow process, working with me and explaining things as we went along.
I definitely will recommend her to anyone looking for a realtor!

I worked with Lisa when I moved from New York to San Francisco this spring. Lisa made what can be a painstaking process so easy and fun. When I first started looking I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy a house in East Bay or a loft in San Francisco. Lisa spent many Sundays with me driving around from open house to open house whether that was in East Bay or San Francisco. She provided a lot of great insight on the market as well as pros and cons of house versus loft. Most of all, Lisa has a great sense of humor which is critical considering the process can get pretty tedious and stressful. I would recommend Lisa to anyone looking to buy real estate. She took the stress and pain points out of the process.