We are first-time home buyers and brand new to Texas. We were very nervous about the process and did our research before finding a realtor. I had read about the dual-agency scenarios and it seemed completely against our interests and buyers, so we looked into the exclusive buyer agent set up. It 100000% made the process more fair -- I was never concerned about Alysse having our best interests in mind; I knew she did.
When we first met Alysse, she spent nearly an hour with us talking to us about what we wanted and how it all worked. She seemed trustworthy and reliable during that meeting and we got along well with her, so we hired her. We also learned that she had a flat rate set up, where we would get back a portion of her commission if we found a house in a certain number of trips. As first time buyers (and me being so picky!), we didn't think that would be possible. However, Alysse set up a homefinder account for us filtering out undesirable properties and we went to searching. Alysee took us on a house-hunting trip and explained pros and cons of each home we went to, from location, commute time, yard space for our dog, proximity to busy roads, potential foundation issues, etc. Within a couple weeks, we'd found two homes that we thought were promising and asked Alysse to analyze them for us. She sent us an extremely thorough analysis of the homes, both the pros and the cons. It was SO helpful to us to figure out our options. My mom, who has been a real estate appraiser for over 30 years, commented on how rare such a detailed analysis is from a realtor and gave Alysse high praises as well.
Once we decided on a home, Alysse helped us negotiate to get the house under the list price and then had tools to get us through the foreign closing process smoothly. She was there for us every step of the way and answered all of our questions quickly and completely throughout the process. In the end, we got a rebate from Alysse for a portion of her commission because we'd been able to find a house within the parameters of her flat-fee program. That was a nice little treat at closing time!
I highly recommend Alysse if you're looking for a Realtor. read more