Front Porch Realty

Experiencia fantástica: Karen and Yoko did an excellent job selling my mom's house. We were long distance and never had a worry. Thank you Karen and Yoko!! Your the best

Experiencia fantástica: Yoko and her team are INCREDIBLE! It was an absolute pleasure to work with this team. I felt guided and supported throughout the entire home buying process, remodel, and move. They are very responsive, grounded, knowledgeable, and connected. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to buy or sell real estate in the Bay Area.

Experiencia fantástica: We had a great experience working with Yoko and Karen at Front Porch Realty. They were incredibly attentive, knowledgeable, and responsive throughout the entire process, always making sure we felt informed and supported. Yoko made what could have been a stressful experience feel smooth and manageable. Highly recommend the team!

Experiencia fantástica: I have worked with Karen Robertson Stain on (3) residential real estate transactions over the years and every single one has been a great experience. She has made the process go extremely smoothly with her extensive knowledge, communication and professionalism. I will continue to refer and work with her and the amazing team at Front Porch Reality!

Experiencia fantástica: I had a great experience working with Karen Robertson Strain at Front Porch Realty to buy my first house. I had very specific needs for a house I was looking for and Karen stuck with me through a very long searching process. She was always there to help and guide and look out for my interests, lending her decades of experience and expertise. A very honest, understanding, conscientious, and down to earth person, and a breath of fresh air in the Real Estate business, where many agents seem more like smarmy salespeople.

Experiencia fantástica: My mother and I recently bought a property. Working with Karen was the best experience that we could have hoped for as first time buyers. Thank you so much for your guidance and advice.

Experiencia fantástica: Yoko was amazing at what she does, highly recommend her!!

Experiencia fantástica: We had a fantastic experience working with Yoko. From day one, she made us feel like we were in the best hands. Yoko has all the resources and deep knowledge of the Marin County area, which was invaluable to us as we were new to the area. She knew the ins and outs of every neighborhood, school district, and even the microclimates—helping us narrow down options that truly fit our family’s needs. We were looking for a safe home in a quiet neighborhood with access to a great school district, and Yoko guided us with patience, insight, and genuine care. She listened closely to what mattered most to us and always kept our priorities front and center. Thanks to her, we found a home we absolutely love—and we feel incredibly lucky to have had her by our side throughout the process. We wholeheartedly recommend Yoko and Front Porch Realty to anyone looking to buy their dream home. She’s not just a great agent—she’s a true partner in the journey.

Experiencia fantástica: We recently worked with Yoko on the search for and purchase of a new home in San Rafael. We were very impressed by Yoko's ability to sift through all the details and focus on the things that really matter when purchasing a home. Yoko is very professional and does a great job of communicating and coming up with solutions to issues that arise along the way. Yoko kept us informed of appropriate properties even before they hit the market and kept us on track throughout the process. She never pressured us into making an offer on any property but instead she was determined to help us find and close on a property that that we would be happy with for years to come. In addition, Yoko and her support staff made the closing process as seamless as possible. Needless to say, I highly recommend Yoko if you are looking to purchase a home in Marin County.

Experiencia fantástica: Sima is the best. We have bought two houses with her. She makes sure you feel at home when you buy a house. She is very patient. It took my husband a while to find the perfect home, and Sima was there every step of the way. I highly recommend Sima for your house purchase, you will definitely not regret it.

Experiencia fantástica: Exceptional services from Karen Strain and her team. Selling a home last fall during a tough market while relocating to another state was an incredibly stressful experience but Karen and Yoko of Front Porch Realty made it so much easier. What truly set them apart was their willingness to go the extra mile - not only did they handle every detail of the selling process but they also provided invaluable assistance and coordination with our move and commitment to make the transition as smooth as possible. My husband had to start his job sooner which left me to handle the logistics of the move and the sale of the house. Anytime I had questions, needed extra support or a resource Karen and her team guided me through the process. I highly recommend Karen as she genuinely cares and delivers exceptional results. Thank you Karen and Yoko.

Experiencia fantástica: We had the good fortune of Yoko representing us on our sale. She is the go-to person you want. Yoko is professional, extremely pleasant to work with, and ahead of the "game" throughout the process. Highly recommend her without any reservation.

Experiencia fantástica: If you’ve been considering the idea of selling your house, there’s a first step I would recommend: contact real estate agent Karen Strain at Front Porch Realty. You’ll want a trusted professional leading you on the journey. When my husband and I began our quest to find the “perfect” home to replace our 2-story home with a pool, we asked Karen to be our agent. Our children are adults with families and homes of their own, and we were ready for the next chapter in our life. We had a long, specific list of desired “wants” for the new house. At times, it seemed as if the new dream home had eluded us. But Karen was always there, just a phone call or text away. Then, out of the blue, the “perfect” home suddenly appeared. Great! – we thought, except that we wanted to sell our current house first. Huge challenge. Or so we thought. Karen and her team at Front Porch Realty jumped in and guided us each step of the way – from preparing our house for sale (including sending a professional organizer who came with packing supplies and a great eye to “edit” furniture, pack personal items, and move us forward!) – to navigating us through the Inspection Reports process. Building? Roof? Pool? Sewer Lateral? Karen’s extensive knowledge and experience made the entire process comfortable and familiar. Her frank and realistic explanations left us informed and with no “surprises.” Her resources are unparalleled. Concerns and questions? Karen is a great communicator. Phone calls, texts, and emails were always answered promptly. We followed Karen’s sound advice and informed suggestions for submitting our offer for the home we wanted to purchase – and our offer was accepted. We again followed her advice and very beneficial suggestions for preparing our house for sale – and it sold for over the asking price. We feel so blessed that we had Karen guiding us on this very important journey in our life. Karen epitomizes the words “trust” and “integrity.” It was a pleasure working with her on the purchase and sale of our homes. If you’re considering selling or purchasing your home, do something very beneficial for yourself: call Karen Strain first. -Patricia G

Experiencia fantástica: Thank you, Karen! We'll always be so grateful for all of your support and generosity. We probably wouldn't have scored our new and first home without your dedication and commitment to us. You are one of a kind hound dog and angel, always there, dependable and generous.

Experiencia fantástica: I have known Yoko for years and met originally through common networks. I was finally able to work with her in locating a home to purchase this year and I am more than impressed with the level of service and communication throughout the searching, bidding, and buying process. Even when the listing agent crawled into a hole at the first sign of complications from his own client, Yoko stepped in to make sure the deal persevered and we were kept in the loop the entire time with no effort from us. We could not have asked for a better agent to help in this search and with all the issues from the seller and her agent we encountered along the way, Yoko was just the best. We would recommend her, or any other agent at Front Porch from the sounds of the other reviews we have read. We had read all these reviews prior to actually working with her and were a huge deciding factor to write this review, and work with her in this transaction. Thank you Yoko!!

Experiencia fantástica: Karen was diligent and thorough in every step of our recent home sale. She sought out other brokers' opinions to help us price our home since there were no comparable houses in our neighborhood. We had multiple offers after the first open house and selected the best fit. The house was appraised twice at the over-the-asking price that was offered. The buyers pulled out at day 15 at no fault of the house. It was an emotional roller coaster that Karen helped guide us through and kept us grounded. We put the house back on the market at full price- which was still the value of the home-and got a second offer at asking. We were up against a tight deadline for our replacement property purchase- Karen kept us informed on the progress throughout escrow when some unexpected computer glitches on the buyers' lender's end made it a nail biting finish to close. I can't express enough how reassuring it is to have an experienced broker on your side. Karen always went the extra mile for us, and all her clients.

Experiencia fantástica: Yoko is an amazing agent, professional and kind! She helped me through a very confusing and overwhelming time and made my life a lot easier! Yoko is easy to talk to, communicates quickly and efficiently, and made this scary process manageable. I would HIGHLY recommend her and Front Porch for your real estate needs.

Experiencia fantástica: Working with Yoko was seamless; she listened to our needs and worked with us through the lengthy process. She held our hands in way that made us feel comfortable with this huge step towards purchasing our first home. She is knowledgeable, supportive, and kind. Hands down the best!

Experiencia fantástica: Yoko Kasai worked with us for over two years and was incredibly insightful and helpful. She was thoughtful and always gave her honest opinions, never pressuring us. She provided great guidance and we highly recommend her!

Experiencia fantástica: I could not have hoped for a better agent than Yoko Kasai at FPR. Her patience, grace, expertise, and proactiveness got us the home we had been searching for for a very long time. We had very unique requirements and circumstances that caused our search to go very long, over a year, and she never gave up on us and got us to the finished line successfully. And she was a joy to work with every step of the way. I HIGHLY recommend Yoko and her team - thanks!

Experiencia fantástica: Karen was absolutely fantastic to work with, always keeping us updated on the process and working endless hours to help us sell our Dad’s condo, thank you Karen and Front Porch Realty!

Experiencia fantástica: Working with Janelle at Front Port Realty was an incredible experience. She always kept us well informed, did an amazing job advocating for us when needed, and ultimately made purchasing our first home a wonderful experience. We would HIGHLY recommend Janelle and her entire team at Front Porch, good real estate agents are hard to come by and Front Porch really stands out at the top for us.

Experiencia fantástica: Yoko Kasai at Front Porch has helped us buy 2 houses over the last 7 years. We are very happy with the service. Yoko and Jenny went above and beyond with our recent purchase in Mill Valley. Thank you Front Porch Realty.

Experiencia fantástica: We enjoyed working with Karen and her resilience of getting our home sold. California home market recently has had its struggles, but Karen always kept us optimistic and provided us week by week data on how the market was doing, that allowed us to better understand the process. If you are looking for a realtor that excels in communication, transparency, and dedication to getting your home sold no matter what the challenges are Karen Strain should be your realtor.

Experiencia fantástica: Having lived in Northern Indiana for over 30 years, my wife and I are finally moving to warmer California. Our last home purchasing experience was decades ago. Besides, CA seems a quite different place in the eyes of long time Indiana residents. Luckily my daughter and son-in-law introduced us to Yoka Kasai, Front Porch Realty. She guides us in every step of the seemingly complex California house purchasing processes. Yoko is warm and easy to connect personally. She responses our questions timely and always with an answer. She helps us to understand the home purchasing process in Marin County and to identify right neighborhoods fitting our needs. I found Yoko’s service particularly valuable as a “bridge” for us to cross from our Indiana perspectives to Marin County life style and rules/regulations. Now we are happy owners of a Novato home!

Experiencia fantástica: We highly recommend Jim and Front Porch. With his extensive experience he was able to expertly guide us through selling our house. He made a challenging experience much easier.

Experiencia fantástica: This is our 2nd home buying with Front Porch Realty! Our 1st home realtor, John Hayet, was amazing but since he moved out of the area, he referred us to Karen Strain, who has been just as exceptional! She is on top of all the tasks needed to review before putting an offer as well as during and after! She is always making sure her clients are happy with the whole process. She communicates very quickly with all parties involved. She also made sure that we understood all the gazillion disclosures that we ended up signing! Couldn’t have asked for a better realtor assisting us with our 2nd home purchase!

Experiencia fantástica: Yoko Kasai is not just a great realtor she is a good person which is extremely rare in this real estate market. She actually cares about you and listens to your needs. These transactions are very personal even when you have no intention of making it that way.....Yoko always had our best interests first and fully advocated for us in all scenarios. We have bought and sold both two homes with her and she delivered two clean closes.  Her knowledge of the market is vast....getting us into contract under asking with our first home and at asking price for another purchase. Her role as a listing agent is remarkable as we sold both homes at exceptionally over asking prices as well. She not only got us fully prepared to list but she is so resourceful....she always has someone prepared to repair anything...plumbers, electricians, handymen. She knows what color paint is best, she knows her flooring, she knows how to stage well. We sold both properties remotely as she handled all aspects of the transactions while having prompt and clear lines of communication. If you're looking for your dream home, an investment property, if you want to sell your home at top dollar...Yoko is the only realtor you will need ever!

Experiencia fantástica: We recently listed and sold our home in Marin County followed by the purchase of a home in Auburn, with excellent help and guidance from Yoko Kasai and Front Porch Realty. Yoko was a pleasure to work with as she is knowledgeable, professional, and a great communicator. Her skills made both transactions seamless and easy for us to glide through the process. Yoko kept us updated and checked in with us every step of the way while being a great listener which was extremely reassuring during a time that could have been very stressful. Yoko’s entire team was also efficient and we highly recommend Yoko and Front Porch Realty for all your real estate needs.

Experiencia fantástica: TLDR; YOKO IS FABULOUS! We would work with her again in a heartbeat! My fiancé and I were looking to buy our first home, and were referred to Yoko by a friend of ours. Being first time home buyers in this crazy market, we really appreciated how she guided us through the whole process. She first took the time to know us and our needs, wants, and limitations, and used that to inform what houses and neighborhoods she showed us. After spending the weekend driving us around to look at 6+ properties each day, I could imagine the process becoming overwhelming, but instead she asked GREAT questions to help us hone in on what we really wanted in our next house. This was so valuable, as it set our expectations, so that we could focus our energy productively! Yoko also went above and beyond in so many ways. We were living in LA while looking for a home in Marin. When we couldn't fly up, Yoko visited the homes we were interested in and did walkthroughs with us over video chat. She told us the pros and cons of it, what she thought of the list price, and more. She'd do due diligence on our behalf, check the disclosures, and give us advice for whatever stage we were in. She knows the market really well and we could trust her honesty and expertise. We really felt that with each offer, we were making a very educated move, and knew we could lean on her whenever we were uncertain! Being the biggest purchase of our lifetime, we especially appreciated how very responsive Yoko was. She gave thoughtful answers to our many many questions over phone, text, or email. If we were placing an offer, she'd keep us in the loop on everything going on, and even let us know if she had to go somewhere without service. From all of our conversations, we knew she had our best interests at heart. We felt fully supported by her; she was truly part of our team! And - the icing on top - she is just an all around cool person. We are so thankful to have met her and worked with her, and if we ever need to buy a house again we definitely would go with Yoko.

Experiencia fantástica: Yoko Kasai is the best real estate agent to work with in my experience. She is not only knowledgable, has a great personality but also goes above and beyond to help the client in each and every way possible and at all times. She is extremely patient and was available to answer any questions I had very promptly no matter when I reached out to her. She not only helped me get a home in this crazy market but also connected me with a lot of associate people to help with my house projects and repair. She stands out from the other real estate agents I have interacted with cause of her great personality and work ethic and not once I every felt pushed. As a first time home buyer I always felt very well informed and educated on a lot things which were foreign to me. Thank you Yoko for everything you have done for me and I will gladly refer you to anyone I know who is looking to buy a home.

Experiencia fantástica: We are still glowing with gratefulness after working with Yoko on our home search this past year. We interviewed many Real Estate agents before we began our home buying journey, and we are so glad we chose Yoko. She is calm, professional, focused, super informative and consistently all of these things. She was also very patient and took the time to always explain the details to us, which as first time home buyers was key to making us feel like we were making educated, empowered decisions. Its a crazy market out there and Yoko went above and beyond to help us land our home! We never once felt pushed or unclear on what steps were next. We would, no doubt- recommend to her to anyone looking to buy or sell their home. Our only complaint is that we won't be seeing more of her now that we have our home!

Experiencia fantástica: We were so fortunate to work with Yoko Kasai and Front Porch Realty during our 2021-2022 home search. Yoko was a true difference-maker throughout our real estate journey. As first-time homebuyers in Marin County, we benefited from her calm, skillful guidance about the market conditions, what it would take to secure the home we wanted, and how to successfully navigate through closing. She could not have been more responsive to our many questions throughout the process, even preparing our last-minute offer package in the midst of travel. Beyond helping us acquire a lovely home in a challenging market, Yoko also helped connect us to a network of experts in various services we needed to update our home before moving in. We would not hesitate to work with Yoko again and recommend her most highly.

Experiencia fantástica: We worked with Karen Robertson Strain of Front Porch on the sale of our home in San Anselmo. Karen is a gracious, kind, and intelligent person. She was a pleasure to work with and was especially responsive returning all calls, texts, and emails quickly, which is very important to us. She's also very thorough and professional in all her interactions. Karen brings integrity and honesty to the table and I trust her completely. She was also very helpful after we'd moved out of state. She did a lot of extra errands and work for us in order to facilitate a smooth close of escrow. She would say, "I'll take care of it," and things were done without fuss or drama. While I know those extra errands and work weren't without effort, it all seemed effortless from our vantage point.

Experiencia fantástica: Karen and her lovely coworkers at Front Porch helped us find our first place in Novato five years ago, and then helped us eventually sell it and find and buy our dream place in West Marin this year. Karen went all over the county with us during both searches even as our requirements, budget and wishlist changed over the years looking, and was always up for helping with questions and advice. Everything was speedy, easy (or as easy as any real estate related activities can be) and extremely organized. Straightforward, personable, and easy to contact! We're grateful to have had them!

Experiencia fantástica: Step aside '92 Men's Basketball Olympic Team, Jim Maloney and the rest of Front Porch Realty are the real dream team! This was our first experience with purchasing a home and Jim's guidance and expertise were nothing short of exceptional. Jim took the time to clearly understand our needs with our first home. I truly felt like he knew what we wanted just as much as we did and that was instrumental in helping us find the right one. With there being far fewer open houses these days, Jim was incredibly patient and always willing to show us properties by appointment throughout town. In such a fast moving market, Jim was always responsive and eager to strategize when a new opportunity presented itself. From our very first meeting, to when he handed me the keys, Jim was simply amazing to work with. His personality and expertise made this experience more enjoyable than I could have ever imagined. If you're thinking of buying or selling a home, do yourself a favor and reach out to Front Porch Realty!

Experiencia fantástica: My family and I are incredibly grateful to have had Yoko Kasai and the rest of the team at Front Porch Realty help us with our recent home purchase. The family couldn't be happier with our new home. We especially appreciated Yoko's promptness, attention to detail, and being available at all times. She is extremely patient, knowledgeable, and a joy to work with. She really helped our home-buying process to go smoothly as possible in this crazy market. They have our highest recommendation.

Experiencia fantástica: Open in App Twistan Marc J.’s Reviews 5.0 star rating I had the pleasure of working with Yoko on my home purchase process. With her help I was able to find a beautiful property in West Oakland that fit my budget and other home requirements. Yoko is extremely knowledge about the Oakland housing market and through her knowledge she was able to guide me through the process. I enjoyed working with her and I give her my highest recommendation. If you're looking to buy, definitely contact Yoko and her team, you'll be a happy customer!

Experiencia positiva: They are good people

Experiencia fantástica: From a consultation on how to prepare to go on the market (at our request), to filling out all paperwork, to measures taken to prevent COVID-19 spread when people would be coming into our home, our entire experience with Karen Robertson Strain of Front Porch Realty Group was positive and amazing. The resulting relationship feels more personal and lasting then business-like, we were taken care of like family!

Experiencia fantástica: Karen Robertson Strain was absolutely amazing. She is patient and determined to help you find exactly what you need. If you’re interested in a property she is quick to set up an appointment and get you there ASAP. She truly has a great team assembled. We are beyond thankful for the wonderful house she helped us find.

Experiencia fantástica: We found a home that we loved and needed to sell our condo quickly. Karen was amazing! From our very first meeting, she put us at ease, explained the process and reassured us that she would sell our condo quickly and she did! Karen handled everything, from coordinating the appraisal, working with our HOA, setting up cleaning to weekly check ins. We had to do nothing! She is thoughtful and truly cares about her clients and their needs. Thank you Karen for everything you did for us, we are so appreciative.

Experiencia fantástica: I cannot say enough good things about Jim Maloney and Front Porch. This was our first home purchase and Jim held our hands from start to finish. He was available at all hours of the day to answer our questions as we navigated this process. There were quite a few late night calls from us to him and he always answered our questions with patience and detail. This intensely competitive market can be daunting, but Jim found a way to get us a home that exceeded our dreams AND we managed to avoid a bidding war (which is a rare thing these days!). Thank you Jim!!!

Experiencia fantástica: Yoko and team are simply wonderful.... Professional, kind, knowledgeable, punctual and trustworthy. My wife and I highly recommend them!

Experiencia fantástica: We had a wonderful time working with Yoko Kasai during 2020. We were impressed with Yoko's professionalism. She helped us above and beyond what we expected especially after our offer was accepted. It was a very challenging market this past year and we made over 10 offers in the Marin market. Yoko was always patient and helpful throughout the process. She always told us, "You will get the house you are meant to get" and we believe her now. We can see why Yoko won 2020 Realtor of the Year. We have already referred her to several of our friends.

Experiencia fantástica: After two house sales and a purchase, I can unequivocally say that all of the FPRG staff are the best, and especially Karen Robertson Strain and Jim Maloney who have guided us through the process with really great support.

Experiencia fantástica: We first met Yoko about 7 years ago when we bought our first house in Novato. That was such a great experience that when it came time to move, to account for a growing family, it was of course her that we asked to help us. It's not an easy time to buy and sell a house at the moment, mid pandemic and all, but Yoko was always there to talk us through what was needed and help us to navigate the market. She understood what we wanted (and needed) in a house, taking the time to get to know us, and we greatly appreciated her opinions and thoughts on all things real estate. Always professional, friendly and immensely knowledgable she has a calming presence that, despite the masks and limited viewings and short timeframes, makes it all a wonderful experience. I'd buy a house with Yoko every year if that made any sort of financial sense for me. Yoko and Front Porch are great, I can't recommend them enough.

Experiencia fantástica: Jim and Front Porch Realty Group made the process of purchasing a home for the first time a real pleasure. Jim was kind, patient, responsive and professional throughout the process. He would always provide his professional opinion and thoughts while never pushing us on a decision. He was constantly available to us in answering the many questions we had as first time buyers. When time came to make final important decisions he was always responsive and we really felt had our backs. If you are looking to purchase or sell property in Marin, Front porch realty group and Jim Maloney is who you want with you. Jim made us feel like friends and in a process that is rife with stress and anxiety he was able to navigate us into a beautiful home. Thank you Jim and Front Porch!

Experiencia fantástica: We had the great pleasure of working with Karen Strain this past year to find our new home. We could not have imagined a better experience with a realtor--Karen treated us like family, working tirelessly to help us locate a property that fit our specific and unique needs, and then to navigate a challenging negotiation. Karen went above and beyond to help us close the deal. We are so happy with our new home! We have already recommended Karen to friends and look forward to working with her in the future. In the meantime, we miss our frequent conversations with her!!

Experiencia fantástica: I had a very good experience recently with Front Porch. I worked with Yoko Kasai to sell a family property in Novato that needed to be emptied and upgraded before sale. The bottom line is that it was easy to work with her to ensure that the place looked really good and sold quickly at a price we were happy with. Getting that done, though, took a lot of communication, work and project management and what I most appreciated was the obvious benefit of working directly with someone so experienced. Yoko identified multiple options to bid on different types of work, coordinated the walkthroughs and bids, and secured quick responses from the contractors throughout the work. I was impressed by the cost, the speed of the work and how well coordinated it all was. Yoko was incredibly responsive throughout and it made everything else easy, really. We received good data and advice on the market. The escrow and title work was easy and well organized. The money’s in the bank. I’ll work with her again.

Experiencia fantástica: We have worked with Yoko both as a buyer and seller and both experiences were terrific. Most recently, we sold a home and witnessed Yoko's professionalism on many levels. She was able to help us get our house ready in record time, with her contacts in landscape, cleaning, fix-its, color advice and more! She told us what she thought our home would sell for, and we hoped for a bit more. We listed it at our desired price and there wasn't much movement. We adjusted to her price and had 2 offers by the end of the week. She is incredibly responsive, professional and goes above and beyond in every way.

Experiencia negativa: The to go.menu has no details. I order the prawns ..all w of them. When I called to co.plain about the small portions for $29. The girl who answered told me that was what the chef had put together. A few beans and 2 prawns. Before the shelter in place we were regulars there. NEVER AGAIN!! TELL THE CHEF TO KEEP HIS 2 PRAWNS!!!

Experiencia fantástica: Yoko is an excellent, experienced and patient real estate professional. She assisted us with the purchase of our home and subsequently the sale of our old home. She was organized and her partner Jim jumped in at some critical junctures to ensure things were moving along smoothly with the transaction so we did not miss a beat. She listened to what our needs were (fussy!) and we finally found what were were looking for after a 3 year long search. I would highly recommend Yoko and her trusty team any time.

Experiencia fantástica: This review is about Yoko Kasai and her team. We met Yoko several years ago when we were just thinking about buying, but did not yet have the means. Nonetheless, she was very kind and we have developed a good relationship over the years (seriously, it was at least 5 years). She showed us a few houses back then, even though we were not ready to pull the trigger. Of course, we tried to be mindful of her time. But when we got serious recently, we started to look hard and visited many open houses, then asked Yoko to show us a few dozen houses (at least) on random weekdays and weekends (as our work schedule allowed). She was always available, even on a very short notice. Sometimes she would send her assistant, Debbie, who's very sweet and a pleasant person to be looking at homes with. And one time her husband helped out as I wanted to measure the house we ended up buying. Since someone has to be there and she was not available, her husband helped out. Yoko was never pushing us (like some sales people would, to close a sale), she was always careful to remind us our priorities. When I asked her to recommend a book to read on the complicated process of buying a house, instead, she offered her time to sit down and we went thru the whole process. We had MANY questions and she was always available to answer them - by mail, text or phone. She was honest when she did not know the answer to a question and then went out of her way to find out and learn, herself, too. Then, after looking at many houses (we were not in a hurry or desperate to buy, but were definitely ready by all means), we found a house that we immediately knew fit all the bills. It was a house in our first-choice neighborhood! With the help of Yoko, we quickly pulled the trigger and submitted an offer. She was very knowledgeable in the strategy of the pricing in our offer. Then, after a few rounds of negotiations, and after Yoko bringing in some of her engineer and contractor contacts (who were really good, too) to consult and give advise to us, we agreed on the price. Yoko also recommended us a mortgage broker, who was very good, and since we were pre-approved and pre-underwritten, the whole mortgage application process was also a breeze! During the 3 weeks of closing period, I had to travel on business, but Yoko managed to take care of everything, and we had a smooth closing. We got what we wanted (great house in our first choice location), great price and the lowest interest rate. What else could we ask for? My lesson learned? You need a great, knowledgeable and local agent who knows the area and who has a wide area of network, including other agents and industry specialists (such as contractors, etc.) We have already recommended Yoko to a friend and they were happy with her after their purchase and we'll continue to recommend her. Yoko is one of those "relationship people," who are thinking long term and who are there for you. She's the best and she knows Marin like no one else does, from Sausalito to Novato!

Experiencia fantástica: It was great working with Yoko, especially since we were buying a house long distance! Great job.

Experiencia fantástica: We recently worked with Yoko Kasai to purchase our first home. Berkeley is a very competitive market, but Yoko's guidance through the process helped us to successfully bid and close on the first house we put an offer on! As first-time homeowners, we really appreciated that Yoko was highly responsive to our questions (at all hours), and very actively coordinated with our lender and other parties. The entire Front Porch team was supportive and available every step of the way.

Experiencia fantástica: I would highly recommend Jim Maloney of Front Porch Realty Group. He was both our agent when we bought and sold our home in San Anselmo and held our hand through the entire way. Jim is simply hard-working, humble and incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to the real estate market. When we started our house search in the San Anselmo area, he really took the time to understand exactly what we were looking for and needed for our family. When we did find our perfect house, he appropriately guided us, so we were able to land the home in a very competitive market. 3 years later when our family decided to relocate to Sonoma County to be closer to family, we of course chose Front Porch and Jim to help us list our home. Jim was incredibly supportive to our timeline of when to list for our family needs. He also obtained low-cost, but reliable help to get our house pristine and ready to go for listing. We listed in January as that is when we were ready and had moved out. Then a heavy rain season hit, and our house stayed on the market, longer than anticipated. Jim continually held open houses and built a beautiful website to make sure our home received ample attention. Jim successfully sold our house only 3 years after purchase Thank you, Jim, for your humanistic approach and resiliency to help our family’s dreams come true.

Experiencia fantástica: I feel so lucky to have found Janelle Fazackerley as my agent. She guided me through the entire process of buying a new house and leasing my rental property. Very helpful, professional, friendly, and worked hard to get me the best deal. She answered every question I had. I could have it done without Janelle. I highly recommend Janelle Fazackerley to anyone who needs a realtor to buy a house or sell a house.

Experiencia fantástica: Karen was the perfect answer to who should I get to sell our house.

Experiencia fantástica: My husband and I have obtained the real estate services of Kare Robertson Strain for many years and, are tremendously satisfied with her reliability, thoroughness, knowledge, no stone unturned attitude, and indescribable attention to detail in everything she does. Karen has been a great asset to use in our Real Estate transactions.

Experiencia fantástica: Jim Maloney was super helpful every step of the way

Experiencia fantástica: As a first time home buyer and growing up as family friends of Jim Maloney, I reached out and asked him if he would help me find my first home. He was ecstatic to help me out, from the beginning all the way through the end. He was cognizant of my budget as he searched for my new home. I learned quite fast that the market in this area is challenging to say the least, with that said, Jim had the experience and it showed as we strategized a way to beat the other three offers. I was beyond impressed with his performance, his attention to detail, his precision, his professionalism, and his overall can do attitude. He made the entire process painless. He took his work very personal and that had depth to me. There’s something to be said for his experience in this industry and it showed by his recognition of all the small details and the execution and deliverance in playing this game of buying a home. He has a great attitude from start to finish and also gave me some comedy along the way to ease the process. I would highly recommend Jim and Front Porch Realty Group to anyone I know.

Experiencia fantástica: Recently we needed to sell a large rental property that we have owned for 15 years. The house is very nice but needed quite a bit of work to get it to a point where we could ask top dollar. Jim Maloney of Front Porch, worked with us to fix up the property. He had the multiple contractors we needed that were well known to him and not an uncertain company we did not know. After significant rehab we worked through the process of listing and staging the property. Together we set the price and Jim had a great analysis of the market so we were coming to the market with the "right" price. We sold the house in 5 days for cash. Jim provides great personal service. I felt we received better service with Front Porch than with larger real estate firms I have used in the past. Not only did we have Jim's expertise, but he could call on the other folks in the company for their expertise as well. He was also able to help us set up the 1031 exchange which can be challenging. Jim has a great sense of humor so even dealing with the craziness of rehabbing and selling a house we had fun and laughs doing it. I highly recommend Jim and Front Porch. In fact, we just asked Jim to help us sell another property.

Experiencia fantástica: Karen and her team are wonderful. The crew at Front porch are a really great resource on information because buying a house is pretty intimidating. Whenever we saw a house that we wanted to look at Karen was right there to help us set up an appointment time to tour the house. We never felt pressured during the process , which was a big deal to us , it felt more like a friend helping us find our forever home. I'm so glad we found Karen , I'm not sure if anyone else would have made it so easy to purchase our forever home .

Experiencia fantástica: Holy moly! I dont leave reviews much...but Yoko and her team at front porch are 2 for 2 (!) in getting our offers accepted on our properties in marin! She got us our first place in fairfax (moving from sf/we were expecting a baby!) on our first offer below asking! This was in 2013. Now, just last month, (2 kids later/having outgrown our house) we found our dream house in san anselmo. Though I was not an easy client (we were contingent on the sale of another property) we go this new property at asking price, well over 100k under market! The closing was smooth and honestly, if we used any other agent in marin...i do not think we would have gotten this awesome new place. Thank you Yoko!!!

Experiencia fantástica: Bought a new house using Front Porch Realty. I can not say enough positive things about them! I worked with Yoko, who was amazing throughout the entire process. She was patient, accommodating, a great listener, knowledgeable and also provided wise and insightful input at every step of the process. And when Yoko was away on vacation, during the purchase, Jim filled in and did not miss a beat - like Yoko, he was professional, friendly and extremely helpful. I can not recommend these guys highly enough!

Experiencia fantástica: I've worked with Yoko for years and I'm not an easy client. Yoko helped us purchase a home in one of the most competitive neighborhoods in Marin and we won on our first offer. It was because of her tenacity and pro-activeness that enabled us to get the home. She knew every single listing before it was on the market and even all the pocket listings. She's amazing to work with!!!