Laura Kaufman, MBA - Zephyr Real Estate Review

When we were looking for our first home, our ambitions were quite lofty - a house or income property that was nice, had a yard, and a place for my mom to live, within a 5 block radius of 24th St in Noe, and by the way, needs to be a good deal (from a valuation perspective).

Admittedly I started out skeptical of what a buyers agent would do - from an outsider's perspective, isn't everything you need to know on the Internet?

But after going through this process for the first time, I would say no, most of what you need to know is *not* on the Internet, and Laura was a terrific and knowledgeable guide throughout the process.  Besides being a great person to work with, Laura was very responsive about answering questions, working with a stressful and fast-paced deal process, most of all, serving and advocating for our interests as a home buyer.  With Laura as our guide, we avoided many costly mistakes and a year and a half (!) later, we purchased our first home.

We are thrilled with our new home - we would enthusiastically work with Laura again on any subsequent home purchase, and highly recommend her to anyone considering an agent.

4040 24th St
(between Noe St & Castro St)
San Francisco, CA 94114
Neighborhood: Noe Valley

(415) 310-1256

Danielle Lazier - Zephyr Real Estate Review

When we first started looking to buy a condo, we were skeptical about what exactly a real estate agent could offer in this day of redfin, zillow, etc, except in terms of helping get the paperwork of buying done.  However, I now can't imagine what we would have done without Tanya and Danielle.

They are both extremely professional & responsive.  They took the time to really figure out exactly what we were looking for, and then did a lot of legwork to find it for us (helping us see places that were off market, or hadn't had an open house yet, for example).  When we found the condo we wanted, they worked hard to help us make a successful bid quickly, before the first open house.
They've been there every step of they way since then, scheduling meetings with painter, floorers, inspectors, etc--they've made a crazy process entirely manageable.  We both have very busy schedules, and they've bent their own schedules to accommodate ours, which we greatly appreciated.
Friends of ours recommended them to us, having had an extremely positive experience.  We've since recommended them to another couple, who has also been very well served by this team.

4040 24th St
(between Noe St & Castro St)
San Francisco, CA 94114
Serving San Francisco and surrounding area
Neighborhood: Noe Valley

(415) 695-7707

Jenny Tola Review

Confession: I never bothered to get renters insurance. I know, I know, I'm damn lucky my death trap of an apartment never caught on fire while I was trying to "cook" in the kitchen or whatever. But now that I'm a HOMEOWNER (insert jazz hands here) I figured I should insure that big investment I just made. And, well, you know - the bank makes me.

I turned to Yelp and found a few insurance agents. I narrowed it down to 3, and ended up going with State Farm in the end.

Was it because of Jenny's warm and fuzzy business approach? No. Honestly, I never talked to Jenny - I only dealt with her assistant Ben. Ben was awesome and shouldn't be assisting anyone and should be selling  - I was upfront with her (Ben is a woman, FYI) and let her know that I wanted to go with State Farm (it's somewhat of a family tradition), but a competitor was beating their price by $100 for identical coverage. I basically said, "convince me to spend more money with you."

Ben was pretty direct with me, which I love, and in the end she sold me. She made the process of getting insurance easy, worked with my mortgage broker on all of the appropriate paperwork, responded to all emails nearly instantly, and overall was a pleasure to work with. Thumbs up, Ben. (You should really hit up your boss for a promotion.)

And State Farm, you'll be happy to know that based on my most recent "cooking" experiment, I (and my entire neighborhood) discovered that my smoke detectors work REALLY well. And I might be a little deaf.

Minus one star because I never got the gift card they offer on their Yelp page. Sad, pouty face. I could have used that towards cooking lessons!

State Farm Insurance
4083 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60613
Neighborhood: Uptown

(773) 883-8660

The Buckingham Review

My friend stayed here for her summer internship, and I have to say this place is pretty awesome. Though I found out how much she's paying, so I suppose it's not an amazing deal. Still, for living in the Loop, it's a pretty nice apartment complex. The furniture is all very modern, nice white couches and creative light fixtures. There is a workout room and a nice big study room with computers and wireless internet.
The coolest thing is that I saw an ad for it in a bathroom at two bars in Ann Arbor. It must be the place where people from out of town stay for summer jobs and such. I guess there are something like 15 floors, and there were three bedrooms in my friend's unit - with two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room.
It kind of reminds me of a combination between a dorm and hotel. I wasn't complaining though...they provide their own beds, and my friend had an extra so I didn't have to sleep on the couch!

360 E Randolph St
Chicago, IL 60601
Neighborhood: The Loop

(312) 938-4488

Jay Frye Review

It would be hard to explain in a short review how remarkably good Jay is at what he does.  But I'll try.  He never, ever tries to sell you something you don't need.  He makes sure you have what you do need.  He is very smart and he has a thorough understanding of the nuances of the insurance market, and he uses that knowledge to help you.  When and if you ever need to make a claim, or if you have any problems/questions/issues at all, Jay resolves them quickly and with no mucky-muck.  In 23 years as a client I don't think I've ever had to make more than a single call to resolve an issue.  I even call him for advice on matters that have nothing at all to do with insurance  (I've often asked, "Should I repair this particular old car or buy a new one?).  I don't know my son's phone number, but I know Jay's (202) 861-0721.  Strange but true.  Well, I've known Jay a lot longer.

I don't even look at my bills from Jay because I know everything is always right.

True story:  I called Jay immediately after I moved to DC in 1987.  Told him I needed car insurance for DC.  He told he how to work the system to avoid that because I was poor and it would have cost a fortune.  So I didn't  buy anything from him, even though he easily could have sold me an expensive policy.  When I really did need insurance a year or so later, guess who I called?  

Jay's the man.  He really is as good as they come.  And I'm a picky, hard to please lawyer.  Just talk to Jay -- you'll see for yourself.

(By the way, I just read the other reviews.  All five star, and all completely consistent with my personal experience.  But I'm a little bummed. I thought I was special).

Broad Spectrum Insurance Services Review

I have been with Broad Spectrum Insurance Service since 2007. At the time I was looking to reduce insurance cost as well as purchase new vehicle. I was referred to them by the car dealership and had never been happier with their service. I have purchased the car on Sunday and was able to get insurance coverage before leaving the dealership. As a result of the excellent customer service and reasonable insurance rates I have purchased other insurance products (life and home). Broad Spectrum Insurance Service, is at the top of their game, focusing on providing low rates and excellent customer service. I would recommend them to anyone.

1000 Brannan St
Ste 206
(between 9th St & Dore St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhood: SOMA

(888) 898-6999

Milber Health Insurance Agency Review

Getting to work with James, from Milber Insurance Agency, has got to be one of the best things that happened to us at the Diabetes Hands Foundation and personally too. As someone with diabetes, I knew getting Life Insurance could be challenging and expensive: it was, but James helped us get it. Also, he helped us keep our expenses as low as possible between the policy we had covering us at my previous job and the moment that the new policy we started through the foundation kicked in. I now recommend him to anyone who comes to me in search of a good person to help you navigate insurance waters.

1492 11th Ave
(between Judah St & Kirkham St)
San Francisco, CA 94122
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset

(415) 564-8829