I learned long ago that an effective speaker is a person whose character, knowledge and judgement command respect. Mari fits that description perfectly. She displayed that she had patience as we spent months looking at homes and not quite finding what we needed for a long time. She showed wisdom in perceiving which homes were probably just overpriced "money pits" and steered us away from homes that would have ruined us. When a home finally was presented to us that was in the right location, met our needs as a family, and could be shaped to meet our tastes, she made the purchasing process as easy and painless as possible. I cannot recommend her enough.