Gary McLaughlin Berkshire Hathaway Realty

All went very well despite severe economic challenges. Both real estate and stock markets were dropping in 2008 as the "great recession" began. Gary recommended several services to help empty, repair and clean up the house to get it on the market quickly. Gary prepared a marketing plan and photo brochures. He recommended a price that was fair and attractive to potential buyers. He was able to bring a fairly steady stream of realtors and shoppers with repeated open houses despite falling markets. He provided reliable advice on procedures for escrow, inspections, legal compliance, etc. He provided very wise and valuable strategy guidance during negotiations while respecting that all decisions had to be made by my wife, as the owner by inheritance. He was always readily available and patient with our questions and concerns. The house sold in about six months. The price was much less than listed and hoped for, but was good given the economy. Many other houses in the area did not sell for a much longer time. We were glad to complete a reasonable sale so the estate could be distributed and additional costs of holding the property for an extended period of time were avoided. I do not recall the cost of service. I believe it was the going percentage for realtors, but was less than prior real estate transactions I have done. This was the fourth transaction Gary handled for us over 20 years. He sold our first house, represented us when purchasing our current house, and represented my in-laws when they purchased this house in Calabasas.

We were very pleased in the way Gary marketed our house in a difficult marketplace. We closed the sales transaction and Gary located a Ideal house for us in Westlake. This purchase was a short sale and became very difficult to close, we would have passed on this opportunity if we did not have Gary's help. We were able to close this purchase and have what we wanted at a substantial savings. Gary never tried to get us to lower our expeditions or compromise on our feature list. Gary is now looking for additional property for us and is always willing to do his homework so we can view the select picks that fit our needs.

As expected.