May 10, 2016
Amy Lacoste
Senior Project Manager
My husband and I recently decided it was time to upgrade from our townhouse to a single family home. Let’s face it - buying a home is stressful. Buying a home while you are simultaneously trying to sell your current home is not doubly stressful - it’s at least 100 times more stressful. Add to that the current market conditions in the Bay Area, and you are setting yourself upon a powder keg of emotions, careening down the road to emotional breakdown and/or divorce :P.
Enter Julio, our Rock Star Realtor. I stumbled upon him by accident when I casually signed up on Redfin to tour some homes with an agent. After meeting him in person, I was so impressed by his professional expertise and straightforward approach that we hired him on the spot to list our place. We didn’t realize it at the time, but he was going to be our savior during this journey.
Julio took all the right steps in marketing our property, preparing it for show, and screening potential buyers for solid financials and a willingness to work with us on the rent-back period we would surely require. On the buying side, he proactively and aggressively searched out homes, and not just those already listed on MLS - he knew exactly what we were looking for, and he networked extensively to hunt that down, repeatedly getting us first sight on “coming soon” properties and/or potential listings. When our first accepted offer began to go sideways (by no fault of his or our own!), he ferociously advocated for us, and when the contract went completely sour, he consoled and reassured us that he would do all he could to find an even better place. After months of seeing him in action, I knew not to worry - I trusted that he would do exactly that.
In the end, all is well - our townhouse sold for a great price to a lovely couple who is allowing us a rent-back, and in a few short days we will close on our dream home. Throughout the process, Julio has been an incredible asset and an all-around great guy - professional, proactive, and unwaveringly positive. I will miss our daily emails/text messages/conversations, but he’ll definitely be invited to all the parties we’ll host at our new home - at this point, he’s one of the family :-).