Hi Catherine, I just wanted to thank you again for all your hard work in both selling and purchasing our house in Los Altos. When we embarked on the home buying process, purchasing a 100+ yr old house was something we never expected but when we saw the house, we fell in love with it. With your expertise and contacts, we were able to get some of the best qualified inspectors around to inspect our home so we could be fully informed on the condition of the property whether it be electrical or foundation work. Your recommendation about checking with the city for permits also proved to be quite insightful as some of the permits were never finalized and we were able to negotiate the closure of the open permits as a condition of our purchase agreement. Your negotiation skills and professionalism really showed during the purchase process especially when the agent on the other side was so unresponsive. You ultimately took matters into your own hand to make sure our purchase went as smooth as possible. To top it all off, you were such a great negotiator that when it came time to appraise our property, the appraisal actually came in higher than our purchase price! Thank you again for all your hard work and dedication and making yourself available at all times including when you were on vacation. We absolutely love our new home and can thank you for it. If are ever in need of references, we’d be happy to attest to your skills. Roger & Wendy C.
Dear Catherine, This being our first home purchase, we started this adventure with many questions and apprehension but you were there with us, every step of the way, patiently answering all of our questions and guided us through each step of the process, often pointing things out to us that we would never have thought to consider. After tirelessly touring countless homes with us, you always left us encouraged that we'll find the perfect house and, sure enough, we finally did. When we finally decided on a home, you diligently researched the offer price and found out exactly what it would take to get the home for us. Even with another offer on the table higher than what we were offering, you still managed to get us the house! To top it all off, our house actually appraised for almost 5% more than the sale price. We also really appreciated you negotiating some money back for us for the “missing” refrigerator and cleaning expenses. And you were right when you recommended a second home inspection which gave us a peace of mind which was nice. Thank you for making our first home buying experience such a smooth and enjoyable one! Henry and Anne
We are writing this letter to thank you for all your hard work and effort on our behalf, both in selling our property and in purchasing our new home in Mountain View. Your knowledge of the market and your assurances throughout the selling process really helped us to feel confident. In fact, our home sold right in the estimated timeframe you had projected. Since we had purchased our first home directly from a builder we were unfamiliar with buying a home on the open market. You patiently walked us through each step of the process, made yourself available for viewings, and offered us valuable insights into how to best present an offer. You also went above and beyond in researching zoning regulations, and ultimately tracking down all the construction permits on our new home in order to assure that all additions were up to code. You insured that we had all comparable sales information in our new neighborhood and that the appraisal process was a smooth one. There were multiple bids on the home we purchased, and we believe that it was your due diligence that encouraged the sellers to accept our offer. Catherine, we love our new home, but if we do move again in the future we would most certainly rely on your expertise to help us find another house. Please use this email as a letter of recommendation to potential new clients. There are a lot of real estate brokers out there, but very few excellent ones. You are one of the excellent ones. Best regards, Leigh and Michael Cordes
Dear Catherine, I wanted to take the time to thank you for the great service in my purchase of a new townhouse. There’s no doubt in my mind I made the right selection in you. Feel free to have any prospective clients on the fence give me a call, I’m sure I can tip them to your side! When I started looking for assistance in purchasing a new home, I wanted to find someone who was knowledgeable, responsive and trustworthy. After interviewing a few brokers, I selected Catherine after our first meeting. Immediately I was very impressed with her professionalism, knowledge of the industry and very well thought out answers to my numerous questions. As a first time homebuyer, the factors and variables to consider were absolutely mind boggling, but Catherine made sure things were done very logically and at the exact pace that I felt most comfortable with. She went well above and beyond the call of duty and I could not be happier with the relationship! After looking at a few homes, Catherine would lay out all the pros and cons of each place, and again, I was very impressed with her ‘cover all the bases’ approach. When I did finally settle on a home, Catherine helped me navigate through the seemingly endless paperwork, which made life so much easier. This short note certainly does not articulate all the valuable tasks, opinions and advice Catherine provided to me, but she is absolutely outstanding across the board and I am happy to recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. Thank you Catherine! Sincerely, Clinton Wu
To Whom It May Concern: I have known Catherine Gortner professionally for the past 4 months. I found Catherine through her very polished website on the Internet (http://www.cgprop.us/). In this time I have dealt with Catherine very closely through the process of purchasing my new condominium. Catherine is an outstanding broker who she sincerely cares about her clients and does her utmost to ensure they are satisfied with their purchase. As a first-time home buyer I needed additional support and guidance through the purchase process. Catherine made it very easy for me by providing more than enough information that allowed me to understand the intricacies of the home buying and financing. Catherine has a keen sense of people’s interest and knew after one outing the type of condo’s I was interested in. From this sense, she modified my search criteria to ensure we were not looking at irrelevant properties. This saved valuable time and allowed me to make my purchase within two months of starting the search. Catherine is extremely organized and made it easy for me to compare and contrast the different properties I visited. Once I had decided on property, Catherine’s sales and marketing background helped negotiate a competitive price without excessive haggling. On top of all this, Catherine was accessible 24 hours a day irrespective of external factors. I strongly recommend Catherine for anyone looking for a great property in the SouthBay. Not only is she a great broker, but she is also a great person and I definitely hope to use her services at the time of my sale and next purchase. Sandeep Ashok
To whom it may concern: I strongly recommend Catherine Gortner as a realtor. She suggested writing an offer even though I thought the home would sell quickly, stating in this market "early bird sometimes gets the worm." She built a good relationship with the other agent to secure her confidence and trust even though she initially didn't want her client to accept a contingent offer. Because my offer was the first one and a strong offer, we were able to purchase my new home under market value, and it even appraised for more. Also, Catherine had her electrician come out for a quote to address some issues on the property inspection as well a good handyman. She and the listing agent also got the roofing company and termite company coordinated to get much of the wood repairs on the Section 1 done for me even though this wasn't required in the As Is contract. Catherine is always available and is extremely responsive. She always communicates other appointments or meetings. Catherine also worked with the agent on the sale of my house to make sure the proceeds and the solidness of that transaction all went smoothly as well. She is very patient with all my questions and explains everything to me in detail so that I completely understand. I would definitely use Catherine if I were to purchase another house! Very truly yours, Christie Quinton
We wanted to write this letter of reference for Catherine Gortner, because she did such a phenomenal job of representing us in both the purchase of our new home in San Jose, and the sale of our prior home in Burlingame. Having discovered the home of our dreams in San Jose, we had occasion to meet Catherine at an open house. She helped us get through a difficult negotiation with the sellers, working on our behalf to get a nearly 15% discount off the asking price of the home. She worked closely with the selling agent and the sellers to get them to become agreeable to our offer, despite the significant price discount. Then she worked relentlessly through the closing process to manage the banks, mortgage broker, and inspectors to ensure a timely close of escrow, which definitely would have slipped had Catherine not intervened. Catherine then turned around and did an excellent job of showcasing our Burlingame home. She assisted us in preparing the home through staging tips and suggestions on repairs and touch-up work to create the best first impression. She prepared a beautiful, glossy brochure for the home, the quality of which we had rarely seen except for luxury homes. She also advertised our home with a photo virtual tour on popular real estate websites, thus increasing the visibility of the listing. Once listed, Catherine was relentless in holding open houses until we had a great offer in hand. When it came to the pricing and negotiating, Catherine really helped us receive the maximum amount for our property. Despite an increasingly tough housing market, she encouraged us to go for a slightly higher than expected asking price given our property location and condition, and then succeeded in closing the transaction at the asking price. This was in a market where we were not expecting to be in a multi-bid situation, yet she was successful in encouraging the buyers to act quickly and decisively. She truly managed to get us the full value of the property. Catherine is simply a wonderful agent to work with. She has always been very responsive, savvy, friendly, and enjoyable. Simply put, we highly recommend her! Regards, Michael & Deanna
Dear Catherine, Thank you so much for the care and support you gave us with our latest home purchase. This being the second transaction you have represented us on, we can always depend on you to give the utmost attention to detail. With you, nothing ever slips through the cracks. We really only realized later how much you had been looking out for our interests throughout our purchase transaction. While we fretted about our offer price, you thought to ask the seller to pay for the identified pest control work. That saved us $9,000, and a lot of trouble. You were somehow able to represent us well, and at the same time push back when your experience told you we needed to change. That's how a good agent helps her clients! We appreciate your help in carefully negotiating a great purchase price for our new home, and we have been happy with it -- and the price we paid for it -- from day one. Thank You. Our Sincerest Regards, Tom and Anne Harding
Thanks for being the most awesome person ever (let alone realtor) - your patience and outstanding knowledge is such a breath of fresh air and you always take care of what is the best interest of my needs (or whims). Thanks, Ginger
Dear Catherine, I wanted to commend you for your assistance with the sale of our home and the purchase of our new home. Your expertise, honesty and hard work, made these major transactions flow easily and on schedule. Also, I wanted to thank you for going above and beyond the call of duty to address all inquires and concerns. Sincerely, Sylvia E. Villareal
When you need help, to whom to you reach out and ask for that special rendering? It is my privilege to encourage you to meet a very trustworthy person to give you all her available resources to meet your home needs. She is a woman of excellence. First, she is a broker whose due-diligence exemplifies a very high work ethic on behalf a client or a friend. For example, she recently gave such an immediate response to one my long time friends who needed a home on short notice in the bay area. She invested substantial time and effort to help them. She was even key in unlocking an employment opportunity for my friend's wife. When you contact this woman of excellence, you will be more than rewarded; you will be delighted. When I get ready to sell my home, she will take care of this process better than anyone I know and I know quite a few people. Best Wishes, Gordon Ashe
Congratulations Catherine! As you know, I was a little concerned about the purchase for this property at $51,000 over the asking price. Well, the appraisal is on my desk at $865,000 [appraised $15,000 over purchase price]. That tells me you have done a great job. It is not usual for an appraisal to appraise over the contract price. So congratulations are in order. I have informed the buyer already, since he was concerned, and I told him that he had good advice on the sale from you, and this was the proof. Denny, Mortgage Broker |