We met Mike & Lani couple of years ago at one of their open houses. I remembered his non-intimidating polite demeanor greeting us with a smile and telling us gently, if you like it “Make an offer”, gave us one of his cards and offered us to visit another house around the corner and left us alone (Thank Goodness!). I’m quite skeptical of realtors and anything that deals with a large sum and yet, I kept his card! The nicest and most honest realtors I have ever been blessed with.
The inventory market is tight and most of the buildable land are developed and we knew what we were up against, a possible ‘bidding war’ on fairly new and old homes. A war we did not participate in and we let the realtors know upfront, we did not want to compete because we did lose several times. We needed a Real Estate Specialist! Recalling Mike in our memory, I pulled out his card I kept those 2 years and gave a call. We met his lovely wife Leilani and two was better than one. They complement each other with their skills keeping the process going forward.
While they searched for homes for us, I still never gave up searching (sleepless) and I’m quite competitive. Leilani had me beat to this particular home sale. (A professional advantage and why we hired them!) She was working waaaaay over! The house wasn’t out on the market. I Googled the history of the home and that same day, we text this: ‘we want to see it today, we want to sign a contract today, we want it today!’ Leilani has been our savior from some of the houses I had desired for, and for many good reasons. Looking back, I’d have buyer’s remorse by now. Leilani and Mike were very honest of the location and everything about the house that they knew. If there are any changes you may want to make. They can expeditiously connect with tradesmen before settling in, if you want to or later. They have for us and made the transition less stressful.
Here is how they helped us with tradesmen before we settled in. Our 27yr old new/old home, the garage floor and the back patio slab had cracked settled 5 inches below the norm and Mike connected with a tradesman to level it out. Then there was a partial wall between the Master bed and bath, Mike again connected us with a tradesman to build a wall up. The tradesman did great quality work and we were very happy and satisfied to move in. Yes, we were offered to use their truck. Of course, we did!
Leilani and Mike referred an inspector and he was thorough. He made suggestions, gave us a copy of his report and sent us a link so you can see his inspection photos and make improvement from there. So worth it! Good news, no major structural issues to the house.
So here what we liked about our new/old home. The home we purchased was built in 1989. We liked: 1) location and how the house was situated 2) no stairs 3) large entry with closet 4) new roof 5) newly refinished and long driveway 6) large garage 7) solid cabinets and doors that look like they have been newly stained and some replaced 8) nice appliances 9) new paint of neutral color 10) I had to have a fireplace but I have two now!
This is the neighborhood that my husband I like biking around from the apartments we once lived. We wanted to be at the south end of the loop. It took us 3 years of looking. So, of all the homes we looked at, it’s the best for what we wished for and it fit our needs. We had done a lot of DIY home improvement for an up-to-date look and especially, to make it meticulously our own.
This was an estate sale. Leilani and Mike sincerely worked hard for us to negotiate with the seller. Our stellar credit had won over the higher bid. The time from contract to close about a month. They do have the competitive professional edge, lots of credit and respect to both. Would we hire them again? YES!
Thank you Leilani and Mike for all you have done and giving us the generous gifts to celebrate and celebrating with us! Thanks for coming to see our progress and definitely have you both visit us again. We are so blessed. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
