Tell Us about Your Home Buying Experience, Good Or Bad

This is the place to tell us, and the world, how your homebuying experience went. Whether we were involved or not, it doesn’t matter. We want to hear your story, good or bad. We hope to learn from your experience, and perhaps you will educate many potential homebuyers.

October 17, 2006 - Posted by Bill and Diana | Buyers' Stories | | 4 Comments

4 Comments »

Making a substantial purchase of any kind today is, at the least, daunting. But it was time for me to purchase a home. In short, I knew what I wanted in a home and where I wanted to live. I was displeased with my last realtor and, ultimately through friends, I was referred to MacDonalds.

Financially I am a reasonably savvy person but that didn’t qualify me to be prepared for the pitfalls awaiting new home buyers especially in the 2007 / 2008 market. Without going into the specifics of those pitfalls, suffice it to say the MacDonalds council was invaluable. Their experience and advice assisted me in avoiding making home buying decisions that would have had strong potential to be financially disastrous. Though it took time, we found what I was looking for and we negotiated a deal that I am thrilled with.

I expected the deal to be complete when the papers were signed, but Bill and Diana are fastidious. They’ve even assisted with tweaks to our new home that they frankly are in no way responsible for. Their after sales support has been phenomenal. Rewind and reread that sentence. After sales support as part of the home buying experience! Enough said.

Comment by Paul May | January 3, 2008 | Reply
When I decided to move to Seattle from Manhattan I had a vague idea of the type of property that I was looking for and was pretty stressed by the whole proposition. I was looking to get away from the condo environment and find something a bit more rural. Thankfully, I was introduced to Diana and Bill by my relocation counselor. They took me under their wing and educated me on the factors that make for a good investment and, more importantly, a great home. Diana spent an entire day talking with me about the property that I was looking for. Although we eventually looked at several dozen homes throughout greater Seattle during the course of my search, she really hit the nail on the head with the first few homes that we visited.
Finding the home, I was soon to learn, is only a small part of the services that Diana and Bill provide. Once I had my heart set on the home, Diana and Bill scoured public records (and various other contacts, I’m sure) to find out everything they could about the house, neighborhood, sellers and local real estate market. This provided me with the invaluable information that I needed to make the correct offer. Suffice it to say, I was able to get the home I was looking for at a very good price (some might even say “a steal”).
But wait, there’s more! Once I was moved in, Diana and Bill were there to help me find the right network of contractors to keep the house in good repair. As a house warming present, Bill even got me my very first chainsaw! Take *that* New York!!!

Comment by Mark Milone | February 16, 2008 | Reply
As if the smooth, professional and thoroughly impressive experience of buying a home with dedicated individuals like Diana and Bill McDonald wasn’t enough, we got to experience exceptional after-sale support. We bought our John Buchan home in Oct ‘07 and have been steadily enjoying making the house a treasured home. In the last couple weeks, our first major expense was a complete landscaping makeover. Using an individual recommended by Bill, a great deal of work was accomplished in a few days with the end result being exactly what we wanted. Unfortunately, in the process of removing large tree stumps and re-sodding the back yard, a number of irrigation lines were broken. One call to Bill was all it took to have the issue addressed quickly and thoroughly. On Father’s day, Bill took the time to personally assist the landscaper in isolating the line breaks and even provided the parts and equipment needed to perform all the repairs. He even noted a drainage problem in one corner of the back patio and obtained the necessary drain and pipes which were also installed the same day! So, not only was the sprinkler system repaired, but an important improvement was incorporated quickly and professionally. The only thing more impressive than the fact he didn’t charge for his labor was his genuine interest in making sure we were happy with the results. With Bill’s help, the landscaper was rectified the situation quickly and provided great recommendations when selecting replacement trees and low-maintenance plants. Bill’s superb dedication to customer satisfaction and exemplary professionalism makes him stand head & shoulders above his contemporaries. It’s been a sincere pleasure working with both Diana and Bill throughout the home buying and upgrading process. They are both top-notch professionals in every sense. We look forward to being friends for many years to come and will continue to seek their recommendations for future home improvements.

Comment by Jerry Michaud | June 18, 2008 | Reply
This Husband and Wife team goes way beyond Realtors.

When we found the home we wanted Diana was there with us, and kept us informed with everything that went on. Diana was our GPS, concierge, real estate agent and friend; it’s not easy buying a home in another state.

We moved to Washington State from California and once all moved in this year experienced a frozen pipe after contacting several plumbing contractors to no avail, we phoned the McDonalds for the name of a plumber any plumber and they personally came over and Bill repaired and replaced our frozen pipe.

We just want to let anyone know who may be looking for a home; please feel free to contact the McDonalds’.

We are more than pleased, and we feel we have also made friends…to us that is going way beyond the call of duty.

Thank you Bill and Diana so very much.

Comment by Larry & Deborah Carter | February 2, 2009 | Reply