Jeff & Grace Safrin
Perhaps you can relate to some of these stories of Real People like yourself from all walks of life & various locations ...who had goals in their life that required a change in housing....We Respect those goals and work hard to help our clients and are humbled by their faith in us and grateful for their referrals !
As a financial professional for many years, I have worked with Jeff & Grace Safrin on numerous occasions. I have always found them to be people of integrity and they have always displayed the utmost professionalism as well. I would not hesitate to recommend them to potential buyers or sellers because I have worked with them from both sides. They are excellent with follow up as well - a compliment to the REALTOR community.
Susan Toadvine
We decided that we would take a look at moving within the area and see if we were able to find a newer home. We loved the home we were in and would move only if we could find a good deal that allowed us to not spend the money required to update our 22 year old home. We had several constraints that would make the overall success of the move very difficult. Any offer we made would need to be contingent on the closing of our home, we needed to remain in the same school district, and we needed to be under contract within 5 weeks and the sale of our home and closing on a new home must be at the same time. We had many requirements of a new home including a certain kitchen style, four bedrooms, private backyard, 3 car garage, pool, etc. Basically we loved the home we were in and would move only if the stars aligned and we could find a great deal.
Jeff and Grace went to work and through their determination they aligned the stars. After diving deep into what we wanted, they took us to several homes to refine both our expectations and better understand what we considered important. We had two offers on our home within the first two weeks and this was after the housing bubble burst, where credit was tough and the number of buyer’s limited. In addition, the move included several small children and Jeff and Grace structured the contracts and entire transaction (sale of our home and purchase of the new home) to minimize the risk to our family.
If you have a complex situation with a short timeline and need a first class team that is able to apply tremendous energy to push a deal through while helping you manage the risk to you and your family, then you need the husband & wife team of Jeff and Grace Safrin.
Best Regards,
Chris & Kelly
Valparaiso, Indiana
Jeff and Grace were an absolute pleasure to work with while selling our home. We decided to use them because they had been so wonderful to work with as our buying agent only 1 year prior. Knowing that we had just bought the home we were very nervous about putting it back on the market due to the unstable economic times that we are in. Despite being concerned I was being relocated and needed to sell the home. Jeff and Grace did a great job of working with me and my family to ensure that our house was listed fast and at a competitive rate based on the market. Throughout the first several weeks we received a bit of activity, but as it slowed Jeff was very proactive to ensure that we were staying competitive with the price. Sure enough, by following Jeff’s advice we were able to sell our house on the 90th day of listing, which was remarkable!! Thank you Jeff and Grace for your attention and focus to help us not only buy our dream home, but help us to sell it just one year later!!!!!
Matt Burtch
General Manager Allen,TX
Cabela’s World’s Foremost Outfitter
We can't thank Jeff and Grace enough! We had already found the house we wanted to move to before calling them to put our house on the market. They gave us some staging suggestions to get our home ready to sell. We followed their expert advice and thanks to that, plus their excellent marketing, we had two offers in a week!
The Safrin's used their experience and expertise to help sell our home in no time. We highly recommend them to anyone looking for REALTORS that work for you and with you to make buying or selling your home a great experience.
Chris & Erin Schmidgall
Valparaiso, IN
Blogging REALTORS Do Make a difference in helping to market your property to sell...
Jeff and Grace Safrin of FC Tucker 1st Team was the best part of our home selling experience.
The use of the internet and the blogging to generate interest in the home we were selling is what decided it for us. No other realtor or realty team offered that as part of their service.
In today's market and economy we were thrilled to see a realty team go beyond the traditional way to market the house.
Communication between Jeff and Grace and us was constant. We were always in the know either via phone or email. Some days even by text!
Jeff and Grace went above and beyond when our buyer's lender started making waves at the last minute. Jeff was all over it! We were familiar with Jeff's go to attitude, but our buyer hadn't experienced his focus and determination. Our buyer was extremely grateful for his actions and advice. We are all pretty sure had it not been for his involvement our buyer's loan would have fallen through.
The old, traditional way of selling a home isn't very effective in today's market. Jeff and Grace have reached beyond the traditional to make selling your home a successful event.
We highly recommend Jeff and Grace Safrin of FC Tucker 1st Team. Rest assured working with them is the best decision you will make when choosing a realtor to market and sell your home.
Kurt and Laura Boyle
Rolling Prairie, IN
Once again we would like to thank you two for your help in finding us the perfect home that fits.. its just what we need to unwind. The other realtors just put a sign in our yard, you two on the other hand put a bill board out there for the world to see, so that we could sell our house and get the one we needed.
Just sitting on the porch...
Julie & Dennis Rys
HI Grace / Jeff,
Don't have a scanner here, so just put my testimonial below. Hope that works ok for you. You may use my name if you wish.
Have a great weekend and
"GO Saints" !!!!!
Lynn
I had my house listed with a large well known real estate agent for 6 months. The house didn’t sell and it sat empty costing me a fortune with each passing month, paying for mortgage, utilities, insurance etc. I came across Jeff and Grace Safrin’s name on a website. I talked with Jeff and decided on a short sale, based on the information I had obtained from my mortgage company. The house was listed on a Monday and by Saturday of the same week we were signing papers. A Couple of weeks later, we closed on the sale.
Jeff is extremely knowledgeable in real estate, selling, short sales and handling and dealing with all aspects of this business. He worked quickly and efficiently to get the sale closed, with liens, and several other road blocks. Jeff and his wife are very friendly and personable and a pleasure to work with. The Safrin’s know their business and I would recommend them to ANYONE looking to buy or sell a home.
No gate keeper's - What you see is what you get :)
We found out we were relocating to another state. We had our house listed with who was suppose to be the "best Realtor in Porter County". We must admit we weren't impressed with the way the house was listed or marketed. We also weren't impressed with the relationship between us and the listing agent. We felt we had to get through "the gate keeper" first just to talk to them.Well we decided to stay with the agent because after-all, the house was on the MLS. We were hoping that maybe another agent would show it and possibly sell it.
After six months and no offers our contract was over, what do we do now? We couldn't stomach extending and our time was getting short. The market was getting bad and we were told houses simply weren't moving. So we decided to rent. We had listed our house on Craigslist to rent and lo and behold we saw Jeff and Grace Safrin listings. We thought, gosh, what Realtor uses Craigslist? We immediately went to their website and were quite impressed.
The next day we called Jeff and told him our story. He was able to look up the listing from six months ago. He told us he was confident that he could sell our house if we just give him a chance. He's very knowledgeable and to the point. Well at this point what do we have to lose? Within hours, we were emailing and faxing documents to get our house listed.
We were so impressed with the listing and marketing. They go above and beyond. They use every avenue to list your home. Also when we call... we get Jeff. Hardly ever an answering machine! Well, needless to say our house sold in 2 months and we can move on with our lives.
Thanks so much Jeff and Grace. We will recommend you to everyone we know.
Jay and Shaun Phifer
We have sold several homes and this was the first time we ever felt
that the Realtors involved actually earned every dollar.
We were impressed by Jeff and Grace's 'tecno' knowledge that was heads above
anyone else we talked with for selling homes.
They had great suggestions for staging our home which we followed.
The previous Realtor was not successful in even getting a bid in 6 months but Jeff
and Grace got us one in a month even in this tough market!
The buyer ran into a few problems, but with Jeff's many contacts and knowledge of
the new lending rules he was able to plow through for a successful ending.
Jeff and Grace are very personable, knowledgeable and persistent for
their sellers.
If we ever return to the area they are the ONLY Realtors we will call.
Jerry and Cathy Baldwin
Dear Jeff and Grace -
CLOSED! In today's tough real estate arena, my property was hard to market due to many circumstances beyond my control, but you did it!
As a mortgage loan officer in the business for over 15 years, you were my choice when I needed to sell my home. Your professionalism and marketing expertise were appreciated and I will recommend your services to all of my customers. Your reputation as an expert in real estate is well deserved.
Thank you!
Debbie Grigonis
Dear Jeff and Grace,
We appreciate so much your professional expertise and diligence pertaining to selling our 2 homes totalling well over $ 1 million dollars in what some say was a slow market.
And you sold them quickly and at the "asking price", always keeping us fully informed.
It truly was a pleasure working with you.
Sincerely,
Jackie & Al Gomez
Forget "Location, location, location..." It's "MARKETING, MARKETING, MARKETING!"
We decided to relocate about 100 miles from our home in Starke County, IN. We listed our property (a home that we designed and had built, a pole barn, a large stocked pond on ten acres) with a local real estate agency, sure it would sell quickly because it seemed like a very desirable property to us. We found and made an offer on a place in our new neighborhood through an F.C. Tucker agent. We closed on our new home in early August '06, still certain the place in Starke Co. would sell soon and not leave us with two mortgage payments.
We were disappointed with the original listing, but had faith in our realtor. The listing displayed a single unflattering photograph and had a generic blurb; we would've skipped over our own beloved property if we'd been a potential buyer! Evidently others in the market felt the same way, because it sat quietly unseen for months at a time. We blamed the weather, then the holidays, then a slow market period. Even a drop in price made little difference. Things were looking grim.
After seven months of struggling with two mortgage payments, we knew something had to change. We credit nothing short of Divine intervention with leading us to the Safrin's Spouses Selling Houses. Jeff immediately inspired us with confidence in his business manner, and when he and Grace quizzed us about what we thought would be desirable marketing points and took multiple photos of the property, we felt a re-newed optimism. Upon viewing their web-site version of the listing with Grace's storybook description, we were sad to have to leave such an inviting place! We knew it would sound perfect to the kind of home-owners that would take good care of "our" house and land, too.
After only 35 days on the market with the Safrins, we found ourselves sitting in a closing office, signing sale paperwork! Jeff and Grace had more showings in two weeks than the previous agency had in over half a year, resulting in FOUR separate offers. We've never felt safer doing a major transaction with anyone. Jeff lead us fearlessly through every detail, and offered us options and ideas that might not occur to an average homeowner. We are forever grateful, as all this happened literally days before depleting our savings and retirement funds to manage dual mortgage payments. Jeff and Grace truly saved the day!
May they have many more years of helping others as they did us,
Joe and Janneane Veger
Dear Grace and Jeff,
It has been a pleasure working with both of you these past several months. Your professionalism, knowledge and unique method of marketing my home was exquisite. I can't thank you enough and would like to say that your energy and kindness through this was both refreshing and appreciated.
Sincerely,
Rachel and Jim
Buying a home can be a frightening process, even for David who has been through it all once before; but for me, a first time buyer, it was near terrifying. Going into it all blind, I had no idea what to expect. However, with the help and expertise of Jeff and Grace, they really eased my mind and alleviated some of the stress that can sometimes result from working with an unexperienced agent. We were lucky to have worked with such knowledgeable, motivated, and genuine people. They were on top of the game at all times and answered our questions even before we had thought to ask them. They went above and beyond any expectations we could have ever had in not only selling our home, but also buying our new house, bestowing the responsibility of the hunt to Linda Robison who was also extremely helpful, motivated, and above all, patient in our search.
I was very impressed with how quickly Jeff and Grace were able to sell our home, but was not surprised, considering how diligent and focused they were on getting the property on the MLS so quickly and using every marketing tool at their disposal. I personally never knew how involved it could be going from one house to another. I thought that’s all it was. You see people moving all the time, but I realize now that there is so much more to it. For everything that Jeff and Grace had done for us, I could not imagine trying to do it on our own. Even still, with all the time they put in to helping, not only us throughout the whole process, but all of their other clients as well, they were still available at a moments notice, always called back, always on time, and were genuinely concerned in our lives and making sure that, above all, we were informed and happy with all decisions we had to make. I really cannot begin to express our gratitude for all of the time and effort they put into making our transition a pleasant one and for not just being our agents, but also our friends as the weeks progressed. For that we thank you!!
Melissa Fiscus and David Bank, Jr.
After 2 realtors and a stint trying a creative FSBO, I met with Jeff and Grace Safrin . My house was 6+ months on the market with not one offer. This was a market priced home built in 2001. No reason to be sitting this long, right? Well, it only took me a week after signing on with Jeff and Grace to learn that when they said my home needed to be marketed, they weren't kidding! In four weeks my home was flooded onto multiple websites, mailers and local media were employed (makes me wonder what the other two realtors were doing) and we were getting steady showings. a month later we got a solid offer and closed the deal with 4 weeks. All in all: 96 days from hello Jeff and Grace to my second mortgage burden being gone!
Thanks Jeff and Thanks Grace for all your hard work and caring. I know it made a difference for us!
John and Kathie Young
We really appreciate the hard work that Jeff and Grace Safrin did with selling our home on 2849 Eleanor Street in Portage, Indiana. We previously listed our home and had a difficult time trying to sell it. Through their marketing efforts we were able to sell the home in a short amount of time and actually had THREE SOLID OFFERS IN ONE DAY. We are pleased to not only call them our Realtors, but also our friends. Thank you, Jeff and Grace.
Brent and Angela Fielder
Porter, Indiana
Jeff, Grace and Linda,
Thank you Thank you Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
Being a single woman who has tried hard for the last 8 years to try and stay afloat is now a home owner again. This a dream that I did not think would ever come again on my own. Linda was very understanding to what my needs were and did not give up looking for a home in the price range I could afford. The choices were not many, and I knew that I would have to "settle" for what was out there, and possibly have to put some elbow grease into a house to make it a home for me and my 2 sons. Well Linda, with Jeff's approval found me a house to look at. It was a nice house, but needed a lot of work. I made a bid anyway and was excited that I found something the same day we started looking. Well, I got beat out of the house and we had to start all over again. There was nothing else out there at the time. Jeff and Grace new I was upset and started calling people in Salt Creek Commons that they had sold houses to in the past to see if they or anyone they knew might be interested in selling their home. Well they found a couple that were willing, and I looked at, made an offer, and it got it accepted all in the same day. WOW.....Things moved quickly after that and 30 days later I was in MY new home. God works in funny ways. The house I bought is 2 houses down from the one I originally put a bid on, and needed NO work to be able to move in.
Being an ex realtor, I know the hard work and dedication it takes to find the right home for the people you are helping. Jeff, Grace and Linda, you all went over and beyond what I ever expected to have happen. When I tell my family and friends how I got the home I'm in, they are all amazed at what you all did.
I will be forever grateful to all of you for what you did for me.
In Gods Love
Julie Greenfield
To whom it may concern:
I'd like to commend Jeff and Grace Safrin for their outstanding professionalism concerning the purchase of my condominium.
As a local business owner and employee of Valparaiso University, I had very little time to assist in the search process for my condo. Jeff and Grace were able
to locate an ideal home on the same day of first contact. The price and location was exactly what I was seeking.
Thanks to the great work of the Safrin's, the purchase was finalized in just two weeks. I was moved in less
than a month later.
The process could not have gone any smoother. I've already recommended Jeff and Grace to many of my
friends and associates.
Sincerely,
Todd Ickow
Owner of BuffaLouie's Restaurants
Jeff & Grace Safrin
I just wanted to send you a letter thanking you for making the purchase of my first home such a great experience. It was a very intimidating process and a huge step for me, but you both were so helpful and patient that it took away all my fears. You took the time to answer all my questions and explain the entire home buying experience step by step. I especially loved the letter Grace wrote me with the contact numbers and things to bring to the closing. Your services went above and beyond what I expected.
Jennifer Scheidel
Manager - Starbucks
Elaine and Eugene
Rolling Prairie, Indiana
This is our story — long but has a sweet ending. Eugene and I had a dream — to buy my mother’s house (100 year old farm house) and fix it up. We had a nice two story house that we had built but were ready for a challenge.
We first tried to sell the house “by owners” but all we got were “lookers”. We then proceeded to list with a variety of realtors. We never got any positive or negative feed back. Our house was on the market for about three years when we found Grace and JeffSafrin. They had mailed us information continuously throughout the years but we kept
with the “local” guys.
Eugene works weird shifts and I am a traveling nurse with even weirder shifts. It is sometimes hard for anyone to reach us but they kept trying. Grace and Jeff said that they would “take us on” and said that they market “differently”. We were desperate so we signed. Now, a note of interest — over the last three years — we had never had an offer —
NOT ONE!!! We had probably showed our house at least a hundred times and that is no exaggeration!
Well, as the story goes — it ends happily! We had an offer and accepted it fourteen days alter signing with Grace and Jeff. They worked through all our questions and even our unique scheduling from signing on with Grace and Jeff to signing off on our house
they were with us all the way.
Three years long but as J said — a sweet ending. We are now living in the old farm house and enjoying every minute of it.
Thank you Jeff and Grace
Elaine
To whom it may concern,
My name is Ryan Miller I am a police officer with the Valparaiso, IN Police Department. I just recently sold my condo in Valparaiso and purchased a new home. I used Jeff Safrin as my realtor. I was very pleased with the services that Jeff did for me. He sold my condo very fast and found me a new home that I am very happy with, Jeff had all the information that I needed for selling and buying my new home. I highly recommend Jeff as a realtor and would use him again when I am ready to sell this house to upgrade. Jeff was easy to get a hold of and spent a lot of time searching for our new home. Through the process Jeff and I have become very good friends. He has a great personality. He is very easy to get along with. I know that he has helped several officers that I work with purchase and sell their homes. I know that Jeff will work with anyone to help him or her out whether it is selling their home or purchasing one, no matter what price range they are looking in. Jeff knew that I wanted to be able to get in a house that I could afford with out struggling on making the payment and he never tried to get me to look at houses outside of my range.
Thank you for your time and I hope that by me writing this letter everyone who reads it knows how much I appreciate the help and assistance that Jeff Safrin provided me with.
Thank you,
Ryan Miller
FC Tucker
Broker/Owner
Dear Sir/Madame:
We met Jeff and Grace Safrin after 3 years of trying to sell our home in Crown Point. We honestly had given up on anyone actually closing a sale so, at that time we had nothing to lose and signed with Jeff and Grace. We immediately saw in them a professional yet relaxed way about them that made us feel comfortable and confident in the way they did business.
Jeff is very goal-oriented and upbeat. His enthusiasm and offbeat sense of humor is contagious and we hit it off right from the start. Jeff and Grace refused to buy into our defeatist attitude about selling our house and for the first time in a long time we felt like maybe these folks were the answer to our prayers. And, they were. Our home finally sold.
It was time to look for a new home. Of course, we wanted Jeff and Grace to find our new home for us. They listened to our needs very carefully and found us the perfect home. Believe me we ran them through the ringer. We weren’t as aware of what we wanted as Jeff and Grace. We made some questionable choices on our own and Jeff was extremely careful and ethical to help thread our way through the real estate maze. Grace was very intuitive about reading our body language as we walked through the different homes we were interested in.
When Michael lost his job in January and accepted another job in Kansas, Grace and Jeff were the first people we called. If it was possible we would have had them find our new home in Kansas as well. Once again, our home sold. Not only did it sell within 30 days, but we had 2 offers on the same day!
Jeff and Grace are without a doubt the best real estate agents we have ever had the absolute pleasure of knowing and working with. We could go on and on about what they have done for us and what they mean to us. As a matter of fact, Michael has handed out their business cards to complete strangers letting them know that if they want to sell their home and have a great experience doing it, to contact Jeff and Grace Safrin.
We could go on and on with more detail on how the Safrin’s have touched our lives but it would take many pages to do so. In closing we want you to know that you have a team of the most professional, ethical, and talented agents in Northwest Indiana. If we ever need any real estate advice in the future we will call Jeff and Grace.
Sincerely,
Michael and Debbie Mitchell
2501 Inverness Drive
Valparaiso, IN 46383
F.C. Tucker
Jeff & Grace Safrin
Dear Jeff & Grace,
What a great team you are!
We were very unhappy with our present agent. After having him for 1 year, we decided to look for another realtor. Fortunately, we found you. Our first meeting, we discussed everything we had disliked about our first listing agent and the problems we had. You told us that we did not have to worry and that you would handle things differently. We believed you, and signed a contract on Jan. 22, 2006. You both did everything you said you would. Showings, the results, your thoughts and ideas on every issue concerning our home were discussed with us as needed. Much to our surprise, we accepted an offer from a buyer, and closed on the house two weeks later.
This letter is to thank you for the excellent job of selling our home in such a short time frame. We were both very unhappy with our previous experiences with realtors in Indiana, You both turned our feelings around and made us realize that all the agents out here were not totally irresponsible, and unscrupulous. We enjoyed working with both of you. We now believe that the two of you are the most ethical, honest and talented agents that are available in Northwest Indiana. From now on, we can honestly refer our family and friends to the best agents in Indiana. Thanks again, we appreciate all your hard work.
Sincerely,
Dan and Diana Strezo
Wheatfield, IN
Dear Jeff & Grace,
It's taken me a while, I know!! But I did not forget and I do want the two of you to know how fabulous you are!
I am a single young woman who works long hours. This was my first home bought and first home sold at 207 Parkwood Drive, Valparaiso, IN. When I decided to sell my house I did not know what to expect. From the first day I talked to you I had not a worry in the world about selling my house. After the first time I met the two of you, when you came to take pictures of the house, I felt like I’d known you for years. The minute it was in your hands you treated me and my house like it was your top priority to get sold! Not only that, you are fun, kind, joyful and hardworking people that I really enjoyed working with. Your conduct of honesty and loyalty are a wonderful attribute in your business! And I apologize and thank you at the same time for those times I forgot to unlock the screen door!!
Thank you for all of your hard work and continuing friendship!
Warm regards and best wishes,
Heather Jaroszewski
Jeff and Grace Safrin helped me out tremendously when I needed to sell my house. I was going through a divorce at the time and I really needed to get my house sold quickly. Unfortunately, I lived in North Judson and real estate was not exactly booming in this area. My heart wanted me to list it with the local real estate man to keep the business local, but my head told me to get an agent from Porter county and hope to get a buyer from the Region.
I put all of my confidence in Jeff and Grace and they didn't let me down. I was very new to selling homes as this was my first home that I owned. They talked me step by step through the process, took my listing and my house was on the market. Jeff and Grace worked hard to get my listing noticed. I saw it in all of the print magazines they advertised in and on their website. I didn't get tons of inquiries because of the area I lived in. But each time someone was interested, they quickly responded and made the 40 minute drive to show my property. The bottom line was my house sold for a good price within 3 months of Jeff and Grace taking the listing. In fact, we closed within weeks of me having to go through foreclosure.
I would highly recommend Jeff and Grace Safrin in you are interested in selling your home or in the market to buy a home. They are professional, sincere, hard working and everything else you will need in a realtor. They really came through for me when I needed it the most. They helped me and I am confident they can help you also.
Tim Brown
One Stop Appliances & Electronics
North Judson, IN 46366
It was 2001 when my wife and I decided it was time to purchase our first home in preparation for having a family. We were aware that our money was merely being thrown away by continuing to rent. Nevertheless, our greatest concern was whether or not we would be able to afford a home. In addition to our financial concerns, our ignorance of the realestate world was even more concerning. Our families provided some relief with their experiences however; it had been many years since they purchased a home. The general consensus was to find a realtor we could trust. My wife and I painstakingly searched for homes in the LaPorte County, IN area. This would be the first time we would make contact with Jeff and Grace Safrin. It was the best phone call we would ever make.
With that, I would like to take this moment to share my sincere appreciation for Jeff and Grace Safrin. All of our fears were alleviated by their professional and caring demeanor. Both Jeff and Grace Safrin willingly took the time to sit down and answer questions. We were even provided with their home telephone number for any further concerns. In regards to my concern about the price of the property, they acted as negotiators with the bank to reduce the property’s price in our favor. Being a Law Enforcement Officer, there were occasions I was not able to be present during every phase of the process. Regardless of these obstacles, Jeff and Grace took care of it. In all, our first home buying experience was rewarding and welcomed. We can’t thank Jeff and Grace enough for all their hard work, shared concerns, and most of all friendship. To this day, Jeff and/or Grace will either call or stop by just to say hello. Not only will they be our realtors for life, they will also be our friends.
As a Law Enforcement Officer, I question everything. As a home buyer, there is no question that Jeff and Grace Safrin are extremely competent, professional, and trustworthy realtors.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter of appreciation.
Sincerely,
Detective Patrick G. Cicero
Crime Scene Investigator
LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office
Jeff & Grace Safrin
Helped Mom & Dad Find
Our Home Sweet Home
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“Spouses Selling Houses” TM
F.C. 1st Team Real Estate
219-309-9930
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Lake, Porter, La Porte, Counties
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