As someone hypersensitive to customer service, Keith disproved my long-standing perception that a great, (genuinely) client-focused real estate agent existed. We have bought and sold 8 times in the past 20 years, and each transaction proved my perception to be true. It has always amazed me how poor the experiences have been, at times even making me think about a complete career change just to do it the right way (and know being able to differentiate myself would probably not be hard). Realtor after realtor, disappointing experience after disappointing experience, all directly connected to the largest investment we have ever made at any given time. I share all that because the current market conditions can, in my belief, skew how someone could be rated (much like blaming a financial advisor for a market downturn).
After walking away from one realtor, being ‘let go’ by another (because we were picky and finding the perfect house was going to take time which we had on our side and it was clearly too much work for that individual) and spending some time looking without an agent for possible negotiating leverage, I came across Keith at an open house. As crazy as this sounds, what stood out to me was how refreshing it was (1) to be asked open-ended questions about what we wanted and (2) to see Keith was actively listening. I was very clear at that initial meeting that we were not looking to use a realtor, though Keith continued to reach out with what I felt was perfect frequency and relevant updates (which he asked if he could do). Because he listened, what he called to share was spot on related to our interests. And his balance of continued communication and offering to show us places led to going out a few times, and that led to seeing how he got us into places before others on time-sensitive houses and most importantly, that I felt for the first time like I was a priority.
All realtors balance multiple clients, clearly, this is the case. But none have ever left me feeling like I was their only client. Until Keith. And my point about the current market conditions (this is summer 2021), I still don’t know how Keith was able to get us into every house in such short notices as new houses came on MLS, but he did.. time and time again. And it took months. Not once did I feel like we were a burden, though I know we absolutely were and he spent many, many hours with us, demonstrating patience, and most importantly, always having OUR best interest in mind.
I really hope we don’t move for a very long time, though when we do, for the first time in my life as someone that has had more than the average number of moves, I have a guy in this business. Whether you are feeling the way I have felt with realtor after realtor, you are open to working with someone different or it’s your first time buying a house, I recommend Keith Albrecht. After 20 years of sharing our horrible experiences and recommending people beware of the agent after agent, here I am believing that customer service in real estate does exist. At least with one agent.
