If you're buying in Hoboken, please call Brenda! It's very hard to do anything without a broker, and Brenda is great. As importantly, she's just a plain good person. Anyway, Brenda did some very specific things because of which we now own an apartment in Hoboken: - Found out about the place even before it was listed. In the crazy Hoboken market, this was critical to get the place. - Negotiated exceptionally with seller's agent, to allow us to place the offer before the listing was out. This made everybody happy: the process was quick and everyone was comfortable with the price. - Was patient for more than half a year. She quickly understood our needs, and even helped us articulate some needs that we didn't even know we had (specific location). We spent a great deal of time visiting places with her. This included even places that we said we wouldn't buy, but were curious. Always patient, never pushing us, Brenda unlocked door after door. I think this is how Brenda earned our trust: by not pushing us into any quick decisions. With her, the process mainly involved being patient and exhaustive in search, and waiting for the right moment, but then moving quickly. Because we trusted her, we accepted her advice, and I think it served us well. Notably: - Choice of attorney and lender who are familiar with the idiosyncratic Hoboken real estate. - Tactics of moving quickly when we like something. She was supportive when frustration set in after being outbid several times. And she was patient when we changed our minds about places that we at first liked. Brenda is very responsive (phone, email, text messages) and we had great communication. She knew the answers to many of our questions, and when she didn't, she was upfront about it and either researched the answers, or directed us to someone better qualified (e.g. financing questions). Good communication is very important in this process! Thank you Brenda!