Melissa and Peter

We moved to a new city and started looking for our very first home. We did some preliminary research, interviewed a few Realtors®, and were seriously considering representing ourselves in our first home purchase (without Realtor® assistance). Six months later we had monitored the market, run some numbers with our bank, and had found a few houses that interested us.

We were ready to write an offer, and stopped by the local real estate office to pick up the forms. An agent chatted with us and discussed all the things we needed to consider. We thought we had done our homework -- so did many other people -- but our soon-to-be-Realtor® brought up points we didn't even know to consider. We decided then to have a Realtor® represent us, and it was probably the best decision we made.

Our Realtor® made sure that our offer had no loopholes, protected us, and had a fair deposit amount. Even with all her other clients, she was on top of our deadlines. She called us to see how our financing was coming along, and when it became apparent that the bank was dragging its heels, she suggested the name of a reputable mortgage broker -- he got us our mortgage within two days. With over 25 years experience in real estate, she supplied us with choices for reliable house inspectors and trades people -- they inspected our house top to bottom, and found hidden items which she used to negotiate a lower purchase price.

Our Realtor® saved us time, money, and headaches. We bought our dream house this past spring, confident in the knowledge that we had paid a fair price and discovered all the hidden flaws. As first-home buyers, we could not have done that without the help of our Realtor®.