My home buying experience with James from home search to closing and beyond went above and beyond my expectations. Before signing on with James, I had been casually browsing the real estate market for about 3-4 months in search of my first home. I had a pre-approval from a lender and wanted to wait until I was ready to put in an offer before before signing on with an agent - not a small decision to make for anyone.
Although he was a newer agent, I had known James for about 10 years and knew he was a stand up, hard working individual. Rather than just sign on with someone who had "settled in" to their career, I decided to go with James knowing that his energy and enthusiasm to get me into a home would be unmatched.
After speaking with the listing agent of a home I liked prior to signing on with James, I knew that I had to act quickly and decisively. A few days before offers were to be reviewed, I asked James to work as my agent and that same day we drafted up and submitted an offer. This was just the first instance of James coming through for me.
About a week later, we got the good news: our offer was ACCEPTED! Into escrow we went. However, we soon hit a snag with my lender who offered a rate that was anywhere from 0.3% - 0.5% higher than market. Having worked with this lender for months, I was stressing out over potentially losing this home. Once again, James came through for me: He set me up with a lender he worked with, Alex of NAL Financial, to get me a killer rate 0.5% lower than what my previous lender had offered, thus saving me tens of thousands of dollars over the course of my loan. Incredible!
Throughout the shortened 28-day escrow, James and his team guided me through the DocuSign process (and the mountains of paperwork) and especially the inspection process. James was able to come through a third time, not just easing my concerns about some patch up work that needed to be done, but also negotiating a brand new AC as a part of the contingency package. With that last hurdle taken care of, I finally got the keys to my first home!
The close of escrow is where the agent-client relationship usually ends. However, James is different and here's where he goes above and beyond: After closing, he took my family out to celebrate at Kang Ho Dong Korean BBQ (Google it if you're not aware of this sorcery!) and is currently helping me with the last pieces of my furniture shop. Seriously, just unbelievable service.
Honestly, I cannot think of someone other than James guiding me through the purchase of my first home. As my story tells, he just went above and beyond what is expected of a real estate agent. There were unexpected speed bumps along the way but James made sure we overcame them and with plenty of time left in escrow to spare. There are many choices out there, but I can guarantee you that James is someone who will not only make your home buying process successful, but memorable as well. To James, Alex and Julie: Thank you for everything!!! read more