As a realtor, Mel sets the standard for the word “professional”. I should know; she worked with me on finding a downtown condo I could renovate as an executive rental. On a purchase, she is someone you want on your side. She is able to move past the “smoke and mirrors” of a listing to zoom in on the guts of the investment. Her comparative analyses work, experience and negotiation skills got me the property I wanted for 20 percent less than the asking price (and we’re not talking about a big-ticket item). To close the deal, she brought in her collection of experts to perform the inspection of both the unit and the condo docs and introduced me to a dynamo of a mortgage broker. Mel was the one to recite the merits of the area in which I wanted to buy. She was the one who knew how future developments would affect the growth of my investment. She was the one to verse me on the benefits of having a great condo management company in place, a never-ending supply of hot water in the bathroom and a designated parking space. She was also the one who came up with a projection of what my condo could be worth after I renovated it (based on the numbers, my little condo has increased in value by more than 40 percent in the year since purchase). The most remarkable thing about Mel is her integrity and good humor – regardless of where the deal is going. She has nerves of steel and the ability to inject some meaningful quip that helps with the decision-making process. In one instance, she and the mortgage broker discovered that a building in which I was first interested wasn’t insurable by CHMC because of past structural claims. If that fact hadn’t been exposed, I would have been stuck with a lemon of property defeating all my aspirations of becoming a real estate tycoon before my next birthday. Maybe even more significant is her work ethic. The commission on my purchase was puny, but the effort she put into the endeavor was equal to what you’d expect on the sale of a $1 million estate. Talk to Mel. Hire her. Save yourself a little angst and a lot of money. I did.