About
All the full-length testimonials from Barb & Carole’s past clients.
Seller
Thank-you so much for all you did to sell this house so quickly and for such a good price and for making it easy for us.
It felt good to know we were in good hands and that we could 100 percent trust you. It meant a lot to us.
Sellers
This past summer, we enlisted the team of Barb and Carole to sell our house. We were impressed by their website initially and even more impressed by the experience and energy they brought to the table when we finally met them. There was an obvious chemistry/synergy between them that reinforced that we would truly have a team effort behind us. They made a proposal we couldn't refuse which included not just the usual competitive commission, photo/video, 3D virtual tour, etc, but they also threw in the services of a gardener to sweeten the pot. Their biggest strength is how keenly they listen to their clients in order to figure out what makes them tick, what they need and what they value. This sealed the deal for us and once we selected them, everything fell into place immediately. The stager they work with (Lori) did an amazing job and the photographer and videographer were in and out the next morning. The video they produced was incredible! We watched it countless times and never tired of it. They put a lot of effort into the music selection, artistic qualities and the flow of the video.
In recent years, houses pretty much sold themselves. However, the real acid test for selling agents is when the market turns down. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side when the worst storm in recent years hit Ottawa forcing us to delay going live and then the first of many interest rate hikes occurred at the beginning of June causing buyers to scurry to the sidelines. With all the doom and gloom forecasts, sellers were panicking and low ball offers became the norm. It was a very stressful time for us, but Barb and Carole's experience and reassurances helped us not to panic. They reinforced that the pandemic fueled market was atypical and that the plight we were in was not unique. We had to follow suit eventually and lower our price a few times (from the heated level of the spring) along with everyone else, but at times when we felt an extreme sense of urgency to do so...they advised us that the time was not right and that we should wait until it really counts. It was comforting to know that they weren't just in it for the quick sale.
Barb and Carole never lost faith in our property and did not stop innovating with new marketing angles, including tweaking the listing photos/descriptions in response to competitive listings, producing special interest spots in their newsletter/Facebook or creating Instagram reels to highlight neighborhood activities, amenities and other attractions.
Communication was another one of their strengths as they were always accessible, whether by text, phone calls or video conferences when necessary. We also loved that they provided frequent updates on the ShowingTime app in terms of their activities behind the scenes such as getting feedback on past showings from other agents or reaching out to generate new showings.
As the summer doldrums progressed, we had to modify our plans and begin moving part of our household across the country. Barb and Carole adapted their strategy too, advising on what furnishings we should leave behind to maintain staging appeal and Carole (being in our neighborhood) ran the show and checked in on our place for the entire month we were away. In the end, their patience and persistence paid off and the perfect buyer for our home was found. While things did not necessarily pan out the way we had hoped at the start of our journey, the circumstances were extreme and we have no doubt that it could have turned out much much worse.
We would highly recommend Barb and Carole to help you sell your home under any type of market conditions!
Downsizing Buyers
We are a senior couple who were downsizing from a Lake property in the Kawartha’s. We chose Ottawa to be closer to family. We knew it was going to be a logistic challenge to find our next home 3-1/2 hours away from our present location, and also Covid restrictions were still being strictly enforced. A friend recommended Carole Evans to us, and we reached out to her. The call we placed was replied to within the afternoon and we valued listening to her description of the market and the scarcity of the type of home we desired. We decided to meet her the next week in Ottawa. Carole was a delight, very knowledgeable, sincere, and honest with her advice. She had made appointments for our first and second day with her. It was not the most encouraging time house hunting, but our connection had been made and we trusted her counsel, and to meet our needs. For about seven weeks our contact was via telephone or email. Carole had put us into a programme that provided listings of homes going on the market that she thought we might be interested in. There was a section where we could read her comments about the home and we could give her an idea of the pros and cons that we saw with a particular listing.
For six weeks, from a distance, Carole and her associate Barb kept us in the loop, and were always available to answer any questions we had. It was a sunny, early November day when Carole placed a call to us to say she felt she had found our next home. We trusted her enough to pack up and immediately leave for Ottawa. She was spot on, we walked in the front door and I knew this was our future home. We were only allowed a 30 minute visit due to Covid, and the next day Carole presented our offer to purchase.
We commend the team Carole and Barb to you with great confidence that you will be completely satisfied with their work ethic, and desire to put your housing needs first.
Sellers
Barb and Carole made selling our house such a breeze! They are both extremely professional, experienced and thorough agents. They were always available to quickly answers any questions we had and were completely reliable throughout, making the entire process incredibly smooth. They are a fantastic team. Highly recommend.
Sellers
It was truly a pleasure to deal with Barb & Carole. Their attention to detail, brilliant marketing strategies, high energy and enthusiasm, wealth of real estate knowledge and experience, and honesty and high ethical standards as well as their superior interpersonal skills and innovative ideas helped to make the sale such a huge success. Thank you both!
Sellers
We absolutely loved working with Barb and Carole. They were very responsive to our questions and never too busy to take our calls. From holding our hands throughout the selling process to staging and cleaning the house - they do it all!
Twenty years ago, Carole was just as wonderful to work with as she found us our dream home to raise our 4 children in. It was a no brainer to call her back to sell it!
Sellers
Barb and Carole simply came in like a whirlwind and organized us to sell our house - staging, photography, videography, drone footage - all within a day of meeting us and walking through our home.
Their marketing knowledge and that of the local market was excellent and we could not have done this without them - we sold our home for more than our asking price; what more could we ask?
All around an excellent experience and we would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a quality sales experience.
Seller
You will be hard pressed to find a better real estate agent.
Carole shows genuine interest in the goals of her clients and applies her extensive marketing experience for successful outcomes. In addition, you really get a sense that her whole team is behind her all the way.
We were so impressed by the tour video she produced; I wanted to buy my house all over again!
When all was done, we sold in just 2 days! And at a very good price.
I highly recommend Barb & Carole if you want results and strong market value. Many thanks to Carole and her team!
Buyers and sellers
Barb & Carole helped us find our next home and sell our current home, all in 11 days!
Carole knew what we were looking for in our next house, and had established a search criteria for automatic notice when listings became available.
When the time came, a few days later, to list our house, Carole and Barb guided us as to what action we needed to take. They were always prompt in returning our calls, helped calm us down when we got stressed out and assured us that all was going according to plan.
Both Carole and Barb are knowledgeable about the current market and we relied on them totally to steer us in the process.
We would highly recommend Barb & Carole if you are in the market to either buy or sell.
Buyers
We are so grateful for Barb & Carole’s dedication and great customer service. When we were looking for our house in Metcalfe a few years ago, Barb and Carole travelled across town with little notice.
Thanks to their help, we were able to get our dream home. We are super happy and highly recommend them!
Buyers
Our experience with Barb & Carole was amazing. They were very open and honest during each viewing and really seemed to want to put us in “our” house, not just “a” house. We feel she bargained hard for us, and now that we have moved, we are even more appreciative of her services. We LOVE our new home!
First-time buyers relocating from Toronto
After a two-year hunt turned up nothing but disappointment in the Toronto housing market, we made the decision to move our family to Ottawa in search of the perfect house and neighborhood. It was there we were fortunate enough to connect with Carole Evans and Barbara Dods who served as our amazing guides through the Ottawa real estate market, and as incredibly patient realtors to a picky pair of former Torontonians.
Carole and Barbara were not only very attentive to our wants and needs in a house, their exhaustive knowledge of Ottawa also allowed them to pre-screen and eliminate countless listings they knew would not suit our family.
They were also very accommodating of our busy schedules, working together to guide us through countless viewings in the late evenings, and never making us feel like anyone’s time was wasted when a home just didn’t feel like the one. They were confident the perfect home was out there for us, and their optimism made the long search an enjoyable process, even when we felt discouraged.
With Carole and Barbara’s help and diligence, we succeeded in finding our perfect house, and being first-time home buyers, they expertly guided us through what could have been an intimidating process by answering an endless list of questions and connecting us to others who assisted us through the final steps.
We don’t remember them ever wearing capes, but Carole and Barbara felt like superheroes, always going above and beyond to help this pair of Toronto ex-pats make their dreams come true here in Ottawa. We can’t imagine ever going through this process again without them.
First-time buyers of new build
Carole provided us realtor services this past fall to help us find our perfect first home.
She attended viewings with us all the way in Smiths Falls, taught us the details of what goes in an offer prior to submitting, offered her honest opinions on any property in terms of its investment value, flexibility to growing families, and upkeep.
She made us feel comfortable and confident in our choices. She is incredibly reliable and we would recommend her services to anyone looking for a home in the greater Ottawa area.
Buyers and sellers
As we sit here in our new home enjoying our morning coffee, we reflect on the past weeks. From seeing and loving (and then buying) this home at first sight, to the selling of our then current home, it was a whirlwind! It all happened within a few days of each other!
Barb and Carole made it both exciting and yet seamless with their constant support and attention to detail.
We couldn't (and wouldn't) do it without them. We highly recommend this team!
Buyers
In a seller’s market, our journey to purchasing our second home was a tough one. We are glad we had Barbara to help guide us through the process and we highly recommend Barbara and her team.
When we started our search, we met with many agents. One of them was Barbara. Something stood out with her, as it felt like she would be a partner in our purchase. One striking key element after meeting her is that she provided us with information we asked for right away. Many other agents said they would keep in touch with us regarding houses and they just did not ending up doing it or had to be reminded. A small simple gesture on Barbara’s part, but from that we knew that we could start building our working relationship with her and that she would be someone we could rely on. She immediately showed us that she wanted to better understand our situation and goals. From beginning to the end, Barbara was very quick to respond, attentive, keen, helpful and was available when needed.
As we got to know her though many showings – it was clear that she cared about her clients. We felt like she was a true partner, looking for houses and keeping an eye out for us. We looked at many different houses (turnkey, renovation houses), different price ranges, different areas and she continued to happily show us houses and provided extreme flexibility with our differing schedules. We always felt like we were her priority, even though we knew she had other clients. She was enthusiastic to show us the houses, had suggestions and solutions. She provided extremely high exceptional customer service and professionalism. Her experience kept us on track and made it a smooth process, right up to the close date.
We thank Barbara and team for their exceptional service.