Isabelle Grotte – Zephyr Real Estate

I was a first-​time buyer looking in SF and attended numerous open houses to find the right one — and the right agent, too. It was concerning that none of my friends or colleagues that purchased a home would recommend their agents. But the moment I met Isabelle at an open house, I knew I finally found the right person. She’s professional, thorough and on top of her game. Another review mentioned that she makes you feel like you’re her only client, which is so true! I honestly loved working with Isabelle because she always made herself available and made the entire process seem less daunting. She walked us through every step, and set realistic expectations and timelines. She’s also extremely knowledgable of the market and industry professionals so that we could put together a solid, competitive offer. She’s also very upfront yet friendly and approachable. I would HIGHLY recommend Isabelle to anyone in search of a home and would love to work with her again in the future!

We just purchased our first home in the crazy San Francisco market with Isabelle’s help. She is extremely knowledgeable, responsive, excellent communicator, and worked so well with our mortgage broker and title company. Like many working families we are busy and don’t have the time (or inclination) to do a lot of research on our own. We needed someone who’s expertise we could trust and Isabelle fit the bill. She had an informative answer to every question, often backed by data and research as well as anecdotal experience.
That being said, we only got to work with Isabelle for a few weeks because she got us the first house we bid on. Yes, she is that effective. When she told us that 80% rate her clients get the first home they bid on we didn’t think that would apply to us. But she gently steered us away from homes that we were unlikely to get so we didn’t waste our time or emotional energy. When there were a few buyers with competitive offers her advocacy and excellent relationship with other realtors helped us be the forerunners.
Although we closed a while ago, Isabelle is still a continuous source of support. She helps us with remodel decisions and refers us to contractors and services with whom she has great relationships. Our relationship with Isabelle is invaluable and will continue far beyond the act of just buying a house.

Isabelle is simply the best in the business — she just helped us buy our first home in SF and we couldn’t be happier! we had high standards for what we wanted in SF, and isabelle was on the same page the whole time and always on the lookout for us for properties that fit our criteria.
we had previously opened escrow on a different house last year, and Isabelle made sure everything with the transaction was vetted, and with her guidance and experience, she actually steered us clear of what would have been a nightmare transaction and prevented us from buying a house with many underlying problems.
as first time home buyers, isabelle is incredibly patient and explains everything about the process very clearly, and answers every question, no matter how small.
isabelle is so well connected — she helped us find our current property before it hit the market, and helped us painlessly purchase the home in under 30 days. she always gives advice with your best interest at heart and is never pushy.
she is always readily available (was on the phone with me and answering texts/​email over Christmas last year while she was out of the country on vacation!) and makes you feel like you are her only, top priority.
thanks for everything, isabelle!

I cannot thank Isabelle enough for helping me acquire the home of my dreams! She was a true pleasure to work with! But, actions speak louder than words, so for all the other type-​A people out there like me :), these are the specific qualities that I appreciated about her work ethics:
1) She was an excellent communicator and was either immediately available or had a very quick response time via text, phone and email, which makes a huge difference in making things happen efficiently and effectively, as well as in assuaging my psychological angst throughout the home-​buying process :).
2) She was very flexible with scheduling and tried her best to accommodate my schedule.
3) She was attentive to details and was very patient with my incessant requests for the details to be investigated and resolved (ie. 2 broken locks were replaced and a sink stopper repaired, detailed questions I had about the home were answered)
4) She was considerate and practical– the movers from the original owners left scuff marks on the walls and she offered to have her painter touch them up AFTER I had moved in as there would presumably be more scuff marks from my move.
5) She collaborated well with my lender and others involved in the process, and kept them on task to facilitate a quick close of escrow.
6) She continued to be available to help after the home purchase, as the refrigerator was not working and she arranged for a repairman to resolve the problem ASAP.
Overall, Isabelle was friendly, approachable, and maintained her cool whenever I lost mine :). She got the job done with staunch determination but always a smile on her face! I definitely recommend her highly if you are looking for an agent who is knowledgeable, effective and still a pleasure to work with!

Isabelle is an amazing realtor! She treats you like you are her only client and knows her stuff! We were recommended by her from a friend and so happy we went with her. We bought a wonderful house in Silver Terrace and it only took us 3 months of looking! She helped us with finding amazing lenders as well.
Isabelle is a genuine, lovely person who is extremely professional and down to earth as well!

My wife and I have been casually trying to purchase in San Francisco the past 5 years with a 2 – 3 offers made with 2 different agents. This spring we got more serious as our first child was getting to the crawling stage and we were outgrowing our current place.
We interviewed a handful of Agents and felt the most confident in Isabelle. We were really picky on the neighborhoods, even down to certain streets we would look at, and she did a great job staying optimistic while setting accurate expectations. A lot of the agents we met with started pushing neighborhoods we didn’t want, but Isabelle really focused on what we needed and worked with it.
She’s knows the city, everyone in it and what is happening. She brought multiple houses to us before they were on market because of her network and is very creative when it comes to creating the most attractive offer, especially if you are competing with all cash which it seems like everyone is now.
We ended up closing on an incredible house in Bernal Heights thanks to Isabelle. There were 10 offers and it was down to us and a similar all cash offer. Isabelle had us write a second letter to the owners as well as some other creative things to make our offer even more attractive and it worked! We absolutely love our house and can’t believe we were able to buy in this crazy market.
If you are serious about buying in San Francisco you should reach out to Isabelle.

It was an absolute pleasure working with Isabelle on our recent home purchase in Bernal Heights. From the moment I met Isabelle I felt that she would be a great agent for us, and would work hard to find us the right place. She took the time to understand what we were looking for and then we fairly quickly came across the perfect house. It happened so quickly that it all felt a bit surreal — in a really good way! We just closed last week and Isabelle was instrumental in making sure that all went smoothly. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about her. Highly recommend! Thanks Isabelle!

Isabelle is truly an excellent agent. We were first time home buyers and needed someone with experience navigating a challenging and competitive housing market like San Francisco. During some very nerve racking times, she was a very calming presence and did a wonderful job giving us advice and explaining all our options to us, even if it meant a late night phone conversation. I whole-​heartedly recommend her to anyone interested in buying a home!

Isabelle made the daunting task of selling a home a piece of cake. Her expertise and advise really paid off. Working with Isabelle is like working with a friend that you’ve known for years. I definitely recommend her if you are selling or buying a home.

Buying any home is a daunting task, especially as a first time buyer. Isabelle provided excellent advise and counsel throughout the whole process and always remained on top of everything. Her excellent knowledge of the San Francisco market in addition to being extremely well educated on all legal/​lending documentation left us assured that we were in the right place at all times.
I think the most important thing in the whole process is that you trust your agent. There will be times when you rely on them during contract negotiations or to explain certain documentation and if you don’t trust your agent then it will be a very stressful process. We completely trusted Isabelle and now consider her a friend.
If you’re looking for an agent, then look no further.

My girlfriend and I just purchased our dream home in Duboce Triangle with Isabelle as our agent. I absolutely couldn’t ask for a better agent, and here’s why:
— She takes the time to get to know you and what your desires are, far beyond how many bedrooms or bathrooms you’re looking for. She understands the «feel» of the place you are looking for.
— She KNOWS this SF market like the back of her hand, and she is extremely accurate in what she judges a place is worth. We all know that the «asking price» in SF is a joke — nothing ever goes for asking. Isabelle was able to consistently tell us what a «winning offer» would be for the properties we looked at. Sure enough, when the time came to put our offer in on the home we fell in love with, she was right on the money. We beat out 8 other offers, the closest one was only $ 15k below us. It felt great to know that we got our place without overpaying a lot over the next bidder!
— Isabelle has extremely good recommendations on mortgage brokers /​lenders to work with. She has tight relationships with these lenders and they were an amazing team together. The selling agent and title company were amazed by how quickly we closed our deal together — and it’s all because we had the «dream team» of Isabelle and her recommended lender.
— She always makes you feel like you are a #1 priority, no matter how many other things she has on her plate. She was amazing in this regard.
At the end of the day, buying a house is a stressful experience no matter how you do it. But working with Isabelle made the process smooth, fast, and predictable. These are not adjectives I’ve heard anyone else use when buying a home in SF, so do yourself a favor and work with Isabelle!

My wife and I met Isabelle right outside of a beautiful property on Belcher street her client had just closed on. Interacting with Isabelle felt like interacting with a very knowledgable friend willing to help you, rather than interacting with a broker. We were specifically interested in multi-​unit buildings and Isabelle gave us advice on the specific funding requirements and put us in touch with several banks and loan officers who specialize in multi-​unit loans.
You hear stories of people spending 6 – 9 months to find a property which they like and are able to close on. Isabelle spent enough time with us to learn what we were looking for, helped us navigate the financing pre-​approval requirements, pointed us in the direction of a property not yet listed on the market which we loved, helped us evaluate the opportunity, put in a preemptive offer, get our offer accepted and plow through the funding process in record time. End to end we closed on our home in less than 2 months after we got started. Even the loan broker was surprised we were able to close so quickly.
Pros about Isabelle:
— Personable, sharp and has deep knowledge of the market and the value of what you are getting
— Able to assess risk and pitfalls, ranging from deferred maintenance to tenant laws and liabilities
— Able to move and execute very quickly and seize the moment and the opportunity
— Able to create momentum and urgency when you find the property you like
— Realistic about timeframes and effort required so you can be well prepared
— Resourceful
Cons:
— Once you successfully close on your dream home you will miss working with her
She was incredibly helpful, supportive (when we were ready to pull our hair own with the loan application process) and an absolute pleasure to work with, we cannot recommend her enough. She even got us a 1 year appliance warranty for our new home as a gift. There is a reason why 15% of the brokers in the city sell 85% of the real-​estate. Isabelle is in the top 5%, absolute top tier talent. Look no further.

Isabelle is a true gem in a very tough buying market. Being new to SF, I had heard horror stories about real estate here and was feeling very discouraged. But Isabelle talked me off the ledge in our first meeting and was able to quickly assess our needs and preferences. She intuited what neighborhoods we would be happy in and found us the perfect home.
Thanks to Isabelle, our first offer was a successful one. She was there for us through the entire process through closing, provided trusted advice, answered all of our questions, and explained the many nuances of the local market.
We couldn’t be happier with our new home and I will be forever grateful to Isabelle for saving us from an East Bay commute!

Isa is an extremely passionate and determined agent that shows the utmost professionalism when in challenging situations. I threw Isa several curve balls– a tight deadline for sale, condo conversion finalization, and a dependency on a business partner to close out a TIC shared loan. Isa drew up a schedule that she managed closely, provided expert advice on property preparation to yield top dollar, and had deep knowledge on new condo conversions. Her expertise helped make the transaction go as smooth as possible even with several bumps along the way. I highly recommend her not only as a competent professional, but also as a friend. Her sense of humor can help smooth over the emotions of any sale and intelligence and determination make you realize you are in trusted hands.

If there was a real estate superhero, she would be called Isabelle Grotte! My wife and I knew absolutely nothing about real estate, and Isabelle patiently explained everything to us from whether or not a TIC was condo convertible to how to make a strong offer without overbidding and even helped us find an excellent mortgage agent. She has an amazing knowledge of San Francisco’s real estate market and is well respected by her peers as we discovered when we told other agents that Isabelle was our agent.
At the beginning, we were lost and had no idea what we wanted. She listened to us and asked us questions which help us understand what kind of property we wanted. Isabelle helped us made smart suggestions on visiting a variety of properties in different neighborhoods and in the process, we discovered our dream home.
Indeed, one day, Isabelle showed us a listing which we hadn’t seen and once we expressed interest, she arranged for a special showing with the buyer’s agent. It was a Monday night when we spoke to her and the offer was due on Wednesday so we saw the place on Tuesday, fell in love with it, and she helped us write a competitive yet also reasonable offer that same day. On Wednesday night, we received a counter offer and she acted incredibly fast to give us advice and provide the necessary paperwork. She did all this despite the fact that she was at a restaurant with her husband for her birthday! This demonstrates how committed she is to her clients. We beat out 15 offers in large part due to how well she presented our offer and understood the buyer’s needs outside of just money, and today, we are getting ready to move in to our first home! She even brought some of the finest champagne to our apartment to celebrate and she us no longer just a real estate agent but also a friend!

5 stars, superstar! Isabelle is on top of it. She has helped many clients of mine find a beautiful home. She is responsive, knows the market and get the job done. It is great to rely on a true professional when you deal with big transactions like buying a home. If you have a dream house in mind, Isabelle Grotte with Zephyr real estate can help you make it a reality.

Isabelle helped me find my first own condo in downtown SF. Isabelle was patient enough to walk me through the details of process, more than once. Never pushed for me to go ahead with a product that wasnt perfect for me.
I’d recommend Isabelle to anybody looking for a place in SF — Especially to expats who are looking for a sounding board and someone aware of the differences of expectations between Europe and the US…

Isabelle acted as our buying agent. We had been on the market for a while when she find the perfect place for us in November 2011 (2 beds with garage in Bernal Heights). Obviously during the closing period a few unexpected glitches happened. I’m glad we had Isabelle on our side to smoothen things out. This is a stressful period for any home buyer and it’s great to be able to rely on someone very knowledgeable and super responsive. We’ve been living there since and we love it :-)

Isabelle was fantastic to work with. She helped us determine what to fix up before putting our house on the market, and what could be left for the sellers to update, and tapped into her network of professionals to get the jobs done. She kept us on a tight schedule to get our house on the market at the best time, and it paid off — 5 offers, all over asking.
The best part — she and her husband fixed my husband’s motorcycle, which not only saved us the cost of the repair, but the cost to tow it out of the garage.
Our only regret is that we can’t use her again to buy a house, since we moved out of SF.
Thanks again Isabelle!

I wish I could select 10 stars for Isabelle Grotte! If you are looking for an amazingly competent agent, I highly recommend Isabelle. Isabelle sold our place (in one day) and then got us into escrow for a new place a few weeks later. I have bought and sold five places and Isa went above and beyond. She was a total partner in our process and always took the time to take us to to any property we wanted to see, but most importantly took all the time we needed when we had questions. In a highly competitive market like San Francisco, you definitely want to choose Isabelle to guide you all the way through as she will be thorough, honest, and fun! Look no further, contact Isabelle!