Jen Pells Reviews

We worked with Jen to purchase our first home in December 2012. Jen is an organized, communicative, professional, kind, knowledgeable and responsive agent. We found her through her blog, which we continue to rely upon for its excellent resources. After our initial contact, we set up a phone meeting to go over our needs/wants. From that meeting, Jen drew up a list of properties for us view for when we came to the island. When we finally met her in person, we appreciated her low-pressure but informed style. She met us at her office, gave us an overview of the properties that we'd see for the day, and loaded us up in her car (including our 6 month old baby) to drive us from place to place. While we drove, Jen would point out the different points of interest- schools, shopping, parks, etc. When we would arrive at a property, Jen would unlock a house, give us a few pointers and facts, and let us explore for ourselves, making herself available for any questions we might have.

As we were expats stationed in the middle east, we had to rely primarily on e-mail and phone communications with Jen, and she always got back to us within a few hours. She viewed a number of properties on our behalf and took video and photos of potential houses and created a password-protected intranet site for us to review her fieldwork. Since we were first-time homebuyers, we had a million questions about the process. Jen always responded patiently and thoroughly. She has an amazing knack for giving realistic negotiation advice. Her advice kept our deals on track and saved us tons of cash while keeping things in perspective. Jen also put us in touch with her extensive network of local businesses (mortgage brokers, insurance agents, consultants and repairmen) as needed. All of this kept us feeling organized and grounded through all of the ups and downs that the process entailed.

When we finally closed on our new home (six months, three around the world trips, and two purchase agreements later!), Jen met us at the house with a tabbed folio filled with our next steps and important documents, as well as an extremely thoughtful welcome gift! Working with Jen was an absolute pleasure, and we would recommend Jen to anyone! We will definitely be calling her for any of our future real estate needs on Bainbridge Island.

We moved from the Boston area to the Seattle area with our two kids. We chose Jen because we loved her blog, which was smart and funny, because she and her family had gone through a re-location themselves, and because she was obviously very knowledgeable about how to help a family find a great house from a long distance. Jen was AMAZING. She video'd houses, narrating what she saw and speaking with considerable expertise about how the details, pricing, and other factors compared to other houses available on the market. She knew what was on the market, what was coming on the market, and when it was time for us to book a cross-county flight. She was able to get us into the house that has become our home almost before most buyers were completely aware it was available--less than a day after the photos went up on the realty site. As a result, we were in an excellent position to present a solid offer ahead of other offers. Jen gave us great advice and was a rock through the negotiations on the house, and we always felt that she had our best interests at heart--she had her own opinions but always listened to us, and we felt she understood what was important to us. She stayed in close touch and was always available to speak with us about concerns and questions that arose thoughout the buying and escrow process, and was incredibly helpful at helping us move in and integrate into the community once we arrived--making us feel welcome and part of things. And we love her policy of giving part of her commission to charity. In short, we can't say enough good things about Jen--she is an absolutely terrific person to have on your side during a very challenging transaction and time.

We cannot say enough about the service we received during this entire process. We originally found Jen through her current, savvy blog when searching for information on Bainbridge Island. I sent her an email and within 30 minutes she had responded, and continued to be responsive from then on. Let's face it, this process can be stressful. And emotional. And tiring. And frustrating. But it can also be joyful, exciting, fun and rewarding if you have the right agent working on your side. Lucky for us, we had Jen! I commuted to the city for the first time today and the first text I sent when the ferry docked back on the island after a full day of work was to Jen. I wanted to tell her that it had finally hit me that WE LIVE HERE! And I wanted to thank her for helping make our dreams come true.

Jen helped us purchase a great single family home on Bainbridge Island. We had a back and forth type of negotiation that lasted more than a month and she was very patient with us. She showed us a ton of homes during the process and was available whenever we had a question or wanted to see a house. This was a nice touch because we were moving from Seattle and couldn't get across the sound until the weekends.

We chose Jen because she has a fantastic website and blog. The blog shows that she clearly knows her stuff about the island. She was honest and completely professional. She didn't just "tell us what we wanted to hear." Jen lives on Bainbridge and is active in the community which was nice to see. If you are considering an agent on Bainbridge Island know this; there are a bunch of stuffy, old time agents on the island who don't concern themselves about the customer. Jen is not one of them. She is full of energy and I totally recommend her to all our friends.