I am a Canadian Professor and investor. Just about 2 years ago, my wife and I decided to explore the idea of purchasing a retirement home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Our dollar was strong, and home prices in Florida were attractive. So I decided to look south – to the future of becoming a Canadian snowbird. We needed a real estate agent who knew the area, and one whom we could trust. Not knowing anyone in Florida I searched the Internet. I can truly say that God was watching over us. I found Melecia Johnson’s real estate page. Her face looked trusting, confident and warm so I contacted her. Well, did I ever make the right choice? We bought an investment property in Atlanta, Georgia last June (2012) and thought we had met the best real estate agent ever, until we met Melecia. We currently own properties in Canada and the US, and of all the agents that we have had to work with in the past 15 years (and we have had all great experiences), without a doubt, Melecia is by far the very best of them all.
If you ask me what attributes I would use to describe Melecia, I would say:
1.Extremely knowledgeable of the market area (she knows the trends, demographics, the potential of the area)
2.Extremely knowledgeable of real estate properties (she can look at a property and have a sense of what it would need and how much the renovation would cost) – I discovered she is not only an agent, but also an investor herself who has quite a bit of experience in renovating properties
3.Her demeanor is extremely pleasant and consistently so – I would call her anytime and would never be made to feel that I am a bother.
4.She is a great listener – works hard at understanding and meeting your needs (I had to fly in a few times and she would make her schedule work for me)
5.She is profoundly customer focused – all about the service and not about making a quick commission. I am only a $150k-$200k investor and I was treated like a $million investor. I can safely say the level of service you receive is independent of the potential value of your purchase.
6.Melecia goes beyond the call of duty. Flying in each time was beginning to get expensive. If I found prospective properties on the net, Melecia would give quickly indicate property status, and for those that were available, she would offer to view them on my behalf. That level of service was invaluable to me.
7.Melecia is extremely patient and when I thought I wouldn’t find what I was looking for since the marking is changing rapidly, she would continue to encourage me into not giving up and say to me “your house is out there and we will find it”. We have had more than 100 exchanges of emails, text messages, phone calls, before we landed on a sale. She never once made me feel that this relationship was taking too long to yield fruit.
8.Melecia has a penchant for detail. She pays attention to the fine print and is extremely vigilant.
Well we did find that house. She is masterful at putting a winning offer together – you have to know the game – and she does. I was also traveling at the time of closing. I trusted her to do the inspection in my absence. She was on top of her game with the agent and reviewed all the documentation like a hawk. Needless to say, the closing experience was seamless.
We’ve had such a wonderful working relationship that, given the fact that I was still traveling after closing, we asked Ms. Johnson to manage the renovation of the property for us. I couldn’t ask for more. Her entire disposition has been to treat the project as if it were her own. She is honest, trustworthy, has high standards, she’s ethical, timely, responsive, and just a tremendously good person.
Since we live in Canada, we’ve asked Melecia to manage the property for us. We currently have a tenant and Melecia has provided superior service in managing the property.
Since then we've bought another property in Fort Lauderdale. Not only was she our agent, she is also managing that property as well. We will be renovating that property soon and we've already asked Melecia to manage the reno on our behalf.
We have also referred several of our friends and family members to Melecia and they too have enjoyed the same wonderful experience that we’ve enjoyed.
My wife and I are truly happy we met Melecia. She’s been a complete treasure and a joy to work with. If you are in the market for an agent, look no further. She is small in stature, has a big heart and a head full of knowledge that will surely bring you happiness. We did not only find a real estate agent, we found a true friend.
Harvey Millar Ph.D., P. Eng.
Nova Scotia, Canada
