My experience working with Meri Clark was beyond exceptional. My search for my dream condo began in January 2023, when the market was still in a weird position and interest rates just started rising. As a first time home buyer beginning this journey in an uncertain macroeconomic environment, I was definitely unsure about every single step of the process of the home buying experience. Thats where Meri Clark came in to my life. Meri single-handedly changed my entire life, Meri guided me through the unsettling first time home buying process with so much care and knowledge, she spent countless hours explaining everything there is to know about buying a condo. From becoming a homeowner, the mortgage process, pre-approval and underwriting process, what an HOA is and does and how your monthly dues work and what they cover, the offer writing process, the offer acceptance process (so many things here), appraisal process, how to navigate and negotiate in this crazy Seattle home market. Meri is really the definition of an expert when it comes to real estate and property. If there was any detail I was confused about or wanted clarity, Meri would take the time to work with me and answer any/all questions I had. She spent about 3 days just talking me through how to write a competitive offer, what terms to focus on that sellers care about, and how to read up and understand HOA documentation such as financial statements and policies, and how to make myself a competitive buyer by being fully underwritten prior to offer writing. When it came to the fun part of actually looking at properties, Meri was extremely flexible with my busy schedule. We would go to look at properties morning, afternoon and night! Meri would take my calls and texts with questions or property inquiries literally all hours of the day and night. One day she replied to my texts sent at 3am. Remember how I said my journey started in January? Well, due to the market conditions with lots of condos in my search criteria going pending >2 days after listing and multiple offer situations, we finally found the most perfect condo for me in July, roughly 7 months later. That’s how dedicated Meri was to me as a client, she spent 7 months working with me until I found something beyond my expectations. My budget was not huge as a first time home buyer, one year post graduate from UW, and early in my working career. Right off the bat Meri connected me with the absolute most wonderful mortgage broker (saved for another review, Stephanie Diaz at Cornerstone Home Lending), and together they helped me through my pre-approval process to calculate my purchase price budget, my monthly mortgage budget, and set up the parameters for property searches that fit my budget comfortably so I could be certain of my finances prior to purchasing. Meri was so attentive to showing me properties not only within my budget, but that had opportunity for equity growth and potential rental value. The dynamics of what I was looking for in a property were multi-level (first home, but also want to keep as a rental in the future when/if I decide to buy a house), and Meri was there to help me and offer expertise every step of the way. The home buying process is very complicated and has many different variables, Meri assured me through every inch and step of what I was doing and how to navigate the next steps. I don’t even think I would have gotten my condo without Meri, she sent me the listing 10 minutes after it listed on a Friday afternoon at 12pm. We were there to see it within an hour and she wrote an amazing and aggressive offer that the seller agreed to within 24 hours. In the crazy Seattle home market you need a realtor that has extreme knowledge on the market environment here and what it takes to get your offer accepted, that is Meri Clark. She got me the condo of my dreams (and BELOW my purchase price budget) and we celebrated like crazy! After the 7 month journey, we finally were at the finish line! I plan to hopefully look for a single family residence in the next few years as I become more established and I will absolutely be calling Meri Clark again, she was an absolute rockstar that worked so hard for me, I am telling everyone I know about her! I cannot recommend her enough. Thank you so much again Meri, I could not have done this without you! And for all those out there that are in the same position as I was, trying to navigate the current market and are feeling lost, I promise that Meri will take care of you every step of the way!