I’m Austin Hellickson, a Managing Broker with LPT Realty, working from an office at 1230 Fryar Ave in Sumner. Through Very Best Real Estate I introduce Washington buyers and sellers to an independently licensed agent who fits their market and their situation, at no cost to them, and I stay reachable after the introduction.
The office sits down in the valley between Puyallup and the Bonney Lake plateau. This site is the part of my work that happens before a sale or a purchase begins.
Why I make introductions
Plenty of real estate questions have answers you can look up. The hard one is about a person: who should I call in Spokane? Who can sell my mother’s house in Tacoma while I’m living out of state? Who knows the Eastside well enough to tell me which school boundary a street falls in?
Answering that well is real work. A good introduction starts with understanding what someone actually needs. After that it’s knowing which agents are strong at exactly that, and which of them has time right now. A poor introduction, even to a capable agent, can cost months, money, or both. So I take my time with it, and I don’t introduce anyone I haven’t spoken with about your situation.
What a Managing Broker does
Washington licenses real estate brokers at more than one level. A managing broker has more experience and education behind the license than a broker, and is allowed to supervise other brokers. Supervision means reading other agents’ contracts and hearing about the negotiations that go sideways.
From that side of the desk you notice which agents are still sharp on the phone at eight in the evening, the night before an offer deadline. That’s the kind I look for when I make an introduction.
Where Homexa fits
Homexa® is a network of 300+ agents across 25 states. It isn’t a brokerage. The agents in it are independently licensed and work under their own brokerages, and the network is how I find, and stay in touch with, good people well beyond my own office.
When I introduce you to someone, you work with that agent and their brokerage. They represent you. If that agent’s firm also has the listing on a house you like, read up on limited dual agency in Washington before you tour it. I stay available on the side, as someone you can call if you want a second opinion or if something doesn’t feel right.
What I look for in an agent
I like agents who say inconvenient things early. The roof needs attention before you list. The offer you love has a financing problem. The house you want is priced for a buyer who doesn’t exist. Hearing that in week one is far cheaper than hearing it in week six.
I like agents who put things in writing and return the calls they say they’ll return. I also pay attention to fit, which people underrate. Some clients want a steady, patient explainer; some want someone brisk who gets to the point. Both can be very good agents, and they aren’t interchangeable. Whoever I introduce, you can check their record yourself with the Washington real estate license lookup.
About the name
Very Best Real Estate is a big name for a plain idea: the best agent for you is the one who fits your house and the way you like to work, and that changes from one client to the next. An agent who is exactly right for a first-time buyer on Beacon Hill may be the wrong call for a family selling a farmhouse outside Battle Ground. The name is the standard I hold each introduction to. There’s no leaderboard behind it.
What I won’t do
I don’t rank agents, and your contact details never go out to a group of agents at once. Prices and closing dates depend on the house and the market, so I won’t promise you either one. What I will do is make an introduction I’d stand behind, and pick up the phone afterward.
Where I work, and how to reach me
I’m based in Pierce County and take calls about anywhere in Washington, from Seattle and the Eastside to Spokane and Vancouver. Much of this work happens by phone, which suits people moving here from out of state or handling a family member’s house from a distance. If you’re moving here, buying a house in Washington before you move here is a good place to start.
Start with the city, if you’re buying or selling, and roughly when. I’ll ask about the rest.
- Phone206.940.0942
- EmailAustin.Hellickson@homexa.com
- Office1230 Fryar Ave, Sumner, WA 98390
- BrokerageLPT Realty