Zephyr Real Estate - Danielle Lazier - Realtor

Selling (or buying) a house is an adventure filled with excitement, as well as anxiety. After 17 years of owning a home in SF, our first, we wanted an agent that would help lead us, as well as partner with us, on this see-saw endeavor.

Even though Danielle had smartly marketed to us for over a year, we interviewed several agents. For us, it was cost-of-entry selection criteria that our listing agent knew the neighborhood, the market, the potential and the process. Clearly, Danielle, had the credentials and capabilities to deliver on these elements. However, we were looking for that something extra Fresh thinking, determination, flexibility, and a strong dash of reality And, Danielle not only fit this extended profile perfectly, she exceeded it.

The changeable and fast-moving SF market realities proved to be a challenge to some of our long-held our perceptions, yet Danielle offered up an honest diagnosis while respecting our wishes. Her suggestions about sprucing the place up and making some improvements were spot on. She understood our vision and honored our desires. It was a tough balancing, but she over-delivered.

Throughout the relationship, from first visit through close of escrow, Danielle and her team regularly communicated, updated and were responsive. We were never in the dark or anxious about the next steps. Her positive outlook kept us upbeat and on the right track. Thanks Danielle!

We would highly recommend her without reservation!

I would say different people expect different approaches from a realtor. We wanted someone who

1. Would understand we were serious about selling in one district and moving into a district that wasn't did so hard by the slowdown
2. Would understand we were willing to do that was needed for a fast sale. Time was not on our side for some reasons I wont go into here
3. Would not give us BS and would be realistic + honest about our situation

We got all of the above. One thing I appreciated was how Danielle lead us to realise our own mistake early on. We did not do enough homework on the area we wanted to move to and we were underestimating the prices of houses that we would consider by around 80k. Danielle told us that we were under but was patient enough to make sure we came to this conclusion ourselves when we saw how far our money would go.

At all times we got realistic advice. We were not given inflated ideas about where we stood (I am sure a lot of realtors are not like that). Working with Danielle we were able to sell our old house very quickly. We got the price we were expecting and in today's climate that is a big deal.

In September of last year I took a job in a town about three hours drive from San Francisco...tried to do the back and forth thing, but by December it was obvious: if I was going to keep the job, which I loved, my husband and I needed to relocate. This was a life changing decision in and of itself, but complicated by the fact that we were facing either renting out our San Francisco home (even though neither of us wanted to be landlords) or selling it in what was perhaps the worst market for sellers in decades...

We decided to sell, but were very apprehensive. Next step was to find a really good Realtor, as we were going to need a whole lot of help to make our decision happen! I went on the internet, and after a bit of research came up with several names, including Danielle's.

Of the several realtors we interviewed, Danielle was clearly the best prepared: she came to our first interview with personalized information about the market, comparable prices for houses like ours, and more. The other realtors we interviewed were nice, but not even a tenth as prepared! Indeed, one of the other realtors asked my husband and me how much wed like to get for our home, and I remember thinking to myself, 'well, of course I'd LIKE to get a million dollars, but those days are gone: I was hoping you'd tell me what you think it is worth and why'. Danielle did give us her recommendation as to listing price, and most importantly, the reasons for the recommendation (with plenty of research and information to back it up): It was then that I knew: Danielle was the right choice for us!

We moved out in January, and then took a few weeks to paint, re-do the floors, and get the house 'spiffed up' for sale. We told Danielle that we were on a budget, and she gave excellent advice about where to spend money and where not to during the preparation process, and then went the extra mile to get us bids from contractors within our budget. She and her team (especially her very capable assistant Cici English) did an excellent job of managing the work and making sure that everything was done right; a very important role since it was tough to deal with while living several hours away. The end results were very impressive: hubby wistfully wished that someone could do a similar makeover for him personally!

Bottom line: we listed the house in mid-February of 2009, and within about a week we had two offers, both for over asking! The offer we accepted came in on my birthday; talk about a wonderful birthday present! In my opinion, Danielle nailed the suggested listing price. Even in my daydreams, I didnt imagine the process going as smoothly as it did.

I cannot stress enough the difference that Danielles attention to detail, computer savyness, assertiveness in representing our interests, knowledge of the overall market and micro-markets in San Francisco, and marketing strategies made in the sale of our home. Moreover, she and Cici both kept us calm during the inevitable bumps in the road (though, to be honest, even the bumps seemed very minor thanks to their professional demeanor).

We are now only a few days from closing escrow in SF, and in the process of buying a home here in our new town. We love our new home-to-be, but do have one regret: we wish it wasnt too far away to make it practical for Danielle to be our realtor here as well. Our new realtor is doing a fine job, but every once in a while hubby and I look at each other and sigh, XXX (Insert New Realtors Name Here) is ok, but she is no Danielle. I think He or she is a Danielle may become our new code words for He or she is the best.

When I say Danielle is the BEST, I mean it! I give her my absolute highest recommendation, and wouldnt dream of using any team but hers for a SF Bay Area real estate transaction.

It's not easy to describe in just a few paragraphs what a great real estate agent Danielle is. I have very high standards for professionalism and mastery of one's own domain and Danielle's performance has been spotless.

A few months ago, based on our own instincts as well as all the pundits forecasting a rare "buyer's market" in San Francisco, my fiancee and I decided to look and see if we could pull off our dream of homeownership in San Francisco. Having already done some reading about buying homes, it was clear to me how crucial working with the right real estate agent in all of this is. I wanted to find someone who is not only an expert in San Francisco real estate, but also youthful and well versed in modern technologies and would be easy and fun to work with. I came across Danielle through her blog, her website, her answers on Trulia, and other online reviews about her and was immediately impressed with her knowledge and enthusiasm.

Danielle was our trusted partner, from the very first consultation (to which she showed up with several binders of prepared material tailored to our situation) to recommending our excellent mortgage officer, to sending us two movie tickets when it seemed like we could use them, to the day we were holding the keys to our first home in our hands (along with -- of course! -- more nice and thoughtful gifts which I won't give away to her current and future clients).

We found our favorite property pretty early on, after seeing it during an open house. Danielle still took us to tour several others to see a good sample of what's available and in our range right now, but in the end we made an offer on our favorite house. We trusted Danielle's instincts and offered quite significantly below asking. She was right: our offer was accepted. The escrow process was dogged by difficulties caused by a seller who seemed bent on skimping on his responsibilities. This would be a recipe for a disaster, unless you have a great agent such as Danielle. Especially listening to some of our friends' stories about their RE agents, I shudder to think how incredibly different it all could have turned out. We could be living in a house that we bought at a higher price, and dealing with a leaky roof, cracked furnace, and last-minute changes made without permit. Or, in no house at all! But Danielle cut through all the crap and she fearlessly negotiated great deals for us, making sure our seller did everything he was supposed to do, the way he was supposed to (and we know, he tried not to!). Rest assured that with Danielle on your side, nobody is going to pull a fast one on you. Those friends I mentioned, have all meanwhile been supplied with Danielle's contact information, btw. :)

Danielle clearly has a passion for her job. Yet, equally importantly, beneath all this enthusiasm and love for real estate is a consummate professional and a tough (but fair) negotiator. Trust me, I speak from experience when I say that when the contents of the sewage pipe in your dream home hit the fan, you want Danielle on your team. She was truly an expert guide, comfortably ahead of every other player in the transaction, carefully guiding the process to its successful completion. Her communication was excellent. She educated us, anticipated obstacles and worries before we saw them, and also made us think about things we wouldn't have thought of otherwise, but are important nevertheless -- such as estate planning, for instance. Some crucial things were a breeze with her: when the time for inspections came, she already had her (very competent and thorough) inspectors lined up and out on the property with us within 48 hours. Still, during the entire process, she also truly made us feel like we were the ones in control. To be able to do all this is a very rare talent and also requires a lot of skill. Danielle's assistant Cici has been also very helpful and contributed to our success.

Kathleen and I highly recommend Danielle, and we know that we have found our real estate guide for life!

Dear Danielle,
Thank you for selling our home in San Francisco. Choosing an agent online can be difficult and I was very apprehensive about doing it that way. I can't tell you how happy we all are that we found you. Your information and professionalism throughout the whole process was crucial and we can't thank you enough. You not only got the job done in this market, you got us for MORE than we were asking! You are really a WOW!!!!

Thanks again,
C. Roberts
Orange County

Our daughter selected Danielle Lazier to be her agent when she decided to sell her condominium located on lower Nob Hill in San Francisco. We met Danielle because my husband had volunteered to help get everything in tiptop order for selling. The first thing we noticed was that Danielle had a good eye for what needed to be done such as painting, kitchen reconfiguration, floor refinishing, and she quickly went over those suggestions with us. She set a time line for completion to which we agreed.

The second thing we observed was Danielles quick response time to any questions or concerns we had. She was always thorough with her information. She kept us informed as to what the San Francisco requirements were when working with contractors, and was always calm and diplomatic when any controversy came up among the various inspectors and contractors.

Danielle really seems to know the real estate market in San Francisco, and is very good at communicating that information to both the buyer and the seller. Because of all of the reasons mentioned, the condo was only on the market 10 days before a full offer came in, and the sale was completed in about a month. In this market I would say that is really something!! We would highly recommend Danielle as your agent if you are either buying or selling a property.

Danielle was AMAZING. Highly highly recommend!! We met her on a Thursday, saw places on the following Tuesday, and made an offer that night. We weren't expecting things to move that quickly as my husband and I are both first time home buyers and the process is a little scary.

Then the frustrations of the current economy hit and we had to deal with a number of banks, trying to get our mortgage and mortgage insurance figured out. Danielle was patient and understanding the entire time. She did an excellent job of keeping us informed about what was happening and what we could expect as next steps.

Home buying is a HUGE decision, especially in San Francisco where the cost of homes are out of control. But we were so relaxed having Danielle in our corner. We couldn't have imagined going through another real estate agent... nothing but good things to say here.

More details on my blog: http://8-8-08.blogspot.com/2008/10/danielle-lazier-real-estate-agent.html

Hate to keep repeating what others have said already, but Danielle knows her stuff.

She sold our house for us in June-July of 2008. We initially contacted her a year prior, then took the interceding time to find our new place before putting our house in SF on the market. Still, she was very low pressure, not pushing us to get our place on the market, and she kept in contact periodically to see how we were coming on our own house hunt.

Once we were ready to list our house, she jumped to the task, creating a timeline for how things would progress once we were out, offering to-do lists and friendly nudges to keep us on track, arranged for a handyman to come in to take care of any blemishes in the property, and helped us find a painter as well as our moving company. She also was very clear about mapping out her strategy for selling the house, how it should be priced, and when to put it on the market.

After we moved out we were a little apprehensive as we were several hundred miles away, but Danielle took charge of getting the place ready, having it staged, and arranging for some last-minute repairs that cropped up. Also, she was very proactive about keeping us informed as to what was going on, and answered all of our calls promptly.

Well, long story short, she nailed it. Things worked just as she said they would. We had a ton of interest, both on broker tour and when the house was open to the public, and many showings in between. Thanks to her savvy, we got multiple offers (which in this market is no longer the norm that it was several years ago) and were able to massage two of them to sweeten the pot. We ended up accepting one from a very well qualified buyer that was significantly over our asking price. Escrow went without a hitch, and we closed slightly more than a month after the place first went on the market. We were thrilled and are very happy we went with her as our representative.

Danielle is absolutely amazing!!!

Being a first time home buyer is always such a daunting but incredibly exciting experience. Her experience and knowledge really helped us find our perfect home in a matter of weeks!!! Based on our needs she provided us with all the options available, the information we needed and provided amazing guidance throughout the entire home buying process - not to mention referrals to experts in each field that really helped us close on our dream home in an instant!

She really goes the extra mile - no request was ever too much and she always made herself available phone, email, in person. We highly recommend Danielle and will certainly use her the next time around.

Danielle came recommended to us by some good friends and we weren't disappointed! It was our first time buying a house and she provided priceless guidance, understanding and support. We felt like we were in good hands every step of the way. She helped us keep our focus to achieve our goal of owning our first home. We felt she always had our best interests at heart when negotiating on our behalf.

Although it seems crazy to think of it right now having just bought our home, we will absolutely come to her when and if we sell our home in the future. We have already recommended her to our friends and will happily continue to recommend her services.

Aside from being a savvy expert in the field, Danielle feels like a friend. She's easy to get along with, very personable and trustworthy.

Danielle represented us on both sides of our recent property transactions and we couldnt be happier with her high level of service. Shes tuned into the macro factors affecting the residential space and really has her finger on the pulse of local dynamics that dominate the San Francisco market (neighborhoods of choice, property type supply/demand, buyer demographics, etc). Most important, Danielle applied her broad knowledge to our unique needs as buyer / seller----she was able to gauge our desires and concerns and then create a plan to satisfy them. She guided us through some very choppy waters (both personal anxieties and a shifting credit/finance market) with patience and tact. Shes direct, efficient, and driven by solutions. For us, Danielle solidified her reputation as a trusted advisor and should be recognized for her sensitivity, diligence and proven skills.

-Roxanne and Neil, October 2007

P.S.her marketing prowess is impressive---our Mission condo brought in 8 offers and sold for more than 13% over list price!

First time home buyers here and Danielle was not only a delight to work with, but also extremely knowledgeable. She gave us all the right info, guided us in the right direction, supported our decisions, answered our questions, and got the job done. In the middle of our house hunt, we shifted courses toward a different type of home - condo v. single family. This was a new area for us and Danielle helped us through and sealed the deal in a way that made us so happy.

We highly recommend Danielle and will certainly use her the next time around.

I wondered this a few times during my experience with Danielle... when does she find the time to always be three steps ahead? Many a morning I would wake up and find an update from Danielle- a note on a new listing or some new documents to sign- sent at some unseemly hour. No doubt, this girl works hard for her clients.

In so many ways I was impressed with Danielle: She understood our somewhat odd priorities; she explained each step of the process without alienating me (I am a first-time buyer); she stayed impeccably calm during the most stressful moments; and she negotiated us flawlessly, through the 'mortgage meltdown' scare, into our dream home.

I could not recommend Danielle more highly. Not only does she have the skills, the smarts, and the savvy to get the job done, but she also makes the whole experience rather enjoyable!

We feel quite fortunate to have worked with Danielle. One of the most important features in our housing hunt was to find someone who would take the time to get to know us and listen to our needs. From our first meeting with her, Danielle set precisely that tone and continued that throughout our home seeking process.

She certainly has mastered all of the requisite skills of a realtor and uses current technology to keep buyers well-informed. While many realtors would see this as sufficient for getting the job done, Danielle goes one step further. Her attention to detail and ability to make each offer as strong as possible (even beyond the financials) were particularly striking. While we entered our house hunting search simply looking for experience and a willingness to listen, we ended up finding that and so much more.

I recently sold a house with Danielle in Albany. Danielle helped me buy the house 3 years ago and based on her excellent service during the original transaction, I returned as a seller. The transaction was unique due to the fact that I was living across the country. I took advantage of all the value added services that Danielle can provide including connections for staging and renovations. She made it painless to deal with the details remotely and went well beyond any real estate agent I have ever found. I trusted her completely and received excellent service to achieve my goals. She is a true professional and would highly recommend her.

Danielle Lazier couldn't have navigated me through my first home purchase more smoothly. Her depth of knowledge and keen understanding of my personal interests and situation allowed me to trust her implicitly.
She informed me of exactly what was needed and by when to ensure a smooth process. I also enjoyed her fun but information-rich newsletters and mailers - it was just enough to handle at the right time. Her attention was prompt: she answered and offered advice (if I asked) on every question I posed, no matter how silly.

I landed in a perfect situation, and a great deal because she had connections to the vast network of Zephyr agents. Her broad base of referrals also relieved the stress of figuring out "pre-move-in renovations" and other services.

I will use Danielle for every real estate transaction I pursue in the future.

This is the second time we have used Danielle as our agent -- once when we bought our first condo together several years ago and again when we sold the condo and bought a single family home. I can't say enough about her. She is a consummate professional and very knowledgeable yet manages to communicate with her clients in an extremely relaxed and comfortable manner. She helped us negotiate an extraordinarily stressful, complex situation with grace and kept our spirits up when we were discouraged. Now we are happily settled in our new home and owe it all to her!

We are days away from completing our second real estate transaction with Danielle. As always, the process has gone very smoothly. Danielle walked me through the selling process (as it was my first time being on the selling side of the housing market). She provided me with a list of items to complete well in advance of listing the property, which reduced the needless last minute frenzy of getting the house ready for market. Danielle has been very attentive to our concerns/needs both as buyers and sellers. She very knowledgeable about the SF market, and provides sound advice for both pricing to sell and bidding. Needless to say, we will be calling on Danielle again for our next real estate adventure.

Danielle helped me and my husband buy our first home several years ago and then helped us sell that same house last fall at an astounding profit.

Buying the house was a breeze with Danielle. As first-timers, we were terrified, but Danielle held our hands through the entire process, answered our millions of questions without judgment, and most importantly, helped us get into the home that was perfect for us.

A couple of years later, when we were ready to move to the East Bay, Danielle helped us successfully navigate a really difficult escrow with outrageously demanding buyers. Danielle worked tirelessly to help us get the best price possible and fielded the buyers' demands with the perfect mix of grace and steel. I don't know what we would have done without her.

I had been looking to buy my first loft for over 3 years, with another agent and by myself. Then was referred to Danielle - she was so great. I started out so terrified and overwhelmed, but she was so patient and went through every step. I felt like I was her only client! I could be totally honest with her about my unique needs for my live/work space. And WE FOUND THE PERFECT LOFT! yay! She put in an offer, they accepted same day - and here I am 1 year later. Thanks Danielle!!!

PROS: knowledgable, fun, smart, patient, realistic, cool!
CONS:

Like Jeremy N. and Sean M., I have had only positive experiences with Danielle.

From when my wife and I first started looking to buy, to when we finally bit the bullet and made an offer for our (frankly perfect) place two and a half years later, Danielle was there for us. And in the interim, when we backed off of looking, she gave us space without any animosity.

She was exceptionally helpful, knowledgeable of neighborhoods and markets, straightforward: the best asset first time buyers could ask for. She took the time to get to know us, learn what we were looking for. She both asked excellent questions and provided excellent answers to our questions, and made the whole process as streamlined and painless as possible. But every step of the way was still very much ours to take: I honestly can't imagine her pressuring anyone into any real estate decision.

I heartily recommend Danielle to anyone I know looking into real estate in San Francisco, and encourage anyone who is put off by the baffling review from "L.L." to look again -- she is a rare gem.

PROS: Knowledgeable, efficient, excellent people skills, a pleasure to deal with.
CONS: Nothing at all in 3+ years.

I am shocked at the first review of Zephyr! Danielle H. Lazier is my agent and is nothing but magnificent. From helping my wife and I find a place in time to have our baby, to holding my hand through concerns and crises, even when she didn't have to (as we'd been in our condo for months), she's always ready to supply information, counsel, and guidance.

Danielle was our last in a string of agents we tried out, and she will continue to be so long as we're both on San Francisco.

I can understand that not everyone will have the same experience with the same person, but I would encourage people using this review service to also consider my opinion and excellent experience before blindly dismissing Ms. Lazier.

PROS: Thorough, honest, efficient, diligent
CONS:

Danielle was a fantastic ally and resource during my first home buying experience. She helped us understand what we could afford, what the process would be, and how to get in an offer that would be accepted. She's very knowledgeable of the San Francisco neighborhoods and the real estate market. Unlike the stereotypical agent who's only out for herself, we felt Danielle was honest, friendly (but not in a superficial way), and truly had our best interests in mind.

Now that we're thinking of moving, she'll be our agent to sell the house and buy a new one. I really wouldn't go with anyone else.

I just can't say enough good things about her! Feel free to contact me if you still have questions.

PROS: Warm, friendly, very knowledgeable, savvy, honest, organized
CONS: None -- really!