Our successful adventure owning a home in the San Francisco Bay Area began and ended with the help of Sandy Spring. Her expertise, patience, and relationships with competent vendors saved us from the downward spiral of despair we found ourselves in when we tried to navigate it all on our own.
We had spent several months researching neighborhoods and schools, visiting showings, and trying to find a house we loved and could still afford. We’d even put in one offer, with the help of a friend who was a ‘part time’ realtor, and that had gone poorly enough to sink our spirits and make us rethink whether renting wasn’t that bad after all.
A chance introduction at some friends’ housewarming party changed all that. Sandy had been their realtor, and they had nothing but praise. She listened to our tale of woe, and offered some very helpful advice. It was immediately evident that we needed Sandy as our full-time realtor.
Right away she helped us curate a list of viable houses and we were off and running again. And then the impossible happened… There had been a house that we loved, and could have afforded, but someone beat us to the offer. That offer fell through, and Sandy helped us craft an offer and ninja it to the sellers before they had a chance to schedule more showings. They accepted our offer, which was just the beginning. Sandy helped us arrange all the inspections, and personally attended to explain all the nuances. After all the inspections and a little more negotiating, we bought that house. We could have never done that on our own.
Seven years later we decided to take a leap and head off on a new adventure. We immediately called Sandy. She helped us build a list of tasks we needed to accomplish, and helped us prioritize them. This was no easy task because we were living in the house, sorting belongings between keep and sell, packing for an overseas move, and trying to sell our house all at the same time. I honestly think we’d still be spinning in circles in a cluttered house were it not for Sandy dropping by every couple of days and infusing us with her calm and helping us keep focused. Sandy helped us self-stage our house, and even loaned us furniture to make sure every room was suitably accentuated. Throughout the entire process she made us feel like we were her only client, such was her attention and focus on our success.
We accepted an offer on hour house the day we were scheduled to leave the country. Sandy rushed the offer over to us, thoroughly vetted it with us, and we had it signed two hours before we left for the airport. At this point, Sandy didn’t just go the extra mile, she ran a marathon on our behalf. She represented us during all of the seller’s tasks while we were in a different hemisphere. She attended the inspections, arranged to have all the staging removed, delivered our last boxes of donations and hand-offs to friends, and kept our landscaping watered.
With her very hands-on help we didn’t just sell our house, we started a new adventure. We owe our successful, and very profitable, adventure in Oakland home ownership to Sandy Spring. You couldn’t have a better realtor or friend.
