Letters of Recommendation for Sam Weiner

To Whom It May Concern:

My parents successfully concluded the selling of their home in Thousand Oaks, California where they had lived for 38 years, and have moved into assisted living.  Because they are in poor health, were of no, or minimal help in the selling process.  Our sales agent was Samantha Weiner, Coldwell-Banker, Residential Brokerage, Westlake Village, CA.  What made this particularly difficult (scary) was that I live in Indiana, and had the responsibility of selling the house.  Sam saw this as an inconvenience, but certainly not an obstacle.  While the house was clean, it had not been updated over the years, and many items required repair before the house could be put on the market, not to mention that my parents never disposed of anything.  I was so grateful that the house had no basement.

Sam is a true professional realtor who carefully looked after her client's interest, without forgetting that they were someone's family.  Even before going on the market she recommended that the house be inspected so that we knew what we were facing, and helped guide us through the "need to do list" vs. the "nice to have done list", to get the house ready for sale.  But, since we had no one living in California to do anything, this seemed an awesome task.  However, because of her experience, Sam also knows someone for nearly everything (roof repair, carpeting, painting, handyman, gardener), and I was impressed by how economically it could be done.  Further, after discussing the various options, she made the arrangements, opened the door when necessary, and inspected the work when it was finished.  This is a huge help when you are not there to do it yourself.

California is an interesting place to sell a house.  There are countless forms, past permit & title searches, inspections for termites, radon, seismic, asbestos, building codes, safety items, etc.  Sam knows them all, and again, because I was unable to, she took care of getting things done.

Selling a house in a depressed market is a challenge anywhere, but Sam did the research necessary to find the right price point that fit the location & market conditions, and the need to maximize the asking price for my parent's home.  Once the house went on the market, we began to have interest immediately.  Interestingly, we only had a few "hard" purchase offers.  However, she kept me informed on every offer each step of the way, discussing the pros and cons of each, and she worked with the other realtor to assure that the client making the offer was truly qualified.  As a result, we did not have the many ups and downs as might typically occur when selling property.  There are qualified, and not so qualified buyers, and she guided me through the process of counter offers in each case, and the give and take of the negotiation.   The house sold in less than 90 days.  The eventual accepted purchase price was 3.6% below our asking price!  My parents and family were satisfied with the selling price, as was the buyer.  A good outcome for all involved in this process.

My parents were the beneficiaries of Sam Weiner's knowledge, experience, and professionalism of selling a home in a depressed, competitive, high-end market such as California.  I would, without hesitation, recommend her as the selling agent to anyone contemplating selling his or her home.  She did an excellent job of representing my parents, and we thank her for her efforts on our behalf.

Sincerely,

Terry Battema

Terry Battema,

Greenwood, IN