We were trying to decide whether or not to try to take advantage of this crazy market by selling our home and moving to a new one in order to improve our circumstances in preparation for retirement. In order to do so, we knew what we needed to accomplish financially both by selling our present home and acquiring a new home. We originally met Jay a few years ago when he sold our neighbor's home. For reasons that made sense at the time we listed with 2 different agents (not Jay) who were both unsuccessful in selling our home for a price we were comfortable with despite the fact Jay, who had several listings in the neighborhood, seemed to be selling them. We finally took our home off the market. In the ensuing years we noticed noticed other homes in the neighborhood selling and noticed Jay's name attached to most of the sales. When we decided to try again, we immediately thought of Jay as someone with a track record of success.
Right from the first telephone conversation, where Jay remembered the details of the brief conversation we had with him 5 years ago we knew we had made the right choice to call him. He knew our neighborhood very well and in fact had sold many of the homes on our street. He is very genuine and approachable and not at all pushy. We were very impressed. We had been told by previous realtors our property was undesirable to the typical buyers in our market so were aware there might be some difficulties selling. Jay was undaunted by this.
We were in a position where we did not have to sell and would not sell if the numbers did not make sense. Jay was respectful and understanding of that fact. We told him what our financial expectations were and asked him to tell us if he could accomplish that. Jay was very forthright, discussing with us the various considerations in the market in our neighborhood specific to our property, and was completely conversant with what needed to happen in this volatile, unpredictable market in order to accomplish our goals.
We were particularly impressed when he did not commit immediately to trying to sell our property. Instead, he committed to researching the market factors specific to our situation prior to committing to being able to achieve a price consistent with our financial goals. Having had the experience in the past where a realtor listed the property for the price we wanted, then being pressured by them to drop the price again and again, we were impressed that he did not appear to be willing to do that. He soon came back to us telling us he believed we could achieve what we needed to make this work. He met with us to discuss the price we felt comfortable listing the home at. He did not try to push us into accepting a number lower than what we were comfortable with. He explained the current market and the unpredictability therein. He had done his homework based upon his knowledge and expertise, and in consideration of the factors we had shared with him that were essential to us embarking upon this course, and he recommended a number he felt was realistic, and which we were comfortable with.
Within 2 weeks, we had an offer which we negotiated on and ultimately accepted. Jay was there to guide and advise us through the process of reviewing the offer. He made sure we understood the "subjects" and gave us very good advice through the "offer/counter offer" process. He did not pressure to accept the first offer. He thoroughly analysed the offer and gave us expert advice on how to prepare our counter offer not only regarding price, but in regard to subjects and closing details. He thought of things we would not have known to consider. Suddenly, more quickly than we could have imagined, our home was sold for what we had hoped for, and we were in the thrilling/terrifying position of having to purchase a new home.
Because of the crazy way the market was escalating in our target area, we knew we needed to act quickly. In fact, even though we had researched and discussed with Jay prices in our target area prior to listing and selling our home, suddenly the market in our target area for the type of home we were seeking to purchase began to escalate even faster. Jay made himself completely available to us throughout, in person, by email and telephone. He made us purchasing a new home as quickly as possible a priority knowing the market pressures we were facing, and that our budget for the type of home and location we were targeting was going to be challenging. He made himself available anytime we wanted to go looking at homes whether open houses or booked viewing appointments. He made us aware of the need to move quickly, and supported us to do so. At each viewing he gave us sound advice about the homes we were looking at and often pointed out things we had not thought of that would have over time become issues.
We found ourselves in a situation which, without Jay, would have been frightening. We had purchased our first townhome in 1997 and "traded up" to a detached home in 2001. We were used to a scenario where you made an offer based upon comparable recent sales in the neighborhood, negotiated back and forth, and eventually agreed upon a price. Instead, we found ourselves in a situation where properties were being sold in bidding wars with multiple offers and going for significantly over the asking price. Frankly, without Jay "at the rudder" we would have been lost at sea and likely priced out of the market before we could even catch our breath.
Jay guided us with quiet confidence. He explained to us what we needed to do to be in the best possible position when offering and supported us to "do our homework" to get the necessary infrastructure in place. He understands the market, even this whirlwind we are currently in, and the challenges we were facing as a result, and made sure we were able to be competitive. He knew we needed to find a home in a short window to be able to achieve our goals before the market out paced our budget and he made us finding a new home his priority. He remained calm throughout, and did not allow us to panic or make decisions we would have later regretted just to get any house to get back into the market. He made sure we were constantly updated as to the current homes available in our target area and helped us to understand how to expand our "criteria" to capture homes that actually met our needs though the descriptors on the MLS listing may not appear to reflect that.
When we found the home we finally purchased, it had only been on the market 1 day. Jay made sure we saw the listing and made himself available for us to go see it right away. On the MLS listing, it did not look like it ticked all the boxes but Jay secondary to his experience in viewing hundreds of listings and homes, knew the descriptors might be hiding the fact the home actually had the potential to be a home that would "tick all the boxes". Based upon the "education" Jay had been providing John and I throughout the process, I knew he was correct that we should see the home. We were going to wait until the next day, but when Jay called to arrange the viewing there were already 2 other viewings arranged. Knowing the nature of the market, he accurately assessed the situation and got back to me immediately and we arranged to see it right away.
As soon as we saw the home we knew it was the one. Even at our viewing Jay had begun the process of preparing for negotiation with the sellers agent gleaning important information to enable us to make a successful offer. We offered immediately, but were in a bidding war with 2 other potential buyers. Jay's knowledge and experience were pivotal to this situation. He was able to understand the situation we were in, kept our financial goals and families needs in sight at all times, and advised us how much and how to offer to be competitive and ultimately successful. When writing up the offer, his skills were evident in the thorough comprehensive way in which the offer was structured, Even though this purchase occurred in less than 48 hours from start to finish, Jay had made sure he was completely conversant with all relavent documents and local rules and regulations, and was able to write an offer in such a way that was ultimately what led us to be the successful buyers.
We are forever grateful to Jay. We have no doubt that without him, we would not have been able to achieve either the timely sale of our property for the price we wanted/needed, nor the purchase of our dreamhome. We have no hesitation in recommending him.