A First-time Home Buying Experience That ‘Blew Our Minds’

Five hours. Five houses. One Saturday. Mark Cipolletti came prepared.

“I was impressed, because when we met him that day, he had a cooler filled with water and snacks,” recalls client Beth Clingenpeel, who with husband Tim met their REALTOR® at the first walk-thru home in Ashland on a hot Saturday in June. “He said, ‘I know we have a crazy day ahead, so I want to make sure we have time to eat as we can’t stop for lunch.’” Mark had also not only mapped the route they’d take that day, but drove it himself the day prior to make sure he knew the roads. “Those little touches were amazing,” Beth says. “He blew our minds.”

“I didn’t know the home buying process could be so easy.”

It was house three of five, on a sun-kissed cul-de-sac in Mechanicsville’s AshCreek neighborhood, that was love-at-first-sight for the parents of soon-to-be-three. “As we drove in, I loved the entryway, the trees, the young families everywhere,” Beth recalls. The house was “right within” the couple’s price-point, and more importantly, met the list of all their “must-haves” and most all their “nice-to-haves.” Mark, by the way, had created a checklist for each home listing the musts, nices, and absolutely-nots (no busy street out front, as they’d had in Fredericksburg).

With their home under contract, Mark didn’t disappear. He managed the inspection and repairs process. He also helped the first-time homebuyers run the financing gauntlet, working directly with the mortgage lender, First Community Bank, and keeping Beth and Tim appraised of the progress so they could handle packing and work (all during a pandemic). 

At closing – done in just 45 days — Mark presented the pair with a custom drawing of their home, made by a local artist, as a gift. “That picture now has a central space in our new home,” she says. Overall, Beth says, Mark was flexible and accessible anytime the couple had a question. “And I had a lot of questions,” she jokes. “He provided us with a wonderful experience. I didn’t know the home buying process could be so easy.”

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“Mark was such a pleasure to work with, and was very honest and professional.”

Debbie Harris was overwhelmed.

In the middle of a global pandemic, she was charged with selling her uncle’s house of over four decades. As his health started to decline in recent years, so did upkeep to his Mechanicsville home. He knew it was time to move to an assisted-living community.

The three-bedroom brick rancher, Debbie notes, is in a great neighborhood and looks nice from the street. “But the inside,” she said, “was a mess.”

She didn’t know the first thing about selling a home. She was referred to Mark Cipolletti by his colleague, Christina Hall — who happens to be Debbie’s daughter.

On their first meeting Mark immediately quashed concerns, taking over the complicated paperwork, listing requirements, and marketing strategy of the property. Debbie and others spent the better part of a month clearing out the home to prepare for sale. Empty but for appliances, the house went on the market in late September “as-is” — needing some obvious work on the floors, walls, and various unseen unknowns.

It sold 24 hours later after receiving eight offers. To finalize the deal, Debbie visited her uncle in his new assisted living apartment while Mark waited outside due to COVID-restrictions at the community. They were about to sign the papers when Mark called from the parking lot: another offer had come in. While it wasn't the most attractive offer for Debbie's uncle, it did increase the ultimate purchase price for the home due to an escalation clause in the winning bid. The home ultimately sold for $11,000 over asking price.

“Mark was such a pleasure to work with, and was very honest and professional. He handled everything, guided us on what we needed to do, and kept us in the loop on the entire process,” Debbie says. “I would recommend him to anyone.”