Let’s face it. The housing market is horrible. There are so many factors beyond your control. One thing you can control, however, is who you work with. Looking back on a brutally grueling search, I couldn’t have been more grateful my family and I worked with Susan Sweeney. Yes, Susan ultimately helped us land a terrific home off-market — in a neighborhood we never thought we were going to get into. But in a lot of ways, that was almost besides the point. We knew that eventually, no matter how long it took, we were going to find a house. The difference with Susan was that she made sure we kept our sanity and didn’t lose hope. Two qualities stood out: First, her best ability was her availability, which, in an insane market like this, is essential. Not once during our seven-month search did Susan put her own schedule or priorities above ours. If there was a home we wanted to see, Susan made sure we saw it (and we saw a lot of them - nearly 70!). Nights, weekends, middle of the day, holidays, it didn’t matter. Susan was there. Second, Susan didn’t just tell us what we wanted to hear. She knew how desperate we were to find a home, but if she thought a house had red flags, she spoke up. If there’s one thing about Susan that was obvious to us right off the bat, it’s that she knows homes - their bones, their potential, their market value. She was always honest with us, which we really appreciated. We don’t envy anyone that has to step into today’s market. But if you’re like us and don’t have the luxury of waiting out the chaos, you’re going to need someone on your side who you can trust and ride the wave with. I couldn’t recommend Susan Sweeney more strongly.