MARGARET SHELTON

We were trying to sell our home at the exact same time that the real estate market tanked (early winter 2008), competing against a ton of other homes and new construction, and guess what? Margaret sold it! I could not ask for more - she did a really amazing job! We actually sold the house with our first showing - we had a signed deal within about 30 days of listing!! That is almost unheard of in this market. There are a lot of things (both within your control and outside your control) that can affect whether a home sells or not. But I know without a doubt that having Margaret as our agent made a huge difference for us. I interviewed other agents who wanted to set a listing price before they ever even saw my home! Margaret took the time to really get to know everything about my house, my objectives, and my concerns before she discussed price. She has over 20 years of experience as a realtor in Greensboro, is extremely dedicated to her job, and besides that is a super-sweet and kind person. We loved working with her and consider her our personal real estate adviser for life! So, on to the particulars: We had to move two hours away for a job, so the house was vacant, and we were paying double mortgages. Margaret understood how stressful this was and made extra efforts to help - she checked on the house twice a week or more, worked with me via fax and email so that I didn't have to drive back and forth, and aggressively marketed my house to maximize exposure to potential buyers. She is so detail-oriented; everything from the pictures to the wording on the listing to the color of the flyers - she insists on everything being just right. She doesn't miss a beat - all the little things that you just don't think about (and don't have time to think about)... She's got it covered! And she is a part of the Prudential Carolinas network, so you get the benefit of a national real estate agency for increased advertisement and more exposure to relocation clients. Negotiation is the part I hate the most of selling a house - especially the waiting! :) In our case, there was a lot of back-and-forth negotiation, and at one point, our buyer walked away. Our buyer eventually came back and made another offer (after which came a lot *more* back-and-forth negotiation). I was understandably very stressed about it! Margaret helped me through the whole thing - she is part real estate agent and part psychologist! Selling a home can be stressful, but Margaret definitely made it easier on us and helped me make the smart choices that got our house sold quickly. No one can guarantee you that your house will sell, but I think we were at a huge advantage by having Margaret on our side. Whether you are buying or selling, Margaret is *your* agent!

We had to put our house on the market October 2007, just as the housing market started on its rapid downward spiral and we figured we would paying a mortgage and rent for a long time. Instead, we had an offer by January 2008 and I think the main reason was Margaret's aggressive advertising. The most impressive thing to me was that she held the open houses personally. In Greensboro, many agents seen to hire people to "sit" the open houses. Margaret used open houses to learn what buyers thought of the house. She also had us put together every document we could find about repairs, inspections, etc. and helped us figure out what repairs had to be done and which ones could be covered with an "allowance." So the buyers were informed about the house and, once the offer was made, no repairs were requested. We had a very expedient closing. She was in contact with us every step of the way -- even living out of state, we had no problems with the whole transaction. I highly recommend her.