Questions we get every week

Yes, and we mean a pre-approval, not a pre-qualification: a lender has verified your income, assets and credit. It tells us your real budget and it makes your offer credible. We can introduce you to three local lenders and compare their rates in writing.

Usually five to eight. We preview everything on the shortlist before you visit, so the ones you see already fit your brief. Fifty viewings is a search; five is a shortlist.

No. There are better ways to strengthen an offer — a larger earnest deposit, a flexible closing date, a shorter inspection window. We will walk you through them, but we do not recommend waiving the inspection on a home you have not had inspected.

We stay on the line. Contractor recommendations, a tax check-in in January, a valuation whenever you want one. Most of our business comes from clients who came back, so we take the after-sale seriously.

With evidence: the last twelve months of comparable sales within half a mile, adjusted for size, condition and lot; what is currently for sale; and what failed to sell. You get a written valuation with all of it within 48 hours of our visit.

You do not have to, but our staged listings sell nine days faster and for 3.8% more on average, so we strongly recommend it — and it is included. Our stylists work with what you have wherever possible.

Our average is 21 days from launch to accepted offer. Correctly priced homes in our markets typically go under contract in the first two weeks; if a listing passes fourteen days without an offer we review the price with you.

Yes, and most of our sellers do. We sequence the two transactions — usually listing first, with a closing date that gives you time — and we can negotiate a rent-back if you need a few weeks between homes.

It depends on the owner and the building; each listing states its pet policy. About 60% of the homes we manage accept pets, usually with an additional deposit.

8% of collected rent, monthly, plus one month’s rent for tenant placement when a new tenant is needed. There are no mark-ups on maintenance and no fees for inspections or statements.

Requests are acknowledged within the hour during business hours and within four hours outside them. Emergencies — water, heating in winter, security — are dispatched immediately, 24/7.

Rent is collected by the 3rd of the month and paid to owners with a statement by the 5th. A year-end pack with everything your accountant needs arrives in January.