1400 Pinnacle Court #318, Richmond, CA 94801
Ida Abelson obtained a real estate sales agent’s license in 1981 and was invited to join Coldwell Banker’s Montclair/Piedmont office. After an extremely successful sales career, she was approached by a mortgage banking firm to head up their national mortgage origination department. In the mid-1980's she was part of a consulting team working with the Resolution Trust Corporation. As head of their mortgage banking division, she was responsible for bringing the mortgage division of failing Savings & Loans back to health by designing new loan programs, selling off their real estate owned inventory, and rewriting lending policies. She obtained her broker's license in 1998. Ida, whose first career was as a Professor of English literature, has used her writing and teaching skills to educate her clients in the mysteries of real estate, thus arming them with the necessary knowledge to make their own enlightened decisions. This quest, expanded over the years to include the general public, has manifested itself through articles published in professional real estate journals, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Contra Costa Times. She has also been invited to speak on real estate related issues to various organizations, including AARP, National Mortgage Bankers Association, and Society of Women Engineers.
Robert Kish has been a real estate broker for over forty years. He has a background in both residential and investment property brokerage. In 1988 Robert became an attorney, specializing in real estate. He has since expanded his practice to include estate planning and business law. Robert is extremely active in the Point Richmond community. He has served, at various times, as Treasurer and President of the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council, Vice President of the Richmond Neighborhood Coordinating Council, President, and Chair of the Finance Committee for the Brickyard Landing Home Owner's Association.
Because of their backgrounds, Robert and Ida are uniquely qualified to assist you with your real estate needs. They have knowledge and experience in real estate matters far exceeding those of even the best real estate salesperson. With his legal background, Robert is careful to oversee all the disclosure and regulatory requirements of your transaction, detecting and dealing with problems that might otherwise become deal-killers. Ida's extensive lending experience allows her to creatively find funding for buyers that other agents ignore. Both their professional lives have been devoted to negotiating the best deals possible for their clients.
When our long-term renter moved out, we asked Ida to find a new one for us. She was happy to do so but also made sure we understood all of our options as well as the changing landlord-tenant laws, which had changed dramatically (and for the worse) since we'd originally rented it over a decade ago. After much consideration we decided to sell our apartment instead. Ida guided us through the process, helped us do a light physical update of the space, then recommended an asking price above what we had initially hoped for. The apartment sold at full price almost immediately. When the buyer backed out the day before closing on a no-contingency contract, though, we were all flabbergasted. Ida deftly handled the situation, immediately producing requisite written responses that the lawyer we eventually hired found to be extraordinarily impressive and thorough; this mitigated the amount of work he had to do and likely saved us thousands of dollars in legal fees. After resolving the dispute we quickly re-listed the apartment and again sold it almost immediately.
Throughout the sales process we were struck not only by the depth of Ida's expertise but also by her professionalism in terms of her rapid-fire response times, willingness to go above and beyond in all aspects (e.g., providing on-site support when we could not ourselves be at the property), the clarity of her communications, and above all her level-headed guidance and counseling throughout the selling experience, which is inevitably harrowing at times. We highly recommend Ida to anyone looking for an exceptional broker, as with Ida you get the perfect combination of experience, expertise, rigor, kindness, and empathy.
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Thank you so much for selling my condo, Ida! You confirmed what I already knew. You are the best realtor for Brickyard Landing, hands down.
Ida Abelson consistently sells BYL condos in the shortest time, and at the best price. That's not just based on my experience, it's also supported by statistics that show she sells 3-4x faster than any other realtor, and at the highest price.
Over the past seven years, I watched BYL listings by other realtors languish on the market, reducing prices multiple times over several months before they eventually sold (and dragged everyone else's values down with them.)
Ida combines her intimate knowledge of the community and the market, with her uncanny instinct for pricing. Then she markets heavily to her wide network of realtors throughout the Bay Area, as well as through MLS and social media channels.
She is professional, helpful, and supportive every step of the way, from helping you prepare your condo for sale, to producing beautiful photos and videos of the property, to showing the property responsibly. She's a keen negotiator and will secure the absolute best price for your sale.
The facts speak for themselves. Sellers who list a BYL condo with anyone other than Ida are taking a foolish risk.
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This was the 4th transaction we have done with you, and as usual it was fast and smooth. As you know, we interviewed another agent to get an alternate analysis prior to listing with you. Following your suggestion we listed the property more than 7 % higher than the other agent suggested, and in 1 month you procured 3 offers above that list price. Ultimately, the condo sold for more than 10 % over the list price suggested by the other agent.
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It has been over 90 days since escrow closed and we moved into our new home in Brickyard Landing. From completing our search for "The Right Place" to meeting our needs (a 4th floor penthouse unit) to the final closing of a complex transaction. Offer, counter offer, counter, counter offer, with no give by the seller. You were always there with timely, accurate advice and direction. Your experience in teaching financing and closing procedures was invaluable in competing our purchase. All legal steps were completed on time and thoroughly. You were especially helpful in our complying with meeting lenders' requests for supplemental information with supportive documentation. This included your offering alternate sources of funding.
Are we satisfied with our purchase and services rendered? In simple words, "Very satisfied", without qualification. In fact, should we decide to relocate, you are our choice as to our listing agent knowing you would represent the seller as efficiently and completely as you did the buyer. Everything the property and you had to offer has exceeded our expectations.
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Early this year I decided to sell my home. The market was quite vigorous and I felt that the services of a realtor were an unnecessary expense. After 5 weeks of advertising, marketing, holding open houses and price reductions, I had no offers. I was concerned since I had to leave the country for an extended trip and needed the funds for another investment. I called Ida Abelson and offered her the listing. She listed the property at above my asking price. I then left the country.
Within 10 days, Ms. Abelson contacted me with a full-priced offer. Since I was gone for most of the escrow period, I relied on Ms. Abelson to handle any issues which might have arisen. When I returned, I found that the documentation was completed, all contingencies removed, and all I needed to do was to sign closing papers and pack.
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There are many factors which contribute to my satisfaction with Brickyard. For a person who appreciates serenity, and nature, and peace and quiet, and who wants to combine that with convenient access to the cultural offerings of San Francisco, Marin and Berkeley, this location is ideal. As a woman on my own I also appreciate the security, the very pleasant and responsive staff, the good maintenance and the fact that other tenants are friendly, but not intrusive. I am beginning to be involved in a few committees in addition to the Supper Club and have been enjoying it all.
You, of course, were a very significant factor leading to my decision to purchase. As distraught as I was when I came out the first time, I would have been immediately "put off" by someone less professional and knowledgeable or a pushy, aggressive seller. (That's a style I respond very negatively to at any time.) You were able to answer every question I posed with patience, intelligence, and authority (and even managed to lace it with humor).
As you know, my own business is based on personal service, so I know what first-rate personal service is as well as how rare it is to find. No one could have done a better job in every way than you did. For me, you will always be the "Agent of the Year" every year!
Needless to say, I sing your praises whenever possible and you may use me as a reference if you ever need a glowing testimonial.
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It is with pleasure that we recommend Ida Abelson, as outstanding real estate agent. Jim and I lived at Brickyard Landing for seven years. Over the past four years we have had our unit on the market three times. The first two times we enlisted agents who never before sold property in Pt. Richmond (we were not satisfied with the agents who were considered "specialists" in Brickyard properties). We were discouraged because our unit was never shown during the six month periods they were on the market. Shortly after our daughter was born almost 2 and 1/2 years ago, we put or unit on the market with (name of competing real estate agent deleted). During that time we received no offers and our unit was shown occasionally by (name of competing real estate agent deleted). That was a long disheartening experience. We thought our condo was "jinxed". We came to believe that it must have been inferior to others.
I noticed that Ida was selling properties quickly and getting good prices. We dropped our agent and enlisted Ida. Ida articulately described her vast experience and seasoned East Bay network. Further she pointed out the special characteristics of our condo and described her intelligent plans to market our place. She gave us hope and made me feel it was worthwhile again to keep the place looking spiffy. Ida held open houses weekly.
Ida sold our condo in 41 days.
Although Ida had not attempted to sell homes in Marin we asked her to help us find a home there. Ida got us our home at our asking price (moved in seven days ago!). Some adjectives and phrases describing her performance throughout this process are: HONEST (yes, an honest real estate agent does exist), thorough, savvy, a tenacious / "ferocious" advocate, a force to be reckoned with, kind, funny and meticulous. She even helped out with our very active toddler on the day the movers came.
Needless to say, if you are looking to sell at Brickyard we think there is no agent that remotely compares to her.
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Now that the dust has settled, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for all your efforts in marketing and finally selling our condominium at Brickyard Landing. When my wife and I first decided to put our condo on the market, the decision to use a Realtor® was not an easy one, but it was, as it turned out, the right decision. The fact that you are "On Site" really eased our minds, because we knew there would be immediate access to any one who happened by. This was extremely important to us, given the fact that we were trying to sell at one of the worst times of the year. Who was going to buy a home at Christmas? We thought we might have a little attention, but thanks to your aggressive approach we always had heavy traffic in on weekends. This resulted, to our great surprise, in receiving multiple offers within a very short period of time; and I must say I don't think we would have received as high a sales price as we did with out having these multiple offers. Not only did you both work hard, you accomplished tasks that could have "killed" our deal at any time. I personally think that had we used anyone else this deal would have been lost. The fact that our hardwood floors were an issue, not only with the Board of Directors, but also the neighbors below, required a finesse that up until now I would not have associated with Realtor®s. You then dealt with the almost impossible situation of low appraisal so effectively no time was lost. I would have put money on the fact that this issue would have slowed the process down to a crawl but again we were pleasantly surprised.
Selling and buying at the same time has to be the most stressful process a human can endure, or so it seemed, but throughout this entire process both of you held our hands, gave us the information we needed, comforted us at the most difficult times, and kept the process going despite the hurdles; and for these reasons we are both grateful. If I ever need a Realtor® again, and I hope I won't for a long time, I would not hesitate for a second to call on your services again.
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