Sabrina Gee Shin – Zephyr Real Estate

I don’t usually write reviews — however, my overwhelmingly positive experience with Sabrina certainly warrants one. This review has been a long time coming because I wanted to wait until the excitement of buying a home had subsided, allowing me to reflect on the experience objectively.
That said, mere words cannot describe how satisfied I am with Sabrina’s work; from first contact to the end of escrow, Sabrina’s communication, honesty, and character were top notch. I’m not easily satisfied, but Sabrina exceeded my expectations in all aspects of the home buying experience:
FIRST CONTACT — I called Sabrina in July 2015 after seeing one of her listings in Golden Gate Heights. I was not in the position to buy a home at the time, but Sabrina still spent an hour on the phone patiently answering all of my questions. There was zero pressure to move forward, and I suggested that I might contact her when I’m ready.
INITIAL MEETING — Nearly 3 months later in September 2015, I called Sabrina and to my surprise she still remembered me! Sabrina emphasized the importance of a good fit between agent and buyer, so we spoke for almost four hours getting to know each other. As the session ran late, she even went out of her way to grab us dinner. After talking about my background, objectives, and preferences, I felt confident that she knew the kind of home I was targeting.
HOME TOURS — I’m the type of buyer who prefers to scour through new listings myself, and later have my agent corroborate each find. Nonetheless, Sabrina still prepared a list of potentially interesting properties on her own, and to my delight our lists were often strikingly similar. This was an excellent sign that she understood my preferences. And when it came time to discuss each home, I appreciated Sabrina’s honesty as she often highlighted points of concern about the property that I did not know or think about.
OFFER — When it came time to submit an offer, Sabrina worked tirelessly with the seller’s agent and my loan officer to instill confidence in both parties, persuading both of them that I was the right buyer. This did not simply happen over the course of one meeting, but through multiple conversations leading up to the offer due date. When offers were reviewed, I felt extremely confident in Sabrina’s ability to represent me as a buyer.
Ultimately, my home buying experience with Sabrina could be best characterized as smooth, quick, thorough — and highly enjoyable. With Sabrina’s help, I found the perfect home within 2 weeks of our initial meeting and closed escrow in 17 days with the help of an incredible loan officer, also recommended by Sabrina. If I were to buy or sell a home again there is no doubt that I would choose Sabrina. I highly recommended her; she’s truly one in a million.

Sabrina helped me buy my very first home. It was a BMR unit which involves more paperwork and parties but she took the time to write out offer letters and review each application that I was submitting. After many bad draws on the lottery, I finally got my number picked and Sabrina was right there to guide me through the whole process.
During the purchase stage, she would check in to make sure paperwork and processes were moving. She responds quickly to all my questions (and I had a lot of them). She’s very thorough with her explanations too.
It was great working with her and is definitely a person I will be recommending to everyone I know.

First of all, this is not my first real estate transaction. I’ve had a few and I’ve had my share of mediocre to bad agents over the years. So, I can honestly say I know what a great agent is now. With that, here’s my review of Sabrina Gee-​Shin:
Wow! What a journey this has been. I am so glad Sabrina Gee-​Shin was there for us throughout most of it.
In fact, I started here on Unilocal.I was looking for a Realtor &/​or a Mortgage Broker who had experience handling VA Home Loans in San Francisco. There wasn’t a lot of useful information for single family home purchases in San Francisco, mostly just condos. When I called around, I got a lot of «Good luck trying to buy a house in this hot SF market using a VA Home Loan!!!»
Well, let me tell you that I am living proof that it IS possible to buy a single family home in SF using a VA Loan. On top of that craziness, I used a VA direct lender who was based out of state. (I used Veterans United Home Loans based out of Missouri. They are the best! Ask for Andy Strubel! We closed in 30 days, well actually 32 days due to a weekend).
Back to Sabrina. Let me tell you why I think you need to talk to her if you are looking for a San Francisco Real Estate agent and/​or an agent with VA Loan knowledge!
1.) Real estate agents are a dime a dozen. Good ones are plenty. Great ones are far & few between. Sabrina is in the ONE & ONLY category!!!
You can’t just use any real estate agent. Transacting in real estate is not always about just the highest offer price; it can be a real visceral experience for both buyers and sellers.
Basically, real estate is a relationship based business. This is where Sabrina excels. She KNOWS EVERYBODY (it seems)!! Every house we went to see, she either knew the agent, the on-​site mortage broker, or had some other connection. Why does this matter? Because
you as the buyer will STAND OUT from the pack.
2.) Sabrina makes sure that you and she are on the same page about your home search (or sale).
Before jumping into looking at open homes, we all sat down to get to know each other and figure out each other’s personality traits and styles of operating. At first, I had my doubts about this process but quickly realized how beneficial this is because ultimately, we are working together as a team and Sabrina is effectively an extension of us and our buying power. WHY WOULDN’T YOU WANT TO BE ON THE SAME PAGE and HAVE THE SAME GOALS?!
3.) Sabrina works really hard for you!!!
When she decided to work with us, she had NO VA Home Loan experience. ZERO! She had only heard of VA Home Loan myths & horror stories. To her credit, she delved into every facet of the VA home loan process and quickly got up to speed. She was apprehensive, at first,
about working with our out of state lender Veterans United. However, she and Andy Strubel ended up being such an impactful tandem. Andy is sharp and works really hard, just like Sabrina. It’s no wonder they rock!
4.) Sabrina makes you feel like you are her only client!
I knew Sabrina had other clients and transactions at the same time as me. She even told me that. However, I never once felt like I had to take a backseat to her other clients. She is also reachable and the few times she is not, she returns calls in a timely manner.
5.) Sabrina will tell you what she doesn’t know.
Why is this important? There are so many unique things that occur in a real estate transaction, no agent can honestly say they know everything. You don’t realize how important this is until you are faced with a situation. One of the worst feelings you can experience is when you think your expert agent has a handle on things, but then come to find out they have no clue what’s going on. With Sabrina, you don’t have to worry. Her candor is an invaluable trait. She’ll be upfront and honest if she doesn’t have the right answer for you yet, but you can take solace in knowing that she will work hard and check with the right people to get the resolution that is needed.
So, the insight from this review is that you can’t go wrong with hiring Sabrina to represent you!
Trust and an efficient working relationship are powerful tools if you want have a successful real estate transaction. Her networking and support staff will propel you to be a competitive buyer in this hot market. Your offer will stand out. She, basically, will hold your hand and teach you what to do at each stage in order to be competitive. My advice is to be flexible, do your part in a timely manner (i.e. getting her docs and signatures ASAP), and trust that she has your best interests in hand. YOU WILL BE REWARDED for your hard work too!
GOOD LUCK to you!!!

Sabrina helped me with a purchase of a great condo in very though market. She quickly dialed what kind of property I liked and locations. She was very available and helpful through entire process. She was very reachable & provided timely info. Through the offer negotiations, I had her input/​advice as well as helpful insight of her partner. After the offer acceptance, she made sure the closing was going smoothly: coordinating with bank & title & prior owner. Very satisfied with all her efforts & would recommend her. Would definitely work with her in the future if need. She is knowegeable professional and beyond the transaction a nice person to deal with.

Sabrina helped me buy my very first condo this past March. She is seriously the best realtor in SF, and I am not exaggerating. It was my very first time purchasing a home, and Sabrina held my hand every step of the way. She started off by getting to know me and not just in terms of what I was looking for in my new home but everything about me. What was extremely helpful was all the time she spent educating me and informing me about everything related to the process. I really appreciated her honesty and ability to set realistic expectations.
Once we went into escrow, Sabrina was detailed oriented, persistent and extremely caring. Through the highs and lows, Sabrina was patient and always focused on getting to a solution. Her vast knowledge and experience were critical to anything that came up. I couldn’t have bought my home without her.
I am happy to say Sabrina was not only my broker but a dear friend now as well. If you are looking for someone who will guide you every step of the way in finding your home, give Sabrina a call now!

As someone who used to be mentored by Sabrina, I worked with her closely side by side. I am not here to tell you how amazing she is as a mentor. I am here to share how Sabrina takes care of her clients from an insider’s point of view.
Being a realtor before allows me to get to know many agents in San Francisco. Sabrina works very differently from the majority of the agents that I have met. She deeply understands how important the background story behind buying or selling a house means to her clients. And she works extremely hard to make sure that her clients’ needs are properly met, which not only includes successfully buying or selling a house, but needs that behind the story, such as a doting mother wants to be able to leave some funds for her son after selling the house, or a soon-​to-​be mom needs to focus on her well-​being during a stressful selling process, etc.
«You are pregnant. The last thing you want to do right now is to worry about your house. I am a mother too. My mother told me how much of an impact a pregnant woman can pass on to her child if she’s stressed during pregnancy. PLEASE PLEASE go relax. Your baby is your priority. Let me handle the house for you.»
That’s what Sabrina told her client when this lady was stressing out over the process of selling her house in Sunset District. She was moving to Chicago due to her husband’s job change at the time.
That’s how Sabrina treats her client. She always thinks about the client’s priority first.
Sabrina holds a master degree from Harvard Public Policy School. Her capability of analyzing the market and making numbers talk is extremely helpful to a real estate transaction, which is normally the biggest purchase in someone’s entire life. You can safely count on her to provide you a pricing strategy that suits your needs.
Sabrina is also famous for being the «post it note» queen in the office, which means that she is outstandingly organized. Have a question about real estate? Go visit Sabrina at her office, then you will see her office wall covered neatly with post it notes that helps her keep track of every single small step of a transaction — schedule painter, staging company starts working, reserve parking space for staging, schedule inspectors, market comps, first-​time buyer consultation… You name it, Sabrina’s got you covered!

Sabrina guided me patiently through a very long search for a condo on the west side of San Francisco. I was very picky. Older building but earthquake retro fitted, parking, formal dining room, top unit…
When the right unit hit the market, Sabrina helped me put together a strategy to make sure I got the unit.
Once my bud was accepted she organized all the follow up — inspections, paperwork etc for an easy close.

Sabrina helped my wife and I buy our first home last fall. We couldn’t have worked with a better agent and would highly HIGHLY recommend her for anyone looking in San Francisco. We first met Sabrina in Fall 2013 at a San Francisco Fire Credit Union seminar. While we weren’t ready to start looking at the time, we knew we found the perfect Realtor for when the day came. About 9 months later we had our first meeting with Sabrina and spent nearly 3 hours learning about each other and building a foundation that we came to appreciate so much over the home searching process. During our first meeting, she took the time to get to know us in order to understand our values and what it meant for us to purchase in San Francisco. Sabrina is easy to trust and love; she’s personable, very knowledgable about San Francisco (a native!), sharp and puts her heart and soul into her work. She has the perfect balance of savvy and strategic business skills and a natural warm demeanor. She has a great reputation and other realtors/​people in the industry enjoy working with her, which is incredibly valuable in the competitive San Francisco market!
Sabrina was the «experienced navigator of the ship» for the entire journey, knowing who to pull in and when. She is hard working and patient, often spending hours with us on the phone late into the evening helping us through tough decisions and offers. As first time home buyers, she took the time to educate us about the process, new terminology, and strategies on how to be successful in this crazy market. Sabrina is flexible and responsive so it was easy to build a solid and trusting relationship with her.
After 3 months of searching, my wife and I found the perfect first home for us in Sunnyside/​Glen Park. We were out of town when the place first came on the market so Sabrina took a video for us during a brokers tour. She took us to see the place just a few days later one evening after work. We fell in love immediately. She was proactive in finding out information about the property and seller to help us make a smart and strategic offer. We are so happy to have met Sabrina and feel eternally grateful that our paths crossed because we know we wouldn’t be here in our home without her.

Sabrina is a great realtor hands down. She’s completely honest and reliable. I feel she’s really looking out for clients even when it means she might earn less money.
She just helped me buy a house. I was negotiating with sellers over the price. I was ready to throw in the towel because I just wanted the house and was tired of dealing with this ridiculous San Francisco housing market. She told me she felt like we were still leaving money on the table. So we continued to haggle and were able to knock some more cash off the price. She totally didn’t have to do that. I would not have been the wiser if I had agreed to the higher price and she would have earned more money because the selling price would have been higher.
If you’re in the market to buy or sell a property (she also helped me sell my condo) in SF do yourself a favor and hire Sabrina. I can whole heartily recommend her

Sabrina, Sabrina, livin’ a life just like a movie star, Sabrina, Sabrina, she reminds me of a Westside Story.
No wait, that’s Maria, Maria *nod to Carlos Santana* but hey, now that I’ve got you, let me tell you about Sabrina Gee-​Shin. And take this with a grain of salt, as it was my best pal Jeremy P who was the one doing the most dealing with her.
That’s right, ladies, Jeremy P bought his first condo (aka, a place for me to crash on those drunken late nights. On the couch of course, he’s a gentleman)! Very, very exciting stuff, people. Sabrina was his realtor and made the whole hullabaloo run smoothly and seemlessly.
As some of you know, purchasing a home, and at that, your first home, can be extremely stressful. Add on a very demanding job (for Jeremy P, not me — my job is a cake walk), tight schedules, and the San Francisco real estate market and you’ve got yourself one giant potential pickle to be in. But with Sabrina, Jeremy was put at ease. She was readily available when he needed to speak with her: she actually called him several times when we were lunching just to check in and give him updates, which was a much appreciated gesture.
When the deal eventually closed, Sabrina stopped over at his new place for him to sign off the final paperwork, which is when I had the pleasure of meeting her. She was so warm and friendly, genuinely happy for Jeremy, and she gave us both a big hug! She’s simply a really nice person with the buyer always in mind. Highly recommended, and I certainly know where I’ll go when it’s my turn to make a big time purch.

Sabina is a Realtor who «dots her i’s and crosses her t’s», that’s for sure.
I’m sitting in my lovely new condo typing this. I had some tough requirements too – 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, and under 600K. Pretty difficult to swing in a sellers market in a high-​priced city like San Francisco.
But Sabrina stuck with me. She helped me write up three separate offers, and went over disclosure packages in great detail.
Her company is top-​notch too. I actually found that I was using their site (
) more than any other site for open houses.
The whole thing was 5 months of fun… Lots of issues, and stress, but Sabrina was always on the ball with explaining how things work, and the various risk factors that are inherent in owning property.
During the search, there was a condo with 10 offers, there was «the house with accidental death in the garage», and finally my little slice of heaven in the Excelsior.
If you’re looking for a low-​pressure, patient and detail-​oriented Realtor, look no further than Sabrina. I recommend her without reservation.