Thank you for the letter of October 5, 2011. In your letter, you asked for comments on our home search and purchase experience with your agents.
My wife, Sandy, and I have only the most positive comments to pass on to you about our entire experience. Our primary agent was Sue Parr, but we also worked with Jennifer Calenda when Sue was away on vacation. Both Sue and Jennifer went above and beyond their responsibilities to us as buyers.
Our search was months long and far ranging, starting at Punta Gorda Isles, then moving on to Burnt Store Marina, then expanding to Marco Island/Naples all the way up to Sarasota/Bradenton/Lakewood Ranch. While Sue and Jennifer focus their practice on Burnt Store and Punta Gorda, when we told them we just weren’t finding what we wanted, they helped us get in contact with other Michael Saunders realtors in the other areas we wanted to investigate.
After looking at many properties both in person and on-line, plus learning more about all the various areas, we finally settled on Punta Gorda Isles. This being the only area within our budget that could provide the opportunity to have our boats (a sailboat and a fishing boat) in our backyard. After making offers on several homes that did not pan out, we found the perfect (well nearly so) home. It has most of the features we were looking for and was being offered at a price that we thought could get us to a final price that represented a great value. With Sue’s help looking at comparable sales in the area, we were able to reach a reduced price that allowed us to comfortably purchase the home as well as make some needed improvements, like a new docking system for our two boats.
We should add that our experience with other realtors in this area and those involved in the process of selling our previous home in South Carolina, left us very wary of realtors in general. Sue and Jennifer completely addressed our concerns and handled our entire working relationship very professionally. They represent the Company values you outline on your website--Integrity, Excellence, and Communication--at the highest level in our opinion.
While we do not plan to move again anytime soon, we will not hesitate to recommend Sue and Jennifer, and the Michael Saunders organization to others.
The purpose of this letter is to express our thanks for the professional way in which our home sale at 24621 Dolphin Cove Drive was handled by the Calenda-Parr team in Burnt Store Marina. Both Sue and Jennifer were very professional in their dealings with us and very courteous. Over a short period of time they became more than just Realtors but good friends. On more than one occasion they helped with watering some new trees we had put in and on another sent us some items we had left in the house after our move. Additionally, they are excellent listeners and provided valuable feedback both in the form of weekly statistics as well as timely phone comments after each showing. We couldn't have asked for more support and were pleased not only with their marketing plan and knowledge of the process but with the support we got at closing. Be assured we would recommend this team to anyone who has a home to sell in Southwest Florida.
Cordially,
Tom & Sandy W ___________________________________________________________________________________
Sue Parr, Jennifer Calenda and their team are top-notch professionals and have tremendous experience in the Burnt Store and Punta Gorda real estate market.
They provided excellent advice and good strategy to sell our condo in a depressed real estate market.
We appreciated their responsiveness, attention to detail and unflagging optimism throughout the process.
We highly recommend them for your real estate needs.
I am sure you are aware of her capabilities and what a terrific asset to your firm in the person of Sue Parr. She recently sold our property in Burnt Store Marina after a listing of about eight months which in this real estate market I would think is pretty good. Both my wife and I felt confident from the beginning Sue would get the job done. There were hurdles along the way but but due to her dedication and hard work they were overcome. We have owned twelve properties in our lifetime (still have two) plus my twenty five year career in banking gave me experience in real estate sales and association with realtors, but Sue tops them all both in intelligence and professionalism. Thanks to your Firm and Sue for making our experience most satisfactory.
Carroll M
____________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Jennifer and Sue,
Cathy & I want to thank you for the great job you did when selling our house. Jennifer, the advice you gave us in regards to pricing the house to move, while difficult, was certainly on the mark. I have no doubt that your guidance, and our willingness to accept it, is what allowed the house to sell quickly in this difficult market. Sue, when the sales process started to change, your suggestion for me to back out of any further input in negotiations was telling in your ability to read the customer on both sides of the deal. Good call.
Thanks agian ladies, your professionalism in marketing and selling our home at 1060 Matecumbe Key Road in the short period of time in this market says it all. I have no doubt that your team will continue to be the leader in sales in Burnt Store Marina and the surrounding area.
Warmest personal regards,
Jim and Cathy G. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Sue and Jenn,
We want to thank you for handling the recent sale of our home in Burnt Store Marina.
We appreciate the professional manner in which it was handled and the extras you did for us during closing.
We especially liked the way you kept in touch with us and the information you furnished. The reporting, summary remarks and showing feedback we received kept us up to date with your progress. We also found your newsletter helpful in keeping us informed about the sales in our area and the relaestate market in general.
We would certainly be happy to recommend the Calenda-Parr Team to anyone wishing to buy and/or sell real estate.
My wife Suzanne and I have lived in Burnt Store Marina and County Club for eight years. During that period we have purchased or sold three separate properties which were our primary residences. Members of the Calenda-Parr Team were acting as agent on a least one side and sometimes both on each of those properties. In every instance they were totally informed, professional, and caring. Our last transaction involved the simultaneous sale and purchase of a house and condominium during very difficult market conditions and involved counter parties that were very sophisticated in terms of real estate backgrounds. Jennifer and her partner Sue Parr were on the spot with great advice and follow up to successful closings. In addition their after help with trade referrals and personal help was outstanding.
Suzanne and I have absolutely no reservations about giving them referrals of all types and have sone so with thanks from those referrals. These agents are outstanding professionals!
Sincerely,
David M. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer,
Everything in our home shows careful thinking about the "staging" process, but most of all reflects our personalities--Never able to thank you enough for all that you & Sue have done--You are both rays of sunshine--Thank you
Thanks to both of you, this settlement day has finally arrived! Stew & I are so glad that we picked you two as our realtors! I can't believe the time you spent on selling our house--hope you don't get paid by the hour!
Thank you for your professionalism, patience and good humor. You are miracle workers!
Thank you for the hard work that you put in to complete the sale of my home.
Barabara H. ________________________________________________________________________________
Wayne & I have never enjoyed buying a home more than we did here. You all made it a wonderful experience! Thank you again for being so helpful & nice.
Linda, Wayne & Radar B. __________________________________________________________________________________
In the very challenging market that is Burnt Store Marina, we initially chose another realtor to help us sell our condo. This turned out to be not such a good decision. After several months of not getting things moving in a positive direction, we looked to the Calenda-Patt group to help us. They did everything humanly possible to achieve our 2 goals: sell our unit at an acceptable price, and sell it in calendar 2006. We closed on December 22! We would use these folks again without hesitation if we were looking to buy or sell real estste.
Robert & Carlyn R. ____________________________________________________________________________________
You and Sue made a tough job look easy, the sign of true professionalism. The highest compliment I pay another professional is "effective", and you ladies delivered. Thanks.
L. K. ____________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Jennifer & Sue,
We just wanted to follow up with a note to thank you once again for all of your efficient, effective and professional work in selling our home in Burnt Store Marina. We are still amazed that you were able to list the property, obtain several offers and close within two months. It surely made our life much simpler by being able to have it all done before we left to go back to Wisconsin.
You two are a great team and we would highly recommend you both to anyone.
Walt & Dona Edwards ____________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Jennifer, Sue & Team,
We really appreciate your attention to detail & the smooth closing it produced. Thanks again. We are enjoying the condo!
Tom & Chris H. ____________________________________________________________________________________
Hi Sue & Jennifer,
Thanks again for the excellent services you both provided with our deal. We really appreciated having eyes & ears in Florida while this transaction was occurring, the storms were raging and everything else moving at warp speed.
Please accept our sincere thanks and appreciation for all the work and attention to detail you both put forth on our purchase of a condo in Burnt Store Marina. Initially, as you know, there were several issues that could have compromised our decision to buy. Because you quickly addressed these issues and followed-up each and every time we spoke, we are now enjoying a beautiful Florida winter residence. It has been a pleasure doing business with such professional, responsbile and caring people. We consider you our friends. Prudential is fortunate to have both of you on their team.
"During the course of listing, showing and selling our home, my husband and I had contact with most of the well-known Punta Gorda real estate agencies and all of the agencies regularly handling property in Burnt Store Marina. Jennifer Calenda was the most effective real estate agent we met. She is enthusiastic, conscientious, and thorough. We particularly appreciated the following:
-- Adept property description for the MLS listing -- Advance notice of scheduled showings -- Voluntary follow-up reports on serious buyer showings -- Sale of our home within 1% of our asking price
We have no hesitation recommending Jennifer to other sellers and would certainly user her again to buy or sell property in this area."
Very Truly Yours, Michelle K. _________________________________________________________________________
Sue,
Renee & I say Thanks for making the buying of our condo so easy! We would recommend your services to others.
"Suebee and I wish to thank you for the magnificent job you did in handling the sale of our house in Burnt Store Marina. You are very efficient, professional, thorough and responsive!
Business transactions would be so much more pleasant even if a small percentage of others in your field were a quarter as efficient and cheerful as you are.
We highly recommend you and your services to anyone who might want to check with us regarding home sales or anything else."
Sincerely, Rick and Suebee C., Wildwood, MO _________________________________________________________________________
Sue,
Your kindness is appreciated and will not be forgotten. Thank you so much for your attention and caring -- it got us through this difficult time.
The Kosieracki's ___________________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer,
"Jody and I want to thank you for the excellent way you worked with us to sell our home.
Not only were you very efficient and professional in promoting our home, securing a qualified buyer, and following through on all of the details but you also were sensitive to our requirements and worked with us to accomplish our goals.
Your positive outlook and your happy, smiling presence made working with you such a pleasure and maintained us with confidence for success at all times. If you ever need a reference, we will be happy to recommend you very highly."
Sincerely, Jody and Bill F., Punta Gorda, FL _________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer,
"I just wanted to call and thank you. We've worked with a lot of realtors in the past but no one has done as much or helped us as much as you have."
Paul & I want to thank you for your professional help and advice during our home purchase. It's nice to work with people you can trust. Thanks for going the extra mile to make it happen, and most of all, thanks for your personal support and friendship.
Paul & Pam T., Burnt Store Lakes _________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer --
"Thanks a million for going 'above and beyond' !" Fondly, Carolyn C. _________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer,
"This letter is to tell you about a most pleasant experience my husband and I had recently with one of your Real Estate Agents in the Burnt Store Marina & CC. Her name is Jennifer Calenda. I'm certain you've heard this all before from other buyers and sellers but we fee too strongly about letting you know how satisfied we are.
We just can't say enough about Jennifer. From our first meeting with her when we made the decision to sell our condo until the day we closed, Jennifer conducted herself in a thoroughly professional manner. What we thought would be an "ordeal" turned out to be a very satisfying (as well as rewarding) experience. Jennifer went well beyond her duties and responsibilities to get the job done. Above all she was just plain nice! We've come to think of Jennifer as a valuable friend as well.
So naturally it was a no brainer for us when we decided to purchase our home in the same area that we went to her. Once again she offered her knowledge of the area, listened to us and knew exactly the type of home we were interested in. She picked us up on time and walked us through several nice homes, the last of which we placed a deposit on. She offered only information she believed to be honest and truthful about the homes we viewed.
Her honesty, loyalty understanding, work ethics and creativity are what sets her aside from the real estate masses and we only hoper that you appreciate her as much as we do. We recommend Jennifer to anybody looking to buy or sell property. Because we will be moving to Florida within the next couple of years and living full time in Burnt Store Marina I guess you could say we owe our happiness and well being to this exceptional person."
Sincerely, Marie-Anne and Philip L. Hebron, CT _________________________________________________________________________
Dear Sue,
Thank you for making our dream the easiest transaction we have ever had! We appreciate everything you have done.
Mitch & Marianne W., Punta Gorda, FL _________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer -
"We had originally placed our house with another broker, and a year and a half passed with not even the glimmer of a sale. Jennifer took over, and she really thought about the ways in which we could make the house more salable: She did some furniture rearrangement, generally saw to it that the house was polished up in our absence, discussed with us often a general sales strategy....We received an offer on the house and closed it.
We think you are very lucky to have people of such caliber at Prudential WCI, and we'd like to take this opportunity of thanking your company as well as Jennifer for such a great job done."
Sincerely, Robert C. _________________________________________________________________________
Sue,
We wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for the very professional manner in which you handled every aspect of the purchase transaction of our house at 417 Islamorada. We appreciate very much your staying on top of every detail from first showing to closing.
Dave & Sue C. _________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer,
"...Since I was an absentee selller, it was not convenient for me to take care of many of the items attendant to selling my Florida property. A realtor of course should help with some of these items, but this lady, Jennifer Calenda, took care of virtually all requirements and saved me money in the process. Her sales judgement and estimates of market factors were right on the mark. She kept me well informed and the property was sold in good time and at a good price. Her Prudential associates too were helpful and the whole process through closing was pleasant and efficient. I certainly recommend her and her firm."
Col. (Ret) John P. V., Kennesaw, GA _________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer,
"Thank you so much for all your expertise and time spent with us during our short stay to list [our parent's] house. The minute I met you I felt totally comfortable with our decision to have you list the home. Your friendliness and professionalism is greatly appreciated. It is not easy to be placed in a situation you sell your parent's home and make all the decisions. They so loved their home in Burnt Store and have many special memories and friends from the last several years. I feel like we made a new friend in the few days we were there."
Sincerely, Joan and Jeff S. _________________________________________________________________________
Dear Sue,
Thanks for everything you did to help us with our condo purchase. We honestly couldn't imagine that it would be quite possible to do long distance. Your efforts certainly made the whole process go smoothly.
I still have difficulty believing that this sort of transaction can be handled by remote control. It depends on having a first class real estate agent in charge, I suspect.
Thank you,
David & Barbara H. _____________________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer --
"Your kindness, patience, and guidance got us through two stressful days. We are pleased that it ended on a positive note. It was a pleasure meeting you and appreciate everything you did for us."
Sincerely, Camille and Max L. _________________________________________________________________________
Hi Sue,
Just wanted to thank you, thank you, for all your T.L.C. ...We are just about settled in our new home. It was the right time and place for us. ...You are a very special young woman and we wish you much success in the future.
"Thanks for your professional help and also your friendship."
Sincerely, Susan and Earl _________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer,
Just a note to say Roland and I want to thank you for being so professional and such a huge help in selling our home. Your positive attitude was a great help to us. We were very comfortable with you and liked you very much."
God bless, Roland and Carol R., Punta Gorda, FL _________________________________________________________________________
Jennifer,
"I so enjoy you and admire your professionalism and knowledge."
Laura Straus, Managing Broker, Realmark Group _________________________________________________________________________
"Jennifer, You have been our only refuge through this. Thank you for everything."
Fondly, Alice and Chuck _________________________________________________________________________
Letters to The Calenda-Parr Team