Barakat, Mary

We are experienced home buyers, having been involved in over a dozen home buying/selling transactions in the last 15 years, and thus have had experience with quite a few Realtors. We've had a couple poor ones, a couple great ones, and a lot of mediocre ones. I can state unequivocally that Mary is among the best in her profession. The thing I loved the most about Mary is that she was extremely responsive. I get a little OCD (okay maybe a lot OCD) when it comes to home buying, and I want to go see a hot property immediately and want answers promptly. Once an offer was made and especially accepted, I wanted to feel confident that things were progressing smoothly and on time, and that I was kept in the loop on everything. Mary was the most proactive Realtor we have had. She matched my obsession with details, moving quickly, following up, making sure all the "t"s were crossed and the "i"s were dotted. I never had to call her more than once or remind her to do something or even had the chance to get impatient waiting for something to be done. In several cases she was available to show a house the same day. Oftentimes, she was the one contacting me first on various issues, even if just to let me know that she is still waiting to hear back on something or to check in with me--definitely higher than the standard of service I had come to expect based on previous Realtor experience. Mary loves her job and takes a lot of pride in it, and that really shows in her attitude and her professionalism. In our conversations, it was clear that she stays on top of the market and her profession by networking, researching, and regularly attending seminars, etc. She is a certified relocation specialist. She showed extreme patience in researching and viewing as many houses as it took until we found that one dream home that was perfect for us. Mary really listened to our specific wish list, and didn't just throw every four bedroom house in our price range and geographic area at us. She knew our "must haves" and our "deal breakers" and did her due diligence so that she didn't waste our time showing us homes that were not suitable. She never pressured us to look at houses outside our price range. Once we found our dream home, she helped us beat out five other offers to get the house. Once the ink was dried on the papers, her service did not stop. She has kept in touch with us periodically in the year and a half since we bought our home. Buying a home is by far the most expensive purchase most of us will ever make. The commission on a given house is the same standard rate regardless of who the realtor is, but there is such a difference between an excellent Realtor and a mediocre one. Having a buyer's realtor who really knows her stuff, is infinitely patient, and a real go-getter is key to a happy and successful experience. We were very happy to be represented by Mary, and would not hesitate to sign with her again or to recommend her to friends and family.