[Short version]: Mike Griffith is the best realtor I've ever encountered and my recommendation you use him the next time you want to buy or sell a house is as glowing as it is possible to be. Hire him. Trust his judgement. You will not be disappointed.
------------------------------
[Long version]
House #1: I first ran across Mike when shopping for seller's agents to sell my home in Raleigh a year or so ago. In our interview, he claimed he could sell the place for 10K more than what the other agents said my home was worth. I was skeptical, but he didn't just make the claim, he backed it up with detailed research of the neighborhood, extensive and thorough comps, and an impressive knowledge of market trends in the Triangle.
In the end, he was off by 500 bucks. I sold it for 10.5k more than what the other realtors claimed I could get.
House #2: Fast forward to a couple of months ago, Rebecca and I decided to take a look around and see if there were any houses out there that might tickle our fancy. I knew Mike was also a buyer's agent, so we decided to shop around with him representing us. We scheduled visits with him to 25+ houses, occasionally up to 5 in a single day. He happily gave us a tour of each one, calmly inspecting and telling us the pluses and minuses, explaining exactly why the house was priced as it was and whether or not the price was justified. Never once did he complain or rush or pressure us as we rejected each one. "All part of the process," he'd say. "Now I know a little better what you're looking for."
And slowly the houses got more appealing.
And then we found one we thought we liked. It had so many pluses and only a couple of negatives that we thought we could live with or work around. Mike told us what he thought we'd have to offer to have a chance at getting it and how a couple of repair issues could be used in negotiations to lower the final offer. We decided to take the plunge, drove to a Starbucks, and drank coffee while Mike wrote up the official offer on his laptop.
As we were digitally signing all the forms, Rebecca was taking one last look at any new listings that might have popped up. As it turned out, one had. And it looked impressive. Mike didn't bat an eye. Even as we completed and sent the offer for the first house, he scheduled a showing for this second house and we went straight there from the coffee shop.
We fell in love with it. So much so that it clarified what we wanted in a home, and we knew the house we just made an offer on was a mistake. We told Mike we wanted to withdraw it and make an offer on this place instead.
Now this is an event that would try any realtor's patience, but Mike handled it with aplomb. In fact, he seemed excited that we'd found a house that we thought would fit us so well. He withdrew the previous offer and we talked numbers again after he researched the area. Once more, he explained exactly his reasoning for the target price he was advising we offer.
After discovering some uncertainty with some out-of-state legalese, he got us in touch with a lawyer who could advise us that very day. Did I mention that day was a Sunday? On Memorial Day weekend? And that the lawyer in question was on vacation?
We got the legalese cleared up and made our offer. A day later, it was accepted. After appraisal, inspection, and repair negotiations, we had 10K in equity before we even closed on June 30.
House #3: I'll keep this one short. We got the Lakewood house cleared out and cleaned by July 9. Mike got the property staged, advertised, hyped, and on the market July 14 with a asking price designed to encourage multiple offers. Over the next 24 hours, the house had 35 showings and 10 offers. We accepted a generous offer for above asking and are now under contract!
Through all three houses, Mike was friendly, responsive, and available. He answered all our millions of questions, answered all our e-mails and texts, and always picked up the phone when we called. Frankly, I don't know how he does it. But he does. And if you're ever wanting to buy or sell a home, Michael Griffith can do it for you.
Take my advice and hire him. read more