Somsel Team

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★★★★★
Francis is the best. The. Best. He was always available to see any house we were interested in, sometimes 4-5 in a day. He had great relationships with most of the selling agents we came across, and several times was able to get us quick viewings that we otherwise wouldn't have been able to schedule. Always available via text, email, or phone. Always would advise us (as first-time buyers), but would never try to influence or pressure us on any decision. He would simply give us all the available information and let us decide based on what we wanted. It was always about what we, the buyers, wanted. There was never any disappointment or impatience from him when we decided to pass on a place that we had seen multiple times. "It's your home, it has to work for you" - a direct quote.

It took 5 months for us to finally get under contract on a place, and it was ultimately Francis that landed the deal with his expertise. The previous owners were moving out of the country, and Francis reasoned that it would be important for them to have extra time to take care of immigration issues. He advised that we offer a rent-back period after closing to let them sort everything out, and later on the sellers told us that was a critical part of their decision to accept our offer. It was a genius strategic move that we never would have come up with ourselves. In short, we cannot recommend Francis enough. - W.

★★★★★
Geneva guided us through buying our first home. She was always responsive and diligent about finding a place that met our goals. Throughout the closing process, she stayed in regular communication with the selling agent and our lender, ensuring that everything went smoothly even with some unanticipated delays. - Samuel K.

★★★★★
My partner and I spent about 3 months working with Francis to purchase a home in SF and we couldn't be happier with the experience. He found us a house that was exactly what we were looking for and for the price that we wanted. He was responsive and professional and we especially appreciated his patience through the process. We also thought he was very knowledgeable and valued his input and advice as we looked at numerous different properties. We highly recommend him especially as first-time home buyers. - Gillian L.

★★★★★
I can't recommend Francis enough. He's quick to respond and patient to help me find the ideal property. He knows the market, other agents and the properties so well that his recommendations were always spot on. he's very reliable and helped me until the purchase was successful. I'd love to do business with Francis again. - Camila F.

★★★★★
Francis and Gerardo made what can be an onerous, time consuming, and intensive process an absolute breeze. Their combination of market knowledge, both historical and present, and existing network led to a recommendation of a home that didn't come across my search, which I immediately fell in love with.

It was a collaborative partnership with concise, timely communication and I felt taken care of from initial offer to escrow close. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending to anyone looking to buy a home! - Kyle A.

★★★★★
Francis was great to work with! As a first time home-buyer it was so great having an agent who took the time to answer all my questions and guide me through the process. I've landed in a home that I absolutely love, and I wouldn't have gotten here without Francis. I'd recommend Francis to any friends or family who are looking to buy in the future. - Camille P.

★★★★★
Francis sold a house for me in San Francisco. I discovered him from reviewing some of the sold properties around my area and saw he was a seller agent on a similar home.

I've bought and sold a few properties before and dealt w/ quite a few real estate agents. Upon talking w/ Francis when looking for a seller agent I was immediately impressed and could tell based on his experience, instincts, and knowledge of my neighborhood's market (and the San Francisco market in general w/ its myriad mix of unique neighborhoods) that he was a cut above any agent I've used in the past.

He really was a partner in this and I could rely completely on his sage advice to help navigate one of the crazier real estate markets that exists. Leveraging his knowledge, resources, and contacts we got the house in amazing shape in 3 weeks, and once ready to show he tirelessly promoted the home garnering immense interest in the first few days on the market -- instantly becoming a hot home. He helped me through the offer stage and we made the right choice by going w/ a strong offer that represented the market and went to a great young family.

I conversed with Francis a bunch about the other side of the coin and how he could help me as a buyer's agent, and was blown away by his track record and his results driven pragmatic approach there. If I'm buying in the bay area again I wouldn't hesitate to use him.

Thanks again Francis for all the hard work and best of luck in 2021! - Z.

★★★★★
Gerardo was very helpful introducing me to the San Francisco real estate market. He worked on my schedule to show me several homes in the neighborhood. He also had great insider knowledge of homes that were off market but coming available so I could get in early. - Steven H.

★★★★★
Francis did an outstanding job of positioning and selling our Mission Dolores Condo. From the outset, he gave us a clear strategy for selling our condo in a "soft" market and ran us through realistic scenarios of what we could expect to get from it if we elected to make improvements. In fact, our unit was sold even before it went on the market and before we did any remodeling. On top of that, Francis was able to negotiate an even higher price than we were expecting. We attribute this successful experience to Francis's knowledge of the marketplace, his connections and selling experience. We highly recommend Francis if you are planning to sell your SF home. - J.

★★★★★
We have been working with Francis for several years now, and I cannot overstate how good he is at his job. Francis has helped us buy and sell houses in San Francisco, so we can testify to his skills on both ends. We have recommended him to many of our close friends, which we have done only because we really trust Francis.

Finding a house in San Francisco's competitive market is not easy, and we are very picky. Francis patiently worked with us for over a year to find the perfect house for us, and when we found the house, Francis negotiated a price that was under asking!

On the flip side, as a testament to his skills as a listing agent, a friend of ours was having trouble selling their house, so we suggested they talk to Francis. Francis was able to sell the house in three days! Francis worked the same magic on our sale, as he was able to secure for us the third highest sale price in the history of our neighborhood in less than two weeks.

Beyond the ability to buy and sell houses, we found Francis really easy to work with. He is very patient, responsive, and most of all, he works hard for you. He solved numerous problems for us that other agents would likely have ignored - even sending his son to help us clean up at the last minute. He is extremely well-networked, which is what you need to succeed in San Francisco. And last but not least, we found Francis to be very humble despite all his success as a realtor. He does not pretend to know everything (even though we thought he was a genius) and asks the right questions to get things right the first time.

We would never consider using a different real estate agent in San Francisco. You will not be disappointed if you choose to work with Francis. - CFK.

★★★★★
We highly recommend talking to Francis when you are ready buy or sell a home. He has a deep expertise of the San Francisco real estate market and an extensive network to help you find the right home and the right price. He has his pulse on the trends, so when you are selling your home, he will advise on the right updates to make your house stand out while keeping an eye on your budget. And Francis moves quickly -- when other realtors quoted us weeks to get our home on the market, Francis quoted two weeks -- then he actually found us the right buyer before our listing went live! - JRSF.

★★★★★
Francis is incredibly knowledgeable about the Bay Area housing market. He was a great advocate for us as we bought our first house and remained on top of all of the moving parts. - Monica H.

★★★★★
Navigating the many facets of the San Francisco real estate market requires specific knowledge, attention to detail and above all excellent communication and negotiation skills. Gerardo and the aptitude, acumen, likability and professionalism he carries with him at all times, truly makes working with him a wonderful experience.

His ability to work through sensitive and sometimes emotional situations that arise in San Francisco real estate transactions has won us many negotiations with landlord/tenant issues. Gerardo’s personality in communication has both kept and earned us new business. Gerardo is not afraid to dive into the hard conversations on our behalf as a responsible agent.

I couldn’t be happier with the way Gerardo handles his business and as part of a team he also carries tremendous depth of knowledge and experience to draw upon. He always takes time to listen to what I had to say and worked problems I needed solutions for. - P.

★★★★★
We were so pleased we chose Francis to find our home. He was quick to learn the type of property in which we were interested and our list of potential properties was always very well curated. Francis was generous with his time and very knowledgable. We never felt our time was wasted. Francis was very easy to communicate with and fast in his responses. His experience helped us win the house we wanted with some strategic bidding. We couldn't fault his professionalism and thoroughly enjoyed working with him. We would definitely recommend Francis. - Lynai R.

★★★★★
My wife and I greatly enjoyed working with Kate and her partner Frances. As a team, they were confident, communicative and incredibly good on details and transaction process . Taken as a whole... these qualities helped us happily work through the sale process and ultimately achieve our financial goals. We simply cannot recommend them enough! - Andrew S.

★★★★★
Francis and Kate helped us purchase our first home in the bay area. The first thing I noted about them was how fast they were to respond and immediately engage on what was important to us. I'm new to the buying process in the US and we had a few issues at the start that Francis quickly resolved for us. Again almost any question or communication was always responded to on the same day in a professional manner.

We were also extremely fortunate to win our first bid based on their guidance, ability to build a relationship with the sellers agent and their review of the market and pricing of the property.

I did also went back and verified the final selling prices of some of the other properties we viewed that Francis estimated the selling price, every property went in the range they had estimated. If you're someone frustrated by missing out on several homes this experience is invaluable in saving you time and stress so you're not bidding on homes you have no chance of winning.

We love our home and would happily recommend them to any other prospective buyers or sellers. - Steven M.

★★★★★
We started out with what seemed like Mission Impossible--a small budget to buy a dream home within or near to San Francisco with everything on our tick list whilst living and working over 5000 miles away in a sleepy English Village with an 8-hour time difference!!! No problem for Kate and Francis who were amazing. Even when we doubted our dream property existed Kate kept our spirits high. She provided all the answers to our numerous questions about location, transport, shops, outdoor space, the weather… you name it …we asked it! She did a superb job of securing our new home through a tough day of negotiations, and guided us through to close of escrow explaining all the steps sending emails all times day and night so we knew exactly what was happening as it happened. I can’t begin to thank you enough Kate and Francis for finding us such a great home to spend our retirement in. - J.

★★★★★
I want to express with great gratitude in the service I received from Kate and Francis. I have worked with several real estate agents, but Kate and Francis stand out in their performance. They are very knowledgeable of the Glen Park/Noe Valley neighborhood real estate. They understand the current real estate market and helped me list my house with the correct asking price. They were so successful that I received 45% over my asking price. They were professional in all respect. My emails and phone calls were immediately responded to. It was a bonus to know that Kate had a legal background. I knew that all the i’s would be dotted and all t’s crossed. And they were.

All I can say is great team and great service. - S.

★★★★★
Being in need of a market analysis and receiving no response from other realtors, I contacted Kate who I met briefly at an open house. Before I could even mention our time constraint, she responded that it would be completed in a day or two. We found Kate and Francis extremely professional, competent and personable. They spent a good amount of time with us, communicated throughout and delivered an impressive package, including a follow up. They went a long way to meet our needs and we have the utmost confidence in them. - PR and LR.

★★★★★
Francis and his partner Kate were absolutely great to work with. This was our fist time selling a home, and of course there are many moments of stress and uncertainty. Throughout the whole process, their skill, positive attitude and confidence in their profession made it all go very smoothly. We would highly recommend them to anyone who likes to sleep at night. - Josh G and Chiho U.

★★★★★
Francis and Kate assisted my wife and I with the sale of our home and the purchase of our new home. We could not be happier with the outcome and choosing Francis and Kate. Not only were we successful in selling our condo and purchasing the single family home of our dreams, but we enjoyed the process. Francis is extremely knowledgeable and his easygoing personality and confidence helped make us comfortable and as we navigated these unfamiliar waters. In addition, Kate is also extremely knowledgeable and her high energy and background as a lawyer were indispensable when negotiating with both the buyer and seller we worked with. We will- and already have- recommend their services to our family and friends without a moment’s hesitation. I cannot speak highly enough about the fantastic job Kate and Francis did for us. We are so grateful to have found them! - Noah K.