Dear Mr. Haynes:
We are writing to thank you for the excellent service you provided to us in the recent sale of our family’s long-held property in Fairview, NC.
From the beginning, we were very impressed by the way you presented yourself and Retreat Realty. You are clearly a real estate professional, but you also brought numerous other skills to the table from your extensive background and experience from development as well as property marketing and sales.
To us, however, the most compelling reasons for choosing you and Retreat Realty was your clear understanding of our family’s needs, which far exceeded just the obvious financial outcome of the sale. As you know, the property had been in our family since the early 1900s, and it had been cherished by several generations. We appreciated the fact that you and Retreat Realty provided a detailed and frank analysis of market prospects prior to listing, so as to keep expectations realistic. You consistently demonstrated respect for the intangible but important emotional aspects of the sale, and you had an extensive network of contacts and connections that would enable us to sell it to someone who could appreciate, respect, and value the land in the way that we did. While it was not easy for us to put it on the market, we were delighted that you found such a buyer within two weeks of listing the property. In addition, we thank you for your wonderful “bedside manner” throughout this process. You explained clearly, communicated early and often, used electronic means to simplify the collection of multiple signatures, and you worked to ensure that we got the highest possible price for the property. Also impressive was the way you went well above and beyond the call of duty in three other areas. First, you looked out for the young couple renting the property at the time of the sale, and you connected them to the buyers to enable their continued use of the land. Second, you worked very hard for us after closing to clarify issues related to land’s tax status with the buyers and Buncombe County. Your assiduous efforts, culminating in the busy round of “house calls” you made to get the necessary documents signed, sealed, and delivered, saved our family nearly $10,000 in tax liability. Third, you did extensive research after closing to find an appraiser with the expertise we need to establish the 2008 cost basis for the land. We are very grateful that you cared enough to take those extra steps.
As we told you during our early conversations, we prayed for a long time to find the right agent, the right buyer, the right price, and the right time to sell this property. We firmly believe that in you we had the right agent at the right time, which facilitated finding the right buyer at the right price. We were very blessed to work with you in this transaction, and we wish you continued blessing and success in all your endeavors.
Sincerely,
S. Parson & M. Kirstein
