We worked with Hugh for about six months in the DC market..... he is not shy at all about dropping names of congressmen he has worked with, but did not seem to be interested in meeting our needs as first-time homebuyers. He consistently showed us houses above the price range we set (instead, showing us houses the mortagage company said we could afford), and spent more time trying to convince us to "buy bigger" than really help us find what we wanted. After a a few months (but still w/in the buyer-broker contract), he passed us off to his assistant, Paul, who, while well-meaning, was not at all experienced at the time -- and experience is exactly what you need in this tight, fast-paced market.
While working with Hugh's office, we found we still had to reasearch classified ad listings and go to open houses on our own -- and SAW how many great houses in our range were really out there that we weren't being informed about!
We changed agents, and found our dream house -- (and yes, it was in our price range) -- in TWO WEEKS!
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