My sister and I were experiencing emotional turmoil after the unexpected passing of our father in Maryland. We were suddenly trustee’s of his estate, which included his house that he had lived in for 45 years. A friend, who knew that we had to sell the house because we both resided out of state, introduced us to Josette. I knew right away, during our first meeting at Dad’s house, that Josette had the knowledge and experience necessary to prepare a 1960′s home for sale in the present day.
She pointed out how inexpensive upgrades like new light fixtures, a fresh coat of paint, or new glass in the kitchen cabinates, etc. would help in the sale of the house. We were convinced and asked her to get started. She became our “general contractor”, buying light fixtures, kitchen appliances, etc., and getting quotations for other work and repairs that needed to be done. Everything she recommended was first sent to us for approval or discussion before she bought anything or hired anyone to work.
She also did thorough homework on the housing market in the area which helped us establish a selling price (which was within $3,000.00 of an independent appraisal). After all the necessary upgrades and repairs were completed, we put the house on the market and it sold within a month. Josette is an honest, hard-working (I often received e-mails from her late in the evening) and dedicated realtor. She is also a great “diplomat” and negotiator who was willing to listen to us and be sensitive to our needs and situation. How great it was to know that, 600 miles away, we had a highly competent realtor in Josette working ”on our side”. David Young & Sue Vodola
Josette made my home buying experience great. She got to know my tastes quickly and found some great houses to look at. Once I found the house, Josette introduced me to online forms. It was so quick and easy. No waiting, no going to a lawyers office, it’s very efficient. During the process, Josette sent me helpful emails so I knew what to expect next. She also has a great rolodex of people to fix any situation that may come up. I highly recommend Josette if you are buying a home! Steve Greehan
OUTSTANDING AGENT!!! Josette found us a rental property last year, so when our dream home unexpectedly came on the market, we called Josette. She had an offer ready within 24 hours. She persevered through some uniquely difficult circumstances, and got us our new house. If you want excellent, personal, and timely real estate service, have Josette on your speed dial. Keith Alfieri
I never had a chance to write a review about my experience working with a real estate agent before and I respect Josette’s professionalism and dedication to her work too much to Google something like “a good review for a real estate agent” so I can cut and paste something bland and unassuming about “attention to detail” and “zero- stress experience” or “savvy, personable personality” etc., etc. In fact, all the above is very true about working with Josette, who indeed neither showed any signs of tiredness of me becoming a home-buying version of Bridezilla nor became less attentive to my somewhat irrational demands and budgeting expectations. My search is finally over and my closing date is set and I can’t say anything more than “Thank you, Josette, that couldn’t have been done without you. And I wouldn’t try it without you in the future.” Dimitri Kirin
Jon & I have searched daily online for homes. We have met numerous agents at open houses. A couple agents showed us a listing that was from their company but not their personal listing. Due to various factors such as personality, organization skills (lacking), fee structure/paperwork, experience, knowledge of the neighborhood – none of these agents were a good fit for us. Last week, the Soper Street listing popped up on Homesdatabase. I called the 800 number. I explained to you what I was looking for and you provided me with information that I could not get myself. When you showed the listing and then convinced me to take a look at the Chiswell property (even though I thought it was ½ of the size it was – due to tax records), you came armed with even more data. I was instantly impressed with all the research you had done on the area. Your paperwork was organized, informative, clear. You helped me visualize living in the house. You were personable, non pressuring and “with it”. I realized that before we even got to Chiswell Road. It was an automatic fit. When I called my husband to come over and see Chiswell, I told him we found our agent. Since our signing with you, you have continued to provide the same outstanding service. This is one of the most important transitions in my life and I had been praying for months to find the right person to guide us through it. You may think it hokey, but I believe God planted you on phone duty that day. You have been exactly who we were looking for. Thank you for making this process go so smoothly. 17 more days!! Many thanks, Joanna (and Jon) Borman
Jeanne and I had listed our home with another broker and had no success in attracting a buyer. Josette was able to come in and identify the issues which were preventing us from selling and help us to very quickly turn our home into a very saleable product. She worked tirelessly on our behalf, even painting walls and packing boxes! She’s a tough taskmaster but it’s truly in your best interest to listen to her wisdom – she knows what buyers are looking for and how to make your home show up on their top 3 list.We truly feel Josette was the catalyst in getting our home successfully under contract in 34 days, at a time when the average days on market were over 70. And every detail along the way was taken care of for us all the way up to a very smooth and successful settlement. We are very thankful for Josette’s knowledge and integrity and her ability to help us make good decisions. We recommend her without reservation as the agent who will help you make good decisions and who will always act in your best interests” Sincerely, Ed and Jeanne Reedy
Josette made the process of buying this home so easy for us even though it was a very difficult transaction with the financing. We love our home and can’t wait to make the changes that will make it our own! We would recommend her to any of our friends…” Jen & Mathew
My wife and I recently moved from San Francisco and were very excited at the prospect of purchasing a home in Maryland. We chose to work with several agents in the Montgomery County area to ensure that we found an agent we could work well with and to ensure we had someone who had our interests in mind. We were referred to Josette Skilling by a close family friend; and after our initial meeting, we decided that she was the agent for us. During our home search, Josette’s ability to provide us with detailed information about homes in specific areas helped us narrow our choices. When we chose Clarksburg, Josette made sure we understood the building situation and permitting issues for new construction there. Josette helped to point out possible risks and areas of concern while we moved forward with the home buying process. Her negotiation skills helped us to structure an aggressive offer that was accepted by the seller. We were very pleased with Josette’s efforts during our home buying process. She was accessible, a pleasure to work with, and very professional. She treated our home buying process as if she was buying the home herself. We confidently felt that she was helping us find our perfect home instead of trying to sell us a house. We would highly recommend Josette Skilling to those searching for their dream home.” Bryan and Lisa Suit
Working with Josette was an outstanding experience. She was patient, thorough and knowledgeable. Most importantly Josette was genuinely interested in helping us find the right home. We drove away from all of our interactions with Josette thinking about how much we enjoyed working with her. Even other agents commented on what a pleasure she was to work with. To us that spoke volumes about her professionalism and integrity. We would recommend Josette to anyone.” Aaron & Maura Davis
Josette made the process of buying a home effortless and stress-free! As a first-time home buyer I was a little nervous but with Josette’s guidance I was able to make an informed decision with no regrets. I appreciate that she was so knowledgeable about everything from finances to renovating your home. I can’t thank Josette enough for her patience, honesty and determination in helping me get my dream home. I highly recommend Josette Skilling to anyone!” Nancy Bellegarde
Dear Josette, Thank you so much for all your help and hours of hard work for the last few months to assist us to find the perfect home! We finally found it with your help!! Thank you! Nate and Emily
Josette Skilling has a wealth of knowledge about the real estate business. While having impeccably high standards and an extremely professional approach to her work, she is also a warm and caring person who is willing to go the extra mile to achieve a successful outcome for her clients. She is extremely knowledgeable about the neighborhoods in the area which is particularly helpful to newcomers to Maryland. At all stages of our house search, Josette offered lots of practical assistance and much sound advice about the best way to proceed. Josette listened carefully to our hopes and expectations and showed us a number of attractive homes any one of which would have met our needs. Yet, she continued to offer us additional options until we found the home which we absolutely loved! This upcoming move to our new home will be our second move in nine months. It has been a trying time for our family to say the least, but Josette’s expert opinion and helpful suggestions throughout the process have made the whole experience a lot less stressful. In fact, it was actually a lot of fun! Thanks a lot! Sincerely, Barbara Dunkley
What more can you ask for in a buyer’s agent? Josette Skilling fulfills every expectation. I can’t remember ever giving 5 stars for anything but this is a welcome exception. Josette’s years of experience shone through in my dealings with her over the course of a year and a bit when we were searching for a home with some pretty specific criteria. She displayed utmost professionalism, untold patience and an acute understanding of our personal needs, our timing, our financing and general situation. She is not one of those agents who rushes you into signing anything. She takes the time to understand what you want and most of all she listens – a rare quality these days. Combine that with her in depth knowledge of the local market and we knew we had a very special agent working for us. We have been in our home now for almost 6 months and we love it. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Josette to any prospective buyer or seller. Matt Byrne
Without Josette, we wouldn’t have been able to get through the whole process of a short sale. She was very responsive, thorough, and very patient in explaining everything to us, a first time home buyer. It took over 4 months for us to finally close on the condo, though seemed like forever, it could have been much worse as we had 2 impossible banks to deal with. But Josette worked diligently with the seller’s agent, with her expertise in short sale, she got us our first home probably in the shortest possible time. Thank you so much, Josette!! CC and Daniel
Congratulations, Josette! They are definitely lucky to have you. We have never, ever worked with an agent that did more for us than you. You really know your stuff, you aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty getting a house ready, and you are a whiz at technology and comparison shopping. Cheers to your new company, Catherine
I exchanged emails with Josette for a couple of months before I was ready to start seriously looking for a home. Josette is very knowledgeable about the area and provided me with information and tools that I would not have thought to even ask for. She always answered my emails right away. When I met with Josette to look at homes I was very impressed. She knew so much about the homes we were looking at and was able to gauge what houses would have to eventually reduce the listing price. She is also super nice and friendly. It was a great experience and I highly recommend her to anyone looking to purchase a home in the area.
Definitely a five star Realtor. Very experienced, knowledgeable, and tenacious in her dealings. A true professional in every sense of the word.
