Before the Blog: The Real Starting Point of Our 1920s Rental
I remember packing odds and ends in our Connecticut kitchen thinking that we were not going to have a place to live. Dramatic? Definitely. But in all honesty I was not prepared for the competitive real estate market in the Bay Area. Our Connecticut lease was up in 4.5 weeks, the moving truck company date was set, and we were still falling short of finding a place. Did I mention we were also trying to find a house on the other side of the country, factor in a 3 hour time difference and Sean wrapping up his last weeks as a vascular resident... I wasn’t stressed at all.
Sean would be commuting to three different medical locations in the Bay Area, so in many ways we were at the mercy of a 30 minute/mile radius. I really advocated for being close to walk-able restaurants, markets, coffee shops and fitness studios hoping it would assist us in meeting new people to build a new community.
Thank god Sean’s sister Kerry is a boss lady in real estate who offered to help us find not only a place to live, but was instrumental in helping us determine where we wanted to live. Her knowledge on neighborhoods, location to highways, grocery stores, breweries and its local fan-favorite restaurants was second to none. Every day Kerry would send Zillow listings where I would hopelessly send in an application praying we’d at least maybe get a call back from the listing agent, 11 applications later, 4 weeks out from relocating, I get a call from the moving truck company asking me where they were dropping off our trillion tons of belongings. Am I painting the picture with enough detail?
A few days later 9am EST / 6am PST, Kerry calls me. I repeat, it was 6am Kerry’s time. A new rental listing in Montclair/Oakland area just appeared on Zillow and she was (rightfully) pushing me to apply immediately while she calls. The house was absolutely darling. It was a 1920’s cottage with matural wood floors and picture rail trim throughout, a beautiful entry room with a fireplace and built ins, a newly rennovated kitchen with adamant storage, a giant deck, YARD, garden beds, detached garage, ADU (didn’t even know what that was at first), a beautiful live oak tree in the front yard, drool, drool, drool. Trying not to get ahead of myself and put our last egg in the basket, we submitted our 12th application.
Later that day Kerry did a walk-through of the Montclair house with Sean and I on FaceTime. I couldn’t help but smile and romanticize every square foot of the cottage. It was the perfect place for us to start our new chapter. I imagined the deck filled with a giant outdoor table where we could host his family of 15 over for outdoor dinners, a little bistro table and chairs in the garden for a midday cappuccino surrounded by fresh herbs and tomatoes, the front oak tree sparkling with lanterns and skeletons where I would sit high above in my witch costume luring children of the neighborhood on Halloween, the list goes on. The house checked boxes we didn’t even know were missing.
The next night, with a little over 3 weeks to spare, I was in Canva designing the front entry way. Oh, did I mention we got the house?
TRULY, THE BEST!
Kerry Kozak
REALTOR® | DRE# 02127676
When you choose Kerry as your real estate partner, you're not just hiring an agent; you're gaining a dedicated advocate who knows what it means to call the East Bay home. With her unwavering commitment to her clients and her deep ties to the community, Kerry is your trusted guide in the journey of buying or selling real estate in the East Bay. Contact her today and discover how she can help you achieve your real estate dreams.
Instagram: @kerrykozak_
Email: kerrykozak@compass.com