Poolside Realty

Russell and John have been a dream team to work with. I have bought and sold two properties with Poolside Realty, going back twenty years. They are quick to suggest ideas and respond to any questions or random thoughts bouncing in my head. They are the voice of reason and have looked out for my best interests and helped negotiate the best prices. I consider them good friends. highly recommend !

We were referred to Russell and John at Poolside Realty while dealing with our uncle’s estate in 2024. The house was located in the Warm Sands neighborhood of Palm Springs and though it was in a desirable location, there was a lot of work that needed to be done to get it on the market. John and Russell were the best resource for us and put so much thought into the payoff for the updates they recommended we make and referred us to great contractors. The updates came out lovely and they were right on with the pricing. We’re so lucky to have gotten in contact with John and Russell and would absolutely recommend them for anyone looking to buy or sell in the area.

I recently had the pleasure of working with Poolside Realty in Palm Springs to list my dad's condo in Villa Alejo as part of his estate, and I couldn't be more impressed with their service. From the very beginning, John and Russell were incredibly attentive to our needs, showing a level of patience and understanding that made a difficult process much easier to navigate. They were always available to answer my questions, providing clear and informative guidance every step of the way. What truly stood out was their deep knowledge of the Palm Springs real estate market, which helped us to price the condo effectively and attract the right buyers. The entire experience was seamless, and they went above and beyond to ensure we felt supported. I wholeheartedly recommend Poolside Realty to anyone looking to buy or sell property in Palm Springs. They are truly wonderful to work with! ~Pam A

We were referred to Russell and John at Poolside Realty while dealing with our uncle's estate in 2024. The house was located in the Warm Sands neighborhood of Palm Springs and though it was in a desirable location, there was a lot of work that needed to be done to get it on the market. John and Russell were the best resource for us and put so much thought into the payoff for the updates they recommended we make and referred us to great contractors. The updates came out lovely and they were right on with the pricing. We're so lucky to have gotten in contact with John and Russell and would absolutely recommend them for anyone looking to buy or sell in the area.

My spouse and I wanted to sell our Palm Desert getaway home and Russell/John came highly recommended by a good friend. Our case was unique because we live in the SF Bay area 450 miles away, so we relied heavily on Russell/John to get us to the finish line. Our whole experience was excellent from start to finish. Always available to take our call and frequently communicated updates. Our place was fully furnished, but they added the special touches to take it to the next level. I can only say that this was absolute pleasure to work with Russell. His professional approach, market knowledge, listening skills and making things happen even when almost impossible allowed us to find the right person for our place. On behalf of all my family we would like to thank you from bottom of our hearts for all your effort, fantastic service, benchmark customer approach and your fantastic expertise in the property market. The whole experience was exceptional. Anyone who needs to find place to live - there is no better service than this one offered by Poolside Realty. I would highly recommend to anyone and will definitely be using their services again in the future. A massive thank you. Kind regards, M&M

As first time homebuyers, we were lucky to find Russell and John of Poolside Realty to walk us through all the complexities of home buying. They were extremely helpful and available to us throughout the entire process and helped us to find the perfect property for our needs. They also had great advice to share and advocated for us to make sure we were able to find a property at the right price. They truly went above and beyond- I highly recommend! In this crazy market there were many times when we got discouraged but having Russell available to us to chat through options and put it all in perspective helped us move forward. I know for a fact we would not have ended up with the amazing house we have now without their support, and we are SO HAPPY we had the opportunity to work with them.

John Bevan and Russell Hill of Poolside Realty were a great team to work with when purchasing our condo in Rancho Mirage, CA. Conducting real estate transactions during the COVID pandemic came with special challenges, which this team helped us navigate adeptly. Timing was everything with this transaction and John and Russell were there at every important milestone, encouraging the sellers and the escrow company to act when things needed to be done and making sure we understood the myriad of documents we were signing. We appreciated their industry knowledge, excellent and prompt communication skills, intelligence and empathy!

As first time home buyers, we weren't really sure what we were doing or how we should be doing it. We got incredibly lucky and found Russell early on, and we can't imagine making it through this process without him. Russell was patient and positive from beginning to end, no matter how many ridiculous questions we asked him. Don't let his calm demeanor fool you, he's a shark when he needs to be! We were amazed at how quickly he got answers from sellers, other agents, and everyone else we had to deal with. His recommendations were always spot on, from loan officers to inspectors, and everything in between. It was truly a pleasure having him along for our crazy ride. Thanks Russell! We couldn't have done it without you!

I met Russell years ago when I was considering buying a house in Palm Springs when he sold RE there. That never materialized but he was so nice and helpful I felt a loyalty to him. Fast forward 6 years to the spring of 2016 when I was looking to purchase a home in the East Bay. There was no question that I wanted to work with Russell again and he did not dissapoint. I am currently getting ready to move into the home he successfully helped me get in this crazy market. I can't recommend and thank him enough. So if you are reading this, stop and call Russell, you just found yourself an awesome agent.

Russell and John of Poolside are amazing, truly! My experience with their expertise and willingness to go above and beyond in both showing properties and being a friendly and strong advocate on behalf of their clients, was fantastic. All the layered details of purchasing a home were handled with a high level of professionalism and ease.

Russell was the BEST to work with. I highly recommend him. He was incredibly patient, and guided me through over a year of searching for my home. He gives great advice, and really knows the market. He is realistic about what price needs to be bid to win a place, but he is also careful not to push you to overbid. His goal is to get you into the right house, and he has endless amounts of patience and empathy for the process. He was just GREAT. Patient, trustworthy, knowledgeable, and honest. I should add that I was looking for a place while living out-of-state and he was diligent about going to see places for me - sending me the information and photos that I needed to make a decision. I truly believe that Russell's goal was to ensure that I was in the right home, and there were several times when he prevented me from overbidding, even though it would have secured the place (but at more than I should have paid for it) and ended the search (for him and for me). Russell will work FOR you in this crazy market. He pulled together a few offers for me (which I won, but couldn't move forward with for various reasons) with very little notice, and he proved to me that he is very strategic, and excellent at executing bid strategy. I found that he is also on very target when estimating the final selling price for a home. He is an honest real estate broker who is truly looking out for his clients' best interest, and will go a above and beyond for you. Even after the purchase of my home, Russell continued to reach out to help me and guide me as much as possible. He helped me set up the house for the renovation, found me a great cleaner, and continues to give great advice about how to rent it out, along with recommendations for services in the area. I would 100% work with Russell again, and can recommend him to anyone looking for a place in the East Bay.

I cannot say enough positive things about our experience with Russell and Red Oak. We met with 5 different realtors in deciding who to work with in selling our home in the Oakland Hills, and felt in good hands with Russell immediately. He was calm and balanced and made it easy for us every step of the way, with a thorough understanding of the real estate industry. Follow up was outstanding and he was always available. Most of all, it was FUN working with him! He actually personally helped landscape our yard and we had a glass of wine on the deck afterwards. So happy with our decision to work with Russell and Red Oak.

Russell is an amazing real estate agent. We contacted him based on a Google search for a particular property which he offered to show us. Even though that property did not meet our needs as an investment property, he kept up the search until he was able to find a couple of properties that did match our expectations. This was done even though we did not formally sign on to him or his agency. His knowledge of the Oakland Uptown area was invaluable and really helped us secure the exact investment property we were looking for. Once we submitted our offer he was in constant contact with the selling agent and forwarded us emails daily with updates or paperwork to sign. He showed the property to us numerous times at whatever times fit our personal schedules. The extremely short closing, 10 days, went very smoothly due to Russell's constant efforts in dealing with a less than responsive seller's agent. We would definitely contact Russell when we are ready to seek out another investment property. His low key approach is quite reassuring while not being at all "pushy". It was truly a pleasure working with Russell!

Russell did a fantastic job representing us in our recent sale in Rancho Mirage. He is quite familiar with all the communities in the Coachella Valley, and constantly kept us appraised of the evolving real estate market, so he could sell our home at the optimum level possible. Having been involved in hundreds of real estate transactions throughout my career I feel Russell did a superb job and I would rate him as one of the most thorough, kind and effective agents I've ever encountered.

I recently used Poolside Realty to sell my beloved home of 20 years in Alameda in the East Bay. This was my seventh sale or purchase of a home, and I can unequivocally say that John and Russell have been the best realtors I've ever used. They made some brilliant decisions to perk up the house in such a way that it literally glistened for the open house visits. They took the time to focus on details and brought in a stellar painting crew and even more stellar staging crew. They checked in with me every step of the way. They were professional, responsive, present for every house visit during COVID times; they answered any questions and used just the right prompts to inspire more bids. They even offered home grown grapefruit and tangelos to prospective buyers. And, wow, the photos and video posted of the house perfectly illustrated its best angles. This attention to detail and the step-by-step check-ins makes them the best. John coordinated the work at the house, greeted prospective buyers, watered my yard, and even checked my mail! Russell got the website up and took care of the small mountain of paperwork that goes along with every sale. They even included a little map that showed all the conveniences of the neighborhood. It is rare in the extreme to get this kind of quality for the value of the services. Most of all, their kindness and consideration in helping me slowly let go of this house of 20 years was exactly the kid glove treatment I needed. They treated me like I was special, and don't we all deserve that! The result of all this effort translated into four bids well above the asking price, and far beyond my expectations. Many, many thanks to Poolside Realty and all they did for me and the sale of my home.

Russell Hill has been more than we could ever hope for as 1st time home buyers. We just closed on a home after months of looking and 2 previous serious bids, and Russell has been with us through the whole process. He walked us through each step, helped us in exploring the area to figure out the best neighborhoods to meet our needs (including many we were not familiar with to start). He did a great job of listening to what we wanted and being creative, but not pushing us any other way. Russell is tremendously knowledgeable about the East Bay- we looked at houses up and down from Richmond to San Leandro- and he answered all of our questions from financing, to neighborhood character, to what to do with fixer-uppers or duplexes--all quickly and thoroughly. When an opportunity arose to bid on a house last minute (literally within hours of bids being due), he had back up options for getting pre-approved for mortgage when our first person wasn't responding. When we found the house we eventually purchased, he had excellent recommendations for people to do inspections, repair work, even specific needs like good folks to do tile and 1920s electrical! I have nothing but high praise for Russell Hill. Going through the process of buying in the East Bay is a huge, sometimes scary undertaking, but Russell was the most gracious, supportive, and informative guide we could have imagined! With his knowledge, help, and diligence, we have purchased a house that matched all the criteria we were looking for, and with a little luck and a lot of excellent advice from him, it was below budget and without hassle! Thank you so much, Russell!

Russell just sold us our first home. We really went into the whole home purchasing process pretty clueless. Russell was honest with us, straight forward, patient, and a good listener. He's not pushy but when needed, he helped us to make necessary decisions that we felt comfortable with. He's detail-oriented and explains complex issues in laymen's terms. He's extremely punctual and responsive. Lastly, I think that Russell goes above and beyond to make sure that your sale goes through. I highly recommend him as a real estate agent. We feel like we really lucked out in finding Russell. .

We connected with Russell after reaching out to Red Oak Realty about a house on the market that they were representing. We were just starting our foray into buying our first home and we a) had no idea what we were doing, and b) had no idea what the market was like. Because of this, we felt very strongly that we had to go w/ a realtor that we could trust and rely on - and Russell fit the bill pretty much from the get go. Russell stuck through with us through our entire house-hunting experience in Berkeley and Oakland which lasted 6 months and took 6 bids before we landed our current home. He was incredibly patient with us, and despite how long it took for us to get a house (which in the Bay Area, might not have been very long in comparison), he never dropped out of communication with us. He never pressured us into submitting an offer that was exorbitant (even though many of the homes we bid on went to exorbitant bids!), and he never pressured us into looking at homes or neighborhoods we weren't interested in. Best of all, he was a firm believer that we would land a house that would fit our needs when the time was right, and his optimism made us feel like we didn't have to rush into things. Russell stayed in touch with us after we closed on the house, which was really helpful because he gave us some good contacts for plumbers, handymen etc... for work that had to be done in the house. 3 months after we closed, a pipe burst in our house, caused by shoddy renovation work that was done to the house prior to the sell (given that the pipe was behind the wall, we would never have noticed it). As new home owners, we wanted to make sure the previous homeowner paid for repairs. Russell advocated for us the whole way through and made the process relatively painless. We feel really lucky to have run into Russell early on in our home buying process - he took what could have been an crazy, painful, heartbreaking, and laborious process, and made it reasonable, level-headed and efficient! 6 months into living in our new home, we are very happy with where we are! Thanks Russell!

We had called a few realtors from ads and yellow pages,Russell was the only one who promptly returned call.Russell with no attitude at all helped us look at lots of messy stuff,until we found our ideal neighborhood and just the right amount of house for our second home.i could go on and on.

I so appreciate Russell's help in buying my home. He has great patience and is extremely thorough. He really helped me navigate many differences between the Chicago and California real estate markets. He was especially helpful in providing alternatives at the myriad decision points associated with a search and then the whole escrow process. Plus, he has a sense of humor! I recommend him unreservedly!

Working with Russell to sell my apartment was fabulous. He was my agent for the Lake Merritt Condo. He helped me every step of the way, from the start of renovation to closing escrow. He did his research and knows his stuff. Plumbers, stagers, inspection walk throughs, you name it--Russell was there to help and always went above and beyond. Plus he's kind, patient and encouraging. I trusted him and was never let down. I highly recommend him!

Russell was great to work with and very knowledgeable about the local neighborhoods. As a first time home buyer, there were a lot of gaps in my knowledge. He was able to address all of my needs and help me through all of the logistical and personal decisions that go with purchasing a first home. I would not hesitate to work with him again down the road or recommend him to anyone.

Russell helped us by our first home in Oakland and was fantastic to work with. He was always available whether we had questions or just need to talk through the many many documents involved in purchasing a home. Whenever we were concerned or needed something from the seller he handled it quickly and efficiently. He is punctual and thorough in his work and in general an all around nice guy, what more can you ask for?