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To whom it may concern,
If you are looking for an exceptional agent to sell/buy your house in San Francisco Bay Area, Carmen Miranda is no doubt the right person for the job. When my husband and I decided to sell our home in SF Bay Area, we were living overseas. We interviewed several real-estate agents. The first time I met Carmen in person, it was clear to me she was the one I wanted to represent us. In the two days I spent in SF Bay Area, Carmen put together a detailed sale strategy, catered to our needs and a budget. Within the two weeks we hired Carmen to sell our house, she managed to fully remodel our kitchen, including new cabinets with granite counter-tops and new appliances. She had the house professionally cleaned, painted and staged by the feng shui expert. The house looked amazing. 4 weeks from our initial meeting with Carmen we were in escrow and sold over asking price. Carmen went above and beyond her duty as a real estate agent. She took full charge, kept us informed and was on top of everything. She worked closely with our relocation company, resolved all the issues along the way and successfully finalize the sale. We could not have made a better choice and will happily continue working with Carmen on the future real estate transactions.
Carmen, thank you once again! Best regards,
Jozef and Dalma
Foster City
April 2, 2013
Dear Carmen,
First, let me congratulate you and your team on earning Diamond Certified for the Seventh consecutive year Carmen Miranda - Alain Pinel Realtors scored "highest in quality" in ongoing independent customer satisfaction surveys In addition to your company's high customer satisfaction rating score, I was equally impressed with all of the enthusiastic customer comments I read in the verbatim customer survey comments, Question 3 of your research report.
Most real estate agents can't qualify for Diamond Certified because of the customer satisfaction standards required. Additionally, in order to maintain Diamond Certified, Carmen Miranda - Alain Pine! Realtors must continue to score "highest in quality" in Ongoing Research performed by American Ratings Corporation. So, just earning and maintaining your Diamond Certified status is a great achievement.
Again, congratulations on earning Diamond Certified for your second consecutive year. High customer satisfaction is the ultimate accomplishment in business.
Sincerely,
Jim Stein Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Diamond Certified Realtor for San Mateo County
San Mateo County
June 4,2011
Dear Carmen,
Carolyn and I are back from our trip and happily settling into our house outside of Volcano. We still can’t believe that our home in Millbrae sold so quickly and for such a great price. Thank you so much for your expertise it making that happen.
As you know, we were a little discouraged after our house languished on the market for four months last year without a serious offer. We knew we needed to sell this year in a market that was even worse,so were expecting to get much less then we asked for last year. Little did we imagine that we would sell for more than $200,000 over our asking price!
Your marketing strategy was brilliant and obviously effective. From the first time we met, we were confident that with you we were in the hands of a professional. You were honest about what you thought we needed to do to sell our house and comprehensive in presenting the pros and cons of a wide range of marketing options.
We especially appreciated the whole team of professionals you assembled to get our house sold. Though we were out of town at the time that you, Nancy and Brian first surveyed our house, we were impressed that you emailed us the room--by--room audio of your suggestions for the work that needed to be done to make it more marketable.
Initially it was difficult for us tocommit to the expense of doing the work and staging our home but, as it turned out, that expense was probably the best investment we ever made. Brian Hytry was superb in getting all the home improvements done while we were in Hawaii.
We were blown away with how good everything looked when we returned. Nancy Linebarier and her team from Habitat Enhancements proved to be true artists as they staged our home in a way that made all the architectural features stand out. As it went on the market, you told us it was going to create excitement and it did.
Throughout the phase of getting the house ready for market you were always available and helpful in managing the logistics of getting your team’s work done and the inspections made. Your marke analysis was astute and we appreciated the way you presented different pricing strategies that clarified the advantages and disadvantages of each. We’re so glad we picked the strategy you recommended.
You were great in keeping us informed of buyers comments from the open houses and the numbers of prospective buyers who visited the video website and the number who downloaded our disclosures.
We always felt that our home had the maximum exposure to buyers and that you had anticipated every detail needed to make it sell. Of course we were thrilled when, after only 7 days on the market, you presented us with three bids, all over our asking price. Little did we know at that time that your work had just begun. You were instrumental in helping us evaluate each offer and counter with the most effective strategy for each bid. You were able to negotiate a great deal for us. Even though we were nervous as each contingency came up for removal, we were confident that you were always on top of things.
In fact, you remained totally engaged and on top of our evolving situation even when you were on vacation. We’re sorry we had to interrupt your trip so frequently but even on the beach you got back to us and made the deal happen. I still can’t believe that we successfully closed escrow in less than five weeks!
So Carmen, thank you, thank you, thank you. We experienced the agony of our house sitting on the market with nothing happening last year and now the joy of working with you and getting our house sold in record time for a fantastic price. We are so glad you were recommended to us and we are more than happy to enthusiastically recommend you to any prospective clients you might have.
Carolyn and I are happy to finally be settled here in thefoothills. We could not have done it without all the work that you and your team did to get our house sold. Whenever you want to get away from the bustle of life in the Bay Area, come visit us in the Mother Lode.
All the Best,
Robin Field and Carolyn Mischer (415) 806--4553
October 18,2012
Dear Carmen,
You truly are one of the best!!!
Thanks!
Sincerely, Susan L. Relocation Consultant SIRVA Relocation
Redwood Shores ~ Relocation
10/30/2012
Carmen was a realtor who worked diligently to assist on this difficult sale. She managed to get me the price and terms I had requested. She stayed on the other realtor who seemed to be slacking on his end. Time was of the essence. Diamond certified, prompt, thorough and willing to take the next step as well as the side step...I will use Carmen for future sales and purchases.
Tami R.
San Mateo
11/28/2012
Carmen was amazing in all respects during the entire home buying process. We ran into her at an open house she was holding for another property and her willingness to discuss all aspects of the home buying process and her approach to it, incredible experience and detailed knowledge across the entire peninsula, and ability to recall all aspects of a home's details (API scores for school by neighborhood or even address) impressed us on our first meeting.
Carmen is very focused on getting to know you as a client, what you are looking for, the minute details of your life that will impact which home is right for you, and takes all this into account when guiding you through the process. We discussed what we were looking for in a house on our initial consult in deep detail, discussed specific needs for kitchen and entertaining areas, a desire for a backyard to play in, wanting to have room to grow, as well as aesthetic considerations based on our personal sense of style.
Many realtors put together a list of properties to inspect for you, but Carmen goes one or two extra steps. She had a bound volume containing all information about each property we were going to see each time we went to tour homes. This included the standard home details, neighborhood information, school information for each property, public records that may be pertinent, and even a listing of the neighbors (and Carmen would even knock on doors to help us chat with people in the neighborhoods!!) . In a busy world Carmen made it her priority to maximize our touring time through preparation of the booklets as well as visiting homes that fit our general profile, or listings that we sent, to narrow the list and weed out properties so we only saw houses we could potentially be interested in.
During the negotiation process Carmen was always a step ahead, prepared for any contingency, and able to pull in resources from her network for any issue, inspection, or financing question. The people in her network were incredibly professional and were able to answer any questions she was not. They all showed a similar dedication to preparation that allowed us to sail through negotiations, predict exactly what would be needed to close on the house we wanted despite multiple offers, and balance and negotiate from a strong position.
You can't go wrong with Carmen, and she will be there to help you through not only the home buying/selling process, but also any area where her vast real estate experience can help.
Steve I.
Redwood City
Recommendation Letter for Carmen:
April 16, 2012
This recommendation letter is long overdue, our apologies to Carmen! We first met Carmen several years ago at an open house she had and had a good impression of her. We were just browsing back then, so it wasn’t until we met her again in 2011 that we were able to engage her services. We found her again when a friend needed ours happened to hire Carmen to sell their house. It must have been fate. We needed to find a bigger home due to the upcoming arrival of our twins and we had specific criteria for our home search. After interviewing a couple of other agents and also comparing with our previous agent, we felt certain we wanted to have Carmen help us in our search this time. She is professional, well-prepared, detailed, and client-oriented. She educated us on the pros and cons of each area that we were considering and helped us narrow down our search perimeter. We have to say, Carmen is very understanding and patient of our needs, and being the ultimate professional, she never commented on how quirky our criteria may have seemed to her ? Altogether, our search took well over 8 months. We were a team, she searched and we searched and she would give us feedback on the listings we found/saw on our own. Other agents would not have been so accommodating and preserving, Carmen was great! We lost out on a house we bid on, because the other buyer waived all contingencies, not something a professional agent like Carmen would recommend. In hindsight, it was a good thing we didn’t get that house. We ended up bidding on a short-sale; Carmen thought it was a good deal but at the same time cautioned us about what to expect and what it entailed. We didn’t get the house at first, but because of Carmen’s efforts, she was able to get us in as the back-up offer. We had given up on it and due to Carmen, we ended up being able to buy the house! The short-sale process was lengthy and Carmen helped keep us from losing our minds over the frustrating experience. She worked diligently with the selling agent to keep things from falling apart and never lost her patience. I wondered at times if she was secretly pulling her hair out at home, I must apologize if we caused any of it, so sorry Carmen! We closed escrow in August 2011 and started the renovations shortly thereafter (the house needed repair work). After the sale, Carmen kept in touch and answered any questions we had that came up. Without her, we would not be in our current home. She definitely gets 10 stars from us!!! Recently, we received a call from the Diamond rating service company (the company that gives real estate agents 5-star ratings if they qualify). They asked if Carmen’s diamond-rating influenced our decision to work with her. Honestly, it did not. We would hire Carmen whether or not she had that rating. We didn’t need a rating company to tell us how good she is. But if you rely on that rating when you’re screening agents, we can tell you that Carmen deserves the highest rating! Our advice – go with your gut, have good communications with your agent, make sure you are comfortable with your agent. You are definitely in good hands with Carmen. With the markets stabilizing these days, we were lucky to have gotten the house last year and we could not have done it without Carmen Miranda! Thank you, Carmen, for all your help!
Warmest wishes always, The Sahs
Foster City
Carmen is very professional at what she does. We gave her a short notice to sell our property and she put together her team of gardener, house cleaner, handy man, and home staging companies together and had the house ready on market in amazing one week! Carmen's service always goes beyond our expectations as she keeps us updated and transparent about the situation. She continues updating us about the surrounding housing markets and trends and provides us with valuable insights and advices on our home selling strategies. We are very happy that we are able to sell our place at our targeted price within a month! This is our second time working with her and both had been great experiences for us!
Roy and Divinia
Millbrae
Nov 16,2012
Dear Ms. Wondolowski,
Please allow me to take a few minutes of your time. My name is Angela Moreci, and I just had the pleasure of completing a real estate sale with Carmen Miranda. I understand you are the Vice President of Alain Pinel Realtors, and I wanted to personally write a letter of commendation about Carmen to you.
I have dealt with many real estate agents in my day, but no one has, or I believe ever will, live up to the standards of Carmen.
From the moment I first met her, I knew we "clicked". My mother was selling her condo after living there for 30 years, and moving to a new home in a new town. This was an emotional and physically demanding move on us, and I felt I could not take on one more responsibility other than making my mother as comfortable as I could in her new home, as well as caring for her every need. Carmen picked up on that. I asked her to take the reigns and entrusted her with the entire process to get the condo sold. She truly listened to me, from what I wanted, to what I needed. I felt like she really understood what a daughter was trying to accomplish for an aging parent. She related. She was sympathetic. She remained positive for me.
Carmen took on the task with gusto. I believed in her and trusted all of her suggestions. Within days the home was painted, cleaned and staged. It was picture perfect. Within days, she was showing it. Within days, we had multiple offers, and within days we were in escrow. Today the deal was done and she personally called me with a heartwarming congratulations and thank you!
I have been in Customer Service for over 34 years. I recognize what it takes to make a client happy, make them feel important, satisfied, and keep them coming back. Carmen is pro-active, efficient and knowledgeable. She is honest; she is confident and calming when one becomes overwhelmed with all that entails in selling a home. Whatever situation came up, I asked her to take care of it for me, and she always had the solution at the tip of her fingers. She made the entire process effortless for me. I trusted her judgement at all times because I knew she had my best interest at heart.
It goes without saying that I would highly recommend Carmen to all my colleagues, friends and family without hesitation.
And one of the best things about her? You could always "hear the smile on her face" over the phone. I'll admit that I will almost miss our daily calls, emails and texts!
You are lucky to have her on your team.
Very sincerely,
Angela M.
12/17/2012
We chose Carmen Miranda to handle the sale of our home in San Mateo due to her extensive experience, thorough knowledge of real estate market in our area, positive energy and commitment to delivering the best possible offer(s) for our home. Carmen absolutely delivered on all fronts --managing vendors, etc. in our absence, provided frequent updates on status of the process (as we have moved out of town) staged/showcased our home extremely well and ultimately helped to bring in multiple offers --above our asking price --in 9 days. We are extremely pleased with the sale of our home, both in price and timing, and how Carmen facilitated the entire process (even when we, as the clients, were a challenge to her :). It goes without say that we would highly recommend Carmen Miranda as an outstanding real estate agent. Future clients will be in good hands.
Carmen R.
San Mateo
Jan 1, 2013
Hi Carmen, I've been meaning to write to you for ages. Just wanted to say thank you for all of your hard work and diligence in getting us our home. You have been the best realtor we've ever worked with - and we have worked with many! You knew what we wanted and our parameters so we didn't have to see every house on the market, but found our dream home quickly and jumped on it!!! It was a fantastic journey and you made it as little stressful as possible. Thank you thank you thank you! I will definitely recommend you to everyone I know looking for a house!
Kind regards, Jo (and Si and Alex)
Burlingame
10/31/2012
Carmen is a fantastic realtor. She was able to find us a new tenant for our rental property in record time and for a great rent. She was also able to help us find a new home. She is extremely professional, honest, thorough and offers her best. We were completely satisfied with Carmen. Without Carmen's excellent services, we simply could not have done what we wanted to do. Carmen is our realtor for life!!
John D.
We have just completed the sale of our residence in an ever changing market. Carmen provided the initial due diligence, and as the market weakened provided us with continual timely updates. Her team was instrumental in the sale of our house at a reasonable price. Carmen has exceptional skills in marketing strategies, and price negotiation. There is no doubt if we were to do another transaction on the peninsula we would use Carmen.
Pat and Sue Cornwall
Redwood Shores
March 2, 2011
Dear Carmen,
We want to express our sincere gratitude for the extraordinary job you did in selling our home! The house sold in 13 days and at our asking price in this very difficult market! In looking at all the other listings in our area, we haven’t seen that anywhere else.
The advice you gave us to help prepare our home for sale was an excellent start to prepare us for the process. You were very thorough in all the information you gave us about how the sale was going to work, what you would be doing and what would be expected of us. We totally agreed with your recommendation to use Nancy at Habitat Enhancements for the staging, and her work was artistic, inspired and impeccable.
We had heard that you have a reputation for being the best at evaluating the correct sale price for homes, and we appreciated the way you educated us on your thinking on this subject and your patience in helping us to come to an understanding. We also appreciated your flexibility in offering us options on pricing and taking the time to lay out clearly what the possible outcomes were for each option. We were aware of the sensitivity you had in helping us through this stressful process.
We were very impressed with what you did with the marketing of the house. The brochure is a work of art and your choice of the company to do the photography and website was brilliant! We also saw how hard you worked to make sure that people could find our difficult to locate house –we know you put more time and energy into that than is usually required. And you got a stupendous turnout at the open houses. We are grateful.
And lastly, we were so reassured by the way you handled the offers that came in and helped us with the negotiation and decision process. We could see how all the work you had done up to that point made this final step fast, easy and painless. We felt we were in very good hands.
All along the way you have been entirely professional and thorough while at the same time being warm and sensitive to our needs. We would recommend you so highly to anyone who is looking to sell or buy a home. It was such a pleasure working with you.
Shirley and Larry Siebert
Belmont
11/9/2012
Carmen is very professional at what she does. We gave her a short notice to sell our property and she put together her team of gardener, house cleaner, handyman, and home staging companies together and had the house ready on market in amazing one week! Carmen's service always goes beyond our expectations as she keep us updated and transparent about the situation. She continues updating us about the surrounding housing markets and trends and provide us with valuable insights and advices on our home selling strategies. We are very happy that we are able to sell our place at our targeted price within a month! This is our second time working with her and both had been great experiences for us!
Divinia L.
Millbrae
Carmen was a godsend! We couldn't be happier.
We bid on a short-sale offer and it took more than 3 months to close. During those times, Carmen was always responsive to inquiries, and helped us tremendously in getting through the uncertainty that comes with the transaction.
CK and Allison
Redwood Shores
Nov 13,2012
Carmen,
So appreciative of the manner in which you conducted the sale of my condo. I couldn't be happier with your service and would gladly recommend you to anyone who needs real estate services. Thanks again,
Mary
Foster City
Nov 1,2012
Carmen helped us through the process of finding and making a bid on our first home. With her excellent knowledge, the process was fast and enjoyable and we ended up with a house that fit us well.
Jill B.
San Francisco
September 16, 2012
Dear Carmen
I would like to thank you for all of your hard work in selling my condo at 1687 Bayridge Way #116 in San Mateo California. We met with numerous realtors and you were the most confident and organized of them all. The sale of my condo has helped me achieve my goal of having my wife stay home with our new daughter. The stress of paying two mortgages and an im- pending pay cut made it impossible to even keep the condo as a rental. During the sale process I was amazed at your ability to constantly keep us ap- prised of every step. This was the first time I have ever sold a property and I am very appreciative of your patience. The newspaper and Internet advertisements were also beautifully prepared. You were able to sell the condo above market value and save me from having to short-sell or foreclose on the property. I am now able to focus on my family and worry less about paying the bills. I will definitely recommend your services to any of my friends or family that may be in need of a realtor.
Thank you so much,
Ed Mateo
San Mateo
Carmen,
Thanks so much for all your assistance. We didn’t make a mistake in choosing you as our Realtor. We are very pleased with the outcome and we truly appreciate your time and efforts from beginning to end.
Warm Regards, Alvin, Alma and Samantha
A note from L. Sierra regarding Carmen’s Real Estate Services…
“I have enjoyed working and learning with you. It has been a wonderful painless experience. I am forever grateful to you for all you've done. Please share my message and I would love to speak to any of your clients to personally share your brilliance! District email is an easy way to communicate too. Always available for that until I get a moment to write a letter of thanks.”
L. Sierra sierritas@aol.com San Mateo Knolls
San Mateo Knolls
HI Carmen,
A big thank you once more for the incredible mix of grace and steel in obtaining 143 Palisades for us. The home warranty insurance was already too generous, and today- you also want to buy me fixtures from Lowes. Thanks Fairy Godmother!
I just posted my review on yelp, see below. Know that I couldn't be as accurate as the cartwheels I was doing in the middle of my new living space today!
I'm not a big yelper, but I am one to give praise where praise is HUGELY due. My husband and I were probably not one of Carmen's easiest clients, but she treated us like we were her most important clients.
Carmen was fantastic from the very beginning. We were new homebuyers and did not know the process. Carmen patiently stepped us though the process and answered all our questions thoroughly and clearly. She tirelessly showed us home after home, pointing out the pros and cons and worked with us through our changing list of criteria in this changing market. Carmen guided us through appropriate courses of action for every property we were interested in. She understood that no two clients is the same, nor are any two offers.
After six months of searching, and countless properties, we found one that fit every single one of our criteria. The house we wanted had several bids already on the table. My husband and I did not think we had a chance. However, it was Carmen's swiftness, extensive market experience and sincere client advocation that got our offer accepted above the others.
Carmen's representation of us did not end at the closing table. She also set us up with a list of reputable contractors to help us with the changes we wanted to make on our new home. Furthermore, she gave us a congratulatory gift of a year's worth of home warranty insurance.
Carmen is awesome to work with. She is down to earth, cares only about your ultimate happiness, a total pro, a friend and our real estate guide for life!
Bill, Mir and Boys
Daly City
November 14, 2011
Carmen Miranda Alain Pinel Realtors Burlingame, CA 94010
Re: 787 Maddux Drive, Daly City, CA
Dear Carmen,
On behalf of the Swanson Family I would like to thank you for your expert services. I never expected you to sell our parents home in two weeks and also have an excellent back up offer. This was a great time of sorrow for us as a family, with the loss of our 89-year-old mother and selling the home we all grow up in. We all had to deal with the 64 years of happy memories the house held.
We knew we had the right person the first day we met. Your knowledge of market trends in the Daly City area, the professionalism used in presenting the property, the stats you used in pricing the property correctly and the support staff you offered us were far superior then any other agent in the area.
Warm regards to you this Holiday Season.
Sincerely,
Linda Clark Magee
A note from us to add to your wall of fame. " What can we say ... with Carmen on your side, the competition doesn't stand a chance. Her attitude and professionalism puts her above even her similarly diamond certified peers. She helped us buy our house and sell a city loft without a hitch, and the personal attention to every detail makes you feel completely at ease. Her network of resources will be of use to us for many years. Being "Carmen certfied" puts any service provider on the fast track to success. Thanks Carmen, you are the best :) Fond regards from Susan, Steve and Grace. "
Millbrae and San Francisco
April, 8, 2011
Thanks again Carmen,
You are such a fabulous agent. I look forward to working with you on more transactions
Sharie Leird, CRP lexiconrelocation.com
Sharie Leird
Relocation Services
Kim and I truly appreciate the effort you put into selling our old home & helping us find our "forever" home. Not only was the whole process tricky & complicated since it was done almost concurrent with each other, but the transactions themselves gave us something that could not be quantified, and that is peace of mind. Peace of mind for me is knowing that we got the best price for our home when we sold it, and that we bought our new "old" home for the best possible price too. And that our decisions and our timing were Right-On, absolutely no doubt about it. I was impressed by your knowledge of the market, your creativity to think outside the box, your professionalism and courtesy, & your network of contacts within the support industry; from home finance to home upgrading. Thank you for your continued assistance in various matters, long after the completion of our transaction.
Kim & Paul H.
Millbrae
We have really enjoyed working with you. You did an extraordinary job selling our house. Your work marketing was exceptional and really paid off dividends in terms of buyer interest and finally, the number of offers we received. Thanks to your efforts, we were quite overwhelmed to receive 12 offers that we reviewed in the end. My wife Aruna & I feel you were always very helpful and took care of much of the effort involved in placing the home on sale, with minimal effort on our part. Without your help & referrals we wouldn't have been able to put our house on the market as well as we did. We would love the chance to work with you again, and will definitely refer you to future transactions of friends & family. Thanks again!
Ram & Aruna
South San Francisco
Dear Carmen-
We wish to extend our utmost gratitude to you for your extreme patience and professionalism in assisting us in our very first home purchase. Truly, we couldn’t have done it without you! You are to be commended for your unwavering support and your incredible work ethic. Your knowledge of the real estate industry is expansive and we took great comfort in knowing that you were representing us, always keeping our best interests in the forefront. Your understanding of the current market, and ability to see the possibilities, where we thought none existed: your capacity to negotiate on our behalf, all the while educating and advising us so that we could make fully-informed decisions, has resulted in the successful purchase of our “dream home”. Your extensive network of professionals to aid us in, and through, the inspection process is amazing, and we have found the referrals to be of tremendous value. Each service person we have contacted has demonstrated integrity and trustworthiness, and we couldn’t be more satisfied. Please add us to your list of very happy customers, and know that we are looking forward to the opportunity to work with you again. We have already referred a friend to you, and should the need for a realtor arise within our circle of family and friends, we will sing your praises. It has been an absolute delight working with you. Be on the lookout for the housewarming/pool party invite!
So Very Gratefully- Susan & Bernard Wright
San Mateo
Thank you for your generous gift - we are already looking at some lights for the dining room! We appreciate all your help over the course of our looong search - and your patience and perseverance. Now we need to find some more friends to recruit to our new neighborhood!
Burlingame
April 21,2010
Dear Carmen,
I just wanted to give you a hearty recommendation on the wonderful job you did in preparing and ultimately selling my home at 653 Celestial Lane. Your knowledge of the market conditions as well as your experience in knowing how to prepare and position a property were essential for the rapid ~30 day sale of my home. This made my corporate relocation to the east coast seamless.
With respect to market conditions, your suggestions on timing were important since the local market appears to be on the upswing. So your accelerated schedule in coordinating your wide network of tradespeople was essential. Of course, your proven team of professionals made the difference; its clear that you have carefully selected key tradespeople who can deliver.
With respect to preparation, your keen insight on what critical areas to remediate was most informative. From the feedback that was received by the buyers and other interested parties, it was clear that the changes made the difference.
Finally, your negotiation skills were key to getting multiple bids. The sweet reward of a selling price that was $20k over the asking price was confirmation of your negotiating prowess in a slowly recovering market. Hence, I would strongly recommend your services to my friends or any interested parties.
Sincerely, Daniel Chin, Ph.D.
Thanks Carmen for all your assistance on the Purchase and Resale of my first home in San Mateo. Your Team (Inspectors, Handymen, Escrow to Loan Brokers) was fantastic the first time around. Your assistance on selling it before I moved to the east coast again was 'hassle and stress free'! You knew exactly how to guide me through both of my experiences in purchasing and selling. I will always be Thankful to you for all you've done. (I just hope I can find someone as good in the east coast!) Yours, L. Anderson
L. Anderson
San Mateo
Carmen Miranda was a key person in helping us sell properties and purchase a home. She has a talent in reading the real estate economy and providing us with insightful suggestions. Both homes that she sold for us sold within a week from the first open house. Her open house presentation was very good which is the reason is the reason why the homes attracted multiple potential buyers.
In addition, she always went out of her way to help us out with ANY matter. For instance, she took the extra step to help us coordinate the cleaning service for our new home and we must say, the coordinations was organized and her efforts took loads off our minds. When an unexpected issue arose, she immediately gave us solid recommendations that worked to our advantage. Most of all, the extra effort gave us peace of mind.
Overall, Carmen is a very effective Investment Property Realtor. She is insightful, provides very good recommendations, takes quick action, fair anda very generous!
The Halls
Redwood Shores
Hi Carmen,
Thank you for helping us realize our goal. It has been a while since we have wanted to invest in income property but to no avail. When the financial meltdown came along with the housing bust, it further exasperated our goal but the desire of going forward was not thwarted but made us only move forward with more vigor, recongnizing that this could be the opportunity of a lifetime. It was your professionalism and your ability to convey to us through your thorough market anlaysis what was out there for us, but much more than that, the message couldn not have been heard if it had fallen on deaf ears. That's when trust comes into play' unless there is trust in the person, the information is not heard and the goal is never realized. We Thank You for your perseverance and hard work, which earned our trust in you and our goal was realized.
Carmen, you are a genuine person inside and out. we consider you not only a savvy business person but a friend as well and would highly recommend you to family and friends alike for all their real estate needs.
All the best~
Peter and Caterina Marriotti
San Mateo
I highly recommend hiring Carmen Miranda for all your real estate needs! I first found Carmen at an open house she was conducting on our street, Louise Lane, in San Mateo. My husband and I were interested in following the sale of that house because it was one very similar to our house. We were really impressed with Carmen’s professional demeanor and “go getting” attitude. After learning of the astronomical sales price on that house, Carmen was the first person to come to mind when thinking about selling our house.
In the summer, Carmen helped us sell our house in San Mateo and buy a new house in Burlingame. On the sales side, Carmen went above and beyond the call of duty – no detail was overlooked as she aggressively marketed our house and made sure our house showed in the best possible way. In a changing market that could be very stressful, Carmen made the process go very smoothly. Most importantly, she advised us to sell our house first and then buy our new house due to low inventory on the market and the time of year (late summer). No one could have predicted the mortgage meltdown of 2007…..yet Carmen wisely and miraculously advised us to sell our house before the mortgage mess hit the market. We received 7 offers and most were above asking – need I say more? The winning bid came in over 100K over asking, way exceeding our expectations and setting a record high for Louise Lane. Moreover, Carmen made sure we got all the terms we were looking for – no contingencies and a long rent back with the first 2 months free rent! We found ourselves in the very very optimal position of having sold our house at the height of the market with up to 4 months to look for our new house (in a declining market, by the way!). On the sales side, we were in a very strong position, having already sold our house with cash in hand. Carmen did a fantastic job educating us about the market in Burlingame and pointing out what to look for in certain houses. We learned to distinguish quality homes from not so quality homes. When it came time to make an offer in Burlingame, Carmen aggressively negotiated the deal and again, no detail was overlooked as she made sure that all the little things were taken care of and the closing went smoothly. . The house we ended up with in Burlingame exceeded all our expectations in terms of our wishlist, and we are extremely happy with the house we have.
Selling and buying a home is probably one of the most stressful experiences in a person’s life. With the help of Carmen, everything went surprisingly smooth and with every step of the way, my expectations were exceeded. Carmen’s “can do” attitude, breadth of knowledge about all things regarding real estate and highly professional level of service make her an exceptional realtor.
David & Sonya Hong
Burlingame, CA
February 28th, 2006
I write this letter of recommendation and support of Carmen Miranda. I recently sold my home in San Carlos after having learned of an unexpected need to move out of my house six weeks earlier. Carmen's clear direction enabled me to keep in step with critical decisions required for the sale of my home. With her experience and keen understanding of market conditions, she was able to guide me with what I needed to do to prepare my home and also counseled me on what I could expect from buyers. I really appreciate her transparency in communication regarding this entire process.
Also the outbound marketing of my home was stellar! Everything with the virtual tour on CarmenMiranda.com to effective positioning in the weekly Real Estate Magazine.
In summary, I really respected and appreciated her responsiveness, thoroughness, sense of urgency and professionalism. I will recommend her to all I know who are looking to buy or sell their house!
Sincerely,
T. Callahan
San Carlos
To California & Hawaii ReMAX Executive Managers,
I would like to Thank you for introducing us to an incredible ReMAX agent, Carmen Miranda, based at ReMAX Dolphin in the Peninsula. While searching for our first home, we interviewed countless realtors. Carmen came to our first meeting with more in hand than did all of the other realtors we had worked for some time. After one meeting with Carmen we dropped all other potential realtors, on the basis that, we knew she was dedicated to our best interest and not solely in the interest of the sale. In addition to Carmen's in depth knowledge in all sectors of her business, she is refreshingly straight forward, professional and pleasant to work with. Carmen instilled great confidence that we would end up making the best purchasing decision, with her guidance.
Bidding wars can be extremely stressful and disappointing to a first time home buyer. We found a great house, unfortunately, several other people wrote offers on the same house. Carmen planned out an effective strategy based on her past experience, and was the only agent to present in person. Something we only see in offers for much more expensive properties. We close on our house in September, and are elated!
Thank you for introducing us to our Realtor! Now, I'm even more enthusiastic about next years ReMAX campaign.
Claudia S.
Redwood City
Wanted to thank you for taking care of everything throughout the selling process of my home. It was good to know that I had someone who would look after all the details so I didn't have to worry. What can I say but "You Rock!" I hope 2005 will be a fun and prosperous year for you. You truly do enjoy your work as this is very evident in the service you provide your clients.
Gale I.
Redwood Shores
Escrow on sale of my home (to Buyer #3) closed today! Carmen had to work for her money on this one -- she did a great job. Very thorough in all the details; excellent insight and intuition about timing and negotiations, and good negotiation skills. It's a difficult time to sell right now, and especially in my development where a $44,000 per unit assessment was proposed (but not passed). It's been quite a roller-coaster ride... good thing I'm anchored in trust in God or I would have been a nervous wreck by now I imagine....
Nanette Leatherwood
Foster City
Thank you so much for making my "first time" home buying an enjoyable and unforgettable experience. You helped me achieve, what until recently, was just a goal and a dream. Thanks again for your resourcefullness, professionalism and constant support throughout the process.
Angel
San Mateo
We wanted to take a moment to express our sincerest THANKS and appreciation for your help in buying our first home. We both not only valued the great amount of time and effort you put forward on our behalf, but also the Professionalism in all your actions. Rudy and I look forward to working with you again some time in the future. Be assured that we both will recommend you to our friends when the time arises.
Thanks again! We love our new house!
The Gomez Family
Foster City
Wow, CARMEN was terrific! We beat out 10 offers on a Bank Owned property by $500!!! She's truly a class act when it came to positioning us for the purchase, finding the property First, negotiating in a Competitive, Multiple Offer situation and finally, ensuring smooooooth closing!
Dennis M.
San Mateo
You found us a fabulous home... Thanks a million!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Manuel and Tess Pilli
San Bruno
Carmen,
You have been an essential and priceless part of this whole move. I cannot thank you enough. My family is indebted. You are very dear to us. :) I will be singing your praises for a long time to come, m'dear.
Alicia R.
Belmont
Dear Carmen,
I want to personally thank you for doing such great, professional job on selling my home in Foster City. From the very beginning I knew you were the type of realtor I wanted to list my home. I interviewed several other realtors but you had all the right answers and a terrific reputation. I'm so glad I listed with you.
As you know, I've been a real estate broker since 1979, dealing exclusively in commercial real estate, so I do know the difference between an average realtor and one that stand head and shoulders above the rest. From the beginning, you came through with the right advice and suggestions. From staging the house, to open houses, to referrals of "fix~it" persons, and even the movers...you were "right on" with your suggestions and solutions.
You had exclusive control and entry of my house, in my absence, and you treated that duty as gold. You are trustworthy, loyal to your clients and very smart. You achieved a sale price, in this downturn market, that amazed us all.
If you ever need a referral..you can rely on me. I can't speak more highly on your behalf. Thanks again for doing such a grand job.
Very best regards,
Lynda Backman Helm~President~National Hotel & Motel Brokers, Inc.
Foster City
I now know why CARMEN MIRANDA was highly recommended to me. She was very instrumental, diligent, knowledgeable and professional during my purchase of a Lender Owned Property. Thanks to her, I have 2 Income Properties!
J. Fanning
Daly City
We received Excellent, Specialized Full Service from CARMEN. She represented us with our purchase and later, the lease of our Income Property in San Mateo. Her Negotiation and Organizational skills are the Best!
The Flores Family
San Mateo
Just a note of Thanks for your help with the search and the purchase of my first home.
I especially appreciated your sound advice when we wrote the offer for the purchase and your attentiveness to all the details surrounding my transaction.
I'll certainly refer friends and co workers in search of a home to you without hesitation.
Thanks again!
Michele
Michele McNamara
San Mateo Co
I have known MS. CARMEN MIRANDA for approximately 1 year. During this time I purchased my first home, a condo. I have recently sold the condo at a nice profit and got a great deal on a single family home. I am pleased to have had Ms. Miranda handle both of these transactions. Ms. Miranda was always very personal and professional, and presented with great integrity. I am pleased to highly recommend her without reservation.
Ronald W. Hendley
San Mateo
Thank you CARMEN for a FABULOUS JOB on our Waterfront Fixer in Foster City. Your high level of expertise in Lender Owned Properties and Negotiation Skills have landed us a home that we know "was the deal of the year!" My family looks forward to working with you on other Real Estate Activities!
The Prasad Family
Foster City
Hello Carmen,
Steve and I wanted to let you know how much we appreciated your expertise and counsel in selling our place in Redwood Shores. We were excited that things worked out so well! Not only did you sell the place in seven days (when another place in our complex had been on the marketing for more than 40) but you got us over asking. We hope that our buyer is enjoying her new home as much as we love our new place in Southern California.
Thank you again for helping make our relocation smooth and comfortable.
Warm regards,
Sarah and Steven Holt
Steven and Sarah Holt
Redwood Shores
Hi Carmen I want to thank you for helping me successfully selling my home. I am very grateful that I could rely on your master plan which was conceived from your years of experience.
And finally, it was a good experience having you as my agent on the buying end as well. Thanks for all the help.
T. Rendlich Foster City and San Francisco
Theresa Rendlich
Foster City and San Francisco
Hi Carmen,
Thank you very much for all the help you have done for us. Maria and I very sincerely appreciate your honest, sincerity and professionalism. Like I've said to you before, we could not have done what we have done without your help. I will keep this for my records.
We will definitely stay in touch with you.
Many regards, -John and Maria
Thank you for helping us purchase our 1st home. We'll let our friends and family know you did an awesome job. Please include us in your referral list, we're happy to give testimony on your professional services.
James and Lam
Burlingame
Hello from Shanghai. I want to take a moment to thank you again for your help with the shortsale of my home.
You said it would be a lengthy and difficult process, For me it was just a lengthy process because you handled all of the difficulties, and for that I am truly grateful. Because of the rushed nature of my move overseas, knowing you were handling in on that side of the ocean was such a comfort. I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of the extra miles you went to see my sale through to completion.
Despite the delays caused by the bank and all of the extra detail work needed for this kind of sale, your persistence and stewardship saw it through to completion.
The decision to go through with a short sale was difficult, but thanks to you, the process was not.
You can be sure I will recommend you to everybody I know who is looking for a first class realtor in the Bay Area.
Sincerely and with my best regards,
Alex D'Aquila Shanghai, China
We enjoyed working with you on our 2 transactions~ you did a GREAT JOB and EXCEEDED our expectations!
Please don't hesitate to let me know if there's anything I can do for you!
The Kershner Family
Burlingame
Hello Carmen,
First, thank you so much for working with us on getting our house on Piper Drive in San Jose. Rosy and I both feel that without your guidance and expertise we would not have had the chance to own this beautiful home. Thank you for the nice gift as well!
Best, Rey and Rosy
Rey and Rosy Evangelista
San Jose
Working with you is a great pleasure. Your diligence, dedication, and honesty proved again and again that you are a leader and a true professional in your field. Your openness, expertise, and guidance helps one to make the right choices. -You are simply the best- I deeply thank you for all your care and understanding and looking forward doing business with you in the near future.
Semra
Redwood Shores
We wanted to take a moment and describe the experience we had selling our home with Carmen Miranda. As first-time home sellers, both my wife & I had many pre-conceptions about the selling process. In the SF Bay Area, sellers too easily think that their homes will demand top dollar - with little effort involved. That's actually not true. We interviewed several candidate agents. We obtained a range of opinions from - "do nothing" to "full kitchen remodel". Only one person - Carmen Miranda - give us the feeling of confidence that not only would a strategic set of updates to the house pay off; but her guidance on pricing strategy and marketing were by far the best of any agent we interviewed. Carmen's commitment to professional excellence, and absolute thoroughness in every part of the job gave my wife and I the satisfaction that we had picked the right person to represent us in selling our home. Briefly, Carmen provided the following assistance for us: 1) Strategic advice on financially manageable - but high impact "freshening" for our kitchen and front yard 2) Superb handyman & contractor support 3) Thorough inspections 4) Excellent staging guidance 5) Relocation company support
I'm happy to say that Carmen's advice paid off for us - way beyond our expectations. We highly recommend Carmen's services to anyone looking to sell their home.
Gina & Shawn Davis
San Mateo, CA
Carmen, I cannot tell you enough how pleased and thankful we are that we met you and that you became our Real Estate Agent! You made the whole process so easy - especially since we are first-time buyers. You always shared your knowledge and provided guidance in a way that helped us understand our options and empowered us to make sound, informed decisions. You were always there for us - often on a moment's notice! - making sure our needs were being met. We LOOOOVE our new home! We are so excited that our son will grow up with a large yard like we did, in a desirable neighborhood with good schools and great neighbors. It was our hope to be able to purchase in the area and you made it all happen by helping us watch the market, monitor the listings and go for it when the time was just right. (Did you count how many houses you showed us? I think close to 20, right?) We have also been extremely impressed with your extensive professional network of "team services" and contacts - i.e. mortgage lenders, title company, contractors, electricians, engineers, inspections, etc. and so on... it has helped this entire process run smoothly and has ensured we are fully served. We have been very satisfied and fully trust your recommendations. Thank you, thank you, thank you! For your patience and perseverance, as well as guidance and advice! We really appreciate the attention to details and the very personal touch you added to the buying experience. Rest assured, this will not be the last you see of us! :-) Thank you! Cristina, Ricardo & Joaquin
Ricardo and Cristina
San Mateo
It was truly our pleasure to have Carmen Miranda as our agent during the sale of our home. She was the utmost professional every step of the way, from the first presentation about two years ago when we first thought about selling until the escrow closing this week. Thanks to her guidance in setting the price and preparing our home for sale, we had multiple offers and got more than $100,000 over the listing price. Carmen's attention to detail is as impressive as the extensive network of professionals she can tap on a phone call's notice. What other agent would have been able to get our house on TV and raise a storm of publicity? What I also found refreshing is that unlike other real estate agents. Carmen never put too much pressure, convincing us of her strategy through giving more information. In the end, it was always up to us which way to go. In conclusion, I wish we could use Carmen's services to buy our next home (moving to Southern Calif). She is the role model for all professionals. That is why I unreservedly recommend Carmen Miranda as the best real estate agent in San Mateo.
The Frishbergs
Foster City
Hi Carmen,
Maria and I offer our very sincere thank you to you for taking care of "little" us in your busy schedule and finding us a new tenant in such a short duration. Again, we simply do not know what we will do without you. Just to reiterate, we are going to need your continued support as we manage this property whether it is for finding a new tenant or to sell it at some future date.
Heartfelt thanks to you!
There are some issues that Nayan wanted to fix (lights, drainage etc) and I will request Brian Hytry's help (thank you again for referring Brian : ) ) for those and coordinate.
Regards, -John and Maria
Foster City ~ Lease
Carmen,
Well, we FINALLY did it!!! Although the outcome was not what we originally expected, I'm glad we stuck together through it all. You have gone above and beyond the call of a realtor in your quest to sell our house, and for that, we thank you greatly. I look forward to putting this chapter of our lives behind us, and look forward to what is to come. I know this is just the beginning, and look forward to our future dealings. Again, many thanks for all you have done for us!
Cathy and Mike
San Bruno
