ZillowVERIFIEDAnyone looking to purchase (or sell) a home has a lot to think about, lots of interviews to do and many other hundreds of choices to make, I believe Katherine was the best choice I could have been when I started this process. As a first time home buyer and someone who has long been on the fence about such a large investment I was very nervous beginning the process. Having just come out of finally paying down or off the bulk of my liabilities (credit cards/revolving accounts/old accounts etc) I was very hesitant to pour out my new nest egg I was building. When I first spoke to Katherine she was very honest from the very beginning about the process, the reality of what expectations were vs what I would possibly qualify for. She took the time to meet with me a few times before we actually went out and asked questions I had not thought to think about when buying a home. When your renting it is always someone else's problem when something breaks but home ownership is a whole new level of responsibility and she is really good about asking what YOU want. There is not enough room on here to describe how the whole experience went but her positive attitude, patience and ability to focus in on what you really are looking for was without a doubt what makes Katherine great at what she does. She asks the right questions, digs deep for houses that might interest you and is a pleasure to work with as you run around looking at different floor plans. Having her go around pointing out floor plans and potential pit falls to certain designs was like my own personal coach, its funny how you can really get taken in by a beautiful house only to realize after how the floor plan can really affect how you use it. She turned what was already a difficult life decision into something very manageable. It would not be fair of me to end on this review as something that ended without its issues. As a show of her character and the kind of agent she is, there were more than a fair share of hurdles. Losing out on bids, losing out on homes that just went in contract, but the most impressive hurdle was her fighting for my best interests in negotiating terms from the listing agent. I strongly feel that this was my most memorable experience in knowing that she fought hard in getting the right terms for me, going so far in one case as to having the listing agent come back after close of escrow to do some maintenance on the yard. It was not a deal breaker but the fact that she got it done was evidence that she doesn't stop working for you just because the deal is done, she made sure the everything was wrapped and I wasn't left holding the bag on anything, but rather I got great service and a top notch agent to represent me. I would encourage anyone reading this article to always research who it is they are going to work with because as i learned on my first home purchase having the right agent on your side can make the world of difference. The right Realtor can offset a lot of the stress so you should not feel like you took what you could afford but rather you should have the home you want to live in...and Katherine Justice Straps is exactly that kind of Realtor. That is exactly what I experienced and I am a proud homeowner now thanks to her.