Michelle C.

We first met Michelle at an open house in March 2022, and were impressed by her attention to detail and her warmth. When my husband and I decided to start looking for our long term forever home, we started working with Michelle. After a few months, we found what we all agreed was a property with tremendous location and good bones, and were able to acquire the home. Michelle has many great qualities that one looks for in a realtor. She is incredibly responsive. She is honest with what she thinks will work. She doesn't push you to do the easiest path to close a deal (ie higher price). She is patient and will make sure buyers understand the unique vagaries of real estate in California in a high fire zone with earthquake risk. She knows properties inside and out, and will immediately tell you if a property is NOT a good fit. She is a bull dog for her clients. Michelle definitely does not disappear after closing! She was there for EVERYTHING after we closed and helped me get the house to a usable state, including recommending multiple outstanding vendors and putting me in touch with an architect we ended up engaging. She has remained a valuable sounding board for all things on this house. We look forward to eventually moving to SB full time and seeing her more often! I would definitely recommend Michelle Cook!

When our mother passed away, my sister and I were not sure where to turn to sell her house or even how to begin. We carefully researched realtors in the Santa Barbara area and narrowed it down to Michelle, not only from the great reviews we read online, but also from outstanding recommendations by several friends who had worked with her to sell their homes. We were rewarded beyond our dreams, Michelle was great! She brought a perfect combination of positive energy, sensitivity and experience to the sale and she guided us in the direction we needed to go, right from the beginning. Before listing the house, she recommended some basic upgrades that would showcase the property’s most important qualities, including its fantastic view of the harbor. Michelle arranged for all of the work to be done on the house and was very accurate and transparent with costs and timing to make it happen. Everything was done well and efficiently, and the best part was that my sister and I didn’t need to stress, we just sat back and let the magic happen. Michelle handled everything, keeping us informed every step of the way. New paint and carpets brightened up the house and made it shine, and new landscaping opened up the view, added color and made the entrance and all sides of the house beautiful again, restoring it to its former glory, plus everything was done in record time. When it was time to put the house up for sale, it looked incredible. For the listing, she hired a photographer that perfectly captured the beauty of the house we grew up in, and hired stagers to fill the house with furniture and artwork that perfectly complemented the rooms, giving it a warm, happy vibe. Michelle timed everything perfectly, and the online buzz around the house translated to four open houses with over 70 people showing up each time and multiple private tours, all of which Michelle tirelessly set up and supervised. The excitement kept growing and that led to multiple bids and ultimately to a smooth, successful sale. Michelle is a people person with a great knowledge of the community who knew exactly how to sell our house and how to showcase it best to a maximum number of potential buyers. She is an engaging communicator, and her honesty and enthusiasm is contagious to all who come in contact with her. Michelle Cook is amazing!

We had a great experience with Michelle. She was professional, extremely knowledgeable about the Coachella valley and highly responsive. Michelle accommodated our schedules and arranged several showings across multiple communities. Throughout the process Michelle provided honest feedback and sound advice which ensured we purchased the property most suitable for our family. We are very happy with our home and highly recommend Michelle as she made the home buying process a pleasant and comfortable experience.

We had a difficult property to sell as well as declining market and Michelle pulled through for us. Excellent communication and was there every step of the way!