I work in real estate private equity, so I think I have more exposure than most in the real estate transaction world. I've now done 3 transactions with Eugene - I've bought two houses and sold one. You WON'T find a better real estate agent than Eugene... he's super responsive, is always representing your best interests, and really wants you to be happy with the transaction you're making. I'd break Eugene's qualities as follows:
Service
There's never been a "bad time" for him. During our last purchase, my wife had him come to 6 different appointments for different hardwood guys to bid to replace our carpeting. He drove 20 minutes from his home every time to open up the lockbox for us and let people into the house. He never complains about being overburdened and deals with my private equity "type-A" mindset of trying to control everything. He never hesitated to show us houses, draft bids for us, and get us in the best position to win. He even drafted an offer for us while he was in China on vacation with his wife and baby daughter!
Market Knowledge
When we found out house in 2013, Eugene explicitly said "if we can get it at this price, this is a BASEMENT BARGAIN deal." We had looked at a number of different properties, and this particular house looked like a complete bargain to him relative to all the others. Three years later when we sold the house, the house had appreciated 30%+ and we had done 0 work to it in that time. You should feel complete confidence that Eugene will find you great deals in homes you'll love AND you'll make money in.
Structural Engineering Knowledge
Eugene is actually a structural engineer by trade, having graduated with a degree from Stanford. It's GREAT getting to look at funky structures and having him opine on whether they were built well or will need future reinforcements. Moreover, he can easily tell you how practical future plans/renovations would be given his background.
Relationships
Eugene has great relationships in the industry and it REALLY helps when putting in a bid that the selling broker knows who he is. Believe me - it shows credibility with your bid and sellers really focus on this in a competitive auction. It's helped me win my two bids and not overpay both times! read more