Joe and Jane Cross possess an "old school" work ethic, rarely seen anymore, especially among residential real estate agents. Their client-centered methods give new meaning to the term "full service". We had an extraordinary experience from pre-listing through closing. Based on our prior experience with seven past property transactions, we didn't have a lot of faith in this dreaded process.
Once on board with the Cross' we were continually shocked and surprised at the consistently meticulous and professional service we received. Their dedication was "above and beyond". They know most of the agents in town, which truly escalates their marketing capability. Our home was shown prior to being listed to several buyer prospects.
It was truly all of the "extras" that impressed us the most: Always there to turn on lights, put the breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, sweep or vacuum, water a plant. And most importantly, they attended every showing. We all know that a potential buyer "rates” a house in about the first 5 minutes, a yes, maybe or no. And if they leave a house with unanswered questions, they tend to move on to the next listing. Having someone who knows the details about your house available to answer questions is a huge selling advantage.
Joe and Jane Cross are the caliber of Realtor that the rest of the industry should emulate.
I think this is the second email I have sent you – the other one being when you left HN and started your own firm. You have certainly done well and have a great complement of agents.
And speaking of agents, I want to express to you my feelings about Jane and Joe Cross. I have tried to think of a word that would best describe them but one word would never do it.
I began my residential real estate career in 1969 and about 6 years later opened my first office (it was so long ago – I owned a “Gallery of Homes” franchise – ugh!!) and before I sold out in the late 80’s and got into the on-site arena, I had two offices and, what I thought at the time were 47 of the most professional agents I had ever encountered. That is until I encountered Jane and Joe Cross.
Who knew that 2008 – 2009 would bring some of the economic hardships to our country and particularly to our Residential Real Estate industry that occurred? I was particularly hard hit both professionally and personally. Professionally my business took a nosedive, and personally my $1.2+ million house was now not worth anywhere near that amount. I never thought this would happen to me – pride and ego go straight out the window. Enter Jane and Joe Cross.
They were just incredible. And as you know, dealing with a Short Sale can be extremely challenging. Although we were all frustrated all along the way, THEY kept their cool and most importantly their professionalism. They are the ultimate professionals. And in April we finally closed – and we thought “so long Jane and Joe and thanks for all that you did for us” but that was not to be the case.
After closing we had 6 days to move – and all of our ‘stuff’ was going to 3 different locations in addition to Goodwill, Northside Methodist Flea Market, and dumped into a HUGE trash heap on the street. Although professional movers moved a large portion, it was the other ‘stuff’ that concerned us as to how we were going to get it out of the house in only 6 days.
Jane and Joe were there POST CLOSING helping us every step of the way – every single day – until one hour before turn-over time. Did they say “good-bye” to us at the closing table? Absolutely not!! They did not leave our side until the house was completely empty, cleaned and the drive-way blown-off with the leaf blower.
I have never seen anyone work as hard as Joe Cross. From 8:30 until 5-ish every day he was there helping with the moving, hauling, cleaning, storing, etc. And when I say “helping” I mean HE was in charge – HE did the work. Jane was the ‘Project Manager’ and Joe was the ‘Project Foreman’. I have never in the 40-years of my real estate career seen anyone go so far above and beyond the call of duty as these two did. I wish there was some ‘Realtor® of the Year’ award that could be presented to them. Again, to write about this does NOT give anyone the true picture of what they did – you had to see it for yourself. They were truly amazing.
And if anyone ever asks the question, “Does God answer prayers?” – just have them call me because I know for a fact that God sent Joe and Jane to us.
Now do you see why I cannot use just one word to describe what they did? None of these alone does the job:
I could make a list two pages long and it would not be enough.
The purpose of this email, as I stated above, is just to let you know how great the Crosses are and how proud you must be to have them on your team representing your company in such a wonderful way. What outstanding ambassadors they are for Beacham & Company.
With kindest personal regards and best wishes,
Don
Donald R. Dowling
CondoSmart Realty
6363 Woodway, Suite 570
Houston, TX 77057
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Chris and Cathy Torie ….Sellers of 740 Arden Close
"My name is Cathy Torie and I can't say enough about Jane and Joe Cross. We met almost 10 years ago when our family relocated to Atlanta. Having young children Jane kept us focused on specific neighborhoods that offered the best school options. We ended up purchasing a home through Jane and couldn't have been happier. Six years later we decided to "down-size" in anticipation of our two oldest finishing high school and again we asked Jane and Joe to help. We ended up selling our home at a great price and we owe it all to the them. We have referred friends to them in the past and it's always the same feedback-their terrific. If we move again, there's no doubt who we'll call- Jane and Joe Cross."
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David and Connie Weaver…Buyers for 3280 Rockingham
“Joe and Jane Cross made the very difficult process of relocating to the right neighbor a success. They worked hard with us for several months, looking at literally every house on the market while learning about our priorities and our desires for our new home. They knew Castlewood was the kind of neighborhood we sought, and had learned enough to know the home we eventually purchased was perfect in every detail even before they took us to see it. They have cute daughters, too, that made our house hunting in Atlanta pleasant for our entire family.
I hope we never need them again, but they will be the first one’s we’ll call if the need arises.”
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Dennis and Elizabeth Limbaugh….Sellers for 2857 Castlewood Drive
"You helped us to make a good decision in a difficult time for our family and I love you for it! I wish I had you in Birmingham. You stayed positive and focused on getting the property sold and closed in a timely manner and went above and beyond with your efforts to get all of the details completed for a smooth closing."
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Edward and Deb Cloaninger …..Sellers of 2832 Dover Road
Dear Jane and Joe,
Let me tell you why I think you're the greatest people I know:
1. Sold our home for a fantastic price in five days.
2. Found our short-sale "dream home", getting it for a fair price, walking us through the short-sale process, keeping us sane during the short-sale process, updating us daily on the progress.
3. Making us feel like we were your only clients.
4. Crawling on your hands and knees through the basement and climbing on the roof to actually see the issues that arose from the inspection.
5. Calling and meeting with multiple roofers, plumbers, electricians and handymen to get quotes, and helping us decide who was best for us.
6. Spending an all-nighter cleaning up thirty large black plastic bags worth of papers and other stuff left behind by the previous owners.
7. Celebrating with us when we finally got it!
8. Trying to convince us to turn down Ed's promotion which would force us to move to Boston.
9. Listing our "dream home" again...and selling it within two weeks for asking price!!!!
10. Doing all of this buying and selling for us during one of the worst real estate markets.
11. Becoming wonderful and dear friends whom I sorely miss.
12. Helping us find our next home when we move back south!
All the best to you!
Love,
Deb Cloaninger
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Mary Page and Gerard van Hamel Platerink …Sellers of 2893 Castlewood Drive
We know that without Jane and Joe Cross we would not have sold our house. They were diligent about marketing our house through brochures and open houses. They met with prospective buyers at all hours--including one Sunday evening.
They really became our heroes, however, once we had received an offer. Joe managed all pre-inspection repairs to the point that one Saturday afternoon we found him in our cellar covered in dust -- he was cleaning out our crawl space!
After the inspection, they identified all the right people (a handyman, an electrician and a plumber) to help us with the minor repairs and managed the process while we prepared for our move. We can’t recommend Jane and Joe more highly!!!
Sincerely,
Mary Page and Gerard van Hamel Platerink
