"Having graduated from the University of Maryland just a few years ago, I did not have enough money to buy a home so I had to rent an apartment. After I saved some money and got tired of wasting so much disposable income on rent, I ran the numbers and decided that what I paid in rent might pay a monthly mortgage on my first home. A mortgage loan company helped me set up financing and agreed to submit the necessary letters to accompany an offer I might make on a home.

Since I am a first-time homeowner I was concerned not only with finding a home I could afford in the College Park area but also with finding a real estate agent I could work with and feel comfortable that my interests are protected. This is when I met Joe Goldsmith from Gold Estates Realty. Joe quickly analyzed my needs, identified key issues, and told me everything I needed to know about the home buying process from identifying the right home to the day of closing.

The best thing about my house hunting experience was Joe's informative and interactive website. The real estate content on Joe's website answered all of my questions and even how to move. Joe set me up with my own private password protected website to review properties, enter personal notes on each property so I could remember house details and my initial thoughts, and to communicate with Joe by email, telephone, or online chat. Joe found a lot of properties in my area of financial and location interest and posted each into my website. I logged into my website often and was able to see everything about the property as well as a picture of the home. From this list I was able to identify specific homes of interest to visit. My website with the ability to pre-review properties saved me a lot of time in the hunting process.

Joe visited each home with me that I wanted to see and, based on my requirements, advised me of what improvements needed to be made, potential costs, and the potential value of the deal. Although he always disclaimed his thoughts and ideas as not being an expert and that I should seek an expert's advice, I felt comfortable with his assessments even knowing that he may be wrong. The day finally came when we found the right property that I wanted to make an offer.

However, before I made an offer Joe wanted to do a market analysis on the property that included comparables of sold properties in the area, an analysis of the public record, and his impression of the value. This helped me understand the neighborhood and decide on an offer amount. When I made the decision, Joe helped me fill out the forms and to present my offer in the best light. Joe interfaced with the lender and made sure that the lender was on board with the offer as well. The seller countered offered and Joe helped me put together another offer that I felt was good for me and the seller accepted the offer.

During closing there was a last second glitch with my lender that would have cost me another $1200.00 closing dollars. Joe interceded and helped the lender understand their confusion and saved me the extra money. Although this took some time, Joe never wavered and made sure it was right.

My overall experience with Joe is that he is patient, very knowledgeable, a good negotiator, and very professional. I realized that Joe was not in it just for the commission as it was important to him that I found the right home with the best value for my requirements. Without question, I recommend Gold Estates Realty and Joe Goldsmith as your realty agent. I will seek his assistance again."