Kudos...

January 2010 – “Chris, I enjoyed very much the opportunity to work with Olsen Ziegler Realty.  Your knowledge of all details of the real estate business, available technology, and most importantly, an understanding of the importance of fairness in deal-making were real positives to me.  Additionally, your thorough follow-through was the best that I have experienced on any of the many real estate transactions that I have been involved with." – Dave.

November 2009 – “We could not possibly say enough good things about Chris Olsen and Olsen Ziegler Realty.  Chris is incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, polite and consistently attentive and reactive to even the smallest questions or problems.  When advising us on the selling of our house, he made staging and small property improvement suggestions we would never have thought of, and as a result, we sold our house in only 3 weeks in a horrible housing market (May of 2009)!  Once his suggestions were made, he was also able to recommend reliable, quick and affordable contractors to help us pass inspections and make minor improvements which also aided in the speed of our sale.  During the showing process he also aggressively sought feedback from buyer's realtors after showings to help us assess interest and if there were any problems we might want to head off for future showings.  We credit Chris's fantastic photos and webpage with netting us over a dozen showings in the first three weeks and resulting in a sale price only $4,000 below our asking price!  We felt his extensive analysis of the housing market in our neighborhood was fair and his pricing suggestions were realistic (and key to our success).  In addition to our great selling price, we estimate Chris saved us at least $3,000 in commissions, escrow fees, and other incidentals embedded in contract details we never would have known to look for.  We felt he went above and beyond in every way and over-all, we were very happy with the process and thrilled with the results. 

If possible, Chris proved himself to be even more valuable as our buying agent.  His knowledge of the housing stock in this area was extensive.  He was able to give us assessments of details like boiler size and brand, basement condition, cooling systems, value of improvements, quality of workmanship and materials in remodels, neighborhood details, resale value, etc.  He also delved into the history of the house and got the seller's "story" which helped us make decisions about strategy and value.  In general, it was a pleasure to look at houses with him!  He was able to give us suggestions for changes we might make to prospective properties and gave general estimates for how much various improvements might cost, as well as future resale potential.  This is all invaluable information when searching for the right home that won't break the bank! 

In the end, we sold our house so quickly, we were in the rare situation of house-hunting while in the process of moving out of our old house.  Chris helped us to find a house to rent on a month-to-month basis so we would have more time to look for our "dream house".  The rental worked out great - so great, in fact, that we ended up buying the house we were renting!  Because Chris was both the buying and selling agent on this particular house, we were not able to take advantage of his negotiating skills, but we felt we bought the house at a fair price and know we were able to save money due to many of Chris's contract suggestions and his policy against taking a double commission on a sale.  In addition, because we were able to put off buying a house by renting, we were able to qualify for the new tax-credits and saved an additional $6,500.

We have already recommended Chris to several of our friends and would use him again in a heartbeat!” – Elizabeth and Keven L.

November 2009 – “We highly recommend Olsen Ziegler Realty.  Chris Olsen and Julie Ziegler went above and beyond to assist us in selling our home, putting our interests above their own.  We are not novices to real estate transactions, or dealing with real estate agents.  Over the last 10 years we have purchased, rehabilitated, and sold several other homes.  Frustrated by “traditional” agencies, we set out to find someone who did things different, better, and would leave tired, costly, and obsolete practices in the dark ages where they belong.  Our search led us to Olsen Ziegler Realty.

From their commission structure, to no administrative fees, their business model reflects real savings to both seller and buyer.  In our case we saved over $7,800 over a “traditional” agency in commission alone.  Olsen Ziegler’s lower 2% listing commission saved us $1,975 in listing commission versus a 3.5/2.5% of the “other guys” we interviewed and we didn’t pay any buyer’s agent commission, saving us $5,875, since Chris found us the buyer.  Other savings we realized using Olsen Ziegler that we would not have received with the “other guys” include no administrative or office fees (that range from $200 to $500 or more with the big traditional agencies), a title re-issue credit of $270 (thanks to Chris’s expertise knowledge of title insurance and his recommendations).  Olsen Ziegler’s recommendation of an independent title/escrow company saved us over $1,000 too.  Ask one of the “other guys” if you can use an independent title company and watch them squirm, they will tell you 100’s of reasons that is a bad idea, except the truth, that they have a huge vested finical interest in using their “preferred firm”.

Our selection of Olsen Ziegler Realty was based upon their business model, cost saving, and independent stance in the real estate market place.  We were however extremely delighted with their service, they did go above and beyond all my expectations.  Chris took the time to understand our needs, and some unique circumstances we brought to the table.  Our home had been extensively updated and remodeled in a neighborhood that was just starting to undergo an urban renewal.   Unfortunately, with the challenged and falling market of late 2009 the renewal of the area was abandoned.  This left us with a home over improved for the area.  Chris was able to work with this challenge.  We also had to leave the state the day we listed.  We needed an agent that we could trust to make things happen and follow up on details, and keep us informed, while we were over 1,000 miles away.  Chris came through for us.

Chris even had an idea that truly was outside the normal services of an agent.  He was working with a buyer that was growing frustrated with their search.  Chris had shown them numerous homes for over four months and spent a great amount of time with them.    Knowing these prospective buyers well, he thought they might like our home.  When they didn’t bite after a showing, he suggested they rent it, which they did.  This saved us over $5,000 in carrying costs vs. the home sitting empty.  Chris made this offer, without asking for any finder’s fee and knowing that he wouldn’t collect any commission if the renters purchased our home.  And that is exactly what happened.  After several more months of searching, the renters realized they could not find anything they liked better and wrote an offer.  Chris must have had a sixth sense about his client who rented our home, and it ended up producing us with a buyer.  I can’t offer a better example of Olsen Ziegler always putting their client’s interest, 100% above their own.

Beyond finding us the buyer, I must comment on the other attributes that set Chris Olsen above and beyond.  His exhaustive knowledge of the real estate processes certainly made doing business with him a pleasure.  Every question we asked was completely answered, with technical details.  In the past, we have worked with “top-producing” and “million dollar listers” and found them to be great sales people, but poor businessmen.  We prefer the business approach, give us facts, pros, cons and advice, and then let us make the decisions.  Chris did all of this to an extent we have never seen before.  You don’t find that type of service with a salesperson.

Olsen Ziegler’s marketing of our home was vastly superior to anything we had ever experienced with our past transactions.  They offered advice on staging and best ways to capture our home’s greatest attributes.  They offered and produced a cutting edge, tech savvy marketing package.  They understand the new generation of home shopping that happens on the internet, not from Sunday papers and open houses.  Their efforts targeted this better than the “other guys”, who seemed to only want to market on their own web site.  The time, effort and details Chris spent on producing exceptional marketing were very impressive.  The photography was outstanding, and they knew all the right places to advertise and post our listing.  We were somewhat skeptical about how a small agency would compete with giants in the marketing arena. We were totally in awe of the results Olsen Ziegler produced.

Do yourself a favor: do not list with anyone until you have spoken to Chris or Julie of Olsen Ziegler Realty.” – Paul B, and Eric B, former residents of Cleveland Heights

September 2009 – “Olsen Ziegler Realty is, simply, the best. Chris and Julie helped us take our home from 'OK' to fabulous in a very short time. They introduced us to tradesmen who did an amazing job on a very tight budget, and with whom we will work on every house we purchase in future. Julie has wonderful taste, selecting all the finishes for our project and managing every detail. This was a tremendous load off of our shoulders as we prepared to move, and a service you just can't get anywhere else. The changes they suggested allowed us to price our house $30K higher than we had anticipated, and we had a signed contract in two weeks for almost the entire asking price. This, after several houses on our street that are represented by a very prominent realtor had sat on the market for well over a year. We enjoyed our experience with Chris and Julie so much that we asked Chris to represent us in the purchase of our next home. Although it was a complicated and difficult process, Chris worked patiently to be our advocate through the process and helped us get the house we wanted at a great price! We will definitely be calling on Julie to help us as we tackle projects on the new house, as well. Olsen Ziegler Realty is the only realty company we will ever use.” – Scott & Quinn B.

May 2009 -  "We would absolutely recommend Olsen Ziegler Realty with 100% confidence. With the extreme constraints of a highly competitive housing market and our need to relocate out of state, finding the right realtors with a high level of expertise and professionalism was a must for us. Although we could write a novel of accolades for Chris Olsen and Julie Ziegler, there are several main factors that helped us in deciding to use Olsen Ziegler Realty:

• Free Home Staging: We can’t say enough about Chris and Julie’s ability to identify strengths and weaknesses of our house, and find clever and low cost ways to really present our house and property. We followed their recommendations, and the house looked so good, it surprised us both. We kept thinking to ourselves, we should have had them come out to our house years ago. We would have enjoyed living in it!
  Even more impressive was the cost and dedication Chris and Julie demonstrated. Many Realtors charge the seller for this service which usually costs around $250 just for the home staging report.  Not only were Chris and Julie experts at staging, they helped to  save us an additional several hundred dollars in staging labor, as well as guiding us through this process, step by step.
• Recommendations for Property Improvements: This really set Chris and Julie apart from other realtors. Given the extremely competitive selling market, we were anxious to learn what advice realtors had for us to best market our home. Other realtors provided minimal to no advice on practical improvements to help protect and maximize our sales price (i.e., painting, etc.). This was NOT the case with Olsen Ziegler! They spent multiple hours offering clear and economical recommendations for improvements, yet we never felt pressured to make even one  - the decision was always ours to make. Likewise, Chris and Julie had an extremely knowledgeable appreciation of market trends and ways we could further maximize our marketing by considering additional property improvements. Olsen Ziegler quickly identified several consulting experts, whom provided us with some amazing options we took to further improve our home marketing potential and increase our ‘curb’ appeal.
• Lower Listing Commission: Despite the extensive consultation and knowledge of staging, Olsen Ziegler was surprisingly economical. Compared to other national and local realty companies, Olsen Ziegler Realty helped cut costs. We saved in excess of $2,400! We also felt no pressure to sign a contract to list our home with Olsen Ziegler for longer than we were prepared to do.
• Negotiations & Savings: Chris Olsen negotiated very hard to NOT use certain local title/escrow companies, which saved us around $1,000 in variable title/escrow fees.
  Insurance premiums were reduced with Chris’ skills for obtaining a re-issue rate in our title insurance premium – another $300-$400 savings. Moreover, there were no administrative transaction fees (or as Chris would call them - junk fees) - saving us an additional $200-$250 versus other companies. Most importantly, Chris really knew how to discuss and negotiate with buyers agents to maximize our home price. Chris and Julie were wonderful!
• Cost-Effective Contractors: Recommendations for home improvements also came with a list of contractors to help cut costs on larger projects. We had considered several of the projects for years before, but previous estimates made these projects impossible. However, Olsen Ziegler knew of several contractors to work with, and the estimates from these contractors nearly made us faint! It was considerably less costly than we anticipated, and the contractors had a reputation throughout the area for top quality work. The work on our house was done very professionally, and Chris and Julie were in contact with and worked with us and the contractors to get projects done. The saving was approximately 40% off retail prices. The materials used were name brand, high quality materials and the final product made us wish we weren’t selling our home!
• Exceptional Project & Time Management:  Due to our move out of state, the time frame for renovations and preparations were limited. In 8 short weeks, Olsen Ziegler expeditiously moved from identifying issues, facilitated proposals with contractors, and assisted in the completion of projects (both on time and within budget)! This is exceptional service, particularly for more established and sizeable homes.
• Exceptional Personalized Customer Service & Local Market Knowledge: Chris and Julie were both professional and personable. They understood the stressors involved in the selling of a house and took this into consideration along every step of the process. Their knowledge of the market was absolutely without parallel! It was clear to us, Olsen Ziegler had more expertise than other realtors whom purported to “know” the market. They always kept us informed of any changes on a timely basis and communications were always seamless.
• Overall Grade: A+!!!! The Olsen Ziegler approach (both to reducing expenses while maximizing our selling price) saved us at least $50K versus a traditional realtor. This paired with the indeterminate time on the market had we chosen to adopt the traditional approach with another realtor would likely have resulted in our home still being on the market today. In short - we highly and most definitely recommend Olsen Ziegler Realty! We feel we have been spoiled by Chris and Julie, and wish we could take Chris and Julie with us. Regardless if you are buying or selling a home, if you don’t call and talk with Olsen Ziegler Realty, you will short change yourself.

 - Mike & Mariann. 

February 2009 -  "Olsen Ziegler Realty was the perfect realtor for me.  I had to sell my home during a very slow market in order to enter a retirement community.  This meant that I was working under a time limit and would need to realize net proceeds that would secure my future.  After seeing the ad in the local paper and checking the website I realized that Chris was going to save me several thousand dollars on commission, title/escrow fees, and an administrative transaction fee.  I e-mailed Chris.  He called me the next morning and we were on our way to selling a house.  I say we because I always felt that we were in this together.  There was no pressure and Chris always explained, in detail, what was required and what to expect.  

Both Chris & Julie went above and beyond the call of duty to help me reach my goal. Julie was so helpful in staging my home free of charge and helping me plan how to remodel my kitchen.  Chris was exceptional in providing help for those tasks that would be difficult for a senior citizen, like painting small areas, helping to move furniture, taking rubbish to the curb, driving me to the title company and even wading through deep snow to read my water meter after I moved. 

I highly recommend Olsen Ziegler Realty.  You just can’t go wrong with them." - Rhoda C.

December 2008 -  "It’s a story in its own right how we came to find Olsen Ziegler Realty. Three previous Realtors, affiliated with three separate, well-known Realty Companies, all claimed they possessed expert market insight and that they would aggressively market our home.  However, in the end, we got bad advice on pricing, no strategy adjustment due to the market slowing with the sub-prime mortgage crisis,  and the “aggressive marketing strategies” all boiled down to a listing in the MLS and waiting for prospective buyers to come along. 

After our house sat on the market for an entire year with virtually no showings and suffered the wear and tear of being empty over a Cleveland winter, we finally decided to try renting.  Renting didn’t prove much more successful since our tenants decided to stop paying rent when my wife’s job took us overseas.  By the time we completed the eviction, the tenants were months behind in rent and left the house in disgusting shape; there really is no other better word for the condition in which they left the house.

Being overseas, we had no option but to find an agent who could oversee repairing the property and getting it rented or sold.  After an exhaustive search of both Realtors and Rental Property Managers we finally selected Olsen Ziegler Realty because no one else who competed for the business had as detailed a plan for how to repair and market the house; had previous experience doing similar projects; had as many wildly happy references; or provided as detailed market analysis in such an easy package to understand.

Olsen Ziegler proposed a variety of marketing options, from investing nothing in the property and listing the house at a rock bottom price to a complete renovation that would increase the initial asking price by at least $75,000.  We elected to invest $40,000 to repair and renovate the property over an 8 week time period.  Olsen Ziegler Realty would manage all aspects of the project from material selection to coordinating contractors and laborers and providing me final authority to approve everything.

By the end of the project, our home had a complete renovation of the kitchen with new cabinets, appliances and granite counter tops; two renovated bathrooms; a waterproofed and renovated finished basement; sanded and coated hardwood floors throughout 3 levels; and a full interior painting. To top it off, they also staged it with furniture and accessories and made sure all the routine tasks like yard maintenance and cleaning were done.  Julie Ziegler was especially valuable during the renovation process; she selected materials, appliances and décor that both fit within the budget and greatly enhanced the property’s overall appeal.

All the renovation and repair was done while I was out of the country and the project was completed both on time and on budget.  Unlike all of our previous experience, Olsen Ziegler not only met their commitments, they exceeded them on every count.

Seventy-eight days after the house was listed, their efforts and my trust in them were rewarded-- not with a single offer, but two on the same day!  The offers came at a time when no other house in the neighborhood was under contract; in late October, typically a poor time of year to sell in our neighborhood; and just weeks after the Banking collapse of 2008; and at 95% of our listing price.  And, like every other aspect of this project, Olsen Ziegler Realty protected my interests during closing and made a logistically difficult process as easy as could be wished for.

Beyond all this, Olsen Ziegler saved me money in all phases of the project. Their listing commission was less than the typical rate of the large Real Estate companies; they brought with them a complete portfolio of contractors and service professionals who did excellent work at rates less than had been quoted to me previously; they identified savings opportunities with the “re-issue rate” on title insurance; they selected a Title and Escrow company that was both less expensive and which managed the out of state transaction like I had been sitting in the office with them; and provided expertise in negotiating the sales contract so that the buyer ended up assuming thousands of dollars of City Point of Sale (POS) repairs.
 
The expertise and services of Olsen Ziegler Realty truly put them in a league of their own!"  - Matthew F.