Hey folks, you probably have heard this old adage, "Nobody knows how much you know until they know how much you care..."
It's ironic because my wife and I often accuse each other of assisting people too much sometimes. Just so you know, she is a human resources professional at a company that has a staff of over 200 employees. But believe it or not, she made it her business to know the names of each and ever associate. In fact, she may also knows the names of many of their spouses, significant others, and/or kids. For each of us, customer service takes on a whole new meaning!
This year has been an interesting one for me. With all the difficulties posed by the economy and the overall condition of the marketplace, I have added some additional tools to my repertoire. Well...actually, in our fast paced, highly technological society these tools would be considered pretty "ole school." My 
emphasis was on improving customer service through more of a focused approached on humanistic interactions. Yep...that's it! With that being said, I have also added some technological changes to increase my efficiency, productivity and service to my clients. The results have been unbelievable!! I have managed to resuscitate more deals that have gone south to the point that I have gained the unofficial nickname in my office as "The Doctor."
Recently, one of "those deals" received some press in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Although my client did not go into all the specifics....let me just throw in the things that were not published that related to this deal closing. First of all, my client was a first time home buyer. Her initial lender failed to get her to comprehend what she was getting into financially. My client had a good grasp on her financial position and made it clear where she needed to be to move forward with financing the home. The lender never followed up with her and after weeks of having to chase the lender for responses to her questions and the bottom line on financing the home.....she got cold feet and pulled out the deal.
The deal at that point is dead....right? Not so fast my friends. The seller still wants to sell and my client is still wanting and financially able to buy a home! To fast forward things a bit, I was able to get my client to switch to one of my preferred lenders (Fidelity Bank) and to personally make an appeal to the owners. Of course, I was able to speak candidly with the listing agent who was at first aprehensive because my client had pulled out of the initial deal. But after explaining the situation in detail, she was more than willing to consult again with her clients and help make this a win-win situation. The bottom line was or is that the owners were able to sell their home which was contingent on them building their new home and my client got a beautiful new home at a great price.
Here is the interview of my client Valerie Thomas written by freelance reporter Lori Johnston that was featured in the AJC:
Lifestyle Community: Bishops Gate
October 19, 2010
Valerie Thomas was eager to buy her first home when her job moved her from Orlando back to Atlanta. She purchased a townhome in Alpharetta's Bishops Gate neighborhood, a few days after her 30th birthday. Thomas, a product marketing specialist for Siemens Energy in Alpharetta, chatted about her home.
Q: What were you looking for during your home search?
A: I had to have a garage, and the design of the house was very important. I wanted open space. It was finding the right house at the right location at the right price.
Q: How did you know this was the right home?
A: When we first went to look at this house, it was the second time Greg (Saunders with Re/Max Around Atlanta) and I had been out. I was like, "Okay, this is nice, I kind of feel this. But let's see what the inside looks like." My mom said she liked the house. I said pictures can be deceiving because we had looked at two other houses before we came back to this one. I had been so disappointed because these houses were not great. When we walked in, I was like, "I'm done. I'm speechless." My mom said, "This is it."
Q: How did the townhome in Bishops Gate stand out?
A: It was very updated, very modern, very chic. It had two decks. Another thing was it had a loft. I was like, "Oh my God, that's so unique." I turned it into a big lounging room.
Q: Had it been updated?
A: They upgraded the hardware and the cabinets in the kitchen, the hardwood floors and the bathrooms (except for the master bathroom). They finished the basement.
Q: How did the negotiation process go?
A: I put an offer on the house two days later. It just didn't go great. We were just going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I basically just took the deal off the table. We looked at other houses, and every house I was comparing it to this house.
Q: What did you do to finally get the home?
A: We asked Greg if we could talk to the owner. He said he couldn't, but there's nothing that says we couldn't. We went and they were home and they invited us in. I said, "I really want this house. What can we do to make this offer come alive? The only thing I'm asking for is half of the closing costs." Everything came together the next week. They agreed to half of the closing costs. A month later, I'm in the house.
Q: What have you bought for the home?
A: They had a stainless steel dishwasher. Everything I own now in the kitchen is stainless steel. I bought all my furniture. They were putting furniture in the house and connecting appliances at the same time.
I call it my base look, and from my base look, I can build up and give it the glamor that (the seller) had, but in my own taste and style.
At a glance
Valerie Thomas' townhome, built in 1988, has three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and about 1,700 square feet of livable space. She purchased it in September.
Bishops Gate
Address: 623 Granby Hill Place, Alpharetta 30022 (See below for listing information)
County: Fulton
Price range: Low to high $100,000s
Units: About 40
Square footage: About 1,300-1,600 (for listings on the market)
Standard features: One-car garage, walk-in closets, patios and decks
Amenities: Pool
Homeowners fees: $230 a month
Schools: River Eves Elementary, Holcomb Bridge Middle, Centennial High
More on schools: schools.ajchomefinder.com
Getting there
Take Ga. 400 north to Exit 7A (Holcomb Bridge Road East) toward Norcross. Travel about 3.5 miles and turn right into Bishops Gate.
(Photos taken by Greg Saunders)
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