I needed to invest some money into real estate but was sure what I wanted. I got on zillow and was watching the housing market at the beach. I wasn't working with any realtor because my experience with them in the past is that they do nothing and get a nice fat check. While I was looking I asked a few questions of various properties and a bunch of the realtors barely answered the questions and essentially did nothing as I expected. Then I asked Bill a question for one of his properties. He answered almost immediately even though he was taking some course and was in class. He apologized for not being available even though I had no expectations. Then he called me and make sure his email response was sufficient. He asked what I was trying to do and what my interest were. I thought, oh boy he is going to try and sell me on him and ask to sign a contract. He didn't. But a few days later I got an email to a web site that had properties that matched my interest. He went ahead and set it up for me. It made searching easy as I got emails when a house matching my interest came up. Bill called a few times to ask how my search was going but was never pushy or trying to get me to do anything. He was simply trying to help me. This went on for several months and finally there were about five properties that I wanted to see. My schedule is hectic and I emailed Bill with a day or two notice and asked if he could show me a few. He asked me to give him a little bit of time (like 10 minutes) to check and he made changes to help me. Remember, no contract. No hard push. Kinda like an uncle that wants to help you.
We arrive, I think, he is going to push hard for a contract with him. Never came up. He did the legal items he had to at each house but we signed nothing. He also made sure that I saw a few properties that I didn't list because he knew what I was looking for. After looking at the places we had a late lunch and talked through what I was trying to do. Bill reached out to many people to get me info I needed and gave me even more stuff so that I could investigate. Thus, when we were eating I was fully prepared and was able to identify a great deal. Remember, this was an investment property. Bill helped me to determine the offer price and worked with us with the entire process. We signed with him and made an offer at lunch.
Believe it or not, Bill then stepped up his game and took care of absolutely everything for me. I had no worries and he helped me to identify things I didn't even know I needed. We closed today and I can say that I still don't like realtors. However, I don't look at Bill as a realtor. Bill was much more than that. He made everything easy and the process painless and stress free. I would say Bill was more of a business partner that helped me accomplish my goals. Thanks Bill.
Oh, even after we closed and Bill was "free" of me, he was still providing more information and helping me to make sure I got everything I needed for the property.