Did you know you can now rate your Edmonton Realtor at www.what-customers-say.com? Many people who've worked with Realtors have taken the time to provide reviews of the service they received when buying or selling real estate in Edmonton and we encourage more people to participate (whether they're our clients or not!).
We thought we'd create our own honour roll of sorts…
After twenty years in real estate I’ve seen alot of things that have impressed me and some that have left shaking my head. I’ve spent years on the Real Estate Association's Professional Standards committee and the Real Estate Council of Alberta’s Hearings and Appeals Panel where I have sat on, or chaired disciplinary hearings for real estate industry members. There is no question I’ve seen what people should and should not do – certainly more than most.
Our 2008 Honour Roll is the cream of the crop of Realtors who we dealt with this year. They are in my opinion, fantastic at what they do. I recalled each transaction we did this year and placed myself in the consumer's shoes; I asked myself would I hire this person knowing what I know? To make the list the answer absolutely had to be yes:
ABE HERING – Remax Excellence 780 481 2950 (I never fail to have a conversation with him during which I don’t learn something. Having competed against him many times and dealt with him many times, all I can say is “awesome” and 'no wonder he is one of Edmonton’s best REALTORS – IMHO)
AL SHUBERT – Remax advantage 780 464 4100 (an experienced professional who was very easy to communicate with. Understood the very unique issues we were dealing with and made sure he did his best to protect his clients' interests)
ANGIE RESENDES – Remax River City 780 439 7000 (Also fantastic to deal with)
BRENT KELLINGTON – Remax Elite 780 406 4000 (worked very hard for his clients and pulled some very late hours for them while he did)
CINDY COOK – Remax 780 488 4000 (very professional. A pleasure to do business with. She did everything she could to get her clients everything they wanted)
DARRELL KETLER – C21 All stars 780 434 4700 (worked his butt off for his client to get them what they wanted. A pleasure to deal with. This is the kind of transaction where you learn what someone is really made of. I have nothing but good things to say about him)
DAWN FRASER – C21 Advantage (Absolutely great to deal with. Very professional. )
FRANK VANDERBLEEK – Royal Lepage Noralta 780 431 5600 (professional, always took care of the details)
GOLDY MATHUR – Remax 780 462 500 (did what it took to help his clients – including working well past 1:30am. He did everything he could to benefit his clients)
GREG DUNHAM – Dunham team family realty (Really looked after his clients, especially in the details. Did everything he could to advance their interests)
INGRID MAY – Realty executives challenge 780 483 4848 (Knows what it takes to take care of her clients. I was impressed with how she was never afraid to ask the tough questions for her clients.
JOHN MATTIELLO – Remax 780 457 3777 (He and his assistant worked very hard in this transaction. He definitely went the extra mile for his people).
KASH SEEHRA – VIP Realty (Always looking out for his client and ultimately I think he did an impressive job for his clients. Paid attention to the details and was a very determined negotiator)
KELVIN LEE – Remax central 780 488 4000 (Although fairly new in the industry, Kelvin was very diligent in dealing withthe numerous issues that came up. Always returned his calls promptly)
KLAUS KLINGSPOR – ReMax Advantage 780 464 4100 (Awesome to deal with. Easy to see why his clients would love him)
LARRY AIKENS – Rancho Realty (Went above and beyond to try and satisfy my clients' concerns when many in a similar situation would have just said “its not my problem”)
LISA BROWN – Coldwell Banker Johnston 780 486 8655 (One of my favourite people to deal with. Extremely professional, very hard worker, very strong ethics, I see her customer satisfaction surveys and they are always raving about her)
LYNNE GUILLION – Realty Executives Devonshire 780 438 2500 (Lynn was a simply a pleasure to deal with even though negotiations were tough she was always professional.)
MICHAEL ZISIN – Royal Lepage NorAlta 780 455 4181 ( Extremely hard working and his extensive experience showed through in our dealings)
MICHELLE REICHERT – Remax Elite 780 406 4000 (Worked very hard for her sellers and took care of numerous unusal details for them in a very expedient manner. She definitely went above and beyond for her sellers)
MIKE KOZICKI – C21 platinum realty (Great to deal with. Very professional, took care of things for his clients that others might have walked away from)
RICHARD WALLMAN – Remax 780 488 4000 (No question there’s a great future for someone like him who is very hard working and takes care of the details in a very professional manner)
ROBERT LEISHMAN – ReMax Excellence 780 481 2950 (Although relatively new to the business this guy is going to be around for a very long time. Impressive to deal with. Handles pressure very well. Went above and beyond for his client in what was not an easy transaction due to compliance issues. He always returned my calls promptly. Another two thumbs up)
SHELLY REDDY – Royal Lepage NorAlta 780 455 4181 (Very professional, went above and beyond for her clients in a difficult transaction where things were anything but easy. Two thumbs up. Her clients may or may not know how lucky they were to have her looking after their interests)
SHERRY MAILO – C21 All Stars 780 434 4700 (Fantastic to deal with. Another professional with whom I can easily understand why her clients would love her)
SUSAN JAKSICH – Remax 780 457 3777 ( Very professional. A pleasure to deal with)
TARAS CHMIL – Remax River City 780 439 7000 (A consummate professional – special mention goes to his wife Pat who takes care of all the details and does an amazing job at it)
THERESA BRYDEN – Royal Lepage NorAlta 780 431 5600 (another consummate professional. Worked very hard for her clients and definitely went the extra mile for them in turning some difficult issues into a win win for her clients.
WENDY ZRUBAK-RUSSILL & EDWARD ZRUBAK Royal Lepage Noralta 780 455 4181 (Great to deal with. Dealt with all the issues we had very professionally)
I am but one person who had the opportunity to deal with a number of fantastic professionals who did everything they could for their clients. I would say this past year has seen more determined negotiating as sellers try to hold on to their value and buyers do everything they can to get the best price possible. There are certainly people who could receive honourable mention since there were no serious issues to deal with but in order to keep this relatively short I did not include those people.
So if you don’t know a REALTOR and you are considering using one feel free to contact us or one of these excellent individuals.
CG,
I’ve deleted your comments. This is not the appropriate post to discuss those particular view points. There are other posts on our blog where they would be more acceptable. Happy New Year.
Sheldon, you and your team did a fantastic job for us, our house sold in 3 days, you negotiated for us and got us a decent price in a rotten market. You deserve the pat on the back, as well as your team, and we love your blog, it’s very informative! (oh yeah, and Sara is a fantastic photographer!)
I’ve had to remove two comments for breaking the code of conduct. Here is why…
David said: After reading this shameless self promoting. I’ve decided to purchase my house… [privately] …I’m going to find a good real estate lawyer and that’s all I need.
David, I’m sorry you consider this self-promotion. I’m not sure how promoting the names of 30 Realtors from other companies is self-promotion, but either way we still think they all did a great job. Best of luck with your purchase.
GAWD just what we need……a realtot kumbayah love in.
How about posting who the scumbags of your industry are…..?
Oh I forgot, you can’t do that….it’s a violation of your “code of ethics”….itself a misnomer if there ever was one.
Heh.
Lol..I can’t publish the scumbags names. They can be found on the regulators website (Real Estate Council of Alberta). The disciplinary findings are public and so are the hearings.
Doctors and Lawyers don’t publish disciplinary results or allow access to hearings the last time I checked.
Thanks JO. We loved working with you.
We have received a number of emails thanking us for this post and a number of these people reiterated their positive experiences with people on this list.
Comparing realtor to doctors,….. that’s bold. 8 years of training vs. 8 weeks of training. Realtor is not a real professional designation.
I’ve dealt with a lot of realtors over the years, and I can honestly say that almost all of them were not only slimy, but most admitted that they thought most other realtors are slimy as well.
You two seem like good realtors, with some integrity and professionalism. I wouldn’t spend too much time defending the rest though. Too many people will have their own slimy realtor stories. Instead try convincing people that you are unlike the crowd.
Andrew,
Thanks for your comment. I was only comparing the disciplinary aspects of the industries. Ours is open for all to see and theirs is closed. Is one better than the other? That’s for you to decide in terms of the process.
Many people in my industry have been doctors, lawyers, builders, home engineers, and so on. Some like my partner specialized in online marketing after obtaining her iniversity degree.
Since RECA began regulating the real estate industry numerous people have been forced to leave the business. That information is on their website.
To answer your comment about why I posted this thread. I think people can see from our blog we are different and we have a marketing program second to none and we’re continuing to improve. I have had many people send me emails or post comments about this REALTOR or that company that did an excellent job for them.
I did think some people might be interested in that. As for being unlike the crowd how many REALTORS are you aware of that have ever posted something like this based on someone’s positve professional conduct vs their production.
For the record I stand by the post. From my dealings these are awesome people. Thanks again
I told Sheldon and I’ll say it publically – I dealt with Shelly Reddy in 2001 and she was excellent. I would highly recommend her to anyone without hesitation.
I suppose my disappointment in dealings with other realtors in the past may have made my post seem overly negative. As I mentioned, you two do seem like a rare beacon of light for what I think is often times a sick industry. I have been reading this blog for a long time, and many times I have been impressed with the way you guys do business. Praising other realtors is a great sign of integrity. If I choose to sell, I’ll give you a call. If I buy more, I’ll still do that myself.
Sheldon…doctors do publish the results of disciplinary hearings
http://www.cpsa.ab.ca/complaints/discipline_info.asp
Sorry Bee Bee. Its not even close to the same. The Real Estate Council of Alberta has a no negotiating policy for naming individuals disciplined. Except for the 10 or so doctors listed in the past 12 years the rest are described as DrH07 or DrE08. Come on, that’s not even close to being completely open. If my doctor has been disciplined I want to know. If you are using someone in a very important real estate transaction then you may want to know how good of a producer they are, but if they’ve been naughty or nice as well. Kudo’s to the nice one’s.
Just a note that the results of discipline hearings for lawyers are public (with names attached):
see: http://www.lawsocietyalberta.com under the tab “lawyer regulation”.
Lawyers take the responsibility of being a self-regulating profession quite seriously.
I didn’t say that the law society takes regulation seriously. Glad to see it, that is a recent change I was not aware of. Imagine if builders were regulated. Thanks for the comment