Can Anyone Recommend an Awesome RE Agent for Purchasing A Home? (Phoenix: real estate, home builders)

[AZSunKiss]

Hi there.

We live in Phoenix area and tried moving to Tucson 18 mos ago, but a bad experience with Tucson RE agents, and some personal matters kept us from pursuing it any further. We are now in a better position to attempt a move again to Tucson, but really need to find a terrific real estate agent there. We know what we want in a home and are very specific about our needs. We were astonished that some of the agents we met 18 mos ago were actually getting any business considering the quality of their work.

Please read my criteria for a great agent below and let me know if you can recommend anyone that really, truly meets this criteria.

Criteria for a Great Tucson Real Estate Agent
1. Obviously, all the usual criteria is important first and foremost - honest, professional, friendly, hard-working, a great communicator, a person of their word, and is in good standing with his/her agency/broker.

2. We want an agent that has several years of experience in Tucson, not a new agent or someone that just moved there from somewhere else. An agent with experience in family neighborhoods in Marana, Northwest Tucson, Northeast Tucson, East Tucson, Tanque Verde area, and Vail would be ideal.

3. We'd like an agent that has plenty of experience with resale homes as well as dealing with new home builders, not just someone that walks into the new home subdivision and signs the RE agent commission slip and thinks their work is done. An agent that sits on the sidelines while we do all the talking with the builder's agent and then never has "the time" to go back there with us again is definately not what we would consider a good agent by any means. The three agents we dealt with 18 mos ago did just that. We could not believe why we brought them along in the first place -- they were like dead weight!
An agent that is experienced dealing with new home builders, that will commit to going with us to the new home builder throughout the entire buying process, is not afraid to ask the builder questions and can be professional and agressive on behalf of his/her buyer to make sure they are protected and getting the best deal would be an awesome agent in our eyes.

4. We'd like an agent that will LISTEN to our needs and only focus on finding/showing us homes that match our criteria. We don't want an agent that says, "uhuh, uhuh" to our criteria and then proceeds to try to show us the first 100 homes that show up on their screen in hopes that we'll like one of them and they can get another "quick sale."

5. We'd like an agent that can be direct, honest, and a great communicator. An agent that makes it a point to present all the facts or all the pros and cons is awesome in our book. We don't want to hear any "salesman" talk, just the facts. We'd also like someone that is not afraid to share their opinion, but also someone that doesn't try to control our decision and respects our choice in the end.

6. We'd like an agent that is willing to preview some resale homes on our behalf -- in other words, go to look at the homes first to see if it looks like something we'd be interested in. We have a 2-yr old and 4-yr old that would be along for the ride, so we can't run around all day and look at 15 homes.

7. We'd like an agent that says what they'll do and does what they say. If the agent agrees to research some homes ahead of time, then that is what we are counting on. It's so obvious when an agent is pulling something up last minute and running out the door with printouts that they didn't even look at. I'm also human, and know that everyone has trouble keeping their promises at times. I would like an agent to have the professional sense to pick up the phone and say "I'm working on it and need more time" or "I haven't heard anything yet, but I'll keep you updated" or "I'm running late, but I'll be there in xy minutes."

I'd appreciate it if anyone out there that is very selective has actually had a positive experience with a RE agent and can give me his/her name.

Thanks.

And to answer some of the questions that some may have:

Hubby has had a job in Tucson for the past 18 mos and loves it - that is the main reason we want to move there. My elderly parents live there also which is the second reason we need to be in Tucson.

I grew up in Tucson - been gone almost 20 years, but I'm there often visiting family, so I know most of the north side pretty well -- not too familiar with east-side and Vail but many have recommended that area and it's very close to hubby's job.

No, we're not dead-set on a new home, but our son is highly allergic to cats and slightly allergic to dogs, so it may be very difficult to find a resale home that has never had a dog or cat in it.

[twojulybabies]

I absolutely recommend Michael Krotchie. He is a regular on these boards and hands down, is probably THE most helpful person/ RE agent when it comes to giving advice and answering questions.

You will LOVE him.

[michael krotchie]

Originally Posted by twojulybabies

.. is probably THE most helpful person/ RE agent when it comes to giving advice and answering questions.

That's because I'm the only RE agent who frequents the Tucson boards!

AZSunKiss I'll send you a DM here shortly.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by michael krotchie

That's because I'm the only RE agent who frequents the Tucson boards!

LMBO . . . great response, Michael ! ! ! !

If I needed a Good Agent, I would definitely contact you!

[Poochy Doo]

I highly recommend Linda Fullman with Tierra Antigua Realty. We closed on a house this summer. In my opinion she meets most if not all the conditions you mention.

It was not by accident we found her. I researched houses, picked the top 5 I wanted to see and then made an appointment with each of the respective listing agents. We made all the appointments for the same day and knocked them out. If you are going to try this I would recommend getting a babysitter for this one time. We dragged our 10 year old around with us and he was great, but we really felt bad about doing that to him.

Eliminating agents was easy. One was late, did not call us or let the homeowner know she was showing the house. Another sent their assistant who confirmed with a very curt phone message which made us feel they had better things to do on a saturday. Another agent mentioned an offer was coming in from another party. This may have been true, but we felt they were trying to push us in our decision. Linda had no negatives after it was all said and done. We were happy with everything she did from start to finish.

[twojulybabies]

Originally Posted by michael krotchie

That's because I'm the only RE agent who frequents the Tucson boards!

so far....................

[sierraAZ]

Originally Posted by twojulybabies

so far....................

LOL, are ya still planning on being the 2nd one? Your timing is like mine, girl - it sucks!