July 2020 | Page 70

S P E C I A L P R O M O T I O N S PROFESSIONAL Excellence | REAL ESTATE Dos and Don’ts for First-Time Homebuyers The Dos OF FINANCIAL PREP “Check your credit score and learn how it affects financing.” — Arthur Chapman of William Raveis, raveis.com “Price shop your mortgage for the best rate and fee structure.” — Michael Russo of RI Real Estate Services, 401sold.com “Get pre-approved and understand monthly payments, fees, etc... Just because you qualify for a certain amount on paper may not mean that you are going to feel comfortable with the payments on the mortgage for that amount in the long run. It is no fun to be ‘house poor!’” — John Moretti of Williams and Stuart Estate, williamsandstuart.com “Once a buyer knows their borrowing limits, a couple of things will happen. They will view homes they know are within their budget and not be disappointed afterwards to learn that the home they fell in love with is outside of their budget and/or lending limit.” — Elise Vetri of Keller Williams Northern RI, elisevetri.com “Understand that owning property requires monies for maintenance, and include those numbers in your budget.” — Michelle Drum of Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty, gustavewhite.com “Have your financing in place. It’s a competitive market and you want to put your best foot forward, especially if you are in a multiple offer situation.” — Kim Fleming of Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty, gustavewhite.com OF SELECTING A REALTOR “Always have a buyer’s agent. The listing agent does not work for you or care about your outcomes.” — Robert Rutley of the Blackstone Team at Mott and Chace Sotheby’s International Realty, mottandchace.com “When choosing your buyer’s agent, ask friends, family and co-workers to give you recommendations of folks who have done a great job for them in the past. This is probably one of the biggest purchases of your life, so why not meet with a few? It’s just as important to find the right fit with the person who is hired to represent you in the transaction as it is to find the right home. You want to have someone with whom you feel comfortable and trust; it is a very intimate relationship!” — John Moretti of Williams and Stuart Estate, williamsandstuart.com “First-time buyers should take the time to meet with a realtor early on in the process so that they can get proper guidance. They will have the opportunity to learn about the loan options and what the buying process looks like. This step will make the entire home-buying experience more seamless and hence enjoyable for the buyer.” — Elise Vetri of Keller Williams Northern RI, elisevetri.com “Select a realtor who knows your market of choice.” — James DeRentis of Residential Properties, Ltd, residentialproperties.com “Work with an agent who is familiar with first-time buyers. VA, FHA and local options can save you thousands of dollars!” — Edward Rayden of Residential Properties, Ltd., residentialproperties.com “Find a one season realtor to represent you. When you work with a realtor, you develop a rapport with them. This person is going to take you through possibly the largest purchase of your life. It is important to know and trust them.” — Rachel Jones, Sales Associate at Lila Delman Real Estate, liladelman.com INDIVIDUAL REAL ESTATE AGENTS REAL ESTATE AGENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 66 Steve Marsocci, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage New England, 831 Bald Hill Rd., Warwick, RI 02886, thestonealliance.com Alexander Parmenidez, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage New England, 831 Bald Hill Rd., Warwick, RI 02886, alexrealestateus.com Sandy Pellegrino, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage NE, 831 Bald Hill Rd., Warwick, RI 02886, coldwellbanker.com Jennifer Petreccia, RE/MAX Advantage Group, 652 East Ave., Warwick, RI 02886, remax.com See ad on page 67 Michael Saccoccio, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage NE, 831 Bald Hill Rd., Warwick, RI 02886, coldwellbanker.com Nick Slocum, Slocum Realty, 333 Centerville Rd., Warwick, RI 02886, nickslocumteam.com Jon Tetrault, Slocum Realty, 333 Centerville Rd., Warwick, RI 02886, slocumrealty.com MASSACHUSETTS Seekonk Jennifer Mello, The Mello Group, 23 Circle Dr., Seekonk, MA 02771, mellogroup.com 2020 PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE IN REAL ESTATE TEAM WINNERS Alba Group, HomeSmart Professionals Real Estate, homesmart.com Anytime Team, Anytime Realty, anytimerealty.com Chris Randall Group, Randall Realtors, randallrealtors.com DeMascole Rossi & Mann Associates, Residential Properties LTD, drmrealtyri.com See ad on page 67 Dina Karousos/Nicki Lucenti, Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty, dinaandnicki.com See ad on page 61 DiSpirito Team, HomeSmart Professionals Real Estate, dispiritoteam.com Erkkinen Cohen Group, Residential Properties LTD, erkkinencohen.com Fitzpatrick Team, RE/MAX Professionals, fitzpatrickteamremax.com Friedman Group, Residential Properties LTD, friedmangroupri.com Greene/Sweeney Team, Residential Properties LTD, greenesweeney.com Halladay/Scotti Team, RE/MAX Preferred, halladayscottiteam.com Joe Dias Team, Keller Williams Realty, kwrealty.com Kathy Bain Farrell Team, RE/MAX Town and Country, remax.com Leading Group, Residential Properties LTD, leadingrg.com Matt Patty Team, Keller Williams Realty, ridreamhome.com Mercurio Group, The Mercurio Group Real Estate, mercuriogroup.com Nathan Clark Team, Nathan Clark & Associates, nathanclarkteam.com Newport Living Group, Lila Delman Real Estate, newportlivinggroup.com Nick Slocum Team, Slocum Realty, nickslocumteam.com Noonan Lombardi Realtors, noonanlombardirealtors.com See ad on page 64 Premier Group, Premier Realty Group, premrg.com Sheil Realty Team, Randall Realtors, randallrealtors.com Spectrum Real Estate Consultants, Keller Williams Realty, spectrumrec.com Stearns McGee Team, RE/MAX Properties, mcgeesoldmyhouse.com Team Atlantic (Atlantic Properties), Atlantic Properties LLC, atlanticpropertiesllc.net Team Dandurand, Dandurand Real Estate, dandurandre.com The Blackstone Team, Mott & Chace Sotheby‚Äôs International Realty, mottandchace.com The Connor Dowd Realty Group, Keller Williams Realty, connordowd.com The Phipps Team, Phipps Realty, phippsrealty.com The Schilke Team, Schilke Realty, schilkerealty.com To create this list of winners, Rhode Island Monthly contracted nationally recognized DataJoe Research to facilitate a multifaceted research campaign comprised of online surveys, phone calls, and internet research. All real estate agents licensed by the state of Rhode Island were eligible. DataJoe’s proprietary scoring algorithm factored in 2019 sales and transaction volume, professional standing and peer nominations. DataJoe also surveyed over 5,000 area mortgage and title professionals and collected their feedback as an additional scoring factor. This list of Professional Excellence in Real Estate honorees represents approximately 5% of agents in Rhode Island that scored highest in the surveys. Agents do not and cannot pay to be included as part of this list. We recognize that there are many good real estate agents who are not represented on this list as it is only a sampling of the talented professionals in our area. 68 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l JULY 2020