I can't express how fortunate my husband, Ali, and I were in finding Lee to guide us in our search for our house as first-time home buyers. We moved to Columbus in Fall 2013 and went to dozens of open houses to get a good idea of the Columbus market. We met another realtor at an open house and really liked her and had decided that she would be our relator when the time came; however she never returned our communications. It was still about a month or two before we were going to be serious about looking, but given our experience with this first realtor, I looked on Yelp for reviews on agents, and Lee's reviews were STELLAR. I signed up on her website that day to receive listings, and Lee called and left a message on my cell the next day! I was so surprised that she took the time out of her busy schedule to call me, who had just signed up on her website. She was so easy to talk to and listened to what were were looking for and helped me personalize my search. We were particularly interested in the Upper Arlington market. About a month later, Lee called us just to check in. It happened that a few houses were just listed and we called Lee on a Saturday evening in January to see some houses the next day that were recently listed. We saw 3 separate houses, and Lee took the time to learn about what we liked and didn't like about each house. We actually liked the last house a lot and spent almost up to an hour discussing our thoughts about the house with Lee. We ended up visiting the last one a second time two days later and putting an offer in. Although our offer was accepted, the inspector that Lee recommended (See my Terra Firma review) found a MAJOR problem with the structure of the house and we ultimately chose to walk away. Lee was absolutely great through all of it, even though we felt devastated. We continued to work with Lee, and she must have shown us over 15 other houses in the next few months. She was always very quick with communicaiton and by a certain point, was able to almost tell immediately after walking in if we were interested or not. Ali and I trust Lee 100%, with absolutely no reservations. We even disccused as we were looking and were going to be out of town that we'd trust her opinion on any homes if they came up while we were out of town, without even seeing them! After a little over 3 months, we were feeling a little defeated by not finding anything that we liked as much as the first house. In a very fortunate twist, I happened to be looking on a house sales website one evening and saw that a house in the same neighborhood as the first was listed "For Sale By Owner". I immediately contacted Lee and she set up a showing the next day and we had finally found our house! I was a little nervous about it being FSBO, but Lee and her assistant, Lacey, navigated everything so professionally and we are now owners of a house that we love even more than the first!
We cannot put a price on the guidance, assistance, and relationship that Lee offered to us as first-time buyers. Lee is truly an expert in her field, and I while I hope to keep this house for awhile, if we ever think of moving, Lee will be the first person we call. Lee is not only an amazing realtor, she truly cares about her clients and their happiness. There were so many times when I would communicate with Lee about my feelings of disappointment through the process, and Lee was always there to be empathetic and give us hope that our house was out there somewhere. We know that, although we have had our closing, we will be seeing Lee again once we make some renovations to our house and will show her the finished product. Throughout the entire process, Lee was there to answer all of our questions, and she made it clear that protecting us as buyers in the process was her absolute main objective. Frankly, if you don't choose Lee as your agent, you are missing out on the best agent out there. Her ability to effectively and efficiently navigate the process of offers and negotiating is outstanding. In fact, her skill in communicating our offer was ultimately what led to our success in having our bid accepted. She spent hours on the phone with the FSBO couple and was clear and unwavering on our offer window. We absolutely believe that it was an important piece of our offer being accepted. Not only was the home buying process much more navigable with Lee, she offered us some really great recommendations on inspectors and other professionals and contractors related to renovations. We honestly can't thank Lee and Lacey enough for the time and work they put into the process! read more