I can recommend Padraic very much. It was a very good experience to work with him. We are first time home owners and it took us a little bit to decide what we want (Condo, House, or Townhouse, two- or three bedroom). He was patient with us through this process. We were living in Seattle for a long time, so we knew which neighborhoods we are interested, but it was mainly a question of transportation options, since we have two sons who's school are in two very different corners of Seattle. I saw a lot of houses with Padraic, sometimes 5 or more a day.(I would say at least 40 in total). I enjoyed this part a lot. Padraic often visited the houses before he showed them to me to see if they were interesting and a fit. Sometimes he knew them from previous sales since he worked in this area for a couple of years. It was a pleasure to work with him. He send me first the listings in the price reign we wanted and then I told him which ones I was thinking of visiting. After my visit and screening we went again with my husband, sometimes a couple of time at the end when we wanted to have a second look. Padraic was always very quick in responding. He never pressured us, but only gave sometimes suggestions, when we were thinking how a two bedroom would work. We only looked for two month and made an offer. This was a short sale, but we were not in a hurry. We went through the pile of paperwork for an offer and Padraic explained everything to us. Than we had another look at the house and did not like it so much. Than the townhouse we finally bought came to the market at a very good price. A few weeks before we saw with Padraic the townhouse next to it at a higher price and less good location (Less windows to the south). He recommended to be fast with this one, since it was at a good price. Originally I did not liked townhouses because of their design. After visiting a couple, this one and another one(much more expensive and brand new though) I saw them as a good option. I think Padraic accompanied us well through this process of finding out what we really wanted and needed. Since we already made an offer on the other house, the paper work went much faster this time around and we were quick enough to get it (It was a Fanny Mae property).
We think we were really lucky and are happy to live here now.

It is always nice to have an opportunity to recommend someone I respect and appreciate so much. My husband, Matt, is working a super long day today so I may be speaking for both of us. (Matt, chime in if you get the chance!)
Padraic met both Matt and I when we were on the search for a condo in the Cap Hill/Central District area. He immediately struck us as charming and intelligent- a guy who really knows his stuff. I am sure you have already picked up on that. But the question, of course, is can you trust the guy? The answer is yes!!! I figured out I could trust Padraic when Matt and I were really wanting to buy this one condo on Capitol Hill. He took us to the basement of the building and showed us around, talking to us about the structure of the building, and its quality. Padraic was not impressed at all with the place, and he told us why. In short, he told us he could not, in good conscience, sell us the place. Keep in mind, we were already feeling doubtful about buying and were getting ready to rent, which he was well aware of: he told us the truth about the place, even though he potentially could have lost a commission.
When we did settle on a beautiful condo on Capitol Hill, Padraic went out of his way to make sure we were the ones chosen for the place. It was a co-op, and others wanted it, so he suggested we write a letter to the owners. In the end, it was the letter that got us the place. When we decided to sell about 3 years later, Padraic worked so hard. We sold the place in about 2 months. (which at the time was unheard of). In fact, we had other friends in the building who were trying to sell for several months and could not. It was only when they decided to switch Padraic for their realtor were they able to sell the place.
We moved away from Seattle for a few years with the intention to move back. About six months before we moved back, we contacted Padraic and he started looking around for houses for us right away! He would send us listings and go and take a look, in order to get a very clear idea of what we wanted. (We had a baby and wanted to live in NE Seattle, so our criteria had changed from the Capitol Hill days!) I flew in for one weekend and Padraic worked tirelessly, basically putting everything else on hold to show me places. I wore the poor guy out! We ended up looking at about 25 houses in a span of 3 days. That doesn't even count the several houses he had previewed for us before I got there. When Matt and I decided on a house, he again poured his heart into making sure we got the place. He knows many "tricks of the trade" and advised us along the way with ways to secure our purchase. There were 5 other offers on our house, and we got it. The real estate agent who was selling was very clear that it was because of his work that we got the house. I honestly do not think I would be sitting in this house today if it were not for Padraic.
So...to answer your questions: Padraic never, ever pressures you into anything. He works hard to negotiate a price that respects whatever your budget is, and the buying process is very smooth, as he is very, very helpful. He is great at explaining everything in a a way that makes sense. And, he is extremely knowledgeable about the market. As illustrated by the examples above, he most certainly takes the time to understand your needs and budget- and he is as honest as they come. I really hope you choose Padraic- you will not be disappointed.

We wholeheartedly recommend Padraic!! My husband and I have used him to buy and sell our first condo and then buy our new home within the past 5 years, so twice with purchasing and once with selling. We have ALWAYS felt in the best hands and have been very impressed with his negotiating skills. We never felt pressure to buy, and he definitely steered us away from homes we may have been interested in because he noticed issues with the house (he could have kept quiet and pushed us to buy to make a profit). He was also extremely patient when we had a difficult time deciding whether to buy our current home and stood back as my husband and I got cold feet. We ended up going for it (Padraic could see the potential all along) and could not be happier! We ended up with the best possible house for us and the value has held steady despite the economy. We were in a bit of a rush (long story), so only looked for a few weeks, but ended up seeing about 20 or so homes? When we bought the condo it was a bit more spread out and probably saw 30? It's hard to say, but I recall that Padraic bent over backwards to make time for us and he has a knack for making you feel like his only client at the time. The other great thing about him is how much fun he is to be around--it can be exhausting looking for a home and he made the process fun.

In terms of negotiating, he was honestly amazing. He knows how to connect with people and he has some good tricks up his sleeve. He's also honest if he doesn't know something, which helped me trust him even more. The best testimony I can give is that we found the perfect condo for us in 2007, he helped us sell it within ONE week in 2009 when the economy was in rough shape (we got out in the nick of time!!--have Padraic tell you about that!) and now we are incredibly happy with our house. Doesn't get much better than that! :-).