Dave Cunningham – Zephyr Real Estate

We have worked with Dave twice — once as buyers and once as sellers — and we will absolutely work with him the next time we buy or sell. For this review, I’m comparing him to 2 other realtors we previously used on a sale and a purchase.
On the purchase side, Dave was very patient with us and never tried to convince us to make an offer. He said he believes in the principle of abundance in real estate, which means that another good one will always come along. He’s super friendly and very positive — not stuck up but still professional.
Here’s how we worked with him on the purchase — my husband and I both went with him to open houses for a weekend so he could get a feel for what we were looking for, and he set up an MLS auto-​email which would send us new properties in our neighborhoods and price range. He would also suggest properties that he saw on his Zephyr tour, which was like a preview tour right before things went on the mls.
Each weekend I would pick out a list of houses to look at and would go to the open houses. I’d e-​mail Dave a couple of favorites each Sunday night and ask him to do comps on them. Based on what he thought they would sell for, we’d decide whether to see any of them together at the Tuesday broker’s tours or on lockbox. Once we found something we wanted to offer on, he’d ping the selling agent to see how many disclosures were out, etc. Dave was really good at finding out how many offers would come in and how «high and clean» we had to make our offer to get looked at.
Logistically, he made it very easy for us to do the offers because he uses Docusign, which allows us to sign offers on the computer or on our phones. He was also flexible with his time and would meet us at night if we wanted to see a house on lockbox and met me at all the inspections and even our loan signing, which I don’t think he had to do. He’s very quick to respond to questions and gets an A++ in customer service.
On the selling side, Dave started by coming to see the house before it was all cleaned up and made a list of suggestions of things we could do to spruce it up. He ran comps for us every few weeks while we were getting some repairs made and suggested strategies for the best time to come on the market. Dave has great advice on pricing and timing, so we went with all his suggestions and were very pleased with the result.
Once it was ready and staged, Dave worked like lightning to get a professional photographer in and get marketing materials produced. He had an agent tour through only a few days after we turned it over to him. The materials all looked very good even though they were done so quickly.
Dave worked hard to show the house. In order to get as many people to see it as possible, he had lots of open houses (both Saturday and Sunday) and all of them started earlier and stayed open longer than most. He’s also good on the negotiation side at weighing the offers. His opinion on which offer to work with turned out to be excellent, and we got $ 70K over asking. My advice is to listen to Dave’s advice, and the buying/​selling process should go well for you.

My boyfriend and I absolutely love Dave. He’s a great person and realtor. We’ve been in our new house for about three weeks now and we absolutely love it. I usually don’t write reviews for personal people or small businesses for fear of having a bias or feelings being hurt, but for Dave there is no fear for that — I’d give him five stars no matter what.
Pros (+):
(+) Great first meeting
(+) Very attentive with what we were looking for and kept a keen lookout for what we wanted
(+) Will work and meet us at any hour — weekends, after hours, etc.
(+) Told us his honest opinion, if he thought a house wasn’t good for us, or he didn’t like something, he would tell us. Definitely appreciated.
(+) Fast turnaround — if we needed to get an offer out asap, we could count on Dave to be on it.
(+) Good pricing advice — he always gave us good ideas and strategy on what to price our offers at, and always said that he wanted us to put in an offer high enough to have a chance, and if we didn’t get it we could feel confident that we had a good offer, and if we did get it we wouldn’t feel bad for the offer amount
(+) Overall extremely personable, super friendly, truly nice guy
(+) Follow through — after we got the house, made sure everything was okay and we were satisfied
Cons:
NA. Nothing! If we ever find enough money to buy something else in SF, he’s our guy!

We had the chance to work with Dave recently to buy a place in the city. He was referred to us by friends and it turned out to be a great experience.
From the start Dave was extremely friendly and informative. Meeting him at his office he was very welcoming and talked us through what to expect in the upcoming month. Throughout the process he was a great communicator and active in every way that we could hope for. He was especially helpful in accommodating the issue that I was out of state for much of the time that we were working together.
I would definitely recommend Dave to anyone looking for a good realtor in the city and would certainly work with him again in the future.

You can’t put a value on trust. That being said Dave is invaluable! I’ve known him for a few years now and I’ve referred friends and clients to him and they’ve all been pleased. You may lose a percentage point or two in the front end but think outside the box: Dave’s gonna go to bat for you and guarantee you a higher percentage of your asking price! Sounds like a no brainer to me. But what do I know I’m just a Barber ;-)

I just sold my home in the Richmond District in San Francisco. Dave was our agent. He was wonderful. It is difficult to describe all the ways in which he did such a superb job. Yes, he got us a great price. Yes, his sale price approach resulted in a huge number of offers. But his services went far beyond the stunningly successful result. He is first and foremost a very fine person, who is always accessible. He answered a myriad of rookie questions with endless patience. He gave us lots of practical information and guidance but always listened to us and never tried «to lay down the law». He made the process as little anxiety producing as possible. Perhaps even more germane he developed a marketing plan that was great and even modified it to add yet more open houses. He was extravagant with this time at all stages. And, as far as staging goes, he connected us with great professionals that did great work and did it timely. I just cannot say enough good things about Dave. I wish I had another house to sell so that I could enjoy more time with Dave. I heartily recommend him. i know I have forgotten to include all of the good things Dave did for us. I can only say that you really, really should use him. You will not regret it.

Without hesitation I recommend Dave Cunningham and the Zephyr staff. We were first time home buyers in San Francisco and could not have done it without Dave. If you’re looking for someone knowledgeable about the ins and outs of each neighborhood, Dave is the pro.
We were referred to Dave by a friend who had nothing but a positive experience in their home purchase. During our initial consultation, Dave spent well over two hours sitting down with us and talking through our wish list. In the consultation, he not only listened but also set realistic expectations up front about what we should be looking for from properties and our interactions with Zephyr. He also makes each client sign an agreement to work with him exclusively. In exchange for your good faith, you can expect him to go above and beyond for you.
The first day we spent nearly an entire day driving with us around the city to get to know the different neighborhoods. Throughout the process he would go see properties without us and give us the run down making our short list all real possibilities aligned with our wish list. He also was very realistic for pricing on all properties to give us a good comparison for what we should expect to pay if interested. I can’t tell you how much of an advantage this when playing ball in this competitive market.
Around the holidays, he ended up leaving town for a week and was nice enough to put us in touch with one of his colleagues in the event we needed to see a property. Funny enough, we found the property we ended up purchasing while Dave was out of town. Had he not done this step we likely wouldn’t be in our home today. Throughout the whole process, he continually checked in with us to make sure everything was going smoothly, and when he returned he was back to full throttle to make sure the deal closed. He even personally became involved with the bank and mortgage company to expedite the close period. He not only went above and beyond to help us find a property, he did the same to help us close on the property.
We ended up purchasing a home, which met (actually exceeded) our initial wish list within 3 weeks of our first consultation. If you need someone to be your ally in the wild west property market of San Francisco, Dave Cunningham is the one.

Since I’ve relied on Unilocal so heavily in finding folks and home buying is such a harrowing process, I feel compelled to post an honest summary of my interactions with Dave.
Our first interaction was after work hours, where I schlepped to his office and he asked me a few questions about what I was looking for as a buyer and then proceed to explain his working philosophy at length. Part of the process involved your signing a contract agreeing to not work with another broker. Fair enough, but the meeting lasted over 2 hours, and I was shaking with hunger and felt emotionally dumped on after hearing all of his horror stories of bad clients.
Then, I got the automated listings from him and reached out to ask him questions about some of them. Despite our lengthy initial meeting, he made comments which made it clear that he didn’t remember the specific list of things I said I was looking for. This was indicative of our exchanges, where I had to chase him down, he gave me nominal attention and seemed distracted.
I believe Dave has an excellent sense of the market, the small community of brokers he has worked with in the past and provides great service to sellers who want to list with him. From a buyer’s perspective, I generally felt deprioritized and ended up working with another fantastic broker whose constant, unwavering efforts showed me what a good broker should be like.
Best of luck to all of you who are looking to buy in SF. It’s a rough market out there.

Dave was recommended to me by a great friend also a great realtor in the South Bay Don Tanner. When we first met to discuss listing our properties we really just wanted to get a sense of our property values since the market really wasn’t that hot. Dave came over and gave us a realistic evaluation of the property we were in plus one of our rentals. Neither were in a place where we would consider listing and Dave’s open and honest approach confirmed that we would hold on to the properties.
Fast forward a year and the market had totally changed, so I didn’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call Dave. We were now living in LA and Dave was very flexible with our availability. We arranged to meet in SF at the property and again Dave gave his open and honest evaluation of the property. In no time we were listed and offers were flooding in on the first showing. We accepted the best offer and completed a very successful sale. Other than that first meeting at the property I didn’t have to return to SF. Dave took care of everything and got us top dollar for our unit. Way over asking and way over what we expected.
3 or so months later we listed the second property with Dave and again his flexibility and attention to detail got us an amazing price for our unit. Dave took care of everything, even helping us with items we had in storage.
Bottom line. Dave knows his business! He is trustworthy and he is great to work with He follows through on his actions and means it when he says he will get you the best price.

My husband and I came to Dave via Unilocal,so it’s only fitting that we give back to the Unilocal process! A few words to describe Dave? Attentive, communicative, knowledgeable, positive, realistic, and assertive.
We are first-​time homebuyers and Dave was amazing at walking us through every step of the process. The SF real estate market is competitive and unique, and he knows it really well. He knew almost every selling agent we came across either by name, reputation, or personally. That’s a huge advantage.
Dave worked tirelessly for us even though I know we are on the «low end» of the price range for San Francisco. He gave us the same attention that I’m sure he gives his clients who are purchasing multimillion dollar homes.
In the end, we won a bidding war for our 2-​bedroom Twin Peaks top floor condo against other bidders who matched or outbid us SPECIFICALLY due to advice that Dave gave us. He really knows how to write an attractive offer and get you what you want.
Okay, I’ll stop gushing. But first I have to say that he’s also fun, funny, and pleasant to with. We feel SO fortunate to have found him.

I highly recommend Dave Cunningham to anyone looking for a realtor in San Francisco. He possesses all the qualities of a great realtor: professional, personable, tenacious, and great knowledge of his market. He helped find the perfect place in the city. You will be in the right hands working with Dave on finding your San Francisco home!

We were referred to Dave by a family friend who is a realtor who lives out of town. We recently had sold two houses in Seattle and were familiar with the process and the challenges. Knowing the market in San Francisco would be tight and competitive, we wanted a realtor who was a good listener, knowledgeable and a Johnny on the spot. In Dave we found these qualities.
Realizing that we were in a hurry to find the right home and that we followed through on our part of the bargain right away, he became equally attentive to us. A day did not go by in which we didn’t communicate.
When we decided that instead of wanting a single family home, that we wanted a multi-​unit building, we found Dave knowledgeable in this area as well and ready to change gears right away.
We shopped around for financing and got pre-​approved with two lenders so we could pounce. When push came to shove, the financing Dave had referred us to was the better deal and quick — we had a three week closing.
All through the process if there was the possibility of something holding us up, Dave was on the phone. He was direct, assertive and fearless, and helped us very much to buy the first house we made an offer on, which had 27 offers.
Courteous, friendly and high energy, we recommend him to you without reservation.

MY 10-​SECOND REVIEW: Dave Cunningham is the best realtor hands down. He’s knowledge about the SF market and homes, thorough, and incredibly thoughtful of your needs. I would not hesitate to recommend him!
MY DETAILED REVIEW:
I can sincerely say that Dave Cunningham was the best part of our search for a new home.
My husband and I had just relocated from New York City and were looking for a home in SF or Oakland/​Berkeley. Dave was recommended to us by our mortgage broker.
We met with Dave for a preliminary chat and he impressed us immediately with his knowledge of the market. He was honest, straightforward and didn’t try to sugar coat anything. For example, he encouraged us to meet with other brokers before making a decision on a realtor, which we did. But, no one came close to Dave in terms of knowledge, professionalism, and personality. (Dave is just a fun guy to be around!) We went with Dave and he also recommended a realtor for us in the East Bay.
In the end, we found our dream home in North Berkeley.
But, I can honestly say that our only regret in buying our dream home in the East Bay is that we couldn’t cross the finish line with Dave.
He is an incredibly talented agent. He was absolutely the best part of the search for our new home.
Do not think any further. Call Dave. He is what you are looking for.

After working with a couple of agents in the area I consider it the most fortunate chance to get chatting with Dave at what must have been the 30^th open house in a year.
Dave is very patient and very understanding of needs, makes it a key goal to stay in regular contact and turn around tasks very quickly. The most impressive aspect of Dave’s work for me was his professionalism and depth of understanding of the SF area market — his access to and use of market data is outstanding… he is able to advise and guide on comps, offer structure and pricing strategy with a high level of analytical insight at a pace & accuracy I haven’t seen in another agent.
I’m very happy to continue working with Dave and will recommend him to others.

We’re happy home-​owners and have no hesitation in recommending Dave.
We started looking for a place in the mid peninsula and switched to looking for a place in SF — Dave was referred to us by our existing agents.
As first time buyers, Dave was great in bringing up to speed on the home buying process, and enabling us to feel confident in our choices. In the early stages he was extremely helpful (and patient) in showing us around new-​to-​us neighborhoods until we got a feel for what was important to us and narrowed down our search.
Throughout, we felt he worked extremely hard in finding properties that would be a good fit. We felt that he was never pushing into something we didn’t want and frequently gave frank advice about a number of potential problems with some of the properties we looked at.
We eventually made two offers, one on a short-​sale and one on a foreclosure — in both cases, Dave got our offer accepted and beat out the competition. We ended up with a great condo in a phenomenal location, at below market rate. As he predicted, the financing turned out to be tricky, with the bank having a number of issues with the HOA. Nevertheless, Dave was great in getting all of the required pieces together and pushing things through on a VERY tight schedule and responding to unreasonable demands on his time late in the evenings.
Thank you Dave!

My wife and I met Dave by chance, and we are so fortunate that we did. Being fairly new to the housing market, Dave was wonderful in answering all of our basic questions as well as the more complex questions as we got further along in the process. There is definitely a reason why he has such rave reviews — Dave brings together an unsurpassed knowledge of the city, incredible responsiveness, and a personality that you can trust.
In terms of going the extra mile, Dave literally and physically was there for us during all major steps of our home buying process and made sure that we felt completely comfortable about our decision. In addition, anytime we had a question for Dave, he would get back to us no greater than a half an hour with an answer or a plan to find the answer.
We would without question recommend Dave to all of our friends and hope to continue to stay in contact as he’ll be the person we call if we choose to move again.

12÷31÷10 Edit
Even months after close, Dave continues to stay in touch proactively, and helped us deal with first-​time owner concerns. Truly unexpected level of service. A genuinely nice, knowledgeable, and resourceful agent/​friend. Thanks Dave!
*****
My wife and I just closed on a beautiful townhome with Dave’s help. As first-​time buyers, we needed a lot of guidance, and Dave patiently provided exactly that.
Even though we are long-​time Bay Area residents, we had no idea where we should start. Dave took us on several tours of the city and we were impressed by his encylopedic knowledge of SF neighborhoods. He pointed out the nabe’s particular charms and amenities — including his fave brunch places.
As first-​time buyers, we were afraid of making a mistake or worse, purchasing a money pit. Dave tirelessly read disclosures for us and explained what required our attention. What’s remarkable, too, is that he remained attentive and patient even though it took us more than a year and a half to find our dream place. Dave cared about our contentment, letting us take our time, and he never pushed us to make an offer we would later regret.
For further peace of mind, Dave also connected us with the best inspector, Jim, and mortgage consultant, Todd. He has a rolodex of trustworthy professionals, all interested in making sure we are 100% satisfied with our new home.
Important to us, as well, is that our agent has integrity. Dave is honest, and on your side. If he can’t answer your question, you’ll be sure that he will research it and find a straight answer for you.
We’re so grateful to Dave for helping us start the next chapter of our lives. He is truly the best agent one could ask for!

Holy cow, Dave is amazing. My wife and I moved to Boulder two years ago and after renting our place in the Sunset for a year we decided that it was more cost effective to sell. We talked with Dave at the suggestion of a friend, along with several other realtors. Dave showed up to our first meeting with comps and a complete pricing strategy.
Since we were no longer in SF, Dave did the walkthrough when our tenants left, oversaw cleaning and repairs along with painting, landscaping and staging. When the house was set, he put a wonderful web site up (it made us temporarily rethink selling the home) and then marketed like a madman. We were probably in contact every two or three days.
When offers came in, he gave us frank advice and managed the close perfectly, even though we were four states away and the buyer was overseas.
Go with Dave and he’ll knock your socks off.

Moving to San Francisco from Dallas caused more than sticker shock. Dave Cunningham helped me understand the SF condo market, making it easier for me to decide where to live and why I should buy a condo. I chose a new condo in SOMA in a neighborhood that is improving even in these hard economic times. I am very happy with my decision. From the selection, to financing, to closing and now a year and have later, I know Dave is always available to help. I am glad I ran into Dave at one of his open houses and he took the time to understand my needs. Since then, I have referred friends to Dave and do so with complete confidence that they will be happy with their relationship with Dave.

After a long drawn out process with the seller/​bank and lender, we are finally homeowners, and we could NOT have done it without Dave. Having an extremely knowledgeable and sharp advocate makes all the difference in this process.
Dave helped us truly narrow our search, which was no easy process. He took us out on multiple previews to see homes, which was incredibly helpful b/​c he know EVERY nook and cranny of this city– including micro-​climates, bar/​restaurant/​shopping scene/​residents/​neighborhood history– you name it.
With Dave’s help, a couple months ago we found a bank owned property that looked like an incredible investment to our new little family. We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy process, but we went for it the same day we saw it. Dave was ALWAYS in touch (immediate responses on blackberry, always answers his phone), advocating for us with the seller and lender and we wouldn’t have gotten this place without his perseverance, strategic thinking and complete availability.
This is the guy you want on your side (period).

As of this month, my boyfriend and I are living in our new home, purchased with the help of Dave Cunningham. We tried out a LOT of agents before finding Dave– he was definitely the best of the bunch and I enjoyed working with him throughout the home buying process.
I think finding a real estate agent that works for you is a very personal thing, everyone is going to be looking for something a bit different.
Working with Dave was great for us, because I wanted to have an agent that took time to figure out what we were looking for (Dave took an afternoon to drive us around SF and really examine neighborhoods and house types), would actively search out listings and would respond to all my questions– no matter how basic, and would really stay in communication with us. An added benefit of working with Dave was that we got to use
— a great search engine for listings. (and yes, I liked it better than just the MLS listings– mainly because you could save favorites and track changes. And it was better than redfin or trulia or zillow because it had ALL the MLs listings and wasn’t bogged down with ads and whatnot)
Before I end this recommendation– can I rant at that (insert mean word here) person who gave Dave 1 star based on a posting from Trulia in 2007? So lame. If there is one thing I have learned through the home buying process it is that it really helps to not be so cynical about agents. Don’t judge, rather question what they are saying if it doesn’t make sense to you. I would say it is a bit reckless writing one star for someone whom you don’t even know anything about.
Bottom line: less than 2 months after meeting Dave we are living in our new house, and I love it and I think we got a great deal. And really, isn’t that what it is all about?