Review of Carla Ferrante. Realtor Extraordinaire
I had been considering selling my country vacation home and vacation rental for several years. It had been my cherished piece of paradise for 25 years; the place I would go and bring family and friends to relax and recharge together. But I knew that if I would ever get to retire, I would need to sell this precious property.
When I met with Carla the first time, I let her know that I didn't know that I was ready, but I knew that I needed to sell. Carla was amazing from the beginning. She said if I changed my mind, we'd pause the listing, and we wouldn't sell it until I'm ready. In the meantime, it was time to start giving away and getting rid of lots of stuff that would not be needed in my already furnished city home. I wanted the home furnishings to go to families who had been unhoused but were getting into their own home finally, and needed stuff. Carla found out that there was a local sherif's program that did just that, and she picked up my large loads of stuff and drove away with them, 3-4 times! Poof! problem solved.
Carla hired a photographer to show off the house in its best light including drones to capture a video of the bird's eye view of the house on its 11 acres of foothills. She "staged" the house with a professional eye knowing how to help buyers imagine their own stuff in the house, without having me remove all my stuff. Carla put away several things for me when I wasn't there. (I will warn you: if you have a favorite decorative or functional item that you leave out and don't want to lose track of, put it way yourself! I never did find my dog's bowl.)
My house was almost a mile down a BUMPY dirt and gravel road. Lots of people came to see it and said, the house is fantastic but the road is awful. Month after month we got our hopes up because people liked it, and then. . . no offer. Carla was steady and over the 8 months it took to sell, she was there for me to talk to and calm my nerves.
Meanwhile, in the background Carla arranged for every inspection that would be needed when someone showed real interest. The fire, well, septic system, termite and others I can't remember. Also, she secured a quote for insurance for the potential buyers that was lower than other homes in the area and not on the state sponsored Fair Plan. She worked with me to gather my information about every capital improvement I had done over those 25 years and there were many. Near the point of sale, I freaked out over the disclosures form I needed to fill out online. Carla calmly sat on the phone with me for almost 2 hours to help me get it done.
In the end we found the perfect buyer! A family with a dad in the road building business! And they said I could come and visit so I wouldn't have to drive away for the last time knowing I'd never see that place again. I don't know how I would have been able to let go without Carla's help. She was way beyond competent and thorough. She was my real estate whisperer. read more