For buyers
Pre-approved? Let’s tour Huntington Beach this weekend.
Stop refreshing Zillow. Send us your criteria and we’ll have the right showings lined up by the weekend, including coastal homes before they hit the open market.
- Combined Huntington Beach experience
- 58 yrs
- Homes sold
- 900+
- RealTrends-verified rank
- Top 1.5%
- Compass off-market access
- Yes
Your advocate
Justin runs your search. Craig backs every call.
You work directly with the people whose names are on the door, never handed off. Justin maps the market and lines up the right showings, including Compass off-market homes before they hit Zillow. Craig brings the negotiating instinct of a career that started in 1977.
Why we do it differently
A good agent saves you from the wrong houses.
In a market where homes get multiple offers and sell in about a month, touring everything wastes your weekends. We line up the right homes and help you win the one you want.
Book a tour
Tell us what you’re looking for.
Send your criteria and budget. We’ll have a tight, curated tour set up fast , only the homes actually worth your time.
- ✓A curated list of homes that actually fit your budget and must-haves
- ✓First look at coming-soon and off-market coastal inventory
- ✓Showings set up around your schedule, not ours
- ✓Straight talk on value, offers, and what it takes to win
“They showed us a home before it listed and we closed without a bidding war. Couldn’t have done it on Zillow.”
Our process
Six steps from first call to keys.
01
Strategy call
Thirty minutes to walk your timing, your numbers, and what you actually want. We don't show homes before we understand the buyer: what is non-negotiable, what is flexible, and what is a price ceiling versus a comfort number.
02
Market mapping
We pull active, pending, and recently closed inventory across the markets you care about. Compass Private Exclusives (off-market listings inside the Compass network) get folded in here, often 7 to 14 days before they hit the public MLS.
03
Showings and the numbers
Every showing ends the same way, for any home: notes on the real condition, the comparable sales written down, and the price-per-foot math run, so you compare homes on facts instead of feel. Where a home has an HOA or other special considerations, we flag exactly what to look into before you write an offer.
04
Offer strategy
We write the offer that fits the listing. Not the offer that fits a template. Cash terms, contingency structure, escrow timeline, leaseback. Justin and Craig both read every term before submission. Two sets of eyes, every time.
05
Inspections and contingencies
Inspector recommendations matched to the home (waterfront homes get marine-specialty inspectors, custom estates get structural). We negotiate credits and repairs with the comp data in hand, not gut feel.
06
Close and keys
Final walkthrough, escrow coordination, and the handoff. Most Ratowsky Group buyers stay in touch for years: a yearly equity update, a quick second opinion when a contractor quote feels off, and a referral pipeline that runs on real relationships.
Huntington Beach
Ten miles of coastline, eight distinct areas, and the right block in each one.
Where we work
Hyper-local matters more than ever in 2026.
In Huntington Beach, the right call is almost always block-level. Downtown, lot orientation can matter more than square footage. In master-planned areas, HOA rules and dues vary street to street. In some pockets, short-term-rental rules separate the buyer pool. And on the water, dock size and tides drive value. The difference between a great purchase and a regret is knowing these details before you write an offer, not after. That is the access we bring.
Questions buyers ask us
I'm pre-approved. How fast can you set up showings?
Same week. Send us your criteria and budget and we'll have a curated set of showings lined up by the weekend, with first access to anything coming-soon or off-market that fits. We don't line up everything on Zillow and call it a tour. You'll see homes that are actually worth your time.
How do you help buyers win in a multiple-offer situation?
Huntington Beach homes are averaging around three offers right now. We structure your offer around the listing's specific pressure points: price relative to the comp set, contingency terms that reduce seller risk, escrow timeline if speed matters, and escalation clauses when the seller is clearly running a best-and-final. 58 years of local negotiating across 900+ homes means we know when to hold a contingency and when waiving it is the right call.
What is Compass Private Exclusive and why does it matter?
It's a pre-market listing inside the Compass agent network, usually 7 to 14 days before the public MLS, sometimes longer in Huntington Harbour where owners move slowly. We often have showings on Private Exclusive homes before they hit Zillow. That access is how several of our buyers have bought without ever entering a bidding war.
We're selling and buying at the same time. Is that manageable?
Yes, but the sequencing matters more than most agents will tell you. The wrong order costs you the new home or forces a rushed sale on your current one. We map the timing before you talk to any lender so you know exactly which scenario keeps you in control. One team running both sides means the coordination actually happens.
Do you work with first-time buyers or only move-up and luxury?
Both. Craig has worked with first-time buyers since 1977 and there's no minimum price. We've closed everything from condos near the pier to $6.6M oceanfronts in Newport Beach. The diligence is the same regardless of price point. What changes is the market-specific knowledge we bring to each one.
Buyers, in their words
Advocates and teachers, from first showing to long after closing.
“I'm writing this review from my comfy couch in my amazing new home thinking about how I wouldn't even be here without Craig and Justin Ratowsky. They coached us through the offer process and eventually the stressful counter offers and final offers. They truly have the hearts of teachers and wanted us to feel comfortable and confident in all the micro decisions that need to be made in the buying process. It's been almost 6 months now and I just got another follow up. There's nothing in it for them anymore, the deal is long done, but they seriously care about us.”
Aaron Potter
First-time buyer, Old Town Orange
“From day one Craig and Justin went above and beyond to thoroughly research, evaluate, and secure the best property for me. As a first time home buyer, the process can be a bit intimidating, but I quickly felt relieved that Craig and Justin had my best interest in mind and made the experience extremely smooth. Their attention to detail, hustle, and determination is what made the process of buying a home enjoyable.”
Andrew Yaz
First-time buyer
“When it came to buy our dream home in Huntington Beach there was only one choice and one team. Craig Ratowsky and his son Justin Ratowsky. Buying a house when you are out of state is extremely stressful. Craig and Justin always looked for the best interest of our family and what our 'wants' were and not their 'needs.' Both Justin and Craig were on top of every appointment, transaction, and made sure our family did not just find a house but a home. In Craig and Justin we trust!”
Debbie and Josiah Huelle
Out-of-state buyers
Next step
Looking on the coast? Let's start with what you actually want.
A 30-minute call to walk your timing, your numbers, and the markets you care about. No pressure, no portal sign-up, no spam.