It is with gratitude that I write my review regarding Laura Desmond's service as our real estate agent in June 2023.
My mother was widowed in 2020. She lived in a different state and wanted to live near one of her daughters. Mom decided to move to Eugene, and we hoped to purchase a house together and combine households.
The 2023 rental and housing market was insane. My family was worried that we might not find something that met our family's needs within our price range.
We reached out to Laura. She was honest but also encouraging about our search. She took the time to explain the current market conditions in our community. Her information was accurate.
Laura worked so hard to get my family a house.
A house became available in May 2023. Initially, we said we weren't interested in it because we hoped for more parking space; my niece is in college, and we hoped she could live with us. Laura reminded us of the current housing market and encouraged us to look at the house. Thank goodness for her gentle push.
My mom and I looked at the house and were impressed. No house is perfect. Every potential buyer is wise to understand that no house will check every box on their "we really want" list.
Because Laura was so attentive to new listings, Laura's gentle push made us the first potential buyer to view the house. The house was as Laura told us before we viewed the house. We made an offer on the house that night. We asked Laura if we could make a lower offer for the house. She explained, clearly, that doing so was likely to create a bidding war for the house. I think she was likely correct; there were two more interested parties. The house had been on the market for less than 24 hours, and interest in the house was high. The market was so insane that I think a bidding war would have happened if we had made the seller a lower offer. As the first potential buyer to make an offer on the house, we were in a good place. When our lender assessed the house, it did assess for slightly more than what the seller was asking.
Laura wrote up our offer that evening (a Sat). The buyer agreed to our price the next afternoon.
I had no idea how to close on a house. Laura did an excellent job walking us through the process. She accompanied us to our escrow meeting, which was so helpful. Laura helped with every single part of the closing process.
Once we moved in, we had a few things that we needed to repair. We knew of these issues before we purchased the house. We have called Laura a few times to ask her for recommendations. We've been happy with every person she recommended, and we will continue to ask her for recommendations as we need them.
I trust Laura. Should I ever need a realtor again, I will call Laura. And I will refer my friends to her if they ever need a realtor. 2023
I contacted Laura nearly 7 years ago from Memphis, telling her I was planning to move out to Eugene to look for my dream home. She started looking for my new home right away and we had endless phone chats and emails, but it took me nearly 4 years to move out of Memphis! That's when she helped me buy an interim home in Eugene, a lovely 1973 double-wide mobile home she had listed for $30k.
That was almost 3 years ago, but I was still determined to find my dream home, so our hunt continued unabated. Over the years, we toured dozens of homes, but none had everything I wanted. Finally, four months ago we found my dream home and it was everything I was looking for, and a bargain price at $540k.
Honestly, I don't know how Laura put up with such a picky buyer, but she did and along the way gave me some great life lessons as well. Her experience and expertise are unsurpassed and her communication skills are unparalleled. I will always be grateful to Laura and will use her forevermore and recommend everyone I can to her. Anyone that can work with a buyer for over six years to find ONE perfect house is nearly a saint in my book. 2023
Laura has helped me buy two homes and sell a some . She is knowledgeable and responsive. She is the best in my opinion and I recommend her to anyone buying or selling a home 2023
Working with Laura in finding our new home was incredibly smooth. She makes you feel like you are her only and most important client and responds immediately to you, even when it may not be so convenient for her. Working with Laura is more like working with a friend and easily becomes part of your family. As an added bonus, Laura is GREAT with kiddos and helps to distract when important discussions/decisions need to be made! 2023
Melissa Smith, Mortgage Advisor, a buyer from Springfield, OR
I have had the opportunity to work with Laura many times. She goes above and beyond to look out for the best interest of her clients. She is organized, honest, knowledgeable, and her communication is amazing. She is one of the kindest people I have ever met, and loves what she does. All of this is evident with every client she helps. I love working with Laura! 2022
Laura was fantastic to work with. Smooth process from beginning to end, and she was a huge help in getting our home. Would highly recommend working with her! 2022
I had an absolute 5 star experience purchasing my first house with Laura. Her attention to detail, responsiveness, knowledge of the area and depth of experience in contracts and negotiations are incredible. There was never a delay in communication and she took the time to get to know me and truly listened to my needs and wants. I felt so empowered and reassured as a home buyer. I highly recommend Laura Desmond on your home buying team if you want to ensure you have someone who advocates strongly for you and knows the nuances of real estate. Thank you Laura for helping me achieve my dreams, I could not have had a better experience. Home sweet home feels so good! 2022
Laura went above and beyond to help my husband and I find and buy a house we like on one acre in the country. Before showing us prospective homes, she met with us to discuss in detail what we wanted. She did a great job of identifying properties that fit our needs within our price range. She showed us homes in Walton, Creswell, the Triangle Lake area, Veneta, Springfield and Alsea and pointed out possible problems as well as benefits of each property. She also researched additional properties in other communities, which kept us from wasting our time to see properties that wouldn't be a good match for us. ---
When we found the place we bought,she helped us negotiate a fair price that gave us an advantage with multiple other bidders. Laura also helped us through septic, well and other issues identified in a home inspection in a way that got problems fixed before closing. ---
Laura guided and supported us every step of the process (including at closing), making sure nothing got overlooked & that no deadlines were missed. She answered all our messages and gave updates in a timely manner. Laura Desmond is a professional who I enjoyed getting to know. I have no reservations in recommending her to anyone who wants to buy (or sell) a house within the area she serves. 2021
Our family has worked extensively with Laura over the past 4 years, selling the family home in 2016 and completing the sales of 3 rental homes in October 2020. Throughout all the processes, Laura consistently went way above and beyond what I would consider to be the standard expectations for a realtor. She is knowledgeable about so many important process details, has a wide and competent network of fellow realtors and contractors, and is wonderful with her communication on all levels. She sold our properties like they were hers. Since we live out of town, I REALLY appreciated her willingness to jump in and take care of problems when they arose. She would call or text me with suggestions and then take care of it, saving me endless hours and she did a better job than if I tried to do it!
Laura is a wonderful and awesome realtor and I would give her the highest of recommendations. 2020
Laura is highly recommended if you need a realtor who is well-versed, well-known and well-respected within the community. We had our first introduction to Laura via a class at DevNW where she was a presenter. Then she was recommended to us by our lender. She clearly has incredible connections with local vendors in the area. She is tenacious and dedicated and she will do whatever she can to answer your questions.
As a first-time home buyer, I felt Laura took special time and care to make sure I was informed about the homebuying process. We didnt have a big budget, but Laura was willing and able to find us plenty of properties to look at.
Laura was also the determined support we needed to get questions answered and navigate the new terrain of homebuying through COVID-19. Through the spring, summer and early fall of COVID-19, Laura took thoughtful precautions that enabled us to safely shop for our home and complete the homebuying process while maintaining physical distancing guidelines.
She also advocated for us with our lender and all the other players, vendors and professionals who are involved throughout the process. Laura has become a trusted resource and friend, who has surpassed all our expectations for a realtor. Thank you so much, Laura! 2020
Laura was truly 5 star - responsive, always keeping us in the loop, knowledgeable on pricing, marketing, negotiating. She handled every detail for us, including repairs. And we only met once face to face, as we live several hours away from Eugene! Everything was handled professionally and personally by Laura. Can't say enough good about her! 2020
A friend of mine recommended Laura to me and I am so happy she did because Laura was a gem to work with. Her level of knowledge and experience as a Realtor was outstanding. She explained each step of the process and gave me great advice along the way. Even with the obstacle of the pandemic crisis, Laura got the job done. I highly recommend Laura! 2020
Laura Desmond is fantastic! She is knowledgeable and informative. Laura has great communication skills, is honest, and positive! She always kept communication with us all of the time and never made is feel left out or silly for any questions we had. We highly recommend her! 2019
I really like Laura's integrity and honesty. She is clear, concise and accurate in her analysis, recommendations and questions. She is our realtor and we are fortunate to have her on our side. She is one of the best realtors (and person in general) that I have met in my last 30 years of buying and selling houses in Georgia and Oregon. 2019
Laura was a calm guiding expert voice on every aspect on the sale of my apartment. When my first buyer walked away Laura quickly got us back on the market and found us a great buyer in less than 48 hours. Her advice was truly invaluable. Thank you Laura for making a difficult time in my life so much easier. You couldnt ask for a better realtor to help with your real estate transaction. 2019
Laura was attentive to our house at each step of the selling process. We always felt that she is proactive in getting info from others, even calling them when they were supposed to call her. I highly recommend her. 2019
We had an exceptional experience with Laura. She is extremely knowledgeable and made sure our sale went the way we wanted it to. She was always available if we had a question or concern. She made our experience perfect because she cares about her clients and their needs. We highly recommend Laura Desmond for your next real estate experience. 2019
Laura was professional, kind, and thoughtful. I felt she cared about what I wanted. I would be happy to work with Laura again, and would recommend her to others. 2018
Laura did a wonderful job helping us get this property. It was complicated with an out of town owner, missing paperwork (according to a previous owner) water rights, wells, and the fact that the house was infested with fleas. Laura actually flea bmbed the house (twice) so we could do a proper walk through and inspection. She was so knowledgeable, it made the process worth it. Thanks a million Laura I will refer you every time I hear of a person looking to buy or sell. 2018
Laura was simply amazing. A friend recommended her to us. We were 1st time home buyers and felt she was on our side the whole time. She was always available for advice, communicated well and was honest in each home we visited about pros/cons. Highly recommend working with her. We plan on her help again down the road for re-sale! 2018
Laura was exceptional to work with. She knew exactly where to start, what things were important to address, and how to break it out into workable steps. She bases all of her actions on the needs of the seller and or buyer and that was evident in every interaction we had start to finish! Totally wonderful to work with and made a complicated process easy!! 2017
Knowledgeable, insightful, patient, honest. All words describing Laura Desmond both as a realtor and as a person. Her knowledge of local neighborhoods and appropriate pricing was critical in finding the perfect house for me. Although the search took months, she was always accessible and able to arrange viewings at my convenience. Laura pointed out both the positive and negative points regarding each property, then allowed me to weigh them and reach my own conclusion. But if asked for her honest assessment, she was straight forward and amazingly accurate. A first-class realtor and person, Laura is the one I want representing me in any real estate transaction, and I don't hesitate to recommend her. 2017
We just purchased our 7th home, and Laura is amazing! She definitely knows every step of the process, and keeps you informed almost daily. I didn't know that there could be such a difference in realtors, but she truly is exceptional. 2017
Wow. Laura was awesome! I came into the process quite a novice, not understanding where I wanted to buy a house and without specific criteria I desired in a home. Over the course of about 4 months of her patience, she helped me narrow down area, and find a great house with lots of potential, that is absolutely perfect for me! Throughout the process, Laura really helped me learn and really understand the process and the paperwork. Working with Laura made the daunting task of searching for the perfect home, and made it fun and straight-forward. I would recommend Laura both first time home buyers and more experienced home buyers. 2017
Buying a house was stressful but Laura was there every step of the way making it easier. She was quick about responding to calls, emails, and texts. She was knowledgeable and professional.We never felt like we could not reach her or ask her questions . We were blessed to have her as a realtor. Laura not only treats you as a client but as a friend or family member. We really appreciate everything she did for us. If could give her 10 stars I would! 2016
We enjoyed having Laura Desmond as our real estate agent for the process of our home purchase. She is professional and personable. We totally recommend her. 2016
Laura is hands down AMAZING! She always goes above and beyond both times we have worked with her! Laura is committed to her work and she makes the entire process of buying or selling less stressful and more enjoyable. Besides the reward of owning a home or selling a home, you end up with a life long friend! We 100% recommend Laura! 2016
Laura is awesome, we wanted to buy our first home and we didn't know anything, Laura walked us through step by step and explained everything, we finally found the right home and she updated me constantly and answer all my questions. I would highly recommend Laura she's the best. 2016
Laura is amazing!! We received multiple high offers on our home. She is always one step ahead, she is thorough and made the whole process easier than I thought possible. We barely had to lift a finger other than signing the papers!! She is a forthright and wonderful human being!! Call her now!! You will be so glad you did!! 2016
This transaction could not have gone much smoother (Ok some faster appraisals would be nice but that is someone else's issue). Laura kept on top of a lot of loose ends and kept things moving (Sometimes it seemed by force of will alone). There was a lot to this one and she handled it masterfully. 2016
Laura did a fantastic job with this transaction. She is so responsive to her clients and works hard to keep others on task as well. We got multiple offers and it went over asking price right away. 2016
she was easy to work with. Very fast at getting things done. She kept up daily with finding information on new listings that fit my needs. She was also prompt with returning messages and answering my questions no matter how big minor they were. 2016
So helpful in buying my first home. The first agent I was using literally gave up on me because I was a low income first time buyer. Laura went above and beyond to find me a home, researched down payment options which helped me purchase my home & didn't care that I wasn't a high purchase customer. She definitely had my best intentions as her top priority! I will be using her expertise to sell my home when the time comes! 2010