Jeremy:
I’m looking out over the park and the Hudson River from my new Riverside Drive apartment and I have to tell you that I’ve got the view, the location and any kind of food I could possibly want within walking distance! But before I could get back to my beloved Manhattan after living away for four years, I had to sell my house in Westchester, and it wasn’t an easy process.
After making the decision to sell, I initially listed my house with the same Realtor who had listed the house when I bought it. He was an enthusiastic guy, so I decided to give him a try … and nothing happened. It was the start of the credit crunch and no one was buying. But one of the big problems was that this agent turned out to be rather overbearing, an “in your face” kind of guy. After six months, I told him to take the lockbox off the door.
Since your wife is one my partner physicians, I knew that you were a professional Realtor and I decided to give you the listing. Right away, I knew that your personality was the polar opposite of the original agent. You were soft-spoken and very courteous to everyone.
Having bought and sold many properties – and since I’m also a lawyer – I am pretty knowledgeable about real estate, so we partnered in setting a price and a marketing strategy. I was impressed that if you had a different opinion than mine, you presented your thoughts and reasoning in a calm manner and definitely didn’t pressure me. You made the whole process as easy and pleasant as possible. And with your background in financial services and investments, you brought all the sophistication and experience of a true financial professional to this real estate transaction.
After a number of quiet months, activity and the number of showings picked up. Was it due to a slightly better economy, the availability of financing and tax breaks – or a combination of all three?
Sure enough, all of a sudden we had two independent offers at the same time. That’s when you took the burden off me by taking control and acting as the intermediary between the parties, always in a very professional, gentlemanly fashion. I appreciated your communication skills and extra effort. You gave me regular updates, and communicated promptly whenever there was a development. You also took it upon yourself to deal with the Building Department on a permit issue that arose, so it became a non-issue and didn’t hold up the sale.
All in all, I’m very happy about my decision to sell the house and return to Manhattan. Even in a difficult real estate market, I recouped any loss on the sale of my house on the savings I made on my New York apartment. Thank you again for helping to make it all possible.
Sincerely,
Dr. Eugene Ross
