I have spent a long time trying to figure out just how I want to articulate my review of Lisa…read more
What I will say is this- If you want a Realtor that will get you where you want to be, just go ahead and reach out to her. That's the takeaway.
If you want to know why, read on- and consider the following: I took time to write this review. Because they took the time with me. When you need to take a break reading through this, remember this fact: She did not take a break and now I own a home.
It is said that buying a home is supposed to be a fun experience. That little lie I'm sure came about when the market for homes was, I suspect reasonable, and the supply was sufficient enough that if you wanted a home and had a down payment, you would reasonably be able to have your pick of the lot and move forward.
In 2021...that is not the case.
We live in a world where cash investors make cash offers within the first 15 minutes of a house going up on Zillow/trulia/realtor/etc. and these homeowners who are looking to sell have an offer for their asking price- in cash- instantly. While you are waiting trying to get your realtor to book you a showing, the house has already been sold.
If you think it isn't that bad or that I am exaggerating, I want to let you know that I lost the first 6 houses I put offers out on within SIX hours of the listing being public.
Foolishly, I thought I could offer close to asking- I quickly started offering asking.
I then found that wasn't good enough, I had to offer above asking.
That still was not good enough and I had to offer the top of my loan letter.
Each time. Every time. I was denied. Sometimes after days of being in limbo, wondering. Sometimes they simply rejected the offer outright stating they already had a cash offer.
It was, in a word, infuriating.
"What does your bad luck have to do with Lisa?" you might be asking. That's a fair question, but it is important to first understand the type of market we are currently in. The type of person you have to have on your side to have a chance of even being considered. This market is cutthroat. It does not care if you want to start a family. It doesn't care if your lease is ending. It doesn't care.
Lisa Vanlandingham, cares.
The amount of times she was texting me/emailing me/calling me at any and all hours (with my consent prior) to get me to look at a house or submit an offer or go off a tip she got that a house would be going up at such and such O'clock is MINDBOGGLING. All this woman does is read feeds, contact her network, and she does not stop. I swear on all that can be sworn upon, Lisa Vanlandingham does not stop.
Look, I won't lie to you. The whole experience wasn't perfect. Many times I felt intense frustration and powerlessness at the whole lunatic situation of being unable to buy a house despite being ready, funded, and serious. I can't tell you how bad the fifth time I fell in love with a house, with no offers on it, and had been up for over 60 days- I can't tell you how hard it hit me when mere HOURS after I put in the first and only offer they had had- at their asking no less- that I was called to be told I was denied because a cash investor found them.
I felt like I had been punched. I wanted to give up. What was the point?
Lisa was the most compassionate person throughout the whole process- she helped me process the frustration of constantly "losing". She helped keep me focused- gave me space when I needed to cool off after getting particularly screwed on one occasion by a seller- the whole process was tumultuous at its best and outright insane at its worst- but Lisa Vanlandingham was a rock the whole way through.
The best part? It wasn't just her. Her entire team- from Laura Klein, my mortgage officer, Dana Schweim, Mary Armnet, Lisa's Husband Pat, her construction team at Duke- I had a veritable army fighting for me to get a home, and that's what it took. I left a review for many of those names- feel free to check them out too.
Despite the odds, intense and almost totally insurmountable competition, I ended up purchasing a home that I am not only intensely pleased to call my own- but extremely grateful. Because the whole thing would have been completely impossible without Lisa and her team.
Bottom line: If you want someone with finesse, craft, intelligence, real estate savvy Realtor who knows her market, her team, and her capabilities, do yourself a favor and stop wasting your time-
Give Lisa Vanlandingham a call. Buy, sell, rent or otherwise- give her a call and she will get you home.
