Working with Hanna and Tim was an outstanding experience from beginning to end. From our very first interaction through to the final sale, they demonstrated a level of professionalism, expertise, and genuine care that made the entire process smooth and reassuring. What stood out immediately was their deep familiarity with every step of the process. At each stage they clearly knew what needed to happen next and guided me through it with confidence and clarity. Just as important was their strong knowledge of the local market, which clearly informed their strategy and recommendations. Their understanding of pricing, timing, and buyer behavior in the area proved invaluable throughout the process. They also made excellent use of modern technology to present and market the property effectively. Professional photography, virtual tours, drone footage, and strong digital marketing ensured the property was showcased at its best and reached the widest possible audience. It was clear they understood how to combine traditional real estate expertise with modern tools to maximize interest. As an out-of-town landlord, I initially wondered whether distance might create challenges during the sale. In reality, it was never an issue. Hanna and Tim effectively became my trusted eyes on the ground. They kept a close watch on everything related to the property and coordinated renovations and improvements where needed, all at no extra charge, helping ensure the property was presented in the best possible condition. Their proactive approach made the entire process feel effortless from afar. They were also constantly looking for ways to help me save money wherever possible, carefully considering options and helping avoid unnecessary expenses. Communication was excellent throughout the entire process. They were responsive across multiple channels and always polite, practical, and solution-oriented. Thanks to their expertise and strategy, my property sold quickly and above the asking price. Hanna and Tim truly represent the gold standard that all realtors should aspire to. I would recommend them without hesitation to anyone looking for knowledgeable, trustworthy professionals. Hanna & Tim - thank you so much!

I can't say enough about how much I've enjoyed working with Hanna and Tim Kerns, and how supportive they've been throughout my housing search and closing! The only downside of finding and closing on a house so quickly is that I won't get to spend as much time with them! However, I definitely hope to continue our relationship -- both as friends and as agents for any future housing needs!

I can't thank my lucky stars enough for connecting us with this absolute gem, Hanna Kerns. Our little family was navigating an inter-state move mid-pandemic and even remotely, right from the start it was clear that getting to know us and helping us understand the complicated Bay Area real estate ecosystem were priorities. Early on, we asked Hanna for advice as if she were giving it to a family member or friend. Her response was that she treats all clients as though they were family and that is precisely how Hanna does business. And believe me, you definitely want to be part of Hanna's family. She taught us how to read inspections with a fine comb, helped us limit unnecessary exposure to view homes that wouldn't meet our needs, and kept us INFORMED and ON TRACK every step of the way. Really, Hanna helped us, as buyers, have an insider realtors' perspective. In many ways our home buying journey was unique with some challenges of our own making and others of property complications. Through it all, Hanna was in our corner and it was remarkable how she was so exceptionally pragmatic and analytical while also being creative and open-minded - always with our best interests in mind. Whether it was exploring uncharted contract negotiations, to unusual property permitting, to an 11th hour get-the-check-to-the-lender on time, Hanna went above and beyond to get to the bottom of things and make it happen. Truly, we've never felt so taken care of in a transaction. It's not just that Hanna knows her stuff- which she does in SUCH great depth and is so generous with her expertise - it's that she is an absolute pleasure and invaluable resource to talk to and work with, so much so that we miss her dearly now that we've purchased our home here.

I have worked on two transactions with Hanna (as a buyer and seller) and in both cases she provided excellent advice and service. Direct and to the point, she managed our expectations, spoke realistically about options, and provided prompt feedback.In addition to transaction help, she did an excellent job of getting my home ready for sale (I was really busy at the time and had to rely on her to help with the contractors)

Great experience working with Hanna! Hanna was an amazing resource in the intimidating Berkeley/Oakland real estate market, which is a rough place for first time home buyers. She truly understands the various East Bay neighborhoods and how they affect prices and bidding, and had great instincts for which houses would end up in our price range. I really felt that she was deeply invested in doing what was best for us at every step of the process. Hanna puts all her energy into her work, she is genuine, kind, and funny, and has a core of iron when it comes to getting stuff done for her clients. We're glad she was on our team. She worked very hard for us through a grueling and unusual 6 month purchase process to get us into our first home. At every step she was informed, resourceful, and made sure we were educated about the process. She was always communicative and easy to reach, even at odd hours. Hanna helped keep us calm and focused when things weren't going as planned, and turned unpleasant surprises -- like an unexpected issue found on final inspection -- into negotiation points to make sure we got a fair deal. I'm certain that if it were not for Hanna, we would not have been able to buy our unique house. I would work with her again in a heartbeat, and recommend her highly to anyone starting the home buying process.

Fabulous! She helped us navigate a purchase with a not-especially-motivated seller so that we got the house we wanted, for a price that made sense (AMAZING in this market). She also made sure we were well taken care of all along the way and well informed every step. If/when its time to sell or purchase anew, Hanna will definitely be our first call!

Having just closed escrow on our first home a couple weeks ago, my wife and I consider ourselves very lucky to have worked with Hanna as our buying agent. We entered the East Bay market completely inexperienced and in an extremely competitive environment, yet Hanna was eager to take us on as clients and quickly impressed us with her professionalism, resourcefulness, and determined attitude. She made it clear from our first meeting that she would not only be an effective representative for us in presenting and negotiating our offers, but a helpful and informative teacher for us as we learned about the housing market and prepared ourselves to become homeowners for the first time. She was right in both cases, navigating both roles with expertise and care, while fostering a genuine sense of teamwork throughout the entire process. Hanna proved to be incredibly valuable in all facets of our home buying experience - recommending and quickly bringing us up to speed on different cities and neighborhoods, presenting us with off-market listings and limited opportunities through her network of real estate colleagues and friends, referring us to her established and reliable pool of inspectors and tradesmen, and helping us assemble a well-organized team to guide us through the final stages of purchase and escrow. She has a genuine appreciation for the Bay Area and is very knowledgable about all parts of the East Bay. More importantly, if she doesn't have the information or answer she is honest about it and will help you find it. Throughout our search she demonstrated an ability to adapt to the market, but also to her clients, as we shifted the location of our focus midway through our search, and in one particular instance pulled our offer that had been accepted (thankfully, she had included an inspection contingency when others agents might not have). She never flinched, always advised us on our decisions but left them up to us, and was supportive from start to finish. Lastly, she was always extremely responsive, thorough and easy to communicate with via phone, text, and email.We're thrilled to be moving into our first home and are very confident we got the right house for us. This is in large part to all of Hanna's efforts, so we couldn't recommend her more highly!

Hanna took every opportunity to go above and beyond for us over ten months of searching for our first home in a very tough market. At our first meeting, Hanna took two hours out of her Sunday evening to meet with us, ask us about our dream home, our concessions and deal breakers, and generally get to know us so that she could be our best advocate.Hanna was with us every step of the way, accommodating our schedules to see houses mid-week and after work when necessary, thinking creatively about how to make our offers more competitive (besides just raising the price), and flagging concerns about a house or a contract term that we would have missed. Hanna seems to know everyone -- listing agents, lenders, contractors, inspectors -- and she reached out to her friends and colleagues to help us book short notice inspections and get feedback on our offers. Whenever we lost an offer, Hanna was there with encouragement and more ideas for the next round. She kept telling us that in this market, we needed to keep our eye out for poor marketing, and she was right! We got into contract for a house we love, in a neighborhood we love (and never thought we could afford), thanks to her expert eye. Then seller delayed COE with little notice, and Hanna continued to be our tireless advocate during a stressful three weeks of negotiations with seller's agent. With Hanna's help, we finally got to close of escrow and move-in. We can't say enough about the fantastic service we've received from Hanna and her team at Red Oak, and we'll definitely be recommending Hanna to everyone we know.

This lady is a rock star.Hanna was recommended to me by another realtor, one of whom several different friends had spoken highly, but who had a conflicting commitment. Initially, I was sorry to have missed working with that first recommendation, but I cannot now imagine having gotten a better realtor. As a first-time homebuyer, I found the process to be terrifying, and can't imagine having navigated it without a smart, ethical, highly competent, and occasionally-tactically-ferocious agent.From the start, she actually listened to me, and understood what I wanted, and where I was and was not willing to compromise. When I fell in love with a run-down 1906 cottage - after having declared, very positively, 'No fixer-uppers' (famous last words) - and I asked her for her assessment of whether this house might be do-able, with some work, she gave an intelligent eyeball assessment of the variety of problems I might be taking on (foundation, electric, etc.), right on the spot, and then later found a home inspector (Brian Cogley) who did a phenomenal job, so that I knew what I was letting myself in for.When it turned out that the seller (who was in Beijing for most of the transaction) regarded negotiating as an intolerable imposition, and that the seller's agent wasn't familiar with the East Bay market, Hanna essentially took over all the heavy lifting in the deal. After delaying her decision for a month, the seller turned down my first bid. I was mopey, but reasonable, and told Hanna that I was still interested, but that it didn't make sense to invest any more time in this house. Nonetheless, she kept in touch with the seller's agent, such that we were Right There when the first bidder bailed.After this, Hanna kept on top of an absolutely insane process, getting contractor bids to confirm that I was going to be able to afford the minimum necessary repairs, navigating an appraiser who decided, in the middle of the appraisal, that they wanted the gas turned on, and, when World's Most Difficult Seller turned out to have, oh, possibly not depicted the exact status of the sewer lateral with optimal accuracy - and the clause obligating her to do so was among the verbiage we jettisoned, in hopes of getting her to sign the second bid - Hanna somehow got *this* seller to make a substantial credit towards closing costs for same.(And, at no time in the long slog from 'It'll be a miracle if this works out', to 'When do you want the keys?', did Hanna ever utter a peep that the most paranoid client could have interpreted as, 'Are you sure you couldn't be just as happy with a place with a higher list price and a seller who isn't nuts?')I now have the keys, for a run-down Edwardian that I'm crazy about, and it would not have happened without her. Hanna's the best.

I was a client of Hanna's during the Spring/Summer of 2012. I was simultaneously in the process of selling my house while looking for a new one which is complicated enough, compounded that I was looking for a fantastic place in the Bay under $275K! Hanna was consistently patient and available to show me whatever house I was interested in, no matter how random or wacky the property was. She even went through all the trouble of helping me place a bid only to have me turn around and withdraw it! She also has a keen eye for things about a property that might end up costing a lot of money - like tiny bamboo coming up around a yard, cracks in a foundation, uneven floors - and does not get fooled by cosmetic makeovers that sometimes hide the real damage! She never once made me feel inferior for not understanding 'the process' and instead repeatedly explained everything to me, and assured me that everything would work out, which it did. In the end I put my faith in her and underbid (yikes!) on a property in Alameda - which I got! She definitely knows the market, and doesn't put any pressure on the client to do anything they are wary of doing. I highly recommend her!