17 August 2003
I was watching TV one day in October 2002, and there was an advertisement of a homebuyer's seminar, which was offered by Bob Hummer. I was immediately interested in hearing about the seminar because I wanted to buy a house, and I didn't know anything about the home buying process. I also didn't know whether or not I qualified to buy a house.
I had been to a few seminars before, which were offered by other companies, but they were often very crowded with participants and representatives form varous lending offices and real estate companies. There were about 100 lenders and real estate agents at these seminars, which became overwhelming. They each had set up booths, so I couldn't decide which booth to start at first.
This was not the case with Bob Hummer though. The seminar that he conducted only accommodated between 12-16 people in a classroom setting, and this allowed Bob to provide personal attention to each participant. Each participant had his/her own seminar package, which included an agenda and various handouts. One handout in particular titled "A Buyer Orientation," explained the home buying process step-by-step. There were also other handouts, which included those that defined various terms commonly used in real estate, which are unknown to new homebuyers. Other handouts provided by Bob were "How to set up a Personal Budget", and my favorite, which was a package that included samples of all the documents that are used for an actual sales contract! Each participant of Bob's seminar also received a free credit report, which usually costs around $29.95. Even with all of the great information that Bob provides at this seminar, there is no charge for participants to attend. Bob is so knowledgeable in the area of real estate, that he was able to answer all of the participants' questions during the seminar. He has over 25 years of experience.
At the time that I attended Bob's seminar, I had a real estate agent, but I wasn't happy with his performance, so I contacted Bob. Bob asked me to check whether or not I had signed an Agent/Buyers representation agreement with the other agent, and I had, but it had expired. Bob then set up a meeting with me to go over my budget plan, and we went through the process of pre-qualification. Once I was pre-approved, we began looking at houses. I began looking at town homes for a while, but I couldn't find a house that stood out, so I stopped looking for a while. I became tired, and discouraged, but Bob was always there to encourage me. When I wasn't in the mood to look at houses, he had a way of persuading me to continue on. I was later approved for a higher loan amount, which was great! Bob then recommended that I look at single family homes, and I've always wanted a single family home. I just didn't think that the amount of my loan would get me the type of house that I was looking for. Bob reassured me that we would find a house, so I trusted him, and began the search again. After looking at about four houses one day in June 2003, I found the house that had just about everything that I wanted, and best of all, it was a single-family house with a huge yard. We immediately went back to the office to write a contract on the house, and the rest is history. I love my new house, and I have Bob Hummer to thank!
I often tell him that he is a "top notch realtor" !
Aver Gross
