All I can say is the folks at Fixed Rate saved my butt. I was heading underwater on my condo fast and hardly any of the other units in the building were selling. The Fixed Rate team came in, told me what I needed to do to get the place ready, handled the contractors, all the paperwork, and ordered all the necessary reports. They took care of everything.
 
Once the place was ready for sale I was blown away – when they sent me the listing the photos were so awesome I didn’t even recognize it. Long story short - they sold my condo in 21 days, got me a great offer, and saved me a bunch of money on commissions. It was nothing short of miraculous. Now I can get on with my life - I will never forget what they did for me.

Erik Christiansen – San Francisco, CA

Buying a home in the bay area requires patience, experience and most importantly micro market expertise. I dealt with the owner of the company, Lance King, and he excels in all. Before meeting Lance, I spent (wasted) several months working with three different agents. I also met at least six others during open houses. Almost every agent that I dealt with was the same, all fluff and no real sense of market value. I learned later that's what you get with the average SF real estate agent that entered during the real estate gold rush and is now starving to make a sale. That type of representation is a potential land mine for a prospective buyer in the biggest purchase of their lives.

I put the brakes on and decided to spend a lot of time researching and interviewing a new set of agents. Thanks to Trulia and Yelp I found out about Lance and Fixed Rate Properties. After meeting Lance, I walked away knowing that he was the right fit because he is down to earth, easy to talk to and understands value. I don't know if there are too many agents that have the breadth of experience he has to help with the value decision. His experience over the past 25 years ranges from owning a contractor supply company to buying/remodeling homes to years of being broker/owner of a real estate firm. He will honestly tell you if a place will need new windows, electric, etc. or if the remodel that was done was a cheap flip or not. You absolutely need to know all of these things before you move forward in the buying process.

Lance carefully listened to my 'wants' and set up an MLS search.  I was looking for a single family or possible a 2 unit with views and outdoor space in the North part of SF. We went over potentials and were on the same page in terms of what was worth looking at. One of the first properties was an REO in Pacific Heights that needed some work--not the easiest property to make a decision on.  Lance took me through and carefully detailed everything that needed to be done to the house with cost estimates. He then started to look at comps, days on the market for the property, price reductions, etc. and aggregate all the info to use as a basis for a bid price. We moved forward with an aggressive bid and quickly learned that dealing with a bank owned property was going to require perseverance. Long story short...Lance was an ace throughout a process that had many twists and turns from bid acceptance to loan approval to final docs. He ended up assuming the work of most people involved to get the deal done. I can honestly say that the deal would have most likely gone sour had I chosen any of the other Realtors that I previously worked with. On top of all of this Lance gave me a great house warming gift along with a check for 20% of his commissions, which ended up be significant with this purchase.

I pride myself on making sound decisions and did a tremendous amount of leg work (1 year) before I got my keys. I learned that you positively need to have the best company that you can find on your side. It will turn your Purchase into an Investment. This is especially true in this fickle SF market. Throw in the 20% rebate and I think you'll be hard pressed to find better representation than Fixed Rate Properties.

Chris Sommer – San Francisco, CA

My wife and I met Lance King, the owner of Fixed Rate Properties during one of our weekend walks in the city. We were not selling our house nor were we looking to buy anything, although we were starting to ponder selling. We walked by an open home in an area we had considered purchasing in previously to see how it compared to our home. Usually we'd make something up to the realtor doing the open house so they wouldn't try to sell us their services, but with Lance it felt different right from the get go. He was easily approachable and easy to speak with. We kept in touch for about a year and when we finally decided to sell our house, Fixed Rate was the obvious choice.

Fixed Rate listed and sold our home in record time - 10 days! Lance advised us along the way and not once did he put any pressure on us. He was always available and if you ever left him a message or sent him an email, you'd have a response within the hour. Lance King was our Realtor but by the end he became our friend. We will recommend him and his company to anyone we know looking for an excellent Broker.

Anthony & Brianne Hidalgo – San Francisco, CA

I have bought and sold several properties prior to my latest purchase, so I’ve dealt with a lot of Real Estate people. When I was ready to buy again, I talked with a lot of agents and considered several prior to selecting one. I went with Fixed Rate Properties, and am very glad I did. Initially, I was drawn to them because of the owner’s experience successfully buying, rehabbing and selling multiple properties in San Francisco. Throughout the home search process, I was pleasantly surprised by my Broker’s patience and willingness to discourage me from purchasing properties that had flaws but that I was nonetheless considering. It was refreshing to have someone on my side who was really looking out for my best interests and not just trying to just earn a commission.

When I finally got into contract on my home, it turned out to be incredibly complicated and required an endless amount of back and forth negotiations on a myriad of issues. Everything was handled skillfully, timely and professionally from start to finish: the grasp of the complexities, the ability to keep track of everything that was going on and ensure no deadline was ever missed, successfully negotiating just about everything I wanted, offering great insights on the process, and on the spot responses to my questions and communications regardless of how late or early in the day.

I know they didn’t make much money on this deal but they treated me like a VIP every step of the way, capping it off with a nice card, a rebate check for about $3000, and a bottle of bubbly. I will definitely use Fixed Rate again and have already recommended them to several friends.

Thanks again for all your help!

Betsy F. – San Francisco, CA

Searching for a property in San Francisco can be a daunting task, especially for a new (and picky) homeowner. I was thrilled to have the help from Jon Iddings of Fixed Rate Properties when I finally made the decision to bring on an agent to assist me and my family with the search. On too many weekends to count, Jon set up an open house tour taking into consideration our wish list and budget for a condo, and efficiently navigated us through the city and prospective homes. I grew to trust his advice and insight, and above all, I knew Jon's goal was to help us find the perfect place without compromising our wants and needs, no matter how long we spent searching.

With the additional help and knowledge of Lance King, owner of Fixed Rate Properties, I knew I was in good hands, especially when we finally discovered the gem that would be our new home, and the escrow process commenced. In today's market, closing escrow fast and smoothly is no easy task, and as I discovered, we were no exception. Jon and Lance were in constant communication with me regarding the steps needed to close escrow and gave me the appropriate amount of hand-holding as a first-time buyer. When I had some communication problems with our bank about the loan and timeline, Jon and Lance stepped in to help get the loan finalized so escrow would close on time. When we had appraisal issues, Jon and Lance again stepped in, renegotiating a big price reduction.

From putting in our first offer on the condo to signing the final documents, I was grateful for Jon's diligence, professionalism, and effort. Plus with extensive plans to remodel our new home, getting a rebate check at close of escrow was much welcomed!

I would highly recommend Fixed Rate Properties, Jon Iddings, and Lance King to anyone wanting to buy property. They always told us about any flaws first so we knew they were really looking out for our interests, they were always available to answer even the most simple questions and offer advice without any pressure, smooth out loan problems, and safely navigate the roads and parking of San Francisco - all while treating us like gold!

Kelsey Hicks – San Francisco, CA

I hired Fixed Rate Properties to handle the sale of my home in Burlingame on the recommendation of a co-worker. I was really impressed from the get go with their depth of knowledge, attention to detail, and found their straight forward approach refreshing. They went out of their way to visit as many competing properties as possible to hone in on offer price, they were very responsive to all my calls and emails, and gave me regular status updates as things progressed without ever being asked.

I was totally “wowed” when they helped me to complete two tasks that were definitely not their responsibility but necessary to complete the sale: (i) going to the city to get an inspection permit and (ii) coordinating with the contractor to get the job done. When the buyers ran into loan problems, they were able to keep the deal in play and find another lender to make it happen - I really felt like they were on my side and looking out for me every step of the way. However, the most impressive part is that they provided the level of service they did and saved me $16000 in commissions. If you are selling property-HIRE THEM

R Beers – Burlingame, CA

I first met the owner of Fixed Rate Properties at an open house for another property when I was benchmarking my own property for sale. I was planning on selling it myself to avoid paying high commissions, but I was so impressed with the presentation I got and their rates that I hired them to sell my place on the spot. I was very impressed with what their clients had to say about Lance and his team with regards to their knowledge, expertise, and attention to detail, and they backed it up with performance on my place. Now I am happy to be among the many who are thrilled with their work and committment to getting the job done. In a very very tough real estate market, Lance and his team went far above and beyond to ensure we achieved a great price for our property, handled some very tricky negotiations with ease, and meticulously managed every detail of the transaction and kept us informed without us ever having to ask. They also saved us over $10K in commissions. I cannot recommend Fixed Rate highly enough to anyone considering a sale of their property.

Jo Healey - San Francisco, CA

In the beginning I thought I would be able to do the transaction all by myself - these realtors can't be smarter than I am, after all. But I am glad a friend convinced me otherwise and he recommended Fixed Rate Properties. I got in touch with Lance King, the managing broker and owner. He walked me through the process of buying a home, set up seach criteria for a database with all the current listings and went with me to quite a number of open houses (or houses "on lock box"). He asked the seller all the important questions and pointed out the strong and - even more so - the weak sides of each listing. No buying pressure at all.

In the end, I bought a cheap TIC place - but still got the same VIP treatment from FRP.

I was really impressed with the responsiveness (Lance would always called me back within minutes when I had questions), his attention to details (he pointed out missing docs which I didn't know they even existed) and gave me straight-up advice which houses to consider and which ones I should not touch with a ten-foot pole.

Great experience - can really recommend Fixed Rate Properties to anyone looking to buy a home (and to sell as well, I guess).

F Pschenitzka
San Francisco, CA

We first heard about Fixed Rate Properties from our neighbors who had listed their property with them. We had planned on speaking with several agents before choosing, but after talking with Lance and Rachel we knew we had the right team and hired them on the spot.

We cannot say enough good things about their handling of our sale, and cannot recommend any higher. If you want to sell your property, especially in a tough market like this one, you need these guys. They took care of everything, including saving us a ton of money by staging the property themselves at no cost to us and the place looked fantastic. They even brought a couple of their own paintings and a bunch of plants in for the finishing touch. They kept us abreast of developments in real time so we never had to wonder what was going on, we thought their marketing plan and materials were top notch, and they dispatched with what seemed like very difficult obstacles with ease. Their advice was right on the mark every step of the way, and they went so far above and beyond our expectations that we are still amazed.

Most importantly, they sold our place in a little over two weeks in a very difficult market and saved us about $10K in commissions over what other companies charge. It doesn't get better than that.

Rick and Andrea- San Francisco , CA

I first met Lance King, the owner of Fixed Rate Properties, at an open house of a property I was interested in. I've bought and sold a lot of properties so I've met a lot of Realtors over the years, and I was immediately impressed with his knowledge, straight-forwardness, and presentation.

Like most people, I know several Real Estate agents, including family members. When I decided to sell my SOMA loft two years later, I felt a lot of pressure to use one of them. In the end I decided that with this much on the line I needed to go with the best I could, so I called Fixed Rate to get the job done. Although I was still a bit nervous about the sale, I was blown away by Lance and his team. It was like a Real Estate S.W.A.T team swarmed the building, taking care of every smallest detail down to fixing a cabinet door that was off kilter.

Fixed Rate's guidance in preparing my place for sale was spot on, their marketing materials looked like professional photographers had prepared it, and their handling of everything was the best I've ever seen.

Even though early 2009 was a tough market especially in SOMA, we were under contract in a little over 2 weeks. Although the deal had a lot of tricky negotiations to make it through to close of escrow, they were handled deftly and expertly every step of the way. Another thing that really impressed me was the responsiveness of Lance and his team. I got updates of every showing and open house, and if my call wasn't answered it was returned shortly. If I sent an email, same deal.

In the end, I got more than asking price on my loft, AND the best part - because of their Fixed Rate Listing Program I saved over $7000 in commissions.

Brad Lipetz - San Francisco , CA

Dear Lance,

Please feel free to use this letter on your website or have any of your potential clients call me.

I used Fixed Rate to help me buy a loft in San Francisco on the recommendation of my mortgage broker. I could tell right from the start that these guys really know what they're doing, and that impression only grew stronger as the deal went along.

I was amazed how quickly they found me exactly what I was looking for, and although the initial negotiations were quite tricky, the Fixed Rate team managed to get me the price and terms I wanted on the place I really liked. Things got even more complicated when both myself and the Listing agent were in Europe for most of the escrow period, but the folks at Fixed Rate made sure everything went seamlessly - they took care of the appraiser, inspector, title company, and even did a walk through on my behalf to make sure everything was ok before signing off on the deal. The best part was when the deal had closed Fixed Rate brought me the keys to my new home, a nice bottle of champagne, and a commission rebate check for over $3,000. If you're buying or selling Real Estate, you need to hire these guys. .

Sincerely,
Drew Sullins - San Francisco , CA

We hired Fixed Rate Properties on the recommendation of a friend, but I must admit that I wondered how they could provide the level of service promised and save us so much money. Don't let their rates fool you, the only thing discount about the company is their rates. From the very beginning we were very impressed with the knowledge of our local market, and even though hardly anything else was selling they got us a full price offer in less than two weeks after going on the market. The other thing that really made this a pleasant experience is the time they took to explain everything about the process, availability to answer questions, and the way they kept us up to date on what was happening with our property without ever having to be asked. Properties that were for sale when ours went on the market were still for sale after we closed the sale of our property, and many of them had seriously dropped prices. Thanks Fixed Rate!

M.L.
San Rafael, CA

Working with Lance King and Fixed Rate Properties allowed us to purchase our home at the perfect time. Lance is an expert and the rest of his team are brilliant - both knowledgeable, personable, and humorous. They will guide you through all aspects of your purchase, explain all pieces to you and most importantly, give you space to make a decision. My wife and I needed a massive amount of education and training in the fierce San Francisco housing market. Lance taught us the ropes and put us on the proper path to finding the perfect space for us.

Also, where Lance shines is in finding information that he might not have on hand or as it pertains to a specific situation. He went above and beyond expectations of a realtor to confidently answer our questions and introduce us to other affiliated businesses he works with regularly.

We strongly recommend Lance and Fixed Rate Properties for purchasing property. We look forward to working with him in the future a s well, but only after we get to enjoy our lovely condo he helped us purchase at the ideal time and under the ideal circumstances.

J Phillips & L. Fang - San Francisco

Can't say enough about our experience with Fixed Rate Properties. My wife and I had been trying to buy a home in San Francisco using another company for over 2 years and we kept getting outbid. In less than 2 months with Fixed Rate we found a great home and got our offer accepted at $100-$150K below what other properties in the neighborhood were going for. And when undisclosed issues arose after our offer was accepted, Fixed Rate negotiated those issues in an expert fashion and to our benefit. When we got the keys to our new home, the owner of Fixed Rate came over with a bottle of champagne (and sparkling cider for my expecting wife), along with a commission rebate check for $8250, which came in very handy after the down payment. If I sell/buy again, I will be using Fixed Rate. I'd recommend them to anybody.

Brian Marcus
San Francisco, CA

Just wanted to drop you a note and say thanks for the assistance / guidance during my condo buying process. Getting through the documentation process was not easy and I appreciated your flexibility regarding the best course of action for submitting an initial bid and getting to close. I also appreciated your ability to give me guidance as to important disclosure documents versus boilerplate documents. Navigating the documentation process was a big task and you helped my streamline it as much as possible. In any event, I'm looking forward to your event later this month and to working together again in the future.

Best regards,

B Kinnish San Francisco, CA

I heard of Fixed Rate Properties through a friend and ended up hiring them for two simultaneous transactions - both the sale of my condo and the purchase of a new condo for my boyfriend and I. We had a great experience as they were incredibly responsive and provided top-notch service. Always kept us informed throughout the process allowing us to make timely decisions. It was good to have them engaged in both the sale and the purchase because they understood what coordination was needed in the situation. In addition, they were able to help us deal with a difficult situation in one of the transactions....and given how stressful any real estate transaction can be, that was really helpful! We definitely recommend Fixed Rate Properties to anyone!

T. Ting
San Francisco, CA

Before I knew about Fixed Rate Properties, I hired another agent to sell my SOMA loft. After three months without a single offer, I let my agent go and started to re-evaluate my options. The market was in a freefall from the highs of 2005, and I needed to make a decision. I was impressed from the first meeting with Fixed Rate. They struck me as more than just another broker - they have a sound business plan with the experience to back it up. The icing on the cake was the over $7000 in commissions I would save by using them over a "traditional" company. In short order I had a solid offer, and more importantly we closed escrow in 20 days. I can't recommend Fixed Rate highly enough.

Sincerely,

Everett Thompson
San Francisco, CA

I recently sold my live/work loft in San Francisco using Lance King and Fixed Rate Properties as my selling broker. The fixed rate concept saved me thousands of dollars as compared with a conventional broker. Lance and his organization were extremely efficient and very pleasant to deal with.The property received an "over asking" offer within days of the listing and Lance and his group followed the transaction to completion and skillfully handled some of the "bumps" in the road that these transactions always seem to involve. I wholeheartedly recommend Lance and his organization.

Steve S.
San Francisco, CA

I'm a first time home buyer and worked with Fixed Rate Properties. I consider myself somewhat educated but at first didn't really understand what I needed a real estate agent for in the first place. That attitude gradually changed as the 7 months of securing a place wore on and I realized how important it was that I had a real estate agent who not only knew what he was talking about, but who also was in my corner.

For anyone who is a first time home buyer, you will find out (if you haven't already) how incredibly daunting and mysterious the whole real estate business is. It's like you're on a boat in the middle of the sea and your mortgage broker is your set of oars and your real estate broker is your rudder. If you don't have someone at least steering you in the right direction, you get nowhere but lost at sea.

My real estate Broker, Lance King, at Fixed Rate, was passionate, knowledgeable, aware, dedicated, and looked out for my best interests from the very first hour we met. Fixed Rate didn't push me into buying anything--it's more like they were happy if I was happy. That being said, Fixed Rate let me know if they thought I was off base about a neighborhood or a house or the legality, rules and regs about the various situations out there--again, only in that this approach was in my best interest.

The home I ended up in was an incredibly difficult deal (at least to me) and required way beyond the usual hand holding. It required an agent and an agency that would fight and knew when to fight for my best interests. Complications abound in so many ways (I had no idea these things could have been so difficult, with catch 22s all over the place) but I learned a lot and in the end Fixed Rate's appropriately aggressive and conciliatory negotiation skills and an energy to get me what I wanted worked most excellently.

And service at Fixed Rate doesn't stop there. Fixed Rate and my Broker (2 months after closing) are still in my corner. For example, my flat is in a brand new building, and there are a few major issues that need attention. My Broker, even after getting his commission (with a rebate of nearly $5K to yours truly no less), is still advocating on my behalf.

I have heard so many stories about first time home buyers with agents who got them a place and then disappeared. These agents, while seeming to be the par for the course, are nonetheless providing near fraudulent and unethical services. Fixed Rate, however, provides service on par with the old school mentality of I am here to help you find a home, no matter what it takes, no matter how long it takes. This should be the par for the course and I am grateful that I had an agency that takes that approach to heart. With their combination of dedication, experience, and commission rebate program, you'd have to be nuts to hire anyone else.

J Marcus - San Francisco, CA.

My wife and I had a great experience with Fixed Rate Properties. Lance and Rachel were wonderful. We had curve balls around every corner with the purchase of our house, but because of their experience and professionalism we were able to seal the deal. I make sure to tell everyone I know, whether they need a real estate agent / broker or not, about the incredible way they were able to make things happen. We were able to get everything that we wanted, a great deal on a house much larger than we ever expected to get in that price range, and even a $15,000 credit for closing costs. They even got the sellers to pay for pest repair work. Lance and Rachel were very persistent and encouraging throughout the entire process and when it was all finished they gave us a check for $2500. I will use Fixed Rate Properties from now on.

Devon Boisen - Walnut Creek, CA