TESTIMONIALS

Hello!

This is a really hard to write this letter, because there are already so many incredible letters of recommendation for Thomas. It’s difficult to come up with a fresh way to do him justice.  I also want to get it right because Thomas deserves all the praise in the world for being the most dedicated, caring, and hardworking person you would hope to hire as your real estate agent. 

The key takeaway: Thomas really does live up to the hype!   

I’m deeply grateful to Thomas for all of the support, compassion, and back breaking hard work he put into the sale of our family home of 30 years.  It was an emotional journey for me to sell my childhood home after my mother’s unexpected death, but Thomas lessened the burden by taking on so many of the logistics and truly making the house shine.  

When Thomas first started, the house was full of 30 years of detritus and was in desperate need of key repairs. As we surveyed the overwhelming work ahead of us, he reassured me, “I have a hand truck and I’m not afraid to use it!”  

Sure enough, Thomas poured weeks of energy and love into our old Eichler, restoring it to full glory. He personally hauled out furniture and junk, scrubbed and polished, oversaw contractors, lovingly and thoughtfully selected appropriate paint and fixtures, and enhanced the staging with pieces from his own home.  

I had struggled for months to do a fraction of what he accomplished in less than 3 weeks. At every turn he wrangled the best deals, readily beating all the bids I had previously (and with great struggle) received for paint and repairs.

And then, if that wasn’t enough, Thomas sold the house just as quickly as he fixed it up—to our surprise and delight, handily matching the record sales price set in our neighborhood just a month before!

There are a lot of other real estate agents who might claim to be able to do all of that, too, but here’s the difference:

Thomas cares.

Thomas cares about history and the integrity of the homes he is selling, and he’s an expert in Eichler homes and neighborhoods. It was such a pleasure to learn things I’d never known about my childhood home, and to have it fixed up with so much thoughtfulness. It made the emotional journey of letting go easier, knowing that we were sending off the house in the best possible way, and finding buyers who would appreciate the home as much as my family did.

Thomas Westfall took the stress out of selling our home.

I never could have imagined that the process to get the house ready for listing would be so smooth, the marketing of the home be so exciting and the ultimate sale be so prosperous.  We were so fortunate to have hired Thomas.

Thomas was a trusted advisor in the decisions we made preparing the house for sale.  His ideas were creative, informed and helped to amplify critical architectural elements of our Eichler.   He was resourceful with quality /affordable references and helped coordinate project work when needed.

Thomas is a skilled marketer.   My husband refers to the marketing of our home as the “euphoria of promotion”.    It was really exciting.   Our home had the most gorgeous marketing materials.      Our listing was found everywhere from newspaper, website to social media.   As a result of his marketing, our Walnut Creek open house days drew crowds consistent with San Francisco properties and visitors from all over the Bay Area

Thomas is a keen negotiator.  We were fortunate to have multiple offers with highly passionate and potential buyers.   It was there that we saw Thomas’ abilities to confer with multiple agents.   On our behalf, he maximized the process  and in the end we accepted an offer greater than we could have imagined.

There is much involved in bringing a home to market, and inevitable opportunities for stress all along the way.   Our process was truly stress free due to Thomas’ exemplary communication and interpersonal skills.   

To Homeowners who are looking for a listing agent:

My name is Brian Ford. My wife Alexandra (Alex) and I are writing this letter as a referral for Thomas Westfall as a listing agent. Alex and I owned our Eichler in the East Bay for about 15 years. When we decided to move back East to be closer to Family, we consulted a few potential Agents to list our home for sale. Being members of the community for the better part of 20 years we had quite a few options to consult.

Alex and I had met Thomas in 2014 at one of his listings. Right away we were drawn to Thomas’ “likeability” factor. Thomas is professional, polite, kind, and genuine. After consulting with 3 other potential agents to list with we decided to give Thomas a call. Thomas showed up to our home and was “head & shoulders” above the previous Agents in terms of being prepared, as well providing examples of his history of success’ without coming across as conceited.

After sleeping on it for a night, Alex and I had a meeting and easily agreed (which always isn’t the case 😉) that Thomas was going to be our Agent. 

There were several factors that brought us to this decision:

1. Business Plan with Timeline
1. Aligning on his plan works. If you follow his advice…it will pay off
2. Partnership Agreement: 
1. We aligned on Thomas with deliverables and expectations (Pros and cons of doing things to home .vs not doing them to ensure profitability outcomes)
2. All three of us needed to be aligned and jointly agreed that we wanted us all to make as much money as possible 
3. Thomas’ integrity (personally and professionally):
1. Thomas is a A+ Human
2. Thomas will only take on one listing at a time and he will refer buyers without representative agents rather than trying to pull off both ends on the commission
4. Communication: Thomas is extremely accommodating and generous with his time. He goes out of his way to make himself available.

If you are looking for someone who is going to give you the best representation from selling your home, and you are considering listing with an agent other than Thomas, I would encourage you to give me a phone call on 925-768-5363 or shoot me an e-mail on brianpford72@gmail.com. I have bought and sold multiple properties over the years and would be more than happy to entertain a conversation. I’m very passionate about Real Estate. It’s a very personal business!

Dear Eichler Owner,

Thomas Westfall successfully managed the presentation and sale of our renovated double-A frame in Castro Valley. Based on our fantastic experience with Thomas, I highly recommend him as a listing agent for your Eichler. He handled our very emotional decision to sell our home with the utmost care, respect, and understanding. He wore many hats during the transaction – Realtor, general contractor, carpenter, landscaper, and even psychologist. He helped get the house ready for open house and sale, not with just advice and guidance, but also with hard work and around-the-clock service. He landscaped, power washed, moved furniture, babysat our daughter, repaired things – basically anything that needed to get done to get our house ready for sale. He helped make our home look like it should be on the cover of Atomic Ranch. We have meet several Realtors who specialize in these homes and Thomas’ passion and knowledge of Eichlers and the market for them is one of the best we have encountered.

As our realtor (and psychologist) he managed the process and communicated throughout it, helping us move forward every day. His attention to detail and communication with both of us was impeccable.

Yet the hard work, communication, and compassion were just icing on the cake for where Thomas truly excelled – the actual marketing and sale of our home. His negotiation and sales skills are amazing. He handled potential buyers amazingly well – aggressively but with great respect – and closed the transaction to the satisfaction of both parties.

Thomas is a skillful negotiator, a fantastic communicator, a hard worker, and most of all, a great marketer and salesman for your home. I don’t know that you can do better than Thomas Westfall for the sale of your Eichler.

Sincerely,

Scott San Filippo

After an exhaustive year-long search, I recently closed on a home in the East Bay hills. Throughout the entire process, from search to close and beyond, I was assisted by Thomas Westfall of  Alain Pinel. I’m writing this letter because I’ve bought and sold a number of homes in the Bay Area, and Thomas provided the best service I’ve ever received from a realtor.

I was careful about selecting a realtor because of a number of specific requirements. I wanted a full time professional who was knowledgeable about all types of residential sales. Based on previous experience, I was also wanted someone with a good understanding of marketing, pricing, negotiation, inspections, financing, with a strong network of professional contacts. Having grown up in an Eichler, it was also important for someone to be as knowledgeable about them as I am.

After interviewing several realtors, all of whom were “Eichler specialists,” I chose Thomas. He met all my criteria and was exceptionally knowledgeable about Eichlers. Not only was he familiar with Eichler history, models, and building materials, but also specific Eichler maintenance concerns, such as radiant heating, roofing, dry rot areas, Arcadia doors, mahogany paneling, and other design and construction details.

Throughout the process, Thomas provided exemplary service. In all my experience with service professionals and consultants, I’ve never encountered anyone as consistently responsive, patient, and thoughtful. He patiently educated me about current market conditions. He promptly, thoroughly, and cheerfully responded to my endless questions and concerns.  He carefully learned my preferences (which sometimes changed or became more specific) to better tailor the search to my preference and busy schedule.

Due to a shortage of inventory, I expanded my search a couple times to more distant  neighborhoods. Thomas took time to carefully research the sales activity and homes in the areas and prepared detailed reports for me. For one neighborhood, he even created a detailed spreadsheet that included relevant information on every home, even though none of the homes were currently on the market. For the same neighborhood, he took photographs of every property and built a database of the photos for me to refer to.

Thomas also took the extraordinary extra steps of canvassing neighborhoods on foot and helping me prepare personalized introductory letters. Thomas has impressive powers of observation and often noticed telling details about the homes that informed the search. This combined with a tireless work ethic, eventually led to identifying the home I purchased, which due to his vigilance, he had identified before it came to market.

Once he identified the property, he helped me to carefully evaluate its condition. He spent a lot of time with me inspecting the home, scheduling and accompanying inspectors, and going back to the selling agent to capture more information and history. His experience as an Eichler owner and enthusiast helped me understand the true condition of the home and budget for upgrade and maintenance costs. After working on my home, I’ve found his estimates to be uncanny in their accuracy.

We had the pleasure of working with Thomas for both the purchase and sale of our house. We first met Thomas when we relocated to the Bay from Los Angeles. Thomas was extremely knowledgeable about the different neighborhoods, and about assessing and evaluating homes for value, architecture, and craftsmanship. He is an expert in mid-century architecture, but is also very knowledgeable about other styles. In several cases, he was able to point out architectural and construction/safety issues that we were not fully aware of. We always felt that Thomas worked for our interests, and not just out of an eagerness to close a deal.  When we were ready to place an offer, he helped us navigate the competitive SF-area real-estate market and to draft a winning bid, and was tremendously helpful in making sure that all of the home-buying inspections and procedures were carried out meticulously and in a timely manner.  

Three years after we bought our home, we again relocated, this time out of the SF area. When we decided to leave, there was no question in our mind that we wanted Thomas to represent us. Throughout the selling process, Thomas made us feel very comfortable and in control. He came to look at our house and to offer advice about the selling strategy. He was never pushy and always listened to our requests, and was motivated to get us top dollar for our investment. One great thing about working with Thomas is that he is not shy about letting the clients know what he thinks, but he communicates in a very easy manner. We trusted his eye and expertise and worked together to stage the home (at no cost!!!) and prepare a plan for the sale. He brought in a great photographer, and worked to take pictures in many different ways, to best highlight the strengths of our house. In scheduling open houses and marketing, Thomas went above and beyond. Because our home sale was through a relocation company, we were required to compare three agents, and of the three he offered the most strategic marketing, advertising, and open house schedules. Our home sold for the highest price in our neighborhood, and we think that Thomas’s expertise was critical for that to happen. We could not recommend him any more enthusiastically.

To Whom it May Concern:

We are excited to write this letter of recommendation for Thomas Westfall. We have sold a home before and had a good experience, but working with Thomas set the bar higher than we could have imagined.

At our first meeting Thomas was well prepared, knowledgable, eager to earn our business and extremely personable. We felt Comfortable with Thomas and immediately selected him as our realtor with our having to meet others. He provided guidance and advice through every stage of the process and did so in a collaborative manner. From prepping the house to close, Thomas was always available and there for us.

A few key skills to point out about Thomas: communication and organization. Every step of the way we were well informed. Thomas knows to over-communicate with his clients, most times answering our questions before we even knew to ask! With his detailed time-line, we were never left guessing what steps came next.

He also is willing to roll up his selves, installing smoke alarms or watering plans in not beyond his scope of duties. This was especially appreciated because our home was unoccupied while on the market. We can’t thank Thomas enough for the “extra’s” he so willingly did for us while out of state.

In summary, we HIGHLY and SINCERELY recommend Thomas Westfall. It began as a professional relationship but through it all we now consider Thomas a good friend.

Regards,

Brandon & Darlene Bauer, Castro Valley, CA

Thomas Westfall is an exceptional agent. His approach is warm and friendly but extremely professional, supported by urgency and attention to detail. Thomas guided us through the buying process, step-by-step, with obvious expertise. We felt we were in safe hands throughout, confident that we'd achieve our objective.

Thomas was recommended to us as an Eichler and modern homes specialist. We immediately connected, and realized we'd made the right choice. Thomas clearly appreciates homes of this type, and his knowledge goes way beyond aesthetics. He understood precisely what we wanted, and reassured us that he'd help us to get it. And he did just that.

Our situation was challenging. We are non-US citizens, with very specific criteria and a limited budget. Despite this, we were made to feel like a priority. Updates were regular, thorough and insightful. Thomas was always flexible and receptive to our input, yet honest, and forthcoming with advice and suggestions.

Our home search was lengthy, but Thomas was tenacious, and remained focused on our shared goal. Our eventual purchase fell well outside his usual catchment area, but Thomas insisted on finishing the job, taking several multiple-hour round trips, as required. He certainly went above and beyond, without complaint.

With Thomas, we felt part of a team, and worked together to achieve our goal. From our own dealings with other agents, and from other people's anecdotes, it seems we got very lucky picking Thomas as our agent. We would definitely use Thomas again, when the time comes, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him.

To Whom It May Concern:

It is not often I take time to write a letter of recommendation on behalf of service received.  I have bought and sold homes, lots, investment properties, and worked with realtors both in and out of California, so I am not a novice to the real estate industry. I have experienced competent realtors, not so competent, and everything in between.  I feel compelled to acknowledge the extraordinary effort and skills that has been exhibited by realtor, Thomas Westfall.

A number of months ago I decided look for a new home for my husband and myself as we plan his upcoming retirement in a few years.  This was no simple decision as I had lived in my house for 27 years and had spent that time remodeling and decorating the home and garden, so I had many reservations about selling the home and getting top dollar for the amount of upgrades and work that I put into the house over the years.  

I was highly skeptical that I would find a realtor who would be able to market my home (an Eichler) and have an understanding of the type of changes made to the house that maintained the integrity of an Eichler, but now combined an artistic mix of modern and Asian both inside and out.  In short, I needed a business professional with an eye for design and the ability to find that specific client looking for a very unique property.

I interviewed Thomas and was pleased with his knowledge and background.  He clearly understood the market and the unique nature of the home.  He also had a well-developed network of potential prospects.  He came back to me with a comprehensive marketing plan unlike anything I had ever seen.  As someone with a career background that includes a stint as a Vice President of Marketing and Sales, I immediately recognized someone who knew how to market properties in an effective and creative manner.  To say I was impressed is an understatement.

Working with Thomas, we prepared the property for sale.  He had an incredible set of photos taken and the visual presentation was stunning.  The website was more than comprehensive including an accurate drawn-to-scale floor plan. But more than that, he went beyond the call of duty to prepare the property for sale.  He personally reset a broken tile on my front doorstep.  (Can you believe this?). He even made special signs for my garden calling out unusual plants and features.  

Most importantly, during this process, Thomas was more than helpful.  His attention to detail, unbelievable quick response time, ability to resolve issues, and help at keeping distractions to a minimum were critical, because I have yet to tell the most important factor that was occurring during this transaction.  My mother was gravely ill and passed away during this process.  My husband’s mother passed away earlier this year in Nebraska.  We had to take on cleaning and selling their homes, as well as our own, in addition to arranging for the purchase of our new home in a different county. And did I mention, we also decided to put our vacation home on the market at the same time?  We had five real estate deals in the works!  I think it is fair to say that Thomas was more than responsible for helping us keep our sanity.

When marketing finally started, Thomas handled the process with ease and brilliance.  We had put many restrictions on selling the house including we wanted to limit open houses and people coming through the property. Thomas correctly positioned the property with limited open houses, private showings, and making sure he was present during any viewings.  He also did his work by making sure we had a well-qualified, highly motivated buyer so we would not have to worry about the deal falling through later.  He sold the house in record time, well over asking price.  

During this process, I greatly came to enjoy my chats with Thomas.  On a personal level, he is witty, warm, and caring.  He is a person of integrity. It makes me happy to know that not only did I find a great realtor, but I have also found a new great friend.

Mandy Mulgrew