As first time home buyers, my husband and I weren’t entirely sure how to approach the home buying process, especially in the daunting and quickly evolving Los Angeles market. We spent almost a year casually looking at Trulia and Zillow, researching neighborhoods, and occasionally dropping into an open house. We eventually narrowed in on the View Park, Leimert Park, Windsor Hills, and Baldwin Hills neighborhoods, doing a whirlwind of open house visits. Without having many acquaintances who had bought in these neighborhoods, we didn’t have any recommendations for realtors, so our approach was, “Let’s visit some houses. Maybe we’ll not only find a house, maybe we’ll find a realtor.”
It was at one of these open houses that we met Scott, who was showing a house. At other open houses, when realtors learned we didn’t have an agent yet, they started to sell themselves a little too hard. Not so with Scott; Jacob and I were immediately struck by his authenticity. He was the most approachable, “real”, and open real estate broker we’d met. We asked for his business card, and he let us know that when we were ready to really start looking, to give him a call.
A few weeks later, we did. We were ready to go, and so was Scott. In fact, as I look back to our few months of house hunting, I think he helped us keep up our momentum even when we were starting to lag. With busy work lives, we needed that. He was more like a coach than a realtor, teaching us the process, pushing us to stay motivated, and truly invested in and excited about the outcome for us. Not only that, but he was also born and bred in the area. He knew its nuances very well, and I don’t think there was a single time we were with him that he didn’t run into someone he knew.
After a month and two attempts, Scott brought us a house that we hadn’t even considered. It was unclear whether it met our bed/bath requirements, and moreover, it was being sold through the Probate Court. The Trulia posting alone freaked us out – one of those postings that very clearly calls to investors who can pay cash. Plus, it needed significant work. Despite all that, Jacob and I both knew it was “the one”. Scott did a fantastic job navigating us through the stressful Probate process. It was not an overly familiar process for him either, and he went out of his way to educate himself and handle everything on our behalf. He brought us in when needed, but did not overwhelm us with details. We ultimately closed on the house and could not be happier. One of the best things right off the bat? We already had a friend living down the street. Scott lives just a block away.
Jennie and Jacob Abernathy
