Simon Bossen

Over the past summer and into the fall, I had the pleasure of working with Raph when I decided to buy my new home, and I honestly could not be happier with that choice. As someone with experience as a real estate lawyer, I initially hesitated to use a realtor, thinking I could manage the process myself. However, after meeting Raph while viewing one of his listings, I realized that working with him would not only be more enjoyable but also an incredible amount of value added.

I was admittedly a very annoying combination of inconsistent and picky, however Raph was immediately excited about what I was looking for. He was very proactive and insightful in focusing in on what exactly I would be happy with when I didn’t even know how to understand what I wanted for myself. It was honestly his experience, patience, and enthusiasm that led me to walk away from a couple of houses that I was ready to just settle for, and in hindsight I am so glad that I kept looking. It was also constantly surprising the lengths Raph would go to in investigating anything that gave us pause about a house we were seeing. Whenever we made a decision on a house we knew we were doing it with all of the best information available.

Since I was being picky in a competitive market, there was also inevitably an instance where Raph was out of town when I was wanting to view a property that I was worried would sell quickly. Raph very efficiently arranged for one of his team members to meet with us in his place, and I was also very impressed with that Realtor’s critical eye, good humor, and patience. While that house wasn’t the one, Raph had gotten himself up to speed to the point that when we were looking at future viewings it was easy to forget that he wasn’t at that viewing with us whenever we were discussing it.

I was also in the unique circumstance where I may have come into the process with a buyer already interested in purchasing my current home, and Raph was able to teach me about the various degrees of involvement he could have in that process and was completely understanding whether I was going to need to him to do everything or nothing. I’m incredibly grateful that he was, because it allowed us to be competitive shoppers in a very competitive market, while still being able to maximize the equity in our home. On top of that, it also allowed us to sell our first home to a friend of the family so it could become their first home, which really did mean a lot.

His knowledge and experience in the market added a level of insight that I hadn’t anticipated. He suggested using a unique condition in my offer that I was unfamiliar with, and which ultimately turned out to be the game-changer in a competitive bidding situation for the type of property that doesn’t come up for sale often. As things started to unfold I was positive that my offer would be dead upon arrival or that I would have to pay way more than I was hoping to. Thanks to his expertise, my offer was selected among several others, and I was able to secure the absolute perfect property at a price that I still can’t quite believe.

On the other end of that spectrum, it was also comforting to see the humility with which Raph approaches his job. A few times we had along a qualified tradesperson from the family viewing a house with us and Raph was consistently willing to admit what he didn’t know, and ask any questions he could from a qualified source to learn something new. It was very easy to trust a realtor when you know that they aren’t afraid to say, “I don’t know” and it was always followed up with, “But let’s see what we can learn!”.

I wholeheartedly recommend Raph to anyone looking to buy a home, whether you’re a seasoned professional or a first-time buyer. His dedication, fun approach, and expert negotiation skills make the home-buying process not only successful but also enjoyable.

I set out to just get out of my first home into something a little bigger that I’d be happy with for now, and Raph helped get me into a home within my budget that I sincerely believe I will live in for decades and he made it so that the house hunting part of the journey was just as exciting as the destination. It wouldn’t have been the same without him!

P.S. It was also surprising how useful it was to have a Realtor that is about six and a half feet tall…