Terry was referred to us by our friend who owns an escrow company. His escrow company works with scores of agents, but they picked Terry for us… and now we know WHY! This has been our very best real estate transaction EVER, and we’ve owned a LOT of property!

We expected to spend many weekends finding our new home, with the hassle of Monica flying out from Arizona for each lost weekend and missing our young kids, too, who would have to stay with our folks while we were house-hunting.

Meanwhile, I was starting my new job as the CEO of a public company, and REALLY didn’t have much time to go house-hunting, no matter HOW important it was to get the RIGHT place to raise our kids.

Fortunately, with Terry to guide us, we found the PERFECT place for us in a single MARATHON weekend. The two days were VERY long, but, in the end, we got what we wanted with WAY less effort than we expected.

How this happened was a study in WHY Terry is different, and WHY he made this purchase our best real estate transaction EVER. He started out by listening, really listening, to what we were trying to accomplish… to the point where HE could help focus our search, rather than just throw properties at us, hoping that we would like one and buy it.

In fact, he took the OPPOSITE tack… he was able to eliminate huge areas of consideration by being willing to “tell it like it is”. We have NEVER heard a real estate agent say the kinds of things HE said about properties we might have bought from him. He managed to eliminate entire areas he originally considered for us by putting himself in our shoes and eliminating those that didn’t meet our price/size/school/commute/intangible requirements. As a consequence, he helped us pick from the best of the best, and not waste our time looking at second-stringers.

Part of the answer is his wide area of expertise. Where some agents sell the same few homes over and over, Terry (who ONLY handles homes and condos in south Orange County, and so is an expert in that limited market) is experienced from Tustin to San Clemente. He is not locked into a small area… unlike some agents who try to “shoe-horn” everybody into the small areas they know, rather than find the BEST area for their client. Anyway, as I mentioned, we were astonished to hear him say thing like “these are convenient, the schools are great, but they are just oversized boxes on too-small lots, and your price range is at the top of the neighborhood … not a good plan for you!” (i.e. about $1.5MM homes in Quail Hill, Irvine). In our experience, most agents would have been careful to say NOTHING NEGATIVE about the properties, in hopes that we might buy one (and only LATER find out that they were totally WRONG for us!). Terry didn’t just make these pronouncements… he substantiated them with facts that showed us he knew what he was talking about. …same for the substandard schools serving the nicest part of Ladera Ranch, and likewise about pricey homes in San Juan Capistrano that he described as “tiny islands of expensive homes surrounded by a sea of average homes”. In short, Terry saved us days and days of wasted time by NOT looking at nice homes in mediocre areas, and mediocre homes in nice areas. We were able to look at and choose our new home from the best of the best… because Terry was willing to tell us the truth, no matter WHERE it led us!

His high-tech systems allowed US to see EVERYTHING in the market place (he didn’t just pull his recommendations out of some “magic black box”… he showed us everything that matched our criteria, then discussed each property that looked good to us, helping us to keep some on the list, and to reject others, even bringing some of our rejects back into consideration). He then spent DAYS just before our first fly-out, looking at everything that was left after he separated out the best of the best for us. By the time we arrived for our first “lost weekend”, he had already seen everything on our interest list, and was able to give us the “big picture” of what the market had to offer. And, our “lost weekend” wasn’t that at all… it was actually exciting to be able to select from the best of the best, and not waste our time plodding through the no-go houses that Terry had already seen for us… and eliminated!

There were STILL plenty of homes to see, and we took 2 days, from early in the morning until late at night, to see them all. Finally, it came down to only 2 homes! Both were beautiful, and both looked like they were designed especially for us! Again, the typical agent would have carefully kept both options open by avoiding any negative judgments about either (in case we couldn’t negotiate an acceptable purchase on the other one). But Terry’s goal was NOT to “sell us something”… it was to work hard to get the RIGHT ONE for us! So, again, while we were trying to decide between the two homes, he pointed out the negatives of both homes to help us decide, all the while knowing that if we couldn’t get our first choice, the higher number of negatives on our second choice might very well eliminate that choice, too. If that happened, we would have to continue the looking process. What a relief it is to have someone looking out for US, rather than calculating his own benefits instead!

Our negotiation for our favorite went very well. The seller had just reduced the price about 10% (this price reduction brought the home into our price range, and was instantly picked-up by Terry’s systems), but we STILL got a further reduction. Terry’s astute understanding of the seller’s situation and psychology allowed us to know “when we were home”, and locked in a great buy for us. We decided to make an all-cash offer, only later (after acceptance) modifying the agreement to use some financing, after all. Naturally, this looked GREAT to the seller, and was a big part of getting the additional reduction.

Once our offer was accepted, Terry went to work with the escrow picked by the seller’s agent to conform the escrow process to Terry’s unique process of overseeing all the details of our purchase, and handling what essentially amounted to another whole negotiation on the items we wanted repaired. He put safeguards into the escrow that made us immediately comfortable that we could sign them without worrying about changing our agreement with the seller. Then he insisted that ALL the documents of importance to us be sent to him FIRST for his review (the escrow frankly didn’t want to be bothered, and said so… however, Terry got the process, standard for him, instituted anyway). And, the process worked as expected… the escrow made a significant error in billing for the cash to close, but Terry picked up the error right away, and it was corrected without lost time and “head-scratching” by us. We had our hands full with the kids, the move, and the new job… we NEEDED someone who “got it” looking out for us, and we got Terry… PERFECT!!

Terry has taken care of sequencing in the final preparation of the home just before our movers arrive. We just closed yesterday, and our movers will be there next week… and THEN, in a couple of weeks, Terry is throwing a Housewarming Party for us to meet the neighbors, and to share our new home with friends and colleagues! The move from Arizona is still stressful, but Terry’s part was actually fun. Great experience! We thought his outlandish promise on his business card … that he promised the best commercial transaction we have EVER had, every time he works with us… was just hype, but now we know it’s for REAL!

We’ll be introducing him as the best choice for our employees, management staff, and EVERYBODY we know is coming to California!

PS: Terry has a Buyer Cash-Back program that was worth THOUSANDS to us, too!

Happy Coto de Caza homeowners

Dear Terry:

We want to write a short testimonial on your behalf that you can share with others, if you so choose. We rarely do such things, so we are not sure where to begin.

We have bought and sold many houses over the years, and have really not seen much difference from one agent to another...until we worked with you.

We knew you were different when you explained why putting an offer on a particular property was not in our best interest. We have never heard of an agent going to such an extent to look out for his client. It turned out, of course, you were right. What a mistake that purchase would have been!

We appreciate you taking the time to get to know our needs and limitations. You tirelessly showing us several properties until we found just the right one. But, you didn't stop there. You negotiated, bartered, advised, and reassured throughout the entire process. We have not a single regret. We love our new home, and are convinced we could not be where we are if we had any other agent.

We cannot foresee buying or selling a piece of property without consulting you first. You are truly a knowledgeable, skilled, and multi-talented professional.

To anyone reading this, we want you to know how impressed we are by Terry Hunter's astute real estate and financial expertise. His intuition and overall business acumen are second to none.

Terry, please feel free to share this with anyone you choose. If they want confirmation, feel free to give them our personal contact information.

Thank you so much for everything you have done for us. And please don't be a stranger.

Sincerely,


Matthew Willey
Michele Reynolds

Jo Ann & Travis Searcy, Award-Winning Insurance Agency Owners,
Channel Islands, CA

"Terry Hunter has been our broker for most of our real estate transactions for over 18 years! He has handled our homes, business leases, land acquisition, commercial land and building sales, development negotiations, and government "buy-out" negotiations, among other tasks.

We have remained loyal clients because he has ALWAYS put our interests above his own, constantly kept us informed up-to-the-minute, and given us the bare, unvarnished, honest truth about every single aspect of our transactions. He is extraordinarily expert as a negotiator, and he constantly trains and educates his inherent abilities. (It's great to work with a professional who not only understands us and our complex transactions, but actually anticipates what we will want before we want it!) We have made HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS in profit with his help, and it has been a pleasant and exhilarating experience, time after time. We have GLADLY paid him commissions up to 10%, and counted it a BARGAIN to gain his expertise and guidance for so relatively little. (We operated our own award-winning insurance agency for years, and we know what it takes to consistently deliver expertise like he does!)

Without reservation, we highly recommend Terry Hunter & Hunter-Broker to ANYONE buying, selling, or developing real estate. Based on our own 18 years of experience with Terry as his client and his friend, his services would still be a BARGAIN at MANY TIMES his low fees!"

Ed Martens, Financial Planning,
Royal Alliance Associates
Feel free to call me for more specific details about working with Hunter-Broker at (949) 837-6700.

"As a Financial Planner, I demand for my personal real estate transactions the same kind of expert, responsive, and accurate handling that I provide for my own investment clients (especially given the recent market "run-up" in our real estate equities). I really didn't think such service was available in the (undisciplined, to my eye) real estate market, but I got all the expertise and attention to detail that I expected, and more, from Hunter-Broker. As a direct result of his performance, Terry Hunter has earned, and continues to earn with every new transaction, ALL of our real estate brokerage business. Even more critically, he is one of the VERY few people from any industry I have been willing to refer to my own clients, whose interests I watch even closer than my own.

He has gotten us premium prices when we have sold property with him, and terrific results when we have bought. I have gone from intense "micro-managing" to being secure in the knowledge that Terry consistently makes the same "on-the-spot" negotiating decisions for us that I would make personally. There's just no substitute for the winning combination of experience, focus, education, and intelligence in today's demanding real estate market, and Terry is the "best of the best". He told us that he was striving to be our "real estate agent for life", and that's just what he has become!

Our friend Jennifer introduced Terry to us, and we are SO glad she did! We have never worked with an agent so attuned to OUR wants and objectives as Terry. Most agents we have encountered have been more interested in their own goals than ours, but NOT SO with Terry! In fact, he even tried to discourage us from buying a home that he felt wasn’t as good as we could do for ourselves, a home that backed to a busy street. We have to admit, this is the FIRST time a real estate agent suggested that we NOT buy a home from him! Terry was truly interested in OUR well-being, even if it meant “no sale” for him!

In fact, that’s exactly how it looked like it was going to be. After the seller of the home Terry tried to discourage us from buying “slow-played” us for a long time, they ended up accepting a higher offer from some other buyer, leaving us discouraged about the whole process, and deciding that we would just wait a while before buying.

That was before we got Terry’s call about the MUCH larger (nearly 3,000sf) home he had just listed. The home was in Dove Canyon Country Club, a terrific area south of Irvine. At first, it seemed WAY too far away, but Terry pointed out that the drive to work in Irvine would be no farther from Dove Canyon that it would have been from the home we had tried to buy in Tustin. And, as he also pointed out, Dove Canyon Country Club is MUCH nicer than the neighborhood where we were trying to buy. Terry was right… it WAS a lot nicer than the Tustin home and neighborhood, and it was priced RIGHT… we were the first to know about it, since it hadn’t even gone on the market yet. So, we took a look, and bought it the next day! It sure helped that Terry’s cash-back paid us thousands of dollars, too!

Since Terry was the only agent involved, everything went very smoothly, and Terry made SURE we knew he was treating both us and the sellers equally, neither favoring one nor the other. That is probably our most vivid recollection from the process, a feeling that we could rely on Terry’s trustworthiness, no matter what the circumstances. We liked the sellers, too, and the mutual trust all around made it possible to close quickly despite a couple of “speed-bumps” that had to be handled after the close of escrow (replacement of a couple of windows, a broken mirrored closet door, and repairs related to the water heater). Everything was fully stated in writing, and we all knew what we expected, and what was expected of us. We closed on time, and the seller has just completed the promised repairs as he said he would. VERY smooth transaction altogether!

We have NEVER had such professional work done for us, especially in buying or selling real estate. I work in a precision profession (handling people’s financial information), and my husband is studying to be an attorney. We KNOW the difference between OK and exceptional… and Terry is EXCEPTIONAL! Speed, keeping us informed at all times, and being even-handed with both us and the sellers made this a dream buy for us. Even my father, who speaks little English, trusted Terry. When I told Terry that, he asked me how that could be, since my dad didn’t even speak English! I told him that his trustworthiness showed ACROSS languages, and that my dad had also a real estate professional in China. He knew from the start that Terry could be trusted.

And so now, I make it a point that ALL our friends and family know about our excellent experience. It is so rare to find competent AND trustworthy agents… we want to be SURE that our friends get the same good service and expertise that we benefitted from. Terry will see a LOT more of our friends and family!!

Happy Dove Canyon Country Club homeowners

We were initially attracted by Terry’s Buyer Cash-Back, since we had been working with a Realtor who would have also provided a (smaller) cash-back when we bought. With the other agent, however, it seemed that with every passing day that we didn’t buy something, he became less enthusiastic and less responsive.

At some point, the situation had deteriorated to the point where we felt that we needed a new agent. We searched the internet for an agent who offered rebates, and lucked-into Terry! In our first conversation, I realized that Terry “got it” immediately… it is SUCH a downer to work with someone to whom “every word is a new experience”, and we were elated to find a bright agent who had experience in buyers’ markets, one who could understand what we were looking for. Bright is not enough, though. We needed somebody who was trustworthy, and who would look out for US. Terry proved, time after time, that he was the ONE… he gave us the straight story, no matter whether it was good news or bad.

He was also tireless in searching out properties for us, and finally we found the perfect one. It was a bank short-pay, and it took about 3 months to close. During the entire time, from the successful initial bid strategy that we worked out with Terry, to the credits from the bank-seller, to the cash-back that Terry was able to restructure to satisfy our lender, Terry kept the transaction going forward with a constant stream of emails and phone calls to us and the agent representing the bank-seller. In the end, since the seller was a bank who wouldn’t pay for termite repairs, Terry paid for the termite repairs, rather than giving US a cash-back. This way, we got the credits from the seller-bank AND Terry’s cash-back, even though the two of them together was more than our lender would allow us to receive. Agent experience and creativity DO make a difference when you’re putting a non-standard deal together!

Terry is a good letter writer… this may seem like a small thing, except that a LOT of what was done in the past by agents meeting with each other, and meeting together with the seller, is NOW done by email. So, it is now more important than ever for agents to be able to “write a good (and convincing!) letter” to present their clients’ interests persuasively. Terry’s cover letter for our initial (and successful) offer on our new home WAS very persuasive. Later on, when the listing agent put “our” home back on the market in the MLS while we were waiting for the lender to approve the short pay (and the lender began getting price opinions higher than OUR offering price), Terry wrote another persuasive letter to the listing agent explaining why “our” home should stay in “backup offer” status, and NOT be actively on the market. The listing agent was persuaded, and the property came off the market. This probably had a LOT to do with our final success in getting our new home, since there wasn’t any new competition for us from continuing promotion of the property while we were waiting for the bank to respond.

Some agents want to work with termite companies and inspection companies who are not too demanding … thinking that finding too many problems could keep the transaction from closing. Terry is the exact opposite… he wants to know ALL the problems up-front (and if they are too much, then we just need to find a different home, as he put it). His team is top-notch at looking out for us, just like Terry is.

His promise to us was to provide us and our friends and family with the very best commercial transaction we have ever had, EVERY time we work with him. Our first transaction with him WAS this good, and we actually are actively searching out people to recommend him to, so they can have the same kind of great experience as we had. Not only is he very good at what he does, he takes the responsibility of representing OUR interests before his own very seriously. Totally trustworthy, and totally responsive, Terry is the best agent we have ever dealt with, by FAR! Highly recommended!

Happy new Lake Forest HomeOWNER!

We had been looking for a home in Sea Island, Newport Beach for some time, and then we saw Terry’s listing there. He had an excellent internet Virtual Tour for his listing, and it looked like a home that would interest us. Our current home had great natural light and great views, and Terry’s web presentation made it clear that this home also had great natural lighting.

Once we saw the home in person, we didn’t like the location, but we did like working with Terry. He set us up with our personal website to constantly search for homes in Sea Island. Even though licensed as a loan broker, we still wanted to work with a residential pro to handle the purchase (and the required sale of our current home). Terry was organized, available, and pleasant to work with (and, he automatically offers a Buyer Cash-Back of 50% of the total commission), so we continued the search with him.

Then we found it… a new listing with the same floor plan, but a MUCH better location!
However, the seller would NOT accept an offer based on the prior sale of our home. We, on the other hand, were not willing to own 2 homes, so we unsuccessfully tried 5 counter-offers to try to work out something that was OK for both us and the sellers. Finally, on the 6th counter-offer, Terry was able to get us a full 30 days, but at the end of that time, we would have to remove all contingencies… for us, this meant that we had to have our home already sold and closed escrow(or very close to it). Saturday at 8PM we had our deal… now we just had to perform on our end!

The market was soft, and only 30 days to sell AND close escrow seemed like a long-shot to us. It seemed like a long-shot to Terry, too. Originally, he had suggested that we work with an agent from our area. However, given the extremely short time in this soft market to get our home sold, we all decided that if it was going to happen at all, we needed the extra “oomph” of Terry’s marketing to make it happen.

Terry worked all day Sunday (simultaneously taking photos, writing the advertising, and doing the first of 21 back-to-back Open Houses!). By late Monday afternoon (after the 2nd Open House, too), it was DONE… we were in the MLS, had our beautiful Virtual Tour on the Internet, and were on the public databases like Realtor.com, Homeseekers.com ,Yahoo, Google, DuPont Registry, and the like. The ads were in the OC Register & 22 local papers for the next weekend, and postcards had been sent to all our neighbors (to see if they had any friends THEY wanted for new neighbors). Terry also sent out hundreds & hundreds of flyers to other brokers. Since he charges only about 1/3 of the typical listing fee, his low fee freed us up to offer a premium commission to buyer agents, so that they would bring their buyers to US . His low listing fee STILL kept our total costs at or below what it would have cost with other brokers. Great program that gave us an advantage over other sellers in the soft market we were in!

The postcards and the constant Open Houses paid off! One of the neighbors already owned 2 homes in the neighborhood, and wanted ours, too! Yippee!!… we still had time to meet our deadline with our seller, because only about 14 days had gone by. Our glee turned to dismay as the neighbor’s accountant kept delaying and delaying and delaying getting the agreement written up. We were running out of time!

Fortunately, about this time another potential buyer from Santa Maria saw our beautiful Virtual Tour (Terry calls the Virtual Tours his “Internet Open Houses”), and inquired about the home. Fortunately, Terry is pretty much constantly available by cell phone and mobile wireless email and mobile fax, and the potential buyer got through to him directly on his first call. After discussing the home, Terry offered to buy the buyer an airline ticket to come down and see it. He also explained his Buyer Cash-Back program to the buyer (as mentioned above,Terry rebates THOUSANDS of dollars to buyers who work with him directly!). At first, the buyer didn’t quite “get it”. After all, it DOES sound pretty unlikely! When the “light flashed on” for the buyer, his only question was “…do you offer this to everybody??!! “ (Terry does.[g]) Terry told him about the other potential buyer, and the Santa Maria buyer decided to come down the next week… time was running OUT for us!

The buyer, after his friend arrived from New York and saw and liked the home, too, decided to buy it (full price, partly because of the significant discount provided by Terry’s Buyer Cash-Back). However, now only 9 days remained to close escrow (usually a 30-day process, all by itself). Fortunately, we own an active real estate mortgage company, and were able to get the loan approved almost immediately for our high-credit-score buyers. Working at breakneck speed, we were able to call in favors from the people whom we work with for our loans, and we MADE IT! … 30 days, exactly, to find a buyer AND close escrow on our home!

Terry did an outstanding job of getting the sale closed, too. Turns out that the buyer had made an offer on a nearby property ($20,000 less) that he liked as well/better, but that seller had accepted another offer. Terry was meticulously careful to be sure that EVERYTHING was delivered as promised to this buyer… good thing, too, because by THIS time the OTHER property had come back on the market, and just the slightest “breeze” could have knocked OUR sale off-course. If that had happened, then we would have had NO CHANCE of recovering in time to meet our deadline for our Newport Beach purchase. It’s GREAT to work with a careful and customer-focused PRO!
Terry’s approach is that every new client he works with is just doing the FIRST of many future transactions with him. So, his mind-set is NOT “…what can I ‘fudge’…”, but the opposite, “… what can I do to make sure that EVERYONE in the transaction gets EVERYTHING promised, and then some…”

When the loan rates shifted slightly before the rate “promised” to the buyer could be ‘locked’ in our transaction, he did NOT just assume that it would be OK to pass the increase on to our enabling buyer (the usual approach in the real estate industry). He cheerfully contributed a significant amount of his own money (right along with us) to make sure the buyer got what he expected.

Talking to the buyer after the escrow closed, it became clear that had we NOT done this, it was a virtual certainty that the transaction would have at LEAST been delayed past our deadline, and probably would have failed altogether… anyway, just going past the deadline with a suddenly hesitant buyer would have made it too risky for us to assume that the buyer would ultimately close, and we would NOT have removed the contingencies by the deadline, either. So, Terry’s business-as-usual approach of ‘delivering as promised’ actually bore IMMEDIATE fruit in the form of our successful move to Newport Beach!

Nothing did knock us “off course” and we effectively “sailed into Newport Harbor” [g] the day before Thanksgiving (because we are loan brokers, we were able to get our own loan, and close THAT sale in only 32 days). We let the seller rent-back over the Christmas holidays, but we will move into our new Newport Beach home in early January.

Terry is careful and thorough, just like we are with our borrower clients. We KNOW the difference, and appreciate it.  Based on his services, however, he is definitely the MOST “Premium Broker” we have ever dealt with, and we’re not bashful about telling this anyone who asks (and even some who didn’t even ask)!

Ecstatic New Owners in Sea Island, Newport Beach!

 

The whole process only took about 20 days, and I got MASSIVE cash rebates on top of getting the property thousands under the appraisal. I'd do this supposedly "high-stress" task once a WEEK!

It started when I saw an attractive Internet Virtual Tour, and called Terry to see the property. He got back to me right away, and we saw it the next day. The following morning, I told Terry to write it up. He did, and got a counter-offer that afternoon from the seller at a price that turned out to be thousands less than the property would appraise for in a few days. I accepted it, and 20 days later, we closed escrow, exactly as planned.

The reason the offer & acceptance went so smoothly is that I have good credit, and Terry handled the loan, too. This meant that he was able to present my offer with a full-credit Loan Pre-Approval (and the pre-approval numbers matched our offer, too, which helped keep the counter offer price down. I qualified for considerable more than this purchase price, but I obviously didn't want to present that higher qualification along with a low-ball offer for less than the seller was asking.) Also, I got the Full-Credit Loan Pre-Approval in MINUTES, not days like with some loan brokers!!

In representing me in getting the loan, Terry was able to get nearly $4,000 back from the lender with only 1/10 of a percent change in the interest rate.

Terry's team has an outstanding website with all the documents (password-protected) and the transaction status on line. I didn't really have time to deal with inefficiencies, and Terry's team capabilities and his adroit use of the internet and email to transport documents back and forth was PERFECT for my busy schedule. Everything went so smoothly (and quickly) that I only called Terry a time or two. His primary phone is a cell phone, so even then I got my questions answered immediately.

As a CPA, I know the value of time & expertise. I would recommend Terry to ANY of my clients, and be confident that my reputation would be safe, because I am sure he would do as great a job for them as he did for ME!

B.B.
Happy Mission Viejo Homeowner!!

We saw the Old-Town Seal Beach home at an Open House Terry was having, and my brother fell in love with it (years ago, he had rented the same floorplan)! We decided to go direct through Terry, rather than involve our own broker, partly because Terry seemed easy to work with, and partly because of the thousands in rebates that Terry was willing to pay us. My brother was busy, and I handled the details of buying the home for him directly with Terry.

The whole process was very efficient, because Terry uses technology to-the-max to make it easy to contact him and handle the paperwork without wasting time in meetings. We run a family business, and really wanted to avoid wasting time. It is pretty standard anymore for agents to have cell phones, but Terry is TOTALLY mobile & wireless, with only one number to contact him, and with internet connectivity and a portable printer wherever he is. In addition, he also has a real-time, web-based tracking system and transaction coordinator (at no cost to us, although it costs him nearly $400) for our transaction, so we could get any details we wanted on-line (password-protected). Mainly, though, we were kept so up-to-date by Terry and his transaction coordinator that we seldom went on line. I guess you could say that the mechanics of the transaction were remarkable because they were almost invisible. This transaction went together with no fuss, no muss, and no bother. It just happened like it was planned. Seems unremarkable until we recalled how few of our other business dealings were so 'remarkably unremarkable'.

There was a pretty wide gap between what we were willing to pay and what the seller wanted. At this point, Terry pointed out that we could pay over $7,000 more at no cost to us, because Terry's REBATE was more than this! We didn't know anything about it, but Terry's way of doing business is to treat all his clients fairly, and so we got the rebate AUTOMATICALLY. That's what did it, and the seller accepted our offer because, on Terry's advice, we had added the rebate to the price we were willing to pay (and got it back through the escrow). Still netted out to our price, but our offer looked good enough to the seller to get my brother the home he wanted.

If you want an unexciting transaction, with NO surprises, NO last-minute crises, and one that closes exactly as planned, then use Terry. We did, and we will again (and again, and again….) I'm tough to please, but pleased I am!!

Sister & Business Manager of a Happy Seal Beach Old-Town owner

I'm the brother, and I concur. My sister has plenty to do running our business, and I am VERY pleased that her attention to this primary focus was not disturbed by handling the minimal activities that were left to do after Terry's efficient management of the process.

Happy Seal Beach Old-Town owner, himself!!

We had put in an offer on a property nearby, but got “aced-out” by another buyer.  Then, we saw Terry’s Virtual Tour on Realtor.com for another beautiful home in the area, and decided to give it a look.

We were so surprised by Terry’s explanation of his Buyer Cash-Back, we asked “… do you offer that to EVERYBODY…?  Turns out he does, and his answer was interesting.  He explained that everybody did get the same treatment  “… otherwise how could anyone trust him as their agent if they had to negotiate with him to get the best he had to offer ??...”.  Doesn’t seem like a very common attitude for real estate agents, but we sure appreciated it in him!

Terry’s seller had a problem.  He had a VERY limited amount of time to sell and close escrow, otherwise he would not be buying the home he wanted in Newport Beach, and so would take HIS home off the market and stay there.  To make it all happen, we had to close escrow in about 10 days.  Terry was well organized, having already gathered most of the disclosures and other documents beforehand.  His seller was a very capable loan broker who offered to do our loan for free, and to fund it in just 7 days.  This all happened exactly on schedule, and yesterday we became the owners.

We were out of area, but all the details (like a mobile notary to come to US for loan doc signing) were expertly handled and paid for by Terry and his team.  There definitely was a “blizzard of paper/emails” involved, but it was handled well enough to give us the confidence we needed to buy in this whirlwind fashion.

Terry’s Buyer Cash-Back to us was several thousand dollars! But, that wasn’t the end of it.  We had mutual agreement between us and the sellers on the purchase late Friday… TOO late to ‘lock’ the loan rate and costs. Consequently, we were at the mercy of the market, and Monday morning, unbeknownst to us, the loan costs went up by nearly $1000!  It would have been totally legitimate (but not very pleasant for us, nor very acceptable to us) for the increased loan cost to be passed on to us.  What actually happened was that Terry insisted that our loan be “delivered as promised”.  The seller agreed, and they just silently paid the extra, the only indication to us being the escrow amendment that covered the extra costs.  We LIKE being treated like valued clients!

The whole purchase went so smoothly (and in only 10 days, too!) that we wonder why we hear so many ‘horror stories’ about bad real estate transactions. It is obvious to us, given that we own a significant number of properties, and have a lot of experience in real estate, that these bad experiences don’t happen to Terry’s clients!

In short, the transaction went strictly according to plan, and we love the home.  All in all, it was a VERY pleasant (and profitable!) purchase. The Buyer Cash-Back, it turns out, is just “icing on the cake”! Terry is an OUTSTANDING broker!
PH & AS…Happy new owners in Anaheim Hills

Terry presented an offer for me on a major bargain-priced property, one that had just been reduced a LOT on Friday. Rather than leave my profit to chance, Terry tirelessly pursued the presenting of the offer, and by early Saturday morning, had seller approval. It was a good thing, because the exceptionally low price on the property had caused quite a stir. In fact, one potential buyer had seen the new pricing in Homeseekers.com, and asked his Realtor to see it Friday night. The Realtor put off showing the property until Saturday morning because of the Realtor’s prior dinner arrangements, and that was the edge Terry needed to get MY offer accepted. Saturday morning was too late for them, but just right for me!

It ‘frosts me’ to put up with incompetent service, but the flip side is that I recognize and appreciate excellent service when I do get it. And I got it from Terry! It was not just Terry’s reaction speed and focus, but also his precision that impressed me. So often, others that I have worked with have provided me with partial, misleading, or just plain wrong information. EVERYTHING that Terry told me was both true and fully accurate. I am considering some other real estate transactions, and you can bet that Terry will be a part of them!

PS: I also got over $5,000 in what he calls ‘Buyer Cash-Back Rebates’. That was great, but it was getting the deal together for several HUNDRED thousand in profit that ‘floats my boat’!!

D.G, Happy Real Estate Investor in Aliso Viejo

After we personally checked out Terry's services (for several of our own properties) I was willing to take the unusual step (unusual for me, at least, given my almost fanatical protection of my clients' financial well-being) of referring him to several of my clients who needed real estate services. I have been EXTREMELY pleased with his polished approach (even in stressful situations), and with his clear, concise explanations that keep everybody in the transaction 'in the know', all the time. The LAST thing I want is any controversy for my clients, and Terry does a great job of covering all the bases to avoid that.

The other thing I like is how he 'goes above & beyond', doing whatever it takes to get the job done. One recent sale he handled for a long-term client of ours benefited from his flexible approach, and also from his prior experience as a General Contractor. He took care of all the details of renovating a property, and succeeded in selling my client's property when competing brokers could not sell for their clients. He got my client a premium price, charged a minimal (compared to the general market) commission, and overcame all the obstacles to see it through to a successful close when other sellers were giving up and removing their properties from the market. It didn't hurt that his buyer got the benefit thousands of dollars from his Buyer Cash-Back Rebate, either!

He is easy to work with, valuing input from us and others, rather than thinking that he knows it all, all the time. As a result, he is able to use our ideas and other valuable inputs, along with his own, producing a successful approach that is more than the sum of all the inputs. He has a calming effect on the sometimes stressed-out participants in a real estate transaction, and simply can 'make it happen' when others can't. I will continue to refer him to my valuable clients, secure in the knowledge that his services are the best available (without regard to cost), and that his costs are some of the lowest, too!

(Call me if you want more details.)

Ed Martens, Financial Consultant
www.eemartens.com
949-837-6700

As first-time buyers, we needed someone who was totally trustworthy, and very experienced. We didn’t want someone who was getting their “on-the-job-training” on OUR purchase!

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wing-it, because Terry had ALREADY worked with other family and came HIGHLY recommended. What a relief!

And, what our family said was more than TRUE. We found a home that was great for us, but it was a distress situation for the seller, a short-pay, and these are notoriously uncertain. It takes forever to get an answer from the banks, and the agents that list them for sale seem to treat the homes like sacks of flour, rather than very expensive assets. Terry told us that we needed a strategy to overcome this uncertainty.

Terry’s strategy included setting up our own private website to collect all the homes that met our criteria. When we found a second home that was the same model as the one we were buying, he counseled us to put in an offer on THAT home, too. He explained why there was no risk that we could become obligated to buy TWO homes, and we trusted his counsel.

So, suddenly, we were in escrow for TWO homes, BOTH short-pays, and waiting to see which one worked out the best for us. It was a good thing, too, because FINALLY we got the answer from the bank on the first home… they raised their price 10%!! Fortunately, however, the other bank approved our offer for the second home (which was nicer in some ways and thousands less that we had offered on the first home, too). So, because of Terry’s strategy, we did end up completing our purchase of the backup home, and so we succeeded in getting our very first home of our own! Right at the last, the seller (who was losing the home through the short-pay) took all the fairly new appliances, and replaced them with junk. Terry made sure the other agent gave us a credit to replace them all, and we ended up with brand new appliances, too!

On top of everything, Terry’s Buyer Cash-Back, as he calls it, provided us with THOUSANDS more in cash through escrow… sure does help, especially when you’re buying your very first home! Anyway, our experience with Terry was even BETTER than the glowing reports from our family had made us anticipate. He was constantly available, totally trustworthy, and smart & experienced enough to know how to handle the uncertainties of our crazy market so that we succeeded big-time! We got a great buy, and knew that Terry was watching out for us the whole way.

In ANY kind of market, our whole family’s choice has been, and will ALWAYS be Terry!

Happy Fountain Valley home-OWNERS!

Terry has a "First Look" list that lets his clients see his listings BEFORE they even get into the MLS. In a hot market like we have seen here for some time, this can make the difference between getting a good buy, or not getting it at all. Terry took me to see one of his listings, but it wasn't what I was looking for. He mentioned that he had JUST listed another, and so he called the seller and we took a look at it. It was a GREAT rental, and exactly what we were looking for, and we immediately made an offer on it. After a little "back & forth", we got the property at an acceptable price, and we just closed escrow. Terry is the most "hands-on" agent we have ever worked with. NOTHING happens with his clients' contracts that he doesn't personally review, and that's the way we like it! Under control!

Just during the escrow, prices have probably risen $5-$10 thousand. On top of that, we got THOUSANDS back with Terry's Cash-Back program.  All in all, a GREAT buy for us (and good for the seller, too!).

Also, Terry converted his virtual tour for selling the property into a virtual tour for us to rent the property, letting renters see the property without hassling us to show it to them until AFTER they already know they want it. He did the same thing with his 'for sale' flyers… INSTANT for-rent marketing for us, at NO COST!

Terry uses 'high-tech' to the max. This provides an instant action response to questions or anything that comes up, and keeps us up-to-the-minute on our purchase (like most everybody, a major purchase for us). The old way of meeting after meeting is SUCH a waste of time, and we are busy people. We appreciate getting things done immediately, and getting them done right - both are the norm with Terry!

We asked Terry for some of his cards for our friends. We like him AND his 'well-oiled' team. Makes buying real estate a pleasure again!!

DD & SD, Foothill Ranch LANDLORDS!!

Greetings Pastor,

God used our Real Estate Agent to bless us with a new home. The home closed yesterday and I will be moving into the property on Saturday after the new paint dries.

I have mentioned to him you are also interested in purchasing.

I would like him to make you a mini website of all the available properties in South Orange County. His program is awesome. Terry will give you back 1% of his commission after close. You will not have to lift a finger, just pick a property and watch Jesus use him throughout the whole process and give you money back after completion. He reviews and approves every document before having you sign. Very Proficient. He will even put in his own money to meet the closing of escrow. It was a risk free purchase for us. God spoke our property into our hands. Praise the Lord!

Let me know how you would like to proceed. I have not disclosed your email or your phone number. But he would at least like to speak with you before making you the mini website of available properties. Most of them have virtual tours and up to the minute in availability. Be as specific with him as possible to narrow your search. The website updates a couple of times throughout the day sending you email notifications and you can save preferred properties to a folder within the mini website.

You can make your own website at his site www.surfmls.com but it is not as thorough as the website he makes for you after a 2 minute phone call.

He is anticipating a call from you 949-278-1595. You will not be disappointed, very punctual, very thorough, doesn't miss a beat, negotiates all pricing to get you best escrow and costs. He always returns calls and communicates well.

His site alone will be worth the phone call. Getting a Cash-Back on the purchase was a wise decision on our part. God really blessed us, many thanks to Terry.

God Bless,
Eric

After 2 years of looking at the daily MLS updates from Terry's website, we contacted him when we were ready to buy. The looking process, because of our long exposure to the market through Terry's website, and because of Terry's approach to getting us the data immediately, then deciding ourselves what we wanted to see (after doing a drive-by on the properties) was quick & "painless". We narrowed it down to half a dozen homes, and saw them all in a couple of hours.

By the time we were ready to make our formal offer (a few days later), Terry had already been sending the agent for the sellers all the "bad news" he could find in the newspapers about property prices. Terry has bought on his own account for years, and he is willing to make lower offers in a soft market. His attitude is that of an investor, not a salesman… if there is NOT a better offer available to sellers, then his offer MUST be the best one… in any case, he enthusiastically handled our low offers. As a result, we had the opportunity to negotiate a low price, and Terry was more than up to the task. He got us a TERRIFIC buy, $45,000 less than a less-upgraded (otherwise identical) home had just closed for earlier in the month (with Terry's Buyer Cash-Back, that made us $50,000 under the market! The seller's agent was absolutely CERTAIN that the sellers would refuse our offer, and SAID so! We made a final adjustment that gave some power to the seller to protect our price, and they DID accept our offer, after all. We ended up with the LOW price that the seller's agent said was impossible!

Terry also handled the loan for us. He is affiliated with one of the major lenders in the nation, and has access to their automated system. With that system, we got an INSTANT loan approval. Since he had personal control over a lot of the loan processing, when the Thanksgiving holidays threatened to delay our closing, he again brought his experience to bear, and got our docs in time. He even handled our signing of the loan docs personally, since the escrow company wasn't able to reschedule it after the delay (Terry had been a Notary Public for years, so knew his way around that process, too.) As a normal precaution against "surprises in escrow", Terry also routinely has the lender email him a complete copy of the loan docs (65 pages per loan) ahead of time, to be SURE there are no surprises or snags in escrow. It wasn't necessary in this case, but Terry could have handled the signing well after business hours, too, since he had everything sent to the escrow, and knew how to take care of it all.

All of the foregoing is nice, but the REAL DEAL is that Terry watched out for us the whole way, just as though it were his own purchase. He clearly has the experience and the desire, too, to make CERTAIN that everything goes the way it's planned. He also has policies & procedures (like adding protective clauses to the escrow instructions for our protection) that seem a little strange to escrow officers accustomed to agents "dropping deals at their doorstep", then calling the escrow at close to see if their commission check is ready yet. Stranger yet to most of them is his INSISTENCE that EVERY document that we were to sign, and every cost projection/billing of us FIRST went through his rigorous inspection before WE even saw it. By the time we saw the docs, it was AFTER Terry had already attached a note saying that he had looked the document over, and it was OK to sign. (As a law student just beginning my legal studies, it is clear to me that Terry really DOES understand his fiduciary duties to us as CLIENTS, and did NOT treat us as casual sales customers, but as principals to whom he owes fiduciary duties. It was a pleasure for me to see in actual action what I have been studying about (fiduciary duties). Despite the highly competitive and sometimes loose real estate industry, Terry strictly adheres to those duties.) My wife is a statistician, and so precision and adherence to plan is important to us both, and Terry is a MASTER of it! (Terry was referred to us by one of our friends, a computer scientist who, like us, has high expectations. We figured that if Terry had satisfied our friend, he would satisfy us, too! We were RIGHT!)

Well, the deal closed yesterday, just as smoothly as it started. Terry is a little bit like a duck on the lake… smoothly & serenely moving towards the opposite shore (while paddling furiously underwater to make it all seem simple). It all came together on time, and as planned, with absolutely NO surprises. We'd do it again tomorrow… and, whether we do it tomorrow or not, will make SURE (just like our friend did for us) that OUR friends have Terry at their side when THEY buy or sell real estate!

Pleased owners of our new Irvine home, JL,AL, & WL

Jim & Dawn, Aliso Viejo, CA

As an executive in the home loan business, and having bought and sold a number of homes in the past, the LAST thing we needed was a “salesman”. However, we DID need someone with knowledge of the local market, and someone who could help us move fast enough to get a good buy in this extreme “seller’s market”.

We found BOTH in Terry, who used advanced technology to deliver the newest of new listings to our doorstep (actually to our email inbox!) EVERY day. On top of that, he was organized to be able to immediately show us properties of interest, before the competition of other buyers nosing around. Terry knew how to get us what we wanted, without intruding into our busy lives, or wasting any of our time.

We bought one of the first few homes we viewed, because we were only looking at homes of interest to us. My company’s head appraiser tells us that we probably got our new home for $100,000 less than the actual value. Although it didn’t have a pool, we are in the process of installing one that appeals to us, so we will have a brand new pool & spa, custom-done to our taste.

Working with Terry was a pleasant experience because he anticipated what we wanted, and instantly understood us and our desires. The “frosting on the cake” was his Cash-Back Rebate! We didn’t have to negotiate for the Cash- Back Rebate, as it is an automatic part of the excellent service that Terry provides.

So, if you’re looking for a home, especially one in the million-dollar range, give Terry a call. Ask him about getting a loan, too, because he has another leading-edge technology in his association with Loanworks, a company that can give you approval in 15 minutes or less. You will like the WHOLE package!

New Homeowners in Irvine's Northpark

"Calling Terry's service "Magic" by paraphrasing author Arthur Clarke may be overstating the case a bit, but working with Terry certainly was smooth, efficient & convenient.

We used Terry's "self-serve" process to find our home without wasting time being driven all over by a Realtor, and without any sales pressure.

His website updated us every day with every property in the MLS that met our criteria, and we also found out about his own new listings within hours (before the competition of other brokers and the newspaper ads).

After we got the information on properties that interested us, we drove the neighborhoods to check them out, and then Terry made appointments for the ones WE wanted to see with no pressure or sales nonsense. We found a GOOD one, and Terry negotiated a price about $20,000 less than recent sales of similar units! On top of that, our costs were largely covered by his 1% Cash-Back Rebate ($3,700 in our pockets!!).

Terry was also our lender, and since we are not US citizens, it was a good thing that we had him!! Because he is an associate with a "top 100" bank with an automated, 15 minute approval process, we were able to "work out the kinks" associated with our non-citizen status UP-FRONT. Our loan pre-approval was complete & detailed, and instantly accepted by the other agent & the seller. The whole transaction closed in 26 days, just like Terry promised, and we didn't even have to go into escrow to sign loan documents (they were brought to our home!).

As we are writing this, it still seems a little bit like a dream. We got a very nice home, got it $20,000 under similar sales, received thousands in rebates, and closed in 26 days. It's hard for us to understand the complaints of our friends who endured terrible hassles from their agents and lenders in buying their homes, when ours was so uneventful. I guess some people do have headaches getting their new homes, but if they worked with Terry, they wouldn't !!"

Ms. Eloise Figueroa, Seller, Buyer, & Refinancing Owner

"Little did I know that when I answered the ad with the guaranteed $300 savings and 15-minute loan approval that Terry Hunter (broker for Hunter-Broker) would become my "Realtor For Life", too. All in all, he now has refinanced my property for me, sold my home, represented me in the purchase of my beautiful new home, and arranged the purchase loan on my new home, too! Throughout each transaction, I got the best service I have ever gotten from ANY business I've EVER dealt with. Terry is easy to reach by phone, fax & email (single number - cell phone - don't know if he ever takes time off!). Better yet, he kept ME up to date and tuned in to our strategy, WITHOUT my having to call him!

I would have PAID extra for the top-notch service & seasoned experience I got, but instead I SAVED THOUSANDS! The savings started with about half off on the commission for the sale of my old home, then Terry's  Rebate on my new home. Then I saved hundreds on the financing and then I got the best interest rate available anywhere.

Terry knows how to plan a strategy, then ferociously work the strategy with his seasoned team until it produces the planned results. His smarts, hard work, & total honesty have not only made Terry my "Realtor for Life" - they have allowed me to recommend him to my friends, too. This is NOT something I do lightly, but I enthusiastically recommend him to everyone (even my BOSS!). He's the greatest, and I wouldn't THINK of doing a real estate transaction or loan without him!"

Bryan & Cecilia Do, Network Engineer & Auditor (Buyers 1343 Garten, Placentia)

"My wife and I recently purchased our first home and I must say that despite all the intricacies of real estate transaction our agent Mr. Terry Hunter has made home buying experience very rewarding and the process seamless. When we decided to purchase the property, we were looking for an agent with integrity, dedicated, industry veteran, professional, knowledgeable, and most importantly an agent that to looking out for our best interest. We found all the attributes in Mr. Hunter. At first were a little wary about having Mr. Hunter, a Listing Agent, represent the seller and ourselves as a buyer, but after talking to him we felt comfortable and confident to have Mr. Hunter representing us on the transaction We also utilized Mr. Hunter Mortgage Loan Service to help us obtain financing for the purchase. Hunter-Broker is truly a One-Stop shopping for all our Real Estate need.

In addition, we took advantage of Mr. Hunter Buyer Instant 1% Rebate program to help us offset with the extra cash requires for the Closing Costs. I highly recommended to all potential buyers to take advantage of this rebate program, because I have not seen any real estate companies or agents that offering this type of program.

We are delighted to tell you that we are happy with our purchase, and we definitely will utilize Hunter-Broker service in our future Real Estate need. I highly recommend Hunter-Broker to anyone who’s interested in selling or buying. Hunter-Broker 3.5% commission fee for seller and Instant 1% Buyer Rebate is a WIN-WIN proposition for both Seller and Buyer. Give him the opportunity and you will see what I mean!"

Don Graham, Professional Engineer (Buyer 5312 Seashore, Newport Beach Beachhouse Duplex)

"We first decided to try Terry Hunter because of his rebate program. Good Move! THAT, alone, was worth thousands in SAVINGS in our pocket - a GREAT start! Then, despite the seller's resolve to stick to his price, Terry devised a negotiating strategy that resulted in ANOTHER $30,000 savings off the price. And, to top it off, we saved yet ANOTHER $25,000 in taxes! The seller had originally refused to close escrow in time to allow our 1031 tax-deferred exchange, but Terry was able to structure the purchase to satisfy the seller, while getting us what we needed, too.

Terry took care of dealing with the tenants (who had to vacate for "tenting" the duplex for termites) through the other agent, as well as managing the escrow, the loan officer, and the complexities of making sure the engineered repairs to the beachhouse were done as specified. His background as a custom home builder, giving him experience working with subcontractors, sure came in handy there! It took hours of negotiations to get the work done according to the engineered plans (and to keep the subcontractor from quitting in the middle of it), but in the end it was done just right.

Terry REALLY had his hands full with this purchase! Although we had picked a major savings & loan for our financing, they had a change in personnel, re-reviewed our file, and insisted on changes to the property, all just before our scheduled closing. When we refused, they backed out at the last minute, leaving our large purchase profit, our $25,000 earnest money deposit, and our 1031 exchange tax savings hanging in the balance. The seller, meanwhile, seeing prices rise and failing to get his own tax-deferred exchange, had decided he didn't want to sell to us after all. He even sent letters to the escrow and had his agent notify us in writing that he would not extend even 1 hour beyond the closing date, even though he knew all about the lender's last-minute pullout! Too bad about our losses was his attitude! Well, we "shifted into high gear"! Through our joint efforts we had TWO approved loans in time to close on schedule. One HOUR late, and it would have been all over -- But we made it!The last-minute lender and seller problems were stressful when we were going through them, but it was all actually kind of exciting. Given the profitable outcome and the pleasure of living in my Newport beachhouse (almost "on the sand"), I would do it all again. However, from now on forever, I KNOW that I want to have Terry on my side again. When complications arose, having a "Pro" looking out for us made ALL the difference! Highly recommended!!"

Jonathan Mendiola, Investment Analyst (Buyer: 99 Briar Glen, Irvine)

"We saw every home in my price range in Irvine! There was already an offer & counter-offer on the home I really wanted. Terry used the money from the "Instant Rebate" plan to give the Sellers the net dollar that they wanted, right on the spot. I got the home I wanted because Terry IS the broker for his company. So, he could negotiate with the Sellers without getting a manager or broker's permission (and most companies probably wouldn't allow a commission rebate anyway). Terry's system works!"

Brandon Slezak, Chief Information Officer, ER Quick Corporation (Buyer 16501 Bordeaux, Huntington Beach)

"Terry Hunter helped me tremendously in bringing my dream of owning a home to reality. He not only helped me find the perfect home, but he was informative and helpful throughout every step of the home buying process. (Saved me a LOT of money on my loan too!)

He worked very hard before, during, and after the sale was complete, and he was always easy to contact. He really helped fuel the fire to complete the home buying process, and to get me exactly what I wanted. Thanks so much Terry!!

PS: I've already referred you to my brother and his wife, who are buying a home, too. PPS: LOVE your rebate program!"

Terry,

Thank you once again and a thousand times more for helping us purchase our home. You have been wonderful. I have attached a letter for you to post with your testimonials. We wish you happy holidays.

Take care,

Amber Larinto
(Attached Letter)

I am writing this to letter to make sure that everyone who reads it knows what an amazing broker Terry Hunter is. My husband and I just purchased our very first home. Without Terry's help it wouldn't have been possible. He not only represented us, he also represented the seller. This enabled him to choreograph every last detail of the transaction flawlessly. We attended an open house on a Sunday, we were pre-approved through his lender on Monday, and by Tuesday Terry helped us to put in an offer that the seller accepted within one hour. There was no waiting around for days to find out if we would be able to buy the house and escrow closed in 21 days. WOW! None of our family members can believe that we bought a house with so little effort. Terry did all the work for us. Even though I loved the house at first sight, I was even more impressed with Terry at the open house. He was the epitome of professionalism without any of the pushiness that usually is associated with realtors. We had seen homes that we really liked before but had been unhappy with the "slick used-car salesman in realtor's clothing" that we encountered along the way. You know the type. The ones that are willing to sell you anything even if you can't afford it or don't even like it just to line their own pockets. Terry is not like those realtors. You can tell that he really cares for the seller and the buyer of every property that he represents. He was in touch with us and on top of every detail every step of the way. Not only is Terry wonderful, but every person we dealt with through him, for escrow, lending, and inspections, were excellent and professional as well. My husband and I have been married for 13 years, we have an 11-year-old daughter and we have been living in an apartment for the past 10 years while we were saving for a home of our own. It is hard to believe that just under a month ago we were ready to give up and continue renting for at least another year before attempting to buy a house. Then we met Terry and he helped us purchase the home of our dreams. By using him as our broker and going through his lender we were able to get up to 1% cash back, which really helped at closing. I cannot express in words how appreciative we are for all his help. Now instead of spending Christmas in a cramped apartment where we didn't even have room for a tree, we will be celebrating in our beautiful new home. Our plan is to stay in this home forever but if we ever decided to relocate Terry would be the first person we would contact to sell our home and help us to find a new one. It's a no-brainer.


John and Amber Larinto
Huntington Beach, CA

George Chen, PhD & Li Chen, Computer Analysts (Buyers 28 Avanzare, Irvine)

"We found Hunter-Broker while we were looking for a home on the Internet. We noticed their Internet Open House photographs for a home on Paseo Westpark in Irvine. Although we didn't buy that particular home, Terry worked quickly and efficiently to find us the perfect one. (Even the address on our new home is just right!) Then we proceeded to close the escrow smoothly and according to plan.

We couldn't believe the expert personal service Terry gave us. He understood all our concerns, and anticipated our needs before we even realized them. It is a pleasure to work with a seasoned expert, especially one that pays attention to every detail!

Hunter-Broker REBATED us several thousand dollars (and it wasn't even their listing - Terry said we would get the rebate on ANY home in the MLS, and we got it in escrow, just like he promised). This was in addition to the below-market purchase (several thousand less than prior sales) he negotiated for us. His experience really made a difference to our bottom line! We are totally pleased, and would recommend Hunter-Broker to anyone buying a home."

Sandra Yang & Eric Wang, Senior Computer Analysts (Buyers: 2927 Player Lane, Tustin )

"We worked with Hunter-Broker to buy an investment property because Hunter-Broker was the listing agent for the property we wanted. We did not have our own agent, so the managing broker of Hunter-Broker (Terry Hunter) was the agent for both the seller and us.

Although we were not sure how having the same agent for both of us would work out, we were very, very pleased with the process and outcome. We purchased the property well below replacement cost. Although the sellers were clearly disappointed in the price, they agreed because they had already committed to buying a replacement property in a different area.

Terry handled this situation very well! Throughout the entire transaction we found him to be thorough, fair, honest and polite, and he had a good sense of humor. Also, his mobile phone made it possible to contact him day and night. He did a GREAT job of keeping us up-to-date!

Our smooth, "no hassle" transaction closed right on time, and exactly as planned. We saved several thousand dollars because Terry had presented our proposal in the very best light possible, and because he had only charged the seller his standard reduced commission, rather than the usual 6%! We also received Hunter-Broker's "BUYER INSTANT REBATE" OF SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS!  The sellers saved, we saved, and Hunter-Broker has an enthusiastic endorsement from the sellers and from us to all our friends and family! Terry will DEFINITELY be our broker again with the next property we buy or sell!"

Gary & Sue Higgins (Buyers 33272 Ocean Bright, Dana Point)

"Terry Hunter is a real PRO! We met Terry at an open house. We loved the property; he negotiated the transaction; and closed the escrow in less than 15 days. Terry made this possible by hand-carrying documents and making sure that everyone who had a part to play in our quick close was moving at at "warp speed". This was very important to us as we needed to have a rapid closing in order to be able to move in within 30 days.

PLUS, we saved thousands of dollars with his "Buyer Instant Rebate", since he was the only broker involved, which also made for a VERY smooth transaction.

He was right about values in the neighborhood; by the time we closed escrow, similar-sized units were on the market for $20,000 more than we paid.

Despite the rebate he gave us and the low commission he charged the seller, Terry provided us with terrific extra-ordinary service. We are impressed and pleased and we happily recommend Terry to ALL our friends. PS: We LOVE our new townhome!"

David & Quianwei Li (Buyers 12 Del Carlo, Irvine)

"Terry worked with us for weeks to find the perfect home for us. When he found it, he was told that it was already sold. He kept checking, however, and found that it really WASN'T sold! He quickly wrote it up for us, then negotiated $10,000 off an already reasonable price, and then he REBATED us thousands more. What a way to turn a good buy into a GREAT buy!

During the transaction, he found us painters, electricians, and a carpet cleaner to handle the minor upgrades, repairs and cleaning. He also told us what to look out for when dealing with the trades people. Terry definitely has the intelligence and experience to make the tactical decisions necessary to negotiate a GREAT deal. He is a "self-starter" who can be depended upon to "do what it takes" to maximize the benefits for his client.

We are recommending him to ALL our friends!"

Tom Showalter,Principal Credit Sharpie.com (Buyer 36 Stanford Ct., University Town Center, Irvine)

"We met Terry and found the property we wanted all at the same time. We met at an open house, and we worked directly with Terry to successfully and quickly close escrow on the property. My partner and I were busy with our own business start-up, and so we REALLY appreciated Terry's "take-charge" approach. He took care of all the details, right down to having a locksmith provide us with new locks and keys.

We really bought the property on "auto-pilot" because of the time demands of our own business, and we are VERY pleased with the outcome. Terry was also right about the value - prices have ALREADY jumped in the neighborhood! And, we got Terry's Instant Buyer Rebate on top of that! We got the REBATE in escrow, and we were able to use it toward our costs and downpayment.

All in all, it was a relaxed as well as a profitable transaction for us. Terry buffered us from any stress, anticipated our needs, took care of the paperwork, and gave us first-class treatment all the way! Wish all our business dealings were as smooth!"

Melanie - Mission Viejo, CA

I was searching for a condo and trying to sell my own home. So many realtors/brokers charge 6% and that was just not going to work for me. I needed some cash back from the sale of my home in order to buy the condo. And a 6% fee would take most of my equity. I also was recently widowed left to handle this on my own. That's when I met Terry Hunter. I wanted to view a condo and it was Terry who was selling it. On our first meeting I new he was a man of integrity. He wasn't pushy, and he was honest. He not only agreed to sell my home for a reduced fee; but also guaranteed me that if I used his services to buy a condo he would give me thousands in cash back, which I could also put towards the purchase of my condo. It all sounded too good to be true, but there was something about Terry that I trusted.  My home sold in a week. After viewing several properties, Terry learned my taste and needs and found me a lovely home in Mission Viejo. During the two escrows closing, Terry kept me up to the minute with where we were and what was needed. I can say that I highly recommend Terry Hunter and the services he provides; and I will definitely ask for his help in the future. It's truly comforting to know that there are people still in the world who aren't just out for themselves, take pride in their job and who are willing to help others.

Thanks again Terry for a job well done! I love my new home and couldn't be happier.

Eloise F & Ricardo F

I said in an earlier letter of appreciation that I would not do a real estate deal without Terrry (after my previous experience with Terry through 2 sales, 2 purchases, and a number of loans). Well, I just bought my new home & turned my former home into my FIRST RENTAL (Yippee!!). Terry's team handled it for me, and it went even better than my previous ones! He is ALWAYS available, and that's critical in this active Seller's Market, when you have to move quick for the great deals! I have TOTAL confidence in Terry, and the complexity of the negotiations (and my great price) is proof again that my confidence is well-placed! And, of course, I got my  Buyer Cash Back Rebate, too, which saved me THOUSANDS!

I am NOT finished, and Terry & I will buy or sell again in the next few months. I say it again! I would not do a Real Estate deal without Terry! YOU shouldn't either!! (In case you can't tell, I am THRILLED & EXCITED with my new home!!)

CN & GN, New Homeowners in Portola Hills

When we decided it was time to buy our first home, we decided it would be a good idea to get "pre-approval" so we would not waste our time looking at homes we could not qualify for. We went to our credit union, but they did not do pre-approvals. They suggested that there were lots of pre-approval sites on the internet, so we began our search. Terry's "15 minute Approval" caught our eye, so we sat down and filled out the pre-approval application. As this was rather late in the evening, Terry called us the next day to let us know we were approved.

We used Terry's automatic daily updates by email to see ALL the homes on the market that matched our criteria - GREAT convenience! Then we cruised the neighborhoods to eliminate the ones that didn't appeal to us, and Terry showed us the homes that did. We found a terrific home in Portola Hills, saw it early in the evening, & wrote up an offer on it about 8 PM. Terry hand-carried the offer to the listing broker and discussed it with them at 10 PM, because we had made a Zero-Down offer on the home, and also because the sellers had wanted to sell ONLY after they had found a replacement home (which they hadn't), and we didn't want to agree to THAT (because we wouldn't have known if we had a real deal or not)!

Terry partially overcame the skepticism of the listing broker about the Zero-Down offer, and also went over what he had put in our offer to provide the seller the "breathing-room" they needed to feel safe about selling BEFORE they had an agreement on their new home. The KEY to our successful agreement came at MIDNIGHT, though! Our pre-approval was for less money than the home we found, so Terry had more work to do.

During Terry's meeting with the listing broker, he promised to provide them with our Full-Credit Loan Pre-Approval. Terry was also our LENDER!! So, he went back to his office, and by MIDNIGHT he had re-qualified us for the new amount, and emailed them our Pre-Approval. That was the turning-point. The listing agent presented our offer to the seller the next morning, the sellers ACCEPTED it, and the rest, as they say, is history! And we couldn't be happier!

Throughout the entire buying process, Terry's email after email after email kept us right up-to-date on our search. Likewise for our escrow & our loan. He is easy to reach because of his mobile phone/fax/email, but the good news is that we didn't have to reach him, because he kept US constantly informed.

Our purchase has just closed (right on time, after Terry was able to modify our loan to extend our escrow to meet the needs of the seller in their new purchase). Terry negotiated even a better deal for us on our loan than we had approved, so our closing was even better than we expected. So, in a matter of a few weeks we found our home, bought it, financed it, and closed it. We did it with nothing down and got Terry's 1% Cash-Back Rebate through escrow. What a way to buy a home!! We recommend Terry to EVERYBODY!

PS: Terry asked the listing agent after our escrow closed what changed her mind about our Zero-Down offer (which she was initially very skeptical of). She said that it was clear that he (Terry) "knew what he was talking about" as the lender, and that he had clearly had prior success doing just what he promised to do on her listing. Otherwise, they NEVER would have accepted our Zero-Down offer!

Experience, technology, and Terry's "midnight loan pre-approval" capability as an associate of a major bank with 24-hour automated pre-approval won the day for us!