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"It was wonderful working with Stephen. We were first time home buyers and we were very picky because of the specific housing needs for our large family. Choosing a realtor: We got introduced to Stephen from our HUD counselor. When we interviewed Stephen (there were three other candidates, all knowledgeable in their own respect), he checked all the boxes. At the time we had to decide, we had no worries signing the buyer-agent contract with him with confidence given how well he matched with our values. Deep experience in real estate market (specifically Alameda for us), no hard selling, conscientious about contingencies, and keen on accessibility features of a house for our needs as a family with small children. The home search: we always received a fair and impartial assessment of each house we viewed. This worked perfectly for us because we don’t respond well to ‘just think of it as a starter home’ or ‘at least you’re starting equity instead of paying rent’ or ‘have you considered other cities?’. We’re allergic to hearing these mostly because of the situation we were in and the objectives we had. So to hear the complete opposite from him, ‘this home might not work for your family because.. so let’s keep looking.’ and ‘but do you LOVE this home? Let’s make sure you do.’ was such a big affirmation that we were working with the right agent. Writing the winning offer: did you know, Stephen conducts classes teaching other realtors how to write winning offers! Once we found a home we loved and wanted to put an offer in, he kicked his skills into high gear and we eventually put in a winning offer for the home we now own. Of course this will be highly relative to your experience: the market you are targeting, the house you have chosen, and the pre approved budget you have from your lender. My takeaway is, Stephen made the best of what we had. He made sure no option or stone under our control was left unturned or left to chance, and even if we had lost the bid, I still would have held my head high knowing we put our best foot forward with Stephen’s expert guidance. Navigating the days in contract: our transaction was smooth since I made sure on my side that we had all our ducks in a row. The appraisal also came in at offer price, and our offer price was heavily influenced based on the comps Stephen ran for us when we wrote the offer. We did discover two items during this time, and Stephen had very tactical steps for us to do. His guidance was deeply based on his professional experience and knowledge on industry standards. Eventually we closed contract on time and without any problems. Overall, we are very happy with our first time homebuyer experience with Stephen. We felt there was no stone left unturned and we know we put our best foot forward. You, dear reader, are probably going through these reviews to help decide if Stephen is the right realtor for you too. And you’re doing the right thing! Continue doing your due diligence. Knowing how Stephen operates and how he handled our purchase, I am confident he will be a dependable, knowledgeable, objective, and effective realtor for you too like how he was for us."

"I couldn’t recommend the Beard Realty Team enough!

We worked with Stephen Beard twice now and both times our stressful situation was made very easy for us. We had a bit of a tricky situation in which we wanted to sell a condo but keep the tenant residing there. Stephen was incredibly helpful in informing us of all of our options as well as being completely understanding of what we wanted. He was truly an advocate and a wonderful advisor. We ended up getting the perfect deal and everything went smoothly.

I feel it’s rare that you can find someone who is knowledgeable, transparent, and also has a good heart to boot. This team is all of these things and you should not hesitate to work with them.

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"We’re first-time homebuyers who were referred to Stephen and Basak by way of friends who spoke highly of their experience. After several months of working with them, we’ve successfully bought our first home and are super-excited about our purchase! Stephen and Basak are patient and ethically-minded professionals who spent significant time with us to make sure that all of our questions were answered as we walked through the frequently-convoluted process of buying a home in the Bay Area. While we were newcomers to this, we never felt rushed, pressured, or that time could not be found for us, but rather Stephen and Basak were always available to us and saw to our (many) questions with warmth, good-humor, and superb professionalism. We extend our highest recommendation for the Beard Realty Team to anyone who happens to be buying or selling a home in the Bay Area!"

"My wife and I are so grateful to have been referred to Stephen and Basak of the Beard Realty Team! They were both extremely knowledgable, thorough and helpful throughout the process. On top of that, they are both ethical, kind and compassionate people, which we greatly appreciated as this purchase process was challenging in many different ways. They helped us navigate different personalities, delays, negotiations and finally got us all the way to buying our first home in the Bay Area, in a great neighborhood where we will be happy for many years to come. We could not recommend them more highly.
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"I’m a wheelchair user (paraplegic) who moved to the Bay Area in 2015 and rented many apartments. Because of the cost of real estate in the area, I assumed that I would never be able to purchase a home here. That was 5 years ago when I was in my early 20s.

After dealing with broken elevators, inaccessible kitchens, & tiny bathrooms, I decided at the end of 2019 I wanted to buy. At first, I went solo and tried sites which got me absolutely nowhere. Every house or condo I saw was inaccessible. Getting there was a hassle and the agents were ignorant about the needs of people with disabilities.

Then I Googled “Bay Area wheelchair home purchase” and probably “ADA home buying Oakland.” Guess who popped up? The Beard Realty team.

From our first conversation to key delivery, Stephen and Basak were friendly, honest, and transparent. Even when I wanted to see 2-story lofts, they were willing to accompany me on the tour and problem-solve with me.

I not only ended up with a beautiful home in a great neighborhood, but I learned a lot along the way. At the beginning of a pandemic no less, what I thought was probably impossible turned possible and then real.

Wanna buy a house? Call Stephen. Even if you don’t have a disability. If you DO have a physical disability, definitely call Stephen. Or email him like I did :-)

Now, off to continue making my new home wheelchair user’s paradise…
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