“My experience working with Romney was head and shoulders above my two previous home sales.”

I was introduced to Romney by a business school friend who is extremely skilled and thoughtful about making significant personal finance decisions. My friend had recently sold her Berkeley Hills home with Romney’s guidance, so I was sure that Romney would do a great job for me, as well. My experience working with Romney was head and shoulders above my two previous home sales. While previously, I did well selling into one hot market and one not-so-hot market, in both cases I was left on my own in terms of implementing any pre-sale improvements or staging. In contrast, Romney provided excellent suggestions on making aesthetically pleasing, selective upgrades that delivered a strong return on investment. She managed the entire process of executing all upgrades and a few minor repairs. All I had to do was say, ‘OK’, and write the checks. As we approached the listing date, she tweaked our listing price to respond to a new competitive offering. The evocative description of my house in its online listing spurred visits from more than 70 potential buyers and generated 11 offers within the space of 10 days. I felt great delivering my 100-year-old home in such a gloriously charming yet updated state, to new owners who are delighted to be the next occupants.

“Romney O'Connell is every bit as awesome as her reviews say, and then some!”

We were in a bind. It was September of this year, and we needed to quickly sell our long-time family home… and at precisely the same time, we were relocating out of the area. We didn't think we could do any pre-sale remodeling… how could we manage it from out of state? It was a bit sad to think that after 28 years in our Albany home, we'd miss the opportunity to maximize our sales price simply because we couldn't supervise the pre-sale fix-up work.

Enter Romney O'Connell.

Romney listened to our needs, looked at our house, and came up with a plan for us to invest about $50,000 to remodel the kitchen and spruce up the entire place... and SHE would do ALL of the work! And she promised to get it all done in just one month.

Frankly, it seemed too good to be true…. but that's exactly what happened. 

Romney recruited a team of contractors, came up with the plans, specified the choices of colors and materials, coordinated the scheduling, and supervised all of the work, keeping us updated every step of the way. 

Romney and her crew refinished all the floors, painted every room, remodeled the kitchen, upgraded the back yard with an extension on the patio and a new lawn, repaved the driveway, and did dozens of small fix-it projects. Then she brought in the cleaning crew, the window washers, the stagers, and the photographer, and just as she had promised, she had our newly spruced-up house up on her website and listed on the market just 30 days later… exactly on budget and right on time.

Thanks to Romney's talented work on prepping the house, her real estate marketing expertise, and the virtual tours she offered prospective buyers, after nine days on the market we had six offers, including three at 30% over the asking price! Romney's brilliant plan took our modest $50,000 investment in fixing up the house and turned it into $300,000 of additional profit from the sale.

And on top of all that, she's a smooth and responsive communicator, a patient teacher, and a delightful warmhearted presence. 

We are forever grateful to Romney for helping us with such a major life transition, and we simply can't recommend her highly enough.

—Robin Woodland, Nov. 2020

 “Romney held our hands throughout the entire process and expertly strategized all aspects of it for a few months.”

We just had an AMAZING experience with the agent who sold our house, Romney O’Connell with Berkeley Hills Realty.  We needed, desperately, to maximize what we would make on the house since it was our only and biggest investment...and not to mention the home we raised our kids in so there was a huge emotional element to the process.  We were beyond nervous about putting the house on the market during the pandemic.  Additionally, we were worried sick about not being able to stage the house because it was not allowed in Albany by law under the Shelter In Place orders (we ended up “virtually” staging per her suggestion, which turned out to be brilliant and MUCH cheaper!) and we were doubly worried about not being able to have the normal open houses.  Romney held our hands throughout the entire process and expertly strategized all aspects of it for a few months…the last 1.5 of which we had to relocate out of state to be able to safely shelter-in-place!  She was spot-on with what we should or should not put our, LIMITED(!), resources into and she expertly guided us with her knowledge on what people want to see in a home and what they are willing to look past.  She has an entire team of contractors, painters, cleaners who were all very good and super-reasonably priced.  Her knowledge of the market, during a very shaky time, was incredible and she helped plot a course as to when we should put the house on the market and what we needed or did not need for advertising.  Also, she was well informed on all of the new “laws” around Covid-19 and seemed to have really great relationships with a ton of other agents in the area.  I mention that last note because it felt like she was a part of a larger real estate community during the uncertainty and, therefore, had resources to find the (many) answers to the (too-many) questions we had.    If I seem effusive about her it is warranted because we received 11 offers after only being on the market for 1 week (another strategy she employed, expertly I’ll add) and our house sold for almost $450K OVER asking.  Seriously, a miracle in our opinion.  We owe her the hugest debt of gratitude and I cannot recommend her enough.  

—BPN. May 2020

“She is incredibly experienced in representing El Cerrito sellers and knows all the players in the local market. ”

We sold our El Cerrito home in March 2020 and highly recommend Romney O’Connell at Berkeley Hills Realty She is incredibly experienced in representing El Cerrito sellers and knows all the players in the local market.  She developed a well-thought-out strategy for prioritizing which prep work needed to get done, what work we should just get estimates for, when to market the property, and even which furniture could remain for staging to manage costs.  We trusted that she was always working hard for us behind the scenes: managing her network of contractors, stagers, landscapers, photographers, and (importantly) other agents to bring strong demand come listing day.  During a stressful closing, she continued to provide us sound advice (borderline therapy), as strange things were happening heading into the first week of COVID quarantine.  She was professional throughout the entire process, listened thoughtfully, planned well, and was generally a lot of fun to work with.  Ultimately she not only brought in multiple offers but multiple strong offers and a quick close.  We’re very satisfied clients!

—BPN. May 2020

“Romney helped us put together a clean-up, fix-up, paint-up plan that brought our house to market in record time.”

When it was time to sell Mom's house, we had two goals—to leave this small piece of Berkeley a little better than we found it, and to make as much money as we could—and we had to hurry, because the market was softening. With her real-estate savvy, her good taste, and her rolodex of skilled and affordable tradespeople, Romney helped us put together a clean-up, fix-up, paint-up plan that brought our house to market in record time, outperformed competing offerings, and hit our financial target right in the bullseye. Romney is smart. Romney is fun! She clearly loves her work, and we would work with her again in a second.

—John and Susan R.

"Thoughtful and reliable throughout, Romney always kept her ear open to what I was saying so there were no questions left unanswered."

Good communication is key to any successful relationship, especially one like real estate that blends business or personal.  I chose Romney O’Connell to sell my house because in our initial meeting, she clearly told me who she was and what she could do for me, and then she listened to my goals and concerns and explained how she would address them. I knew instantly that her artist’s eye and her practical approach to problem-solving would be a good match for my no-nonsense expectations and personality.

With no time wasted on trying to figure each other out, we went right to work. Romney set a schedule and stuck to it with a steady, even-tempered hand.  I could rely on her to propose and follow through with workable solutions when surprises presented temporary setbacks.  She explained things I did not understand with patience and good humor, and she educated me so that my expectations for sale price were always on target.  Thoughtful and reliable throughout, Romney always kept her ear open to what I was saying so there were no questions left unanswered.  I had a partner in Romney, and the results were terrific on every level. Were I buying or selling in the Bay area again, I would choose Romney O’Connell without a moment’s hesitation. Cheers!

–M. Zimmerman

"She made the process of buying her client’s home as smooth as can be. "

Romney is an outstanding realtor. Calm cool and collected. She made the process of buying her client’s home as smooth as can be. Her client is extremely lucky and blessed to have Romney help them with something that can be frustrating and stressful (for everyone).
Cheers and thank you so much for keeping it classy.

—James Koh

"She is extremely knowledgeable, patient, available, and honest. I recommend her very highly."

Romney helped us get our first home in Oakland. She is one of the best people I've ever worked with. She has knowledge of the market and the area. She knows the schools, the little things in a neighborhood, all of the realtors selling and how that might influence the process, and all of the local laws that might influence upgrades to the house. She not only had ideas on how to renovate things but would bring in others to give us estimates of how much the fixes/upgrades would cost.

She knows how to place a really good offer. This includes getting a good loan letter, pricing, and other small things that make you an attractive buyer. Romney was supportive when things didn't go our way. When it came time for offers and counteroffers, she provided a guiding hand, yet didn't pressure us into anything. She made it clear what her advice was, but that final decisions were up to us. Even after we closed, she is still a partner in our new home. She wanted to know how things went, and can always find us a handy person/contractor to take care of something at the house. I'm convinced that Romney is the best real estate agent in the Bay Area, if not the country. She is extremely knowledgeable, patient, available, and honest. I recommend her very highly.

—L. Lesser

"Romney is a true artist and a master of strategy, meticulously paying attention to every nuanced detail along the way."

Romney is truly amazing both personally and professionally.  Our family recently sold our home in Berkeley to buy a new home in Richmond. Romney provided a stress-free process that went as smoothly as possible.  It was clear that we had the advantage when selling our previous house and bidding on our new home.  We actually took great joy watching Romney work.  She was always a step ahead.  Romney is a true artist and a master of strategy, meticulously paying attention to every nuanced detail along the way.  She was quick to make personal connections with the agents and was always certain that we maintained a clear understanding of the process.  Again, we seemed to always be one step ahead of the other buyers. The sellers of our new home actually declined a counteroffer from another buyer because the offer Romney helped us assemble was so strong.  We couldn't recommend anyone more than we do Romney.

—Chad M.

"We chose Romney O'Connell of Berkeley Hills Realty after interviewing six other real estate agents."

(She is quite thorough in introducing herself to neighbors going into a sale). Coming from our Berkeley neighborhood, she brought a local touch and deep familiarity with the nearby schools, restaurants, transport, etc. that I’m sure helped establish trust with prospective buyers. We were impressed by her encyclopedic knowledge of sales in the area and the idiosyncrasies of transacting homes in Berkeley. Her network of fellow agents and service providers was comprehensive and she did an excellent job of ensuring reasonable budgets and timely task execution. She made several key recommendations that I’m sure added value to the final price. One involved some minor landscaping improvements, which she oversaw herself. These really highlighted the beauty of our garden which turned out to be a more important selling point than I would have imagined. She suggested surveying our square footage as the official figure didn’t jibe with her eyeballed estimate. This turned out to be a savvy move as the real square footage was significantly greater and the correct figure was incorporated just before marketing commenced.

As I reside overseas, Romney took pains to call me regularly to confer on key milestones and circulated email updates to keep the family abreast through the staging, preparing the house, and review of offers. She was respectful of our family’s decisions, providing counsel without imposing herself. I was very, very impressed by her professionalism, expertise, enthusiasm, and communication throughout. Knowing that my parents were in good hands while I was abroad gave me tremendous peace of mind. We not only felt positive about the final terms of the sale but also that we, as homeowners of 40 years, had been consulted and wisely counseled throughout."

—A. Miller

“Romney recently handled the sale of our home and the experience was fantastic from start to finish.”

Romney is a great listener and excellent at guiding us through the process of preparing our house, marketing
and then taking offers and sealing the deal. She is on top of all the details and kept us up to speed - and handled everything for us while we were out of state (she even took out our garbage and watered our yard). In the end, the result was better than we had ever imagined, not only in the 40% over asking sales price but in the rapid closing - 15 days. I would strongly recommend Romney to anyone thinking about selling their home, especially if your home is unusual or distinctive. Romney looked at all of the things about our house that we thought were too customized for us or too different from the "market" and transformed them into character-defining features. She saw everything about our house we loved and helped buyers fall in love too. Her steady hand, positive attitude, and careful attention assured a win all around. Bravo.

—Rob C.

“Romney is a wonderful real estate broker! My husband and I give her and Berkeley Hills Realty the highest recommendation.”

She made the search for a new home seem so easy and Berkeley Hills Realty was always on top
of the paperwork. Romney is professional and very knowledgeable about the competitive east bay/bay
area housing market. She was especially keen on the timing of our final bid offer that landed us our wonderful new home, and she was genuinely as excited and happy about the win as we were. Specifically, we began our search in June, and she predicted that the home prices would go down towards August that led us to buy a homeless than 2 months later for $100,000 less than what was typical for our new neighborhood! Granted, luck had much to do with this too, but her knowledge of the market guided us. Romney consistently updated us daily with comprehensive, new home listings that showed the house listing number and date, number of bed/bath, price, neighborhood, open house dates and times, home type, and special comments regarding the home. This was an essential tool in our hunt!
She was an optimistic realist, with a keen sense of our competition and our limitations, speaking kindly yet upfront about our chances of being outbid or the chances of our offer being taken seriously while helping us scope out the houses that truly fit our taste and budget. This was crucial to optimize the use of our limited time, given that we were expecting a baby in less than 5 months, and we’re hoping to move in before the arrival. She was very understanding about our urgency regarding our baby-to-come and was wonderful to our 1.5-year-old son in tow when we had him along. Romney treated us with kindness and patience in reading and signing the numerous pages of disclosure paperwork. She clearly explained technical paperwork jargon in layman’s terms and wrote clear, prompt, well-written emails. She matched our housing interests very well, and at the end, she also referred us to her handyman, speeding up the task of cleaning up the smaller home repairs to allow for a quicker move-in at no cost to us. Romney was patient with us and encouraged our need to take our time in finding the home we wanted, and perhaps above all, she treated us with friendliness, warmth, and was easy to communicate with that created an easy and efficient relationship. The couple of times that she was out of the office she referred us to another equally outstanding Berkeley Hills staff member who picked up our case without a problem. We cannot express enough thanks to her for her wonderful assistance in our house hunt endeavor. Again, she made the whole process enjoyable and seemingly effortless! (Before meeting Romney, my husband was fearful of the process; once we began working with her, he enjoyed the house hunt as though it were a game!) We highly recommend Romney
and Berkeley Hills Realty! We are truly happy to have worked with her, and love our new house!

—Sayaka Araki

“We recently sold our home in Oakland and had an amazing experience thanks to Romney.”

We met with several realtors from other well-known companies but none could provide the level of service that Romney gave us. From day one we felt confident that she would ensure our home would sell at our target price. Thanks to her experience and market-savvy we received multiple bids that stretched well beyond our goal. Throughout the process, Romney continued to work hard to ensure everything went smoothly. She's one of the best - if you're in the market make sure you give her a call.

—Jordan D.

“I can not say enough amazing things about Romney.”

I recently worked with her in the sale of my home in Oakland. She made herself available to us whenever we had questions and really worked hard to make sure that everything was done just right to help us get the most benefit out of the sale. Her knowledge of the Bay Area real estate market is incredible and I honestly don't think we could have done better with anyone else.

—Sarah D.

“Romney O'Connell is a top-of-the-line,
veteran Realtor with deep knowledge of the Berkeley real estate market and the home buying process.”

She is incredibly helpful, caring, and patient in the boom market that is the East Bay. You will be treated like family working with her. My best friend partnered with her to both buy and sell his condo in Berkeley in 2008 and 2013, respectively. I have worked with her on and off for the past couple of years and this past July 2013 I closed on my first home in Berkeley with her expert guidance. Romney is effective at crafting the right offer and negotiation strategy (if necessary). She will always ensure you are fully aware and comfortable with the next step in the process - whether relating to the house itself or the financing. She also knows the homes in Berkeley very well - both structurally and aesthetically...buying a house built in 1905 on a brick foundation (like I did)? No problem! She has the experience to educate you so that you can make the best decision for you. I have, and will continue to, recommend Romney to all my friends looking to buy in and around Berkeley.

–Sebastian V.

“Romney O'Connell did a fantastic job helping us to buy our El Cerrito Hills home in a competitive market.”

We really appreciated her humor and candor and would absolutely want to work with her if we were to sell!
She is a well-known sellers' agent in El Cerrito and you should definitely give her a call.

–Jil Nelligan

“We sold our house in the East Bay this summer
and it was an absolute pleasure to work with Romney O'Connell from Berkeley Hills Realty.”

Immediately from our initial phone conversation, I could tell she was vibrant, energetic, approachable and highly knowledgeable regarding the market. She made herself extremely available and was always promptly responsive with phone calls and emails. Anytime we needed extra explanation or guidance, she led us through it with warmth and patience. In the initial phases of getting the house ready to show, she put her head down and got it done efficiently and with attention to detail. During the bidding phase, she kept a really cool head, worked extremely well and intelligently with other brokers, and in the end, really tried to make sure we were getting what we wanted. Behind the scenes, she worked hard on our behalf and looked out for our very best interests. Ultimately, we got a great price for our house because of her determination. We are extremely happy with how smooth and easy the process was and we have only Romney to thank for that!!

– Sarah Anderson

“As buying agent and selling agent, Romney
deserves her consistently five-star reputation.”

Romney was so patient with my wife and me when we went to buy in the bay area: she showed us many homes and never made us feel like we were taking advantage of her time. She was readily available, not afraid to ask challenging questions on our behalf, and never made us feel as though we should be acting any other way than just the way we were. She encouraged us to ask the full range of questions and if she didn't know the answer to our questions, she would find out. And in a timely way. Unlike other realtors, Romney didn't try to talk us into something we didn't like or talk us out of something we did like; she listened carefully to what we wanted and was very informative about what was possible. We got a home we liked a lot, and at a good price. Years later, when we had to leave the area, Romney knew exactly how to help us get ready to sell in somewhat rushed circumstances; she knew precisely what needed to be done and how to get it done. She knew how to price the house and when to put it on the market. Within just a few days after opening, we received eight offers and one was at the top of what we were hoping for. It was a complete pleasure at every step of the way to work with this amazing realtor. Highest recommendation, without reservation.

–John M.

“Romney has guided me through three big real estate transactions in the past seven years.”

Including buying two houses in tough markets with multiple offers. She offers a rare combination of savvy sophistication and down-to-earth diligence. I've relied on her diplomacy and attention to detail to protect
my financial interests; her warmth and good humor are a bonus.

–Kathy A.

“My experiences with Romney couldn't have been better…”

Five years ago, she worked with my wife and me through an extremely complex and difficult market to find our perfect house -- at all times both professional and friendly. I felt really well cared for and in the hands of a pro. Over the intervening time we stayed in touch, and when the time came for us to sell, Romney was our obvious choice, and we couldn't have made a better one. By following her advice to the letter, we came away with the best sale we could have ever imagined. We and our friends were all amazed at how swimmingly the sale went, especially in light of the fact that our property was a one-of-a-kind item with very few comparable properties. Romney handled that issue and all others with great aplomb. What I appreciate most about Romney is her openness and empathy, qualities crucial in a line of work where the client has so much money on the line. I would unreservedly recommend her to anyone!

–Dan S.