When we began our search for a new home, my fiancee and I had no idea where to start or who to contact. We were going to be first-time homeowners, and we were moving to a new city. After a few "recommendations" of realtors from friends that turned out to be duds, we ventured over to trulia.com. Our criteria was simple: find a highly rated realtor who serviced the Ames area. Wouldn't you know it, Mark Charter turned out to be our guy. We thought Mark's reviews were likely too good to be true, however, we decided to give him a call on a Sunday evening anyways. That turned out to be the best phone call we ever made. On a Sunday night, Mark took my call and began the discussion about what we were looking for in our new home. We were impressed with his knowledge of the area, the market, and for his invaluable suggestions on what we should do to make our home search a success. Mark never let us down, but instead met or exceeded all of our expectations. He was flexible, responsive, and persistent in helping us to find OUR home in Ames. The market was very hot, so there were days we asked to see a house with only 24 hours notice, but Mark always made it happen. After about a month of searching, we found our home! Mark gave us suggestions for financing, inspectors and anything else we were looking for. When during our final walk-through we noticed the electrial work we had asked to be completed by the previous owners had not been done, Mark assured us he would get it done. Even after the papers were signed, Mark made sure our needs were always met. Ultimately, we were glad that we chose to believe all of the amazing reviews and chose Mark Charter as our realtor. He made our first home buying experience a breeze, and above all else, made the experience about what WE wanted. We highly recommend contacting Mark Charter to help buy or sell your home. Matt and Donna read more

Sunday night at 8pm. Who answers their business phone on a Sunday night at 8pm? Mark Charter did. We had made Mark's acquaintance a couple months earlier when we planning on building our next home. Mark was courteous and congratulated us on that direction and simply said "if there's everything I can do for you, let me know". 2 months went by and while we were researching homes on-line to get ideas for our build...we found a home we had to see. We reached out to Mark on a Sunday night and requested to see the home less than 24 hours later. Mark rearranged his schedule and made time for us to do so. Instantly we knew it was the home we had to have and we wrote an offer that same night. Our transaction was not an easy one. The home was being sold via short-sale and that brought on its own complications and certain other issues on the seller's side made the process arduous at times. Throughout it all though, Mark's demeanor was calm, collected, reassuring and supportive. We needed that. Mark even had to reach across the lines and aide the seller's agent with work on THEIR side of the transcation. Working with Mark was easy. He did his work behind the scenes to make this transaction happen and kept us in the loop on the things we needed to know. Upon closing, we learned that we were the first of Mark's client to receive access to his new line of services he has arranged...the client concierge, help with moving - what a nice surprise and a great way to cap off working with Mark. We don't plan on buying a new home anytime soon, but when we do, we'll call on Mark again. Though, hopefully not at 8pm on a Sunday night :-) read more

Mark helped my wife and I find our new home in the Iowa City area recently and we couldn't be more pleased with his professionalism and high level of customer service. I work with Mark's wife and the decision to use Mark seemed like a no-brainer. My wife and I are Iowa City natives so in my mind I was really just looking for someone to let us into the houses and do the closing paperwork... We really didn't intend on being high maintenance clients, Mark. Mark made multiple trips to Iowa City because we just weren't finding what we thought was the perfect home for us. Mark did a terrific job of staying out of the way when appropriate but also knew just the right times to offer his opinion and share his experience. This led to my wife and I closing on what we feel is the perfect home for our growing family. I feel fortunate that my working relationship with Mark's wife gave me the opportunity to have Mark act as our closing agent in Iowa City. You people in the Des Moines/Ames area are lucky to have Mark available to help you. Long story short, if you live in the Des Moines/Ames area and use someone other than Mark for your real estate needs, you are missing out. Do yourself a favor and call Mark when it is time to buy or sell a home. read more

A Man comes home from work and says to his wife, "Honey, guess what?" "We are relocating to Iowa........" So what does one do when relocating? How do you find a good, no great, reputable realtor? One who is knowledgeable, one who is willing to go that extra mile to help you a) find THE house that's right for your family. b) help you get in the school district you prefer. c) help you not to lose your mind while doing this all from another state. We found all this and MORE when we found Mark Charter and Company. Mark We want to THANK YOU for being that dream Realtor!!! For personally answering that first phone call not dumping it off to an "assistant". We want to thank your whole team for being so helpful and going above and beyond in this whole relocation process! Trish has been a godsend while having to work through registering our daughter for school so she can get into a summer class, being there while we were at our closing so our bed could be delivered so we could spend our first night not on the floor : ) and helping to chase down mailbox keys!!! Thank you! read more

Short word list to describe Mark Charter: cheerful, respectful, responsive, timely, resourceful, helpful. Mark came to me as a reference from an employee where I bank, and I was grateful to have a recommendation. Mark fulfilled my expectations of one referenced to me with his professional manner and treating me with respect throughout the home-buying process with regard to every aspect that it entails. I really appreciated his quick responses to my questions, and his willingness to help me tackle potential obstacles. His personality made the experience as light and joyful as something of this magnitude and seriousness could be. Where I was stressed, he was calm and that helped. He was timely in getting me each document or piece of information I needed along the way. I also appreciated that he was not pushy, but was definitely available. Mark made my home-buying experience an enjoyable one and I recommend him. read more

Last summer, we made the difficult decision to sell our first home. Being first time sellers, we really had no idea what we were in for. We asked around and one of our friends suggested we contact Mark, and we could not be happier with our decision to buy and sell with Mark Charter. He made the process as smooth as it could be. Being the parents of 2 1/2 year old triplets, we have to stick to a pretty tight schedule. Many times, we didn't have time to talk until much later in the evening, after bed time. Mark was always willing to work with our hectic schedule. Mark is a professional in every sense of the word. From our initial meeting, we knew there was something different about the way Mark did business. We would have no hesitations buying or selling with him again. Mark is an all-around good guy that really takes care of his customers. We are happy to call Mark our Realtor and our friend. Thanks Mark! read more

Out of the eight different realtors my wife and I have used to buy and sell multiple homes in the past, Mark Charter is definitely the best one we have ever worked with. Somehow he managed to sell our home in less and than 3 days and we found the home we wanted to buy in just one day. He took the time to listen to us and find the best home that would fulfill our needs. We were amazed with how prompt Mark always was. What a good feeling to know that he will always be there at the exact time he said. The negotiation process was made simple and we trusted Mark with every last detail. Mark was helpful from the very beginning trying to list our home, to the very end....including the use of his moving truck! We would recommend Mark to anybody trying to buy or sell a home. His devotion to his clients and multiple added benefits are second to none. The Shelton Family read more

We can't say enough good things about Mark. He really succeeded in every area of our home sale. Our property was on the market for roughly two weeks. During that time, Mark secured about 14 showings which resulted in two offers at the same time. When all was said and done, Mark got us an offer for OVER asking price! We were thrilled. Mark cares about his clients. This shows in the fact that he spends his own money on professional photography to make a home look its best. He was there for us every step of the way, and he even took us out for a nice dinner when our house closed to say thanks! He is truly one of the nicest agents in the business and you can trust him completely. He is not in this for himself, he does care about his clients. If you choose any agent other than Mark, you are making a mistake! read more

Mark is a "go getter". My house was sold in a short time even with obstacles such as a language barrier. I asked his opinion often and he would tell me, but always left the final decisions to me. Looking for a new town home was usually best for me on Sunday around noon and he would make it happen for me. Mark sat with me through all the paperwork of closing on my new town home though he didn't have too. Mark and his wife opened their home for a lovely Christmas time party. What a fun chance I had to win $5000 out of 10 people, (even if I were the first name out)! The day after I closed on my town home Mark called to ask me if I liked Barry Manilow and would I like two tickets to see him. I did, and he brought them over to me. I tell everybody talking about buying or selling to use Mark. read more

When my partner and I decided to relocate to Iowa we made a list of things we needed from an agent. The 4 biggest items were responsiveness, availability, local market expertise and non-pushiness. Mark shines in all of these areas. In our first visit with Mark, I remember him saying, when we tour homes I see myself as more of a tour guide, "I take you to the homes, you look around and tell me what you like and what you don't like." That really personifies our experience with Mark. He was not pushy or over opinionated, he toured the homes with us and offered insight when we asked. He also made himself available to show us properties after hours and was easy to contact through calls or text. If you are looking for an agent who is client focused, I cannot recommend Mark enough. read more

Working with Mark Charter to purchase our first home was a very enjoyable experience. Mark was always able to address our questions and concerns, no matter how trivial they may have been. He always replied promptly to communications, even at non-work hours. At times it seemed like we'd never find the right home, but Mark showed tremendous patience and didn't rest until we found the perfect home. His knowledge of the home buying process and local real estate market brought us peace of mind. Mark truly cares about his clients, and demonstrated this to us with everything he did. Mark Charter Real Estate fully surpassed our expectations! read more

I met Mark Charter on Twitter as I was trying to sell my own home. Mark was willing to give advice on some things that would help me sell and also said he had creative ways to help if I wanted to work with him. When the time came, I listed my townhome in West Des Moines with Mark. He had an offer generated on the place in less than 10 days and helped us close in a timely manner. He then helped my husband and I buy our next home in Urbandale . Mark was easy to work with, knowledgeable and really cares about his clients. I would have no trouble telling a friend about Mark and his services. read more

As first time home buyers it was important to us that we worked with someone we could trust. Mark was honest and upfront from the very beginning. We really felt like he had our best interests in mind at every step along the way. He was able to consistently put things in perspective for us throughout the process, and he was always willing to answer questions; day or night. When you work with Mark, any decision you make is guaranteed to be a well-informed one. In the end, we got a great deal on a great house and Mark made it happen. read more

Mark and I have been friends for several years and when I was getting ready to buy my home, I knew that there was no one I wanted working on my deal other than Mark. He carries all of the values of being a truly great friend into his work. I listen to his guidance and his suggestions because not only does he know what he's talking about, but he truly does have my best interest at the forefront. Call him. Use him. He will make sure that you are very happy with your deal. You will not be disappointed. read more

What can I say about Mark Charter? He is simply the best. He took the time to understand exactly what I wanted. He went above and beyond for me when we finally found my perfect house, he met me at 9:00 pm to sign paperwork. How many other Realtors can say that they do whatever it takes to get the job done? He worked hard to get me in the house I wanted. We discussed the best option for me and I am proud to say that with Mark's help, I am now living in a great house! Thanks for everything, Mark! read more

I was extremely impressed with the way Mark handled selling my current home and helping me to find and purchase a new home. He did all this in under 30 days!!! This was very hard for me to imagine being possible and without Mark it wouldn't have happened! The thing that impressed me the most was how quick Mark responded to any question I had and at any hour of the day! I will definitely be referring Mark to friend and family in the future!! Thanks again Mark! Ryan Schweitzberger read more

Mark was extremely open, honest, and professional in all our dealings with him. He continued to keep me up to speed on the market and how things were moving, and always took the time to explain things I didn't understand. Professional website, professional attitude, and an extremely realistic and positive outlook made working with Mark easy. I HIGHLY recommend him to ANYONE in the area looking to sell or buy a home. You'll get great results! read more

We used Mark to sell our home when we moved out of state for job reasons. What could have been a very stressful situation turned out to be very easy. Mark made the selling of our home a TOP priority. He was very professional and trustworthy. His communication and organizational skills made the out-of-state transaction go very smoothly. We highly recommend him to anyone looking to buy or sell a home! read more

As a home buyer you never know what to expect. Working with someone like Mark will make the process as smooth as possible. If you want a Realtor that will listen to your needs, treat you like family, look out for your best interest and is not afraid to be honest you should look up Mark Charter. I would highly recommend him to friends, family or anyone looking to buy or sell a new or existing home. read more