Testimonials

My goal is to make the process of buying, selling, or owning a home enjoyable and rewarding for you. See what my clients have said about my real estate services...

Seller Testimonials

Karen was a pleasure to work with. She covered all the bases and gave expert advice to help sell our house quickly and at a good price. I highly recommend her.
- Allan G.

I had the pleasure of working with Karen to sell my Alameda home in 2008. Not only did she secure multiple offers for the property, she took a personal interest in our relationship and home to facilitate the entire transaction. Her attention to detail, including closing documents provided on CD, as well as hard copy, multiple comp reports, along with efforts above and beyond typical service, recommending and securing a top notch Stager on short notice and personal attention to our requirements for the sale added a high degree of comfort as a seller in tough times.

I highly recommend Karen as a Real Estate partner as she is more than just a broker or agent, she really is a partner, taking ownership with you for your Real Estate needs.
- Eric Marvin

On behalf of my family and myself, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your many services in selling our family home in Alameda.

In addition to your attention to detail, professionalism, and thoroughness, I want to commend you for the many extra duties and services you performed for us as out-of-town sellers. You facilitated the entire process in a most comfortable manner that relieved a considerable amount of stress on family members during the sale of our family home that we had owned for 49 years.

Please don’t hesitate to use me as a reference. It would be my pleasure to speak to anyone on your behalf.
- Paul C. Pennington

Karen Manuel did a fantastic job of selling our home in Alameda. She went above and beyond our expectations by helping us prepare our home for sale. Due to Karen's hard work, the house looked great, which helped us get a price that we never expected to get. She easily dealt with our crazy schedules, our kids and pets throughout the whole process. Karen explained everything in great detail and helped make selling our home as easy as possible for us. Karen is a true professional. She is honest and thoughtful and went out of her way to accommodate our needs. I was amazed on how much time she spent making sure everything went smoothly. She sold our home quickly for well above asking price. We would definitely use her again and highly recommend her.
- Stephen & Shannon Reheuser

Buyer Testimonials

After looking at houses for almost two years, we are now in one, thanks to Karen Manuel. My husband and I worked with three different agents before we came across Karen and couldn't have been happier with her as a realtor. Even my mom, who has twenty plus years experiences in real estate thought she was amazingly honest and thorough--just what you want when dealing with realtors.

Buying a house for the first time is nerve wracking enough--you don't even know the right questions to ask half the time, but Karen asked them for us and brought up things that none of the other realtors ever brought up. Her thoroughness matched with her great service has helped us find an amazing house at an amazing price. She even helped us get a lower mortgage rate and saved us thousands of dollars a year. If you are looking for a house in Alameda, I cannot highly recommend Karen enough! Call her!
- Leslie Van Every

We worked with Karen off and on for more than 6 months! We started just looking around on our own to get an idea of what we wanted and could afford; she was great at sending us information on new listings (she understood what we were looking for), responding quickly to requests and she was never pushy.

When we finally found our house, she was on top of all of the details. Karen offered us options and gave her recommendations, leaving the decisions to us. She worked well the other realtor and kept things going even while we were out of state.

Karen was great to work with and we highly recommend her.
- Catherine Thomsen

Karen is a very knowledgeable realtor in the East Bay. She knows all the ins & outs, and can expertly guide a person to the right property for their income level and other needs. She has a good read on people and the area, and let's her clients make their own decisions. She will do a great job for any type of client.
- Marissa Krupa

We are first time home buyers, and we used Karen Manuel as our real estate agent. A friend recommended Karen to my husband and me, and I have to say that friend has great judgment!

Karen represents the opposite of most stereotyped adjectives I previously associated with real estate agents. She was honest, committed, sincere, straightforward, and stable. She looked out for us, and discouraged homes that could have been a major pit fall. Karen was truthful. She didn't say things just because we wanted to hear it, she was upfront and candid.

For making such a serious financial investment as buying a home, she guided us through grueling, lengthy contracts. She didn't rush to get us through or push us to sign documents we did not understand. Karen was built to run marathons, as she dredged through 100's of pages of contracts, never needing a break. She kept a steadfast pace and exhibited superhuman endurance, still smiling and looking fresh until the end. I appreciate her strong ethical standing. She wanted to make sure we were completely happy and satisfied with our home. Our happiness came first, rarely thinking of her own gains, to the point that she even offered to pay out of pocket for a second home cleaning.

She was adaptable to us as a family. While my husband would crawl around on his hands and knees under the houses, she cheerful held our son. For our own convenience, Karen met us at our home according to our schedule. Being a mother herself, she has a deeper understanding and tolerance for others (such as her willingness to pause as we put our baby down for naps/ bedtime).

Karen helped us stick to our original home criteria-including location and our set price. She did not push us into the uncomfortable zones or out of our budget. Karen was knowledgeable, loyal, and forthright. She had stellar communications, as she was reliable and responsive. She translated real estate vocabulary into our language. Without a doubt, I would recommend Karen to a family and relative!!
- Casey Logan and Sae Jae Chaumette

Karen is a terrific realtor and person. She was extremely patient and helpful while my finance and I were looking to buy our home. Although we had good credit, we did not have a lot of money to put down for our house.

She showed us many types of houses and drove us all over Oakland (for months!). She is very knowledgeable about East Bay properties and neighborhoods. She also knows her stuff when it comes to the condition of houses.

She is honest, down to earth, nice, not sales-y. Best of all she stuck with us through a very difficult transaction with the previous owners and loan situations until we finalized the deal. We would definitely use Karen Manuel as our realtor again.
- Allison and Niko

Karen was not our agent, but took over when our agents went on vacation. She went out of her way to assist us while they were gone. She constantly communicated with us about the houses available in our price range and offered to show them to us. She encouraged us to write an offer on a house that we had previously thought was unobtainable. Because of her thoughtful diligence and encouragement to write an offer, we now have our dream home. We were the back up offer, but, in the end, it was ours.

Thank you Karen for being so helpful and professional! Because of you, we have our dream house.

- Steve C.

I can't thank you enough. You really went beyond any expectations and smoothed my daughter's transition to the Bay area. You're a mother's dream and I hope that someday you have the same helping hand extended when you need it. I really enjoyed that day, learned so much, and hope to see you sometime soon.

- Hylla Evans

Karen worked with us on the purchase of our new home. It was absolutely delightful working with her. She had a vision for me and I couldn't be happier with the results. She is professional, creative and extremely talented. I would hire Karen for any future home purchases.

- Katherine Bowen

Why am I glad Karen Manuel was our real estate agent? Let me count the ways:

1. There was never a sense that Karen was trying to push a piece of property just to make a sale. Karen consistently pointed out pros and cons of each house so we were as knowledgeable as possible.

2. Karen was always accessible to talk or to meet.

3. We were never rushed to make a decision though Karen kept us aware of deadline.

4. Karen was equipped to help us navigate the difficult world of purchasing a bank owned property. Although very even in temperament, Karen knew when to push, when to pull, and when to get tough with Bank of America, the owner.

5. She put together a great team. Our loan officer and escrow officer were terrific.

When my daughter told me she had found a real estate agent on Yelp I was very skeptical. Thank goodness I followed her lead.

Thank you, Karen!!!
-Judith Poppe

When I decided that the time was right to buy a house, I came to Yelp to try and find a realtor. My criteria was someone who would help educate me about the process of buying a home (since I was a total and complete novice) and someone who had my best interests at heart and wouldn't try and push me into a house beyond my budget. Fortunately someone else mentioned both these things about Karen in a previous review. I called and we met. Flash forward a year and I'm writing this review in my new home, which I LOVE.

Karen put together the most amazing team for me and worked really hard, above and beyond any of my expectations! I trust her implicitly and would recommend her without hesitation. Thanks Karen!!!

- Tessa Poppe

I truly want to thank you from the depths of my heart for all of the hard work you put into helping me purchase my new home.You are a godsend! All of your personal attention to detail, to my personality, to my needs and to the timelines; and the fact that you are so quick-witted and alert, are attributes that put me where I am now – in my sweet little dream home.

- Michelle McAfee

Karen served as our realtor during our relocation from Denver to the Bay Area. We were completely unfamiliar with the area and were under great pressure to find a house in a very short period of time. Karen was excellent. She helped us find and close on a new home while also helping us through this massive transition without losing our sanity. We eagerly recommend her.

Karen has a lot of qualities that allow her to provide such great service. She is attentive to her client’s needs, wants, tastes, and budget. She is very knowledgeable about the area, market, and real estate issues in general. Karen also has a great network so she is able to recommend trustworthy and qualified resources… we’ve been very happy with her referrals on various contractors/vendors/etc. While Karen is very intelligent, she also has a lot of common sense and is very personable and friendly. She provides you with all the information and guidance you need and then gives you space to make your decision. She isn’t pushy or aggressive at all; instead, she is quite patient and understanding. Overall, we couldn’t have asked for any more support from a realtor.

- Kim Z. Huelsman

Karen is a phenomenal real estate agent. My husband and I were living in Marin and were first-time home buyers. We were considering buying in the East Bay, but the prospect of going across the bridge for one open house at a time seemed daunting. Karen coordinated an excellent day full of viewings for us. Our viewings were all pleasant and informative. During the tour, we learned about earthquake retrofitting. And at the end of the day, she sat us down and explained in very clear terms the process of buying.

In the end, we ended up buying in Marin. However, should we ever decide to move to the East Bay, I would 100% contact her again to help us out. And I would recommend her, without any hesitation, to any of my friends who are looking to buy property in the East Bay.

Thank you, Karen! You rock!

- Melaina E.

Lender Testimonials

I wanted to thank you for being so patient throughout this entire process. Definitely one of the most challenging Buyers I have had in a very long while, and you handled everything so very calm and professional. I am convinced you are the one that held this transaction together, allowing us time to get through all the speed bumps on this file and finally close. This purchase means so much to this Buyer, at this difficult time in his life.

Definitely a happy ending.
- Celeste Anderson, RPM Mortgage