December 12. 2011
We hired Tony in August 2011 to sell our house in the English Hill neighborhood of Redmond, as we were moving out of state. We interviewed several real estate agents before deciding on Tony. Tony was well-prepared for our first meeting and came across as an friendly person with extensive knowledge of the neighborhood. Not surprising since he lives in the area. We hit it off almost immediately. Even though Tony was not part of the Microsoft relocation network, he graciously agreed to work with the relocation company.
This was the first time we were selling a house and Tony was a big help at every stage of the process. To begin with, he did a detailed walkthrough of the house and recommended repairs and modifications that would make the house more attractive to potential buyers. He even suggested paint colors! We could see that his suggestions were based on extensive experience and he was very mindful of their cost and benefit. While he made several suggestions, at no point did we feel like he was pushing us. The final decision was always left to us. Tony referred us to a very competent and reasonably priced staging company to make the house look warm, cozy and inviting.
Perhaps the most important decision when selling a house is choosing the price. Tony’s extensive experience with the neighborhood was very helpful in this regard. He helped us pick a price that struck the right balance between optimizing the value and selling the house quickly.
Once the repairs and staging were complete, Tony took high quality pictures and put together a HD video tour of the house which were hosted on his website. Also, he listed our house in all the major online real-estate websites. When we hired him, we had no idea that he was such an excellent photographer as well! He has a keen eye for picking the right angle to highlight the features of each room.
Thanks to Tony’s efforts, our house sold in 5 days! That too, in a down market, as we were heading into the holidays which is traditionally a slow period for real estate sales.
Once the house was on contract, Tony worked with the buyer and her agent to complete the sale as quickly as possible. A very demanding buyer made the transaction more difficult than it needed to be. However, Tony’s experience and negotiating skills helped move the process along. He referred an excellent contractor for post-inspection repairs and coordinated the work. This was a big help as we had, by then, moved out of state. Tony regularly followed up with the buyer’s agent to make sure the financing was coming along and kept us updated by email and phone. We must also commend Tony on picking a very helpful escrow agent who arranged for us to sign the papers out of state. And finally, Tony was the first to call and let us know when the house closed!
This has been a very educating experience for us, and we learned a lot from Tony in the process. It is a pity that he does not work in California. We would have loved to hire him to sell our next house!
In summary, Tony is diligent, meticulous and friendly. He has deep knowledge of the Eastside real estate market and has a great sense of humor. We are delighted to know him and are happy to recommend him.
Abdul & Shaheeda Nizar
Sold in Hollymor II