Testimonials

Barbara Dunlap is a genius. I know that's a term that gets overused. But in Barbara's case, it's the absolutely perfect word to describe this woman, who happens to be a realtor. Although a thorough professional who knows her business like no one I've ever met, it is her qualities as a human being that make her shine. When I first discussed with her the possibility of selling my house in Marin, my wife was extremely ill with cancer. Barbara came to our home, assessed our situation and suggested that maybe we hold on to the house, possibly refinance to keep us in place while the disease took its course. She set us up with a lender and through a successful refi process we saved $1,000/month which enabled us to stay in place. Now, think about that. She evaluated, not what the sale of the house would mean to her financially, but what it would cost us in upset for my wife, dealing with a move…

Barbara Dunlap is a genius. I know that's a term that gets overused. But in Barbara's case, it's the absolutely perfect word to describe this woman, who happens to be a realtor. Although a thorough professional who knows her business like no one I've ever met, it is her qualities as a human being that make her shine. When I first discussed with her the possibility of selling my house in Marin, my wife was extremely ill with cancer. Barbara came to our home, assessed our situation and suggested that maybe we hold on to the house, possibly refinance to keep us in place while the disease took its course. She set us up with a lender and through a successful refi process we saved $1,000/month which enabled us to stay in place. Now, think about that. She evaluated, not what the sale of the house would mean to her financially, but what it would cost us in upset for my wife, dealing with a move. Later, we did decide to move to Petaluma and Barbara took over the sale of our beautiful house of thirty years. I admit that it suffered from being neglected over the years, and there was a lot of work to be done. Despite our ideal location and the substantial acreage, it was not going to sell for the price that I needed. Other agents I met with before Barbara wrote off my property as a tear down. When we decided to move forward with the sale, Barbara helped arrange a short-term loan for us-so that we could do the work that she felt would provide the best return on investment. Barbara and her contractor went to work. And I mean work. In less than three months they completely restored everything in the house; remodeled it so artfully, when I saw it, I jokingly said, 'I'm moving back in!" Barbara always put our needs first and our limitations and challenges did not phase her one bit. She set a price for the house that was exactly what I needed... and she got it! I got to witness first hand the difference that a great negotiator makes in the deal. She hung tough. She saw it through. And in the end, despite the devastating loss of my wife who passed on the day escrow closed, there was a silver lining. Barbara made it possible for me to live in my new home, close to our kids, in comfort and style. If you 're looking to sell or to buy a home, you would be well advised to hire Barbara Dunlap. She's a superstar human being and a brilliant realtor. She knows how the game is played, and she's a champion at it. If you get her on your team, you will never regret it... - Terry McGovern and Family

Barbara served as my agent in connection with the sale of my home in San Francisco, and also the purchase of my new home in Oakland. Both, not coincidentally, were built in 1910, and have Arts & Crafts interiors. I am a lover (and restorer) of older homes, including in particular those with Arts & Crafts elements. Barbara did an extraordinary job. And I'm not one to lavish praise on folks-on the contrary. My home in San Francisco ended up selling for about 30% over the asking price. And that was on top of already aggressive pricing. Wow! And she secured a "cover" bid at the same price. Barbara is very attentive to all details (as am I), and also a perfectionist (as am I). She managed to get the property featured in the Sunday real estate sections in two major newspapers. The staging she arranged and the website she and her staff put together for my home were top-notch. She is very experi…

Barbara served as my agent in connection with the sale of my home in San Francisco, and also the purchase of my new home in Oakland. Both, not coincidentally, were built in 1910, and have Arts & Crafts interiors. I am a lover (and restorer) of older homes, including in particular those with Arts & Crafts elements. Barbara did an extraordinary job. And I'm not one to lavish praise on folks-on the contrary. My home in San Francisco ended up selling for about 30% over the asking price. And that was on top of already aggressive pricing. Wow! And she secured a "cover" bid at the same price. Barbara is very attentive to all details (as am I), and also a perfectionist (as am I). She managed to get the property featured in the Sunday real estate sections in two major newspapers. The staging she arranged and the website she and her staff put together for my home were top-notch. She is very experienced, very savvy about the real estate market, and has a wonderful eye. She assisted me in getting the home ready for showing, including some painting and landscaping. The people she brought in-landscapers, stagers, photographers, flower people and others were uniformly exceptional. Professional, timely and all very personable and easy to work with. I can't recommend Barbara highly enough, personally and professionally. She was an absolute pleasure to work with at every stage of the process. - Bill Doyle

The selling or purchasing of a home is always an emotional experience. For me it also contained a fair amount of indecision and stress. Having Barbara Dunlap as my realtor made the process not only possible but seamless. I owned my home for twenty years, with my husband of thirty years. Two years after his death, when I decided to sell, I engaged Barbara. I appreciated her genuine empathy to what I was feeling, but far more importantly I appreciated and needed Barbara's pragmatism and expertise. Where I was emotionally attached, she understood this was my asset and guided me in the correct decisions to protect that asset and get the most from the sale. And in so doing, Barbara protected my future. I always knew Barbara was putting my well-being and interests above her own. I trust her integrity and know I can trust what she is telling me. And I was also amazed at the work accomplished by…

The selling or purchasing of a home is always an emotional experience. For me it also contained a fair amount of indecision and stress. Having Barbara Dunlap as my realtor made the process not only possible but seamless. I owned my home for twenty years, with my husband of thirty years. Two years after his death, when I decided to sell, I engaged Barbara. I appreciated her genuine empathy to what I was feeling, but far more importantly I appreciated and needed Barbara's pragmatism and expertise. Where I was emotionally attached, she understood this was my asset and guided me in the correct decisions to protect that asset and get the most from the sale. And in so doing, Barbara protected my future. I always knew Barbara was putting my well-being and interests above her own. I trust her integrity and know I can trust what she is telling me. And I was also amazed at the work accomplished by the crew she had with her. My house, beautiful to begin with, was transformed by the time it went on sale. And that, within a modest budget and a month's time! Whatever my future needs in real estate, I know I have a realtor I can always go to, who will make sure all aspects of my needs and interests are served. - Virginia Kahn

I met Barbara by phone several years ago after we received a postcard in the mail regarding her listing that sold for the highest price ever in our neighborhood. At that time, we were in the early stages of exploring a move. I was impressed with Barbara's knowledge of the nuances of this neighborhood, and her candor regarding challenges with our property given our location on a very busy street. I kept her information all of those years, and when we were finally ready to make a move, I reached out. Barbara worked tirelessly on our behalf every step of the process – from coordinating multiple contractors and a staging company, to prepping our house for sale on an incredibly tight timeline, to producing photography and marketing materials which highlighted – in a very creative way – the positive aspects of our home…all the way through a delayed and challenging closing process. We didn’t r…

I met Barbara by phone several years ago after we received a postcard in the mail regarding her listing that sold for the highest price ever in our neighborhood. At that time, we were in the early stages of exploring a move. I was impressed with Barbara's knowledge of the nuances of this neighborhood, and her candor regarding challenges with our property given our location on a very busy street. I kept her information all of those years, and when we were finally ready to make a move, I reached out. Barbara worked tirelessly on our behalf every step of the process – from coordinating multiple contractors and a staging company, to prepping our house for sale on an incredibly tight timeline, to producing photography and marketing materials which highlighted – in a very creative way – the positive aspects of our home…all the way through a delayed and challenging closing process. We didn’t realize that a listing agent could work so hard – and we expect had we hired someone else, we would not have received as high an offer for our home. We highly recommend Barbara to anyone who wants to maximize the potential of their home sale! - Tina and Deepak Sampath