Kelly Anne C.
If I had to summarize the traits we looked for in a buyer's agent, i would say thoughtful, knowledgeable, meticulous, and attentive without being pushy. Alex exceeded our expectations in every single one of these categories.
Let me start off by saying I'm a complete real estate nerd. First, I'm a Bay Area native, whose family weekend pass time was visiting open houses. Even when we weren't on the market for a house, visiting open houses to gather design inspiration and understand comps was perceived as fun family bonding time. Second, part of my career was assisting a real estate area in the SF area. Third, I thoroughly enjoy assisting family and friends with property management. Last but not least, I purchased a place of my own in the Peninsula in 2014. Needless to say, I would categorize myself as an inquisitive and curious buyer that's knowledgeable about the area I grew up in and lived in for the last 30 years. All aspects of real estate fascinate me but because I have been surrounded by it my whole life, I think my family and I know a bit more than your average buyer.
That being said, when it came to buying the first house my husband and I would own together, where we would build our family, Alex took GREAT care to ensure we were clearly guided through every step of the way. This started from the search process, through the especially complex negotiation, the rent back period, the close and even move-in!
THE SEARCH:
We weren't just sent generic listings from a listserv. As someone who obsessively monitors the market, it's kind of a pet peeve of mine when someone just runs a general search and plugs in generic parameters in the hope that while bombarding you with search results, something "will eventually stick". He took time to carefully curate only the properties he felt we might be interested in and detailed why each property he felt hit some of our "must haves". Some of these listings he had insight to even BEFORE they hit the MLS!
WHEN WE FOUND THE ONE:
Admittedly, because our family is so real estate obsessed and to be fair, the house we ended up falling in love with was outside of our initial intended price range, my family found "the one" for us. Alex wasted no time to put together an offer for us. He was very forthcoming with the flaws and potential concerns he had about the house. He didn't try to downplay or push anything that might have been worry some for us. He wanted us to go into contract with eyes wide open about potential problems.
COMMUNICATION:
He made himself so incredibly available for us. My husband and I were astonished with how Alex would be up all hours of the day every single day to quickly text/call/email back to either answer our questions or gather the right answers we were looking for. 90% of messages were answered within a 15 minute window. He was extremely responsive and thorough with his responses.
TIMING:
He provided clear timelines for us and was incredibly polite while reminding us of upcoming deadlines. He always kept track of the dozens of forms we needed to complete and when they needed to be submitted. Though my family was in Asia for a month during the negotiation, he was still able to help us close on time!
NEGOTIATION:
The sellers were really attached to the house since they had purchased the house as newly weds, they raised 3 children in the home and all 3 children had moved out and have kids of their own as well. A large majority of the home had beautiful custom cabinetry that the husband had all handmade himself. For all of these reasons, it made it extremely difficult for the sellers to let the house go for anything less than asking price! Ultimately after 4-5 counters back and forth, we got the house for $169,000 under asking :) It goes unsaid that Alex's strategy with negotiation played a big factor in why we were able to close on the house.
GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND:
Alex has truly become a friend to us. He knew we threw down everything we had into this house and to even get the house was a stretch for us. He identified a neighbor that was giving away a couch for free. He took pictures, asked us with we were interested in it, picked it up, AND delivered it to our house in two trips. Words can't describe how thoughtful he was and what a pleasure it was to work with him.
Both my husband and I would recommend Alex to anyone with 100% percent confidence. Whether it's a first time home buyer or even an experienced buyer, his level of professionalism and attention to detail were fantastic and we are so grateful for him. THANK YOU ALEX!!!