Matt Murton - Washington Fine Properties LLC

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It went beautifully. I had 2 offers, and sold for very close to the asking price. I highly recommend Matt. He's patient, responsive, professional, and gives great advice - always looking for ways to save the homeowner money, time, and aggravation. I've been burned by realtors in the past - who didn't pay attention to important (and expensive) details, were slow to respond, and worse. I interviewed 6 realtors, and picked Matt. I'm so glad that I did. Hire him.

When we found out we were moving to the Washington, D.C. area I immediately turned to Angie's List to find a realtor for our relocation in the Summer of 2012. In March of 2012, I had found 3 potential candidates and had appointments lined up for meet-and-greet's. My husband and I met Matt Murton on the morning of March 5, 2012 and that afternoon, we cancelled our other appointments with potential relators because he was such a perfect fit. At our first meeting, Matt thoroughly impressed us with his extensive knowledge of the area, to include not only neighborhoods but also school districts and zoning - he can draw county lines/school zones for northern Virginia, Maryland and D.C. with his eyes closed and also tell you what new projects cities are planning - all helpful information for a couple who never knows how long they're going to be living somewhere and not only wants to find the "perfect" neighborhood for the right price but also keep resale in mind. Although my husband and I had come out to the area in January and February to familiarize ourselves and investigate potential neighborhoods, we somehow managed to overlook the one that would become our desired choice - and Matt suggested it on our first meeting. We told him we loved Colonials and Cape Cod's, and were looking for a "true neighborhood" after having found ours lacking in PIttsburgh - and Matt suggested we drive through the Woodmoor neighborhood of Silver Spring after our meeting. We took his advice and knew he was already on-target with what we wanted/were looking for. Matt is wonderfully accessible through not only email but text and facetime. We were 5 hours away but Matt was always happy to go look at a house for us, video record his walk-through of it and have it to us within an hour or so if we could not make the drive. If we found a house on the internet and asked Matt about it, we always had confidence that he was truthful if it was in a neighborhood worth looking at or not. It never bothered him if we drove up to a house for a walk-through and we weren't impressed enough to even get out of the car - nothing flustered him, he never got discouraged. He totally understood when we didn't jump on houses in "desirable neighborhoods" that were "well-priced" and had had 10 walk-through's by noon on their first day on the market. He understood if we couldn't put our finger on it, but the house just wasn't the one we were looking for. Matt was teriffic in bringing together the deal on the house that would become our home. After discovering Woodmoor at his suggestion, I told my husband it would be great if we could find a house there - and we did. The morning it hit the market I called Matt and he was there within the hour and took a video for us. The next morning we were walking through it and really wanted to make an offer. We decided to put one in that afternoon (on a Thursday) and were discouraged to find out one was already received and another pending. Somehow, ours prevailed (on Friday) and on Monday morning we were walking through with Matt and the Inspector - and by the way, Matt somehow managed to set all of this up while driving back and forth to North Carolina with his family for a reunion. There are not words to express how happy we are with our experience with Matt - he helped us to find a home that we love for at least the next 4 years - though we will keep our fingers crossed we can somehow manage to stay here longer. We have already recommended Matt to others that are considering the Bethesda / Chevy Chase / Kensington / Silver Spring Area.

Matt was a professional from beginning to end. We had a challenging as-is property to sell and he was honest and helpful in getting us ready for listing the property. When we had questions he responded immediately and gave us the option of texting, emailing, or calling depending on our situation. Our home sale was further complicated by an unexpected family illness and death. Matt's understanding and sensitivity to our family while still keeping the home sale on track was a great comfort. He always offered us both electronic and meeting in person options for completing paperwork. I would recommend Matt to anyone. This was our third time selling a home and I can honestly say Matt stands head and shoulders above peers is his field.

I was in need of a Realtor in Maryland as my wife and I were planning to relocate here from Texas. Since I didn?t have any personal referrals, I relied on Angie?s List for my search. After looking over the referrals for several agents, and making several phone calls, I selected Matt because of the quality of the positive ratings he had received and his willingness to answer questions on our first phone call. In retrospect, selecting Matt as my Realtor was one of the best decisions I?ve ever made. Matt?s support was pivotal to the success of our home search and eventual home purchase. We relied heavily on him to guide and educate us in the Maryland home purchasing process; and he did so with superb knowledge and patience and always had our best interest foremost in his mind. He understood the challenges we faced and was sensitive to our needs and timing. Although Matt did what you would expect agents to do (find houses, show them to you, set up the inspection, etc.), it was his patience and charming, yet professional, personality that made all the difference. He made my wife and I feel as if we were his only clients ? although we knew we were not. He responded quickly to our emails and calls ? even late into the night and on weekends. He answered our questions, provided us with critical information, and never pushed us. Beyond his intelligence and professionalism, he is a good, caring, and fun person. He has in-depth knowledge of not only the available houses, but also the geography and history of the Maryland/Virginia area. Having lived and worked in the area for some time, Matt has amassed a large number of friends and associates that he can call on to help his clients with any issues that arise. This proved to be extremely helpful as we had to switch mortgage brokers three weeks before closing. What started out as a quite stressful situation, ended up being a blessing in disguise because Matt immediately put us in contact with a new lender and we never skipped a beat. It was flawless; and we owe all to Matt. All in all, Matt found us a beautiful home and partnered with us through closing and beyond. Working with him turned what could have been a very stressful event into a smooth process that gave us much needed peace of mind. Without hesitation, we would work with Matt again and highly recommend him. THANK YOU, MATT!!!!!

He had great suggestions for making our house appealing to buyers, and it sold ridiculously quickly for more than we had asked. He was responsive, helpful, and supportive. All in all, he made selling a house really easy!

Matt was amazing. We found him because of Angie's list and he lived up to his reputation. My wife and I have bought and sold a few homes and we always found our home before a realtor did, but this time, Matt really listened to what we wanted and found us the perfect house.Matt was a joy to work with. He was on top of every part of the home buying process. Matt was professional at all times. He returned calls, emails, and text promplty.Matt uses an online system for doing paperwork and I never want to buy another house using paper again. Matt would edit a doc wherever he was and I'd have it in my email to sign and send right back.I'd recommend Matt to anyone who wanted to buy or sell their home.

We did not see Matt's service because we changed our minds about the move.

Like many properties, mine had lost a significant amount of value since the real estate bubble burst. Matt did not try to pressure me one way or another but worked with unparalleled tenacity to get the most for my property. Even when it turned out that the market would not bear the price I wanted, Matt hung in there and found a short sale negotiator who was worth his weight in gold as well. Throughout the entire process, Matt was patient and always gave me frank and unvarnished advice. During a brief moment when it looked like it might not go through, Matt also displayed impeccable integrity. I felt awful for all the effort he had gone to so I wanted to compensate him, but he refused. Fortunately, the deal worked out and the sale was successful. I would use his services again anytime.

Matt handled the short sale of my townhouse. He was the king of professionalism, highly responsive, very timely, and had a really creative and innovative marketing approach that brought the right buyer to my house in just 4 days after listing . You couldn't do better than to use Matt's servivces to either sell or find you a house. He also recommended an attorney and tile company, Michaels Title in Rockville, which negotiated with my bank and had a deal ready to close in less than 2 weeks. It was amazing. Their fees were also reasonable. Matt was very agressive in getting the buyer to comply with the unexpetedly short turn-around time- apparently the buyer figured it was going to take months to close a short sale, so he was taking his good old time and his buyer's agent was also non-responsive, but Matt got them to the table and closed the deal without a hitch. Matt also helped me make the decision about whether to rent the house or sell it by providing some financial analysis for me to consider. He works with a great contractor who made a few repairs to the house for the sale and got it ready to show. His fees were reasonable, also, and he was fast. I was able to decide which work I wanted done from an estimate supplied by the contractor. I did not choose to do all that he recommended. Matt can provide turn-key service, but at no time did I feel obligated to use his suggested contractors. But I am glad that I did. Trust this guy, he's the real deal.

We were referred to Matt through a mutual friend. After meeting with Matt initially, we knew he would be a great option for us - even better than the "exclusive buyer's agent" firm we also interviewed - because Matt understood exactly what we were looking for while possessing comprehensive knowledge of Montgomery County neighborhoods. When we first started the process, back in early 2007, we relied on Matt to find us suitable properties, and he did a great job of listening to what we wanted and showing us properties that matched our desires. We ended up suspending the house search because we were offered a great deal on a rental, and because it was becoming more and more clear that the economy (and housing market) was about to crater. We picked up the search two years later, but ended up not buying again for various reasons. During that time, though, Matt was always responsive to our questions and willing to run around Rockville looking at places when we had a free weekend. Finally, in mid-2010, we realized that we needed to move, and it was a better time to buy given our current paramaters (though we're obviously nowhere near the bottom of the market yet). Once again, Matt was a pleasure to work with throughout the process. During this phase of the search, though, I was locating the properties and sending the info to Matt so we could tour them. While some brokers can be uncomfortable with tech-savvy customers who do their own research, Matt never balked at my legwork and was always there to answer questions that arose during the process. We ended up making a couple of offers before we found the right place, and Matt never lost patience with us even though it would have been easy to second guess whether we ever intended to actually close a deal. Matt is also knowledgable about buildings and construction, and can point out potential problems that are easy to miss with an untrained eye - one example was a house with an unfinished basement. It wasn't apparent to me, but Matt immediately noted that it had previously been finished, but the walls were torn out after suffering water damage. That was a huge red flag for us, and something that a lot of other brokers would not have recognized. While we hope to stay in our current place for many years, when the time does come to move the first person I will call is Matt.

Matt was great. He is a full service broker, and charges accordingly - appropriate and fair. But you get what you pay for - his experience and knowledge of the contracts saved us time and money. If you don't mind risking one of the largest investments that you make, go ahead and try to do it on your own or use someone "cheap". We have since recommended him to friends of ours, and he has represented two of our friends in the purchases of their houses. They were all very happy with him.

With the real estate market down, we knew the sale of our condo was going to be a challenge, and even more so, we would be challenged to find a house we both liked and agreed on. We first contacted Matt based on a recommendation from a business associate of mine. My wife and I interviewed multiple agents to decide who would represent us (considering even using one agent to sell, and one to purchase). We decided that we would try Matt, calling the references he gave (positive feedback), and see how it went. Matt was an excellent marketer and worked extremely hard to get our condo sold. He was always available by cell phone or email (and responded quickly to our numerous, probably constant requests). Matt was honest with us and practical in his approach to sell our condo. Admittedly high maintenance clients, we never felt marginalized by Matt. There are a lot of agents out there who don't think of real estate as a real, full time job-Matt seems like he is always on call, follows up on leads, tries unorthodox methods (for real estate at least) to market (that is, doesn't just list in MRIS and hold an open house and wait to see what happens), and really makes you feel like he is working for you. His understanding of the real estate contracts was invaluable-able to protect you as his client. Ultimately, we did sell our condo-in less time than similar units around us did! On the purchase side, Matt exhibited a strong willingness to accept our priorities and look for properties that matched it. We felt some other agents had their own predisposed ideas about neighborhoods and what "we should want" before we even told them. He spent most of his time listening to us and gave us honest feedback about how our priorities fit what we looked at (that is, didn't let us fall into the trap of overlooking the negatives because all we saw were the positives). We never felt like he was pushing us to buy-or to spend more money than we really wanted to. In the end, we found a house we both agreed on and through a long, tumultuous process of dealing with the owners and agent (and Matt's persistence and professionalism), bought the house. At the closing table, we learned that Matt's commission was lower than what we considered standard (sellers paid 2.5%, not standard 3% for our price range). That displayed Matt's professionalism even more-he never once attempted to talk us out of or make us consider properties that would have paid him a higher commission. We have recommended Matt to others who have used him as well-and they all had positive experiences as well.