Upward Advisors — Local services in Spokane

Quite frankly, if you do not hire John and his partner Sean right now, and you have any property in or around Spokane, you're just not as smart as you could be. That is a true statement.

I live in the Florida keys and my mother lives in Spokane, and we tasked John to selling her home within 48 hours of listing (we were concerned about the housing market with the pandemic) and getting top dollar on it directly in the middle of the virus pandemic, and the place just closed yesterday for $15,000 over the list price, and we had three offers over $15,000 of the listing price within 48 hours of listing.

And no, it didn't happen by accident, it happened because John's communication, being directly up front, and knowing how to be honest in negotiation, with extremely hard work and accountability...John got this done. Most importantly, he even brought his own buyer to the table!

There's obviously a reason that remax is number one in the country, but I wanted the number one agent in Spokane, and I actually was introduced to another agent first, but he didn't like my hard questions, so he referred me to John based upon his reputation and he thought that it would be the best fit for me since I work very much online. Which it certainly was, but the reality is I can't possibly see how John wouldn't be the best option for anyone that wants professionalism and top dollar for their property.

So I'll put in bullet points a few of his most outstanding attributes...

1. His communication and accountability where he does what he says he's going to do, is impeccable and unequal. He's not a used car salesman, he tells you up front exactly how things are going to go and you can trust his judgment.

2. He's very much legally minded and extremely well versed in the law, so he will catch a lot of things that other agents won't to protect you and the sale.

3. He has full command of everything digital, from communication by text, email documents, online signatures, Google drive, he is impeccably savvy and way ahead of other agents in that regard. Extremely inventive, and thinks outside the box which is where the real negotiation comes in.

4. He has a tremendous advantage in his partner doing the video and digital work on the home, since he doesn't have to hire it to be done, that allows for higher quality on his end and more money and commission to be able to spend on selling your home. That is a significant advantage over the common agent that has to pay someone to do those things, since they're not the ones really doing the work, they don't have full hands on control of everything like John does.

5. Young enough to be extremely savvy and actually put in the hard work, yet mid-aged to have a family and understand what most buyers / sellers are going through.

6. Probably the most important, and it was in our case, he thoroughly understood how to research each offer, talk to the lenders, and really get a strong sense of how strong that offer really was, since such a large percentage of contracts in the Spokane area are falling through, which obviously is a huge disadvantage to the seller when they have to relist it.

Case in point... He got us an offer for $25,000 over the asking price, but after he did his due diligence, we steered away from it, based upon however weak the offer was, but that was some hard research that he put in and talking to the lender and doing a 360 research on the deal. So we ended up going with 15,000 over the listing price, which really was only about 2 or 3,000 less than what $25,000 over listing would have come out to, but it was the most solid offer.

Probably a lot more important points that I'm missing, but do your due diligence, ask John the hard questions, as you won't find a superior agent in the...

I am privileged to share my experience with John Leland and his team in their sale of my home in the face of a downturn in the market and a steep rise in interest rates. The video tour of our beautiful home prepared by John and Sean was a showstopper. 18 acres on a mountainside with a 50mile view of the Palouse and a 7550sq.ft home was only the beginning of their due diligence and professionalism in their real estate world. John proved to be a clear communicator with great experience and knowledge of the market as well as a person who cared bout his clients. He also helped the buyer and his agent in moving forward in this sale. John’s relationships with external contractors, movers, home security provider, closing company and others had his same positive customer service commitment’s. This process was challenging at times due to a harsh winter on the Palouse with deep snowdrifts, and steep driveway. As a person with sole responsibility for all decisions I felt safe with Johns help and knowledge in problem solving. Thank you John I am...

The team helped us find our dream home, despite the challenges of COVID. It was the only home we looked at in Spokane which was not our intention...we've been discussing moving to Spokane from Colorado for almost 3 years. Having the right partners, John and Sean, we avoided headaches and hassles. We were impressed by how they proactively sent us the right house which we would have otherwise missed while out of town the weekend it went on the market and their honest and ethical pricing strategy. The cherry on top was their relationship with the seller that facilitated us being in pole position as the chosen buyer, despite not offering the highest price. With all parties being ethical and transparent, I believe we were all rewarded and we appreciate our realtor's hard work in getting the deal buttoned up rapidly.

Our home buying experience with the RE/MAX Inland Empire team has invigorated my faith in people and trust that doing the...