They'd Have Paid Him to Have Jim Cadwalader on Their Team
Hiring Jim Cadwalader was the single most important choice we made in the process of purchasing our first home. Let me describe some of the details of our experience with him.
The first time we met Jim, he spent several hours with us to help us determine what sort of home we wanted. He took all the time we needed to clearly and patiently answer all of our questions, explain the details of home finance, and discuss the procedure of buying a home. He is conservative in his approach to finance, so he did not try to sell us a home that was more than we could afford.
Jim paid close attention to what we were looking for, and therefore was able to screen out houses train tracks, power plants, or lots zoned for commercial use just outside our backyard. Houses downwind from the sewer treatment plant were out, as were houses trying to pass off a loft as an extra bedroom and those slapped together by shoddy builders. Many of these disadvantages are not apparent on paper, but they won't get past Jim. and his attention to this sort of detail saved us hours of looking at houses that were not genuine options for us.
The next day, we set out to look at homes. Looking at homes with Jim is like looking at homes with a home inspector rather than a salesman. One of the first homes we looked at was, to our untrained eyes, a great deal. It was in a neighborhood we liked, it was the right size, and it was generally an attractive house. Jim could easily have sold that home to us. Instead, he pointed out a number of problems with the construction of the home that we would have overlooked without his help. As a result, we decided to pass on the home, and he was supportive of this decision.
This is just one of a number of examples in which Jim steered us around a superficially attractive home, helping us to avoid making a purchase we ultimately would have regretted by educating us about home maintenance and construction. Jim wanted us to be thoroughly satisfied with our purchase for years to come, so it was important to him not to minimize potential drawbacks of a given home.
Jim is the most impressive negotiator we have ever met. His inclination is to get an unbelievable on a home, and he will pursue such a deal tenaciously. But he is also responsive to the needs of clients. In our case, we did not want to risk losing the home on which we were making an offer, since we liked the home so much, it was already set at a good price, and there was a large tax credit on homes that was set to expire before we could finish a lengthy negotiation. for this reason we negotiated less aggressively, and Jim was great in this process as well. The point, then, is that Jim is an excellent negotiator who knows how to balance this skill with his attentiveness to client needs and desires.
By the time we got to the closing table, we had become so well-educated about the process that there were no surprises. Furthermore, we had by this point become convinced that, if any surprises came up, Jim would be there for us helping us to make a sound decision. Even now, after the sale is complete, Jim is still here for us when we need him, making sure that we get the right forms filed with the city, and that our new chimney cap gets installed correctly.
In addition to being an excellent realtor®, Jim is great guy. He is fun to be around - funny, interesting, and great with kids. Throughout the process, we got the sense that he just really cared about our family. We would pay extra to have Jim on our team! But we didn't have to, and neither do you.
Sincerely,
Chad and Amber
Fishers, Indiana
