Read About Homeowners and Their Buyer's Edge Experience
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I know, five star reviews are easy to dismiss as over-enthusiastic or inaccurate, but we are finding it difficult to overstate the value of Steve Israel's assistance with our recent home purchase. We recommend him without reservation - not only online, but also to our friends, family, and colleagues. Steve is a buyer's broker - only representing buyers. If you don't know what that means, I encourage you to Google "buyer's broker" and do some research (Steve's site is a good starting point) before settling on an agent. More important to us, however, is that Steve knows the local market and his real estate. We depended on him to guide us through the wide variety of homes in the DC area. His ability to walk into a place and give you the low down is uncanny. He consistently highlights points about the house, construction, or maintenance issues that we couldn't have spotted after hours walking through it. He explained the purchase process from start to finish, answering all of our questions along the way. When it came to putting in our offer, Steve's friendly yet no-nonsense attitude really won the day. We were in a competitive bidding situation with other interested parties. Steve was able to read the situation, devise a strategy, and then keep positive communications with the listing agent until our bid was accepted. I have no doubt that Steve's involvement helped ensure we got this house at the price we wanted. How do I know? This is what the SELLER had to say after the bid was accepted: "The way you and your agent handled things really made an impact on me. I wanted to give you any close call because of …how great Steve was to deal with. You picked a good one." If you're looking to purchase a home in DC, Maryland, or Virginia, you should be working with Steve Israel”.…
8/2/2011 by Primedir
“Working with the Buyer's Edge team was a fantastic experience! Steve Israel was extremely knowledgeable regarding the different neighborhoods' pros and cons and evaluating the value and likely repair, remodel and upkeep potential of each location. He emailed new listings that fit my specifications regularly and quickly responded to my questions or requests to view listings. As a first time home buyer, he helped me understand and feel comfortable with each step of the buying process and he and his staff responded quickly to each of my many questions. I would definitely recommend Buyer's Edge to anyone looking for a new home”.…
8/2/2011 by CRodgers
“Stephen Israel is a consummate professional and his staff is courteous and attentive. We only visited homes that met my criteria. For every home we visited he quickly had a profile on the neighborhood and gave me on-point commentary about the advantages and disadvantages of the home and property relative to my specific needs. I was amazed about how in-depth his real-time observations were. He exceeded my expectations regarding serving my specific needs. He was instrumental in securing and negotiating a home I love; I otherwise wouldn't have found or wouldn't have been able to negotiate the terms of the agreement without him. I can not imagine a more effective and personable buyer's agent in this area and would recommend him to any of my friends or associates that need to find a home”.…
8/1/2011 by GillesB
"One of the reasons we felt real comfort in dealing with Buyer’s Edge was because we knew there would not be a conflict of interest with Buyer’s Edge representing home sellers. It was important to us that your total focus was to find the right home and make the best deal for us."
"Buyer's Edge was great to work with. From the start, they made us feel very comfortable. Steve and Lisa found us a wonderful house and really worked hard to get the deal done. I highly recommend working with them!"
"I bought just the right house for me thanks to Steve’s expertise. His patient, no-pressure approach gave me the confidence I needed to take the plunge. I would recommend Buyer’s Edge to any prospective homebuyer without reservation."
"Buyer’s Edge:
"A word of thanks for all of your help. We truly love this house and the kids are thrilled with it too. The house is beautiful, the neighbors friendly, the location convenient and the local elementary school has been welcoming. All your hard work has allowed us to reunite as a family and give our children a great opportunity. Thanks for all your hard work and support. We feel like we won the lottery with this house..."
"Steve, this is a long overdue expression of our appreciation for the help you gave us over and above what should be expected. We are finally feeling settled in the house and we love it! Thanks again for expertly guiding us through the process."
"Steve…I appreciate all of your help in finding our home. I know it was a long path but we are thrilled that our patience paid off. Again, many thanks for everything. It was a pleasure to work with you."
"Steve, thank you so much for all your efforts on our behalf during the process of buying our house in D.C. We were very fortunate to have your help, and we enjoyed meeting and working with you. We really appreciate all you’ve done. We hope you’ll stay in touch.
"John displayed a high level of customer service and real estate knowledge. He clearly explained the home buying process and all the details we needed to learn to purchase our first home."
"We know we couldn't have done all this without you. Your experience in the market and you willingness to spend so much time with us is greatly appreciated."
"We can't thank you enough for you patience and guidance in getting us here and in your kindness in answering all of our mundane questions."
"We are thankful that you worked so hard on our behalf to come out with the best outcome - we never once doubted that you had our best interests at heart and felt completely safe in your hands."
"We are both very grateful to John for the effort he put forth for us. We have already referred two of our friends to him and will not hesitate to do it again as the opportunity presents itself. It is refreshing to know that top-notch service still exists in some places. Thank you, John. Thank you Buyer's Edge."
"I retained Dana's services in 2002 to buy my first home (an apartment in Kalorama) and again, four years later, to buy my first townhouse. I sought Dana's services again because she was a joy to work with: thorough, honest, and very savvy strategically. She provided exhaustive research for and honest assessment of each property I expressed interest in. Her guidance throughout the stressful process gave me confidence that I had a strong game plan. Once we identified a property we liked, her skills as a negotiator became apparent and she really shined during the closing of our house. I recommend Dana to anyone who wants peace of mind in the home buying process!"
"We're so happy with our house and feel so lucky that you found it for us. Thank you!"
"My husband and I were anxious entering into a competitive and volatile real estate market. We were looking for a home in a safe, welcoming neighborhood where we could start a family and not go bankrupt paying the mortgage. Right from the start, Dana listened carefully to what we wanted and asked insightful questions to determine exactly what we were looking for. When my husband and I toured a home, she kept us on track by thoroughly and objectively pointing out the pros and cons of the property. Dana not only found us a perfect home in our dream neighborhood, but skillfully negotiated the price and conditions of sale so well that since then, seller's agents have ruefully commented on the "great deal" we got! If you want someone thoroughly committed to helping you find a home, use a buyer's agent. If you want a buyer's agent with experience, knowledge, insight, and determination, call Dana!"
"When my husband and I decided to buy our first home, we had no idea where to look or what the process entailed. We feel very fortunate that friends recommended Dana to us. I don’t even think I knew there was such a thing as a buyer’s agent at the time. Dana immediately put us at ease. She listened to what we wanted in a home, suggested communities we had not even considered (with her being licensed in Virginia, Maryland and DC, our range was large), and always looked at the houses we visited with an eye for our expressed interests and needs. In fact, when we had stars in our eyes over a house, she was the one who pointed out the number of stairs one would have to walk up with two babies and groceries in tow, the positioning of a house on the block, or the extent to which we would need to undertake improvements that we most certainly did not have time to make on our own. In other words, she never pressured us to enter into a contract, but really looked out for our best interests. For example, when the inspection a house we won the contract on revealed some strong negatives, it was Dana who encouraged us to walk away and not settle for something that was not exactly what we wanted. In the end, we found our dream home in a family friendly neighborhood and have not regretted it a single day. We always have our eyes open for other houses in our neighborhood for when our children have outgrown our current home, and when that day comes, we know who to call first…. Dana!"
"I've hired at least six real estate agents in the past and Valerie is by far the best. I have yet to meet an agent that I liked and trusted as much."
"We enlisted Valerie's help when buying both of our houses, our starter home in 2001 and our latest this past May. She is professional, very personable, and helped us every step of the way, especially in finding out as much info as possible about the prospective house and seller, as well as negotiating the best deal possible. If we are ever in the market again in the DC area, she will be our first choice."
"Valerie makes the daunting task of buying a home much easier than it otherwise might be, and she makes the time one spends looking for a home enjoyable. She is knowledgeable and honest, and she gives an honest assessment of a home and whether it fits with her clients goals and desires. She will not let you buy a home just out of frustration -- she'll make certain that you buy a home that is right for you.
"We hired Valerie Winebrenner as our Real Estate agent to assist us in finding and buying a house in suburban Maryland. This was a very challenging undertaking given our many criteria (price, schools, commutes, etc). The process took several months. Valerie's patience, professionalism, and knowlege of the real estate market in this area helped to make our house search ultimately successfully. We would recommend her without reservation and would use her again if we once again needed to relocate.
"Valerie was referred to us by my wife's supervisor at the World Bank. We looked for our first home over the course of 18 months, starting with condos and eventually purchased a single family home in the Four Corners area of Silver Spring. Valerie was diligent in providing us with information on a daily basis. We were able to see any listing we were interested in and benefited greatly from Valerie's insight at each location. We liked the fact that Valerie only deals with the buying side of the transaction, a true advocate for her clients. I highly recommend Valerie when purchasing a home."
"My wife and I hired Valerie to help us with the daunting task of finding and purchasing a house. We didn't have a good idea about the type or location of our ideal home, yet Valerie was very accommodating about showing us houses all over Montgomery and Howard County. She gave very honest assessments of each house's strengths and weaknesses and helped us evaluate the best choice for our growing family. Valerie is an excellent negotiator and helped us buy our new home for $30K less than the original asking price. In her role as en exclusive buyer's agent, Valerie represented our interests and made sure we were happy with the outcome of every part of the transaction. We give Valerie our strongest recommendation. Working with her was a true pleasure.”
"Valerie has the patience of a saint! My husband and I had very specific parameters in our home search and worked with Valerie for nearly a year until we found just the right fit for our family. She has very deep knowledge of the real estate market in DC, MD and VA. At the time we were house hunting (2003), it was a seller's market and there were 6 offers on the house of our dreams. Valerie had creative solutions to help us craft the winning offer and surprisingly we were not the highest bid! If/when we decide to move within the DC metropolitan area, Valerie will be our first call - no question. In addition to our experience, Valerie has had repeated successes working with family and close friends over the years."
"Dear Mr. Israel:
These words of thanks are long overdue for the expertise and guidance we received from your agent, Lisa Velenovsky. Thanks to Lisa, we now reside in the house of our dreams, in the area we want and all well within our price range.
Lisa was a pleasure to be with on our many outings to view houses and when we had questions she answered them promptly and provided pertinent follow-up information. She was very patient as we often vacillated on the type of house that would provide all that our growing family needed at a price we could afford.
What distinguishes Lisa from other agents we've worked with in the past, was her guidance during the process of making an offer. We are so glad that we took her recommendations during the highly competitive offer process. With out a doubt, she helped us make the best offer and ensured that our interests were never compromised.
There is no question that we will enthusiastically recommend Lisa and your agency to our family members and friends."
"Buyer's Edge was great to work with. From the start, they made us feel very comfortable. Steve and Lisa found us a wonderful house and really worked hard to get the deal done. I highly recommend working with them!"
To date not one Buyer's Edge client has been required to pay out-of-pocket costs. And more than half our business is the result of referrals from satisfied Clients.