TOM PICKARD

We were VERY picky about the home that we were going to buy. Following an initial meeting with Tom (in March while still living out of the state), he directed us to an Allen Tate website that posted daily potential houses that fit our criteria (determined by Tom). Through e-mail I kept in touch with Tom regularly and then met with him in early May when I was in Greensboro on a job interview. As we prepared our out-of-state house for selling, we continued to view houses on the Allen Tate website and interact with Tom. Finally, we flew to Greensboro in June to tour our candidate houses with Tom. This was the third tour that he took us on (like I said, we're picky). We narrowed our selection down to two houses; the one that we clearly liked seemed at first out of our price range. But Tom performed some negotiation magic and our offer (almost 90k below the original asking price) was accepted. Throughout the entire process, we relied enormously on Tom's expertise and keen judgment. He knows Greensboro and knows where the good buys are. Moreover, Tom has a great personality and has become a good friend.