Sarasota Livin'

When we sold our house, we thought the hard part was over. Our house was pristine and unique, and we sold it under value to do so fast, as I had to move for work. We indeed sold it fast, and thought we would be in good shape, the market supposedly being a perfect market for buyers.

Boy, were we wrong. We began diving into listings near SR 70 and found that almost every listing we liked was a short sale (often undisclosed in the ad) with more than one loanholder and a listing price neither bank had authorized (way way less then what they were owed or likely to accept). It was a nightmare, and we knew we were not experienced enough to work through the complications on our own. Still, the realtors we contacted were hesitant to work with short sales- which meant ignoring most of the listings in our price range. Maybe they weren't that interested in working with people in the under 300,000 range at all. Either way, we were anxious and very surprised. We are buyers with stellar credit, a great debt to income ratio, and a good down payment, but we didn't feel prioritized at all- to put it mildly. Meanwhile, the listings of foreclosures piled up in our inbox.

Then, I did a keyword search on short sale specialists in the area and happened to find a realtor named Brooke O'Malley, who works with her father in a small agency, and we're both so happy I did. I sent her my usual lengthy missive, and she answered every question I had with notable professionalism and detail, way way beyond the time other realtors has spent on my many questions (I'm type A in big way). She didn't insist we sign on with her exclusively, but we soon lfelt we would be fools to navigate this market with anyone else.

Brooke gave us honest informed advice designed to get us the best deal but based on reasonable expectations- knowing how every step of the short sale and foreclosure process may play out. We're cautious with our money; that's why we're not in trouble like so many people, and we're very very happy we found someone who would really listen to our needs and honestly evaluate our expectations. I know our expectations of the short sale process were a bit skewed by the media, but I also know I didn't want to be pushed into properties beyong our comfort zone just because we had good credit. This realtor paid close attention to what our exact needs are, helping us focus our search, with our expectations focused on likely scenarios.

We wrote our first offer with her tonight, and we know the ups and downs of how it may turn out. Most important, when we wrote this offer, she made sure our interests would be protected no matter what, given the two banks we would be negotiating with. Talking to her, it was clear she deals with buyers and sellers alike- honestly and with integrity. She spent SIX hours with us tonight- looking at two listings right near one another, then painstakingly discussing our options and risks. If you're surprised as how the so called "buyer's market" is playing out and want someone informed who will be honest with you and is truly kind, you should look her up. Her web page is MyClubRealty.com.

Just in case you're wondering, we had no connection to this realtor before my keyword search, and neither my husband nor I work in a field in any way connected to real estate or any kind of sales. I am sharing this information to help people like us, because I know how surprised I was when I found out selling wasn't the only problem in this market. We do not want to be contacted with messages from realtors or mortgage brokers, a we are very very happy and confident putting our future in Brooke's hands.