Deborah Wood-RE/MAX Bayview

Deborah is amazing! We moved to CA from CT and had initial bad luck with realtor recommendations from friends. I found Deborah on Unilocal and, even though there were relatively few reviews, I took a chance since they were glowing. I honestly can’t imagine a better realtor. Deborah is everything you could hope for and more: She answered emails/​texts/​calls with a speed that must severely compromise her personal life. We were after our «Forever House» (needless to say, the bar was pretty high even tho we didn’t necessarily know what that meant) and took multiple months to look at ~150+ properties (AKA realtor’s worst nightmare). Deborah was patient and exceptionally pleasant throughout the entire process, all the while making us feel like a top priority. The house we ended up buying was probably the truest test of Deborah’s character. The seller and their realtor rendered the process a bit of a nightmare. As an example, we weren’t allowed to see the basement unless/​until we made an offer (???). The seller left a huge amount of stuff behind — which delayed the closing, a problem given that we had movers arriving with our stuff according to a pre-​arranged schedule — and, not only did Deborah work to get the seller to agree to pay for hauling, she scheduled the haulers so they were ready to go the second we secured the required signatures. When the amount set aside didn’t cover what was needed, she even offered her husband and truck to finish the job. Also, during our inspection we found that a jacuzzi tub and the oven weren’t working. After it became clear that we weren’t going to get anywhere with the seller, Deborah bought us — despite objections — a 1-​year home warranty plan to facilitate getting them fixed. To this day, she continues to check-​in from time to time to make sure we’re doing OK. Moving requires a lot of stressful decisions. You can check «Choose a realtor» off your list.

Deborah is a realtor sent from heaven. Literally every single time I mentioned her name at various open houses, working with the home inspector, mortgage officer etc. they all had the same comments…“she is amazing”, «you are so lucky to be working with her», «she is the best». It’s all so true. She is so calm, pleasant and on top of every detail throughout the whole process. Having a realtor who everyone enjoys working with really makes a HUGE difference in the home buying process. If she has an opening to take you on as a client, you would be a fool not to go with her. We love our new house and she will be our #1 referral for anyone we know.

Deborah is by far the best Realtor I have ever worked with. I have bought and sold a a few homes, so I have something to compare to. We had an amazing and challenging property and she did a fabulous job promoting, staging and selling it. She has had many years of experience and this was paramount in the process of our sell. She totally had our back and made to process very smooth. She kept in close contact with us and was totally available to interested parties ALWAYS! She was always very positive and honest and never got worked up if things became challenging.
She also made it possible for use to purchase the next property. She was always professional and honest. We owe her a lot for making our dreams come true.
We love Deborah.

My husband and I purchased a house in Felton in September. Deborah was actually the seller’s agent when we were purchasing the house, but we worked very closely with her because of some special circumstances with this house. Deborah was incredibly helpful, hands on, professional, accommodating, nice, and did I say helpful already? She bent over backwards for us, and we weren’t even her clients! We developed such a great relationship with her that she came to our house warming party months later! I would definitely recommend Deborah as a real estate agent if you want a really great, stress free, pleasant experience! Thanks Deborah!

If you need a pro for your real estate needs, we strongly recommend Deborah Wood. She sold our family home recently and we couldn’t be happier with the way she guided us though the whole process.

Deborah was recommended to me by a college at work who loved working with her. He had purchased several properties in Santa Cruz and had nothing but rave reviews, especially since he had worked with several other agents in the area and was not pleased. After contacting Deborah by email she promptly responded to me we were able to talk the next day. I was instantly impressed how easy going and knowledgeable she was about the entire coast from Santa Cruz, all the way down to pacific grove, Salinas, and Prunedale! At the time I had just listed my property in the San Joaquin Valley, so I was nervous that she would not want to waste her time showing me around. The contrary was true! She immediately schedule a visit around my schedule to all the areas of interest. During one such visit I had to take my kids and she was so understanding and even offered us time to take them to the park when they started to get bored of seeing houses. She sent me all the new listings from the MLS almost daily, so once my house sold we were able to quickly find a beautiful house in the perfect location. What I like most about Deborah is her flexibility and kindness, coupled with her strong work ethic and ability to turn up the heat when necessary. She got the job done with grace. I couldn’t have been happier!

Deborah is wonderful to work with. I really appreciated her work ethic and communication skills even before we met her. She helped us to arrange a very productive visit to Santa Cruz to attend 6 open houses and then met with us the following day to show us 4 more. She was able to obtain additional information on the properties in which we were interested and showed great insight and professional knowledge in helping us to focus in on our requirements versus the available inventory in our price range. Her knowledge of the Santa Cruz communities was also superlative and although we finally decided that it is not the right time for us to make a move, when we’re ready she’ll be the first call I make!

I have worked with Deborah for several years and have been impressed with not only how vast her real estate knowledge is but much she has embraced technology to make the process easier for her clients regardless of where they are physically located in connection with where they want to buy. Her professionalism is nearly unparalleled. If she is says she will handle it is a foregone conclusion that she absolutely will. She also surrounds herself with a team back up her work ethic and style.

Wonderful Real Estate Agent. Went over and above what usual agents do. Her attentiveness to detail and can do attitude was even commented on by other agents. She really took care of us and the sale of the home that meant so much to us.

Deborah was really easy to work with and knowledgeable about real estate prices and neighborhoods. She accommodated our schedule so that we could see all the properties we were interested in while we were in town (from Seattle) to look at homes in the Santa Cruz/​Aptos area. And we made multiple trips to do so. Deborah organized our tours of properties to make the most of our time, and was ever so patient with our questions.
It was very comfortable working with Deborah. She is not someone who pushes a property on a client; she let us make our own decisions. But had good advice to offer. She wisely suggested we make our offer to include all the contents of the condo we ended up purchasing, so that we could both use and rent the condo right away. She has good relations with other realtors, which can be an advantage when making an offer. And she has a network of inspectors she can call on. She is consistently polite, patient, and diplomatic. I feel lucky to have found her, and I’d highly recommend her.

You would be *extremely* hard pressed to find a better realtor than Deborah in Santa Cruz County. Three reasons: Deborah is an excellent listener, she knows the area and all the right people, and she’s extremely punctual and responsive. If you really want a house, work with Deborah. She knew exactly how to get our offer accepted and the deal closed.
This was our first time buying a house, and Deborah was the 4^th realtor we worked with (referred to us by a realtor relative), among countless others that we spoke with on the phone or met for showings. Are we picky? Maybe. But I think that’s a good thing. In this competitive market, having her guidance through the process was our winning ticket. We happened to have already found the house we wanted (through chance, by mention of another realtor at another open house), so I can’t comment on the house-​finding process. But she did incredible work with the offer letter and closing.
Listening is underrated, but so important. We had 1001 questions about our offer price, property boundaries, loans, contingency periods, etc, etc. She never interrupted us or *told* us what to do. She listened, gave her input based on her experience, and asked us what we wanted.
Deborah is an extremely pleasant and surprisingly mellow-​mannered person for someone so effective at what she does, and that quality pays off! She knew **everyone** we needed to interact with: the seller’s realtor, our loan officer, our title officer, even BOTH of the inspectors AND the termite guy. She’s been working in this area for quite a while, and her relationships run deep, which helps smooth the way for buyers. **I honestly don’t if we would have gotten our house if she didn’t know the other realtor. She had a nuanced understanding of what it would take for OUR offer to be accepted**
She was available nearly ²⁴⁄₇ to answer our calls, emails, and texts. The woman works SOO much, I really hope she takes some real vacations! But never once did she act put-​upon or annoyed. I don’t know how she deals with so many frenetic buyers and annoying snags in paperwork with such even keel. Rarely do you find someone like this in any profession.
If/​when we buy or sell another house, I am just crossing my fingers that Deborah is still working in this area. She was incredible, and I would refer her to anyone I cared about with a single hesitation. Thank you so much, Deborah!

Number of realtors that have represented my interests in the last 5 years: 7
Number of realtors that I have or would write a recommendation for: 1
Here is what I value in a Realtor:
Knowledge. I want someone that can bring me value beyond what I can get from going to Redfin and putting in some parameters. I am fully capable of seeing what is on MLS and previewing pictures. What Deborah brings is a wealth of knowledge. Be it neighborhood information that isn’t apparent or intricacies of an easement that would take me a while to research, Deborah will either give you the information or personally connect you with someone that has it.
Attention to Detail: The devil is always in the details. Whether it is a seemingly inconsequential detail about the property that later comes back to haunt you or a peculiarity in the contract, Deborah is on top of it. For example, there was one page, buried within a 400 page document, that Deborah remembered and found when I had a specific question about the property. Amazing.
Honesty. Real estate is a tricky business. Especially on the buyer’s side. Being purely commissioned based at a % of the sales price, real estate agents are incentivized to find the most expensive property at the highest price that the buyer can afford. Deborah is the first agent I’ve worked with that has actually dissuaded me from purchasing a (significantly) more expensive home — and for good reason. Even knowing my maximum price point, she still included houses that were well below it – and we ended up with one of those with her encouragement. I am extremely happy (and grateful) to her for ending up with the property that we did. I don’t believe the outcome would have been the same with any other agent I have worked with in the past.
At the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. When the deal was all said and done, we hired Deborah again to manage our Vacation Rental Property. True to form, she has done an amazing job — finding, managing, and dealing with every detail. Whether you are looking for a new house or someone to help manage a rental property, Deborah will do an amazing job.

Highly recommended! First and foremost, Deborah is a great listener and a warm, service-​oriented person. She got to know us and genuinely cared about our family’s goals. She is also a wonderful communicator and deeply committed to making sure this most important of transactions goes as smoothly as possible. She’s ethical and stays cool under pressure. Also a great trouble-​shooter and always willing to go above and beyond to help you. We’ve been involved in a number of real estate transactions and feel genuinely lucky to have found her. Simply the best!

I recently had a renter move out of a condo I owned in Capitola. Now that I live in Washington State I figured I was too far away to continue to manage the property. I contacted Deborah and mailed a key to her. As soon as she got the key she went out to the property, photographed it and sent the photo’s back to me. She listed the property for me and performed a number of duties above and beyond the call due to the fact I was so far away. Throughout the time I was in contact with her she was courteous, prompt, and very professional. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell property in the Santa Cruz area.

We had an excellent experience with Deborah as our realtor. As first time homebuyers and being new to the Santa Cruz area, we had tons of questions, and Deborah could answer them all (sometimes with a little research). Based on our interactions with other realtors in the Santa Cruz area, Deborah stands out: She’s careful, thoughtful and interested in her clients. Before you call anyone else, call Deborah — she’s great.
We moved to the Santa Cruz area from the Midwest (Detroit, actually), primarily for work. Not having spent any substantial time in Santa Cruz county, it was all new to us. Deborah escorted us through all the neighborhoods in Santa Cruz proper, as well as towns to the south (Aptos, Capitola, etc.) and in the San Lorenzo Valley. All in all, over three separate trips, Deborah looked at over 50 homes with us. At the end, she knew exactly what we were looking for, and when the house we ended up buying went on the market, she generously previewed it to save us the trip to CA. Obviously, she thought we would love it – and we do. After two years, we’re really happy with our home and our new neighborhood.
We also had a complicated mortgage, since it comes through my employer and there are a variety of stipulations that make it quite different from a regular bank-​owned mortgage. Deborah worked with our mortgage administrator and got it all figured out — much more quickly than I could have.
I send all my friends and coworkers to Deborah, even when they aren’t in the market for a home (I hope she doesn’t mind). If we ever sell our home and buy a new one, Deborah will be our realtor again.

Deborah is awesome! We live 2:45 minutes away from where we wanted to purchase a beach house. We emailed Deborah based on her Unilocal reviews and received a call back, the same day… Easter! She continued this excellent customer service and worked hard to help us find our perfect home away from home. In less then two months we have moved in! An added bonus to her strong work ethic and delightful personality was her ability to provide us with the option of electronic signatures for all off our documents including closing, which saved us hours of travel. Thank you Deborah you rock!

Deborah is great!
She helped us find the right home for us that is in our price range. She always found time that worked for us when we were looking at houses. She was full of quality information and always did her homework on every house we went to see. She pulled out all the stops to make sure that our first offer was as solid as it could be and it was accepted!
Deborah helped us through a short sale process that can often times be long and complicated. She always kept us as up to date as possible. When she got new information we had it later that same day. Wow! When ever we had questions she was always available to answer them, text, email, or phone call which ever we preferred.
We are so happy with our new home and Deborah’s fantastic work.

We live in Texas and purchased a second home to be near my daughter (and the beach!).
We were working with a previous realtor who was very responsive to helping us see properties, but pushed us just to bid sight unseen without details and to figure out if we actually wanted the property later which we were very uncomfortable with. Deborah came recommended from a realtor north of San Francisco that we had worked with for many years on property purchases to the north. She immediately told us her background and gave us letters of recommendation. She set us up with listing notifications, but was also very aware of what was on the market, the condition of the properties before we spent time viewing them and arranged timely initial viewings that suited my daughter and son-in-law’s busy schedule always being sure feedback was received between all 3 parties (herself, may daughter and son-​in-​law, myself and my husband).
When my daughter saw the property, there was already an offer on it. Deborah found out as many particulars about the home and one by the same builder across the street for sale as she could within hours. She guided us through the preparation of our offer package and told us how to make it more attractive to the seller though we were most likely going to make a lower offer (3% earnest money, letter of introduction, using local bank and loan provider from the area, disclosure of financial documents showing our ability to follow through on the offer).
We were thrilled when our offer was accepted by the seller, but ran into a glitch when the bank approval didn’t include money promised to the seller for proceeding with a short sale rather than foreclosure. The seller refused to officially notify us of bank acceptance until the bank paid the promised money which meant the clock was ticking but we couldn’t proceed with inspections, etc. We were flying to California for a wedding and Deborah persuaded the seller to permit us to view the house and proceed with the inspections even though she still wouldn’t release it formally. It saved us an additional flight out and was worth risking the inspection money to see if we even wanted to proceed with the property. (Deborah also recommended some outstanding inspectors.) The bank eventually gave the seller the money and we were able to proceed with loan appraisal and funding with Deborah giving us frequent updates on the behind the scenes negotiations while we waited anxiously.
We were unable to obtain the loan in the time period left due to the delay, but Deborah got us an extension and permission to allow fumigation of the property before closing so it was ready for necessary repairs to be completed before my son-​in-​law and daughter needed to move in. She was always available for the armies of contractors I sent for bids on the necessary repair work in a timely fashion and was quick to let us know about the response of the contractors we had selected. She also kept abreast of all the multitude of paperwork and made it easy for us to complete including hounding the loan people so it was funded in time for closing on December 27^th.
A joy to work with!

When my wife and I started searching for a real estate agent to help us purchase a 2^nd home in Aptos (about an hour away from our primary residence) we asked around for recommendations. The first agent who was recommended to us by a friend in the area never returned my phone call, so I kept looking. I turned to a trusted agent near our home and she recommended Deborah Wood without hesitation.
Deborah has lived and worked in the Santa Cruz area for many years, and her expertise was very helpful in helping us finding the right house. My schedule didn’t allow us to view houses during week days, but Deborah never had a problem spending time with us to show us houses on weekends and she responded to texts and emails promptly, even after traditional business hours.
She made herself available to provide access to contractors to get quotes (saving my wife and I hours of driving time) and used an online document-​signing service which allowed us to sign paperwork electronically which was another big time saver. She was always friendly, professional, prompt, and pleasant to work with, and I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever.

We have known Deborah for 6 years and we have always been very impressed with her. She is professional, very patient and always on your side.
She helped us buy our very first home 6 years ago and she spent so much time with us to make sure we made the right decision. I can say for sure, we made the right decision on the home and the right decision in choosing Deborah. Recently we wanted to purchase a 2^nd home in Santa Cruz, and we naturally turned to Deborah to help us.