Being new to the city and looking for a home in the bustling Seattle market, I’d been apprehensive about embarking on the process. Through recommendations, I’d reached out to Don and in retrospect, I don’t think I could have chosen a better real estate professional to partner with me on this!

Right from our initial interaction, Don’s ability to ask thoughtful questions not only helped him to understand my needs and preferences, but also provided clarity to me on the expectations of house-hunting under current market conditions. His expertise and insights on the various neighborhoods were a tremendous help, and because of that, we were able to quickly narrow down to a focused search, which I really appreciated (as opposed to being deluged by a ton of irrelevant listings).

For me, the way people react when unexpected situations come up speaks volumes. In my case, the mortgage process stalled a few days before closing due to an unexpected delay in the appraisal. The mortgage contact was uncommunicative other than letting us know that the closing may be delayed for up to a few weeks. Don stepped right in to get us back on track by being on multiple calls and emails advocating on my behalf and working with the listing agent to “bird-dog” the bank to escalate and accelerate their process. I was extremely impressed by Don’s efforts since the delay was subsequently reduced to just 3 days – especially since the bank had to restart the entire appraisal process from scratch; and honestly, also pleasantly surprised by how effectively he was able to take control of the situation since he was never once pushy with me in the course of our house-hunting process.

Don’s a consummate real estate professional who advocates for his clients, and I’d highly recommend him to anyone looking for an advantage in their home-buying process.

Angela

We are first time home-owners, and really did not know what to expect in the process--to be honest, we were quite nervous because of the uncertainty. Working with Don allayed all concerns because of three particular strengths: his knowledge, his patience and his trustworthy advice.

Don is not an agent who just spots a listing, walks you through the home, and makes an offer. He really is a wealth of knowledge on the nuances of homes--the architectural styles, the materials, the eras, what challenges are common for particular eras and styles. He would clue us in on structural details we might otherwise miss and even the way he'd clue us was perfect--reminding us he's just the agent and an inspection would confirm or refute his hunch (his hunches were always correct--and in one funny moment the inspector almost did a double-take like, how did Don know that?).

From our first meeting, Don patiently explained every facet of the home buying process, even when we had to ask him to re-explain elements he'd already been over. Perhaps one of the best things, for us, is that Don never pressured us into anything--we went on plenty of house tours with Don and never felt any unnecessary sense of urgency from his part. Even more, he fully understood and worked within our needs, requests, and budget.

Don's advice was terrific and it was easy to tell he really had our best interest at heart--when we were in homes that he knew would end up over our budget he would advise against moving forward and likewise, would tell us when we actually didn't need to bid as high as we were thinking. When it came time to make an offer and to draw up contracts he really took care to set every detail for our benefit.

We recommend Don to any home buyer--It would be hard to envision someone doing a better job than him.

Marcellus and Lauren Neel

Don was the perfect agent to help us with our search for a new property. We had never purchased a property in a volatile market before so his expertise in this area was extremely helpful.

Don was immediately in sync with the types of properties and areas that we were drawn to and never wasted our time with listings he knew would not meet our requirements. We both have hectic travel schedules and Don was always available no matter what time zone we were in to help us navigate through the process. We bid on 3 different homes, all of which required some kind of inspection. Thankfully, Don has built some very strong relationships with quality inspectors who were available to help us at a moment’s notice. We quickly learned that these connections were invaluable in the fast moving bidding process.

His instincts for writing a solid offer are right on! We completely trusted his guidance here and can't thank him enough for helping us secure an amazing property.

If you are looking for an agent who is knowledgeable, attentive, trustworthy, and a great communicator, then work with Don!

Stephen and Laura Scott

Don has been a personal and professional friend of mine for over 20 years, so when it came time to sell my house I naturally turned to someone I trusted.
The research Don did, especially during a turbulent time in the Seattle housing market, was excellent. His marketing approach and materials could not have been better. The care he took in explaining every step in the process in uncomplicated terms was most welcome. His communication was timely, concise, warm and comforting. He continued his great customer service all way through to the final signatures and wrap-up. I had an excellent result in the sale of my home and I am convinced it was mostly due to Don’s professional approach to real estate sales and his personal interest in his clients.
If you are looking to sell or buy a home in the Seattle area, you should turn to the same person I trusted – Don Taufen.

Patti L'Heureux

Don is a master at real estate. In a very short time, through casual conversation and viewing homes together, Don was able to hone in on what was most important to us; what would be okay to sacrifice and what was top priority. In this competitive market his ability to guide us through and be an effective sounding board was invaluable. We were able to stay on the timeline we had wanted and stay under our max budget! I credit this to Don's expertise and his true passion for real estate and his clients needs.

Nathan & Alicia Katnik-Canney

Don helped us to buy our dream home in Kingston. We would not have sealed the deal without him. He is a superb communicator - calling and checking in at all times of the day and night across multiple time zones, driving the next steps when we forgot about deadlines in the midst of work and travel. He helped us to strategize about the approach to the buyer, craft our offer package, collect and exchange info with the buyers, and even advised us on issues after we closed. Then he went above and beyond our expectations to help us find an agent in another territory that could help us sell a piece of land by pre-screening the potential selling agents based on criteria to meet our needs and style of communication. Don is an honest agent with a deep sense of integrity and he takes pride in his work by partnering with his clients. We would give him our highest recommendation to anyone looking to buy or sell in the Seattle area. Thank you Don!

- Nina & Eric

We were very pleased with the professionalism shown us by Don throughout the entire process of selling our home. Don is a very down to earth person and made the difficult task of listing and selling a house a pleasant experience. Don performed a comprehensive market analysis, complete with excellent comparables allowing us to sell our home for a great price and within a short time-frame.

Again, thanks Don for a very pleasant and professional home selling experience.

David Roberts & Dondi Cupp

Don, I am taking this opportunity to once again thank for all your help making the sale of my mother's home an extreme success. Your consistant personal involvement, knowledge, and intuition, gave us the good ideas needed to prepare the house through the eyes of a buyer. This approach is what we rank number 1 to selling in less than a week on the market, for a price substantially higher than the asking price. Once again Don, thank you very much.

Joel Talerico

Don was great helping us buy our first home. He walked us through the entire process, explained what we needed to think about, and helped us narrow our search. He took the time to understand us and what is important to us. Don was flexible and made himself available as much as we needed so we could find a place to call home. He helped us place a good offer in this very competitive market and we got the house. Thanks Don!

- Rachel and John

I can’t thank Don enough for his help as I searched for my new home! He carefully listened to what was important to me and matched the listings to meet those requirements. Anytime I wanted to view a property he quickly arranged it. After I selected a home, he led me through the offer process so that I didn’t have to worry that I was missing anything. In the final negotiations of the deal, I valued his advice so that I was able to get what I needed but not risk losing the house. I definitely could not have transacted this purchase without him!

Tara Zaremba

We had a great experience working with Don Taufen. He's a consummate real estate professional who carefully guided us through the Seattle sellers' market. We come from an out-of-state area where it usually takes 6 months to sell a desirable house. So, we were shocked to come to a Seattle and discover waiting lines at open houses and multiple, competing offers for houses that had been listed for only a few days. Don exhibited great patience as he taught us what we needed to know to compete in this market.

Don made himself completely available to us in the short time we had to look at houses. He quickly discerned our needs and desires in a house. We wasted no time looking at houses that wouldn't fit us.

Once we found a suitable house, Don helped us carefully craft an offer. As we worked through issues identified through research and the inspection, he communicated our concerns to the seller and worked diligently to resolve those issues. Our closing went smoothly even though we were out-of-state at the time. All paperwork was handled efficiently and securely over the internet. We are happy customers.

Sue & Jim