HORRIBLE TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE My amazing father has dementia…read moreand my family is dealing with the many challenges that come with this disease including the loss of his drivers license and the decision that he can no longer care for himself. It was time to sell his home and he would move to a place where meals are provided and other care that he needs is available. Mind you my parents have only purchased 2 homes in their lifetime and still reside in my childhood home. They are not savvy or knowledgeable about anything related to selling a house. I was ultimately referred to the realtor's broker Melina who contacted me about my requests for fliers and/or a QR code and using social media to promote the house and specifically that in the walkable neighborhood of Englewood where my dad's house is located is a great way to inform people about my dad's remodeled and quaint home. I was told that fliers, social media and other suggestions for advertising were NOT within the advertising agreement that my dad signed with my mom present. They are responsible for signing the agreement but they also didn't know that for the agent/broker commission that all they would essentially receive is staging for a tiny 2 bed 1 bath home, pictures of the property and an open house (neighbors by invitation) the open house was self serving as a way to meet new potential clients and let looky Lou's snoop around the house. I was appalled and shocked no hustle, no strategy whatsoever to make this house move quickly. I believe the house had been on the market for not even 2 weeks and when Melina the owner of this company spoke with me she was a NIGHTMARE think Devil Wears Prada Linda Wintour kind of pompous, rude and condescending. I was hurt, felt disrespected and very upset by her actions and how she treated me. It led to a total breakdown in trust and confidence in her and her agent. I'm not sure if she had even the slightest twinge of care about my family and caregivers fatigue from caring for a family member. Selling his house included the dismantling of my dads home, belongings and it's a painful experience for him and our family. Hiring a realtor and a broker is supposed to take the responsibility and stress away from the family turning it over to "professionals" who happily collect commission and that is when we decided this was not a safe or honorable place to place our trust. The worst part is that I informed Melina owner/broker that my dad didn't have a copy of his signed contract nor did my mother. The broker said that it must be in a box from his move....ummm....No. Electronic email is standard for sending a contract. I did speak to Melina/owner-broker again and I was hoping for a chance to move forward and unfortunately I was again met with a communication style that was abrupt, harsh and her goal is about winning and being right instead of seeking to understand and find common ground. On the complete opposite spectrum our agent remained positive, kind, caring and compassionate. I highly recommend her and hope she's able to find a brokerage firm that matches her energy and professionalism. We appreciate her dedication to our family.

If you are even considering buying a home in Salem/Keizer, I need to tell you a story about an…read moreamazing woman and realtor - Melina Tomson. My Mom recently passed away from brain cancer. It was my job to "handle her affairs", one of which was to sell her home. We interviewed several people based on YELP reviews. We chose Melina to sell Mom's home. We had NO IDEA what a good choice we made. She staged the house just beautifully. Within days we got our first offer. But there were problems on the horizon. Essentially, my Mom's home (which looked beautiful) had a fair amount of deferred maintenance. Here's what we faced 1) sunken oil tank, 2) old roof, 3) heater air-conditioning needed to be replaced, 4) water main to the street needed to be replaced, 5) electrical panel needed to be replaced. That, combined with clouds on the title and some other "issues" meant that we had two "failed sales". Through all of this Melina was "as cool as a cucumber". She always had the answers. More than that - she always knew exactly the right person to call in to help. And, since she's worked with all these contractors before, she was able to get them to do the work with the expectation they would get paid at closing. She did all this with a super positive attitude. The house sold in a fairly short period of time considering the challenges. I don't live in the Salem/Keizer area so there is just no way we could have done this without Melina's finesse, knowledge, and hard work. If you are considering buying or selling a home in the Salem/Keizer market, your first move should be to pick up the phone and call Melina. I'm not a huge referral person, but I would take a phone call from anyone that has any questions. Melina is a rock star! Thanks! You are a friend of the family...

Trina was our Realtor for the home we bought this spring in Salem. Although we had already…read moreidentified several properties we wanted to look at via Zillow, Trina was instrumental in making the entire process go smoothly from our offer, through the inspection and closing. Whether it was by phone, email or text, Trina was always fast to respond, answered all of our questions and gave helpful advice. We definitely recommend Trina and Blum Real Estate.

Over the years when I have worked with her team I have always been very impressed. If I had to…read morerefer someone it would have to be the Gladys Blum Group. I have never seen another team work so professionally. I highly recommend the Gladys Blum Group.

Jeff and Suzanne were exceptionally caring and professional while representing us as Sellers. We…read moreappreciated their deep knowledge of the market and their ability to sell our home with an above listing price offer. We experienced the death of a parent during our transaction and Jeff and Suzanne jumped in to ensure we were cared for. They worked closely with the Buyer's agent to ensure a smooth experience during a difficult time. We are forever grateful for their top-notch care through our selling journey. We highly recommend The Dennison Group for any of your real estate needs.

John McClain is by far the hardest working realtor we have ever had the pleasure of hiring. And I…read morepurchased my first home and then rental properties almost 50 years ago - so have encountered many realtors in that time. John is the best. His knowledge of the local market is unsurpassed. His ability to negotiate and overcome obstacles is impressive. We needed to move out of state before winter but had two rentals and our primary residence yet to sell as the end of summer closed in. John and the whole crew at DennisonCapenRealty handled all of the details of preparing the homes for sale and obtaining a better price on each sale than we had thought possible. If you retain the services of John and DennisonCapenRealty, we can unequivocally guarantee that you will have the best real estate buying/selling experience.

Lincoln is amazing! After challenging him with a variety of complications, our house sold in less…read morethan 2 weeks after being listed! Nothing seemed to faze him & he handled everything with professionalism, hard work and a great sense of humor. Before we signed and throughout the entire process, Lincoln asked about our wants/needs & LISTENED. With the breadth of his experience & knowledge, he had great suggestions, but never made me feel forced into making decisions. He is/was always respectful, a great negotiator, and was always completely honest. He was referred to us by multiple family members, one of whom had sold real estate for many years. I highly recommend Lincoln Tuchow to any buyers or sellers & he will be my 'Go to' guy for any of my future real estate needs.

Lincoln was a pleasure to work with from beginning to end…read more In our experience, what set Lincoln apart as a realtor was his extensive prior work and life experience with housing which offered insight into properties that we would have missed-he helped us identify a couple great jewels in the rough and also helped to recognize a couple major flaws with properties that we didn't see-this saved us having to write offers on properties that would have fallen apart during the inspection. Additionally, he took the extra time to personalize each of our bids. This helped our bids stand out amongst a sea of competing bids when the market was aggressive. He stayed with us through a prolonged search process-offering support when we needed it but never being pushy. He was extremely patient. When we looked at a couple of unusual properties, he took the additional time to learn about the specifics of those properties. He was very generous with his time-readily fitting in last minute viewings involving long commutes. His references for mortgage brokers and inspectors were great. He negotiated effectively and successfully during the buying process. In the end, we were successful buyers in a competitive market with a great property at a good price, and we would not have been with many other agents.