Testimonials

There are many things I can say about the high quality of service I provide to my home seller and home buyer clients, but probably none would be as credible as testimonials from some of my clients themselves. Please read the following testimonials. I hope they lend perspective as to my experience and integrity, as well as make it clear how much I enjoy helping people with their real estate needs:

My experience with Chris Hurd, realtor for the sale of my house, was truly exceptional.  His professional advice was extremely accurate and helpful, especially in a sluggish market.  He explained every decision in a way that was detailed yet easily understandable.  Throughout the process, Chris offered informative suggestions and sales updates regarding my neighborhood and comparable sales in surrounding towns.

Chris attended every showing of my property, particularly when I was unavailable and therefore unable to provide personal information to prospective buyers.  His willingness to visit my property hours before each showing to adjust thermostats and window blinds for optimal presentation demonstrated his sincere desire to help sell my home.  He even stopped by my house intermittently to check on the plumbing and make sure no general damage had occurred in my absence.  There are very few realtors who would go to such trouble to help keep a house secure and find the right buyer.  I felt he constantly had my best interest at heart throughout the entire process.

Chris’s expertise in listing my property, negotiating the contract, and meeting all closing deadlines made the challenges seem routine. My expectations were exceeded at every step; I would happily use his services again and have already recommended him to friends.

In fact, he did such a great job with the sale of my house that I called him 6 months later to represent me as a buyer when I found a property to purchase.  Just like the first experience, Chris was invaluable negotiating an offer, securing a contract, and completing the process of buying my new home.  Thanks, Chris, for making such challenging and important experiences so positive!

Karen Parolin, Shelburne VT and Vail CO

As a former real estate investor, I’ve been involved in hundreds of residential real estate transactions. With my extensive experience, I’ve come to view agents as largely unnecessary and as something to be avoided.

It is our pleasure to give the highest possible recommendation to potential clients for our Realtor, Christopher Hurd, who helped my wife and I purchase a home in Jericho, Vermont.

The average agent would have rolled their eyes when we walked into their office with only the vaguest idea of what we wanted, when we might buy, and what our price range was, with the caveat that we were trying to figure this out during the few days when I was home on leave from my State Department position in Afghanistan.

Undaunted, and with a welcoming smile Chris began to lead us on our house-hunting journey, patiently answering our questions and offering advice from his years of experience, but always leaving us in control of the process.

After two rounds of house visits we had reshaped our plans and began to explore the exciting, but far more complicated option of constructing a home.  Again, Chris was fully supportive, but also completely candid about the costs, pitfalls, and timeline needed to navigate this process.

Eventually, we decided to follow our dream and build a house on a lot that Chris found for us which was in the perfect location.  A flurry of meetings, countless emails and Skype chats ensued as Chris led us through the maze of contracts and options, keeping me one hundred percent involved despite the distance.  

As I conclude my tour and head back to Vermont, the finishing touches are being made on our dream house, and we are deeply grateful to Chris for guiding us down the long road which led to this deeply satisfying outcome.  If you are looking for a home in Vermont we cannot recommend Chris highly enough, as you cannot find a more knowledgeable, patient or personable advocate anywhere.

 We would be pleased to discuss our positive experiences with any prospective clients, and can be reached at [email protected], or at 802-233-6756.

Bill and Kristie Swaney, Afghanistan and Jericho Vermont

My wife and I were looking for a private natural environment with an academic culture and generally progressive political atmosphere and our search led us to Burlington Vermont and Eugene Oregon. We visited both places and had conversations with numerous real estate agents in the hopes of finding the perfect location to build a home and perhaps invest in rental properties

Chris Hurd gave us the most useful feedback of any Realtor we met, helping us choose Vermont. We had some unconventional ideas and would need a very specific situation to make it all work. At first, he pointed us to the Champlain Islands, which were just fantastic. After a year of exploring however, it became clear that the soil and water table conditions were going to make it difficult to build our unconventional sustainable house design there.

He indulged our quirks for another year while we explored plots in Chittenden and Addison Counties, finally finding 2 promising plots in Huntington. Chris helped us prioritize and then negotiate for our favorite plot.

There were complex issues. The seller’s final price would only be acceptable if the plot conformed to certain specifications that would keep building costs manageable; and to find that out we needed to dig test pits on the property. Chris helped us work that into the negotiation.

It turned out that the title to the property had gone through numerous  changes in ownership and the land itself had been subdivided over the years, putting question marks on easement rights. Chris found us a crack legal team who worked diligently through those issues and brought the whole thing in for a nice soft landing.

For two and a half years he held our hands navigating our first entry into the world of property transactions – not to mention that he got it all done even though I was 12,000 miles away in Asia for most of that time. Email, skype, faxes, scanned pdf documents, all played a major role in this process, at every step Chris was on top of the situation and in close contact.

I can’t recommend Chris Hurd strongly enough as someone to have by your side.

Amitava Biswas, M.D. Bangkok Thailand

There I was last May of 2011, a potential first time home buyer that was ready to start looking for my first house.  My girlfriend and I had been living in a one bedroom apartment for the past 3 years and we were we were ready to step up to own our first home. Initially, I thought I might attempt to tackle the process on my own. I figured that I am a relatively intelligent person and it can’t be that hard, right? Wrong.  The more I learned about the home-buying process, the more I realized that without some help I could find myself in a pretty bad position very quickly.  I went on Google and started searching for a buyer’s agent to help me with the process.  Now, I will admit I have some trust issues; I was really worried that whoever I had represent me was going to make sure they got the most money possible at closing, but I figured that I was eventually going to have to trust someone.  That said, I was determined to due my homework and pick someone that I felt would have my best interests in mind as we looked for a home.

It was at this point that after reading numerous reviews of Buyer’s Agents on numerous websites that I came across Chris Hurd’s testimonial page on his website.  Now, if you’re reading this you are most likely in the same situation, or one similar, that I was in this past May.  I had already done some homework on Chris and learned that he has been representing home buyers in this area for many years and handles deals from the low end to upper end of the cost spectrum.  What sealed the deal for me were the reviews I read of Chris from people who were in my similar situation (looking for a home around $200,000 or less, still somewhat close to Chittenden County) and stated that Chris made them feel as if they were one of his customers looking to close a multi-million dollar deal.  At that time, I made my first cold call to Chris and the adventure began.  

I am a disabled Veteran and needed to use the VA loan guarantee in order to be able to afford our first home.  I explained my situation and my cost/location parameters to Chris and he tackled the challenge head-on.  Over the next month and a half, we had Chris set up viewings on at least 15 homes, many on short notice.  From the very start of the process, Chris was professional at all times and extremely accommodating to our schedules.  Chris took a special pride in helping a Veteran find his first home.  This was evident in his actions as well as numerous comments that he made indicating that he felt it was an honor for him to be able help one of this Country’s Veterans find their first home.  Together, we entered into three total negotiations on three separate houses before we found the deal that worked for us. At no time did Chris pressure me to go outside my comfort zone as far as prices and location go.  During our first negotiation on the first home we tried to buy, Chris handled a very aggressive Listing Agent with the utmost class and professionalism in the face of extremely rude behavior. If I had attempted to buy this home without Chris, the experience very well may have caused me to walk away from the process altogether.

Chris was forced to go out of town twice during our search for a house, and both times, everyday he was gone I received either a phone call, fax, or email.  At no time did I feel lost, confused, or abandoned during this process.  Chris was extremely patient when answering the numerous questions I had, some asked more than once, and even intervened to help smooth over some complicated issues with my lender.  Chris takes an immense amount of pride in his profession which is evident in every aspect of his performance.  Within two months of beginning the house buying process, we were closing on our new home that exceeded both of our expectations in the exact location that we wanted to be in.  None of this would have been possible without the guidance and knowledge that Chris brought to the table.  Both my girlfriend and I feel that we not only gained a trusted business partner in all our future Real Estate transactions, but we also gained a life long friend. 

I have recommended Chris to everyone I know that is thinking about buying a house, and I would not hesitate in the least to highly recommend him to you.

Aaron Shamp Williston Vermont

I told Chris when I met him that I did not hire him for his expertise alone.  I hired him because I knew I was getting more than just another Realtor.  I was getting all that and… an advocate with many years of real estate experience in our area, a confidante and trusted advisor for my needs as I traversed the ambiguous waters of home selling. And it turned out to be more than true in a very big way. When I left town for my mom’s funeral, a buyer materialized at the worst possible time for me. Chris handled everything while I was away for two whole weeks with a steady hand on the tiller. Chris held my hand through out the whole process and then some for my whole family. And let me tell you…my process was not exactly a cake walk! His warm yet firm manner supported me through open houses, qualified and unqualified buyers, animals ruining rugs, emotional ups and downs, juggling teenagers and all the last minute final details leading right up to the closing.  In fact, several times, I needed an emergency contractor to come and take care of something. Chris was always right there with an excellent referral to a contractor who would solve the matter. When we sold my property, it went for less than 1% of my listed price. I would absolutely recommend Chris as a Realtor and as my now dear friend who not only knows the area and all of its options, but as a professional partner to any project you want a team player on. Thumbs up all the way to Chris Hurd!

Sally Dames South Burlington Vermont

Throughout the process of searching high and low for my dream home, Chris Hurd was good humored, professional, and unbelievably patient. He took the time to weigh the pros and cons of each property he showed us. We talked about the layout of the houses, cost of up-keep, cost of renovations, the school systems, the neighborhoods, regional outdoor recreation attractions, access to daily needs (i.e grocery store, pharmacy, bank etc) and proximity to hazards for our three children (all under the age of six). There was no stone left unturned.

Chris listened to our impressions and concerns about each property with level headed resolve. He helped us to make informed buying decisions and, as a team, we navigated the endlessly complicated waters of buying a home.

I highly recommend Chris Hurd to anyone looking to buy property in Vermont and looking for a buyer broker.

Lila Webb Shelburne VT

I recently purchased my first home and am grateful to Chris Hurd for all his efforts.  I would recommend Chris to anyone anytime.  As a first time buyer I was uncertain as to what I was looking for and lacked knowledge as to how the Burlington Vermont Real Estate market worked. I decided I wanted to use Chris as my Buyer Broker to represent my side of the purchase of a property in Burlington. Chris was up front and honest from the start and explained to me what I should expect and what I should be looking for. I had been through several other realtors before I met Chris and had not found anything of interest or value nor was I confident in their abilities.   After our first meeting, I felt very comfortable with Chris. I strongly sensed he listened to what I was looking for and he soon presented three property suggestions for me to look at.  I am now the proud owner of one of those places.  Chris was easy going, informative, and knowledgeable.  He took the time to listen and understand who I was in order to help me find what I was looking for. Feel free to email me with any questions regarding Chris. I would be more than happy to answer them.  [email protected]

Doug Johnson Burlington Vermont

Everyone says that buying a house from overseas is nuts. We were attempting to come back to the states from having lived in the Middle East for 5 years. After a few disappointing attempts at corresponding with other Realtors, my husband found Chris’s website on Google, researched his testimonials and experience as a Buyer Representative and then asked me to contact him. Not expecting much based on a couple of “used car salesmen” types that I had recently experienced, I once again outlined my story: US expat planning to relocate back to the States, have a job interview in Vermont, this is what we think we can afford, can you help us? 

Even before I received a job offer, Chris offered to spend 2 entire days driving me around the state in search of the perfect house for our needs. To me, this is proof that Chris goes above and beyond the call of duty. He gave us guidance on the various public school districts and advised us on aspects of the state like only a native could. As so many other testimonials have stated, Chris remained patient and professional throughout the entire process. I particularly liked his honesty; his candid personality made everything so much easier than I had ever imagined. He offered his opinion when I needed to know if I was on the right track. It became clear to me within the first hour of our meeting that he is the real deal.

So, I finally get the job and Chris puts things in motion. Working with a 7-hour time difference, he tirelessly arranged his schedule to accommodate my phone calls. He got us an excellent price on our favorite house. The people he put us in touch with for the inspection, the paperwork and everything else made us feel like we were right there. And now that we have moved in, Chris was kind enough to check up on us a couple of times. I can’t imagine a better buying experience than the one we just had. Thank you for everything, and I wish you so much success.

Nikki Krysak & Martin Marion, Doha, Qatar

As I am settling in to my new home, I look back and am amazed at how well everything worked out. When I first saw the home and called the listing agent, Chris Hurd, my hopes weren’t high. Though I loved the location and thought the house would be a great fit, the list price was a nonstarter for me. Still, I gave Chris a call and had a look at the home. Chris was professional, easy-going, and never put any pressure on me. Though he represented the seller, he was always prompt and reliable in answering all my questions and hearing my concerns. I was frank with my research and reasoning, and Chris responded with respect and transparency. I always felt Chris listened and understood.

While the seller and I remained far apart on price, Chris kept us talking and worked with us to problem-solve our way through and generate creative compromises with humor and patience. When I didn’t see a way forward, Chris persevered. He professionally combined the roles of mediator, therapist, gracious host, and astute real estate agent with easygoing aplomb! He effortlessly accommodated my impending overseas travel date, booked a half year earlier.

If I were to need an agent in the future, I would not hesitate to turn to Chris. He remains constantly accessible, on top of things, and detail-oriented, all with a friendly, easygoing presence. I’m still not sure how Chris managed to bring both the seller and myself to a price point we were both satisfied with, but he did it, and he did it graciously!

Ellen Arapakos – Shelburne Vermont

Anne & Roland  – Montreal  Quebec

Curtis Fisher & Michele Olvera – Metuchen, New Jersey

“Thank you for making this all possible, Chris! When my fiance and I decided the time was right to buy our first home we searched for a broker and decided that Chris’ ease, assurance and experience was exactly what we needed for navigating the real estate market. We looked at many houses and Chris was always there to point out the pros and cons of each one, letting us take our time evaluating, and even entertaining our two year old son outside so we could walk through the house in peace and get a feel for each location. Chris helped us decide, negotiate a good deal, and walk us through the closing with confidence. I recommend Chris Hurd and will use him again when it is time for us to “move up”.
Cheers!”

Jeff, Melody and Jackson Trump – Middlebury Vermont

“When we contacted Chris when we were in the market for our first home we had no idea all that was involved. Selecting Chris as our Realtor was the best decision we made in the entire process.  From our very first correspondence, he was not only kind but also knowledgeable and timely with answers to our many questions.  He returned our phone calls promptly and never made us feel as though we were asking too much or that we had too many questions.  He definitely assisted in communications with the listing agent, attorneys, home inspectors and other numerous consults keeping the entire process moving in a positive direction.  We would highly recommend Chris to any home buyers, especially those in the market for their first home, like us.  Thanks Chris!”

“In the Spring of ’08, my wife and I decided to relocate from New York City to the Burlington area. We needed a realtor, and while house hunting on the web, came across the web site of Chris Hurd. It was a lucky break for us. My wife and I are picky customers, and Chris patiently showed us a few dozen homes before we found the one that was right for us. Many times, we flew up from NY to the Burlington airport, and there would be Chris, waiting to pick us up and show us properties. On a number of occasions, he would even go out of his way to show us some interesting landmarks or areas. His knowledge of the greater Burlington area, and the State of Vermont is extensive.

“I dare say that there could not be a better real estate broker for my money. Chris was the eyes, ears, mouth and legs for me as my buyer broker when my house was being built while I was still living in Washington, DC. He e-mailed pictures of the house as progress was being made, met regularly with the builder and even offered suggestions on how to make the final structure more pleasing to the eye and friendly to be lived in. In short, Chris was everything that a potential home buyer could want. By the way, he does all of this with professionalism and utmost respect for the customer.”

Gary De Carolis – Washington, D.C.

“Chris made a very professional impression instantly when I met him. I also really appreciated his caring demeanor and fun sense of humor. He genuinely seemed to be working for my best interest in finding the perfect property. He put in a lot of time doing research and showing me various properties. I would definitely recommend Chris Hurd to help you buy or sell your property.”

Jennifer Johnson – Toronto, Ontario