— The McCarthy FamilyMy wife Ashleigh, and I started toying with the idea of relocating to the beach from Pennsylvania in the fall of 2018. We began to search online listings so that we could get an idea of what we could afford as well as attending some open houses in hopes of meeting a local agent who could help guide us through the process. We met Sandra at an open house she was hosting in Lewes. Sandra was not the first agent we had met but was easily our favorite. We explained to her that we wanted to relocate in the future and were just kind of dipping our toes in the water at the time. Sandra was personable and knowledgeable and she made us feel important even though she knew we weren’t quite ready to make the move. We exchanged contact information and Sandra asked me if it were OK if she sent us listings to review. I was very impressed; the agents we had met prior were not so eager to help us. When we told other agents that it may take a year or more for us to actually become a client they quickly lost interest and made us feel very dismissed. One guy actually tried to discourage us from making the move at all! After meeting Sandra at the open house, my wife and I knew that we had found the person who was willing to help us with our dream. Sandra kept in touch, sending us weekly emails with listings and open house schedules. We never felt any pressure from her but rather a genuine interest in how we were doing and how our son Lachlan was. When my wife became pregnant with our daughter Rowan, the house hunt went on the back burner. I explained this to Sandra because I didn’t want her to think we were stringing her along, wasting her time. Sandra didn’t mind and only wanted one thing from us… baby pictures! She made it clear that when we were ready, she would be there for us. The emails and listings continued.
It wasn’t until December of 2019 that we listed our house in Pennsylvania for sale. By May 2020, it was under contract and I notified Sandra that we were ready to get aggressive with the search for our new home at the beach. Sandra was ready! She scheduled walkthroughs with every single house we requested, and wisely suggested we look at a few homes we might not be so interested in just to see some comparable homes on the market. Sandra warned us that the market was very competitive and that when we found our new home we needed to act quickly. She connected us to a mortgage broker who was willing to work just as hard as her to get us into a new home. Every other weekend my wife and I and our two children would drive to Sussex County to meet with Sandra to see houses together. “Competitive market” was an understatement. We were making reasonable offers on houses (sometimes full price offers) but so was everybody else. Houses were being sold for above asking price and we continued to be out bid by people who simply had more money to spend. This process went on for about 6 months. My wife and I began to feel extremely discouraged. We felt as if our dream would never come true. Sandra, however, did not feel the same way. She was always positive and reassured us that our home would come along, eventually.
Sandra, as it turns out was correct. The right house did come along and with her guidance we were able to get under contract. We made settlement on a house that we love on March 26, 2021. I know from experience that any real estate agent can do paperwork. Any real estate agent can send listings. The thing that makes Sandra special is that through it all she always made us feel as if we were her most important clients. It didn’t matter to Sandra that we looked at 30 different homes and she had to make 10 different offers sometimes in a matter of hours. The only thing that mattered to Sandra was that we were happy. Even after settlement Sandra continues to make sure we are satisfied and happy. Truth be told, if it weren’t for Sandra’s diligence our dream of living at the beach may never have come true. And for that, we are eternally grateful.
The McCarthy Family,
Conor, Ashleigh, Lachlan and Rowan
