J.D. Songstad

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JD helped us every step of the way and was always available to us for questions. Made a very confusing/complicated process so much easier for us to understand and end up with a home we loved! Would recommend him to anyone.

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tl;dr JD is truly an incredible real estate agent. Hes detail-oriented, patient, extremely responsive, and really knows his stuff, especially the Westside, very well. Would highly recommend and would definitely engage him again if we have any other real estate needs come up.Long version:My fiancA(C) and I were looking for homes on the Westside and had spent 3 months by ourselves looking at open houses. We were ready to find an agent to work with us. After a bumpy experience with an agent who sold my NorCal home (project management was not his strength, and he wasnt detail-oriented at all), I resolved we needed to find a great real estate agent for our home purchase in SoCal. We we ended up phone screening 3 agents and also interviewed them in person, each for 1-2 hours. JD really stood out - from our conversations with him it was clear he knew the area well, was extremely detail-oriented and wasnt bothered at all by our numerous detailed questions, and he made it clear he was responsive and available a lot of the time, including after normal work hours. That was huge for us as we both work full time so we needed someone who could work with us in the evenings. We are so so glad we went with JD. He was extremely patient and responsive throughout the time we worked with him. He emailed us listings immediately after we signed the contract with him and we picked out 4-5 homes to check out during open houses on the next Sunday. Unexpectedly, we fell in love with one right away (after seeing homes for 3 months we knew what we wanted right away).The next day, Monday, JD was extremely patient as my fiancA(C) and I debated if we wanted to put an offer down and if so, how soon - we were waiting on the sale of the other home to get the funds we needed. He gave us great advice and that we shouldnt be scared to put an offer down if it truly felt like the one, and we might as well try so we have no regrets, even with a contingent offer. Just a note about contingent offers - its nearly impossible to get a contingent offer accepted in the current LA home market (we were warned of this by the multiple agents we interviewed when we mentioned we had to wait on a sale to get funds). That night at 9pm after we had some time to talk through the decision with our families, we made our decision to go ahead. JD patiently made himself available, and we worked on the contingent offer and got it out right around midnight. (THANK YOU JD FOR BEING SO FLEXIBLE WITH YOUR TIME!!).JD helped us navigate the offer process really well and even though two other higher offers came in, the seller took ours! Part of that was thanks to JDs stellar reputation in the housing market here - the listing agent had had a great experience with JD previously and knew he brought good clients who would make the sale as hassle-free as possible. So, the lesson here is go with a reputable agent that other agents in the area know and will want to work with. JD is one of those :)Throughout all steps of the process JD was clear in telling us what we could expect/what was coming next and extremely responsive (typical email response time was immediate to within a few hours). Would highly recommend JD and we plan to work with him again if we have further LA real estate needs in the future!

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JD is by far the best real estate agent in LA. If you ever need any real estate data, research, new home notifications, etc. contact JD immediately!!! JD responds extremely quickly to emails/calls and will give you whatever you ask for with a hassle-free experience. I would *HIGHLY* recommend JD for all of your real estate needs and encourage you to get in touch with him. Thanks JD for the help and I look forward to continue working with you. I wish there were more real estate agents like you!

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My wife and I just went through the process of buying a Los Angeles condo, which can be both physically and mentally exhausting. So its important to have the right help to guide you through.We worked with J.D. Songstad and could not be happier. In fact, we first met him 9 years previous and, though we decided not to purchase at that time, were very impressed with J.D. aEUR" so stayed on his distribution list for the entire 9 years until we were finally ready to purchase!J.D. is highly organized, effective, and offers many resources for buyers aEUR" from his personal time, to his website and blog, to many types of buyer information and education.J.D. also comes with his own network of professionals aEUR" from a fantastic mortgage company that we ourselves used, to inspectors, to even designers if you may need after your purchase. J.D. has been doing this a long time so his connections and knowledge of important services run deep.J.D. is also the nicest guy youll ever work with in real estate!Aside from all of the many great things I can say about J.D. that set him apart from other realtors, there are two main ones that strike me:1) One is the level of ethics and honesty he brings to the profession. I always sensed that people either mistrusted or just always had the wrong real estate guidance. I can tell you that J.D. is one of the most honest and transparent professionals that I have worked with. You can trust J.D.!2) My wife and I always felt like we were J.D.s only clients. Though we purchased a great condo, I know for sure J.D. deals with much more expensive properties aEUR" but yet he was always there for us, at all times of the day, to patiently answer questions and tirelessly keep things moving along the path of our new home purchase.If you are looking to buy property in Los Angeles, even to just begin to learn about the process and ask questions aEUR" J.D. Songstad is the right guy!

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I have had forty years experience in buying and selling homes due to multiple relocations and I can say without a doubt that JD is the world's best realtor! JD made selling our home so easy! He gave us great advice that got us an offer above asking price almost immediately after we put our home on the market. And since we live out of state, he helped us organize all repairs and improvements. He advised us on financial elements of the sale that saved us thousands of dollars we would have lost had he not mentioned. He always kept us informed and made the process of selling our home painless. We can't give him enough praise!

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This is incredibly long overdue review, but we worked with J.D. Songstad in Sept/Oct 2016 to buy our first home. My husband and I had been casually looking at condos for several months and when we finally decided to get serious, we werent sure how to proceed, so we were so happy we found J.D.! Immediately after our first phone call, he sent us an extensive list of potential properties and we were seeing places within a few days. He gave honest opinions when we asked, had a solid understanding of current market trends and respected our budget. He catered to our schedules and when we decided to put an offer in on a place that first week, he spent all of his Friday evening taking our many phone calls, providing us with sample introduction letters, and talking us through the process we were undertaking. He was patient and very attentive aEUR" he really makes you feel like you are his only client even though we knew how busy his schedule was. When our offer was accepted, he continued to explain next steps and made sure to ask thorough questions during the inspection process, as we had never been through one before. Through no fault of his own, the escrow process ended up being rather contentious due to some issues with the seller, but he shielded us from the brunt of it and really helped make a tough situation better. In the end, we came out with a new home that we love and we credit J.D. for helping make it possible. Wed work with him again in a heartbeat and would highly recommend him to anyone.

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Based on my experience of buying and selling four condos and houses in the last 20 years in the West LA area, I would not hesitate for a second to rate Mr. J.D. Songstad as the very best agent I have worked with AND heard of from others experiences! J.D. impressed my wife and me at the first meeting with his friendly, sunny and down-to-earth personality, which was reinforced by the unusually quick responses he did to our email and phone inquiries prior to the meeting. A memorable detail is that he refused to shake hands with me when we first met because he was still in the middle of having a cold; yet, he managed to schedule on a rather last-minute-notice our visit to a property that we wanted to see urgently. Although we were disappointed by what we saw in that showing, then J.D. began to reveal his incredibly rich knowledge about the housing market (particularly that in the Westside) by analyzing the current state of the market and presenting all kinds of options that might fit our budget and needs. He was an excellent listener as well as a clear-headed analysist. He was very sensitive to his clients needs and thus was able to put himself in his clients shoes very quickly; yet, he also enlightened his clients by offering different perspectives. He did all of these in a charming and low-key manner that we felt at home right away. Thanks to his wisdom and knowledge, we opened up our search horizon and indeed found our dream house in an area that was never on my radar before. Once the purchasing process began, J.D. furthered impressed us with his brilliant negotiation skills and superb expertise on every step of the process. He not only provided extremely useful advice on strategizing the purchase, but also went above and beyond to take care all the details in communication, negotiation, and arrangement for professional services. He was clearly the most responsive agent I have ever worked with, always getting back to me immediately or in very short time through email, text message or direct phone call. When we encountered some difficulties and unexpected problems in the middle of the process, J.D.s personality and character proved to be an extra plus/strength. He was calm, pragmatic, and positive, which helped us to stay calm and positive as well. Meanwhile, he used his rich experience, excellent expertise and strong network of connections to find solutions and helped to push the process forward all the way to escrow closing. In short, J.D. is such an outstanding, cheerful, knowledgeable and skillful agent that purchasing our dream house with his help has definitely become one of the enjoyable and unforgettable highlights for us in 2016. I would super-strongly recommend Mr. J.D. Songstad to anyone who wants to find a brilliant and pleasant agent to work with.

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JD knew the market and helped set a great price for our condo. As I'm an out of town seller, he stepped in for things when I couldn't be there. He provided good suggestions for staging as well. His negotiating skills with the buyer were great and I was kept informed at every step. I would use him again.

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I had a great experience with JD. He worked with me on and off over 3 years while I went in and out of the real estate market (moving here, going from renting to selling my previous residence in another state, etc.) and he was incredibly patient and helpful through the whole process. He from the start put me on an automatic email system that regularly gave me MLS listings matching my criteria so I could keep up with what was on the market. And when we got down to writing offers he was clear about and on top of the steps involved and immediately responsive to my and the listing agent's questions. He was very good about giving me the information I needed to make a decision, but left the decisions to me. The market in Santa Monica is highly competitive and I believe that I finally got an offer accepted largely due to JD's advice and his good reputation with the listing agent. Thank you, JD!

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As a first time homebuyer, JD Helped through a very difficult and stressful purchase. Throughout the entire transaction he had a very calm demeanor and was always looking out for us. He got us a great deal even in a competitive market. Not just a great deal but an outstanding deal, and he had to work so hard for it! It was a pleasure working with Mr Westside!