SUMMARY. My husband and I are endlessly grateful that we met Robin, and that she was willing to represent us during this stressful and scary process. Whether you're buying your first home or your tenth, you want someone you can trust, who will put your interest first. For us, at every turn, that was Robin.
CHOOSING ROBIN. What we were looking for: a knowledgeable, patient, and not-at-all pushy agent who could advocate for us better than we could for ourselves.
Purchasing a home--especially your first--is terrifying. It's simply impossible to "research" your way into confidence. There is no way to know everything--to predict the future, or to feel fully "safe" before taking the plunge. It wasn't until we met Robin that we felt ready.
We first met Robin at an Open House and immediately liked her; she was genuine and warm with everyone. But what really put her over the top was her clear investment in presenting the property she was selling. We had been to dozens of Open Houses, and not once had I seen an agent do this: she printed surveys for visitors to fill out--asking for their impressions, etc.--so that she could collect data points. That data would inform both her and her clients, so that she could better do her job. This was above and beyond, and a clear indication that she would go the extra step for her clients.
Robin spent significant time speaking with us and sharing her knowledge and opinions on the state of the (unpredictable) market. She encouraged our questions and said she genuinely enjoyed sharing; she was the exact kind of person we needed to make us feel safe enough to take the plunge.
Our first meeting sealed the deal. Robin began by demonstrating a thorough interest in what we were looking for--and while we were flexible, Robin assured us over and over that we had the right to be "picky." We were in desperate need of someone trustworthy who could advocate for us without pushing us out of our comfort zone.
Robin was knowledgeable and provided user-friendly info packets about the buying process/timeline. Though we had an hour reserved with her, she generously spent well beyond that. This would be a hallmark of our experience with her: she gave up her time and effort with willingness, from start to finish.
VIEWING HOUSES. What we needed: someone with the expertise to know which houses we should consider, which we shouldn't, and how much we should spend.
When viewing houses, I was astounded by Robin's expertise. She went through a huge binder of disclosures with us and explained nearly every detail of the various inspections enclosed--what was a concern and what wasn't; what it might cost to fix something; etc. She has a teacher's heart; she seemed to find true joy in teaching us the (many) things we didn't know, and by doing so, she enhanced both our confidence as buyers and our confidence in her.
In the end, we narrowed it down to two properties. She spent an hour going through the pros/cons of each, talked through our concerns, and was careful not to push us in one direction or the other. We appreciated her ability to give us space to make our own decision. In the end, though, we knew she knew best and begged her for her opinion. Once again, she proved her integrity: she indicated the cheaper of the two, even though it meant less commission. This was already the direction we were leaning in, but we trusted her and were lucky to be able to lean on that. Now that it's all said and done, I am 100% sure we made the right decision. I'm just not sure we could have made it without her at our side!
AFTER THE BID. What we benefited from: endless generosity, patience, and stellar communication and work-ethic.
We decided to bid under asking, but because of that, Robin suggested a shortened timeline of three weeks rather than the typical four. She said this could help convince the sellers to accept our offer.
It wasn't until later that I realized just how much Robin had to sacrifice in order to give us that "leg up" in negotiations. She voluntarily put herself in a much more stressful spot, just to benefit us and to get us a better deal.
First off, the shortened timeline meant she had less time to do her job--all the hundreds of tasks and thousands of pages of paperwork that go into this process. Secondly, she had a vacation planned, this had even LESS time to get everything done for us! Yet she STILL selflessly offered to do it on that truncated schedule.
I was once again astonished by her work-ethic and communication. We always heard back immediately, and never felt like we were burdening her with our questions and concerns. She went over every aspect of the inspections with us, and even went steps further to get us additional inspections and repair quotes. She provided an extensive list of vendors for renovations. This could have been a terrifying time for us, since we didn't know anything about termites or roofing, etc.--but with Robin guiding us, we felt confident throughout. read more