The Lanier Property Group

Because I needed a seller's agent to represent a property I needed to sell, I contacted a buyer's-only agent in the Wilmington area with whom I'd worked in the past (Doug Harrington, whom I also highly recommend). He recommended Stephanie Lanier and one other broker, so I interviewed them both via email. (I don't live in the Wilmington area.) Stephanie was professional and accommodating, provided a good market analysis of the property I wanted to sell, and was completely fine with working as my sole agent without the potential for dropping into dual agency. (Sole agency is important to me because I firmly believe that dual agency, even including so-called designated agency, inherently presents a conflict of interest that transforms your agent from your coach on your team to a referee in the middle of the field who has as much loyalty to the other side of the transaction as to you, which really translates into structural loyalty only to himself and to "getting the deal done", not representing your interests exclusively. The other agent I interviewed didn't get that, arguing that his personal integrity rendered the conflict of interest unimportant. For me, that of course confirmed that he wasn't an acceptable agent, since his personal integrity might be immaculate, but it doesn't change the institutional conflict of interest that he wanted me to accept by allowing dual agency, which he didn't even acknowledge as important, offering to use designated dual agency if necessary. Designated dual agency is a sham, since it designates two employees of one broker to act ostensibly for the two parties in the transaction, but puts each party in a contract with the one broker, leaving the institutional conflict of interest firmly in place. Any attorney who tried that kind of "dual agency" -- working both sides of the table and double dipping by getting paid by both sides -- would be disbarred. Real estate agents justify it routinely because it is so common in their industry, but that doesn't make it any less sleazy as far as I'm concerned.) Anyway, Stephanie understood my concern and was entirely willing to enter into sole agency for me. Because she had a good grasp of the local market, a quick mind and winning personality, I was happy to have her be my agent and broker. I met with her and her assistant Jennifer Thompson at the property, reviewed the market analysis in more depth, discussed realistic pricing (which is crucial) and marketing strategy, and signed up with her firm. They did a great job, advertising and marketing the property as they'd promised, keeping in close communication so I always knew what they were doing and how it was going. They attracted a buyer and brought the sale to closing within a few weeks. They made the whole process painless and pleasant. They handled the mail-in closing for me and worked with me, the HOA office, my property manager, and the buyer to handle the logistics of uninstalling and returning to me the remote-control lock system I'd installed. Jennifer & Stephanie were always punctual, cooperative, and professionally excellent in their service and support to me. I would use Lanier Property Group again and I recommend it to anyone else needing to buy or sell a home or rental property.

From the very first showing of a house we wanted to see, The Lanier Property Group - and specifically, agent Stephen Sayre - were there for us every step of the way. Stephen was always courteous, punctual, upbeat and compassionate, and provided every possible service a Realtor could to his clients. We probably saw 20 or 30 houses during our 8 month experience, several of them more than an hour away from Wilmington, but Stephen was always happy to show us anything we wanted to see, and went above and beyond the call of duty. Once we finally locked in on our dream home, the process turned into a very lengthy and unnecessarily complicated ordeal (due to the Bank we chose, not the realtor!). Because it was currently being used as a vacation rental, and we wanted it for our primary residence, we had to jump through a ridiculous number of hoops, but Stephen kept us informed about things, and basically "held our hands" through the whole process. In the end, everything came together as we closed on the property after an 8 month search. This company met and exceeded their own standards, and if we ever had to buy or sell another home, we would most definitely go to Lanier Property Group, and Stephen Sayre. We've recommended them to people we know who are in the market to buy, and know that they will be pleased with their choice. Kudos to this young, up and coming firm!