Kelly C. & Julie M.
We recently sold our small house in Everett and purchased a brand new home in the Lynnwood area.  Selling and buying a home is stressful and there is a lot of know and do.  However, we were fortunate that we had such an outstanding team to assist us.   Rich Tao and Shelly Baker from Keller-Williams provided excellent support and service in many ways.  They explained each step of the process thoroughly and always answered our many questions in person or via email and phone in a timely manner.  They understood what we were looking for in a new home and were able to find the perfect match for us in a short period of time.   They were really fun to work with too.  We highly recommend that anyone who is looking to buy and/or sell choose Rich and Shelly as your real estate agents.

Sunny B
My wife and I are very much pleased with the help we received from Rich in purchasing our second home in Seattle. After telling him our budget and our purpose of owning the second home, Rich helped us narrow our options. He was very objective in selecting potential houses for us. With every new listing, he wrote down for us the pros and cons so that we would not waste our time. While it took us over 4 months to obtain our dream home, Rich was patient and very professional. He never put pressure on us to make our purchasing decision. When we located our dream home, he put together an offer that fits our budget, and he skillfully negotiated our price that resulted in huge savings for us. With Rich's outstanding service and assistance, we finally made our purchase in early 2012. We told Rich that for sure he would be our agent for life. We highly recommend Rich Tao to all Zillow readers looking to buy a home in Seattle area.

Hermann A.
My company provided me with a realtor as part of my relocation package to the Seattle area. Being already a home owner, I knew the headaches associated with purchasing a home. The company’s realtor seemed nice at first, but I quickly discovered that he “took me for granted” as he made no effort to listen to my needs nor concerns. Somehow, I got the feeling that he was doing me a favor; he was wrong!  Fortunately for me, I was introduced to Rich Tao (Rich) by a current colleague. I have shared with Rich my goal of finding an apartment, then familiarize myself with the various areas prior to deciding on a specific area where to settle. Rich was very glad to help me with my search despite knowing I would not close for about a year. He provided me with leads on apartment complexes. This started to cement what I now know to be fact regarding Rich. Rich has a deep knowledge of the home buying process as he proactively takes care of all issues, obvious or hidden, big, but most importantly all the small ones. The beauty of working with Rich is his ability to differentiate between what was said from what was meant. As it is true that a picture is worth thousands words. Rich has the gift of turning a thousand home showings into one dream home. I would recommend my friend Rich over any other realtor. Any day.

Sharon C.

Dear Rich:  Thank you so much for your help in searching for, negotiating on, and finally closing on my house! Your advice and expertise were invaluable in buying this home. When I initially started looking for a home, several friends suggested going through an online real estate site. They were so wrong! Not only were you able to show me homes before they were posted on the online sites, but you were always on the ball when it came to juggling the scheduling, showings, inspections, and completing the transaction. Your use of the online tools which allowed me to view, filter through, and select prospective houses saved a lot of time (and gasoline) and is just one example of your saavy. Plus, your talent in negotiations and knowledge of the real estate market made you a winner every time amongst the competing offers! And for the times when the transactions had difficulties, I really appreciated your adeptness and competence at managing the problems without hesitation. You were a great agent to work with and I really appreciate your patience and suggestions throughout the entire process. I highly recommend you to my friends, colleagues, and anybody else looking for a really good real estate agent. This house is a major purchase in my life, and I am very happy to have had you representing me. 

Chris & Rita Brown - Kirkland, WA
The constant updating throughout the buying and selling process is much appreciated. This is our fifth deal working with Shelly. Even the complex/difficult deals were handled smoothly and efficiently. We look forward to working with her now and in the future.

Rodney & Jenny
My fiancee and I were very grateful to have Rich as our real estate agent. We both recently migrated from different cities and were not familiar with the Seattle housing market or the neighborhoods. Rich took the time to educate us on anything and everything about Seattle and the surrounding areas, including the school districts, night life and ease of commutes. Rich took the time to grasp exactly what we were looking for and was extremely patient with us as he helped us shop for our first home. There is no question that we will refer Rich to friends and family as his professionalism, attentiveness, and eagerness to help made our experience an extremely positive one.

Andrew & Kim Jeffers - Shoreline, WA
Shelly really made an effort to address all of our concerns through the sale and purchase process. She did a wonderful job and we would recommend her again and again. 

Amy and Ray Q.
Rich is a very knowledgeable and reliable Realtor who went above and beyond in order to make sure that we were satisfied with our purchase. As a first-time buyer in a tough market, Rich was very patient and took the time to answer the questions we had regarding all aspects of buying a home. He was very prompt and thorough when called or emailed, and he took the extra time to help us find the property we had always wanted. We highly recommend Rich as a Realtor. He is very hard-working and dedicated, and will cater to your needs as a seller or buyer.

Mrs. Lee
Dear Rich, I want to thank you for helping me to find a beautiful home in Bellevue. You are an outstanding Realtor. I was most impressed with your knowledge of the market, promptness to respond by e-mail/phone, resolution of my concerns, taking care of issues, and thoroughness in the purchasing process. In addition to your professionalism, I most appreciated that you cared not only about my transaction, but also about me as a person. You have such a pleasant personality; it was a delightful experience to have you as my agent. You have my highest approval and I would recommend you to any home buyer.

Noah S.

Rich has a great team of professionals who helped me to close my deal on-time and to my satisfaction. Even when the other agent and her sellers were being difficult and uncooperative, Rich was reassuring and gave me confidence that everything would turn out alright. He was responsive and professional, and delivered the service and guidance that I needed at the right time. I give him my highest level of approval for customer service, reliability, and honesty and highly recommend him.

Angel W.
I have been highly satisfied with Rich's no-nonsense approach and honesty in real estate. It was easy to work with him, and he was always available to give his straightforward and professional opinion. He also had a keen sense of matching me with the right home by weighing my wants against my buying abilities. Rich was extremely patient throughout the whole process, and the result is my great enthusiasm as a home owner! I owe it all to his highly skilled guidance, precision, thoroughness, and coordination of the whole transaction and buying process. I would undoubtedly recommend Rich to any future home buyer!

My D.
As my Realtor, I give Rich Tao my highest recommendation. Through it all, he has always been on my side, answering my questions and making sure that we would take care of the many problems and issues that may arise in a transaction. Rich will go out of his way to take care of you. He cares not only about your transaction, but about you as a person.

Arthur and Jenny H.
I wanted to thank Rich for everything he did to make my home sale in Kirkland so pleasant. I was incredibly impressed with his knowledge, professionalism and amazing attention to detail. His fliers and listing were done very well. With the open house on the opening weekend, we were able to get our full asking price, and move on to moving into our new house. We would highly recommend Rich to anyone who needs help to sell their house at a fair price quickly.

Mike and Lisa Y.
In a time when customer service standards are not always held to a level they should be, we were highly impressed with Rich’s level of communication and professionalism. He was always just a phone call or email away and answered all of our questions thoroughly and promptly. He was hardworking, honest and patient, and always went above and beyond for us. Rich took our requirements very seriously and we always felt comfortable knowing that he was giving 110% in helping us reach our goals. He held other key players in the process to the same standards and that truly made all the difference for us. Without Rich Tao, we believe we wouldn’t have found the home we wanted, in the timeframe and ease that we did. We highly recommend Rich Tao for all Realtor needs and will be absolutely working with him in the future.

Andy I.

As a first time homebuyer new to the area, the task of purchasing a new home seemed daunting. I needed a Realtor who was not only willing to guide me through the process of purchasing a home, but also one very familiar with the Seattle area. As a student, I needed a Realtor who would have the patience to coordinate the process with my parents living two states away. I was referred to Rich Tao as someone suited to the task and consider myself fortunate to have been able to work with him. I was impressed first and foremost by the level of Rich’s professionalism. Rich was always available by phone or email and prompt to respond. He was always attentive to my parents and my concerns and requirements, highly knowledgeable about the local market, honest, and worked hard to help us in searching for a home. On finding what would be my new home, Rich did an excellent job guiding my parents and me through every step of the purchasing process. He made every effort in working with other parties involved in the process to smooth out what could have been a stressful experience. Rich did a great job for me and I would definitely work with him in the future. I highly recommend him as a Realtor.

Maribeth P.
I just finished purchasing my new home in Seattle.  The Refined Realty Group was there for me through the whole process.  It was a very complex short sale deal which required a lot of patience and much waiting.  They were calm when I was not, and very communicative with the other Realtor as well as my mortgage broker.  It had many moving pieces trying to come together and it did!  We ended up negotiating a fantastic deal on the house with the banks and I moved in with instant equity.  Many times during the deal I was ready to pull out because of the frustration level, but they continued to encourage me and work the close of the house.  I am very grateful for what they did.  They know their craft and I already have referred people to them and will continue to do so.  Their style and professionalism is beyond reproach!

Kenny R.
Thanks to Rich & Shelly at the Refined Realty Group, the daunting process of buying a home was made smooth and stress-free.  Their promptness, quick action, kindness, and experience was crucial in our offer being accepted from a pool of multiple offers for a property that had a lot of interest as soon as it was listed.  Their experience and attention to detail also helped tremendously through inspection, requesting fixes, and the entire closing process.  They are very pro-active in their guidance, super prompt with correspondence, and great communicators.  I honestly don't know what I would have done without them. 

John L
Rich and Shelly compliment each other perfectly; they taught me you really need more than one person to do this job well, especially in this fast-paced market.

Rich has in-depth knowledge and always responds thoroughly and quickly. He is excellent at explaining even the most complicated subjects. My favorite are his comps; instead of sending you some PDF with a bunch of jargon you don't fully understand like other agents, he writes e-mails explaining what and how properties he's found are comparable.

Also, Shelly is very knowledgeable, personable, and always ready to show same day! I saw a property late on a Friday and she was able to draft and submit an offer for me within a few hours. You want speed and expertise? You definitely have to go with Rich and Shelly.

Michael and Laurel A.
Rich Tao and Shelly Baker from Keller-Williams came highly recommended and it is easy to see why. Shelly and Rich were extremely informative, realistic, and supportive every step of the way. Always timely with responses, effortlessly eager to answer every question in detail, Shelly and Rich are stellar examples of professionalism and dedicated customer service. They were patient with us - first time home buyers - and after 4 months of searching for the right home at the right price, we found our perfect little property we’re proud to call home. Even after finding what we wanted, Rich and Shelly went above and beyond to negotiate with the seller, bank, etc to ensure we received the best price possible. I could not imagine a more perfect experience than these awesome individuals provided throughout the process.

Laura L
Shelly was absolutely a pleasure to work with.  She was very patient and fun.  She knows Seattle very well, and quickly understood what we were looking for.  My husband and I have told everyone we know who is house hunting about her.

Anne L
As an out-of-town buyer, I relied on a professional, knowledgeable and patient Realtor to guide me on my search for a home.  I have to admit, the process can be daunting and it's not easy to know who to trust, especially given mediocre past experiences with Realtors.  I was exceedingly fortunate to be referred to Rich.  I most valued his directness and honesty.  His experience allowed us to use his proven tips and strategy, which resulted in us finding a great property at a great price.  I probably wasn't the easiest buyer he's worked with, but Rich was so patient and nice and I always knew that he had my back.  As a client for life, I've got your back, Rich, and you've got all of my referrals!

Patrick & Naomi
Shelly found time at all kinds of odd hours to help us. She was very patient with us as we took a while to find the right place. Shelly was very personable and down to earth. She made the home buying experience for us first timers easier than we thought it would be. We would definitely recommend her to others...in fact, we already have.

Courtney D
As a first time home buyer, I of course went to Facebook to look for a referral for a Real Estate Agent. Shelly came highly recommened from and old friend and so I reached out to her. Shelly immediately responded saying she was happy to help and feel free to call/text/email any time. As I worked throught the process she was patient and didn't try to 'close' me into using her but rather was attentive enough to know she wanted to help me. Shelly is extremely knowledgeable about the process, very direct and open to feedback on the places she sent. When it came time to make and offer, she walked the the process with me, to ensure I was comfortable and negoiated a sweet deal for us. I would strong recommend Shelly as your Real Estate Agent in your next buying or selling process!!!

Ann L
I was very impressed with the services provided by Shelly Baker and Rich Tao when selling my house. As an out-of-town owner, there were many things I needed assistance with when getting my house ready for market. Shelly and Rich went above and beyond my expectations and took care of problems before I was even aware there were any issues. I really appreciated their patience and their clear communications. Although I'm not in the market for a house at this time, I know that when it comes time to buy, Shelly and Rich will be my agents.

Diana A
Great experience! Shelly and Rich were very friendly and knowledgeable and took the fear out of buying my first place.