AL OLME

I highly recommend Al Olme as a Realtor, especially for first-time homebuyers who need a strong, knowledgeable, detailed-oriented advocate at their side. Al was my landlord a number of years ago. By the time I moved on, he was getting into the real estate business. I had always imagined that whenever it came time to take the plunge and buy a house of my own, I would be giving Al a call. As a landlord, he took meticulous care of the property and was never one to resort to the cheapest solution by default. It's why people often assumed I owned my unit. Al was a stickler for doing things right and had a genuine concern for my best interest. I recall his gentle admonishment when I signed the lease. "Maybe it's just me," he said. "But you might want to read that first." As it turned out a lot of people have friends in the real estate business, including my partner with whom I eventually bought a house. We made a fairly random decision to go with his friend, not mine. Nevertheless, even though he wasn't officially working for us, Al's help was invaluable and quite possibly vital to having closed the deal. A testimony to his generosity, even though it had been years since I had seen him, Al responded right away to my email inquiring about a loan officer he could recommend. Later when I called him with a more pressing question about whether we ought to insist that the sellers fix the "abandoned" basement floor drain, true to form Al said, "What does the purchase agreement say?" Then, because he never misses a teachable moment, Al explained why one would want to have a functioning floor drain, which is a major structural component of the house. Buying a house is one of the most stressful things you will do in your life. A good Realtor will go a long way to make for the best experience possible, if not exactly a picnic in the park. I highly recommend Al Olme.