This is my 500th Yelp review (what.), and I saved it intentionally for a business that made a big difference for us this year. We used Bjorklund Realty when we purchased our first home this year and were very pleased with our experience. More specifically, we worked with Doug Olson, who may also double as a saint because he was so patient with us. As first-time home buyers, we had tons of questions, which Doug answered patiently. He answered them in person, on the phone and by email, at all hours of the day and seven days a week. He also worked with us to find the right house, even though we can be picky bastards. We looked at almost three dozen houses with Doug before we found the right one, but he never seemed impatient with us, nor did we feel pressure to make an offer on a home we didn't love.
Like most first-time homeowners, I think our ideas about what the perfect house looked like changed as we shopped, but we never once felt like our waffling was unusual or unwelcomed. Doug gave us tons of his time driving all over the metro and also helped advise us, pointing out things he saw and things that seemed important to draw to our attention based on his years of experience looking at homes. He did this without complaint, even though we were looking in January and February and it was cold as balls out. He listened to our feedback and used it to narrow the homes he showed us going forward. He got better and picking homes we'd like over time. Once we thought we were ready to make an offer, he was there to guide us through the process, advise us on what we might want to do and to of course act as the liaison for us with the sellers. I can't stress that enough. Since we'd never done it before, we really needed someone to hold our hand and tell us things like what was normal for earnest money, how long was reasonable to receive a response, etc. We really appreciated Doug especially during this part of the process. Doug also had been working in the business long enough to be able to make good recommendations for other related services like the inspector, radon tester, etc. The closing went about as smoothly as closings go (from what I'm told), and Doug even presented us with a thoughtful gift as we parted ways after the closing.
I will admit -- we were nervous going with a realty company we didn't know. They're not Edina Realty or one of the big guys in the market. But I actually think this is a case where that worked to our benefit. We got more one-on-one attention, and I think our business meant more than it would have to one of the big guys. We were really pleased and would recommend without reservation. read more