Weichert Realtors Press Release
Weichert's Full Service Capabilities Provide "Smooth Move" for Today's Buyer
9/26/2007
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J. – From finding the right home to changing utilities, the home-buying
process involves many steps, even when the move is across town. Imagine how much more daunting the process
can seem when you’re moving hundreds of miles to an unfamiliar area.
Yet if you
ask Patrick and Kristine Senft, who recently relocated from Baton
Rouge, La., to Randolph, N.J.,
to sum up their home-buying experience, their instant response will be
“smooth.” These veteran home buyers,
who’ve purchased several homes over their long marriage, found their latest
home purchase with Weichert, Realtors® to be one of their easiest and most
hassle-free, thanks to the guidance of their Weichert sales associate and
Weichert’s many one-stop-shopping conveniences.
So how do
you get from Baton Rouge to a stately
five-bedroom colonial home in the Garden
State? Like so many home searches nowadays, the
Senft’s hunt started on the Internet. As
Kristine Senft contemplated a new executive position in New Jersey, husband Patrick, a building
contractor, began browsing properties online.
Soon
finding the access to so much data “overwhelming,” Senft sought “the human
touch” and filled in a Realtor locator that led him to several real estate
companies with N.J. offices. Among them
was Weichert, Realtors. Going online on
weichert.com, he decided to call Weichert’s “quick connect” number, 1-800-USA-SOLD. The friendly contact center specialist who
answered asked a few pertinent questions and immediately patched him through to
Jillayne “Jill” Southren, a sales associate in Weichert’s Randolph office.
Southren
said, “From their Internet research, they had a couple of towns in mind and a
good grasp of what they wanted. I
assured them that New Jersey
could provide everything they sought.”
Over the
next two months, Southren regularly e-mailed the couple, advising them of new
listings that met their criteria and familiarizing them with the area. Other real estate companies occasionally
e-mailed information as well, they said, but, unlike Southren, none took the
time to send personal e-mails. Since the
Senfts’ move was still tentative, the Weichert sales associate’s personal follow-up
surprised and pleased them. “Jill set
just the right tone,” they said, “no sense of pressuring us. A nice relationship developed.”
Once
Kristine Senft accepted the job offer and moved in advance of her husband and
two children, there was no question as to which N.J. real estate agent they
would use.
The
real-world phase of the Senfts’ home search began in earnest when Southren
picked out a dozen or so homes for Senft to inspect. “She really got it,” Senft said, referring to
Southren’s accurate reading of their needs.
Husband Patrick flew up to make the final decision from the “top five”
and a sales contract was signed.
As every
recent home buyer knows, getting from contract signing to keys in hand can be a
stressful process. Again, the Senfts’
choice of Weichert, Realtors smoothed the way.
They said,
“Jill pointed out to us that Weichert Financial Services and its time-saving
Weichert Gold® Services program could help us take care of all those things you
have to do when moving to a new home.”
While the
couple had already contacted a lender, at Southren’s suggestion they decided to
talk to Weichert Financial Services.
They ended up happily securing a mortgage at a more attractive interest
rate. The Senfts would go on to take
full advantage of the Weichert Gold Services program, conveniently obtaining
their homeowners and title insurance through the program as well, thereby
enjoying the program’s $5,000 performance guarantee of a timely closing, as per
contract. Even that most onerous of
tasks, arranging for utilities, was readily accomplished: the couple simply went online to a Weichert
Web site to make those connections.
When the
Senfts asked to move up their closing date by a week – a request that can throw
a monkey wrench into the schedules of lenders and insurers – Weichert Gold
Services’ professional teams went the extra mile to enable the couple to close
on their desirable timetable.
Reflecting
on their experience, the Senfts said talking to a local real estate
professional like Jill “narrowed everything down real quickly.” They said, “As wonderful as the Internet is,
it’s the knowledge of the Realtor in the area that means so much. And Weichert Gold Services, with its
one-stop advantages, was a nice bonus.
Weichert
has more than 18,300 sales associates in over 500 company-owned and franchised
sales offices in key markets throughout the U.S. A family of full-service real estate and
financial services companies, Weichert helps customers buy and sell both
residential and commercial real estate, and streamlines the delivery of
mortgages and home and title insurance.
For more information, call Weichert's customer service center at
1-800-USA-SOLD or visit Weichert's Web site, www.weichert.com. Each Weichert
franchised office is independently owned and operated.
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