Sep 16, 2020
Melissa Mata
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When I reflect on our most recent experience selling our San Jose home, the first word that comes to mind is, wow! If you’re reading this and anything like me, there are few reviews you would sit down and sink your teeth into. For the biggest sale or purchase of your life, choosing a realtor WILL make or break your ability to do either. Let me explain why I’d choose Rick Trevino a million times over after our experience. Prior to purchasing our San Jose home, my husband and I looked for 2.5 half years. The market was challenging but so was finding a good realtor. We went through our share of VERY poor realtors and for context, I have now dealt with seven different purchase and sales of property in my life all in different states. Fast forward to this spring and making the challenging decision to sell our home. We had a lot of high expectations for the person who would not only sell our home, but sell it quickly, for the price we thought it was worth, during a pandemic and all while we, the sellers, currently live across the country! When we did the math on what a commission would look like on our sale price, I thought it was entirely too much money given likely one month's worth of work! How in the world could you warrant that commission when all you do is show our house a few times and write up a contract? Let me tell you why, in my opinion, the commission wasn’t enough for all the work Rick did! It was a steep ask and Rick Trevino over delivered in every possible way.
We had our house occupied by tenants when we started discussions about the plans to sell with Rick. He not only laid out a very aggressive and detailed timeline for us to start the listing process, we didn’t have to make a single phone call. Rick even creatively suggested we request of our tenants, if willing, that we could begin the inspection process before their move out date. With his mindfulness of our tight timeline, we were able to shave two weeks off of the date to list on the MLS. Anyone trying to sell their home in not only an aggressive market, but one in which there are so many unknowns, can appreciate the importance of getting a two week jump on listing your home. Although we discussed our price point with Rick and he provided us with a thorough market analysis weeks prior to listing our home, he initiated conversations days before we went to market to readjust a higher price point, as he had not only been regularly tracking analytics, but he had also been in contact with other realtors on recently sold homes to understand what the market and those negotiations looked like. There was an incredible amount of work that went on behind the scenes that we never even knew about! From the date our tenants moved out, to the date our home closed escrow, 46 days passed. This meant our home had inspections, he contracted out repairmen to do simple home repairs/upgrades, oversaw the repairs, house cleanings, our home staging, landscaping, photographs/videography, detailed MLS write ups, and then coordinating showings. Anyone who has sold a home during covid knows these are not ordinary times. There are no longer open houses where you can hold a weekend full of showings and walk away with 10+ offers. Realtors now have to be aware of the regular and ever-changing CA laws associated with showings (ie, number of people who can see a house at a single time, the documentation that has to be posted, the documentation that must be signed prior to showings, etc). Rick was so on top of all the regulations as to ensure we were not legally liable in any circumstance. He managed an ever changing schedule of showings and even was diligent enough to notice other homes some of the interested parties were also viewing. This helped us tremendously when we got offers in, as we quickly recognized when some agents began some unethical practices with the way in which they made offers. He did not balk at having direct conversations with those realtors, always having our best interest as top priority. During the two week period of time we received and responded to offers, Rick talked to us each night (and sometimes throughout the day) in spite of our three hour time difference. There were nights we went to bed when he was still working on communications and we woke up to emails he had already sent the next morning (and we have 4 kids so we are early risers)! He did not miss crossing one "t" or dotting one "i" on documents, often catching mistakes on the buyer's agents paperwork that could have, in some instances, cost us time to close on our home.
The man does not sleep, does not stop until his work is not only complete but exemplary. As a former Marine, his work ethic and moral compass are unmatched. I have never worked with a more dedicated, upfront, analytical, thorough and comprehensive person in my life. I am a hard sell and not an easy customer in any stretch of the imagination and I’ve never had someone stun me with their ability to keep so many balls in the air while never compromising the quality of his work. In general, working with individuals in Sales is not an enjoyable experience as it traditionally feels disingenuous. I couldn’t have had a more contradictory experience after selling our house with Rick. He is probably one of the most ethical people I’ve ever met, he truly cares about the goals you are trying to reach and the obstacles you face and he’s a HARD worker. Some days he was even patching holes in our home and watering our grass. Rick will do what he needs to do to get the job done but you can rest assured he’s not taking shortcuts to get there. Don’t worry about reading another review; Rick is simply the best and you will not find a better man to do business with!