When Kristen von Bargen was a travel consultant in Alameda, she remembers a client who planned his perfect vacation: a ski getaway in Aspen.

He knew what kind of hotel he wanted. What kind of slopes he hoped to tackle. What kind of restaurants his girlfriend liked.

She listened closely, then switched the search criteria just enough; for a few hundred dollars more, she found, he could have everything on his checklist.

In the Swiss Alps.

“Turns out he was more of a Swiss Alps kind of guy,” Kristen says with a grin.

She approaches real estate in much the same way, helping her clients to get the best possible results. "To get them the biggest bang for the buck, so to speak!"

Kristen’s first home purchase shaped her client service philosophy. Even though she already knew the neighborhoods, did her own research and followed the housing market, she soon realized she needed an expert to guide her through what can be a complicated process.

She noticed the splashy ads on bus benches, the professional head shots in the local newspapers and the prestigious realty firms that lined her streets. So how to choose...

“I wanted someone smart,” she says. “But nice, and easy to work with. With a commanding knowledge of everything real estate. Yet able to explain things to me in a way I could understand. And maybe even a little bit fun.

“Is that too much to ask?” she laughs.

 As a Realtor at Highland Partners, Kristen proves every day that it’s not.

"I strive to be the kind of Realtor that I was after!" she says. "The one that I'd want to work with."

When you choose Kristen, you will be getting a 30-year resident who knows and appreciates the many pocket neighborhoods that make up the EastBay. A mom who knows the best school districts. A professional who keeps on top of all the fine print so you don’t have to.

And a surprisingly tough advocate. Her clients swear she's a born negotiator. 

That may have started during her traveling days haggeling at the bazaar!

She spent years researching the cafes of France, the beaches of Tahiti and the beer gardens of Germany in an effort to find the perfect place to call home. This -- even having spent her childhood in idyllic Carmel, Calif. -- led her to realize the many treasures that make up the East Bay, and to call it home.

“This area offers the best of all worlds. You can do anything here – meet people from all walks of life, enjoy any country’s cuisine, ski one day and head to the beach the next.” she says. “Keep horses on a few acres and still be downtown in five minutes.”

One of Kristen’s favorite parts of being a Realtor is helping to match people with the right home, in the right spot. And unlike booking fabulous vacations, these are spots they don’t have to ever leave!

“You can create your own oasis,” she says. “I really believe every day should feel like a vacation.”