Simon Watson , Realtor VA Buyer & Seller Specialist

Thank you very much for what I consider one of the best jobs of representing a client I have seen in my 35 year real estate career. When my wife and I told friends and family that we were selling our house, they knew I was an experienced real estate professional who has done literally thousands of deals in my career. Many asked if I was going to list our own house. "No," I explained, "Even though I am a licensed real estate broker, selling houses is not my expertise so instead I am hiring the best local professional I can find.". I could tell from the facial expression on many of their faces that they didn't understand. Like many people, they viewed paying a commission a big dollar outlay that should be minimized. I don't look at that way at all. My perspective is totally different: whom do you want working for you: some discount brokerage guy who works in an office cube hundreds of miles away or a local expert who understands the nuances of your market? I often wonder if the guys who pick the discount broker also bid out their surgery and go with the cheapest surgeon. After living in my house in the East Bay for sixteen years, I knew first hand picking local experts made a huge difference as I had observed some of my former neighbors who were moving selected their aunt or former Little League coach as their real estate agents and then, in my opinion, left tens of thousands of dollars on the table when they sold the house because that particular agent, although triple nice, didn't understand the subtlety of selling houses in our particular subdivision. I am pretty sure these agents analyzed the market by lumping all the houses in a given zip code together and compare one to another. This is Zillow's approach and it can yield very misleading results. While that approach might work some places, it was not an accurate way to evaluate pricing iin our sub-market. I wanted a knowledgable local real expert but I struggled finding the right team of agents to hire. I considered the high volume agents but in looking at their history of sales, I concluded that the reason they did so much business was because they under-priced the property. They committed what I consider one of the cardinal sins of client representation: doing what's easy for them instead of what's right for the client. In short, these high volume agent teams were as bad getting the best price and terms as the zip code lumping agents. I was really floundering with my selection as our move date approached. Finally, I asked of my former associates with whom I used to work who had sold his house and moved out of the area. He was an experienced real estate professional, but, like me, in the commercial/industrial field. He knew good real estate people nonetheless so I valued his opinion. His answer on whom I should talk to was surprising: not the guys who represented him but the team who represented his Buyer. This team, of course, was you! He was very impressed by your knowledge of the local market, your ability to negotiate, your thorough preparation, and your follow-through. At the end of our successful transaction, I felt the same way. On our particular deal, what really impressed me was how you represented us. When we agreed out our listing price which we both thought was a bit of a stretch on the top end of the market, it would have been easy for you to sell our house for the listing price. My wife and I would have been happy with that result. However, you coaxed a significantly higher offer from one of your colleagues in your own office that was so much higher that you not only paid for your share of the commission, you put extra money in our pocket. In other words, if I had listed the my own house and sold it myself, I would have been worse off financially than having used your team. Wow! In summary, if you want to get the team of the best local professionals in the East Bay, you can't do better than David Zabarte and Simon Watson. They will work hard on your behalf to get you the best result possible when selling or buying property.

Simon is professional, genuine, and reliable. He treated me with respect and patience as I navigated through buying my first property. He actually had helped my sister purchase a home over a year and a half ago and when I reached out to him, he not only remembered meeting me (very briefly one time), but remembered important details about what my sister had been looking for and the picky conditions our parents had for us. Before even getting started, he already had an idea of what I was looking for in terms of location and quality. Throughout the process, he replied to my questions promptly and honestly and didn't pressure me into buying a home. He had the opportunity to take advantage of my eagerness to move out and find my own place, but he never did so. He always disclosed the important features, including the cons, and would give me a recommendation/opinion if I asked what he thought. He also did a very impressive job of juggling my wishes with those of my overbearing parents but still respected that their opinion was an important part of my decision. He always gave me time to think things over when an unexpected situation would come up, and never hesitated to explain (sometimes multiple times) a concept I didn't understand. He also was flexible in meeting with me during a time that worked with my schedule. I recommend Simon as a realtor because he is, to me, the three most important qualities to be: trustworthy, knowledgeable, and hard-working.

After having a few bad experiences with other real estate agents, Simon proved himself again and again to be the best anyone could hope for. My husband and I just closed on our home last month, and we really felt secure in every decision we made, thanks to Simon's insight and support. He was always forthright and honest when we asked for his opinion, and because of that we felt much more confident as first time home buyers. He made sure to emphasize all the possibilities of a prospective home, both good and bad, oftentimes pointing out things we would not have known or thought of ourselves. His experience and knowledge is incredible, his demeanor professional yet warm, and his patience (as we dragged him around from house to house for months) was remarkable. He was never pushy, which not only guaranteed that we were making the best decision for ourselves, but also reassured us that we were not just a source of profit. He helped my husband understand all the in's and out's of the process from loans, inspections, and closing. Essentially, Simon made what could have been a nerve-wracking experience a very pleasant one, and always looked out for our best interests along the way. Thank you, Simon! We are forever grateful!

Sorry if this review is posted twice. We were having "technical difficulties." We have just had the pleasure of working with Simon, on our recent purchase for a townhouse, in Benicia. We are older folks and integrity matters to us... Simon is the "real deal." Simon was knowledgeable, patient and forthright, with pointing out flaws or issues in the numerous properties we looked at. Above all, he wanted us to be happy.... We are beyond delighted, with our recent purchase. Simon is diligent, patient and will go the "extra mile," whenever you need it. We would refer him to anyone, in a heartbeat. THANK YOU SIMON!!!!

My wife and I got off to a good start with Simon when our daughter, living in Oakland, contacted him to show her a couple of houses for us while we were living in New York. He took the time to do so without ever meeting us or talking to us. Our daughter was impressed with him so when we came to visit the area we met with Simon on her recommendation. Simon really listened and understood as we talked through our concerns about selling in New York and moving here. He always kept our needs in mind and stayed in constant touch with us when we went back to New York. Two and a half months later we sold our house and moved here into a hotel and put our furniture into storage. Simon was dedicated to getting us into the right home and showed us many houses. We could always count on Simon to point out the best features as well as the undesirable aspects of the houses, making sure we wouldn't be tempted to settle on something just because we wanted to get into a house. We had confidence in his choices. He was knowledgable about the areas where he showed us houses and always pointed out things of interest, shopping, main roads, etc. Simon was a valuable advisor as to real estate laws, especially since things are very different here than in New York. He worked hard for us and he was reliable, dedicated and dependable. Simon found a home for us that is exactly what we described when we first met him.

When my husband and I finally decided we were ready to buy our first home, we had no clue what we were doing or what the process was, and we were honestly pretty terrified. After a search on Yelp, I found this guy named Simon Watson. He seemed pretty popular, and I quickly discovered why. He's English. My 12 year old said he sounds like Doctor Who. But seriously, Simon is fantastic. Simon answered all of our dumb questions anytime during the day (even late at night) and never made us feel dumb, he gave us great advice and recommendations. Simon is apparently a rock star in the east bay real estate market, and we didn't have a big budget to spend on our home; but he never treated us any differently than he would treat someone spending millions. We saw lots and lots of houses, and we never felt pressured to buy any of them, he was always patient. He's smart and thoughtful, very knowledgeable and I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone and everyone. Without Simon, we would have been lost and we would certainly never have been able to buy the house we did. He even helped us negotiate the price down due to a few issues that came up during the inspections. We are now very proud homeowners thanks to Simon!

When my husband and I finally decided we were ready to buy our first home, we had no clue what we were doing or what the process was, and we were honestly pretty terrified. After a search on Yelp, I found this guy named Simon Watson. He seemed pretty popular, and I quickly discovered why. He's English. My 12 year old said he sounds like Doctor Who. But seriously, Simon is fantastic. Simon answered all of our dumb questions anytime during the day (even late at night) and never made us feel dumb, he gave us great advice and recommendations. Simon is apparently a rock star in the east bay real estate market, and we didn't have a big budget to spend on our home; but he never treated us any differently than he would treat someone spending millions. We saw lots and lots of houses, and we never felt pressured to buy any of them, he was always patient. He's smart and thoughtful, very knowledgeable and I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone and everyone. Without Simon, we would have been lost and we would certainly never have been able to buy the house we did. He even helped us negotiate the price down due to a few issues that came up during the inspections. We are now very proud homeowners thanks to Simon!

Simon Watson was outstanding on both the purchase of a property and the sale of a property. In 2015 Simon helped us find the perfect home meeting all of our specifications. Near Bart, good walk score and nearly new requiring almost no matenience. In 2018 due to a relocation we sold the property and Simon was instrumental in achieving several offers over our asking price. This was accomplished through proper pricing as he really knows the market. During the sale we discovered a few minor issues and Simon managed the repairs and kept the sale going on schedule. If there were more stars I would always give Simone the max!

I first wrote a review for David and Simon back in 2015 when my wife and I purchased our home in Concord. It was our first buying experience and we couldn't have asked for better guides through the process. So, when it came time to sell this summer, there wasn't any question that we would recruit them for another important "first". To paint the picture, our 2nd daughter had just been born and we had decided to relocate on a very short timeline, so needless to say we were embarking on what would be probably one of the most stressful stretches of our lives. Just as they had done previously with the buying process, they made the process as smooth as it could be. David was responsive to our questions and made sure that we understood the ins and outs of the selling process. Simon was always there for inspections and we never had to worry whether something would get done or not. They always made time in their busy schedules to work around whatever we had going on, whether that was a sleeping toddler or.....a toddler who wouldn't sleep. As if it weren't enough that they met our needs, they did so despite some challenging "obstacles", namely the buyer's agent who pulled some things that were questionable at best (please read additional review: yelp.com/writeareview/bi…). David in particular had to deal with some pretty appalling behavior, to be honest, and he did so with composure and patience, which was much appreciated during this chaotic time for us. Just as an example, he had to navigate a situation where our buyers (I can only imagine at the suggestion of their agent) were holding a $5k deposit hostage over a garage door opener, a lack of understanding as to how a Nest thermostat works (which we left for them), and a fabricated "kitchen leak" that was "discovered" 5 days after they had moved in. Anyway, all that is to say that David went the extra mile to deal with that, and much, much more, to make this experience as easy as possible for us. If you are looking to buy or sell in the East Bay, I would recommend David and Simon to anyone and everyone. You know you're getting quality and you can rest easy knowing you have a team that has the knowledge and drive to get things done. Thank you David and Simon! Travis, Sept 2018

I worked with Simon in purchasing my new home in Walnut Creek Simon is an super professional realtor. I worked with Simon in purchasing my new home in Walnut Creek. He is very knowledgeable about the housing market and about important issues in buying a home. Simon was always able to answer my questions and if he didn´t know, he found out the information we needed quickly. He maintained regular contact with me and was always quick to respond to my calls or emails. I felt that he actually cared about my opinions and took them into account when showing me houses. I am confident that he guided me in the right direction and don´t believe I could have found a better agent. Although the home buying process for me had some bumps, he stayed with me through 5 offers in a difficult market characterized by multiple offers and overbidding and helped me focus on the investment aspect of real estate purchasing so that I didn´t overpay in a frenzied market.