From being the Realtor of the year to president of her board of Realtors, and associating herself with a real estate company with the best mobile site (Sea Glass Properties), I didn’t need much more than that to decide to work with her for my St Thomas home buying needs… As a former Realtor myself, I know what it takes to accomplish those accolades – it means she works hard, knows and schmoozes with everyone (is privy to what’s coming on the market before anyone else knows), is highly respected and liked by her peers, and is honest with a strong work ethic to boot. That’s how you get to be the #1 Realtor, and it’s my first hand experience that being the best Realtor on the island is indeed what she is – actually, Barbara Birt is the best Realtor I’ve ever worked with even beyond St Thomas too. Some of the things I liked about Barbara were… * She texts and responds to her email within minutes – she’s an expert communicator and was always available. * She knows everyone: she put me in touch with my architect, builder, lawyer, surveyor, mortgage broker, title company, home inspector, insurance agent, and even a prospective business partner and a couple of her friends – she was a one-stop source to the top professionals in their fields, everyone communicated with each other during the whole process, and we had a stress free smooth closing within 30 days (she knows how to overcome people operating on island time). * After closing, most Realtors would do nothing more then count their commission. However, Barbara ensured not only my deal went smooth, but also my transition to the island lifestyle was perfect. She personally acquired the meter number from the sellers, printed out a copy of my recorded deed and brought me to the electric company (Wapa), so that they’d merely switch names rather than disconnect power and have to wait days to reconnect (and for a higher fee) – I was able to stay in my new place that night.
