"Selling my home was a very difficult and emotional task. Not only were there complicated papers to deal with but there was also planning and strategy involved. Marilyn was everything to me; the professional realtor, project manager for home improvements, counselor, and most important of all - my friend.

"I was going through major life transitions while at the same time selling the house and moving. I lost motivation and became very depressed so I procrastinated. Upsetting at the time when Marilyn pressured me into making decisions, I knew it as all for the better.

"She put me back on track and everything went as scheduled. We were all pleased with sales transaction. I have no regrets.

"Marilyn is professional and aggressive when I needed her to be my voice. She knows her stuff! She was and is a great resource. She will help you during your real estate transaction and will be there for you after the business is done. She is a wonderful friend and she will consider your best interests when she works with you."

- Jacquelyn D. Chan Quinn 9/17/05

"You took a complicated piece of property and made it manageable for me in the preparation to market and for prospective buyers in the understanding of how it fit, or didn't fit with their expectations. In the time we worked together it seemed you had nothing else to do but work on our property, and if anyone believes that they don't know you very well. Your calm thoughtful responses to tricky situations instilled confidence for us in your knowledge and resourcefulness in the business of real estate. Most importantly, the integrity you bring to all you do should be an example to anyone doing business anywhere. I can't thank you enough for all that you did to facilitate the sale of the Garratt Mansion."

- Royce and Betty Gladden 9/23/05

"I want to thank you for the magnificent job you did representing me as a buyer and as a seller this summer. It is interesting to look at the two different aspects of Real Estate in the very same period of time.

"I appreciate the opportunity to have seen current listings with you and listen to an objective viewpoint as to the condition of each property and the price range relevant to my individual situation. I always felt that you had all the information about any given property, its history and current market trends in any given location. You made the purchase of my new home a more enjoyable experience.

"It is interesting that in just a few weeks the asking price of the house that I was selling increased dramatically. Your alertness to this trend with its additional dollars in my pocket is certainly a bonus. I was very aware that your professional abilities far exceeded the requirements of the job. There always was an answer before there was a question. Not always an easy thing to provide!

"I hope that you will use this letter of appreciation as a reference for future clients. They will find that your honesty and professionalism are of great value. The knowledge you provided in each transaction was far above what I consider "merely necessary". I would be pleased to speak on your behalf to any client who would like to have any additional information that I might be able to provide.

"Thank you again for all your help."

- Nancy Stiner 9/19/05

"Marilyn Schumacher was truly an invaluable partner for us as first time homebuyers in Alameda. Her impressive knowledge of the local real-estate market produced real and tangible benefits from the moment we began working with her.

"Her long-standing connections in the community provided us with access to valuable information and gave us the advantage we needed in this competitive market.

"Without a doubt, Marilyn is a well-respected member of the real-estate community. Her reputation provided us with instant credibility among listing agents, brokers and suppliers. She listened carefully to our likes and dislikes, got to know our lifestyle, and was soon able to steer us towards our dream home.

"Marilyn guided us step-by-step through a 14-day close and worked seamlessly with our mortgage broker, inspector and listing agent. Throughout the process we felt that Marilyn truly had our best interests at heart. Marilyn's support did not end with the purchase of our home. She has helped us numerous times with referrals of electricians, tree trimmers, fireplace specialists, etc. and even helped us learn more about the history of our Victorian house.

"We would recommend Marilyn Schumacher without hesitation and we look forward to working with her ourselves for many years to come."

- Simon & Michelle Tonner 8/30/04

"Making the decision to sell my house was difficult, but finding Marilyn made the process easy. She kept me informed through every step in the process, was right there to solve problems when the going got tough, had great ideas on how to present the house and put together a fair offer for all involved. Marilyn is up to date on all the rules and regulations of Alameda real estate and helped get through all the paperwork and inspections in record time. As a result of her experience and values she made selling the house easy and I highly recommend her."

- Rhonda Jobe 2/18/04

"Marilyn helped us sell our Park Webster condo and then purchase a single family starter home in Alameda this past summer. On the selling side, her excellent advice regarding the preparation of the property and her quick follow-up with the potential buyer's agent about how the showing went, including any comments, helped us feel good about our preparation of the property and confident that the "right" buyer would come along. Then, after we accepted an offer on the condo at asking price, she advocated for us throughout escrow, providing detailed explanations to back up any recommendations she made, especially when our buyer was unable to obtain her initial financing. She kept us up-to-date on a daily basis during this delay, and even called the buyer's bank herself to make sure things were going in the way being represented to us by the buyer's agent.

"Our search for a new home with Marilyn began before we even had a buyer for the condo. She began to show us a variety of properties in the under $500,000 market, to see what our reaction was to the different qualities of each house. When we became "real buyers", Marilyn updated us daily on new properties on the market, and was always able to adapt to our schedule in showing us properties.

"During this time, we knew more than ever we had the right Realtor. Marilyn's years of experience, and excellent rapport with the other Realtors in town allowed her to provide us with a great deal of information about each property. With her help, we were able to feel very confident in the decisions we were making during this process.

"Marilyn's service once again exceeded our expectations when we found the house that we wanted to buy. Sensing that the window of opportunity was short, Marilyn acted quickly on our behalf. After showing us the house in the afternoon, she wrote an offer for us to sign that night, and delivered it to the seller's agent at 8:30 the next morning. Our offer was accepted less than 24 hours after seeing the house. We truly believe that if not for Marilyn's willingness to work into the night, and get our offer delivered so early, we very well may not have gotten the home that we're so happy with today.

"We would recommend Marilyn Schumacher to anyone looking to buy or sell a property in Alameda."

- John and Clare Hansen 1/25/04

"A follow up email was received 3/7/04: This afternoon on Delmar Avenue there were 13 kids under age 8 (all who live on the street and 6 children of your clients) playing in the street, with the parents talking and playing ball with the kids. Bikes and big wheels were everywhere. It was like an unplanned block party and John and I were in total amazement that we actually live on such a cool street!... I just wanted to let you know how happy we were here and thank you for all your help."

- Clare Hansen