Dennis and Ellen Swanson

Details of the Recommendation as posted on LinkedIn: "Due to a job transfer, we listed our luxury condo in Bellevue with Rich just as the housing market in the Seattle area slowed down. To make marketing the property even more difficult, the condo complex was about to undergo major exterior renovations. Rich took this challenge on with enthusiasm and integrity. 1. He put together and executed an outstanding marketing plan, generating tremendous response as we averaged almost 10 showings a week throughout the listing period. 2. He effectively presented the renovation plans in the context of the value this work would add to the overall complex and our unit in particular. We knew that the renovation plans would represent a major obstacle to prospective buyers. Rather than underplay the issue, Rich devised a successful strategy to meet the problem head-on. Demonstrating both his integrity and creativity. 3. He provided us with effective and timely feedback on the comments he'd recieved from prospective purchasers. In many instances, based on that feedback, Rich suggested and implemented other tactics to help market the property. 4. Most importantly, as the market continued to down-turn, his confident, professional demeanor helped to keep our spirits high and avoid potential costly mistakes. In short, Rich did an outstanding job for us, and I'm confident, he'll do an outstanding job for other as well. Dennis Swanson" Service Category: Real Estate Agent Year first hired: 2005 Top Qualities: Great Results, Personable, Creative

Jay and Vicki Heck

We are still completely enamored with the wonderful home you found us back in 1999 - almost ten years ago. You did such a great job finding us the perfect home - it was the first house you showed us. I'm pretty sure we won't ever leave! Stay in touch Rich! Jay and Vicki Heck

Thomas Wybenga

Doug and Barb Ray

July 10, 2005

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

What a pleasure to work with Rich Willard as our realtor.  From the moment we met him, he displayed professionalism.  He researched the housing market and together we came up with a fair price. He marketed our home via the internet, newspaper, mailings and an open house.  He was prompt and personable with both e-mail and phone communications. 

 

What really impressed us about Rich was that he took the time to meet our neighbors, taking into consideration who they were, truly wanting to find a buyer who would be a “match” not only for the house but for the neighborhood.  The new owners can feel assured that they will be welcomed.

 

The sale proceeded quickly and effortlessly with a sale cycle of only 57 days, from start to our move out date.  WOW!  The brisk timeline still allowed us plenty of time to reminisce over the wonderful 20 years in the home raising our kids.  Rich’s personal communication style made sharing family stories a kick. 

 

All in all, we’d recommend Rich as a realtor and would definitely seek him out for future business…we’ve gained a friend.

 

Sincerely, Doug and Barb Ray

Spencer and LeAnn Smith

May 20, 2005

 

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

Firstly, we do not typically write testimonial letters; but, it’s with extreme pleasure my wife and I write this on behalf of Rich Willard…

 

The reason is simple. Our house had been languishing on the market for a period of about 9 months when we first met him…and while the previous agent, affiliated with a name brand office (John L Scott), seemed to be marketing it adequately, nevertheless, it sat and sat.

 

Enter Rich Willard. To put it succulently, after sitting on the market for 9 months, incredibly, Rich had an offer for us within 4 business days. And at the time, he negotiated it for more than the offering price. Unfortunately, though, through no fault of his (or ours) that deal fell through. And here’s where “perseverance” comes into play…undaunted, Rich went back to work. And it paid off; his diligence and contacts provided a virtual parade of qualified buyers…to the point where although we had experienced a run of bad luck, we KNEW he was going to get the job done. The upshot? Well, after a total of just 21 days, we had another deal, and that one for slightly more than the last one.

 

Based on Rich’s superior photographs, ad copy, and contacts, he was able to produce a seemingly endless stream of real buyers…and not tire kickers. It is still quite unbelievable to us! And in the end, we feel that Rich was finally able get what our house was actually worth…

 

So how does he do it? Well, LeAnn and I are still trying to figure out that one. But we think it’s a very unique combination of several factors: Rich is very dedicated. He actually listens to his clients. Has uses a professional photographer do truly spectacular photos of his listings. He knows how to best position a house given all the subtleties of the MLS (which most agents don’t really get). He offers great additional exposure via his website and affiliated links. And we’re figuring that he must network like a banshee with other high profile agents (who are in the game to actually SELL houses and not as a second/third/fourth career gambit).

 

We cannot say enough about Rich’s performance. And we’d both like to offer the chance to discuss his abilities in person. Feel free to call either of us for a personal recommendation if you’re considering Rich as your listing agent. You won’t go wrong.

 

Sincerely,

 

Spencer and LeAnn Smith

Cell phone(s): 425.260.8601 and 425.260.8602

Shawn and Amanda Bice

September 8, 2004

 

To Potential Home Sellers:

 

            We would highly recommend Rich Willard as a Realtor.  We worked with Rich when we searched for a home in the Redmond and Sammamish areas.  We were so impressed with him and his ability to make sure we were completely satisfied, that we chose to have him represent us in selling the home which he helped us find and purchase not even two years ago.

            Rich was very prepared with information on the market and surrounding areas when he came to our home the same evening we called him.  He took ample time discussing what the most logical price was to list our home, and the marketing plan that he felt would give us the best exposure.  We felt very comfortable with his expertise and the recommended price, and entered into a listing agreement with him through our relocation agent, Cendant Mobility. 

            Marketing was an area that Rich felt was extremely important, and he immediately scheduled his professional photographer to come shoot pictures of our home, with his impressive lighting and superior equipment.  The pictures were uploaded to the web and the NWMLS, and our phone started ringing right away with Realtors requesting showings.  Along with the wonderful pictures of our home, Rich wrote up wonderful highlights in the listing that accurately represented our home beautifully. 

            This marketing immediately brought in many potential qualified buyers to view our home.  After the third day we had three exceptional offers.  Rich went over the offers with us, and discussed the benefits of each until we agreed how to respond to the best offer.  Our sale was negotiated and secured with excellent terms, $8,000 above our asking price by the Friday of the first week on market!

            Shawn and I would like to take the opportunity to express our gratitude to Rich for his exceptional expertise in handling the sale of our Sammamish home.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

 

Shawn and Amanda Bice

20905 SE 2^nd Place

Sammamish, WA 98074

 

Valerie Cooksley, RN, OCN, FAAIM

September 1, 2004

 

 

 

Dear Seller,

 

I am not always eager to write reference letters; however I wanted to write this one, as it could make all the difference in the sale of your home as it did for us.  You see, we had tried several Realtors before finding Richard D. Willard.  We worked with the Realtor who had the largest ads, gorgeous photos and appeared to be very popular.  We signed on with the nice person who was very friendly, did weekly open houses, and spent a great deal on advertising and told us what we wanted to hear.  We also employed the aggressive, very polished, veteran with the can-do marketing approach, who made lots of empty promises….but none of them could sell our home.  Three times was not the charm for us.  It took finding Rich, our fourth Realtor, that got our beautiful fairway home finally sold.  

 

I found Rich to be fair, knowledgeable and diligent.  He actually delivers what he promises, which can be rare these days.  We sold our home to a wonderful family within a few short months after having it on the market several times over the past three years.  We were very happy with the selling price, and the entire process was efficient.  Rich was understanding about working around our schedules for open houses and showings, and always communicated directly and honestly with us.  I found his marketing strategies effective, focused, and his networking exemplary.  His photographer Jerry, a lighting perfectionist, was great to work with also.  He did an amazing job presenting our home at its best for the photos, website listing and CD presentation. 

 

I was very happy with Rich’s efforts and selling ability to get us a good market price for our home, and found him to be realistic and honest in what we could expect.  I feel confident that you will be pleased with his representation, negotiating skills and expertise in the Realtor arena.  He comes highly recommended.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Valerie Cooksley, RN, OCN, FAAIM

Sammamish, Washington

James M. Austin, D.D.S.

May 16, 2004

 

 

Dear Rich,

 

Thank you for your outstanding work on the rapid sale of my Echo Falls Community fairway home.  Two offers in three days after listing, both for almost full price is not bad. You actually listed the home $8000.00 higher than another agent I had it listed with 5 months previously. At that time we had no interest whatsoever, so we took it off the market. Other homes in my neighborhood have been on the market continuously at higher and lower price points, with no movement, and I am sold and moved!

 

At our first meeting you came completely prepared with comparables and a game plan on how to proceed.  You understood I needed to sell the home fast and quickly positioned my home listing on the internet with extremely professional pictures which showed the home to tremendous advantage.  Thirty five days after you took the listing, I was closed and moved!  I couldn't have asked for a better outcome.

 

I recommend you highly to any homeowner who wants the sale of their home done professionally, competently, and efficiently.

 

Thanks again!

 

Sincerely,

 

Dr. James M. Austin

Mercer Island, WA

 

Listing price:  $798,000

Sold Price:     $795,000

David Kero, Esq. & Marjorie Chalfant, RN, JD

Learning from our experience, we have found that the Realtor you choose makes all the difference in the world. We highly recommend Rich as a listing agent! He recently sold our house after 12 days from the listing date. Unfortunately for us, he was our second listing agent: we fired our first listing agent after 6+ weeks. We hired the first agent (Windermere Realty) because she had just sold our neighbor's house, so we assumed (wrongly) that she would have an edge to sell our home. With the Windermere agent, our house sat on the market with 3 low-ball offers and very little traffic. Unfortunatley for us, we discovered through the process you need more than just familiarity with a neighborhood (which the other agent didn't really have in spite of her other recent sale).

When we fired the Windermere agent we contacted Rich the same day. He came over to our house the very next day and already had a complete marketing package put together! The difference between Rich and the other agent was night and day!

We believe Rich has an edge over other Realtors that will ensure success. As soon as we listed with him we could see and feel the change in the marketing program. When other Realtors told us that our house would never sell for the amount we wanted, Rich embraced the challenge and understood the value as we did and marketed as such. We think one of the star characteristics of Rich is that he understands the value of your home and will push buyers (and their agents) to see that same value. Rich stepped in and aggressively marketed our house to sell it in a relatively short period of time, and for the amount we wanted.

Our neighbors were so impressed by Rich's accomplishment that they decided to list their home with him, as well. In conversations with them, they told us they are very impressed, and extremely happy with Rich. It appears that Rich will be selling our neighbor's home for an amount significantly higher than what other Realtors said it would sell for.

Unlike our first Realtor, Rich is easy to communicate with, is very responsive to our phone calls and makes a point of coming over to the house as often as he can. With Rich you are confident that you are in good hands, and with his expertise, you feel as though he's been in the industry forever. He has a personal touch approach and you feel he is just as personally engaged in the sale of your home as you are.

There is absolutely no doubt in our minds that Rich Willard is the listing agent of choice!

Bill DeGroot

To Future Prospective Clients of Rich Willard:

Like you, I had a long list of real estate agents to consider when I was preparing to sell my home. I first kept an eye on my neighborhood and took note of what homes were up for sale, their listing prices and time on the market. I also determined that I would only work with an agent who had significant experience and qualifications. That led me to the top 5% of agents who hold the Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation.

My homework led me to list with Rich Willard and I have been extremely pleased with that decision. Rich’s experience and professionalism proved most valuable. As a result of his efforts, I had a full price offer in 28 days from the date I signed the listing. He helped considerably in lining up vendors while I was out of town to prepare the house for market. Rich also followed through on his commitment to a strong advertising campaign which included magazine and newspaper ads, postcards and open houses.

I highly recommend Rich Willard’s services and know he will do just as favorable a job on your behalf as he did for me!

James and Maria Lawson

I wish to take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank you for your excellent work in selling our Sammamish home. Two years ago, in order to get the listing of my house another Real Estate agent gave us an overpriced estimate and promised us a lot of things. The market then was just starting to adjust to the events of September 11th; we had eight Open Houses and a multitude of showings, but no offers because of the price and marketing. We constantly lowered our price but the overpricing and market had already diverted the potential buyers. I finally decided to take the house out of the market. Then we met with and you gave me the right estimate and the necessary assistance to put the house back in the market. Our showings were up tremendously, and within 60 days we had a buyer. Thank you for doing such a tremendous job of marketing our home, and getting it sold in such a short period of time.

You were very courteous, cooperative and handled the transaction in a very professional manner. You were very sensitive and responsive to all of our needs, and we appreciated your prompt availability to us. The whole transaction was done in the most professional manner. You have my gratitude and highest recommendation.

Don Boerema

To whom it may concern:

After interviewing the top agents from Windermere, Prudential, and Coldwell Banker, we chose Rich as our agent. We were working on a tight timeframe and needed someone to quickly list and aggressively market our home. Rich exceeded all of our expectations. He had a professional photographer in our home to take beautiful pictures immediately, place them on the web in a virtual tour, and provide CD's for prospective buyers. He helped us "stage" our home for the move and did a great job of handling the administrative tasks and schedules to close our home in an efficient manner.

The results of listing with Rich were fantastic. In less than two weeks, we sold our home at a price that exceeded our objective. This selling price was higher than the listing price recommended from the other two prospective listing agents that we interviewed in the process. We had a second offer pending if the first buyer did not qualify.

We had another neighbor in our area that also listed with Rich and sold their home in less than two weeks. They struggled with the first agent who had the home listed for 6-8 weeks with limited success.

Feel free to email me with any questions. I do not normally take the time to write these type of recommendations. Based on our very positive results, Rich was worth the effort. Good luck with selling your home.

You were very courteous, cooperative and handled the transaction in a very professional manner. You were very sensitive and responsive to all of our needs, and we appreciated your prompt availability to us. The whole transaction was done in the most professional manner. You have my gratitude and highest recommendation.

Ben Algaze

Richard is a professional real estate agent who gets results. We sold our Woodinville luxury home for top dollar within two weeks of listing, and Richard ensured the deal went through smoothly, going the extra mile to take care of details that sometimes snag these transactions. Sincerely, Ben Algaze