CASE STUDY/SCENARIO: Parents that were assisting a son with a first time home purchase with criteria that fit the parents’ objective of being a solid investment for future value, priced and negotiated low in order to somewhat protect against further market declines. The property also had to meet the son’s criteria of having a large lot and back yard, a pool and it had to be in a desirable location.

Vince,

I just want to take the time to thank you for all the great help and patience you exhibited while helping us find a house for our son, Patrick. You took two months showing us houses and comps and educating us all along the way. This enabled us to make offers on houses and feel good about the prices we were offering. We’re very satisfied with the house we bought in a great neighborhood and for a good price.

In this crazy real estate market, there was a lot to learn about short sales, bank repos and houses for-sale-by-owners. It worked out well for us to get the list of houses from you so we could do our Internet research. Then we would do our drive-bys and from that you would show us the houses we wanted to look at. Even with all that research ahead of time, it was amazing how many houses were just not right. It really takes a long time to find the right house. I have dealt with realtors before where after showing me 4 houses they wanted me to commit to buying one. When I did not commit to one, they did not want to have me as a client anymore. You were not like that. Thanks again.

Michael T. Koch DDS

CASE STUDY/SCENARIO:    First time buyers that were renting in one of the most expensive zip codes in the area. They were determined to remain in the area and not have to change school districts, despite not being able to qualify for most of the higher priced houses in what was a tight geographic area. This search took more than 6 months during which time they did make numerous offers on properties, REO’s and short sales, only to be outbid or unable to get acceptable pricing and terms for the lender . 

Every thing is going great! Thank you for helping us with the most important purchase of our lives. Thank you also for sticking with us during this difficult market to find our perfect house. We really appreciate all of your hard work. You helped us with each and every step. And being first time homebuyers this could have been a scary experience but you made it fun and enjoyable. We learned a lot. And we'll definitely be coming to you to sell our house in the future. (If my husband lets me sell it, lol..)

Thanks again,

Jennifer & Jonathan Panora

Hey Vince,

Thank you and yes were doing great! Love the house, hate the remodel, wish it was done already. lol... Were almost done. We've painted the entire inside of the house and just need to touch up and paint the sunroom. The back yard is also 1/2 way done too. We'll be inviting you over as soon as were done. 

Thank you,

Jennifer

P.S.

Were doing great remodeling and taking out plants in the front & back yard. We have finished half of the inside of the house & half of the back & front yards. You should drive by if you’re in the neighborhood.

CASE STUDY/SCENARIO:   Sellers that moved to a new house and were caught in the accelerating stages of the market decline. I continued to monitor pricing, area comps and held open houses almost every week. Eventually we got into a multiple offer situation somewhat due to the repeated open houses. Due to the multiple offers, the price declines were minimized.

Vince,

I never did get a chance to thank you for the wonderful care you gave us in selling our home.  We couldn’t have picked a worse time of year or a worse market to sell in, but you got us through all of it.  Your sensible pricing strategy won the day, along with your positive outlook. 4 offers in one sunny weekend must be enviable in this market. Thanks also for walking us through the sales process and making it painless.  I have already given your name out to friends who are thinking of selling and I would enthusiastically give you a recommendation should you ever need it.

Thanks again, 

Marta & Rob Brockel

CASE STUDY/SCENARIO: Seller and subsequent buyer. The house was sold on a contingency to out-of-town buyers with the buyer-agent representing themselves. The seller then subsequently offered to purchase another property on a contingency. Altogether there were 3 properties contingent upon each one selling. Negotiations were also delicate. This was a challenging sequential escrow.

THANKS VINCE!

My experience working with you in the sale of my house could not have been better. You were always the ultimate professional, but balanced that with being personable and adept at making what can sometimes be a stressful situation actually fun.

            I have had a bit of experience in real estate transactions, both personally and professionally. This has led me to give great consideration as to what I believe makes a good real estate agent. Among those attributes which come to mind are:

1)     Good Communication Skills. At the minimum a real estate transaction involves a seller and listing agent, potential buyers and their agents, title officers, escrow officers, lenders, and all those well-intentioned friends and family with really strong opinions. Oftentimes the realtor is the one who ultimately has to “herd the cats.”

2)     Creativity. Selling or buying a home can be an emotional experience which sometimes makes people lose sight of their actual goal. For instance, a seller may feel insulted about credits that a buyer wants against the sales price to pay for replacement of that beloved (by the seller) hot pink tile in the bathroom, or a potential buyer may think that a seller is totally an unreasonable jerk for not accepting their offer. A good realtor will always keep this in mind during the negotiation process, and will offer suggestions to everyone which will help everyone keep their eyes on the goal.

3)     Availability. “Bankers hours” are not in a real estate agent’s vocabulary. Because of my work schedule, you made it easy to talk “off hours” about the status of my listing. I really appreciate your making friends with my dog, and your help in coordinating arrangements for him not to be around when potential buyers were viewing my house.

4)     Good Ethics. As a real estate attorney, and a person who has been burned in the past, I unfortunately have witnessed real estate agents and brokers who just didn’t know how to look past their own self-interest.

You have all of these great qualities, Vince. Thanks again, and please use me as a recommendation should you ever need!

Sincerely,

Sandra Casey-Herold

CASE STUDY/SCENARIO:    After the passing of a spouse, I represented the seller and then helped to locate a new house (that wasn’t even on the market yet) in a Senior community for her to move to. Since then I have also helped one of her son’s with a home purchase.

Vince Mastracco was the Realtorâ that helped me sell my home of many years and locate and buy another home in the area that I wanted to live.

Vince was able to price my first home at a fair price that made it sell quickly with very little effort on my part. He took care of all the paperwork and kept me informed all along the way. I was able to sell my house for 97% of my asking price in less than a week after the house was on the market.

Knowing the area that I wanted to move to, Vince was able to locate through his contacts another home for me that was just what I was looking for. Both houses closed within a few days of each other. It has been a pleasure to work with Vince.

Carol Bryant

Folsom, CA