"From the moment we started to work with Derk it was clear you were getting more than just a broker. With other brokers, you get their team, and at first, that seems advantageous to have more people working on your home. With Derk, you get Derk and that means he personally is fully committed to th..."
"From the moment we started to work with Derk it was clear you were getting more than just a broker. With other brokers, you get their team, and at first, that seems advantageous to have more people working on your home. With Derk, you get Derk and that means he personally is fully committed to the success of your home. He works tirelessly thinking through all aspects of the process; from staging, pricing, finding buyers and more. Derk sweats the small stuff and the end result is the best outcome. For example, during the staging process Derk and his wife went shopping for light bulbs and other accessories to improve on the staging. Again, some firms might send their junior person to handle those tasks but Derk was fully invested. Even post-signing/pre-closing Derk would go by our house daily to check on things. Derk was available at all hours to talk through the various aspects of the listing and he always made you feel like the most important client. Derk’s approach is to collaborate on decisions versus dictate his views and he always comes prepared with options and thoughts. We always felt that Derk laid out the options for us which allowed for a healthy debate. For example, we tried to sell our house two years prior and had a broken process that put us on edge going into this process. One of our strong desires was to be part of the decision with the staging. Derk understood our concerns and brought two great stagers to us and let us choose. He had an opinion on who would do the best job with the house, but let my wife and me make the ultimate decision. On pricing, we had a healthy debate on the current market, past comparable homes and strategy. During the negotiation when we were countering offers he always presented his views and options and let us make the call. We appreciated his thoughts and always felt prepared to make the key decisions. Derk has deep knowledge of the Palo Alto real estate market. Derk grew up in Crescent Park, where our house is located, and as a result, he knew the location and house well. That gave him a deep appreciation for our Spanish Colonial home and how best to stage it. Derk’s knowledge of the market, and some of the positives and challenges of our home, allowed him to price our home perfectly to generate demand. It’s easy to look at comps off of Redfin, and just extrapolate. It’s harder to know the nuances of Palo Alto and Crescent Park to really know how to stage and price our home. Derk had also recently sold a home down the road from ours and had a great list of potential buyers from that process. That knowledge paid off as Derk was able to use what he knew of those buyers to drive the best outcome. Derk’s network in Palo Alto is wide and deep which is a very valuable asset. Multiple times in the process, we needed real advice on how to get the best outcome. We had a pre-emptive offer from a buyer who wanted us to counter them. Derk was adamant that we should go on the MLS and not entertain a counter. He felt strongly we would have leverage if and when we got a second offer and that countering them without a second offer would not result in the best price. Derk was 100% right as that pre-emptive offer turned out to be our final buyer but at a price the market supported. Derk’s advice was also helpful during the counter-offer stage as he was able to leverage his knowledge of the various parties to our advantage. At his heart, Derk lives for the negotiation and is able to use his personable attitude and savvy negotiating skills to get the best outcome. The best way to sum up Derk is he is a broker’s broker. While the practice of brokering a house has changed, Derk stays true to the traditional way great homes are sold yet modernizing his practice to meet the needs of today’s clients. The best example was the “offer date”. Derk insisted that the potential buyers present their offer in person to Derk and us versus sending offers electronically which created a more vibrant process. While it consumed time to listen to offers we really got a sense of who the buyers were, how they viewed our home, and who might be the true buyer of the property. It’s much easier to have buyers submit electronically but Derk felt strongly this would be additive to the process. He was right and we were glad to have that level of “old school” approach. Overall he approached our home as if it was his home and that is why we can’t recommend Derk enough."
