A Bay Area REALTOR® · people first
Every move is a sequence, not a leap.
I'm Michael Fielden. Whether you're buying your first home or selling one you've raised a family in, I walk you through the Bay Area market one step at a time: clear answers, careful reading, zero pressure, from the first conversation to the day the keys change hands.
Two ways to start
I'm selling a home.
Fifteen steps in seven phases, from choosing your agent to the day the proceeds land in your account. What it really costs, how the price gets picked, and which prep earns its money.
- 1 Foundation
- 2 Price
- 3 Prep
- 4 Market
- 5 Offers
- 6 Escrow
- 7 Close
I'm buying a home.
Fifteen steps in five phases, from the first sit-down to the morning you get your keys. Every form you'll sign and every deadline you'll hit, explained before it happens.
- 1 Foundation
- 2 Find It
- 3 Dig In
- 4 Make the Move
- 5 Close It Out
Selling one home to buy the next?
That's the most common move I guide, and the order of operations matters more than anything in either playbook. We map both timelines as one.
What working together looks like
You bring the goal. I bring the playbook.
Plain language. Honest analysis. A steady hand through every form, every report, every deadline, on either side of the deal.
Step 01
A 45-minute sit-down
Coffee, video, or phone. You ask everything. I answer everything. Buying, selling, or weighing both at once. No pitch, no pressure.
Step 02
Take home your playbook
Buyers leave with Your Path Home. Sellers leave with Your Path to Sold. By our next conversation, you know the shape of what's ahead.
Step 03
We get to work
Buyers: pre-approval, search, disclosures, offer, close. Sellers: pricing, prep, launch, offers, escrow. Every step has a deadline. I track all of them.
People, not properties
The home is the punctuation.
The people are the story.
I'd rather show you who I've helped than what they bought or sold. Every transaction starts with a real conversation about what you actually need, and ends with the right move, made well.
Meet the families →13+
years guiding Bay Area buyers and sellers
2
free playbooks, one for each side of the deal, every step in writing
21 to 40
typical days from accepted offer to closing day
3
non-negotiable rules I hold every transaction to
Where I work
The neighborhoods I know best.
Twelve close to home below. The full list runs across Santa Clara, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Alameda counties.
Santa Clara Co.
Cambrian
Santa Clara Co.
Campbell
Santa Clara Co.
Los Altos
Santa Clara Co.
Los Gatos
San Mateo Co.
Menlo Park
Santa Clara Co.
Mountain View
Santa Clara Co.
Palo Alto / East Palo Alto
San Mateo Co.
Redwood City
Santa Clara Co.
San Jose
Santa Clara Co.
Santa Clara
Santa Clara Co.
Sunnyvale
Santa Clara Co.
Willow Glen
For you to take home
Two playbooks. Every step in writing.
Your Path to Sold
The whole listing in 24 pages. What it costs to sell, how the price gets picked, and what happens week by week until the wire lands.
Your Path Home
The whole buying process in 24 pages. Every form, report, and deadline translated into plain language you can hand to a friend.
From the journal
What I'm reading, watching, and writing.
August 8, 2026
Selling and buying at the same time, without losing sleep
The three ways to sequence a sell-and-buy move: sell first with a rent-back, buy first, or write contingent, and how to pick the right one for your situation.
August 7, 2026
Living in your home while it's listed: the realistic version
The reset routine, the go-bag, the scent rule, and what to do with kids, pets, and video calls. Two to four weeks of show-ready, made survivable.
When you're ready