Meet Brian & Noelle

Brian and Noelle contacted us in early June when the real estate world was still in the midst of figuring out sales in the era of COVID19. Brian’s work was relocating him from Boston to Los Angeles to head the west coast division of his tech company. This young couple was tasked with finding a residence from 3,000 miles away with just four months to get it done. Meanwhile, the rest of the country was busy binge watching “Tiger King” on Netflix. Comparable stress, to be sure!

Here are the nuts and bolts of buying real estate from across the country.  For starters, I arranged a consultation on Zoom where I was able to better understand their timeline and criteria. Then, I connected them with a trusted lending partner who was able to quickly collect all required items digitally and issue the pre-approval letter needed to submit offers on homes. Finally, my partner Michele and some of their family members living locally worked to help them get the best sense of geography and space possible from a distance. Their family members drove and explored neighborhoods Noelle and Brian were considering. Once the neighborhood received thumbs up, my partner Michele scheduled appointments to walk through homes they liked. She would then video call them to complete a real-time walk through of the property, thus enabling them to have a custom experience and focus on rooms and features important to them. This was the easy part.

Having completed loan pre-approvals and home tours, the hard work began. Anyone shopping in the Los Angeles real estate market in 2020 knows that competition is brutal, especially for entry-level homes. It’s not uncommon for properties to receive 10-15 offers. Stakes already high were made higher as many sellers were weary of accepting an offer from buyers who had not physically toured the home. Sellers were fearful that the home would not be what the buyers expected, thus resulting in cancellation. Well, I’m happy to report that with a bit of imagination and a lot of negotiation prowess, we were able to overcome the challenge. Just 45 days after having started the process, Noelle and Brian had an offer accepted on a three-bedroom, two-bathroom, Spanish style home in South L.A.

I wish we could take half the credit for this spectacular feat. But, the truth is that the credit all belongs to Noelle and Brian. They were organized, informed, decisive, solutions-oriented, but most important of all, they were team players, always open to our suggestions and trusting of the process. Keep your eye on these two. I have a feeling we will be reporting on many future real estate acquisitions.

“I found myself excited and anxious throughout the process” my partner Michele says about the experience. “I kept crossing my fingers in hopes that they would like the house I recommended.”

What do our newest Angeleno residents have to say?

“We can’t wait to try all the food here, especially tacos and Filipino food” Noelle beams. “Boston does not have a lot of diversity in their cuisine.”

They said it. We didn’t. Welcome to the best coast guys!