Short version: My family of 3 moved to a home we love in SLO county. It's our first house and we…read morewere feeling desperate when searching. Monique helped us avoid settling on homes that wouldn't be a good fit. Throughout the whole process she put our wants/desires ahead of her own interests in ways that were surprising AND comforting. Despite some hiccups along the way, we LOVE our new home and are grateful for Monique's character and professionalism throughout the process.
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Long version: We lived in the Bay Area and were tired of the grind of traffic, rude people, crime, and the insanity of housing prices. I found Monique on Yelp and tried to vet her through the few reviews that were online. I contacted another realtor as well but didn't feel he was a good fit from our brief interaction. I talked with Monique on the phone and she seemed promising...
We took a trip down to the area and spent two days around SLO and south SLO county. She explained the different areas and told us to use the trip as a way to get a sense of what's available and what we like/dislike. As we were still not sure what we needed/wanted to raise our little baby/toddler, her insights were helpful (she's an experienced mom).
At some houses we would walk in and she would shake her head and say, "No. Not right for you. You can do better." Having no experience buying a home or raising a family, I asked, "What about this house feels wrong?" She would explain layout issues, deferred maintenance, and other things that would require work. She knew we had a baby and wanted move-in ready. So she was good about telling us which ones were probably not a good idea and explaining the reasons.
Almost a year passed before we came back. In that time we had decided to try moving to another town in CA. We told Monique our search was on hold, and she was gracious and wished us luck. The other city got STUPID expensive with nothing but rundown / ugly houses available....AND then the COVID lockdowns happened. When work from home became a real option for the long run, we decided to give SLO another try and contacted Monique again.
She gave us the beta on the current market realities and started finding potential houses. We took a trip down, identified multiple options (so much time on Redfin...), and we toured around some new construction and pre-owned homes...
We were shocked to actually find one home (and only one!) that we loved. I hate when my life and my words turn into a cliche, but walking into the home was the exact cliche that you read about - we knew this was "the one."
Due to the market conditions, I don't think we got the "best" deal we could've gotten - and that's very much due to my own eagerness to get the deal done. I will say, though, that we had worked with realtors in the Bay Area, and we had one who actively encouraged terrible bidding strategies on crappy homes for us. Monique did not. And she did not ever push to be aggressive on our offer. She was actually more conservative about the pricing than I was.
The whole home-buying process was a mess of paperwork and Monique was available to talk us through it all. I was a stress case and was constantly asking where our "outs" were. Would we be able to cancel the deal at this point? What about now? I always wanted to know how locked in we were and was constantly worried we were somehow making a HUGE mistake.
Monique communicated clearly about each contingency and never pressured us to do anything. She gently reminded me of how we felt when we were physically at the house, and she also made clear that backing out at any point was not a problem because she only wanted us to to feel GREAT about our new home.
There was one major issue in which Monique truly stepped up to make things right. Some work done by someone she'd referred was not up to expectations. She immediately let me know that she would make it right - whatever the cost. She would make sure I got my money back, even if it meant she ate the cost. And she would make sure any extra costs necessary would be covered too. She took ownership of the issue and was apologetic about the entire thing.
I was VERY surprised by that kind of response. It would have been VERY easy for Monique to simply assign the blame to the referral. I frankly expected that to be the response. But she showed a high level of care and character, and that alone calmed my nerves during that stressful period. In the end, the issue was handled without anyone taking any big hits. :-)
Despite multiple freakouts and a short period of massive buyers remorse, when we moved into our home, I cried tears of disbelief and joy. The location, layout, light, and overall condition have been a better fit than I imagined. I've been so grateful that Monique handled my stress calmly and without any slimy salesperson pressure. She was calm and reassuring when needed, and that made it possible for us to live in a home that we love in a place that we are loving!