“My wife and I can both sum up our opinion of Tom Donovan in just three words: BEST. REALTOR. EVER! Our past experiences with real estate agents had been absolutely dreadful. Let me recount for you: it was the early 1980s and my wife and I had recently finished graduate studies from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. We desperately wanted to stop the “renting roller-coaster” and buy a home. After attending a few “open house” showings, we connected with some real estate agents, all of whom (except one), tried to unload onto us dreadful properties located in depressed neighborhoods. The one exception was a nice home in a desirable location (Pinole). We learned much later, during the escrow process, that the owner was seriously delinquent on his mortgage payments. The realtors exploited our naiveté and hid information from us. We got totally hosed: we took over the delinquent loan, were pressured to take a 2nd loan at 17% interest, AND take a third interest-only “balloon” load with a hefty principle due in 5 years. We felt this might be our only chance of buying into the “American Dream” and agreed to the onerous conditions. For years afterwards, I kicked myself for allowing us to be as exploited as we were. I simply concluded that real estate agents naturally preyed upon ignorant and unsophisticated clients. Flash forward to 2017. My wife’s mom died suddenly years before, leaving her 2 daughters a modest Rossmoor residence. In addition to dealing with the emotional issues of the property and many decades worth of possessions and memories, was the backdrop of our previous experiences with real estate charlatans decades before (for a depressing depiction, google the 1992 film: “Glengarry Glen Ross”). On a whim, in early/mid 2017, I stopped in at Rossmoor Realty, deciding I had to finally deal with “the devils” and endure yet another distressing real estate experience. Wow, did I strike gold when I met Tom. Earnest, knowledgeable and empathetic to our situation, Tom counseled me not to “over-remodel” the unit after I told him how much cash I was expecting to lay out for preparing the unit for sale. Tom not only saved us a boatload of money in needless expenses (which we could never recoup), but he had access to quality contractors and knew the byzantine workings of both Rossmoor and Walnut Creek building departments and requirements of the Mutual. Most astonishingly, Tom set target dates (and met them all!!), oversaw all aspects of remodeling, and shepherded us through all the mid-boggling paperwork. We trusted Tom’s recommendations and guidance, and his judgements were spot on! The Rossmoor unit sold – literally - days after it was listed. And it sold for thousands of dollars over the asking price! There is no doubt in our minds: Tom is the model realtor to whom all realtors should aspire. A true professional. My wife and I are still pinching ourselves for our great, good fortune in connecting with Tom. We’ll say it again: in our experience, Tom Donovan is the: BEST! REALTOR! EVER! Your eternally grateful clients,