Meet the Willit Family
See how Amy Fessler helped Mark and Kim overcome unexpected obstacles when buying their first home as a married couple.
Why did you decide to buy?
"Anyone who knows us knows that they are always joking around and teasing each other. We had been talking about buying a home for a while prior to purchasing anything. We kept saying things like, 'When we get married we will start looking' or 'We should buy a house before we are too old to maintain it.' I was constantly looking at houses on the internet and showing them to Mark for his opinion for years prior to getting married.
We had been married for a year and jokingly one day Mark said, 'Whenever we have the down payment saved we can start looking!' Well, I had already saved the money for the down payment so I took his joking and ran with it. We started seriously looking the next day!"
What was the most memorable about your buying experience?
"Surprisingly the house we bought I didn’t even want to look at, from the outside I thought it was just too small. Even the pictures on the internet didn’t make me want to look at it. Amy insisted that we at least take a look at it because it was in the area we wanted. The moment I walked into the house I was pleasantly surprised, it had the large open concept living room, dining room and kitchen that I wanted. The house was so much bigger than I thought it would be and a bonus, it has huge windows letting the sun shine in and it is tucked away in a private spot surrounded by trees and beautiful flowers! It’s like having our own oasis. I just knew it was for us!"
Were there stressful moments during the process?
"I think the most stressful moment was when we found a house that we were going to purchase only to find out it had a lot of issues and need a ton of repairs. At that point, I was ready to give up and just stop my hunt! Amy was wonderful, not only did she work for us to try and either have the repairs done or adjust the selling price- both the seller refused, but she also talked with me when I was crying and ready to give up no matter what time I text her she would call me back and listen to me and my frustrations."
Why Amy Fessler with Hodrick Realty?
"When I started looking for a Realtor I knew I wanted someone that I could connect with. I am a person who speaks my mind and wants someone who will be honest with me even if I am in over my head. I put a post on Facebook to ask for recommendations for a good Realtor and the reasons why the person picked the Realtor. We spoke to 3 different agencies. Amy fit right in with us. She has a great personality and connected with us almost immediately.
She wasn’t afraid to tell me if something I was looking at was not a good fit for us. She gave valid reasons to back up why she didn’t think they were a good fit. She followed my specifications for what I was looking for."
The Willits advice for you:
"First: Know what you need for a down payment. It is terrible to get through the whole process only to find out you are a little short.
Second: Look at a ton of houses. Pictures are deceiving! Don’t buy the first house you see but also don’t overload yourself looking at too many at one time.
Third: Take pictures of your own and also take notes, what you liked or didn’t like and what needs to be fixed or updated. You can’t take enough notes.
Fourth: Find a Realtor you connect with. If you connect personally with a person they are more likely to understand what you want and get it for you at a good price."