July 26, 2009
Re: Hugh Borax/One Percent Broker
My husband and I first met Hugh a year and a half ago by the recommendation of a work colleague. We were first time home buyers, and as such, were unfamiliar with the entire home buying process. Moreover, we are both physicians with little time to spare on research or to make appointments with real estate agents.
We had no idea of how to start, where to look, or what general style of house we wanted. Our search area began in Pasadena/South Pasadena and extended as far west as Santa Monica/Venice and even to Encino/Tarzana/Sherman Oaks. In short we were not sure of what we wanted other than we were in the market for a home.
From our first interaction, Hugh gave us an overview of the home buying process, provided us with information and the tools to search. Excited about the prospects of buying a home we showed Hugh a couple of properties we were interested within a week or two. He happily met us on two different days, once in Pasadena and once Downtown. At each site Hugh was able to ask the listing agent questions we had not thought of and was very cool and objective about each of the properties. After each visit he actually recommended that we not rush, to go to as many open houses as possible, in order to see what was out there and get a true sense of what we wanted. This response surprised us, as other agents we had dealt with used words like “now is the time to buy” or “if you’re serious you should make an offer today.” We even had one listing agent tell us to make him an offer right then and there. This was when we realized that Hugh was genuinely concerned about making sure we made the right decision and not just in making a sale.
We stopped checking the MLS, stopped going to open houses, and generally gave up on home buying for about a year. During this time Hugh would email us intermittently to make sure we didn’t need more help or information, and understood our inclination to wait on the housing market given the economy. When the right time presented itself, we were in a better position to say what we did and did not like and more importantly how much we were willing to spend.
We immediately resumed our search and once we found a house we wanted to bid on we immediately contacted Hugh. Both the buying and closing process were pretty stressful, but Hugh made things so simple and easy. He was again very calm and understanding and there were actually several nights when Hugh was up till 1AM to entertain our questions or negotiate on our behalf. While in escrow, he was present for the walk though and inspection and again had insights to the property which we did not. Ultimately, we were able to close in three weeks and are now living the house of our dreams.
Hugh seems very reserved and down to earth, but when it came to negotiating and closing he was very aggressive and we felt as though he was genuinely acting on our behalf. He knows the market, he knows what’s fair, and he is very good at his job. To top it all off, the 1.5% rebate paid for our closing cost. Although this process may not be for everyone, we are very happy with Hugh and would whole-heartedly refer him to family and use him again in the future.
Thanks for everything Hugh!
Ryan and Maricel Pureza
