Deborah Genet – Alain Pinel Realtors

I hesitated a very long time before writing this review, because I don’t want to harm people’s reputations unnecessarily and I believe Deborah is a good person. However, I believe transparency is important.
I was recommended to Deborah by a friend who had bought in Duboce Triangle and she was very efficient at getting me started with the home-​buying process, setting up the MLS alerts and mortgage paperwork. A few months later, I identified a 1BR condo on Church St and Deborah and Christiane analyzed this well with a comprehensive set of comps and projected sale price. This made me realize that I wanted a bigger place.
I soon identified another property in the Haight that I was interested in which was listed at 1M. I wanted to make an offer at 1.05M but Deborah advised me that I should offer 1.1M to be sure. She provided a short list of comps in the greater neighborhood, but this list did not account for lack of parking. I cross-​compared her price projections with my own analysis and multiple different agents and didn’t feel that it was reasonable. I also suspected that she pressured me to bid higher because the listing agent was her coworker at Alain Pinel. Ultimately, the property sold for 950K.
While I feel Deborah is capable in getting you through the real estate buying/​selling process, I was dissatisfied with her analysis and lack of diligence and so I decided to take my business elsewhere.

I bought my condo with Deborah as my buying agent, last August [2013]. Being a first time home buyer, I had an overwhelming amount of questions and concerns but she was extremely communicative and willing to answer all my questions — in emails, texts, phone calls and in-​person. She is extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of the industry and will definitely lead you in the right direction.
We found a condo that was perfect for my needs and in a great location. Even though it was an extremely competitive market at the time, we won with an underbid price and an aggressive closing schedule (20 days!). Her recommended loan agent and escrow office were extremely professional and dependable. She worked very closely with them to make sure that the process went smoothly. We closed without any issues or delays.
To top it off, she was super thoughtful. When I received the keys to my place and went in on my own, there was a bottle of champagne and a card from her, welcoming me to my new home. :)
I would highly recommend her and also use her excellent abilities again for my buying/​selling needs.

We just closed two weeks ago with Deborah as our buying agent. Given the current SF market, it was a long and treacherous process that really tests your patience and limits. The entire process took us about six months. I am glad Deborah was with us every step of the way through this process and helped us finding the dream home in our desirable neighborhood. Throughout the entire process, Deborah was always available and willing to answer questions and visit homes. Most of our communication were via emails. She responded emails and phone calls promptly and worked quickly to get things done when necessary.
Deborah is a long time San Francisco resident and owns her own condo in the city, so she is very familiar with the bay area market and was able to see things from a buyer’s perspective. She was very straight forward and honest when comes to giving opinions and assessments about properties. More than once, she has told us that our offer prices may have been too low, yet never once, she has pushed us to change them when we told her to write up the offer. (and it was proved time after time she was right about making more aggressive offer) I always remember once she said «Based upon the agents telling us about the seller’s expectations, negotiations are going to be an uphill battle for this home, but I’m happy to do that!». To me, she really had our interest at heart.
Deborah is also knowledgeable and resourceful. Her boyfriend is in construction, so she has fairly good knowledge about construction and structure of houses. She also knows a lot about city regulations and building codes. If it’s something she wasn’t sure, she was always willing to talk to her boyfriend afterwards and passed the information back to us. She has a very broad network. From inspectors, general contractors, handy man to insurance agent, loan agent, escrow officer, she always has good referrals.
Overall, I will definitely recommend Deborah.