“I’ve already recommended Liz to my good friends, they bought a house recently with Liz’s help and can’t be any happier now that they are settled in. My husband and I don’t normally recommend unless we feel 100 percent confident. Liz is professional, smart and has a great understanding of buyers and sellers in Marin county.”
– Chris and Katherine Teoh, San Rafael
“Liz was simply amazing on the purchase of our new home! I wholeheartedly endorse her as an agent for any transaction in Marin. From the beginning, she was very professional yet personable and, most of all, truly listened to what it was we wanted. Unlike other realtors, Liz did not try to win the business by providing a large volume of listings to see, or secret “leads” that only she has access to. She won my business by being honest, efficient, and thorough.
She respected our time and focused on finding the right place for us, not by showing us a lot of unsuitable homes. I have dealt with many realtors and, in my opinion, she really stood out amongst her peers in her hustle and her focus on us as clients. I felt she was really working for my interests not her bottom line. Liz has great insight into the Southern Marin market and gave us a very no-nonsense and honest assessment of homes that fit our criteria.
During the purchasing process, Liz managed the entire process in a very efficient manner. I would consider the sellers “difficult” and we almost lost the home due to their whims, but Liz stayed on course and pushed the deal through. She managed the entire due diligence process – finding, scheduling and accompanying excellent inspectors and service providers – so we could be comfortable with the condition of the home. She also shepherded the sellers through the escrow period in a very efficient manner to close without any hiccups. Through the whole process, Liz gets the highest marks for her integrity, hard work and ease to work with. A+ work!”
– Adam Violich, Tiburon
“Liz is an amazing real estate agent. She understands all phases of the real estate process. If it was not for her advice and guidance we would not been able to purchase our home in Marin. Thanks Liz! I highly recommend Liz to anyone that is looking to sell or purchase a home in Marin County.”
– Aaron and Elizabeth Kurlan, San Rafael
“Liz McCarthy was wonderful to work with when purchasing our house. Her knowledge of the different neighborhoods in Marin really helped us narrow down our search area, and she gave us specific recommendations based on what she learned about our family and what we were looking for in a house and a community. As a fellow working mom, I found Liz to be easy to talk with, responsive and available, and appreciated her openness, humor, and sharp business sense. She helped us negotiate an offer that was accepted right away, and now we are happily settled into our new home. Couldn’t have asked for more!”
– Mike and Mia Pritts, Fairfax
“Liz McCarthy is a first-rate real estate broker. I was able to sell my three acres of land in West Marin for the asking price because of her expert guidance and energetic representation. Most land takes a LONG time to sell and rarely at asking price. I think that her professionalism and enthusiastic, friendly personality were responsible for making the sale go quickly and easily. Liz McCarthy has my highest recommendation.”
– Lesley Tannahill, San Francisco
“Liz is amazing at what she does and incredibly humble for how good she is. It was a breeze getting our house with her help. We went up against 4 other bidders in a very difficult market to buy in and still got our dream home! You will be very happy with her work – I truly mean this.”
– Chelsea & Austin Wiley, Corte Madera
“Liz McCarthy did an outstanding job selling my mother’s home in Marin County. As the Trustee of my mother’s estate, I was looking for expert support in performing all the actions that were needed to maintain my mother’s healthcare while simultaneously maintaining her financial health. I knew that one professional that would be critical was a seasoned real estate realtor/broker in Marin County. I realized that the sale of mom’s home had become very complex because of incredible family dynamics and because mom had recently been admitted to a nearby skilled nursing facility.
Liz came to the rescue with an incredible working knowledge of the type of issues that we were dealing with. She came with solutions and a working strategy to sell the property. I was living in Colorado and needed someone who I could depend upon to accomplish a wide assortment of critical tasks. We found Liz to be extremely professional in every aspect of the job. We had interviewed several top-performing realtors in Marin County and chose Liz because of her incredibly calm and professional approach to all our perceived challenges.
Through her wide-experience, she had seen many of the same-issues that we were encountering. Liz was amazing! She gave us numerous referrals and recommendations that helped us quickly solve many of the issues related to the sale of the house. She helped us manage estate transition issues, home repairs/maintenance, and disclosures related to the home sale. She and I felt strongly that because of the age of the house, we should use professional licensed experts in disclosing up-front all the issues/problems associated with the house. Liz had a sense of honesty that I truly appreciated. She led us through an array of up-front disclosures, to include inspections on the roof, chimney, sewer lateral, home internals, etc., etc.
I would recommend Liz to anyone buying or selling a home, especially in Marin County. Please feel free to call me should you wish to discuss any of the above.”
– Jesse Birkenstock, Colorado
“Liz is amazing at what she does and incredibly humble for how good she is. It was a breeze getting our house with her help. We went up against 4 other bidders in a very difficult market to buy in and still got our dream home! You will be very happy with her work – I truly mean this.”
– Chelsea & Austin Wiley, Corte Madera
“Realtor, Liz McCarthy, of McGuire Real Estate in Mill Valley, Ca, recently represented me in the sale of my home in San Rafael. I had heard about Liz’s stellar reputation and asked that she represent me. I had never purchased or sold a home and left to my own devices would have found the entire process daunting. Liz is very personable and professional. She eased me through the entire process of the stages of selling a home by providing me with a written outline as well as notifying me of what laid ahead as the sale progressed. The sale went quickly and seamlessly. If I had to do it again, I’d gladly ask Liz to represent me!”
– Allison F, San Rafael
“Liz McCarthy recently helped me with the purchase of an investment property in Marin. The transaction was a 1031 exchange under an extremely tight deadline. Adding the exchange to the regular mayhem of agents, financing, and title, Liz orchestrated the whole thing without a hitch, AND with a smile!
Over the years, I have interacted with a wide range of real estate professionals. Liz is the most professional, prompt, and straight forward agent I have worked with. She is the top partner that you want for your real estate needs.
I highly recommend Liz and will certainly use her services again.”
– Yaron P, Mill Valley
“Liz has helped me in three transactions including both buying and selling my house and I wouldn’t hesitate to use her again. She was very knowledgeable about the entire process and was able to smooth out the inevitable issues that arise out of a real estate transaction. She’s both diligent and professional, but easy to work with. If you’re looking for an agent I strongly recommend Liz.”
– Bo & Sandy Stern, San Rafael and Novato
“When we were looking for an investment and eventually our retirement home to purchase in Southern Marin County, we were fortunate to have been introduced to Liz McCarthy by a mutual friend. We found Liz to be a very personable, affable, knowledgeable and capable Realtor. She provided insight and analysis of various properties and also provided references to capable contractors and rental agents so that we were able to have repairs done in a timely manner and have tenants to occupy the property in a very short time. Her relationships with area brokers helped to make negotiations proceed smoothly. We recommend Liz very highly and know that she will provide you with superb service.”
– Dr. David and Radka Carl, Mill Valley
“We are so grateful that a friend recommended Liz when we started looking for a Realtor to purchase a new home in Marin. Liz’s knowledge about real estate is multi-faceted. She possesses all the attributes necessary to be an excellent Broker: she knows her market extremely well; she is diligent, responsive, and very hard-working. We have worked with many Realtors in the past, in Oregon and California, and Liz is by far the most attentive and professional Realtor we have ever worked with. She is a great listener and a great advocate for her clients.
When we finally found our dream house, she helped us put together a winning bid despite several hiccups caused by the seller’s agent. In fact, in our particular situation, the seller’s agent was very difficult to work with, but Liz didn’t let him get the best of her and maintained her high level of professionalism in the face of his less than acceptable behavior. She is truly a gem in the real estate department and we highly recommend her!”
– Marc and Jeannette Vaccaro, San Rafael
“Liz McCarthy was recommended to me by a friend when it came time to sell my home, and Liz did NOT disappoint. I would highly recommend her to anyone considering selling their home. Liz is personable, charming, understanding and most importantly, completely professional. Working with Liz was a pleasure. She knew my needs and went right to work. The end result was a quick sale, over the asking price and I was relieved of all stress. What more can one ask for? I’d always recommend you highly!”
– Diane Dalton, San Rafael
“Liz was highly recommended to me & my sister by someone in the mortgage industry. Our other sister had just passed away and it was a very difficult time for us. Liz listed & sold our sister’s condo within a week.
At our first meeting, Liz told us how she expected things to go. The condo would be shown during the broker’s tour, she would have an open house, we would get multiple offers, we would make our decision. Frankly, we were a little skeptical that it would go according to her plan, but that is exactly what happened. And we got $13,000 over our asking price.
Both my sister & I live out of town, so Liz & her team arranged for movers, cleaning, repair work, etc. Her team runs like a well oiled machine and made the escrow remarkably easy for us. Besides being a professional, Liz is also very personable and was sensitive to our fragile emotions during the whole process.
Of the 10-12 escrows I have experienced over the years, this was by far the smoothest. I highly recommend Liz & her team.”
– Bette & Linda, San Rafael
“My wife and I worked with Liz to find our home in Novato. I would highly recommend Liz to anyone interested in buying or selling a home in Marin County. She is the consummate professional as well as personable, supportive, punctual and cheerfully goes above and beyond the call of duty. I have met dozens of her clients at a fun family event sponsored by Liz and her firefighter husband. Everyone I met was very pleased with her service.”
-Anthony & Renee Scott
“I am a real estate litigation attorney in Los Angeles and it is my pleasure to write this letter recommending Liz McCarthy as a real estate agent.
My sister and I decided to go with Liz McCarthy after interviewing a couple of agents in Marin County for the purpose of representing my elderly parents in the sale of their townhouse. I have dealt with many agents and brokers over my years as a litigator and have dealt with several more after having purchased and sold several homes myself. I can say without hesitation that Liz McCarthy is the best and most professional real estate agent I have ever dealt with. Not only was she very mindful and sensitive to my parents anxiety and needs, her promptness in communicating everything that was going on every step of the way is unrivaled in her profession.
As soon as my parents decided to list with Liz, she started working on selling their property. When multiple prospective buyers expressed interest, she knew just how to handle the situation so that my parents would receive the highest possible price for their home. When one prospective buyer looked a little less than straightforward, she immediately brought that to our attention instead of getting us involved in a problematic escrow. Every step of the way I felt that she was working for the singular purpose of looking out for our interests in keeping with the issues we expressed to her. She handled herself like a true professional throughout, but kept her warm and friendly disposition. Not once did she lose sight of “the ball”. As a result of her outstanding efforts, my parents’ home is in escrow at a very good price in record time.”
– David Glubok, Los Angeles
“We’d owe a new baby to Liz if we were to ever have a third… I wish I could give her 10 stars. After a long and frustrating escrow Liz was one of the very few bright points of the process. She was the glue that held everything together and we are so glad we randomly contacted her after seeing her website and specialization in the Marinwood area of San Rafael.
Liz was the ultimate professional, very thorough, persistent, incredible attention to detail, and she knows the area and the schools as she lives here and has kids. We were fairly new at this whole home-buying process and Liz really took the bull by the horns and chased the sellers and got us the answers we needed.
When you pick someone to represent you, you need someone who knows the area, and has contacts. This is what ultimately helped us buy an affordable place in a highly sought after neighborhood — Liz’s connections. The house never went on the market and we are so lucky because if it did we would’ve never survived a bidding war.
On top of being so professional, Liz is a super friendly person who doesn’t make you feel stupid asking questions that she probably has heard a thousand times by every new homebuyer she comes across. She was so thorough and was easy to reach by phone, email or text… and believe me we’ve called her on nights and weekends many times.
We are so so so so happy and grateful we had Liz on our side.”
– Jon and Judy Campo, San Rafael
“We first met Liz after she kindly gave us her advice on a transaction she wasn’t involved in. When that transaction fell through, impressed by her knowledge of the Marin market, I reached out to Liz and set her the impossible task – to quickly find us a family home in the high demand area of Mill Valley on a tight budget. Liz delivered and we now have a beautiful place to call home. She is super personable and honest and I highly recommend her.”
– Sam and Jon Howe, Mill Valley
“We are writing this letter to recommend 1he excellent services of Liz McCarthy
We have been looking to buy a house in Marin since the fall of 2011. Liz showed us numerous
properties till the right one showed up on November 8th. We saw the house at 11:00 and as it felt totally right for us – by 14:00 Liz had our offer in her hands.Being a short-sale that had fallen through just a few weeks earlier and now had multiple bids due to a really low price we faced some issues. We had to outbid other offers without knowing the former accepted price by the lender, yet not wanting to raise the price too much.
We also were scheduled to go abroad 4 weeks later, about the time the home inspections were to take place. We also found out at the last minute that there was a second mortgage, which made the sale complex and difficult to complete in our timeframe.
With all of this going on Liz performed a number of fantastic professional feats. Due to her experience, connections in the right places as well her great ‘people skills’ she was able to overcome the obstacles, guide us well in our pricing decisions and push the right buttons to close the deal right on time, the 30th of December, maybe the shortest short-sale of only 7.5 weeks!
While we went abroad in the middle of that Liz worked seamlessly with our good friend as our power-of- attorney, helped schedule inspections, opened the house for the inspectors and made sure all was done right. The inspections discovered some repair issues that were not noticeable on our visual inspection and those issues amounted to thousands of dollars. Liz wrote a very convincing letter to the lender, who agreed to reduce the sale price for the full amount requested. Amazing feat!
Upon our return in January she handed us the house keys and all documents pertaining to the sale, all organized and nothing missing.
We highly recommend her for everything she did for us. She is a dedicated professional who knows her field extremely well, has great connections and a very sunny attitude, lots of patience and all that with a great smile, We could have not pulled this off without her.”
– The Greensfield Family, San Rafael
“Liz was incredible. Working with her made it seem easy to buy a condo in Marin. She was 100% on the job ~ super responsive, quick, smart and super nice.
I would not hesitate a moment to work with her again should I be looking to buy or sell a home!
She rocks!”
– Jessie & Laurent Bouchet, San Rafael
“Liz is the consummate professional; understanding the importance of listening to her client’s needs, able to navigate the entire spectrum of real estate interfaces with ease, and works very effectively with others.
She is also able to manage an effective interface with other agents that do not have the same high ethical standards or customer service orientation. Liz was very patient throughout a long home search process, and supported my decisions. I would definitely recommend Liz to others.”
– N. Frost, Novato
“My sale was not an easy one. As the seller, I was stressed over the value of my condo and the loss I was going to face. My condo HOA was not only uncooperative, but between delays in getting requested info, the hostilities between neighbors, and a selling agent whose aggressive and abusive style toward every party involved could have turned the transaction south at any point throughout, Liz maintained her calm, patience, and professionalism, and saw each step through to completion.
My condo has now successfully closed, thanks to Liz. I can’t imagine that it would have made it to the end if she were not involved. Thank you Liz!”
– Risa Meyer, Greenbrae
“I met Liz about 5 years ago when she was hosting an open house in Greenbrae. Her sincerity, thoughtfulness, and her personable demeanor instantly struck me. I knew from the moment we met that I wanted her to represent me when I was looking for a house.
In Feb. 2012, my dream of homeownership became a reality and I was very proud to have Liz as my agent. Honestly, hiring Liz made my home buying experience a breeze and worry free. I never had to stress about the details because I knew that Liz already had things covered. Her knowledge, insight, professionalism, and experience are top notch. I would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone that is looking for an agent that will take control and ownership over the transaction with your best interests at heart and allow you to enjoy the process and not worry about the annoying headaches and details of bargaining and negotiations.”
– Adam Knepper, San Rafael
“I had the pleasure of working with Liz McCarthy in the winter of 2012. My client, serving as executor of an estate, hired Liz to list and sell the estate’s single family residence in Sausalito. From my first contact with Liz, I knew my client had made the right decision in hiring her. My client and I worried that the property would be challenging to sell, but Liz was not deterred. I was very impressed with how much effort she put into determining the listing price, and how positive, yet realistic, she remained throughout the entire sales process. She promptly returned every phone call and email from listing to close of escrow, and she checked in with my client and me on a regular basis. Her efforts paid off for my client – the house sold quickly and for a sum which exceeded our expectations. My client and I could not have asked for a better sales experience.
In my 10 years practicing law I have represented countless clients in probate sales, and Liz stands out as one of the best realtors I have ever worked with. If you are looking for a Marin County realtor, look no further. Hiring Liz will be the smartest decision you make when you decide to buy or sell real estate.”
-Laura S. Brooks, Sausalito
“We met Liz McCarthy through a referral I’d found on the Golden Gate Moms Group forums. She came highly recommended by a few of the Moms who had decided to relocate their families from San Francisco to Marin County. My husband attended one of her seminars, which he found to be quite informative since we both did not have much knowledge of Marin.
We’d been living in SF for 13+ years, and wanted to be able to afford a house with a backyard. Since my husband had been working in Mill Valley, moving up north seemed ideal for us. Through the seminar, we were provided with information regarding the various cities, communities, schools, and neighborhoods. It was then we decided that we would focus our search on the Terra Linda and Marinwood areas of San Rafael, specifically at homes located within the Dixie School District.
Liz made the process of buying a home very easy for us. While we kept track of open houses through “Clean Offer” e-mails, she would follow up to ensure that we saw homes she felt we would be interested in.
After we decided on a home, she guided us through the offer and negotiation process. She kept us on track with all the documentation, and was available to answer any questions or concerns we had (since this was our first home purchase in the US). As part of the original seminar my husband attended, there was also a mortgage specialist on hand who answered all our financial inquiries. We also ended up utilizing their services which we found to be an excellent resource. Liz also took the time to show us around the neighborhood (since she happens to live nearby) which was a great introduction to the Marinwood community. She has gone out of her way to introduce our family to some of the neighbors. We feel very fortunate to have met and worked with Liz, and love our new home!”
– Veronica and Jason Yee, San Rafael
“We were thrilled with the level of service Liz provided. She is heads and shoulders over anyone with whom we’ve worked. Here’s how:
Her knowledge of the market and of neighborhoods. She really knows Marin.
Her knowledge of what features we needed (but didn’t know to ask about) with our first child on the way.
Her professionalism and honesty. Based on her feedback we did not close on a particular house – she could have kept silent and made an easier commission. But due to her honesty, we found a wonderful home!
Her team. She has relationships with professionals that work together to make the deal happen.”
– Bill & Irina Webb, San Rafael
“Working with Liz was such a fantastic experience. From attending the Living in Marin seminar (which was incredibly helpful) to helping us navigate buying our first home in the US, Liz was always so informative, thorough, responsive and helpful. We got the house we really wanted for a price well under asking all because of Liz. Thanks for everything.”
– Shannon and Simon Gillmore, Mill Valley
“I have worked with Liz as an attorney, advising some of Liz’s clients on legal issues involved with sale of their homes. I know Liz is highly competent, ethical, and very responsive to her clients. She truly goes above and beyond for her clients. She also is a savvy and seasoned negotiator who has a great knack for closing deals that are on very favorable terms for her clients.”
– John Corcoran, Attorney at Law
“Liz helped us buy our first family home last year. She was patient as we considered the pros and cons of different neighborhoods, always offered her thoughts and opinions but never pushed a decision, and maintained contact on a regular basis even when we were “just looking”. We had a VERY challenging seller and a difficult process full of struggles and stresses, but Liz was by our side through it all. Her commitment and persistence were so appreciated.”
– AnnMarie and Ken Martin, San Rafael
“We attended one of Liz’s seminars and were immediately impressed with her in-depth knowledge of the Marin property market, and her passion for real estate. Liz listened to our individual needs and catered our search to ensure a successful result – we finally found a home for our family in a great neighborhood; and, just in time, as we had a 2nd child due during escrow! Liz demonstrated incredible follow-up and professionalism throughout the entire purchase process. We were thrilled with Liz’s leadership during the escrow period during which she represented our best interests by making our inspection appointments and driving the final negotiations. Liz is a pleasure to deal with professionally and personally, and she exhibits great integrity. We are happy to highly recommend Liz.”
– Kristine & Ben Dollard, Tiburon
“I am so very pleased with the wonderful job you did in handling the sale of my house recently. I thoroughly enjoyed working with you on every aspect of the house sale. You provided me with excellent references for service providers to prepare my house and the results were truly amazing. The house received multiple offers and sold very quickly, from an offer received after the first open house. You presented an excellent package when I initially consulted with you. From the early stages of deciding when to list the house and all along the way as I organized on my end and prepared the house for the first “open house” your positive and supportive attitude helped all my efforts go more smoothly. I truly appreciated all your guidance and advice. Thank you again for expertly handling the successful sale of my house. I would recommend you to anyone.”
– Eileen O’Neill, Mill Valley
“It was an absolute pleasure working with Liz. We were first time homebuyers and were looking in the luxury end of the market and were a little intimidated by the whole process. Before starting, we had been warned by many family and friends of the hardships, uncertainties and the frustrations of buying a home. Knowing this, the most important thing for us was to find a realtor whom we could trust. From the moment we met Liz, we were impressed that she had our best interests in mind. She was never pushy but always firm in advancing our cause. Over the course of buying our home, we had many moments where we didn’t quite see how it could all work out and she helped guide us through and find the home we wanted.
She handled herself with integrity and grace and her knowledge of Marin and its housing market really helped focus our search. Liz has wonderful working relationships with many of the other agents and a reputation as a straight shooter that helped make things happen where blunt force wouldn’t have. She was always available to help us, no matter what time of day or night. We cannot say enough wonderful things about Liz.”
– Afsaneh Zolfaghari and Dr. Andy Ashcroft, Belvedere
“Liz was a great help to us in all phases of our home search. Through her workshop in Mill Valley we learned about the cities of Marin and the pros and cons of living in each. It was through her workshop that we learned about the great Dixie schools which helped sell us on the idea of looking for a house in the Marinwood area.
What made our home search ultimately successful was Liz’s hard work in helping us locate a home in Marinwood that was move in ready and within our budget. We feel like she took the time to listen to our needs and work with her contacts to find the right house.
What really sets Liz apart is her helpfulness after the sale. As new Marin residents and first time homeowners she has been extremely helpful in helping to get us locate quality vendors to help us set up our new home. Without this additional handholding it would have been a much more difficult transition to homeownership.”
– Jeremiah Lawrance and Myriam Chaquin, San Rafael
“We are thrilled to finally have found our dream home in Marin County! After years of casually browsing the market, a new baby put our house hunt on the fast track and we enlisted the services of Liz McCarthy to help us in our search.
As a young family starting out as first time home buyers, the process was somewhat daunting. Having Liz in our court made all the difference. She manages to be incredibly professional and genuine at the same time. She listened to us and took the time to get to know exactly what we were looking for in a property. She was proactive in our search and always right on top of new listings that fit our criteria.
Within months, Liz found the cottage of our dreams in Fairfax and helped us get an offer in before it even made it to the MLS! It became clear immediately that other agents loved the opportunity to work with Liz as much as we did. We can honestly say that without Liz as our agent, we would not be living here now! Many thanks to Liz and her team at McGuire. We look forward to working with her again in the future and recommending her services to anyone in Marin.”
– Brad, Becky and Harlow McCutcheon, Fairfax
“Liz was invaluable in the sale of our house. From the expert photography and house Web site she provided to showcase the property, to the shepherding of the myriad documents, Liz took the laboring oar in all aspects of the sale. Selling a house in any setting can be stressful, but with the current state of the housing market, stress is a given. Liz prevented most all of it through her expert handling of all of the moving pieces. We have Liz to thank for making a difficult process seem effortless.”
– Molly & Nate Garhart, Novato
“Working with Liz McCarthy has been a real pleasure. We were left with a decision to do a short sale or a foreclosure due to no longer being able to afford our mortgage payments. We have 2 children and 1 income because I have been out of work for over 2 years. After meeting with Liz, she helped us we realize going through a short sale would be our best option. She made everything happen so fast and easy and was able to address any concerns that we had. I would highly recommend Liz to anyone that is going through our situation as she is able to provide professional advice with a personal touch.”
– Name withheld upon request, Novato
“We interviewed several realtors and Liz was the only one that was honest and upfront with what she thought we could get for our home as is and that is what led to our short sale decision. Had we gone with any of the other realtors they would have tried to sell our home for more than what it could command and we would have lost even more time and money. Liz has been by our side every step of the way explaining things and taking care of everything so we could focus on packing up our home and moving across the country. Across the country she still keeps us informed of how the process is moving forward and looking after the home while we are gone. I cannot recommend her enough.”
– Name withheld upon request, Novato
“For years, we never understood why people really needed real estate professionals when buying or selling a house. When we purchased our first condo in San Francisco, our agent pretty much ran the paper work and that was it. We figured that he made a quick commission from doing very little. However, this past fall, we purchased a house in Marin County and realized, through hiring Liz McCarthy to represent us, which having a good broker on your side makes a big difference in many ways.
We first met Liz McCarthy at her Marin Community, School & Home Seminar, which I attended as we were considering moving our family to Marin County. We happened upon an open house and fell in love with a house in Kentfield. We knew immediately that we wanted to put in an offer. Not having a broker at the time, we called Liz to see if she could jump on it quickly and put together an offer for us. Liz was out of state at the time, yet she returned phone calls quickly, did research while on the road, and met with us as soon as her plane landed in San Francisco. She had an offer out the next day, while is crucial when a seller is receiving multiple offers. Our offer, out of four different ones, was the one accepted. We wouldn’t have even gotten past that first stage without Liz’s quick turnaround and focused attention to us.
Liz was also instrumental in negotiating the contract price. Many necessary repairs were revealed from the inspections and the deal become very contentious. We were faced with an unsavvy seller’s broker, and had it not been for Liz’s expertise and professionalism in negotiating a deal in a very charged atmosphere, the deal would have probably fallen through. This is moment we realized how lucky we were to have a seasoned professional on our side. She helped us get a major reduction in the contract price, and we closed quickly after.
Like in any other industry, there are a range of professionals. In the real estate industry, Liz McCarthy is a top-notch player–diligent, focused, detail-oriented, punctual, courteous, and a pro at navigating the nuances of negotiations. We are hard to impress, and Liz McCarthy impressed us greatly. We highly recommend her to anyone looking to purchase or sell their home in Marin County.”
Update: 7/21/11, Liz McCarthy referred Pierre and Susan to a SF Real Estate Agent team to help sell their SF condo:
“Somehow, we got terribly lucky with rock star agents BOTH with buying our new house and selling our old one. How did that happen? Thanks for all for helping us make our transition up to Marin. We really appreciate the hard work everyone put in. We realize that there is a wide spectrum of real estate professionals—and you all are clearly at the top of that spectrum.”
– Susan and Pierre LeComte, Kentfield
“Trust me…You won’t get any better than Liz McCarthy!
After renting a place for 3 years we decided it was time to pull the trigger and purchase a place of our own. We were not first time home buyers, but after living on the East Coast, we were new to the way things worked in California. During our 3 month search we could not have asked for a more professional, hard working, concise, and organized agent. Liz quickly learned what we were looking for and was very helpful in making suggestions as to areas around Marin that would suit our needs. Liz stuck buy us through every offer, every document and every panicked phone call! We we finally found “THE HOUSE” it was the most pleasant smooth transaction imaginable.
If you are looking for and agent in the Bay Area, Liz is your go to gal. She will not let you down and she will even make the sometimes stressful process of buying or selling a home fun!”
– Lisa Morris & Drew Hanson, Novato
“We first met Liz through our local Southern Marin Mother’s Club and told her we were considering purchasing a home at some point in the future. As first time buyers, we presented Liz with the almost impossible challenge – to find a family home, on a large plot, in Mill Valley with a very very tight budget and she completely came through for us – not only that but we found our dream home in record time – after only 4 weeks of searching!!! Liz has great knowledge of the area, of what to look for in a property and she was honest with us when we presented ideas to her about what we could realistically achieve. Her experience and respect in the Marin real estate market was of a huge benefit to us when negotiating to buy our house, she made sure we were successful in our bid and we had a smooth transaction from start to finish. We thoroughly enjoyed working with Liz and would recommend her to anyone wanting to buy a home in the Marin area, her down to earth and friendly nature makes working with her a pleasure.”
– Jon & Samantha Howe, Mill Valley
“We first met Liz after contacting her we found her via her website. Our family wanted to make the move to Marin from San Francisco. After giving her a long list of “must haves”, Liz truly understood what we were looking for in a house and we trusted her judgment to bring to our attention the houses that had potential. Liz was very patient and put our priorities and needs above her own. She was flexible in working with our schedule, even on short notice. Liz was also very creative and showed initiative in her approach to find off-market opportunities.
Liz’s team made the task of purchasing a home relatively simple by directly coordinating with escrow/title and the mortgage lender to ensure all the deadlines were met in a timely fashion. Liz always worked in our best interest and held firm during difficult negotiations. Her in-depth market and neighborhood knowledge made us feel comfortable in purchasing a house in Marin. Liz was a pleasure to work with and an excellent real estate agent.”
– Justin and Nicole Wesley, Larkspur
“Liz McCarthy recently represented us when we purchased a property in Novato, California. She was simply amazing. She used her knowledge, experience and resources to simplify our otherwise complicated real estate purchase as out of state clients. Her utilization of the latest cutting edge technologies contributed to making the purchase process simple and manageable.
Liz was readily available to answer our questions and her quick follow through kept us well informed and secure in the knowledge that she was doing her best for us. She knows the Marin housing market inside and out. We highly recommend her to all of our friends and business associates looking to buy or sell a home. We could not have asked for a better real estate agent to represent us in our home purchase.”
– Eddie & Diane Phipps, Novato
“After renting in Marin County for almost 30 years and a couple of tentative ventures into the home buying market over the years, my husband and I decided the time was right to finally buy a house. While casually visiting an open house in Fairfax, we met Liz McCarthy. We weren’t quite ready to choose a realtor to work with yet.
A few weeks later, the 1st weekend we started seriously looking, we found a house in Petaluma we loved. We didn’t have an agent yet, but Liz was the first person that came to mind. We quickly interviewed a couple of agents and Liz’ style just clicked with ours. She was so friendly, personable, knowledgeable and professional! She was flexible and willing to work with a mortgage broker unknown to her, which was very important to us. Liz jumped right in and got to work on getting us more information on the house we were looking at; she also helped us to think carefully about whether this was the right house for us or not. Ultimately, though we loved the house, we decided we weren’t ready to make an offer on a house in Petaluma – a further commute for me.
So began our relationship with Liz. She did a wonderful job keeping us up-to-date on homes coming on the market and new open houses. We focused our search in Novato and Terra Linda. After about a month of searching, we saw a new listing in Novato and promptly set up a visit with Liz. We liked the house a lot – only 6 years old, and a foreclosure that looked like a particularly good deal, though we didn’t make an offer right away. But someone else DID. So Liz went to work with us pulling together an offer in less than 24 hours, followed by our nervously-decided best-and-final offer a day later. Our offers were so close that they chose ours based on the seller’s agent having worked with Liz before! How serendipitous was that? Then we had a 28-day closing to negotiate! And this was our first home-buying experience. Liz blazed a path for us every step of the way, and discovered hidden connections with our mortgage broker as well. Our new home is getting new paint and carpet; we’ll be moving in in 2 weeks. We can’t wait to invite Liz back for our house warming!”
– Daphne Hatch and Bill Shook, Novato
“We had the pleasure of working with Liz on both in the sale of our apartment and purchase of our new home. Our first step was to sell our co-op apartment in San Rafael. In this current market, this was a potential challenge. But Liz guided us through the process, from pricing it to sell and staging our home, to the endless paperwork involved in selling a co-op.
Then we were clear to go house hunting. We set our sights on Novato. Through her web listings, we were able to view many homes in our price range. She took us to see many homes including foreclosures and short sales. We ended up finding the perfect home: great location and layout. It had everything we were looking for in a new home. She negotiated on our behalf to get a great deal and once again guided us through all of the paperwork. We love our new home and know that we will have many special memories here. We would recommend Liz to anyone looking to buy or sell a home in the Bay Area. She is friendly, knowledgeable, and hard working. She spent many a night working towards making our dream of new home come true. Thanks Liz.”
– Doreen and Jeff Gurrola, Novato
“Working with Liz was a pleasure. As experienced house buyers, we found Liz to be the best realtor we have ever worked with. We actually first contact Liz from a listing she had advertised in the New York Times of all places. The first time we met her we knew Liz was different.
She LISTENED to our needs and wants and did everything to accommodate us. She was available in terms of time and support. It took well over a year with many trips to California, but we finally found our perfect house. Buying a house is never easy and purchasing a house from another state is even more difficult, but Liz did everything to make things go as smoothly as possible. There were many bumps along the way due to the incredibly difficult lending environment, but we finally succeeding and now have the house of our dreams overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We would highly recommend Liz McCarthy to anyone looking for an experienced, savvy, and delightful to work with realtor!”
– Pearlyn and Jonathan Goodman-Herrick, Inverness
“I met Liz McCarthy at an open house in Mill Valley when I first started looking for a home for my family’s move from the New York area to Marin. Though I was told repeatedly to pick an agent on recommendations, it was clear from the beginning that Liz’s straightforward and factual style was a refreshing break from the hard sell one typically gets from brokers. Liz worked tirelessly to find us a home (not an easy task as we have 4 young children), she was a great resource in helping us understand the different communities.
Significantly, though all brokers have an incentive to put you in a home with the highest price possible, Liz came through at the end and helped negotiate a more favorable price on our new home purchase in Mill Valley than we thought possible. She’s great at what she does, is a pleasure to work with and I’d recommend her whole-heatedly.”
– Joe and Nicole Kennedy, Mill Valley
“My husband and I keep Liz’s business cards in our car at all times in case we meet someone in need of a realtor in Marin. We were blown away by Liz’s mission to find us the perfect home for us. She thoroughly evaluated each home that we walked into, pointing out the pluses and minuses to each house. She really per herself in our shoes, thinking about what kind of home would be best for us now, and also what kind of home we would want to grow into.
I can honestly say, that she didn’t miss one important detail, and we now are in the home of our dreams. Not only was Liz amazing to work with professionally, but she was also incredible on a personal level. I became pregnant while we were in our search for a home, and Liz brought by books and toys for our baby. She also framed pictures of my husband and I in the house, so when we walked in for the first time we felt like we were really at home. It was the little touches that went a long way with Liz, and we are happy to not only call her the best Realtor that we have met, but also a great friend.”
– Bruce and Colleen Cassidy, San Rafael
“We contacted Liz McCarthy after doing much research on the agencies in the area. We were attracted by the small, boutique nature of her agency as well as the fact that she is e-Pro certified. We were gifted a home through the estate of an alumnus and needed someone who could work efficiently through electronic means. She did a superb job coordinating clean-up, advertising and negotiating in very unusual circumstances. Liz provided timely advice, support, and communication that kept the selling process going forward. Every phone call was returned and feedback given after every showing. We were in contract within weeks of the listing and her negotiations got us top dollar. We appreciate all she has done for us and would not hesitate to refer her to anyone looking to sell their home in the Mill Valley area.”
– The Ohio State University Foundation, Columbus, Ohio
“In the best of circumstances it is not easy simultaneously selling and purchasing a home. It is particularly difficult when you have 3 kids, the oldest being only three years old! We cannot thank Liz enough for the extra work she put in on our behalf. The calendars she created to help remind us of important milestones, appointments and so forth was unbelievably helpful and critical to the success of both transactions.
Her contact list of industry experts such as electricians, plumbers, inspectors of every nature , financial advisors and so on was ever so valuable during our due diligence process. Her Your willingness to act as a delivery person, a moving person, a baby holder and playmate to a toddler when necessary exemplifies the extra miles she took to help us out and speaks volumes about her character and professionalism. The whole process was made much easier and less stressful because of Liz. And, because of her hard work, we sold our house for top dollar and we bought the house we wanted. Thank you!”
– David & Daryl Henzl, San Anselmo
“After years of apartment living in San Francisco, we decided to make the move to the warmer, sunnier Marin County. As first-time home buyers in the wild Bay Area real estate market, we were at first anxious and somewhat overwhelmed by the undertaking. Liz McCarthy quickly provided us with the resources, information, and confidence we needed to navigate our way through the process. Liz proved to be much more than we ever expected from a real estate agent. Apart from providing us with the most up-to date listings, extraordinarily useful market data, and useful information regarding schools, neighborhoods, and the like, Liz served as our advisor and our advocate. With ease and grace, Liz navigated us through the process, always making a point of listening to our concerns, understanding our needs, and working within our limitations.
At times, our questions seemed limitless, but Liz was always available to respond timely and completely. She communicates just as effortlessly through email as she does by telephone or in face-to-face meetings. Given the break-neck pace at which things often moved, we were pleased to work with someone with the tools to communicate quickly and efficiently. Her website and up-to-the minute email listing service, Clean Offer, assured us that we became among the first to know of new home listings that satisfied our criteria. We are certain that Liz is one of the most technologically advanced real estate agents in the Bay Area.
We especially appreciated Liz’s candor and her ability and willingness to articulate all the facts and issues that we should be considering. Obviously, we wanted to make the right decision for ourselves, but were not always certain that we were considering all of the important issues. Far from being pushy, Liz has a talent for understanding her clients and providing them with balanced, thoughtful advice. She helped us reach our own conclusions without pushing us in any specific direction.
We would recommend Liz McCarthy to any potential home buyer. Whether first-time buyers or experienced buyers, she will impress them all with her extremely hard work, dedication and professionalism. Whenever anyone tells us that they are thinking about buying in Marin, we immediately tell them that they we have the greatest real estate agent for them!”
– David Morris & Alyssa Hall, San Rafael
“Purchasing a house is a complicated process where there are competing challenges of finding the right neighborhood, locating a house large enough to support a family, acquiring a house that is in excellent condition, and competing with other buyers.
Our quest to locate a house that met specific requirements could not have been realized if it weren’t for the hard work and dedication of Liz McCarthy.”
– Paul & Sonja Kermoyan, San Rafael
“We are a young couple and had been living on a sailboat with a toddler – we desperately needed space. We wanted to buy a small house in Marin and it needed to have the impossible: water boat dock for our 44’ sailboat! Liz found the perfect house and suggested we waste no time in seeing this new listing. We had an excepted offer within 3 days! Liz was there for us every step of the way. Thank you Liz!”
– Leila & Brock Wells, San Rafael
“We are writing to document the wonderful relationship that my wife and I had with Liz during the almost year process of finding our new home. Her use of email and the internet helped us save valuable time in reviewing properties and especially when it came time to sell our property. Once we found (and successfully bid) on our property Liz, was prepared to sell our house quickly. My wife and I felt we had a nice home but Liz sold it in 2 days AND above asking price even before it officially came on the broader market.
Having dealt with other agents in the past plus this transaction, Liz was a much appreciated breathe of fresh air in the organization of the myriad of steps in the buying and selling process. Thank You Liz!!”
– Joe and Andrea Holko, Tiburon
“Liz McCarthy represented us when my husband and I recently bought our condo. She has a great personality. We both liked her immensely and felt like she was very thorough, honest and hard working. She always took the time to check in and update us on how things were progressing with the sale. We felt like Liz had our interest in mind and was looking out for us. We didn’t feel pushed like some realtors can make you feel.
My husband and I would definitely recommend Liz to our friends. We had a very pleasant experience and we look forward to working with her in the future.”
– Anja & Antonio Volpicelli, San Rafael
“My move was completed this weekend and I was reflecting on the whole experience of using your services as my buying agent. We met at an open house several months ago and you impressed me immediately with your obvious intelligence, and the fact that your approach was not at all like a salesperson, but that of a competent businesswoman. My instincts proved correct.
We spent a few days looking at houses and you calmly pointed out the benefits and detriments of each house, reminding me of my previously expressed budget and personal needs. Unlike many real estate agents with whom I have dealt in the past, you never once tried to sell me on any house. You knew the Marin County market thoroughly and you were patient and willing to spend as much time as needed to assess each house we viewed.
In essence I had a thoroughly enjoyable, professional and gratifying experience with a person who eventually became a friend. You were clearly interested in my personal life as it applied to the type of home I would be happy in. Even after seeing the house I ultimately bought, you were patient enough to show me additional homes so that I would be comfortable with my decision.
However, it was after we selected the house that I truly benefited from your business skills. The negotiation process, the drafting of the contract, related correspondence and handling the all the details was accomplished with thorough competence and professionalism. The entire experience was thoroughly enjoyable. I truly appreciate how difficult buying a home can be. Yet you handled each obstacle thrown our way by the sellers’ agent, the sellers and the bank with calm assurance and you resolved each issue to my complete satisfaction.”
– Fred Konigsberg, San Rafael
“I knew I was onto something special when I first emailed Liz McCarthy stating that my family was possibly thinking about making a move to Marin County sometime in the foreseeable future; MAYBE. There was no pressure: Just unbridled enthusiasm, expert knowledge of the local property market and the sort of white-glove treatment one would hardly expect for a definite maybe.
We couldn’t be more delighted with the quality of Liz’s service. But with the help of her mortgage wizard and a host of other contractors, appraisers and engineers, she was able to get us a home that wildly exceeded our expectations and at a lower price than we were prepared to bid: Definitely NOT what you’d expect from a real estate broker!!
Throughout the process, Liz was always on hand to go the extra mile, to help us make the transition thousands of miles across the country to realize a lifelong dream. She fully acquainted herself with the quirks of New York real estate in order to advise us on what to expect so that on the day we finally crossed the threshold into our glorious Mill Valley home it truly felt like home.
Words cannot convey our appreciation for her endless patience, support, kindness, understanding, knowledge, intelligence, humor and nearly maniacal attention to detail and all-around exceptional performance.
I would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone seeking a home at any price or description in the Marin area, whether it’s a local move, a cross-country relocation or even an international transaction. Liz is beyond the pale in overcoming stumbling blocks that would leave other brokers straggling in the mist.
We consider ourselves wildly fortunate to have found her Web site–the best there is for its wealth of information and interactive tools. And we are even more honored to call her our neighbor and our friend.”
– Sue Rosenstock & Ken Wei, Mill Valley
“I feel compelled to share our experience in home buying with Liz McCarthy as our real estate agent. Being a first-time homebuyer, I was new to the process, although my fiancé was not, and we both learned much from Liz along the way. First and foremost, Liz was in constant contact with us for the many weeks we were looking at homes. Her patience in explaining the intricacies of the process made all the difference. Liz clearly had our best interests at heart from the start and was able to gently and insightfully guide us to the homes on the market that not only fit our criteria but also possessed the attributes we weren’t necessarily attuned to, such as attractive school districts, good neighborhoods, strong resale value, clean inspection reports and comparative value.
We presented a significant challenge as buyers because we had not targeted a particular town or area to live. Therefore, we really relied upon Liz’s knowledge of the entire county when we were looking at homes. I said many times that it felt as if we were Liz’s only clients. The responsiveness and willingness to discuss our situation at all hours of the day and night was nothing short of amazing. Having her actively enthusiastic about our search helped us through the frustrations of home buying in a challenging market. In the end, Liz spotted our “dream home” that combined the best of all of the elements that we desired and communicated to her. When Liz first saw what was to be our home, she sent me a picture of the view from the kitchen into the amazing landscaped back yard from her cell phone, with an audio file describing what a great place it was. Then, she arranged for my fiancé and I to be the first to see the house a day prior to the official open house. When we walked inside, we knew that it was “it!” Liz then guided us through a multiple bid situation and within a week, we were in escrow and on Cloud 9!
In summary, I would highly recommend Liz McCarthy to anyone, whether you are buying or selling for the first time or you own more property than Donald Trump. You’ll benefit from her level of service and expertise and become yet one more happy client!”
-Annemarie Hastings, San Rafael
“In early 2006, we relocated from Florida to California and decided to lease a home until we decided where we would purchase. Shortly after we were settled, we began the weekend ritual of scanning the real estate section of the local newspapers, watching for open houses and just doing “drive-by’s”.
After a few months of this exercise, we met Liz McCarthy at an open house, and after a few minutes realized that she knew the local market quite well. We had met many agents at open homes over the last few months but knew right away that Liz was different. Her energy and enthusiasm was infectious and we immediately decided to ask her to help us locate a home that would fit our needs.
She spent a considerable amount of time searching for a proper fit and we must have looked at over 30 possibilities. To complicate her task, we didn’t know which town in Marin we wanted to live and we also knew that we would probably have to relocate to the East Bay in about 2 years, so resale was a top priority.
Her assistance with the myriad of details involved in the offering/closing process was invaluable. She constantly kept in contact with us. She used technology to help save us time whenever possible. Her local knowledge with regard to property inspectors, mortgage brokers and other details made our transition to our new home much easier.
We are very thankful for her efforts on our behalf. We just love our new home!”
– Frank and Patty Huggins, Novato
“We met Liz McCarthy at an Open House in Tiburon, and were very impressed by her professionalism. The house wasn’t right, but the agent was. My husband and I were looking for houses in Marin for almost 6 months. We hadn’t found an agent we wanted to commit to before meeting Liz. Everyone we met was either not prepared enough or tried to oversell us. Liz, on the other hand, was very objective and well informed.
She promptly understood our needs, being always extremely helpful. That day at the Tiburon house we knew Liz was the one to finally help us with hour home search. Two months later we made an offer on and closed on the perfect house for our family.
Thanks to Liz our buying process went totally smoothly. She was a perfect mediator in the negotiation, always looking after our interests, and at the same time, being sensitive to the seller’s limits.
Liz is extremely professional, smart and organized. In addition, she is very nice and a great person to work with. We strongly recommend Liz, and would certainly work with her again.”
– Mabel & Mauro Cavalletti, Mill Valley
“Liz has redefined the concept of customer service for me. She offered me information and assistance from the moment she met me at an Open House, even though I wasn’t yet in the market. She sold me exactly the house I had dreamed about. She is still assisting me, even after my new home closed escrow! Her thorough and excellent guidance about all issues related to my new property is above and beyond any other real estate experience I have had in my 40 years as a buyer and as a seller of homes in Marin. Liz is a keeper!”
– Virginia Saunders, Novato
“Thank you so much for being our broker during our first-time home purchase. Though we did a reasonably good job of doing “our homework” in preparation for buying a house, your experience and knowledge of the local Marin real estate market was invaluable in all aspects of the process, including, but not limited to the following:
- Identifying a great mortgage broker who kept searching for the best loan even after finding an extremely low rate from a bank early on in the process;
- Calling our attention to only those houses in which we might be interested and refining your search as we gave you more feedback;
- Advising us on which types of inspections we should get and finding a group of exceptionally competent, honest, and congenial inspectors who were delighted to answer all of our questions about what work really needed to be done, what was only cosmetic, and what we could probably do ourselves;
- Helping us negotiate a winning offer without overpaying;
- Getting the seller to agree to leave the maximum amount of funds in the escrow account to pay for repairs;
- Making sure the deal did not fall through at the last minute when problems arose; and
- Helping us get the best rates on the title insurance and closing costs from the escrow agent.
By the end of the process, we came to think of you as much more than just our agent; we think of you as our friend.
If you ever need a reference, we would be more than delighted to describe our experience of being represented by you.”
– John Nides and Susan Spencer, Mill Valley
“When Martin and I got pregnant and knew we needed to move off of our houseboat, we weren’t sure we wanted to list with a real estate agent. But after talking with you and comparing your services to other options out there, we decided to give it a go. As you know, we couldn’t have been happier with the results!
We appreciated your support in guiding us through the steps we needed to take to get our home ready to sell so that we could get the best return on it. You gave us excellent advice and helped us stay on schedule. We were amazed to have multiple offers on our home within 2 weeks of listing it, especially because the majority of houseboats are on the market more than a few months. Plus, houseboats rarely sell at or above asking price, as ours did. We definitely feel that the website you built, the marketing you did, and the choices that you helped us make directly impacted the easy and profitable sale of our home! We were thrilled.
And then your guidance and patience as we went about purchasing a home again were beyond what we could have expected! It was a truly amazing experience. You were so obviously out for our best interests, as opposed to just looking to close a deal. You gave us wonderful, thoughtful and educated information and advice, and this helped prevent us from buying the wrong home just because we felt rushed by our timeline. You also introduced us to the best vendors, from inspectors to mortgage services, and this created ease in a process that could otherwise be so difficult.
We absolutely love the home that we ended up buying, and we attribute this largely to your involvement. That you took the time not just to help us get the right deal but also to help us make the right choice for us, based on where we are at in our lives and the items we had delineated as most important to us, is so appreciated. From the moment we began working with you, we were impressed with the constant integrity, dedication and patience that you exhibited. It was empowering to have you on our team for this major process in our lives.
We absolutely recommend your services to everyone we meet. We can’t imagine having a better experience with a realtor. We truly feel blessed to have worked with you!
With gratitude,”
– Traci and Martin Orimenko, Mill Valley
Liz McCarthy’s top priority is providing exemplary service to each and every client she works with as a top producing real estate broker with Paragon Real Estate Group in Marin County. Liz’s “can do” attitude was recognized when she...