“Alice did listen. She never wasted our time showing us houses that did not fit our needs and wants…”
“She made it work for us and she did so with good humor.”
“You made the process of looking both a pleasure and a learning experience.”
“She’s a rock star.”
Sold house in February 2015
SOLD! Our fabulous agent, Alice McKenna, got our DC place sold in record time for more than asking. She’s a rock star.
–Happy
“Shazaam!”
Bought $370,000 house in 2010
Alice V. McKenna
Shazaam! We worked with Alice from June to just recently when we closed on a home in Takoma Park at the end of September. We came to Alice after a lackluster experience trying to “do it ourselves” with a Redfin agent, and Alice was alongside us all the way through a pretty gruesome negotiation and contract on a condo in SW DC … one that we thankfully did not end up buying (the sellers had higher estimations of their straight-out-of-1971 property than did any appraiser, so we walked when they would not lower the selling price to the appraised value … mere days before closing). Anyway, she stuck with us through that tough hurdle, gave us space and time to recover from the heartbreak afterwards, and was there to help us re-focus our efforts on Takoma Park when my husband and I were ready.
Once we did find the house of our dreams, she met with us on Labor Day (yes, the Monday holiday) to write up an offer. She is available and cheerfully on task on what seems an around the clock basis — we were evening and weekend folks, and she was kindly able to oblige. There was never an unreturned phone call or email to her; Alice is on that Blackberry like nobody’s business. We did pretty much everything by email (moving signatures and contracts back and forth), but she is always there to walk you through with a phone call or in-person intervention if necessary. Also, she works with prominent seller’s agents and often has the inside scoop on houses coming on the market.
She’s very knowledgeable about the Takoma Park / Silver Spring / Rockville area, the market, and on this second time around we took her up on her recommended home inspector and mortgage lender (and were very pleased with both, so were thankful for the connection). Alice can charm the pants off any sellers’ agent but can also be very to the point and keep things moving / on target. She is mainly a buyer’s agent, I think — she enjoys the thrill of the hunt and is really willing to work with first-time homebuyers / certain budgets / idealistic, independent and occasionally naively stubborn folks like us.
All in all: if we sell or buy again, we’ll be seeking out Alice. We recommend her without hesitation.
–Holly R.
“Ugly”
“Alice was so sweet and charming. Then it got ugly.
When the dust settled, the house was mine.”
– David W.
“The standard of professionalism and service”
Bought $650,000 house in 2010
My husband and I went to settlement on our house in mid July. Alice handled the purchase for us. Ours was a long-distance move, and we were house hunting at a time when the market was wild here. We began looking at the end of March during the time of the tax credit for first-time home buyers. Initially, we worked with a different realtor. However, we weren’t a good match. She didn’t seem to hear what we were saying, and showed us not one house that we could even imagine calling home.
When we got to Alice, we gave her a description of the types of homes in which we’ve lived, the types of homes that interest us as well as the type of neighborhoods that interest us, and our budget. Alice did listen. She never wasted our time showing us houses that did not fit our needs and wants or houses that rose above our ability to purchase. When we traveled to see homes, she used our time wisely. Because it took a full day of travel to get to the D. C. area, I went on line frequently to acquaint myself with the housing stock. Whenever I found something that looked even remotely interesting, I would pass it along to her. She investigated each of these and reported back. Alice drove us around, but she never drove us to purchase a house in which we would not be happy.
She is quite knowledgeable about D. C. area communities, and answered all our questions about neighborhoods – those that serve as commuter routes and are tied up with traffic, those that lack services that cause additional time driving, or in our case, are more remote than we care to be.
When we couldn’t be here for the inspection, she handled it for us. She worked closely with our mortgage broker to make sure that every detail was completed and submitted in a timely manner. The sellers of our house wanted a rent back for one week. Alice handled that and maintained contact with the sellers’ agent to be sure everything stayed on track.
My husband and I have made several moves around the country so we have dealt with a number of realtors. And though we haven’t had a bad experience, none measured up to the standard of professionalism and service that we received from Alice and her colleagues. As I mentioned, ours was not an easy move. We had buyers who wanted a quick settlement, and sellers who wanted to stay beyond settlement. We had our possessions in storage, and were living in temporary quarters. Alice went beyond what we’ve ever experienced from a realtor in seeing that nothing was left to chance. She made it work for us and she did so with good humor.
Without any hesitation, I highly recommend her if you are considering a move to this area. Good luck. This area is a wonderful place to live. And you won’t be sorry if you choose Alice McKenna to help you find your new home.
— Satisfied
Even during her photo shoot, Alice works the phone
to help a client solve a problem.
“How closely you listened to us”
A quick note of thanks for the thoughtful and appropriate gifts you gave us at closing yesterday. Starting with the perfect house–and who needs more than that?–we were delighted to have a copy, with original dust jacket intact, of Helen MacInnes’s Rest and Be Thankful. This was yet another sign of how closely you listened to us. And the oenophiles were grateful for an excellent bottle of Pinot Noir, which we will savor with dinner tonight. (Last evening we got back from the conversation with our architect too late to have much of a dinner at all. Great ideas are forthcoming, however.) The Holly card was another stroke of genius.
As crazy and volatile as the housing market is in this area, you made the process of looking both a pleasure and a learning experience. We will certainly recommend your services to anyone who asks for a recommendation—and probably many who don’t ask, but need to know. Wishing you continued good fortune,
— W.L. & P.L.
“You organized everything so well”
Your business card describes you as a “Special Agent” !! You organized everything so well….and I bet you can re-task satellites with your phone!
— K D.
