Let me start from the fact that I was under impression that real estate agent's job is pretty easy. How hard is it for the buyer's agent to drive potential buyers around and show them properties, give some advice and get the share of the sale? Now I changed that perception completely after I worked with Phillip. There is so much more that goes into Phillip's work than I can put into words in this little note. We purchased our new home and then sold our old one with Phillip. First, Phillip comes with a whole team of people. He has an assistant agent Billy who helped us along with Phillip when we were looking for a house. When we were selling our old house Phillip engaged a whole team of people - painters, stagers, landscapers, handyman etc to ideally prepare the house for the market. It was smooth as a breeze. Phillip kept us updated on the status via WhatsApp and via Basecamp app. Phillip takes a great pride in his pricing strategy which worked perfectly for selling our old house. We got multiple offers and went with the one that Phillip suggested and never regretted. All in all - perfect. But the story wouldn't be complete without the story of buying our new house. That story will stay in our memory for a very long time. We were looking for a house in Oct, 2020 - Feb, 2021. That's the time when house prices skyrocketed and it was extremely hard to win the bidding wars. Moreover, there were so few houses on the market that we could hardly find a house that we liked, let alone bid and pay that ridiculous amount of money. We were desperate and started looking outside of our price range and found a bea-uti-ful house that we decided to check out just out of curiosity. The price was too high, but otherwise it was perfect! We started thinking about buying, started doing some research by googling the sellers and then found out that they had a couple litigations with their banks. That sounded like a red flag. Talked to Phillip and took his advice to talk to the neighbors. Neighbors were unanimous that the sellers are not very nice people and they had encroachment issues with virtually all neighbors. And let's just say we are not the biggest risk takers. But the house was just so perfect. While I was talking to the neighbors and tried to take pictures of the disputed areas, there they were - the sellers! "What are you doing here??? This is private property!!!" - she said. I tried to explain that I'm a buyer and trying to understand what the disputes are about. She softened her tone and started explaining their view of the disputes. I won't go into details about her explanation and the disputes themselves. What was important is that I realized that they are not scam artists, at least not the type that you need to worry about. They are just blue collar people who don't know how to live by the law and are trying to circumvent the law for their benefit, but in some petty ways. We had a long phone call with Phillip that night, weighed our risks and decided to move forward with the offer. We managed to drop the price on that house! And that's in the middle of this real estate craze that's going on! As Phillip said, the sellers did everything wrong with the sale of that house. The initial price was ridiculously high and they had to drop the price several times which probably already was a red flag for a lot of buyers. Then the listing was made very poorly. The language was very limited with several obvious mistakes. We had a really hard time buying that house. The communication with the sellers was terrible. For example, they wouldn't leave the house if we wanted to come visit or if we called an inspector and Phillip had to convince them to leave. They would refuse to wear a mask. They would refuse to fix things that inspector pointed at. They would scream at Phillip that he doesn't understand that everything is fine and his inspector doesn't know anything. I just admire Phillip's patience as he went through all of that. We had long conversations with Phillip and text chats at all times of day and night and all days of the week. We had our doubts, Phillip probably had his doubts too about that property. It was just so perfect that little things that the inspector found weren't stopping us - we could always fix them after we moved in. Just the personality of the sellers was a huge concern. Eventually we decided to move forward. We had to learn so many things we never knew before - encroachments, liens, title insurance, short plat, surveyors etc. And we bought a house before! We just never had to deal with these things. Eventually everything worked out and we own that house now and can't be happier! It wouldn't be possible without trust. Trust is what I would put first. We trusted Phillip and that's why the deal went through. They say that people who went through a war together have some special bond with each other. That's how we feel about Phillip as went through a war together with him. A victorious war! read more

We cannot say enough great things about the Realtor team of Phillip Belenky and Shane Rossow! We first connected with this dynamic real estate team in the Spring of 2022 based on a recommendation from one of our close friends of over 30 years! We reached out to Phillip and Shane, who had the reputation as Realtors we could trust and guide us in purchasing a home in the greater Seattle area. They immediately responded and scheduled a Zoom meeting that turned out to be a very pleasant meet and greet where they simply did not just gather info on our wish list and timeline, but also tried to capture and relate to our personal circumstances at the time so that they could customize their services to our specific needs. For example, we had each recently moved from British Columbia and Las Vegas, and there were several things that had to be handled differently, not only from State to State but also Country to Country. Phillip and Shane put us in touch with Loan Officers in the area that were well versed in our unusual circumstance, where spouses were from two different countries with one a US Citizen and the other on a work visa, their network of professionals alone was vast and invaluable. They were also especially attuned to ensuring that we were aware of the Seattle housing market and how competitive you had to be in order to attain the perfect home in this area. They did a fantastic job of coaching and preparing us for the purchase process in Seattle with all its nuances. Phillip took an entire day and drove us around the greater Seattle area so that we could get a taste of different neighborhoods and general areas. Within a very short period of time they listened carefully knew what was important to us in a home and began confidently guiding us in the home purchase process in this unfamiliar territory. They immediately set our profile up on their website where properties that met our predetermined requirements were sent to us on a continual basis so we could preview at our leisure without unnecessary pressure. After a few weeks of home searching, we made the personal decision to put our search on pause until we could take a much needed breather from all the changes happening to us all at once; the move to Seattle, the start of a new career, and the fact that we just also sold two homes. We just simply needed a break to take a collective breath and clear our minds. Phillip and Shane were patient and understanding and with us and our decision to pause. They were compassionate and able to empathize and said they would be there for us when we were ready. And they were, just 4 months later when we were ready to buy! We picked up exactly where we left off without a hitch! We can't tell you enough how valuable the guidance they gave us during the negotiation, inspection, closing process and the hundreds of questions we had during the process and even after we closed on our new home. They made the process so easy and pleasant, they have a tremendous amount of knowledge and never ending insight on everything related to real estate. Truly a wonderful team and just all around nice guys! In the time we have known known Phillip and Shane, we would describe them as extremely detail and client obsessed with the most kind, patient and positive attitude of any Realtor we have worked with in the past. In the end, it is not just a business transaction for them and for all these reasons, they have earned our unwavering trust and highly recommend anyone and everyone to reach out to them for all your real estate needs. You'll be glad you did! Rod and Mark read more

Sometimes you meet people and you just know that it's a fit. That's how it was with Phillip and Shane. When we decided to sell our home during a pandemic, we knew we needed an agent who knew the market well and would have our best interests at heart. We were looking for someone who understood and could communicate the spirit of our home to potential buyers, as well as secure the highest possible price. Phillip and Shane listened carefully to our story and what we loved about our home. From the start, we felt that they were invested in our success. Phillip's industry knowledge and Shane's amazing design sense stood out to us in our initial meeting and in their plans for how to list our home. It was evident to us that Phillip had deep experience in market trends and how to price listings correctly in a hot market. As we were moving through the process, Phillip guided us through every decision that needed to be made with clear and frequent communication. He helped focus us on what was important and necessary to get the best sale experience. We appreciated his honest feedback and how he managed our expectations throughout the process. Our home needed some repairs to really make it shine. Shane's eye for mid-century design provided us with choices that made our home pop. We decided to move out of our house before the work was to begin. We agreed on an aggressive timeline for getting the house ready and on the market. Phillip and Shane managed all of the repairs and the scheduling of everyone involved. The contractors they recommended did great work on time and at a great price. This whole experience could have been very stressful but we were able to trust that our home was in experienced, caring hands. Along the way, we questioned whether or not we needed to hire stagers. The price tag for staging was very high! Because of the trust we had in Phillip, we decided to embrace his recommendation to stage our home and in the end it was worth every penny and more so! Our home looked gorgeous and we think that was reflected in the final selling price. Phillip was amazing during the time when the house was on the market. I'm fairly certain he never put his phone down! When it came time to review our offers, Phillip had clearly laid out all FIFTEEN offers so that we could easily examine the pros and cons of each offer. In the end we accepted an amazing offer that was well above asking price. We were completely overjoyed! Phillip continued to manage the process through closing. The clear communication from both Phillip and Shane continued, and we always knew where things were in the process. We are so grateful to both of them for making our home sale experience the best it could have been. I'm sure we don't even know the lengths to which they went to make everything happen for us. That's just who they are. We're thankful to now call them friends. read more

A lot of people go with a recommendation from a friend to find a good real estate broker but I decided it would be best to go it alone and do my research. When I placed all my criteria in Realtor.com (highest rated, best accredited, expert in my neighborhood), Phillip's profile came to the top of the list. He had also received a rave review from someone conducting the sale of their house while living abroad, which I would also be doing. I contacted Phillip, and after our introductory meeting over Skype, I knew I didn't need to look any further. For sure there are many excellent brokers out there but you cannot do better than Phillip. Our house was a rental for many years and needed a lot of work to be sale-ready. Phillip was pretty firm with us that not doing this work would result in leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table. We appreciated his gentle "this is not negotiable" approach to getting our house in its best shape possible. I was so impressed by how Phillip got everything into action in an organized and linear fashion. He has an army of painters, repair people, staging people, landscaping people, inspectors and everyone else needed to get the house back into pristine condition. After my house got the Phillip treatment, it never looked better and was ready for its close up. And he was really patient and flexible with us as the bills started coming in and we had to figure out how to get everything paid from our foreign bank accounts. We needed some handholding having not lived in the States for 11 years and he was always there. His knowledge of the market and the real estate business in general is second to none. We immediately trusted his deep expertise and always followed his advice and as a result, benefitted tremendously. Further, he has a great way of knowing how much information we need and what to protect us from so that this transaction, conducted with 9 hours of time difference between us, was unbelievably stress free. That I appreciated so much because when Phillip was responding to texts and emails at 10:00 at night his time, we knew how much work was going into the sale of our house. But please when you hire Phillip, try not to take advantage too much of his work ethic! We accepted a contingency offer on our house and when our buyer's house was not selling as fast as expected, Phillip got creative with the buyer's agent and we worked out a strategy to give the buyers a bit more time to sell their house and it worked brilliantly. At all times he was doing everything in his power to get our house sold at the highest price and we were thrilled with the outcome, of course that being the huge pay out from the proceeds of our sale. read more

The Ultimate Listing Agent I recently sold my townhome in Redmond, WA, right by Microsoft HQ, and I cannot praise Phillip enough for his exceptional work as my listing agent. Here's why: Masterful Handling of a Challenging Market: Phillip sold my townhome in an incredibly tough market. High interest rates, numerous similar homes for sale, and steep HOA fees made it difficult for many properties to sell. My previous agent was ineffective, making multiple listing and marketing errors, and we received only one offer. In contrast, Phillip's outstanding reputation in the area truly shined. His expertise was worth every cent I paid, and he delivered results where others failed. Thorough and Honest Property Assessment: Phillip and his partner Shane meticulously inspected my home, documenting all necessary fixes. They provided a detailed breakdown of what needed to be done, including costs. Moreover, they set realistic expectations for both the list price and likely sale price. This transparency and attention to detail made the entire process clear and manageable for me. Expert Handling of Complex Transactions: The sale of my property was part of a reverse 1031 exchange, requiring precise timing and coordination with my 1031 intermediary. Phillip navigated the complex paperwork and adhered to strict guidelines and timelines seamlessly, ensuring a smooth transaction. When we ran into an issue with the 1031, he suggested several innovative ways to solve the problem, demonstrating an incredible ability to understand the gist of the issue and use creativity and diagonal thinking to effectively solve problems. Skilled Negotiation and Stress-Free Process: Phillip significantly negotiated the offer upwards, showcasing his exceptional negotiation skills. He effectively communicated and worked with the buyer, ensuring that I had nothing to worry about. His diligence prevented any potential issues from slipping through the cracks. I appreciate bright people who are also hardworking, and Phillip is both. You hire an agent to solve problems for you, and Phillip did exactly that. Firing my previous part-time agent, who offered discounted fees but failed to deliver, was the best decision I made. Phillip proved that hiring the best agent is crucial. His expertise, dedication, and professionalism were evident throughout the process, and the results speak for themselves. If you're looking to buy or sell in the Redmond area, trust Phillip to get the job done right. read more

We've had the privilege of working with Phillip Belenky and Shane Rossow of PBNW Homes for the past 15 years, and their dedication to every single project continues to impress us. They consistently prioritize their clients' needs, ensuring that every detail is thoughtfully considered from start to finish. What truly stands out is their compassion and genuine care for their clients. Earlier this year, we worked with them on a project for a seller who was parting with the home she grew up in after her mother had passed. Phillip went out of his way to keep us informed and requested that we incorporate the mother's favorite colors into the staging design as a way to honor her memory. After the home sold quickly with multiple offers, we had the pleasure of meeting the seller, and she shared how much that thoughtful touch meant to her. Moments like that are a reflection of the heart and care Phillip and Shane bring to their work. No matter the price point--whether it's a $500K listing or a $5M property--Phillip and Shane approach every project with the same attention to detail, compassion, and commitment to their clients' success. Their consistent level of care is something we greatly admire. As home stagers, we collaborate with many different agents, and working with Phillip and Shane is always a smooth and rewarding experience. Their organization, clear communication, and professionalism make them a pleasure to partner with. Their proactive approach ensures that each project runs efficiently and with intention. We're happy to recommend this team and would trust them to sell our own homes without hesitation. If you're looking for agents who are attentive, thoughtful, and genuinely committed to their clients' success, PBNW Homes is a great choice. --Seattle Staged to Sell read more

10s, 10s, 10s across the board!! I cannot express my gratitude enough for the support and guidance my partner and I received from Phillip, Billy, and the entire PBNW team throughout our home buying process. As first-time buyers, we had little knowledge on what to expect as we began our search, but the team was there to guide us through each step. From the first email communication through our first official day in the house, Phillip and Billy listened to our needs, provided a multitude of options for us to peruse in order to understand the market, and were able to keep us on track when considering the viability of a home. As two individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community in our early 30s, finding the right team for our inaugural home search was extremely important to us. From the first conversation, we knew that we were in the right hands, which allowed us to feel at ease and find moments to connect with our realtors on a personal level beyond the home search. Touring homes and neighborhoods together was made even more enjoyable due to their wealth of knowledge in multiple areas, helping us envision the integration of our lives with the neighborhood and commercial areas. When all was said and done, we had only been touring homes for 7 days before deciding to put an offer on a gorgeous townhome - if that isn't a mark of success, I don't know what is! Offer process was smooth, inspections were smooth, closing was a breeze...certainly couldn't have done it without them! Eternally grateful to the PBNW team for helping us find (and land) our first dream home. Lifelong customers here, without a doubt. Thank you!! read more

I decided to move early this year and started working with Phillip just as the pandemic was exploding. While acknowledging the uncertainties in the real estate market, he dived in with a detailed marketing plan and coordinated staging and landscaping to maximize our odds of a quick sale. It worked like a charm, as we negotiated an offer above asking price with the first buyers to come through the property, and a few weeks later we made an offer on an unbelievable location for my new purchase. Everything seemed to be going perfectly until our buyers ran into financing problems that repeatedly threatened to blow up the sale. Phillip spent many hours (including evenings, weekends, and even vacation time over the 4th of July) moving the process forward with our buyers' agent and loan officer while also keeping the listing agent for my new home in the loop. In the end, it all worked out with just hours to spare between closings, and I feel confident we got the best possible price on both the home I sold and the home I purchased. Throughout the process, Phillip provided great advice and honest feedback while letting me make the big decisions, and he kept me informed at every step without inundating me with the gory details. Phillip's work ethic, responsiveness, knowledge of the market, and negotiating ability were crucial to getting both deals done. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone buying or selling a home in the Seattle area. read more

Yelp seems to really love giving fives for regular levels of quality. I mean fives when I choose fives. One of the hardest parts of a cross-country move is managing to search in one city when you actually live in a whole other time zone. My partner and I are relocating from Pittsburgh to Seattle. We managed some legwork on back and forth trips but absolutely had to have a realtor when it came to our actual physical house hunt. We had a pretty good list of what we wanted and needed in a home. Phillip was able to take all those details and condense them, finding us several listings via a real estate site. We were able to go through those and manage to pair ourselves down to a list. It was a really big list, still. We made plans to come in and dedicate two weeks to hunting, with an expectation that we would very likely need to come back a second time. Phillip organized a pretty intensive house hunt, and we covered, I believe, more than thirty properties. In the end we had three that we really liked. When we paired down to one Phillip handled the rest. His advice was invaluable, and he helped us make good decisions, none of which I've regretted. He was great with helping us set up a sewer and home inspection, finding us painters and a flooring company. He's been right there with so many referrals that our stress levels have been halved. It's still been extremely taxing, but having it be even a little less so is priceless, read more

Phillip and team were wonderful guides through our home buying process during a time when the market was going bonkers, stuck with us, kept us on track and we got a good outcome. Specific things we especially appreciate: 1) He has an excellent network and is a great connector - this was everything from our awesome lender to other families who made similar decisions as ours within the past few years to chat with, flooring contractors, who to get bids from for projects we'll do months from now, everything. 2) He really understands from the seller's/rep POV and was able to provide us with excellent insight about how to position ourselves, which was different in different scenarios. 3) He helped us understand the potential in a house for our taste and needs, and gave good estimates of costs and time to make updates - like if you want this neighborhood, this house needs x, y and z which will cost about $ but that's totally doable (or too hard to do, takes outside budget, etc.). We are very happy to recommend Phillip and his team - we didn't anticipate all the different ways we would need their expertise but are grateful to have them in our corner! read more

My husband first met Phillip on a house-hunting trip prior to our move to Seattle. Phillip helped him get acquainted with local neighborhoods. His presence and advice was so valuable--renting a home in a foreign city in four days is not an easy task! Later on, when we decided to look for a house to buy, we did not hesitate to turn to Phillip. We really liked the neighborhood we were living in--especially because of its great public elementary school. We were not alone. A good school and relative proximity to major work locations, such as UW and downtown, make this neighborhood very desirable among homebuyers. In fact, most of the homes here are sold with multiple offers. Ours was no exception; we beat seven other offers and we are very thankful for Phillip's commitment to our success. Phillip was attentive throughout the whole process--he was knowledgeable about the market and advised us about the home inspection process. He demonstrated great communication skills with us, and with the listing agent. Finally, he did not push, however he was very firm about our winning strategy for success. That distinguishes a true professional. read more

We have had the pleasure to work with Phillip on several transactions over the years (both on the seller and buyer side) and we could not have hoped for a more professional and trustworthy experience. We feel very fortunate to have met Phillip years ago and have built a long standing relationship with him and his awesome team. Phillip is not only extremely competent, but he is also consistently going the extra mile to meet his customers' needs and exceed expectations. He is a trusted advisor for our family, and has played a key role in helping us with real estate decisions in various stages of our life. Most recently, Phillip supported us with a home buying decision and negotiation process that needed to happen quickly, and his advice and superbe negotiation skills were instrumental in allowing us to secure our dream home. He worked relentlessly for us for several days and evenings and made sure our choice was the right one long term. We highly recommend Phillip to anyone looking for outstanding service and a realtor who puts customers first in every interaction. read more

We worked with Phillip to purchase our first home 12 years ago. It was a great experience. He explained us patiently that we have list but we need to prioritize. Home was listed by owner and Phillip went above and beyond and completed two jobs essentially - as a seller and a buyer agent for us to get our first home. This year when we were looking for new home to have bigger place for our growing family Phillip was our go person, and we had an amazing experience. He is always available, not only himself but also with his strong team behind. He and his team are really caring their clients, understand what they are looking for. They are using tools to share search results, communicate timely and always available for questions. Purchasing a home is very stressful and it doesn't end when you get the keys. We always feel that Phillip and his team are still with us and they are incredibly helpful for us while we are moving in and settling in our new home. Phillip, his team, his network and their experiences are literally a gift. THANK YOU! We really recommend them! read more

We went back to Phillip to help us sell our condo because we were so happy with the way he helped us when we were on the buying side. Phillip is super organized. He helped us put a plan together that included some much needed remodeling, and he made sure everything happened according to plan. He even helped with a lot of the remodeling decision making. We really felt like things were on auto-pilot because Phillip was just so on top of everything - and that's really saying a lot given the amount of prep work we had in our particular case. He's very reachable and flexible in his communication style (with our busy schedule we preferred text and email which Phillip was more than happy to accommodate). He took time to explain things and helped us make sure we were making decisions we would be happy with. He understands the local market incredibly well. We really feel he helped us get the maximum sale value possible. We've used Phillip twice now and we hope he can be our agent for future transactions. read more

Phillip is a hard task master and tells you things about your house you don't want to hear. He gives you plenty of homework assignments to get your home to model status. From the start his advice makes sense and his initial presentation is polished and professional He knows how to get the best price and provides white glove service before, during and after the sale. We had our house staged, moved out of state and it sold in 4 days for well over 20% over asking. Philip knew just how to work the deal and get top dollar for us. Phillip came highly recommended and we never doubted his approach and ability to get a result that far exceeded our expectations. His partner Alex Fotouhi who we found out we were her first customer provided excellent support and helped Phillip throughout the transaction including a video interview to extoll the virtues of our house read more

Phillip and Shane (PBNW Homes Team @ Ensemble) are simply the best! We recently partnered with them to sell the home we purchased back in 2009--and Phillip was our real estate agent for that original buy, too. (His outstanding work the first time around is exactly why we chose them again!) Spanning 16 years between transactions, Phillip's attitude and professionalism have remained consistently positive and exceptional. He arrives at every meeting thoroughly prepared, having studied our neighborhood in depth; he offers clear, well-explained recommendations and stays impeccably organized by tracking all expenses and offers in detailed spreadsheets that make everything easy for us to follow. Phillip deftly handles every issue--big or small--without missing a beat, ensuring the entire process flows seamlessly from start to finish. read more

It doesn't get any better than Phillip Belenky for all your real estate needs in the Seattle area. He is by far the best of the best. He pays attention to every detail throughout the sale or purchase of your home. He not only gets the job done but takes all the extra steps to maximize the profit you receive as the seller. From arranging landscaping persons, housecleaners, staging of your home, whether with what is already in it or arranging for an outside staging company. The photography and videography person he hires is far superior to any that I have seen. In past real estate transactions, I was always stressed and worried about what was not being done. With Phillip you have the confidence that he has thought of everything and is taking care of it! We are so happy we went with Phillip. He exceeded our expectations! read more

It can't get any better than this. I have to be honest, I did not appreciate his services enough until we gave our first offer. At that point, I realized how insane of a process, home buying is. A process like that, requires an exceptional agent like Phillip. We have several friends looking to buy their homes and when I hear about their stories, all I can think of is "Why aren't you working with Phillip?" He is extremely detail oriented (almost scary) and he educates his clients very well. He keeps in touch even after closing. He is still helping us with moving, maintenance, etc. I think of him as a friend, more than a real estate agent. I am a natural skeptic, but even I have 100% trust in any company or contractor that Phillip suggests. Hire him, you won't regret it read more

My wife and I used Phillip Belenky to buy our Capital Hill condo (2010) and sell it (2016). We were living in London when we bought it and were living in London/Boston when we sold it. Any transaction over these distances is potentially problematic but Phillip managed the entire process more smoothly and efficiently than we could have hoped. He is an excellent communicator (key in conducting one's affairs from afar), provided insightful and always reliable advice, and made us feel like we were his only client (although we certainly weren't!). We cannot recommend Phillip, nor praise his skills and his focus on his clients, too highly. We would use him again without a moment's hesitation. Thank you , Phillip, for all your hard work and professionalism! Larry & Peg read more