Wade Cleary

This is an overwhelming process with many steps involved. I take a simple approach...communicate clearly and be accessible to my clients. If the client is going to finance their purchase I can help recommend a great lender who will help prepare the buyer with pre-approval letter. This is step one when buying a home. Serious sellers want serious buyers and before they go under contract with a buyer, the sellers want to know that the buyer has been pre-qualified by a reputable lender. When my buyer has found a home they like and want to submit an offer, we then go over strategies to position ourselves in the best light to the sellers. I make sure the offer is well written, complete and I follow up with the seller's agent to confirm receipt and impress any details that will aid in our position.

We are currently in a seller's market (more buyers than homes available). With that said, depending upon the goals of the seller, I customize a specific game plan that will attain their goals. Highest net proceeds, ease of close and best terms are usually the three main goals of a seller. I guide them through the process by managing their expectations, provide clear and transparent communication and am always available when needed.

Our brokerage specializes in corporate and military relocations. My out of area clients love the attention to detail and resources I provide for not only their real estate needs but also their lifestyle. My local clients who might be upsizing or downsizing love the smoothness of the double transaction for selling and buying seamlessly to help minimize their stress during this transition. I work with many veteran clients so I am intimately familiar with the VA loan process. I also work with investors, commercial and land clients.

I had the pleasure of working with a luxury buyer who owns a large portfolio of commercial property from his home state. He is very familiar with the process and knows the real estate market more than most. We submitted an offer on a multi-million dollar luxury property and the negotiations were always confrontational from the seller side. I kept my cool throughout the due diligence and never took any of the responses personally when requests or responses were made from the sellers side. After the transaction closed, my buyer and the seller met and afterwards the buyer explained to me that the seller was an extremely pleasant person with an very approachable disposition. My client and I assessed the sales process and we determined that the seller's agent was they root cause for all of the friction we received during the process. I was proud of myself for remaining professional throughout the sale and kept my clients goal paramount...close the deal so he and his family could have a house they love. I am a goal oriented person and I try to think of all the potential pitfalls and how I'll overcome them before they even show up on the radar. This practice has served me well in past challenges because it allows me to avoid these obstacles and get to the finish line with a high success ratio. One of the transactions I had last year was with a young veteran buyer. He had moved to the area not knowing anyone or having any local family. He is a bit adventurous, enjoys going to the beach so I could see the reasons why he came to Tampa. After many home tours we found a home that had great bones but needed some sweat equity that he was excited to invest into the house to make it his own. One of the challenges was like most properties for sale during the pandemic, he was competing against multiple offers/buyers. I positioned our offer even though it wasn't the strongest, with the idea that the owner would be helping a young combat wounded veteran buy his first home. We won the contract and immediately began our due diligence process. The seller was extending us a huge gift by taking $15,000 less than the highest offer but wanted to pay it forward to my veteran. The main challenge we faced was asking for the rear fence line to be repaired and even replaced in some areas because it bordered the power companies service access alley. This was not a concern for the VA loan process but the property was in a code violation with the city. The seller agreed to pay for the repairs to the fence and some other items. But, when the appraisal came back $7,000 under our contract price, we had to pivot our repair requests in order to keep the seller in contract. After explaining the expenses my client was going to have to face after we closed and getting his agreement, I negotiating with the seller and kept the deal alive. With the lower appraised value I was able to negotiate a lower sales price, but the seller refused to replace/repair the fence. What I told my veteran client was that if we can get all parties to agree on these terms, I'd come back and help him rebuild the fence if he was able afford all the materials. And that's what I did. I came down one Saturday morning and we took my truck to the hardware store and he purchased $750 of fence panels, posts, and hardware to complete the project. We worked the entire day into the evening hours but he worked side by side with me appreciative of my help. Needless to say, we fixed the fence the weekend after he took ownership and he had the code violation removed from his property well within the 30 day deadline they placed upon him after he purchased. The following week the selling agent (who was actually the broker of his firm as well as an active agent) called to find out if my client had a new fence installed. I explained what happened and how I helped him build a new fence and he said in all of the 20+ years of working with other realtors, he has never heard of anyone going the extra mile like I did to put this veteran in a home. Don't get me wrong- I was sore for three days after, but my veteran is in his first home and he is ecstatic that I stepped up and taught him how to build a fence.

Initially I wanted to go into commercial real estate, but that wasn't a good fit for me. I switched over to residential and have enjoyed the process immensely and helping people. For most, this is an emotional process and being a part of this big event in peoples lives is very satisfyingly.

I have worked in business to business sales as well as owned my own company which has taught me valuable lessons on how to manage projects, timelines and client expectations. Communication is one of the core pillars to any successful relationship and I strive to provide an open, honest dialog with my clients so they know exactly what to expect. I believe training is helpful but experience is invaluable.