Meet The Hayes Family

We asked our clients to tell us about their experience buying with Matt...

"We have a pretty busy life with 3 little kids. 

We want a place that we can go to visit and just relax."

Before

What was your worry about buying? What factors/features were most important to you?

The biggest worry was price and buying near the beach. We wanted to make sure we found a place that we could rent but that we would also want to stay in several times a year. It is a much different market back home in Pittsburgh than in IOP. We also were very particular about wanting to be south of the connector so we were limited to like 10 blocks. We wanted a place that we could put an in-ground pool in so that was probably our biggest ask besides the specific location. It was also important for us to be close to beach and not have to cross any busy streets.

How did you find Matt? And why did you decide to hire him?

We met Matt while looking at a house that he was selling. We instantly liked him and could see he had great knowledge of the area and market.

During

What surprised you? What was difficult? 

There were a lot of surprises. It was surprising how quickly some of the houses would sell. The one we ended up buying was our Plan C house. Matt knew what we wanted and showed us a lot. He was very flexible as we were making trips to IOP to see houses (and sometimes had to bring the kids!). He also did well convincing us to look at other places (specifically the other side of the connector which was a new location that we had not considered but it had all our must have's.) We actually ended up liking it but someone put a bid in before we could. Another surprise was when we put an offer on the house we ended up buying. There was another offer at same time so we were so nervous. Other difficulties were the hurricane that came right before closing which postponed our closing. In addition, there was a leak in the foyer/hall of the house we were buying and it ended up causing delays.

How did you handle the challenges?

Matt was calm and cool throughout each issue. He really helped us determine what our max offer would be esp. when someone had put in an offer at same time. He gave us the play by play of the hurricane right before our closing to try to put us at ease (even when he lives on the island himself and had to evacuate with his family.) He also gave us options that we could pursue for the leak. He had great recommendations of contractors that could look at issues that were identified during inspection. He also went our of his way to help us with things that we could not do since we were not local - such as measuring rooms, looking at light fixtures, meeting contractors at the house, etc.

After

What advice would you have for other people like you? 

My advice would be to "definitely use Matt!!" He's fantastic. He really gets to know you and understands your must have and nice to have's. He also has expert knowledge of the market and the area. That is what really stood out to us. In addition, he has great negotiation skills. He gave us great advice throughout the process. The last thing that really stood out for me was his responsiveness and ability to go above and beyond his scope to help us buy our dream houses.