Stephen FitzMaurice – Premiere Property Group

We had a stellar experience with Stephen from the start. We knew nothing about selling a home and he walked us through all the steps. 4.5% is their take which is a good deal and we got more than we paid for. They put up very professional signs that include pictures of inside our home vs. worrying about running out of leaflets. The photos were taken very professionally as well and made our house shine. They helped us stage our home for our 2 open houses. The team was always available should we have any questions. Bottom line, we sold in 10 days and got more than what we asked for. Dream come true.
Their business is like a well oiled machine as they are very organized and work together as a team. Turnkey all the way.

TL;DNR version: Stephen gave me money out of his own pocket to make a last minute glitch right for me. Stephen and his assistant Jennifer were attentive, didn’t miss details, got me what I needed, and closed the transaction.
I recently closed a 4 plex. Stephen was the listing agent, and I knew the plex was listed at an attractive GRM that would get it snatched up. It produces healthy cash flow and has solid bones and only a few cosmetic things needed (door hardware, leaning fence post). I offered to have him represent me because that gives him the option of 1) making more commission, 2) taking normal commission he would receive with split and pass savings on to the seller, 3) something in between. They had 3 – 4 offers in, but took mine.
I found Stephen and Jennifer to be reliable throughout the due diligence period process. They helped schedule the inspection, they leaned on the property management company when they were not getting me records I needed for my due diligence, they got my attention if I missed turning in anything I was supposed to paperwork wise. Not sure what else you could ask for in representation for the seller. After inspection, I had a list of the items that would need repair, and requested a seller credit to cover them. The amount the seller and I settled on felt fair to me and was actually a bit better than I was expecting. I do feel Stephen acted impartially in this negotiation.
I had two minor hiccups during escrow: underwriting wanted all the moss removed from the roof before they would release the loan, and 2 days before close a new tenant reported a roach infestation (they were extremely unhappy). Stephen talked to the seller and came to me with a quote from the property management company to remove the moss for $ 1,975. I know that is around going rate, but I also knew I could do the job myself with $ 5 of bleachwater, 2 guys, and 5 – 6 hours. Stephen got the seller to approve this, I leaned on the underwriters, and I made $ 200 per man hour doing the work myself.
For the roaches, the seller said they were not dealing with it and extermination cost was my problem. Legally I am positive that is incorrect, but I don’t feel so strongly that I want to take the seller to small claims court over it. I had two big concerns: 1) Let’s get the tenant taken care of, 2) If I am paying for it, I am damn well going to pick the company that does it. After it was arranged I went back to Stephen and asked him to go to bat for me with the seller over this cost shifting, and when the seller would not cooperate he just cut me a check for the cost. I’ve never heard of a realtor spending their own money like that to make something right, it really blew me away.
In the future I would not hesitate to use Stephen.

Excellent service, extremely knowledgeable, and very professional. Stephen did an excellent job with all steps of the process, from the search, initial offer to close. He was able to quickly deal with and overcome those little things that pop up when you’re going through a real estate transaction. A perfect example of how business should be done.

Stephen provides excellent service with all the bells and whistles. Stephen did research on our property before meeting with us and had already developed a great strategy for pricing and selling our home. His breadth of advertisement is unbeatable and he utilizes the latest technology and tools to find every opportunity. Stephen is also very pleasant to work with and was able to keep us calm and encouraged throughout the whole process. Some of the great perks of working with Stephen are the great connections he has. He recommended the right staging consultant and home photographer than made all the difference for our sale. I highly recommend Stephen if you are looking to sell your home in the Portland, OR metro area. You will not be disappointed!