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James was very knowledgeable and helpful as a buyer’s agent for someone who is completely new to the Richmond area. He was calm and professional when some of the process took a little longer than desired. He was a tremendous help with finding a home, knowledge of the inspectors, and knowing what  to ask for. In all, the home-buying process was made easier and the stress kept to a minimum, for as much as home buying can be viewed as not stressful.

He suggested repainting some rooms in modern colors, bringing in modern furniture to replace our antiques and adding a large island to the kitchen. Sometimes, it’s hard to hear somebody critique your house, but we agreed because it would open the house to buyers we would not have gotten otherwise. Shaunna and Brad agreed to the plan. They settled on an asking price, too: $570,000. Then, after Chris inspected his team’s improvements and alterations, he suggested that Shaunna and Brad do something unexpected: raise their asking price to $599,950. We got the first offer seven days after we listed it. It was three percent below our asking price. Then, the next day, we got an offer for $600,000.

Last year, while we were having no luck selling our house in the Museum District for $508,000, Chris Small sold a similar house on our block for more in the first week it was on the market. So we asked him to list our house. He had very good advice about what it would take to sell it, and he made sure the work got done efficiently. When we brought the house back on the market, it sold the first weekend for $590,000 – $30,000 over his suggested list price. I was amazed. We had a great experience with Chris, and I’d highly recommend him to others.

Chris “rescued” my wife and I from a very unresponsive broker who was not getting the job done! Even though there was an oversupply of Fan homes in our selling price range, Chris took over the listing on a Wednesday at the end of June, staged an open house the very next Sunday, kept traffic flowing until we had a contract and CLOSED on September 1st!!!! Incidentally, after the contract was signed, Chris continued to really earn his commission. He worked with the cooperating broker to increase the Buyer’s initial offer enough to cover much of the renovation costs we incurred getting the house ready for market. He lives and owns property in The Fan, loves the neighborhood and is an indefatigable worker on his clients’ behalf. The lucky Sellers will call Chris first!

I interviewed several agents to handle the sales of my mother’s estate properties. Chris was incredibly knowledgeable about the real estate in the Fan District and gave such detailed answers to my questions that I felt he was the agent to handle the sales. Chris seemed to anticipate problems that might come up and suggested solutions in case they did. Chris was always available, got back promptly and handled the negotiations for the 2 adjacent properties on Floyd Avenue. I would say that Chris and I were very often on the same page in the negotiations so it helped things go smoothly in spite of some difficult negotiations with the buyer.

Chris had a real sense of the local market, and he came to the interview very well prepared. He’d also had previous success selling in my West End area. He was very good at that. His comps were very local and specific to my neighborhood, Colonial Place. He knew what houses had gone for in my area very recently, and he knew how to price per square footage, based on the condition of my house. He really pushed the price up from what I had thought we’d ask. It was great. The house went on the market Thursday afternoon, and it had more than 35 private showings by Saturday afternoon. Then Chris had an open house on Sunday, which was when the house was sold.  And that’s how Chris said it was going to work. We went to Washington, D.C., for the weekend, and when we came back, the house was sold at full price in an all-cash deal. It couldn’t have gone better. He had a plan, and he worked the plan. That included having a schedule for photo and video sessions, as well as an extensive social media plan. He also had a schedule for rolling out the sale. I really appreciated that. He was very organized, and that was very helpful for me. Yes, because Chris is knowledgable and very well organized, and he’s a pleasure to work with. I always felt I was kept up to date. I never had to wonder what was going on. He has made a good name for himself in the Richmond market, and other realtors respect him.

Chris provided me with a detailed marketing plan for selling my home as well as a checklist of items to take care of to ensure that my home showed well. He also provided referrals as needed to help me take care of small projects. His advertising was well done and all operational items (such as scheduling appointments) went well. The home sold quickly and for the price I wanted. Chris ensured a smooth closing. I was very pleased with his professional demeanor and knowledge.

He was very frank with us that we needed to make it look like a home and that it needed to be staged, repainted and modernized. He followed through on everything he said he would do and met his deadlines. He kept us on task, and he got the job done. Those changes are what let a family see it as a home that they could live in. Chris was absolutely the reason the house for sold for more than $1 million, If the person selling the house does not believe it is worth more than $1 million, then it will never sell for that amount. He absolutely believed, 100 percent, that our house was worth more than that. He was able to frame the house in such a way that other people could see that, too. We give him huge kudos for that.

We considered four real estate agents before asking Chris Small to help us sell our house this year. We chose him because he gave us a realistic assessment of the market, the price range we should expect and the work we should do to get the best price. Chris laid out a logical plan and a timeline we could live with. He recommended a listing timeline that was different than what we were planning and I’m glad he did! Chris brought in a fantastic team of experts to look at everything from light switches to paint to www. Once we agreed with Chris on which repairs were most valuable and important, my wife and I appreciated how he stayed connected with us and the workers. I turned it over to Chris and his staff, and I didn’t have people call me asking about color choices or specific light fixtures. The house looked great when the work was finished and the staging was in place. We both agreed we should raise the price beyond our original estimate, and within four days we had multiple offers well in excess of the asking price – the best offer was almost 10 percent over asking price and completely beyond our expectations! I can’t stress enough the importance of having a good plan and sticking to it – Chris was a master at that. I would highly recommend him to anybody looking to get the highest price for their house, with the fewest headaches.

I bought my house from an agent working for Chris is 2006; Chris was my first call when I decided to sell in July, 2015. He made the entire process seamless from the professional pictures taken of my home and the online exposure provided to the open house, contract negotiation, and actual closing date. He provided honest and professional advice and guidance during all stages of the sale and I was able to move out of town prior to closing with confidence that all remaining steps of the sale would be handled properly. Chris is obviously one of the most knowledgeable and experienced agents in Richmond and he and his team produce the results that buyers and sellers alike are seeking.