“I have known Chris Olsen for a number of years in a work related arena. I’ve had numerous opportunities to witness him in action, so to speak, as I was employed by a title company, and had processed many of his transactions.

He is real estate savvy, in that he is the most knowledgeable REALTOR I know. This is extremely high praise on my part, as I have worked with several hundred agents in my tenure as an escrow officer, and sales executive in a combined 8 years in the title business.

I saw firsthand, his commitment to both buyers and sellers.

When you engage Chris as “your agent”, he takes it very personally, and goes further professionally than any other agent I’ve worked with. It is why he is respected (and sometimes feared!) by so many in his field. I have moved on from the title insurance business, but he is the expert my husband and I turned to when we were in need of professional real estate services.

He was frank and upfront with us, committed to help us achieve our goal and helped us produce the outcome we were looking for. We are truly grateful and we highly recommend him!”

Bob & Judy B-

“Having Chris Olsen on our team to figure out a move out of state turned out to be a true blessing. Not only did we sell our house in a week, during what is supposed to be a terrible real estate market, but we got our asking price! We just cannot express enough our incredible respect for Chris in terms of the way that he managed the entire process, from engineering the right sales price with us, to posting pictures the first night that were so good we said we would buy our house again. Chris was available for us at what seemed to be anytime day or night, even meeting late in the evenings to work around my travel schedule to get everything done. And the icing on the cake was that we got this superior service while paying LESS than any other agent would have charged us in terms of commission and overall transaction costs! Chris worked very hard and delivered solid and substantial results to earn our trust while selling our house. He also helped my wife and kids with the many little things that made moving to our new home much easier. Without reservation, this experience was a true miracle for us. We hope that we never move again, since we are certain that no one could possibly match the experience we had this year with Chris. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Bob & Sherry C-

“I am very lucky that I found Chris as a buyer’s agent to find my new construction, dream house. Chris, no doubt is a very knowledgable and professional real estate agent.  We felt fortunate to find him!  I strongly believe Chris will do a good job for his clients.  With Chris, you will have no worries!”

Eva K-

“Never have we encountered someone so tailor-made for their profession as much as Chris Olsen is for Real Estate.  When we had an unexpected job transfer out of the state, we immediately made the call to Chris, for there was no other Realtor in Northeast Ohio we would rather have on our side than him. Chris has represented us on both sides of real estate transactions, as a buyer in 2006 and a seller, and in each of these, he brought the same persistence each time; because there is only one gear Chris operates in and that is full-drive.

Chris is like no other in the Northeast Ohio area, for he saves you money in many ways.  He has a lower commission percentage than most Realtors and no administrative transaction fee which saved us over $6,000.

Chris was honest and straightforward with the recommended listing price for our house, and provided all the material to support his suggestion.  In the end, the decision was still up to us, and he supported us in any direction we decided to go.  He was dependable; whenever we had a question or concern, Chris was there to quickly respond to our needs. Chris is everywhere, all at one time!

He has a multitude of professional contacts that can come to the aid of a seller putting their house on the market or a buyer looking for a home.  Once our transaction was pending, Chris put his resources to use once again to save us money on repairs, about $1,000.

With all of the resources Chris brought to the table we were able to sell our house in LESS THAN A WEEK! In this economy that is virtually unheard of, and our actual sales price was $11,000 more than our upper range projected sales price! Also, we saved over $8,000 on costs.

Chris Olsen and Olsen Ziegler Realty should be like a proprietary eponym when you talk about Real Estate; just like Coke, Jell-O, and Kleenex are to their respective brand fields.  Olsen Ziegler Realty sets the standard that all other real estate companies should strive to become. Thanks Chris, you are amazing!!!!”

The Wimbleys-

“We could not possibly say enough good things about Chris Olsen and Olsen Ziegler Realty.  Chris is incredibly knowledgeable, helpful, polite and consistently attentive and reactive to even the smallest questions or problems.  When advising us on the selling of our house, he made staging and small property improvement suggestions we would never have thought of, and as a result, we sold our house in only 3 weeks in a horrible housing market (May of 2009)!  Once his suggestions were made, he was also able to recommend reliable, quick and affordable contractors to help us pass inspections and make minor improvements which also aided in the speed of our sale.  During the showing process he also aggressively sought feedback from buyer’s realtors after showings to help us assess interest and if there were any problems we might want to head off for future showings.  We credit Chris’s fantastic photos and webpage with netting us over a dozen showings in the first three weeks and resulting in a sale price only $4,000 below our asking price!  We felt his extensive analysis of the housing market in our neighborhood was fair and his pricing suggestions were realistic (and key to our success).  In addition to our great selling price, we estimate Chris saved us at least $3,000 in commissions, escrow fees, and other incidentals embedded in contract details we never would have known to look for.  We felt he went above and beyond in every way and over-all, we were very happy with the process and thrilled with the results.

If possible, Chris proved himself to be even more valuable as our buying agent.  His knowledge of the housing stock in this area was extensive.  He was able to give us assessments of details like boiler size and brand, basement condition, cooling systems, value of improvements, quality of workmanship and materials in remodels, neighborhood details, resale value, etc.  He also delved into the history of the house and got the seller’s “story” which helped us make decisions about strategy and value.  In general, it was a pleasure to look at houses with him!  He was able to give us suggestions for changes we might make to prospective properties and gave general estimates for how much various improvements might cost, as well as future resale potential.  This is all invaluable information when searching for the right home that won’t break the bank!

In the end, we sold our house so quickly, we were in the rare situation of house-hunting while in the process of moving out of our old house.  Chris helped us to find a house to rent on a month-to-month basis so we would have more time to look for our “dream house”.  The rental worked out great – so great, in fact, that we ended up buying the house we were renting!  Because Chris was both the buying and selling agent on this particular house, we were not able to take advantage of his negotiating skills, but we felt we bought the house at a fair price and know we were able to save money due to many of Chris’s contract suggestions and his policy against taking a double commission on a sale.  In addition, because we were able to put off buying a house by renting, we were able to qualify for the new tax-credits and saved an additional $6,500.

We have already recommended Chris to several of our friends and would use him again in a heartbeat!”

Elizabeth and Keven L-

“My wife and I had a great experience purchasing our first home with Chris as our agent.  First, Chris never pressured us to buy.  Our home search continued for approximately nine months.  During those nine months, we looked in four (non-adjacent) cities, changed our search parameters many times, and varied our price points repeatedly.  Despite our indecision and long search, Chris continued to advise us not to make offers above market values.  Thus, while Chris would have benefited from his commission on a sale, he repeatedly put our interests ahead of his own and protected us from overpaying.  Second, Chris was extremely knowledgeable.  He diligently pointed out exceptional and/or flawed craftsmanship in homes.  His opinion is not a substitute for a home inspector’s but it certainly was nice to know something about the quality of the home before making an offer.  Third, Chris kept us grounded while our minds spun around the turbulent 2009 housing and lending markets.  He is considerate, even-tempered, and a logical thinker who kept us thinking of all pertinent issues, personal and financial, in an organized manner.  We are now in an amazing home in a great city and have Chris to thank for it.

P.S.  We stumbled upon Chris’s website by blind luck, gave him a call, and never turned back despite discovering that some of our close family friends are Realtors.  He is seriously a great agent.”

Chad & Megan M-

“We would absolutely recommend Olsen Ziegler Realty with 100% confidence. With the extreme constraints of a highly competitive housing market and our need to relocate out of state, finding the right realtors with a high level of expertise and professionalism was a must for us. Although we could write a novel of accolades for Chris Olsen and Julie Ziegler, there are several main factors that helped us in deciding to use Olsen Ziegler Realty:

• Free Home Staging: We can’t say enough about Chris and Julie’s ability to identify strengths and weaknesses of our house, and find clever and low cost ways to really present our house and property. We followed their recommendations, and the house looked so good, it surprised us both. We kept thinking to ourselves, we should have had them come out to our house years ago. We would have enjoyed living in it!
  Even more impressive was the cost and dedication Chris and Julie demonstrated. Many Realtors charge the seller for this service which usually costs around $250 just for the home staging report.  Not only were Chris and Julie experts at staging, they helped to  save us an additional several hundred dollars in staging labor, as well as guiding us through this process, step by step.
• Recommendations for Property Improvements: This really set Chris and Julie apart from other realtors. Given the extremely competitive selling market, we were anxious to learn what advice realtors had for us to best market our home. Other realtors provided minimal to no advice on practical improvements to help protect and maximize our sales price (i.e., painting, etc.). This was NOT the case with Olsen Ziegler! They spent multiple hours offering clear and economical recommendations for improvements, yet we never felt pressured to make even one  – the decision was always ours to make. Likewise, Chris and Julie had an extremely knowledgeable appreciation of market trends and ways we could further maximize our marketing by considering additional property improvements. Olsen Ziegler quickly identified several consulting experts, whom provided us with some amazing options we took to further improve our home marketing potential and increase our ‘curb’ appeal.
• Lower Listing Commission: Despite the extensive consultation and knowledge of staging, Olsen Ziegler was surprisingly economical. Compared to other national and local realty companies, Olsen Ziegler Realty helped cut costs. We saved in excess of $2,400! We also felt no pressure to sign a contract to list our home with Olsen Ziegler for longer than we were prepared to do.
• Negotiations & Savings: Chris Olsen negotiated very hard to NOT use certain local title/escrow companies, which saved us around $1,000 in variable title/escrow fees.
  Insurance premiums were reduced with Chris’ skills for obtaining a re-issue rate in our title insurance premium – another $300-$400 savings. Moreover, there were no administrative transaction fees (or as Chris would call them – junk fees) – saving us an additional $200-$250 versus other companies. Most importantly, Chris really knew how to discuss and negotiate with buyers agents to maximize our home price. Chris and Julie were wonderful!
• Cost-Effective Contractors: Recommendations for home improvements also came with a list of contractors to help cut costs on larger projects. We had considered several of the projects for years before, but previous estimates made these projects impossible. However, Olsen Ziegler knew of several contractors to work with, and the estimates from these contractors nearly made us faint! It was considerably less costly than we anticipated, and the contractors had a reputation throughout the area for top quality work. The work on our house was done very professionally, and Chris and Julie were in contact with and worked with us and the contractors to get projects done. The saving was approximately 40% off retail prices. The materials used were name brand, high quality materials and the final product made us wish we weren’t selling our home!
• Exceptional Project & Time Management:  Due to our move out of state, the time frame for renovations and preparations were limited. In 8 short weeks, Olsen Ziegler expeditiously moved from identifying issues, facilitated proposals with contractors, and assisted in the completion of projects (both on time and within budget)! This is exceptional service, particularly for more established and sizeable homes.
• Exceptional Personalized Customer Service & Local Market Knowledge: Chris and Julie were both professional and personable. They understood the stressors involved in the selling of a house and took this into consideration along every step of the process. Their knowledge of the market was absolutely without parallel! It was clear to us, Olsen Ziegler had more expertise than other realtors whom purported to “know” the market. They always kept us informed of any changes on a timely basis and communications were always seamless.
• Overall Grade: A+!!!! The Olsen Ziegler approach (both to reducing expenses while maximizing our selling price) saved us at least $50K versus a traditional realtor. This paired with the indeterminate time on the market had we chosen to adopt the traditional approach with another realtor would likely have resulted in our home still being on the market today. In short – we highly and most definitely recommend Olsen Ziegler Realty! We feel we have been spoiled by Chris and Julie, and wish we could take Chris and Julie with us. Regardless if you are buying or selling a home, if you don’t call and talk with Olsen Ziegler Realty, you will short change yourself.

- Mike & Mariann-

Please view the details of this Cleveland Heights Renovation Case Study and view the transformation.

“It’s a story in its own right how we came to find Olsen Ziegler Realty. Three previous Realtors, affiliated with three separate, well-known Realty Companies, all claimed they possessed expert market insight and that they would aggressively market our home.  However, in the end, we got bad advice on pricing, no strategy adjustment due to the market slowing with the sub-prime mortgage crisis,  and the “aggressive marketing strategies” all boiled down to a listing in the MLS and waiting for prospective buyers to come along.
After our house sat on the market for an entire year with virtually no showings and suffered the wear and tear of being empty over a Cleveland winter, we finally decided to try renting.  Renting didn’t prove much more successful since our tenants decided to stop paying rent when my wife’s job took us overseas.  By the time we completed the eviction, the tenants were months behind in rent and left the house in disgusting shape; there really is no other better word for the condition in which they left the house.
Being overseas, we had no option but to find an agent who could oversee repairing the property and getting it rented or sold.  After an exhaustive search of both Realtors and Rental Property Managers we finally selected Olsen Ziegler Realty because no one else who competed for the business had as detailed a plan for how to repair and market the house; had previous experience doing similar projects; had as many wildly happy references; or provided as detailed market analysis in such an easy package to understand.
Olsen Ziegler proposed a variety of marketing options, from investing nothing in the property and listing the house at a rock bottom price to a complete renovation that would increase the initial asking price by at least $75,000.  We elected to invest $40,000 to repair and renovate the property over an 8 week time period.  Olsen Ziegler Realty would manage all aspects of the project from material selection to coordinating contractors and laborers and providing me final authority to approve everything.
By the end of the project, our home had a complete renovation of the kitchen with new cabinets, appliances and granite counter tops; two renovated bathrooms; a waterproofed and renovated finished basement; sanded and coated hardwood floors throughout 3 levels; and a full interior painting. To top it off, they also staged it with furniture and accessories and made sure all the routine tasks like yard maintenance and cleaning were done.  Julie Ziegler was especially valuable during the renovation process; she selected materials, appliances and décor that both fit within the budget and greatly enhanced the property’s overall appeal.
All the renovation and repair was done while I was out of the country and the project was completed both on time and on budget.  Unlike all of our previous experience, Olsen Ziegler not only met their commitments, they exceeded them on every count.
Seventy-eight days after the house was listed, their efforts and my trust in them were rewarded– not with a single offer, but two on the same day!  The offers came at a time when no other house in the neighborhood was under contract; in late October, typically a poor time of year to sell in our neighborhood; and just weeks after the Banking collapse of 2008; and at 95% of our listing price.  And, like every other aspect of this project, Olsen Ziegler Realty protected my interests during closing and made a logistically difficult process as easy as could be wished for.
Beyond all this, Olsen Ziegler saved me money in all phases of the project. Their listing commission was less than the typical rate of the large Real Estate companies; they brought with them a complete portfolio of contractors and service professionals who did excellent work at rates less than had been quoted to me previously; they identified savings opportunities with the “re-issue rate” on title insurance; they selected a Title and Escrow company that was both less expensive and which managed the out of state transaction like I had been sitting in the office with them; and provided expertise in negotiating the sales contract so that the buyer ended up assuming thousands of dollars of City Point of Sale (POS) repairs.

The expertise and services of Olsen Ziegler Realty truly put them in a league of their own!”  – Matthew F.

“We highly recommend Chris Olsen as a realtor.  He is unfailingly courteous, patient, and a man of integrity.  He is very knowledgeable about home values and characteristics, and shared this with us as we looked at a variety of properties.  He knew when a property was over-priced for the current market, or a good deal.  Chris was very effective in helping us close the deal for our new house at a great price and right on schedule.  He went the extra mile to help us close quickly and easily, calling in inspectors and tradesmen as needed, even when it wasn’t strictly his responsibility.  He also saved us money by negotiating well on our behalf and by recommending a title company with lower fees and no kick-backs.  Chris’s website and MLS search features were integral to our home-buying quest, since we were moving from California to Ohio.  We could check out possibilities from 2500 miles away. Chris was quick and helpful in answering any questions we asked, whether by email or phone.  Having some experience with other realtors, we know they’re not all like Chris!”

Glen & Anne C-

“Chris walked into a challenging situation with my house.  It had been on the market for 6 months, empty, and my husband and I had recently divorced.  This was a nice large home on a lovely street, with a pool, and several other attractive homes for sale nearby.
Utilizing his experience with demographics, market conditions, desires of new buyers, and experience in remodeling, Chris pulled it all together.  He got the house remodeled to a more desirable configuration, repainted and updated some of the older features and fixtures.  Most of the work happened during the winter months, not the easiest time of year for contractors to get in and out.
I was pleased and surprised when an offer came in early April, and delighted when the sale went thru in mid-May.
Aside from his business experience and capabilities, Chris is a very pleasant person to work with.  He is calm, low-key, prompt, and does what he says he will do in a timely manner.  I always walked away from an encounter with him feeling well cared for, and that he knew what needed to be done.
In today’s difficult economic climate and real estate market, these are all important qualities that one needs to have in a realtor.  I would always highly recommend Chris and I’m sure his customers would agree with me.  I am grateful and pleased to have had the opportunity to work with him, and to benefit from his professional expertise.”

Sue G-

“Chris Olsen is, in a word, fantastic.
You will never find a realtor who is such a devoted advocate for his client and with dogged determination can guide you through the maze of real estate transactions with intelligence and exacting attention to detail.  He is a kind, caring, ethical man who can negotiate like a bulldog when the need arises.  Trust me, you want this guy on your side.
I began my realtor search armed with what I considered to be the best advice in a tough market: go with a big realty company.  I stumbled across Chris by accident and now, having just sold and purchased a home with Chris, I challenge everyone who has been spoon-fed this myth that a big company can help you in a tough market.  I would defy anyone to prove to me that the larger companies can do better than Chris Olsen.  And I have the numbers to back this up.

I would hire Chris to do anything because of his exceptional competence.  Not only is he amazingly competent, he has great contacts who are all the best of the best.  My husband said it this way, “Go with Chris and all the people he recommends.”
Chris has literally saved us thousands of dollars.  You will be shocked at the ways Chris has figured out to save dollars and we are not talking trivial amounts of money.  His money saving tactics occurred throughout our relationship with multiple examples of saving us money that we never would have known about at all.”

Jonathan & Maria W-

Note: This home sold in 16 days for 98% of list price when only 11% of the competing homes were under contract!  This was accomplished by thorough and creative home staging, competitive pricing and innovative Internet marketing!

“Your communication throughout the sales process was impeccable and unmatched in the real estate industry.  Additionally, your in-depth knowledge of the local market, the competitive homes on the market, comparisons among the homes and the recommendations for staging our home all made the difference in being able to sell our home in a reasonable timeframe. It’s clear you take your role in real estate seriously and I’d recommend you to all of my friends and family.”

Aaron H-

“Chris made one of the most difficult and trying times for my fiance and me a truly painless process. His expertise and work ethic allowed us to purchase a home in Ohio while I finished school out of state and she worked on the east coast. His knowledge of the market and area helped us find exactly what we wanted. Chris was always more than willing to go the extra mile to ensure that we understood the process every step of the way. Chris comes highly recommended as a Realtor who will go out of his way to ensure that your home buying (or selling) process is successful. He is the only way to go.

Thanks for everything Chris!”

Mark Z., PharmD & Emily P., PharmD-

“We recently relocated from the Chicago area to the Cleveland area.  While searching the Internet to see the types of homes available in the Heights areas, we found a listing by Chris Olsen.   After inquiring about the house through the website, we were happy to hear from Chris within hours and was able to set up a phone interview with him on the same night.  From this point to the time we purchased our new home in Shaker Heights, Chris was the epitome of professionalism.  He was able to work around our busy schedules and accommodated us even in the snow to help us find the right home suitable to our needs.  Chris was there every step of the way from the time our offer was made right through closing.  Chris has raised the bar as far as what we even looked for in a REALTOR to list our home in Illinois!!  He is someone we would highly recommend to anyone who is looking for an educated REALTOR who is honest about the real estate market when working with his clients and who is the type of person who will take all the time necessary to help his clients in one of the biggest and most important decisions they will ever make.”

Maisha & Andy G-

“As first-time homebuyers, Chris was incredibly helpful as in educating and guiding us through the home buying process.  From our first meeting with him, it was clear that he was the type of professional, knowledgeable REALTOR we were looking for.  His website and personal guidance were very helpful as we organized our initial search and identify properties of interest.  As we progressed through the home buying process, he was incredibly quick to respond to emails, and always ready at the phone for more urgent questions.  We look forward to recommending Chris to all of our friends & family in the future.”

Paul & Milica K-

“I’ve already recommended you to 3 friends who are in the process of contacting you to sell their homes.  Not an easy task, so they are quite impressed with the results you produced for our family!

That you sold our house in just a few months in the current economic climate (i.e., 2-4 percent houses under contract in our town) is nothing short of miraculous.  Your advice on how to remodel and stage our home to increase our standing among our competition was right on the mark.  It was a pleasure to work with you and you made the experience a lot less stressful than I ever imagined.

As for your interpersonal skills and customer service, they are impeccable.  You are a genuinely nice guy – probably not common enough in your profession.  You are also compassionate, hardworking, organized, fair, honest, and appropriately assertive on behalf of your buyers and sellers (we’ve been both!).  You also provide sound advice and are good at listening when clients need a counselor during such a stressful life event – most important, you are almost always available and easy to reach.  And if you want, you can mention that I do personality assessments for a living!     ”

Dana B., Ph.D-

“Thank you Chris for a great job! Your knowledge, professionalism, and patience with me as a first time buyer proved to be invaluable. With your help, I was able to avoid several pitfalls and stay on top of the situation from start to finish. I recommend you highly to anyone looking to buy in the area.”

Joe F-

“Chris did everything well and was incredible!!!  For us, the real estate company was not important, the REALTOR was, and Chris provided us with everything we needed to know.  Chris was excellent in his customer service, integrity, market knowledge, communication, negotiation, closing preparations and finding us the right home.”

Doug A., & Jeff A-

“As an incoming relocation buyer, Chris gave us tons of information on neighborhoods, setup our own website with automatic e-mail notifications, responded to us via e-mail in a timely and efficient manner, and kept us well informed at all times.  Chris customer service, integrity, market knowledge, communication, and negotiation skills are excellent!  He even started a friendship with us and continues to this day.”

Jim & Emma N-

Note: We have since sold their home for full price in five days in a strong buyers’ market by helping them thoroughly prepare their home for sale months in advance and pricing it competitively from Day 1.  I also helped them purchase a subsequent home.

“Chris was extremely helpful during a very difficult move.  Without his help, I would not have been able to complete my move in the allotted time.  Chris’ explanation of the purchase agreement and offer presentation, professional assistance during the closing process, communication and follow-up after the transfer of title, and over quality of his service was excellent.”

“Chris’ professionalism, work ethic and motivation are why we chose him to market our home.  His marketing For Sale Flyer to showcase our home is EXCELLENT.”

David & Pat G-

“Chris did an excellent job.  Chris was really supportive.  We met at an open house and clicked!  Chris’ selection and showing of properties that met my needs were excellent.  His explanation of the Purchase Agreement and Offer Presentation were excellent.  His professional assistance during the closing process was excellent.  His communication and follow-up after the transfer of title were excellent.  The overall quality of Chris’ service was excellent!”

Mike S-

“Chris stopped by with a copy of his marketing information at one of our ‘for sale by owner’ open houses.  He has a great deal of integrity, is knowledgeable, honest, trustworthy, and very professional. Chris is providing excellent service in the marketing of our home.”

Greg & Laura O., M.D.-

Note: This home sold for close to list price in 3 weeks in a strong buyers’ market due to thoroughly preparing the home for sale and setting a realistic asking price.