How am I different from other agents?
Personal Attention. Do I mean personal attention? Yup. Because I only work for a limited number of active clients at a time. How many other agents or brokers can say that?
With all the tools available on the internet these days, many people are happy to go online to look for their own properties. However, I pride myself on screening properties for my buyers and saving them time. When I start working with buyers, we will look at houses together so that I can quickly get a feel for what they like and dislike. Once that’s done, I’ll only suggest properties that I really think will fit the bill. In my opinion, this is one of the most important functions an agent can perform in today’s market.
If you’re a seller, you’ll get my unvarnished opinion of your home’s value, backed up with data. It can be deadly to list a home at too high a price and I will not pad an opinion of value just to get a listing.
As for marketing, in my opinion the fanciest brochures in the world will not sell a home if it’s not correctly priced and presented. Most important of all, you need an agent that will give your listing his or her personal attention. Because I only work with a few clients at a time, you can rest assured that you will get mine.
Knowledge. Buying or selling a home is one of the most complicated and stressful decisions you will ever make. The forest of federal, state, and local rules governing almost every aspect of the transaction doesn’t make it any easier. I can help guide you through the process by explaining details, answering questions, and assuring that you and your transaction receive my personal attention. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll tell you that — and then I’ll go and find it.
My background as an attorney means that paying attention to detail and documents is not exceptional — it’s simply how I work. My legal background also means that I’m used to pushing back against “the way it’s always done” if it doesn’t make sense or if it’s not in my client’s interests. Even so, agents who have worked on the other side of transactions with me know that they can count on my professional attention and courtesy.
I’ve also been involved in real estate as an investor since 1987, when I bought and renovated my first three-unit building on McAllister Street. Currently, I’m also working on an innovative and green mixed-use development north of Santa Rosa as well. These experiences have helped give me a broad perspective on real estate and on how deals get done.
Here’s the Disclaimer: You are hiring me as your agent, not as your attorney. I will not give you legal advice while I represent you as an agent. If I did, I’d be breaching my fiduciary obligation to you both as an attorney and as an agent. I ALWAYS suggest that my clients have their own attorney review contracts and legal documents. After all, we’re talking about transactions worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
Ethics. Despite the bad rap that real estate agents have, virtually all of the agents I’ve dealt with are hard-working honest folk. In that regard, I can’t claim to be any different. What I will say is that I believe that life is too short and too precious not to live it ethically. This is what I believe both personally and professionally. I encourage you to talk to any of my clients to get a sense of how I’ve worked with them and for them.
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