Client Testimonials

“We were first-time home buyers in the middle of the San Francisco home buying frenzy. We were nervous and did not know what to expect. With Vicki as our realtor, the experience was a piece of cake. Vicki was always there for us, from open houses to after-work meetings to obtaining answers to our many questions. Her responsiveness, patience and humor were invaluable to us. We feel very lucky to have had Vicki guiding us through the process and recommend her without reservation.”

- Jane and Lauri

“Having represented my wife and I on the sale of our condominium, it is with great pleasure that I recommend Vicki. As our house was our largest investment, you can imagine the concern with which we approached the process. Furthermore, having moved to New York, we had to rely on our broker to handle all of the aspects of the sale.

Vicki did an outstanding job representing our best interests. From the first time I met Vicki, I was impressed with her professionalism. I immediately felt she could be trusted. While we were clearly happy that Vicki was able to sell our condominium for over asking, the real benefit came in her understanding of the process. She was able to seamlessly guide us through the process, providing advice at critical points of the process to allow us to achieve the maximum price with the most favorable terms.

During the entire process she was diligent and professional. I would recommend Vicki to both buyers and sellers without hesitation. She made a trying process much, much easier.”

-Michael Pratt

“Dear Buyers & Sellers,
When my wife and I decided to look for our first home we both agreed that finding the appropriate agent was one of the few ways in which we could get the most condo for our budget. We had a few recommendations from friends…but had little confidence their agents were anything more then proficient. Unsatisfied with our choices, we pushed ahead with our search…alone.

Every week for almost a year, we consulted the MLS and made the open house circuit. Every property came with an agent ready to guide us to salvation. My wife and I weren’t buying it. One Sunday we showed ourselves to an open house where we meet Vicki Valandra. Vicki was warm and professional (like many agents we encountered) yet possessed another quality that the other agents lacked. Vicki had integrity, Vicki was genuine and I knew we could trust her to represent our interests. Vicki helped us have a great experience and I can’t recommend her highly enough!”

- Eric Friedman



“As a first-time buyer in San Francisco, I found Vicki to be an invaluable help in finding and purchasing my dream home. At the start of my search, I didn't have a clear idea of exactly what locations and property types I wanted to focus on. Despite my lack of clear decision criteria, Vicki invested significant time and effort in showing me a variety of different properties and locations to help us both figure out what the right home for me would look like. Vicki never tired of helping me look and never pressured me to put in an offer unless I was 100% comfortable with the property.

When we did finally find the perfect property, Vicki saved me an immense amount of money, time and sanity! First she managed to negotiate and execute a contract directly with the seller within a matter of days. The result was I was able to purchase the first home I bid on without the property going into a competitive bid situation, a rare feat in San Francisco. She also was extremely helpful in the closing process, scheduling inspections, helping me with the paperwork and even playing a critical role in helping me get the mortgage I wanted through her financial contacts.

I recommend Vicki strongly to anyone who is thinking seriously about buying a home in the Bay Area. She is very knowledgeable, helpful and will add value every step of the way. Most importantly, she is also very ethical, personable and a lot of fun to work with, all very important factors to consider when you think about the amount of time you will spend with your agent in the home-buying process! I have recommended Vicki to all of my friends who are in home buying and selling mode and have no hesitation in recommending her to anyone reading this testimonial.”

- Tom



“Vicki was a former manager of mine at a prior company. When she moved into real estate, I couldn't think of anyone better to work with. Vicki helped us throughout our entire experience as first-time home buyers. She was very patient with us as we tried to figure out what kind of home (and in what area) would best fit our needs. All throughout, Vicki was terrific at explaining all of the paperwork, the laws, the terms, etc. at each step of the process from writing up the offer / counteroffer to the contract signing, and the title. We really felt we could place our trust in her. Vicki made our first home buying experience as painless as it could be. I would not hesitate to recommend her to any of my friends and family members!”

- Tanaya and Teera



“As first time home buyers, we learned that purchasing a home in the Bay Area can be a major challenge. We had already placed offers on a couple of homes unsuccessfully, and even had an offer on what we thought was our dream home accepted, only to fall through during escrow, while working with an inexperienced real estate agent. Then we met Vicki. We felt extremely comfortable with her from the beginning. She presented as calm, peaceful and competent.

We learned early that there are many players in the home buying game and that the person we chose as our real estate agent could make the difference at many points in the process. This was important because, for us, the process of buying our first home was a very personal and meaningful experience. We had so much to learn and Vicki was knowledgeable, informative and patient. Vicki guided us through the process with the utmost professionalism and effectiveness. And whenever we ran into stumbling blocks along the way that had the potential to break the deal, Vicki’s easiness and perseverance prevailed. We feel very strongly that we are in our home today thanks to the hard work, expertise and intelligence of Vicki Valandra.

We also received feedback from others that were involved in the process of buying our home. The escrow officer with the title company that we worked with indicated that Vicki was among the top five professionals that she had worked with in her twenty years of experience in the business.

Our new home is better than we ever hoped for and we are so happy. We are forever grateful for everything that Vicki did for us. We wholeheartedly recommend Vicki to anyone searching for a home to call there own.”

- William and James

"We were first-time home buyers, and very nervous about stepping into the San Francisco real estate market. And, of course, we wanted to get more house than we wanted to pay for. Vicki came highly recommended, and immediately explained the process very clearly, so that we felt much more comfortable right away. She let us know that there would be challenges in finding a house that met our requirements, but she was always completely supportive and persistent on our behalf, and stuck with us for the 4+ months it took to find our home. During that time we sometimes got discouraged, or were tempted to buy anything just to get it over with; Vicki helped us keep our perspective, and steered us clear of some houses that, in retrospect, I'm very glad we didn't buy. Vicki is very knowledgeable, as well as bright, funny and real, and you couldn't ask for more than that in a Realtor. If we ever sell this place, I'll be looking for Vicki to handle it for us."

- Paul



We just wanted to write you a note to tell you how happy we were with you as our real estate agent. We were very impressed with you because in our case, we were working with a very urgent schedule. This, combined with the normal insanity of the San Francisco housing market, demanded an intense level of dedication and commitment which you were definitely able to provide. The thing that really impressed us, however, was your probing questions to make sure that we were going to be happy with our decisions. On more than one occasion, you advised against a property where you could have easily made a profitable sale.

Although we expected the process to be demanding, we did not expect the personal attention you gave us. Unfortunately I think that this is not the norm for real estate agents. We will recommend you highly to others.

Thank you,
-Stacey and Kalt Swartzkopf

"I was a first time home buyer, but also a busy professional. Vicki was gracious in her ability to walk me through the completely unknown territory of home buying. Vicki was sincerely interested in understanding what I was looking for and proved to be extremely knowledgeable, resourceful and organized during the touring process. When the time came, she was flexible in preparing and scheduling the paperwork, as it was on short notice and happened very quickly. She was instrumental in negotiating and provided guidance that ultimately got me the property.  Simply put, I look back on the experience and smile. Quite remarkable for a first time home purchase in San Francisco. I am delighted to return the favor and do not hesitate to recommend Vicki.  It was truly my pleasure to work with her. "

-Kathy Kilbourne, Chief Financial Officer, Wells Fargo Securities