Ray Lyon Realty - Santa Monica & Surrounding Areas Realtor

Reviews 11

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Michelle W

Ray is outstanding and we have already recommended him without hesitation to our friends. Things we love about Ray: -Very responsive and punctual -- He always got back to us immediately by phone or email, even when out of business hours or on the weekend, and was always on time, or more frequently, early to our meetings when looking out houses, etc. -Good knack for the business -- With each place we seriously considered, he accurately predicted what the place would go for which was a big help when considering what to offer. Especially in this market where everything is going for above asking, it became reassuring to be able to trust his instinct and avoid that icky "did we spend too much" feeling. Nope, no icky feelings. -Proactive -- The place we ultimately found, Ray sent us the listing immediately after it came out, visited the place himself before we saw it, told us how much he thought we would like it, and talked to the selling agent and made a good impression on her (as she later remembered both him and us when we went to visit). This is with me scouring the internet on a daily basis -- I had not yet seen this place listed. Soon after, we went to visit and Ray had been spot on about our tastes and now we own the place! He also is proactive in talking to the other agents (eg finding out how much other offers were, etc). And during the escrow process, got us a $2000 credit for minor repairs that will cost much much less. -Not pushy -- We found a place in our budget and never felt pressured to look for more expensive places even though Ray knew we were pre-approved on our loan for more. We were also outbid on two places prior to finding our ultimate home (that we like better anyway... funny how things work out) and decided to let them go because it was more than we wanted to spend, and Ray never once pushed us to go above our comfort level. -Has connections -- not just with other realtors (many of the other listing agents were people Ray had worked with before and was friendly with) but with contractors too. And they all like him. -Treats you like a friend. Initially, at the beginning of the process, despite being first time buyers, I thought "do we REALLY need a realtor? I know how to use the internet". YES YOU NEED A REALTOR, AND A GOOD ONE. In 4 months, this very picky budget conscious couple found and bought a place that we are very happy with and our friends told us we made it look "so easy." I recommend Ray, he is great!!

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Cynthia Wallingford

I had the best experience buying a home with Ray! He took a lot of time getting to know me and what I was looking for in a very specific area on the West side. He was very patient with me as a first-time buyer and he gained my trust quickly. Ray was exceptional. I was on a 3 week trip to Europe in the middle of my home search. A unit came on the market in a complex that I loved and he tracked me down to let me know. He literally did all he could to get my attention about the listing. Ray acted quickly - we submitted the offer and I defaulted to him on the timing and all. He has great instincts about the real estate market and people in general - which is so valuable in the intense and competitive market in Santa Monica. The offer was accepted and we were in escrow very quickly because Ray knew how to make it happen. Most of the escrow period happened when I was out of the country and he facilitated the entire thing. He really went out of his way to make the process as painless as possible. He was always available and made me feel like I was a priority. Ray is very well-connected in the real estate world and referred me to many capable professionals along the way, and just as I am writing this he is texting me more referrals for painters and contractors. I am going to tell my friends who are looking to buy about him - I would recommend him without hesitation. I will absolutely work with him again in the future. I am so happy to be a homeowner in Santa Monica, thanks to Ray and his wonderful service and hard work.

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Amelia Ning

My husband and I couldn’t have been luckier than to find Ray Lyons online as our realtor. If it wasn’t for Ray, we never would have gotten our home in Sunset Park. We were so thoroughly impressed with him during every step of the process of buying our home. Ray negotiated the deal like a shark and was able to save us a ton of money in a very hot pocket of Santa Monica. He pays attention to the finest details and goes above and beyond. He doesn’t just sell you a home but helps you make it your dream home. He helped us find our contractor and has an artistic background and offered us great suggestions for improving our home. He stayed on top of our mortgage lenders and was able to help us close escrow in 35 days (and was even gone a week getting married). The day we closed escrow he was going above and beyond trying to help us find a gardener and calling the water and trash company making sure we wouldn’t be charge for the previous owners past due notices. He is awesome and not only will we be using him in the future but we will be referring him to anybody that needs a realtor.

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Garrett Yamasaki

Ray truly lives up to all his positive online reviews. From the first time we spoke he had definitive knowledge of my neighborhood / property, a vision to create an efficient selling timeline, and a decisive plan to bring in multiple offers. He is absolutely a hands-on agent who is willing to go the extra mile to get the deal done - He personally handled light home staging free of charge in addition to including complimentary photography saving me from going $2500 out of pocket. Communication was superb – Connecting around my very fluid schedule (He went as far a texting me an update while he was in the middle of a attending an out of town wedding ceremony!) His negotiation skills and selling instincts were invaluable when a situation surfaced as we were about to finalize getting the offer signed. He had the presence of mind and expertise to make just the right adjustment ensuring we would close the deal and close it $45,000 over asking. If you are looking for someone who you can trust and that can deliver outstanding results, Ray is unquestionably your agent!

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John Demaria

I sold & purchased a replacement property with Ray and his team! Ray, is professional, responsive, honest and took the time to clearly explain every step of the process and kept me well informed of what was going on. Ray was a strong negotiator and had my best interest throughout the whole process making sure that we got the best price with the best client. He sold my place for well over asking within the first 2 weeks of being on the market. He and his team were on top of everything! They were very proactive, readily available to answer questions and they didn’t miss a beat. Once I sold my place I worked with his buyer’s agent Eliza to purchase my next place. Eliza is the perfect balance of professionalism and friendliness. With the market as competitive and fast paced as it is, Eliza was always available and supportive. She found me the perfect place, helped me negotiate and answered all my questions. I couldn’t be happier with my experience with them both. If you are looking to sell or buy the LA/Santa Monica Area I would highly recommend both of them.

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Wenjing Huang

Ray came highly recommended and my wife and I were so pleased that we had the opportunity to work with him and his team (his assistant Eliza was also quite wonderful). We’re a young professional couple, who’s been looking for a condo on the LA westwide for a little while. Ray was instrumental to our eventual success in finding the ideal home for us. He was particularly transparent, sharing inside knowledge with us. He would also go out of his way to ensure that our offer would stand out from the others. As a relevant piece of information, staff from the listing agent of the place we eventually bought was also impressed by his dedication and professionalism. In a competitive housing market condition in Los Angeles, it was comforting to us to know that our agent was working as diligently (or perhaps even more so) with us to help close the deal. Ray was very responsive – most emails (even on weekends or in the evening) were answered within a few minutes to a couple hours. In all, we would recommend him 100% with no reservations.

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chris stiegler

This review is long overdue. It’s no surprise to see all of Ray’s 5 star reviews. Ray helped my family sell a buy a replacement property a few years ago. It was a tricky sale involving a 1031 exchange and we had very little time to sell our property and identify a replacement property. With Ray’s expertise and marketing we were able to get an all cash offer within only 5 days of being on the market. He helped us negotiate favorable terms and got the buyer to participate in the exchange. There were lots of moving pieces in this deal and within 15 days our place was sold and we were in escrow on a replacement property. This whole process (selling -to- closing, purchasing replacement property -to- closing) took less than 40 days! Ray was involved in all parts of this transaction and he went out of his way to make sure it was a quick and easy transition. We could not have done this without Ray or his team. I recommend everyone to use his services!!!!

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Rydhima Shah Brar

Ray is amazing! We were moving from SF and did not have a lot of time to keep going and back forth to come and look at properties, but he was extremely proactive from the very beginning! From the moment we spoke over the phone he put our concerns at ease and was extremely knowledgeable about the area we were interested in. He encouraged us and took care of everything. From helping organize our 4 days of house touring to guiding us throughout the entire process he made this whole experience extremely painless and stress-FREE...We managed to find our beautiful condo, close within a month and moved into our place in a month after that! He even face-timed us for our property inspection and made sure he took a through walk-through like he would for his own place. All in all would highly recommend working with Ray and his team!

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Susan Kennedy

I contacted Ray a few hours before we were leaving Santa Monica on Feb. 10 to list a condo that our daughter had been living in. He met with my husband and I within the hour, with a full market evaluation for us to look at. He really impressed us with his local knowledge and his willingness to help us get the property sold, as we would not be in Santa Monica. We signed with him on the spot. Ray had the condo beautifully staged and held two open houses. We had 3 offers within 3 days, all over asking price, one of which we accepted. Escrow closed yesterday, March 9 and I can honestly say that it was the best real estate transaction that I have ever been involved with. Thank you, Ray, you are an awesome realtor and we highly recommend you you recommend this agent.

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Terrible Herbst

Sharp, quick, knowledgeable, flexible and with great communication skills, Ray is everything you could want in a Realtor. Sold our home in 8 days at $156K over the asking price. He and his team then successfully closed escrow in 8 days. Truly remarkable. Ray told us that it is his philosophy to make it as easy for the seller as possible and he lived up to his word. Excellent, continuing communication to let you know what is going on, what needs to be done, and how long the process may take. He took charge to fix up the yard with flowers and spiff up the house interior, making a distinct improvement and saving us the long distance drives that would otherwise have been necessary. I wholeheartedly recommend Ray.

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Brian Carver

A friend referred me to Ray as we were moving to Santa Monica, and he was able to quickly get us up to speed on the market and kick off the search. He knew a ton about neighborhoods, schools, various buildings we looked at, etc. Ray was always quick to answer questions, making him a great partner in finding a home. Ray took the time to understand what we were looking for in a home and pointed us in all the right directions. When it came time for putting in offers, we knew exactly what to do and what to expect - giving us confidence as we navigated the "interesting" housing market on the westside. I definitely recommend working with Ray!

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