Premium Properties was founded with the mission to provide Absolutely Premium service to both its clients and customers. This boutique firm is relatively small but has an enormous breadth of expertise. The company specializes in property management and leasing, as well as brokerage and development. In addition, the two partners are avid investors in the Berkeley/Oakland real estate market.

 
Sam Sorokin, Managing Partner & Broker

Sam, a bay area native, has spent most of his career working in real estate. His experience includes: sales, financing, leasing and property management. A true entrepreneur, he started his first company, Rental Solutions, while attending university. This real estate brokerage helped busy professionals, students and corporations physically locate quality rentals. This company grew into a thriving organization of four locations and forty employees, servicing hundreds of property owners and residents each year.

 While running the company Sam became an expert in the Bay Area rental market and grew to understand the vital relationship between property owners and residents. He began to invest in real estate himself. He served as an expert witness for numerous court cases and was elected as a Commissioner on Berkeley's Rent Board. There he served four years attempting to bring moderation to Berkeley Rent Control Ordinance.

In 1999, after eight years of operating Rental Solutions, Sam decided that it was time to sell the company and pursue other career opportunities. A logical next step was to further his education. He was fortunate to get accepted to the #2 Ranked, University of Michigan Ross School of Business, where he completed his Masters of Business Administration (MBA). While attending grad school he further sharpened his skills, gained a broader understanding of business, and expanded his professional and personal network, which included meeting his future wife, Iris.

Upon retuning to the Bay Area, he decided to open Premium Properties & Development to offer a much-needed class of service to the industry. His clients include both property owners who had built a strong relationship with Sam during is days at Rental Solutions, as well as property owners who were referred or had heard of Sam’s unique strategy for managing real estate. It has always been his hope that he will develop a preferred brand in property management that both residents and property owners will appreciate.

Besides providing Premium property management services, Sam also continued investing in real estate and even was the developer of mixed-use development in South Berkeley, known as the Southside Lofts, which has 10 residential condominiums over 5 retail stores.

Sam holds a B.S. from U.C. Berkeley in business administration with a minor in city planning, an M.B.A. with Distinction from the University of Michigan Business School, and a Real Estate Broker's License.

Craig Beckerman, Partner & Real Estate Broker

Craig is a California native who settled in the Berkeley/Oakland area after graduating from U.C. Berkeley. He is a licensed real estate broker who brings over 15 years of real estate experience to Premium Properties. His expertise includes sales, brokerage, property management, construction, leasing and development. 

He became interested in real estate upon moving south to attend graduate school at UCLA.  After unsuccessfully looking for an apartment to rent around school, he decided to purchase a run down triplex just blocks from Venice Beach. The property had substantial deferred maintenance and major tenant problems. But through perseverance, excellent strategy and his own sweat, he ultimately transformed the property into a beautiful oasis retreat commanding top rents and increase the value five-fold. 

His investments have since included dozens of small to medium sized real estate development projects. Some of the projects he invested in had the goal of long term income generation, while others he performed massive capital improvements to quickly “flip” them for a sizeable profit. Craig is highly skilled in the identification of under valued properties and knows how to add value through repositioning and large and small scale rehabilitations. As a real estate investor, Craig not only enjoys the challenges involved in making an investment financially successful, but also receives satisfaction from providing quality housing for the community.

He has personally restored numerous properties by himself and has become quite proficient as a builder and maintenance person. He has excellent carpentry, plumbing and hands on skills in numerous building trades.

Although he received his Master’s degree in urban planning, he decided instead to pursue a career in real estate project management. Shortly after moving back to the Bay Area, he began working for the County of Alameda Housing and Community Development Department.  For more than seven years, he served as a construction manager in the home repair program helping low income residents renovate their homes. During this time he managed several million dollars worth of home repair projects. Each project required a site inspection, determination of scope, selection of contractors and construction supervision. With individual project funds limited, he was exceptional at getting the most out of a limited budget.

In 2003, Craig decided to leave the county to pursue a career as a Realtor, while at the same time managing his growing portfolio of real estate investments. At Alpha Real Estate, he had been involved in numerous real estate transactions representing both buyers and sellers. His listings have included new construction condominium developments, multi-million dollar custom homes, apartments, fixers and numerous 2-4 unit properties. For both Buyers and Sellers he has leveraged his expertise in technology and given personalized service to provide superior results for his clients.

After five years as a full-time Realtor, he made the decision to join his long-time friend and investment partner, Sam Sorokin, to become a partner at Premium Properties. This opportunity has allowed him to not only continue his career as a Realtor, but expand his role as an investor and property manager.

Craig has a B.S from U.C. Berkeley in Economics, a Master’s Degree from UCLA in Urban Planning and a Real Estate Broker’s License.