I have used Bob Maes as my realtor since 1995 on 8 buy/sell real estate transactions. His has an encyclopedic knowledge of the local real estate markets in coastal N. County San Diego. It sometimes felt that if I randomly picked out a house on any street that Bob would know the history of it off the top of his head. This knowledge helps as he has an unerring instinct for what the price needs to be, for both the buyer and the seller, in any transaction. As a seller, he set my expectations appropriately and my houses sold quickly. As a buyer, he ensured I got a good deal. Most importantly for me is that Bob gets deals over the finish line. When I was selling, he qualified the buyers and worked with them to get the deal closed. There were no false starts. Similarly as a buyer, he qualified the sellers and steered me away from sellers who weren't serious. Lastly I believe what sets Bob apart from other realtors is his professionalism. He is accessible, he is prepared for our meetings, he lives up to his commitments and he always gives you the straight story. The story of the last places I sold and bought with Bob exemplified the reasons I use him. My house had unexpectedly sold in about 3 days, for a great price, and the buyer insisted on a 30 day close of escrow. I was unprepared to move that quickly and thus needed to find a place to buy and move into in less than 3 weeks. On top of that I was out of town on my honeymoon. Bob took charge. I flew back into town on a Sunday morning. He knew where I wanted to buy and what I would like. He did exhaustive research on the options in that area and when I walked off the plane he took me a a whirlwind home tour. I made an offer that day, closed escrow on the house I was selling and moved in to my new place within 3 weeks. Bob was there every step of the way and made sure that everything fell into place. I recommend that anyone looking for a home in coastal N County San Diego use Bob Maes as their realtor.