I begin by telling you that we are first time home buyers.
We were forced quickly into our decision to own as opposed to paying rent as the monthly rents available in this city of Chicago, Illinois has grown all to high when paying a mortgage gives us better decisions for our financial futures.
My wife was enrolled and completed the required first time home buyers classes as well as condominium classes to enable us to become qualified in several programs in our area to assist with the purchasing of a single family property to live in. These two certificates were more important for the education my wife received as this business of finding then buying a property has many difficult aspects involved.
I decided to research online for realty companies and real estate agents to learn what they could do in order to help us make many decisions towards our goal to own our next home.
I found three separate companies online and then decided on three agents by writing or calling one agent from each company I thought might assist us the best. I read through Kinga's online web pages providing information about her training, qualifications, and certifications. I will say that it was her clear worded descriptions that caught my attention and her willingness to work with first time home buyers was listed with her qualifications. I took this very serious as not one of the other companies nor agents mentioned this. I even asked these same questions on the telephone and did not like the responses.
Kinga was easy to talk to right from the beginning. I was able to discuss the serious nature behind my reason for seeking an agent to assist us as we did not have a lot of time before we would have to move out of our apartment due to legal violations imposed on the building's owners for violations...
including that our basement apartment was deemed illegal and court ordered for complete deconversion and without tenants living inside whatsoever. I would have preferred to tell you that our journey into home ownership was our decision but it was not the case at all. I will also make it clear that our financial situation placed limitations on the properties we could afford. This was a nightmare for my family to cope with.
Education never made more sense to me than when we actually began discussing what properties we wanted to look at and how much we thought we could afford with Kinga. This lead to my first experiences with an agent going to properties she had determined would fit our needs.
I must admit...
these were some very eye opening moments for me as I was learning quickly just how limited we were and how this altered what properties I would be viewing.
I admire Kinga the most for putting forth great efforts to keep me calm and informed as we ventured into several properties this first day. I found my dream house as well!
I do not desire to bore you with so many details that we encountered along this path towards home ownership but... I came close to ending all communications as our financial affairs became more clear by associating with different lenders and financial programs who were to assist us to buy our first home... we learned that we were actually more limited than our estimations showed and this changed the course completely.
Kinga continued to assist me and actually kept me positive at a time when there was not much to be positive about. I will also tell you that I have never trusted people in the realty business as I have many experiences in my own family as well as my work in the insurance industry as a fire and flood restoration firm.
I was so very close to really calling an end to all this... "Up then down, then twisted corners, and houses that needed more rehabilitation than we could afford..." All this and I call what happened to my family a clear and obvious miracle.
I received a phone call from Kinga with excitement in her voice...
it was Friday. We were to go with Kinga to one condominium that she had discussed with the realtor many personal aspects of our situation and this lead to our appointment the very next day... Saturday morning. I brought my wife and our checkbook as instructed by Kinga. We met the realtor and began making our offer.
This now became the lesson I was most concerned about...
an agent must have my trust in order to make this serious natured offer that my family would be responsible for paying back and for thirty years of a mortgage.
The most important thing I recall is the excitement on my wife's face and then I realized Kinga was equally as happy about the numbers that were adding up while they prepared our offer.
We could afford this property! Trust is something we all learn to feel or sense in somebody who we encounter in Life that takes steps to really help us in situations we might think or feel are beyond our capabilities.
I tell you with truth - I Trust Kinga. She is my only realty agent.
I will go further by saying that I am writing you all from the very condominium I have been talking about and it is worth every step along the way.
Although it is common for testimonials to sound cut and dry and maybe even assisted by those we write about... I place my name on this letter and I recommend you to discuss with Kinga everything in detail so that you will gain these similar experiences as I have hereby expressed.
I say it was our goal to own a property as opposed to paying another month's rent... what I have learned is there are times in Life when we must trust an individual and this is how I end my testimonial...
Trust is earned by those we feel trust.
Written by Gerald E. Van Gemert II
Chicago, Illinois. USA