"AMAAAAAZING!!!"...The one-word superlative I would use to best describe Loretta Buckner.

 

A few years ago I made the decision to relocate to the west coast. I listed my home with a reputable "franchise" realtor, leaving Florida with the knowledge I was in good hands, despite being well into the beginning of a strong market downturn. After several months of incrementaly lowering the asking price and not so much as an offer, I made the decision to lease to a couple who loved my home and, were it not for a lack of funds and a checkered credit history, were entirely on board with renting until such time as they were able to purchase. Though things went well initially, they quickly began to deteriorate in the fall of 2010, when the husband was layed off and I was either receiving less than the agreed rent amount, or, in some months, nothing at all. Despite all their best intentions and false promises, I was, once and for all, forced to threaten eviction should they not be moved out within a mutually agreed period of time.

 

Upon making the decision to dramatically lower my asking price, I brought my realtor back on board with instruction to aggresively market and once and for all sell at almost whatever price considered "reasonable". After several months listed and, once again, not so much as a single offer, I was against a wall in a state of despair, when a friend recommended I consider, as he did, selecting a non-franchise realtor with the hope they may be more motivated and take a more aggressive approach toward selling. Without any referral and from thousands of miles away, I did a search on Google and found Real World Properties, Inc.. Coupled with their being "non-franchised" was the added bonus of their not only selling but also leasing properties included in their scope of services. Not that I wanted to consider the prospect of once again leasing, but I knew, especially given the continued miserable market conditions that exist, it was a very real alternative I may be forced to make, before letting my home go for a "fireside" sale. Being cautiously optimistic and having few to no expectations considering my experience to this point, I placed my first and only call to Real World Properties and spoke to Loretta who promised to take a look at my home the following day and get back to me with her analysis of the situation.

 

As promised, Loretta got back to me, with a list of recommendations of things she felt needed to be addressed, a budget of how much she felt to cover costs, along with an estimate of how long she felt it would take. Having already expended several weeks of time and thousands of dollars, not what I wanted to hear but what else was I to do? I'm not for making decisions blindly and I'm not big on "leaps of faith", especially where money is concerned, but from the facts and figures Loretta was bombarding me and with so much conviction, I was not only convinced she was the the right choice for the job, but also left with the feeling that I probably shouldn't get in her way with too many of my own thoughts and opinions. After all, she IS the professional or otherwise I'd being doing all this myself wouldn't I? Not only did she deliver within budget and on time, but, and here's what most amazed me, what work she didn't sub-contract to others, she actually did herself. Who does this??? Certainly not my previous realtor who, I'm now convinced, did nothing more than put up a sign and pick up the phone when I would call for an update. To top all I've written so far, she temporarily puts the listing on the internet for my review and, believe it or not in that short period of no more than a few hours, gets a call from an interested party to whom she shows the home two days later. The couple make an offer on the spot that, in the span of only a few short weeks, result in the sale, and at a price higher than I had figured. How does this happen? A home selling at a price easily considered "reasonable", with very little negotiation, without even technically being listed....especially considering the HUGE "buyers market" we're presently experiencing??? My answer....Loretta Buckner...without doubt, bar none...SHE IS...AMAAAAAZING!!!

 

Rick Dodge

San Francisco, CA