WEST USA REALTY REVELATION

We had to find a rental promptly since our realtor expected our home to sell quickly - and it did!  Admittedly, we made mistakes in renting - the first was trusting WURR.  We viewed the house at dusk with less than optimal lighting.  We immediately submitted our application without seeing it in good daylight.  We trusted them from our prior experience and the house met our three main criteria (1) a safe, quiet neighborhood, (2) tile floors and (3) a large fenced back yard.  Due to WURR practices, we ended up locked into a lease that was just 5 days short of 13 months instead of the 12 month lease discussed. 
When we got the keys, we discovered that the house definitely needed cleaning.  Even worse, what we thought was just outdated fixtures, lack of regular maintenance, some "unique" aspects and a yard that needed a serious professional yard service, but in reality we found that the house and yard had been neglected or cheaply repaired.  Just a few minimal corrections were done by WURR after the owners moved out.  We took extensive pictures to document the conditions we found but it didn't matter in the end. 
Before moving in, we scrubbed, cleaned, and WURR made a couple of minor repairs so doors would close and locks would work.  We paid several hundred dollars for a yard service to do a major trimming & haul away of the massive overgrown bushes and neglected cactus, as well as removing the dried, rotting firewood.  We also purchased some basics for the home since the owner refused to make any more repairs or improvements. 
Another mistake - we looked at the dozen or so cans on a shelf in the garage and discovered lots of insect, ant & wasp sprays, as well as several different drain cleaners - indications of problems to come.  Later we hired an exterminator to eliminate a serious ant infestation in the house and yard, and much later discovered that mice had gotten into the house - eek! 
After a series of health problems that were finally traced to allergies from the home/yard, we moved out in December into a healtheir environment.  We knew that we had to pay rent until the property was re-rented so we again scrubbed, cleaned and made sure the house and yard were in as good of condition as possible for showings to hopefully attract a renter so we could be out of the lease.  We also had to leave the utilities on, which cost another $400+ on top of the several thousand dollars rent for an empty house.  After some delay, it was finally listed in realtor.com for rent but supposedly no applications were received. 
About three months later, we finally were allowed tohave the inspection on the 21st and turned over the keys, at which time we were no longer allowed on the property - 10 days before the end of the lease.
When we were leaving the house on the 21st, some realtor was at the door and said he had a client who wanted to make an offer on the house - to buy!  Apparently it had somehow been on the market for sale.  On the 28th it was listed on realtor.com for sale, not rent.  Public records show that it closed on the 5th, just 9 days after being listed - an amazingly fast time from offer to closing!  It felt like they had decided to sell rather than rent and just used the vacant paid lease time to maximize the income for the owner.  Obviously, a realtor makes more money from commissions than property management so their interest was with the owner, not a renter.  Perhaps that is the critical difference between a realtor who "manages" properties and a true property management company whose focus is on more professional balanced management instead of looking for sales commissions. 
Adding insult to injury, when they finally mailed a check for most of our security deposit (minus some unsuccessfully contested deductions) they mailed the check to the vacant home where we had turned in all keys, including the mailbox key.  We could not get that check soone had to be reissued and sent to our correct address that had been on file with WURR.  Never again will we trust WURR as a realtor or property manager!  An expensive and exhausting experience so we now know what NOT to do.

The realtor we utilized did everything she could to sell our property in the worst real estate environment in the last 80 years. She promptly returned all our calls, provided appropriate guidance, and worked very h****** our behalf. We were unable to sell the property for reason given. At our request, after it became apparent that the property could not be sold, she referred us to a rental management agency.

Deanna helped us find the perfect home to raise our family. We're so happy with our purchase and we couldn't have done it without her! We really appreciated how patient she was with us, how persistent she was with getting us the home we wanted, and her professionalism throughout the entire transaction.

Finding a house int his market may sound as if it should be a relative easy process, however dealing with foreclosures and short sales becomes conveluted with the banks and the mortgage company. The process was at times frustrating, but not because of Deanna. She continued to communicate and keep my son informed with all the requirements necessary. Without her, I could see that this process could have easily dragged on for months.

After a year-long process, looking at hundreds and hundreds of MLS listings, personally visiting a hundred homes and making four offers, we finally bought the home of our dreams, which was a foreclosure which needs only minor cosmetic work, for a great price. In fact, the price was so good, the home appraised for a bit more than the price we bought the home for. The length of the buying process is not a reflection on Deanna, but a reflection on the fact that my wife and I wanted to find the perfect home in this buyer's market and that we did. Deanna was so patient with us along the way in terms of finding many viable candidates that fit our search criteria and even being patient with us as we changed our search criteria numerous times. She also suggested various homes to look at based on what she knew about our needs and wants. Also, she helped us to narrow down the list of possible homes by using her expert knowledge and providing insight as to the characteristics of that neighborhood, the quality of the builder, whether that home backed to a main street, etc. There were so many weekends and late evenings, holidays and even weekdays where Deanna took us out to look at homes. At no time, did she ever try to pressure us to make a decision. We made four offers altogether, three unsuccessful ones on short sales and the one successful one on the bank owned property. In retrospect, we are so glad that we did not get the other homes. In each case, Deanna diligently prepared the offer paperwork and submitted our offer, but in each case the seller wanted more money than we (or the market) were willing to offer. Deanna patiently walked us through the short sale and foreclosure process for each home as it is a little different than buying a home from a retail seller. She explained to us the risks of buying such homes, but she also worked to reduce those risks by getting us as much information as she could about each home, so that we could make an informed decision. Between Deanna, myself and my wife, we exchanged hundreds of e-mails and many, many phone calls and not once was Deanna ever less than responsive. In many cases, she would get answers to our questions that same day. We would not hesitate to use Deanna if we had to buy or sell a home again.

Deanna was able to sell our home in this crazy real estate market for a good price. On our street were two short sales that we were competing with, yet ours sold, which was not a short sale or foreclosure, and those homes are still on the market. I believe she was successful because she employed a wide variety of methods to sell our home. The first thing she did was she suggested which improvements we should make and which ones were not necessary in order to get our home in tip-top shape. Then she suggested a fair price, but over time she also suggested that we reduce it and to reduce it in such a way so that we would attract the most attention from potential buyers. Then she arranged for an open house which she publicized throughout our surrounding area and through her extensive network of contacts in the Realtor community. She was very creative in how she listed our home in the MLS and she also took the time to list in craigslist.org. She employs a professional photographer to take pictures of your home for the MLS and she takes on this cost herself. She also arranged for our home to be part of a home tour and we were able to get additional feedback from other Realtors as to how to make our home even more attractive. Anytime a buyer came to look at our home she contacted the buyer's real estate agent to get feedback from them. During the entire process, Deanna was very responsive and knowledgeable and she took the time with us to make us feel like we were a valued client. In short, Deanna was absolutely amazing and now that our home sold and the sale has closed, we are looking forward to using her as our Realtor to buy a home in this incredible buyer's market.