Chris Luna - COMPASS REALTOR® DRE #01833730 — Local services in Walnut Creek

TL;DR: For the average person, buying a house is an emotional roller coaster. There’s the excitement of looking for a place, being approved for a loan and having your offer being accepted. The low of realizing what you want and can afford are on different levels, problems that come up in the loan process or home inspection and your offer not being accepted. Last, the anxiety of waiting for your offer to be accepted or multiple offers on a place you REALLY want. You NEED an agent to help you navigate these waters. Chris Luna was that agent for us. He was FABULOUS to work with. He knows the market and isn’t afraid of challenges that you may face, be it your price range or loan type. He will educate, guide and reassure you when you need it and bring you back down to reality when you’re making compromises because you’re tired of looking. He is caring, informative, patient, flexible and great with kids. I have to note that especially because while viewing houses, our 2.5 yr. old kept trying ditch us to show him stuff and hold his hand. He was gracious about it and gave her that attention while noticing and pointing out little issues that could be a problem if we were to move forward on it.

Full experience: This wasn’t exactly our first home purchase. The first time we didn’t understand what we were getting into and got in way over our head and ultimately had to short sale. I was upfront with him about this so he knew I was apprehensive about buying a place in the bay area again, but we needed our own place (couple living with parents and a 2.5 yr. old) and rent was pretty much the same payment. We met and talked about our wants and needs. He was upfront about the challenges we might face in our price range and the type of loan we were using but he was encouraging. He was ready to take on that challenge. Once he gave us a list of properties to check out things got exciting, but just as fast, they also got a little disappointing. After mapping out some of the properties and getting a feel for the area, I started to lose that excitement seeing what our price point could afford and where we would be. Chris was little bit of a therapist about this and helped us narrow down our must haves and what we could compromise on. He thought it best to get us out there and physically visiting homes to really get a feel for the properties and neighborhood. As we would view each house, he would point out things that could be a problem for our loan approval (unpermitted additions), things that may become a bigger issue (previous water damage), and things that weren’t even on our radar (wood trim that had dry rot). Getting out there worked, the excitement was up again. Now we started compromising too much. “This area has better schools... How about a condo instead? Do we need that much space? O wait, I don’t want to go outside to get to the garage to do laundry. Maybe we can do 1.5 baths… or even 1 bath. We can add-on a bath later?” These are all the thoughts that had entered my mind at some point. One condo we almost made an offer on, he had me thinking about space and the neighbors. The neighbors in the complex were older and established. He had to keep reminding me that I have an active 2.5 yr. old. Kids need space. “We will find you a house, be patient” are the words he kept telling me. These are things those articles don’t tell you. These are things that an agent keeps in mind and mentions. We finally got lucky. The paperwork gets overwhelming and Chris was great at explaining everything in layman terms and keeping us informed of the process and timeline. He guided us thru some counter offers and once our offer was finally accepted, he setup and managed all our inspections. He was there for each inspection, even when we couldn’t make it. Thanks to Chris we didn’t compromise. We were able to find a home that met all of our wants and needs, one that if for some reason the housing market busts again and we ended up upside down, it won’t matter because we are already comfy...

Sorry this review is long over due, but I finally had time to write it. We met Chris through a friend and from the very first day he was very professional and patient because we brought our one year old with us. As soon as we met Chris we knew he was a cool guy! For the get go, he was very organized because Chris gave us a folder packet with all the tips, advice, do’s and don’ts on what we needed to do before looking for the perfect home.

We were in search for a 2 bedroom condo back in 2015! Chris gave us so many listings (10-20) and each time we had to narrow it down to our top favorite 5 listings. We would go from Fremont, Union City, Pleasanton, Dublin, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, San Ramon. Chris would contact each agent, set up an appointment for about 3-5 listings in one weekend day. Chris is definitely organized and knows how to mange his time efficiently!

After looking for a few months, we finally found a condo that we really liked so we placed an offer and it was accepted! We did all the paper work and inspections, etc. After getting the inspection, issues came up and all of a sudden something didn’t feel right in our guts, so we had to call Chris and tell him we needed to back out.

We felt awful that we had to tell Chris the news. But we needed to feel more secure and needed to be absolutely in love with this condo. Chris was so understanding with our decision and said ok I will call the seller and let them know.

We decided to put everything on hold and a couple months later my husband got laid off. Backing out from the condo was definitely a blessing in disguise. Months passed and Chris would touch base with us to see how we were doing. We told him some that we can’t start looking until my husband found a job. Chris understood but never gave up on us! A year has passed by and Chris would still contact us and see if we were ready to start home shopping again.

My husband got a job but we still weren’t ready. But Chris said “No problem, I’m here when you’re ready. Don’t forget me!”

It’s now 2017 and we finally decided to start house hunting again. After much contemplating we decided to look into Brentwood this time. Instead of that 2 bedroom condo in the Bay Area, we wanted a bigger home since we have 2 toddler boys. Deciding to get out of the Bay Area was a big decision that we kept going back and forth on.

Chris contacted us out of the blue and we said we are ready to start looking again, but this time in Brentwood. Chris got on in and sent us so many listings and all the homes were beautiful! We had a long list to look through and narrowed it down to our favorites.

Long story short, we finally found our dream home and we did it with Chris! If you’re looking for an agent, Chris is your man. He is very professional, organized and patient! It’s our first time buying a home and he answered all of our questions. I don’t know any other agent who would wait this long for their clients. Chris is also very thoughtful, he gave us a personalized doormat and a wonderful bottle of wine! Thank you again Chris for not giving up on us and for helping us find...

Chris Luna was a pleasure to work with and did an outstanding job in assisting us with purchasing our first family home. We were looking for an affordable home in the competitive Hercules real estate market. We had been searching for months and couldn't find anything that met our criteria, but as soon as we found our future home, Chris arranged a tour of the property the very next day. We value frequent communication, and Chris delivered on all fronts. He responded promptly to our text messages/ calls and followed up on all the necessary forms that needed to be reviewed or signed. His customer service was top-notch! He kept us informed about what to expect during the home buying process from start to finish and was very responsive. With over 20+ years of experience in the industry, we relied on his knowledge and expertise. He was attentive and listened to our needs, budget, and concerns. In the competitive market of Hercules, homes sell quickly when they're put on the market. When we found our dream home, we had to compete with multiple offers, but Chris ensured that we put our best foot forward with our initial offer. As negotiations progressed, he guided us patiently and with care, answering all our questions. Before we submitted our final offer, Chris ran the numbers with us one last time to ensure that we were comfortable moving forward. Our offer was accepted, and we closed in less than four weeks, with Chris being on top of everything the whole time. He accompanied us through our inspection, appraisal, and final inspections - he was there every step of the way. This was a huge milestone for our family, and we love our new home! We cannot thank Chris enough for all his help and would highly recommend him to anyone selling or...