Mike Livingston

For a number of reasons, I have been searching new home construction listings in Bellaire, Texas, since we moved back to Houston from Billings, Montana -- in 2005. At the time we moved back to Houston, my husband and I were in our sixties, empty nesters, and looking forward to purchasing a house with the master suite on the first floor and ample room for entertaining friends and family. Before we moved to Montana, we lived in Bellaire for 13 years. We ended up purchasing a home in West University; however, we had numerous problems with the house, including the builder's refusal to remedy unfinished (the roof, parts of the wood floors, travertine flooring and tiles that were unevenly placed, never buffed and never sealed, peeling paint, doors that were incompatable with their frames and wouldn't close, etc.) or poorly constructed parts of the house.
In searching for new construction in Bellaire, I called Mike Livingston about one of his listings. He has a large number of listings in Bellaire; however, he didn't send an assistant and arrived promptly at each appointment we made (other relators who maintain the number of listings that Mike does usually sent an assistant to show me a home). He also immediately arranged for my husband and me to meet with the builder -- an especially crucial step for us, given our terrible experiences with the builder of our present dwelling. In addition, Mike did not pressure us and was pleasant and professional -- even when we decided not to purchase the house that was under construction.

Mike marketed and sold our property professionally and without drama, unlike so many other Houston realtors.

Mike is extremely knowledgeable of the real estate market in Bellaire. We contacted him wanting to buy a specific house after going to an open house. Although he was not the lisitng agent, he was knowlegable of the house and he discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the specific house we were interested in, but also suggested we see several other comparable houses in the general area in the same price zone. We met with him and discussed what our needs were then he put together a list of homes (with our input) and set up a date to tour them all. We found the perfect house for us in that group, and it was a little less expensive than the original house we were interested in to boot. Mike walked us through the price negotiation, the inspections, etc. He never pushed any service providers on us, but when asked always had recommendation for providers (structural inspectors, insect inspector, roof inspector, air conditioner inspector, mortgage broker, insurance agent, etc.). He has fantastic contacts in every area related to real estate. He was very considerate and professional. Also very analytical in weighing the plusses and minuses of each home to be considered that would ultimately affect resale value. Mike was willing to show us his own listings in our price range, but took care not to push those listings on us. He was also very helpful with the closing process, title insurance, elevation certificate, City of Bellaire saftey inspections, etc. I highly reccomend Mike to anyone wanting to purchase a home in Bellaire.