Scott Williams in Santa Barbara provides stellar service! We give our highest recommendation for Mr. Scott Williams and his team at Berkshire Hathaway. He's a savvy pro whose experience really helped us sell our place for a competitive price in 2019 despite a softening economy. He does careful analysis of the market. He listens closely to his clients. He takes time to explain the details of the process. As out of town sellers, we appreciated his management of repairs, upgrades and staging. Very communicative, very responsive. Even when he had to be away, he made sure we were in good hands with his colleague Michelle Madril. Not a single regret! Thanks Scott! read more

Scott Williams-Fine Homes - Thanks Scott Williams for helping us sell this beloved home in Santa Barbara! - Real Estate Agents Near Me - Montecito, California

Scott Williams is extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and gracious with both his time and knowledge of real estate. I am extremely thankful to have met Scott and appreciate his guidance on the market. read more

We met Scott a few times, first at an open house and for a viewing appointment of another property. While we ended up buying neither home, we were impressed with his professional demeanor and knowledge of the Mesa. After we closed on our home in the West Mesa, we got a lot of mailers from real estate agents telling us they had buyers for our home, but, Scott's monthly updates and emails stood out since he included his own well thought out market analysis, not just cut and paste talking points from his brokerage. Unbeknownst to him, we nicknamed him "Mr. Mesa" and knew if we wanted to sell, he'd be at the top of our list. When we finally decided to sell in clearly a seller's market, we wanted to make sure our broker wouldn't just get the highest offer, but, could actually close the deal at the absolute maximum price. We wanted to feel good about the sale since we would miss our part-time enjoyment of the neighborhood. Scott, along with Susannah and the rest of his team, really came through for us. Scott followed up with our first inquiry immediately and after his walk through, he gave us a thorough and realistic evaluation of our home. More important than hearing the many positives, he gave us constructive criticism and suggestions on how to fix or minimize them. He ordered a pre-listing home inspection which took care of a few things we were already aware of as well as a few small yet important things that we either missed or didn't see as an issue but perhaps a buyer's inspector would. Also, a buyer could feel more confident about paying top dollar if the house was "turn key". Scott was instrumental in having a roofer give us an estimate and perform a tune up, which I know really helped with our sale. Our house was partially furnished after our recently completed renovation, so, we used his recommended staging service to fill in a few spots. In our case we didn't want heavy staging to distract from the architecture or the renovation; we needed just a few pieces and the stager was happy to work with us. Staging, even partially, is less expensive than buying or renting furniture and the best part is you'll have less to move since they take it away. Photography was very important to us, especially since now more than ever, buyers are shopping online and coming from outside Santa Barbara. Scott's photographer didn't disappoint; He shot great angles, highlighted our improvements and used a drone to show our proximity to the beach, hiking and restaurants. While we spoke of a list price during our first meeting, Scott discussed pricing strategies and suggested not settling on a final number until a day before it went on the MLS to make sure we were up to date with any new listings or closings could affect the price. Once the house was on the MLS, we agreed to a week of viewings before we looked at offers. Aside from always being informed of viewings, whether or not we were in town, we felt very safe knowing Scott and his team observed COVID protocols during showings including signage, facemasks and hand sanitizer. Also, our property's new floors showed no signs of foot traffic. We also were updated via email or sometimes text with any feedback post viewing. On the day offers were submitted, Scott and his team gave us regular detailed phone, email and text updates, which was very reassuring since we found ourselves hard to reach due to unforeseen circumstances. We accepted an offer over asking, and thanks to Scott's pre-inspection and overall knowledge, we closed at over asking. It's often during escrow when a seller's broker gets impatient and just wants to close and get that commission, regardless of the clients concerns. Fortunately, Scott and his team were always ready to answer our questions throughout escrow, no matter how seemingly simple. We're very pleased with the outcome as sellers and I believe the buyers know they got a good value since the house was 100% ready for its next owner, thanks to Scott and his team's help. read more

Our Thanksgiving was especially meaningful this year thanks to the timely sale of our home on the Mesa. Scott worked tirelessly for four months, through ups and downs, to settle on the best offer for our home, meeting our conditions as well as those of the buyers' realtor, while opening up other opportunities as well. One of our requests was to close sale before the end of the year, which we did. Based on past referrals, and due to the fact we live out of town, we trusted Scott to handle the sale, and followed his recommendations throughout. This included making all building inspection improvements, staging, landscape improvements, and working with necessary professional help. We feel very fortunate to have had his experience and guidance. He kept in close communication with us via messaging and phone calls and answered any questions or concerns we had within minutes. He was able to make us feel like we were heading the team, even though it was he who so professionally guided the way. Thanks a million Scott! read more

In all our years of working with real estate agents, many of them excellent, none can compare with the service we received in selling our home with Scott. We knew Scott through his monthly newsletters on the Mesa over the 31 years we lived in Santa Barbara. So when making a decision to sell our home, we knew we would choose Scott. Scott met with us and presented a detailed market analysis of home sales in our area. This proved invaluable in our decision making throughout the sale, regarding price and market conditions. He works with a stager who consulted with us at no cost as to best show our home for sale. His assistant, Michelle, kept up up to date in our search for potential places to move to in Santa Barbara. Scott was thorough in guiding us through the paperwork, taking the time to sit down with us as we went through the disclosures on our property. His experience proved to be right time and again as he suggested the timing of the property inspection, what to fix or not fix, etc. We sold our home within a month and Scott guided an inexperienced seller's agent through a difficult 30 day escrow. He was always available and responsive by phone or text, even when he was dealing with personal family matters. We closed escrow within a day of expectations, were happy with the price we received for our home, and were able to coordinate the 30 day close of escrow on our new home, in large part thanks to Scott's efforts. And to top it off, Scott has a truck that he lets his clients use for the move. While we had contracted for a POD container, it did not hold all of our furniture and the truck was a life-saver, not to mention money-saver. Scott is top notch! I recommend him without reservation! read more

I am an attorney and have known Scott for more than 30 years. I have worked with him on many occasions and I have found him to be very knowledgeable and caring. When I wanted to sell my own house I chose Scott from among many agents I know to handle the sale. In Santa Barbara it is not common to find a Realtor with the breath and length of experience that Scott possesses. He will definately "go the extra mile" for his clients. Michael Gray read more

I met Scott Williams when I was in the market to buy my first home in Santa Barbara in 1992. He showed me three properties, I liked them all, and I made an offer that was accepted within a week. I never regretted that decision and I always count on Scott to know what is happening in the market. My trust in his expertise and judgment is solid. If I need any information about the market or the value of my property, he knows what he's talking about and he is quick to respond to my requests. I give Scott 5 stars only because there aren't any more stars to give. read more

If you are thinking of buying or selling real estate, we strongly recommend working with Scott Williams. Scott helped us purchase an investment property in May, 2012 and we have recently worked with Scott on a simultaneous sale and purchase transaction. Before meeting Scott, we had little real estate experience and zero real estate investment experience. Foremost, Scott is a good listener. He took time to get to know us and to help us clearly define the type of property that fit our circumstances and our future goals. Scott's knowledge of the Santa Barbara market is deep and broad. Many years of real estate experience in the Santa Barbara area and a passion for keeping abreast of market trends give Scott a powerful advantage in understanding the market. Scott likes to share information and takes the necessary time to educate us about the market and how to look at properties. We can always count on Scott to share interesting information from a recent report, class, or conversation - information that helps us in the process of locating and purchasing a property. Scott works with our best interests in mind - always taking the long view. He is quick to point out things that might affect the future value of a property. Scott performs from start to finish and beyond. During the transactions, Scott always kept us informed and a step ahead of the process which we felt gave us a leg up on the completion. Even after the sale, when some items were not taken care of as per the contract, Scott followed up with the other party until it was right. And did I mention the free moving van? In our opinion, Scott Williams "has it going on" big time and he continually exceeds our expectations for a real estate agent. Doug B. read more

Scott Williams is a wonderful realtor, we bought our house on the Mesa in 1994 and have had a great experience then and still have a great relationship. He listens and cares, recommend him to anyone. Thank you Scott! read more

When we decided it was time to sell our house, we didn't have any existing relationships with any real estate agents, so we asked ourselves, "What would we be looking for if we were buying a house?" We had purchased and sold two houses previously, and in some cases had been confronted with some hard-nosed real estate people. We decided that this time, we wanted someone with a lot of experience, someone who could fight for us. Of course, there are the usual real estate rags. However, these days, we tend to look at real estate online. Looking at web pages for houses close by our neighborhood, we found that Scott Williams seemed to have web pages which were clear, included a lot of pictures, and were easy to navigate. We also found that he had sold a number of properties in, or close to, our neighborhood, so it seemed as though he would know the market well. We contacted Mr. Williams via email, using the contact address on his web page, and he replied promptly, arranging a time to meet. I must admit, this was also somewhat of an additional test to see if we could work with him. Some people do not respond to email very quickly, but since we live our lives on the Internet and use email many times a day, quick responses via email was crucial. From the very beginning Mr Williams was very up front about the improvements our property would need. He gathered information for a market analysis, showing the asking and selling prices of comparable properties in the area and was able to give us a good idea of what price he thought we could obtain. He did, however, make it clear from the outset that in order to achieve this, we would need to make some improvements to the property, however his extensive experience in this area proved very useful. He has given seminars on exactly this topic: how to get at least 2:1 money back on your improvement dollars when selling! Mr Williams was right there with us from June 17th until October 23rd. He helped us select paint colors, cabinet finishes, ceiling finishes, carpet texture, style, and color, etc. We spent a lot of money improving the place, but he made sure that everything he requested was something which would pay off more than cost when it came to the selling price. A good example would probably be the kitchen. Many people would spend a lot of money to renovate the kitchen. In our case, Mr Williams determined that this would not work out and it would be better to leave the kitchen mostly intact, simply updating the hardware, and generally repainting them such that they are more "modernized". The house had some deferred maintenance and Mr Williams helped by contacting people to come out and handle it. In many cases, he would simply look into his list of people, call a few of them out, he would meet them at the house (with us present usually, but not always), collect bids, then pass it all by us for approval! It was incredibly useful to have an agent who would take control and get things done, but at the same time would constantly make sure he had our understanding and approval before spending our money! Since we were also looking for, and moving into, a house in another town far away, Mr. Williams had full access to the property, oversaw its fixing, and kept us constantly notified of expectations and timeframes, via email and phone. He seems willing to do whatever is needed in order to get the job done. He used DocuSign, which allowed us to sign documents without even being present. The man definitely knows how to make effective use of the Internet. In the end, Mr Williams ended up representing both the buyers and the sellers. We went back and forth with the buyers a number of times and it was clear that he was in a difficult position, having to think of what would be in the best interest of both parties at once while not giving away private communications with either party. He handled it very well, however, and we ended up settling in such a way that everyone felt that they were both giving something and getting something. I think the most important things to look for in a real estate agent today is someone who (1) can deal effectively with the modern technology we all have around us (web sites, cell phones, email, etc.); (2) can take charge and get things done, getting estimates, giving advice, handling all scheduling of multiple workers, etc.; and yet (3) while taking charge, will always keep you, the seller, constantly updated on everything that is happening, why it's happening, the causes of any delays, rescheduling, etc. Scott Williams handled all of these things well. It was an enormous weight lifted off of our shoulders when we saw the way he not only took charge but also always kept us informed. We would heartily recommend him to any else who wants to see the process of selling run like clockwork! read more

Our family has worked with Scott Williams for nearly five years. He helped one set of parents sell their house, and it was such a good experience that we hired him to help fix up, rent, and eventually sell our mother's house. We couldn't have asked for a more expert and reliable professional to guide us. Our mother's house needed quite a bit of work. Scott worked to make the best repair choices within our budget. Scott has a team of contractors to help with every aspect of home improvement and selling. He managed the process of getting the house in condition to rent, and in making additional improvements several years later when we were ready to sell. Scott has an experienced finger on the pulse of the real estate market, not only in Santa Barbara, but nationally. Our house was so well prepared that we received multiple above-asking offers at the first open house. Scott is a strong and ethical bargainer, and escrow went without a hitch. Finally, selling a house involves emotion. Scott was sensitive to our own situations, and remained a steady support for us during the process. We enthusiastically recommend Scott. read more

We met Scott and a handful of other agents while browsing open houses in Santa Barbara. We hadn't fully decided to pull the trigger yet, but knew we would choose Scott to represent us once we were ready. Scott was the most professional, straight forward and knowledgeable agent we had met and was experienced with the areas that we wanted to look at. Once we made the decision to move, we spent seven or eight Saturdays with him looking at homes while putting our current home on the market to sell. His efficiency in locating and scheduling showings kept us on track. During this period from 06/12 to 12/12, the market was very hot with limited inventory and Scott helped us to understand that we needed to move quickly and that there would potentially be multiple offers. Scott provided us with a detailed market analysis on each home we were interested in. Once we sold our home, we moved into a vacation rental nearby and were ready to make bids on the homes that suited our needs. Thanks to the time Scott invested with us, we were able to navigate the speedy buying process required at that point and knew exactly what to expect. Ultimately, we bought a home in our desired location on the Mesa through a multiple bid situation. We love our new home and could not have been happier with the process. Scott always had time for us and continued to help us with contacts for local services once we were moved in. It has been a few years now and Scott has become our trusted friend in the community. He is the only real estate agent that we would recommend to anyone without hesitation. read more