My wife and I decided to move to Durham to be near our daughters and granddaughter, but had no idea where to start. Our daughter and her wife had worked with Neill's associate, Ryan Cassidy, when searching for their house and had been well pleased. However, Ryan was on vacation when we began our search, and so we had the good fortune to meet Neill.
Our time to look in Durham was limited, as we had to be packing and preparing our home in Austin for sale. Neill drove us around, showing us houses that met our fiscal and physical needs, and he also took us to view a couple of houses we'd seen online that just tickled our curiosity. And as we drove from house to house, he'd give us a little commentary on the town and people he's grown up with and very clearly loves. He almost immediately became a friend and knowledgeable resource. We found a house under construction that seemed ideal, and while still in NC, Neill led us thru the process of making a bid on the house that we were fairly confident would be accepted. We flew home thinking our place in Durham was settled.
Except it wasn't. We were consumed by our continued packing and preparing our house for sale in Austin; we couldn't work in another flight to NC. So Neill worked with our daughter and daughter-in-law, meeting them at a few houses and Face Timing tours for us. They found the perfect house (seriously), we agreed after our virtual tour and, based on our previous experience of being overbid, Neill recommended a very aggressive bid on our part. We trusted his instincts and, as boring people say, the rest is history. At closing, the realtor representing the seller told us the amount we offered for due diligence was the deciding factor in the bid going to us! Hooray, Neill!
I honestly believe Neill's primary motivation in all he did with and for us was to become our friend. We're not naive. We know he got his cut from the immense and intricate process that buying a home is. But we've since had him to our new home for dinner and still text him for recommendations on local tradesmen. And he's promised us venison when hunting season rolls around! Is that not a friend? read more