Last month I began my 35th year as a Realtor.

This month I am delightfully busy, entering a new decade with my birthday, and enjoying my seniority both in Real Estate and in life. Last month I began my 35th year as a Realtor.

It seems like just yesterday that I first became a Realtor.  It was May of 1979. My husband, Dennis, had a Broker's license and I had my agent's license. We had taken the tests on a lark. We didn't have a plan. I was teaching and Dennis was a contractor and we were raising our two young sons. Neighbors told us that they were moving and that they would pay us 3% of the price that they wanted for their home if we brought them an offer. We called the children's piano teacher and told her that there was house for sale across the street from us. She laughed and said that all of her student's parents wanted her to move close to them so that they would not have to drive. But as luck would have it, she and her husband liked the house and bought it right away. We earned almost as much in one sale as I was making for a whole year of teaching. What a way to live, we thought. So we picked a name, "The Hendrickson Company", got ourselves finger-printed and filled out a lot of forms. And just like that we were in business as a mom and pop Real Estate company working out of our Shattuck Avenue home. Other friends, fellow nursery school parents, wanted to sell their home so we listed it and began advertising it and ourselves, meeting enough clients to sell 7 homes before the end of 1979.

And the business grew from there. We bought our house on Arch Street in the spring of 1980 when rates were 12, if not 18%. We patched together a deal where seller carried our mortgage until we could sell our house on  Shattuck Avenue. We made the offer on Monday, she accepted it on Wednesday, we signed our docs on Thursday and closed on Friday.

The fastest sale I ever made was my own. 

After more than 20 years, I left The Hendrickson Company and at urging of some friends joined Red Oak Realty.

I have three new listings that I plan to showcase at the beginning of August: 1316 Shattuck Avenue a 2/1 with a huge back yard in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto. It’s a duplex with a studio apartment attached to the back that could easily be combined into a 3/2,  6211 Telegraph Avenue, a nearly 1300 square foot 3/ 2  condo with an open floor plan in lower Rockridge, and 937 Stannage Avenue in Albany, a cozy cottage with a sunny private yard and two extra work spaces. 

And look for an extraordinary mid-century modern with killer views coming in September . It is in Kensington a short walk from my house.

I just closed 233 Orange Street a mid-century modern penthouse in Adams Point for more than 25 % over asking with 15 offers. And representing buyers, I sold a condo at 200 Second Street in Jack London Square. And I am about to close 1907 Curtis Street in Berkeley. Later this month 1201 Pine Street will close as well. It is a loft style condo in The Pacific Cannery Lofts, a David Baker building in West Oakland.

I am delighted as always to be working with smart, kind and fun to be with sellers and buyers. I am never too busy for more business.    I have an exceptional assistant, an great agent in her own right, Kim Markison who makes it possible for me to be available to more of you.

Thank you for supporting me as I do what I  love to do, working with the best people and most interesting properties both residential and commercial. While most of my business comes from you and the sellers and buyers you refer me to, I have had great success as well with YELP which is a continuing source of new people who I probably would never have met.