Stephen Husted, REALTOR | Rainmaker Real Estate

I recently had the pleasure of working with Stephen to purchase my new home, and the experience was truly outstanding from start to finish. Stephen is an absolute expert in negotiation. He worked tirelessly to ensure I secured the property on the best possible terms. The entire process felt seamless, and I was incredibly impressed with the level of detail and professionalism his team put into preparing the property for the market. His excellent marketing strategies clearly set him apart. If you are looking for a dedicated and knowledgeable partner in real estate, Stephen is absolutely a go to realtor in San Jose. I couldn't be happier and highly recommend him!

2022 UPDATE: We worked with Stephen again and he just sold our townhouse and again I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. This is the second time we’ve worked with Stephen and I’ve never seen an agent work harder for his clients. He literally handled every detail. He was even at the flooring store helping select flooring during peak holiday season. From the staging to the marketing strategy to the photos and video tour, everything was top notch. Stephen is creative and calm and he just gets things done. He gives great advice and he doesn’t sugar coat anything. We knew this real estate market was hot, but Stephen outdid himself. To top it off, he’s hilarious. Because Stephen handled all the details and worked as a true partner with us, he made the potentially stressful situations of real estate transactions fun. I can’t imagine working with anyone else. PREVIOUS REVIEW: Stephen Husted is the hardest working real estate professional that I’ve ever met. His AMAZING negotiating skills helped us survive the most complex home purchase that you can imagine. (Foreclosure, short sale, bank take-overs, bidding wars, you name it, it happened during our purchase!) Steve never gave up on us and came up with brilliant strategies that saved the deal while amazingly keeping us in budget. We’ve been in our house more than 10 years now and I’m grateful to Steve every single day. We love our house so much and it perfectly fits our growing family. Steve was very patient when we were searching and through his network he was able to find out about great houses before they hit the market. The housing market was so volatile, I was convinced we were already priced out. But Steve never got frustrated with us in those early days and he always had a positive attitude even while being realistic and honest. The other great thing about Steve is that he’s not pushy with his clients, I never felt pressured to rush or jump on a deal. He’s calm and wise like a therapist. Over the years Steve has become a trusted advisor and friend. He connected us with a mortgage broker who has been a fantastic resource; a great property management company; and a contractor who is helping us build an ADU. I honestly can’t imagine doing a real estate deal without Steve. He’s an honest person, very funny and friendly, and will work tirelessly and creatively for you. Clearly I can go on and on and on about Steve’s great work. If you need a realtor or any kind of real estate related help, work with Steve and Rainmaker Realty. I’m not exaggerating, he’s amazing.

We only offered twice before getting accepted. Why? Stephen thinks 10 steps ahead! If you’re looking to buy in a competitive market like the Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley or surrounding areas, this is your key to getting the best deal on the right home. We have high expectations for communication and swiftness, especially with the purchase of our first home. Stephen was always communicative, realistic, urgent to act, and actively listened to us. When it came time to offer, he brought creative strategies to the table, helped us craft a plan, walked us through future scenarios so we could be ready for our next move, and was an expert negotiator. On top of all of that, he’s a genuinely nice person who truly cares about his clients finding the right home. As first time home buyers, he made the process fun, exciting, and as easy as can be. Stephen is a great realtor and will absolutely hire him as our realtor again!

We couldn't have worked with a more stellar realtor than Stephen Husted. We were referred to Stephen through a mutual connection and off the bat, we knew that working with him to find our first home in Silicon Valley/Santa Cruz Mountains would be a top-notch experience. He first leaned in to understand us personally, our goals, must-haves, nice-to-haves, and our budget. Stephen is a wealth of knowledge in the real estate realm - he truly acts as an advisor for his clients. Given that we were first-time home buyers, we had a lot to learn and he was right by our side the whole time. When it was time to submit an offer, he ensured that we were fully prepared to be competitive (within our means) and ready to pivot at any time. This landed us in a position to have our second offer accepted. His anticipation of potential challenges through the offer process, along with his expert negotiation skills put us in a very competitive position, even during this crazy market. From beginning to end, Stephen's communication was prompt, clear, frequent, and organized. We couldn't recommend him more as your next realtor!

Stephen is not just an awesome realtor but an all around great guy to work with. We first listed our condo with a different realtor two years ago and it sat on the market for almost 120 days with no bites. After recuperating, we decided to work with Stephen to list it again this past January. Due to his efforts and his network, the condo didn't even make it to market, and sold for well over asking without us even having to hold an open house. It was a night and day experience. Given that, we obviously had to go with him to purchase our new home. It was a grueling 3 months searching in South San Jose, but Stephen kept our spirits up and were able to point us towards homes he knew we would like. After many unsuccessful bids, during which time he kept us from the brink of desperation and throwing money at homes that weren't worth it, we decided to search in the East Bay. Even though this was a complete 180 and we were looking in a place he wasn't familiar with, he worked with us with no complaints, and even began making connections there. Once we finally got an offer accepted, he connected us with his preferred mortgage broker, Bryan Russel, who was great to work with as well. They worked together to walk us through the whole escrow process and made it super easy on us. Once we closed, he even recommended a great contractor who we are working with now. Stephen is the complete package--easy to work with, great communication, and an expansive network. He has a great eye and good instincts for whether or not a neighborhood or home will meet your needs, and won't hesitate to let you know if he thinks you're on the wrong path. I can't recommend him enough!