92101 Condo Guru

Condo Guru Alan Hamrick is THE go-​to agent for everything downtown San Diego. I spent a month and a half searching myself, yielding little to no progress and just found myself frustrated with the local market. I finally decided to look into a real estate agent. I had actually previously looked at one of Alan’s properties and although it was already spoken for, he kindly offered to help in any way he could. I came back to his offer and sent in my application to work with Alan. His personalized website is the best thing! I had a one-​stop portal for all listing hits that matched my criteria. Alan also encouraged me to continue looking online, to remain proactive. He has a top-​notch real estate spidey-​sense and won’t steer you wrong! Quite frankly knowing nothing about the market, renting, viewing, etc. (other than what I had learned after hours of reading articles and conducting research), I heavily relied on Alan on numerous occasions for his expertise on pricing, location, repairs, structural integrity and so on. I can’t thank him enough for all of his hard work… FREE hard work. He set aside time during his busy schedule to meet with me for viewings and also shot videos on location while I was out of town. Again, thank you!

After vetting him online, I flew down from San Francisco to meet with a confident, personable Alan– an attorney as well as a realtor– and be shown several
high rise condo complexes in downtown San Diego. He quickly picked up on what I was looking for before I fully realized it myself and helped me refine my search parameters. I’m not well acquainted with this area but Alan has demonstrated that he has extensive knowledge of the downtown AND the market. We meet for a second session of shopping in a few days so I’ll keep you posted!

This review is long overdue. We can not say enough good things about the 92 101 Condo Guru Alan. He is incredibly knowledgable, professional, and most importantly, a genuinely good guy. Alan knows the market inside and out, and will diligently work to find you the place that you can call Home. Whether it is general guidance you need, or you know exactly what you are looking for, he is equipped to make your experience that much easier. He is so different from the typical real estate agent, because he isn’t trying to persuade you into anything, he just wants you to be happy with your choice. Alan gave us the most honest and helpful advice one can ask for, no hidden agendas or gimmicks. Definitely be sure to utilize his services, you will not regret it. Keep up the good work Alan!

Thrilled to have found and worked with Alan! I needed to move long distance from the Bay Area to the downtown SD area, and was initially working with another real estate agent who had excellent reviews on Unilocal.Unfortunately that person waited days between contact with me, and several apartments I was interested in got snapped up while I was waiting to hear back. Frustrated, I let that agent go and used Unilocal to advise me on who could possibly help.
Here is where Alan comes into the story. He had a really nice website and I was very surprised that he helped people find rentals free of charge. I wasn’t sure if it was for real so I contacted him, and we applied to my ideal apartment that very day (called him Saturday morning, and the application was in by Saturday at 3 PM). By Tuesday, the landlord had already sent us back an email agreeing to rent to me. Lucky me. What was even more unexpected was that Alan had helped me negotiate a lower than listed renting price. I’m not sure why there is another review on here saying he doesn’t work with a variety of budgets, he helped me snag an amazing apartment in a very nice area for 1850 a month, when it was originally listed for 1900 a month. He also looked over the lease to make sure there wasn’t any unfair clauses within, and was even nice enough to make an iPhone video of the premises so that I could see it before signing the lease. How nice of him!
He is a real expert in what he does and I am very lucky to have worked with him. His customer service is unbeatable and he has saved me so much time and effort. My move has gone smoothly because of him!

Literally in love with their support not even 5 minutes into their website I came across this:
«Check back here for a short video about renting in downtown San Diego. Much like renting itself, it’s a disorganized screw job for everyone involved. Realtors don’t make any real money helping tenants find a place and tenants don’t have any one resource they can rely on. That said, I would encourage you to consult with a Realtor if you’re looking to rent in downtown San Diego.
It’s free. And that professional, namely me, will have some insights for you because we deal with all aspects of 92 101 real estate on a daily basis. Unfortunately, websites like Craigslist are still a valuable resource when you’re looking to rent. Please keep in mind that we don’t really get paid and we’re mostly doing it as a courtesy. We’re really hoping that in exchange for a little goodwill, you’ll come back to us after you’ve realized that paying someone else’s mortgage isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and you want to buy a condo. Or maybe you’ll say to yourself „That dude is really nice and knows what he’s doing“ and will refer your friends, family, and co-​workers to us for all of their downtown San Diego real estate needs. It’s all good.»

Alan was not helpful at all for me. I contacted him to request help finding an apartment, I told him my desires (mainly price around $ 1800) and details for what I would need and asked for his help finding a place. Well, all he sent me back was «You can’t find anything for that price in the 92 101.»
I didn’t realize what a taxing request I put on him, or how much time I took out of his day to have to respond to his email, but that’s how he made me feel. No suggestion of what price range he could work with. No suggestion of where else to look in the city or some other agent to work with. Not even the courtesy of a simple apology or acknowledgement of appreciation for trying to do business with him.
Maybe if I had told him I wanted to spend $ 3000 for a studio and wanted to get beers later in Gaslamp to celebrate he would have been down. But if you are a normal person and don’t have a trust fund to lean on, he can’t help you.
By the way, this is the second time I had to post this review because somebody *coughalancough* complained to Unilocal and had it taken down. Hopefully this explains why all of his reviews are exclusively 5-​Stars. Shame on you Unilocal,big breach of trust.

We contacted Alan not knowing much about downtown. We were interested in buying a condo but had a pretty tight budget. Of course it had to have as much space as possible (haha). Anyways, once we met, we immediately hit it off. He is very easy to talk to and has a lot of knowledge of the downtown area. We ended up choosing a place but then had to leave on a vacation that had previously been planned. Alan assured us that it would be fine. We ended up closing the deal while on vacation out of the country, e-​mail is amazing! We were able to docu sign just about everything from out of the country. The condo was listed above our budget and Alan was able to get get the price down within our budget and even have a few perks added. So what would normally be stressful went pretty smooth. Alan was always willing to meet up for home inspections or just swing by the condo if we needed to know something as simple as a measurement.
We really do appreciate all his hard work and follow through. We recommend him as a realtor and hope to see him around.

After seven years in San Diego and two kids in that time, we needed to move out of the rental. When we told friends we were thinking about buying a home, a friend told us to talk to Alan. Even though he specializes in downtown condos, we didn’t want to roll the dice with a realtor we didn’t know and our friend told us Alan might be willing to help us out. We got Alan involved early in our decision making and he was very patient with us, taking us to neighborhoods in our price range. He was very patient with us as we took time to investigate schools, commuting times, etc, and we kept changing our minds about neighborhoods. As first time home buyers we had a lot of questions and Alan walked us through the whole process and made us feel at ease. He’s got a great demeanor with clients– he is laid back and casual but at the same time detail oriented and stays on top of things. He responds very quickly to texts, emails, etc, and we are so pleased to move into our new home, a single family 3000 sq foot home in a South Bay neighborhood that suits our interests perfectly. Definitely consider Alan, even if you aren’t looking for a downtown condo. We were so glad we worked with him.

I was fortunate to work with Alan in the purchase of my new downtown San Diego condo. He was always accessible and quick to respond. He has in-​depth knowledge of the nuances of different units in different complexes. He negotiated an excellent price. After the purchase he remained available for any additional questions. Highly recommend!

I only need four words. Alan is a Ninja!
Alan is an awesome property manager.
We had a pretty sticky situation with our previous tenant and without batting an eye, Alan literally, like a ninja, swooped in and took care of all our issues! He got the place cleaned up and ready to go. He even worked out the agreement with our previous tenant making the transition seamless!
Working out these issues alone would have called for us to give him the highest accolades but he’s Alan and that’s not all he does because he’s a ninja. Which means he finds tenants fast! How fast you might ask. He found a new tenant in less than 48 hours. Yes, 48 hours and not a typo. He posted the apartment for rent on Wednesday and on Friday he had filled out applications and credit checks and by Monday we had a signed lease. One word. ninja.
So just to summarize, Alan fantastic property manger and you should give him and call!

Alan was a stroke of luck for me. I was looking for a rental downtown and I stumbled upon his website on a google search. I was nervous to meet him for our first showing due to his laid back style, but that feeling quickly changed when I found that he was completely professional and an expert in his field. He knows this city through and though, building to building and he really works for you. I’m really young to have been renting such a nice place, so I’m sure it was hard to take me seriously, but he never doubted me and was 100% helpful the entire time. I’m not sure how realtors get paid for rentals, but I doubt it’s enough to compensate him for as much work as he put into making my rental search and move in so easy. I can’t say enough about how on top of it he was during the whole process. He still checks in to make sure that I’m happy and all is well with my condo. He will definitely be my realtor when I’m ready to buy something and I would absolutely recommend him to anyone looking to live downtown SD.

Alan focused on understanding our needs and making us happy, not just on making a sale. He took the trouble to get to know us, our likes and dislikes. Then he applied his detailed knowledge of the downtown San Diego condo market (he not only knows the buildings, he also seems to know all the doormen and other real estate agents in downtown by name), and showed us only units that matched our profile. Coming from the East Coast, we had a lot of questions, but Alan always answered them promptly. An easy-​going guy (by East Coast standards), he negotiated a price on our condo that was a little more than we wanted to pay, but ultimately it appraised at exactly the sales price. In the process, he introduced us to some great restaurants and shops that we would never have found on our own. Unlike most other real estate agents, at no point did Alan exaggerate, ignore, or push. If you want an agent that cares about you, and knows the downtown condo market inside and out, Alan is your man.

Alan was everything we were looking for in a Realtor. It seems like San Diego real estate has as many distinct markets as it does micro-​climbs. We knew we wanted to buy a condo in San Diego, And we were so glad to find Alan, an expert on the 92 101 area we hoped to live. He was a great guide finding and thru purchasing our condo in Little Italy.
Alan listened to what we wanted, offered great insights, and made what could have been a difficult process smooth and easy.
We will use him for all of our real estate needs going forward! If you need to buy a condo in Downtown San Diego, call Alan!
Thanks Alan!

Alan was great and I would highly recommend other Condo Sellers to utilize his services to maximize money in your pocket. His recommendations, network of vendors, and efficient operation ensured a prompt sell of my condo at the highest possible price in Little Italy.
As a resident of 92 101 for 5 years, I was impressed with Alan’s knowledge of all things downtown; hence the company name. Give him a call and you too will be impressed.
Thanks again Alan…

I can’t say anything good about my experience with Alan. He was full of promises but short on delivery. His lazy style of conducting business from his sofa isn’t what he advertises from his website, yet that’s what I got. His only interest is in getting a listing. Anything else is just too much bother for him to lift a finger for.
To prep my condo for listing, Alan promised to do the tenant check-​out and to take pics for me in preparation of putting my condo on the market. But instead, he arranged for the tenant to deliver the keys to him and sent his handyman to assess the condo. Then Alan repeatedly refused to take pics for me, and would only say everything is good, «trust me». Alan’s objective was to lead me to believe he was doing everything for me, and that he was even showing the condo. All lies of course since he had no intention of leaving the comfort of his sofa.
When I confronted him about his lies and told him I wanted to cancel my contract he went on the offensive, stating «We have a valid contract. Sorry. And I have the photos.» Then in a follow-​up email he states «Feel free to overnight a check for $ 16,360. Once funds clear, I’ll be more than happy to cancel the listing.» An hour later, when he sees that I will not bend to his ridiculous tactics, he states «On second thought, I have no interest in helping you.»
That led to the cancellation paperwork, wherein Alan needed three attempts to list our names correctly on the doc.
And for the grand finale, Alan’s last words were «Worst of luck to you.» It is here that his true colors were at their brightest. Can we say unprofessional?
I can’t believe this guy is under the impression that no one sees him for what he is, or that half of his reviews are fake.

We just purchased a condo in East Village in 92 101 with the help of Realtor, Alan Hamrick. Alan is a realtor who is passionate in complete client satisfaction. Because he lives, eats, and breaths, 92 101 downtown, he knows what’s going on. Alan was able to offer more about prospective properties beyond what’s in the listing. Alan will cite the pros and cons of every property consideration. It was more of a challenge for us because we were out of town buyers but Alan’s use of technology (search links, videos, DocuSign, etc.) helped made our purchase efficient. As a former lawyer, we found his law training comes in handy during contract and negotiations dealings of our purchase.

I just worked with Alan to buy an East Village condo and he was a great Realtor to guide me through the process and was also enjoyable to work with. The process can be stressful, overwhelming and filled with tons of details, so it was very helpful to have Alan’s experience and advice all along the way. Alan’s knowledge of the various neighborhoods, buildings and market trends was invaluable. He knew the buildings inside and out such as the various floor plans of units, pros and cons, where to find the lock boxes/​various amenity rooms, HOA rules, and building history like pending litigation… all of which are important to know when buying into a building downtown.
Alan is easy to work with and made the process fun (or as fun as it can be). He took the time to understand my goals and criteria and kept those in mind throughout the search process. When looking at properties he would look at each property with my goals in mind and provide me thoughts/​insights of other things to consider. It was very helpful to have that perspective given that I was going through this process on my own.
I also appreciated that Alan uses the latest technology available including creating a client specific website/​search page for me to help me track the various properties available; e-​sign capabilities to make signing offers and various disclosures as easy as possible (especially important given the volume of documents); and being available and responsive via all communication methods.
Even beyond the legal forms and details, he followed through even after the close of escrow to provide suggestions for other aspects in buying/​moving into a new property like contractors used by other clients, improvements that are most valuable for resale, etc.
I’d highly recommend Alan to anyone looking for downtown real estate!

As first time homebuyers we were extremely lucky to come across Alan. His methods, work ethic, and personality were a perfect match for my wife and I. I emailed him one day after coming across his website and the next day we were discussing our options over a happy hour craft beer at a unique restaurant he introduced us to.
All the information on his website is 100% accurate and gathered from his first hand experiences. He knows so much about the buildings, it’s almost like he’s lived in each one. He’ll tell you little details about each one that you might not have even thought to ask about. He can also tell you which ones are in litigation (we didn’t even know what this meant when we started looking) and how it will affect you going forward with an offer.
Alan’s a great communicator whether it’s email, text, or phone. He would answer our emails right away and long after normal working hours. He always showed up on time to any meetings we planned and was very flexible in the hours he could meet us. He didn’t let us rush into anything and offered to show us as many places as we wanted to look at without hesitation.
His use of technology is great. From the custom search engine he builds for you, to his use of Docusign making paperwork a piece of cake. We were able to do about 99% of the paperwork over the internet using Docusign. I travel a lot for work, so it was very helpful not having to sign everything by hand and scan/​email it back.
It’s the little touches with Alan that make him stand out even more. For example, he was able to get us a third electronic door fob that the owner was planning on giving back to the HOA. Also, there was a trim piece missing from our new refrigerator. So Alan took a picture of the model number, looked up the parts schematics, called GE, and ordered us the piece! He did both of these things completely on his own without us asking him to. That is the type of person Alan is.
If you are serious about buying a condo in downtown San Diego, I can’t imagine a better or more knowledgeable Realtor to deal with than Alan. It was a pleasure working with him and he will be our first call the next time we are in the market!

Alan is the only Realtor anyone should work with in San Diego! As a first time home buyer with little patience for the typical high pressure sales-​oriented Realtors, I was immediately impressed by Alan’s independent business model (non-​affiliated with a major brand), professionalism and in-​depth knowledge of the market. Moreover, I appreciated his legal background which I know helped ensure that my offer and closing documentation were flawless. It was clear from the start that Alan is a customer-​oriented realtor who is not just focused on his bottom line but rather wants to make sure that his clients have positive home buying/​selling experiences.
Alan is brutally honest and up-​front about his views regarding specific properties and the market in-​general. When we viewed certain properties, Alan would give me great pieces of advice and ideas as to how the house could potentially be a good option. On the other hand, he would also point out any major flaws. My overall search was greatly facilitated by the customized webpage that Alan set up which aggregated potential listings from multiple sources.
In the end, I most appreciated Alan’s diligent and detail oriented work once I found a house to buy. My transaction ended up being a short sale (3 bed 2 bath house) which added a considerable amount of time to the process. Nevertheless, Alan stayed on top of the listing agent and the escrow company, all the while keeping my apprised of any developments and walking me through the process. Alan works electronically, eliminating the need for me to ink sign documents, which also made the process very convenient for me given my busy work schedule.
I will definitely seek out Alan’s assistance on future transactions and would recommend him to anyone looking to work with a customer oriented, skilled and ethical Realtor in San Diego.

If you are looking to buy/​sell/​rent a condo or a house, I can’t recommend Alan Hamrick enough. My husband and I recently purchased a house in North County and Alan represented us in the purchase. We were introduced to Alan by a co-​worker of my husband and I couldn’t be happier that we now know the greatest Realtor in San Diego.
Alan is very knowledgeable and a very patient person both of which were very comforting when you are about to make a property purchase. He explained the process and walked us through each step making sure we were comfortable and understood everything as it was happening. After a couple face to face meetings, Alan created us a custom website that would automatically update with new MLS listings. I immediately became obsessed with checking this site and it is the reason we found our dream house! Besides being tech savvy, Alan’s personal touch on the process really is unlike anyone else I have ever heard of.
After seeing the house we wanted to make an offer on, Alan helped us through offer, counter offer and all the steps that followed to get us in our dream house. We were on a time crunch and Alan made sure to have everything ready and in order when we needed to submit any kind of documents. OH and he uses Google Drives to make all documentation organized, not to mention saving about a 100 trees. A cherry on top of the whole deal is that Alan donates 10% of his earnings to charity. I mean, who else does this? Probably no one!
While Alan’s specialty is downtown San Diego 92 101, hire 92 101 condo guru for anywhere in the San Diego county!