James Baker is ethical:
I needed to sell an undeveloped parcel of land near Lancaster, CA with a low market value. Finding an agent willing to handle the task was difficult. Some agents I contacted would not take the job. Some would take it, but were demanding a flat fee regardless of sale price - some of which seemed like they could result in a net loss for me. Then, I found James. He took the job at normal commission rates, even when I repeatedly asked him, "are you sure?? it's not a lot of money. I really don't mind paying more than standard commission". His reply, "taking all cases is part of the job... Otherwise, how are you ever going to sell the property?" Honestly, before finding James, that was a real concern.
James works A LOT:
During the 7 months that James helped me, it seemed like he was working non-stop. He juggles countless buyers/sellers/corporate relocations simultaneously. It was not uncommon to receive emails from him well after midnight, 7 days a week! Geez, James, my case isn't that important....but I appreciate the thought.
James knows his stuff and communicates it well:
Admittedly, I didn't have a high opinion of the value of the property. Based on previous sales of surrounding properties, I had a rough idea of what I hoped I could get. James kept insisting on listing at a much higher price than what I was looking for. Even though I knew sales of vacant land can take a really long time, as the months passed, I was getting impatient. Even with the steady reductions that I was insisting on, the ask price was still way above what I wanted. After numerous discussions of strategy and pricing, I was reluctantly overridden.
James is patient, even with neurotic clients:
In the end, the property sold faster than I expected, and at a higher price than I expected. Whoops, James was right after all!(imagine that...) I probably shouldn't have been pushing so hard to reduce the price. Sorry James. Closing was a breeze(at least for me). I had never sold vacant land before, so I had no idea what to expect and was full of questions. James patiently guided me through the process, answered all my questions(and there were a lot of them), hooked me up with an escrow company, and that was that.
James can be trusted:
Admittedly, I came into this relationship with a lot of suspicion. Why is he working so cheap? Why is he insisting on listing so high? Does he really want to sell this property, or is he just trying to increase his book? Is he even trying to sell it?.... James has proven all my suspicions wrong on all accounts. The answer to all the questions is exactly what he emphatically said during our first conversation: "I'm doing it because its right"