Dear Jack,
Pam and I want to thank you for being, hands down, the best real estate agent in the South Bay.
Our home languished on the weak market for six months before I contacted you. We heard every reason in the world why the house would not move: the market was too weak; the house was too “individual” – it should be all beige and blah and show no personality; we should reduce the price (we heard this constantly even after we had agreed with our realtors price ranges); we should remove all the furniture; there was too much competition from new construction (even though our home was over 400 sq. ft. larger than any other home being listed); etc., etc., etc.
When our six month listing agreement with our Shorewood agent was finally coming to an end, I began to search the web for another realtor. I was not seeing anyone on line that seemed like they would be noticeably better, with the exception that many realtors did not insist on having a long term listing agreement.
Then I came upon your website. The information you provided on line gave excellent insights into the South Bay housing market and generally how to move homes in a sluggish economy (without slashing the price to unacceptable levels.) Your practice of setting up individual websites to feature each of your listings struck me as being very aggressive and innovative, so I called and left a message on your voicemail.
In a very short time, you returned my call and had already researched my property on line and had a firm command of all the comps in the area. You told me that because I still had a few days to go on my prior listing agreement, ethically, you would have to wait to physically view the property. You told me that there would be no formal term to our agreement and that if we decided to use your services we could end the relationship at any time for any reason.
When we met, you quickly convinced Pam and I that our home could sell in the down market by employing creative and aggressive internet marketing techniques and by setting a sell price that would maximize our profit while being realistic for the market place. You took us through what we should expect once we received and accepted a bid on the house, and told us that you would handle all of the negotiations and paperwork so that we only had to make the final decisions.
I had planned to keep our options open at that first meeting, but by the time we were done talking, Pam pulled me aside and said there was no need for us look any further. We were both convinced at that first meeting that you were the agent that could sell our house for us. And so you did.
I called Pam from work the morning after you listed the house. The sign had been delivered, and oh, by the way, someone had already brought a client by to look at the house. When I got home in the afternoon, Pam told me that the same client had called and asked to come back out that afternoon to take another look. This was exciting for both of us since we only had about 10 or 15 people come to see the house in the entire six months of our previous listing. While we were having dinner, you called to say we had an offer. We countered that same night for a price you recommended and the buyer accepted. THE HOUSE SOLD IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS.
Of course, accepting the bid was just the beginning. The couple that bought our house were first time buyers and were very demanding. They ordered many follow up inspections, and wanted significant concessions to the price as we went through the closing process. I was prepared to meet most of their demands, but you convinced me that we were being too generous. Following your advice on the negotiations with the buyer saved us from giving up tens of thousands of dollars in concessions on the final sell price.
There were numerous stumbling blocks to closing the escrow on schedule. You resolved every problem quickly and made sure the process remained on track. You even helped the buyer’s agents resolve some problems on their end that were jeopardizing a timely closing.
I am going on and on, so let me wrap this up succinctly. YOU ARE THE MOST CREATIVE, EFFECTIVE, HELPFUL, DEDICATED AND PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE AGENT WE HAVE EVER MET. YOU WERE SINGLEHANDEDLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TIMELY AND PROFITABLE SALE OF OUR HOUSE IN A HORRIBLE MARKET ENVIRONMENT. WE CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP AND WE UNCONDITIONALLY RECOMMEND YOUR SERVICES TO ANY HOMEOWNER LOOKING TO SELL THEIR HOUSE.
Thank you again for all your hard work.
Best regards,
Tom and Pam Reiter
