Aimee and Angel, Bailey Properties

Aimee and Angel Garcia surpassed our every expectation throughout the process of securing our dream home. They impressed us with their ability to navigate and negotiate one of the most challenging residential housing markets to date. They were dedicated, effective and reliable allies throughout a very, very difficult contract. Their ability to guide us through the housing obstacles we knew so little about, and some unexpected challenges are the reason why we have the home we have always wanted for our young family. Their expertise, attention to detail and endless advocacy is admirable and worthy of countless praise. Thank you with all of our hearts Angel and Aimee. We’re finally home!
Anabel and Carlo Albano

Aimee has been a great buyer’s agent for us. We are first time home buyers and new to the Santa Cruz area. She was very knowledgeable about the market, the area, and was attentive to our very specific needs. She was patient with us, as we took quite a while to find the right home. My partner and I appreciated her responsiveness, thoughtfulness, and candor, as well as her willingness to stick with us through a long-​term home search. We walked away from the experience feeling like she really cared about us finding the right home.

If you want an attentive, energetic, proficient agent team, look no further.
Over the course of several months, both Aimee and Angel took me to several houses so I could get an idea of what was available. After several months, I/​we took over the searching process ourselves and started hitting open houses when we could, but Aimee was still there for consultation purposes, and ended up answering a year’s worth of questions from me about market trends. Once we got closer, she provided very detailed, custom explanations via e-​mail, especially a purchase transaction timeline and all legal requirements about contingencies, etc. She was also available for phone calls when needed.
She really knows her stuff about the bidding process. When, after a year of searching, we happened on THE ONE (an open house on a Saturday), we decided to make our very first offer (!) and she coached us through submitting a bid (a buyer resume of sorts) and made sure it went in by the seller’s Sunday morning deadline. There were two other offers on this beautiful, solid property and ours was chosen.
The paperwork, of course, did not stop there, as any home purchaser can tell you, so this was expected. Still, we had very little concept of how to fill things out (or why), but she explained each piece satisfactorily and powered through it. Also, our transaction was a bit more difficult since it was a Short Sale, and made further complicated because we decided to keep from stressing about the sale (and the holidays) by planning a vacation, then a few weeks later, found out it was going to be right around the time the closing paperwork needed signing, but she (and the title company and the bank) got us all squared away just before we left.
On top of all that, she was extremely helpful with logistics of letting people in for inspections, floor refinishing, and (very thorough!) cleaning crew. Aimee and Angel are a great team, dedicated to doing a great job and vigilant about changes in real estate law. They tirelessly called the selling agent, the bank, etc; they kept us calm in a very stressful and tiring process. We have been living in our very own home for a year now and couldn’t be happier.

I recently purchased my first home using Aimee and dealing with her was a nightmare from beginning to end.
I can’t speak for the Santa Cruz area, but Aimee appeared to have no clue regarding current market trends and conditions in the San Jose area. When I wanted to go higher based on 10 mo. of having offers rejected, she pushed me lower. When I finally found a place that didn’t have multiple offers and wanted to go lower she pushed me higher.
Aimee will fight you every step of the way on every decision. She is the type of individual who needs to be in control and isn’t happy unless she is generating drama.
At one point in the process, I texted her telling her to cool it with the pressure tactics. She responded by sending me a threatening text back telling me that she was going to call and that I had better make time to pick up the call. When she called, she proceeded to yell into the phone repeatedly, «DO YOU WANT ME TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT»? I told her that she was going to make a nice commission off the sale and that she should treat me more respectfully. She proceeded to give me a speech about how she wasn’t getting a dime from me because the commission comes from the seller (so by her logic, I guess only sellers deserve to be treated respectfully).
I considered walking away from the purchase at this point, but after searching for 10 mo. and having had many offers rejected, this was the first offer that had been accepted. Based on this, and after some reflection, I swallowed my pride, told myself that I only had to deal with Aimee for 3 more weeks, and proceeded to call her back and apologize after which she told me that there had better be no more nonsense from me… lol. Amazing, who is the customer here.
Later in the process, Aimee emailed me telling me that the bank had approved my loan (apparently she had spoken with them on the phone). She instructed me that it was time to remove the contingencies. She emailed over the paperwork and I signed it. Several days later, during our final walkthrough of the property, she scolded me for having removed the contingencies without having received official confirmation of loan approval from the bank (even though she was the one who had instructed me to remove the contingencies!). She proceeded to tell me that my deposit was at risk of being lost!
Even on the day I was scheduled to receive the keys, the process did not go smoothly. Aimee sent her husband to deliver the keys (which in retrospect was probably a good idea considering how poorly things had gone between us). She didn’t even have the decency to tell me she wasn’t coming herself. About 5min. before I was supposed to receive the keys, she texted me telling me that there was one more piece of paperwork to sign! Ugh! Both her husband and I couldn’t figure out how to electronically sign the paperwork using my mobile phone. Her husband went to Kinko’s while I eventually figured out the mobile version of the web application. Overall, the keys were handed over approx. 45min. later than expected (luckily I had left myself some buffer before the cleaning ladies and carpet cleaners arrived).
Aimee assured me many times during the process that I didn’t need to worry about saving/​organizing all of the paperwork as one of the services provided was creation of a CD containing all paperwork involved in the transaction. She assured me that the CD would be received within 2 weeks of taking ownership of the property. After a month, I decided that Aimee was not sending the CD. Rather than deal with her, I called the receptionist at Bailey Properties and the girl agreed to make the CD which arrived a few days later in the mail.
If you are a veteran home-​buyer looking to buy/​sell in the Santa Cruz area, then this *could* be the realtor for you. However, if you are a first time homebuyer or looking at properties in areas other than Santa Cruz, my advice is to choose a more seasoned realtor with better customer service skills.