findwell

Findwell, and in particular our agent Shannon Ressler, were recommended to us by friends (who in turn had been recommended her by other friends). The recommendations are justified! This is a challenging market both in terms of pricing and inventory, but over many weekends Shannon was happy to tour us around homes we found on the Findwell site, and would send us suggestions of homes we consider looking at. We had a fairly clear idea of what we were looking for, and Shannon would give us realistic insight into why she thought particular homes did - and didn't - meet our criteria. We left every house feeling like we were considering (or, more often, rejecting) it based on a good, objective understanding of its good and bad points. In particular, we didn't have the "hard sell" experience we have heard others talk about from their "buyer's" agent - it always seemed that she was as interested as we were in finding the right house, not just pushing any house to close a deal. Then, we found the home we wanted. For myriad reasons, it seemed to be out of reach: it was offered above our budget, it had great craftsmanship inside and out that made us wary of whether the price would be reduced further, and on top of that it was taken off the market shortly after we found it! We decided we wanted to wait and see if it came back on the market in a few months somewhere near to a price we could afford. Obviously seeing how much we wanted this particular home, Shannon completely supported us in this decision, even though it obviously meant a delay in us making any purchase that would result in her being paid, and she somehow managed to be both realistic ("it's probably a long shot, but hey...") and optimistic ("let's try!") at the same time. In the event, after a few months the home was relisted at a price close to our range. Shannon helped us through the contract and negotiation process and paperwork, and we agreed a price we could afford with the seller. But as with any housing transaction in this environment, that was just the beginning :( In the next few weeks, there were tons of subsequent ups and downs and moments of drama over which we had little control - wildly different appraisals to both the upside and downside (now there's an industry that does urgently need regulation, btw), subsequent loan changes, more negotiations, contractual issues as the sellers (understandably) became concerned about whether financing would be obtained .. the list went on and on. Shannon took call after call, offering advice, experience and suggesting possible paths for us to consider - always as an advisor, but leaving decisions clearly up to us. The deal rollercoaster was not a good time for anyone, but right through we felt that thanks to advice from Shannon (and a great mortgage company who will get a separate review!) we were doing everything we could to get the deal done. She connected us to excellent professionals at various stages - never demanding that we use them, but relaying her experiences of them having worked out well on other transactions - and just generally just helped us feel really good about the decisions we were making. You will not be surprised to learn after this that we cannot recommend Shannon and Findwell enough :) We are sitting in a wonderful home today that we only like more every day, and that 6 months ago (and 6 weeks ago again!) seemed completely out of reach. Much of this is due to Shannon and the Findwell team who helped us work through the entire process, didn't give up, and who went the extra mile for us when it counted. The Findwell fee rebate is definitely a nice bonus, but having been through this process, that's not the best thing about Findwell or ultimately the reason I would recommend them - it's their ability to actually get the job done, and in such a friendly, professional and supportive way.

I started my real estate search with Redfin, and at first really liked them but then realized they pretty much won't do anything "outside the box" -meaning work with you on short sales, certain bank owned properties, etc. They are clearly focused on a very specific type of very uniform, routine transaction. I then went to a full service agent, well two actually. And they were like out of control bull dogs just trying to get us to buy a house, any house, despite it not meeting any of our criteria. Then we found Findwell! They rebate the transaction like Redfin, have a website that has fantastic technology for finding homes that emails with updates and homes matching specific criteria, etc. etc., and they are willing to work with you on out of the box type of transactions. Our agent, Michael was personable, honest, and a true pleasure to work with. He listened well and facilitated our home finding process in a way that worked really well for our family. He never missed a detail, communicated often and clearly (even on his anniversary vacation), and helped us navigate the Seattle market. The rest of the findwell team stood behind him so we were fully supported in the event Michael couldn't make an inspection. Michael helped set our expectations to reasonable levels, coached us down on some offers and up on others. We wound up with a house that we really really love and can't recommend Findwell highly enough.

We tried several other agents (3-4), including discount agencies and traditional ones, before we found Mike. We had had problems with agents pushing us to bid higher than we were comfortable. Mike never did that. We had one agent give up on us because after 2-3 offers and dozens of houses toured, they thought we would never buy a house, and cut their losses. With another discount agency, where one team shows houses and a separate team writes offers, we were in a position where the person advising us on how to bid, had never seen the house we were offering on, and so couldn't really help us. As first-time buyers, we really needed that help. With Findwell, you get the full-service, personal experience of a traditional agent, but with a kickback! It's fantastic. It also helped that Mike owns some rental properties. We were looking for a house where we could live in one half while renting the other. Mike had a great eye and informed opinions when it came to assessing properties for rental potential. We ended up with the best home buying experience we could have expected. I only wish we had found Findwell sooner.

We were eager to try a discount realtor to buy our first home, but had heard horror stories about some of the other established companies. Shannon and Findwell were recommended to us by a co-worker, and we don't have a single complaint. Shannon guided us through the buying process and answered emails at all times of the day and night. She really went above and beyond. And in the end, we got a nice rebate check on top of it all.