Peter and Anne’s Story

“What could possibly be more nerve wracking, ground shaking, and life changing than moving? In our case, it was from Phoenix, Arizona to Portland, Oregon!

My husband, Peter, works for Intel and we had the option of choosing our own Turner Team Inc.® to work with. I went online and started looking at houses, myself, rather than connecting with an agent first. When I saw an interesting property, I’d contact the Realtor® listing it.

My husband’s new position with Intel required him to travel to the Portland area about every other week, so it made complete sense that we would eventually relocate. Fortunately, the trips there allowed him to become more familiar with the city, a little bit at a time.

We took our first “house-hunting” trip to Portland one weekend, planning to meet a particular Realtor®, whom we had previously contacted. We took our fourteen-year-old son, Brampton, with us to “see what he was getting into.” We wanted him to know that we understood how tough it would be starting high school in a new place.

We met the agent on a gray, rainy day. If weather could portend an outcome, this day certainly did. This agent was a poor match for us. My husband needed to direct her as she drove us around. She made reference to the fact that “house-hunting with children” wasn’t a great idea and decided, without discussing it with us, to eliminate potential properties for viewing. Needless to say, we eliminated her immediately.

How we mustered our morale to go back online, when we got home to Phoenix, and start searching all over again, is a story in itself. But, it would become the best part of our story and our search…because it led us to Charles Turner of Turner Team Inc®.

My husband sent Charles a casual email requesting information about a house we had seen online and liked. Charles got right back to us, sending a million different things for us to peruse; things about schools, neighborhoods, everything.

What began as a simple email indicating our interest in a home—which is now our home —took off like wildfire. In fact, the majority of our communication with Charles was by email! I’ve heard people say you can buy anything online! We are proof of it!

However, we never felt distanced from Charles, by miles or technology. Peter was very impressed that Charles was so “techno-savvy”! If Charles didn’t have an immediate answer to a question—which was rare—he’d find the information and get back to us quickly.

Charles’ friendly, helpful know-how made the major hurdles of relocating less stressful. Driving cross-country with two vehicles and an RV and having just one hour to arrange financial access to an out-of-state account, were huge factors.

Charles was there throughout to support us by getting information we needed or requested back to us without delay. He diligently focused on our transactions; maintained a professional standard, was cheerful and upbeat and even came to the house to let the carpet cleaner in!

Here in Portland, we now experience the wonder of changing seasons and temperatures. We can enjoy them indoors in our four- bedroom, three-and-a-half bath, 4400 square feet home, or outdoors on our deck or beautiful wrap-around porch. We know we’ve made the best decision for our sons (Brampton, Ben and Gavin), and our new lifestyles.

Thank you, Charles.”
– Peter and Anne Brandenburger

Katherine’s Testimonial

“I just can’t say enough about how great the Turners are! There are times when I actually toy with the idea of selling the house I’ve just bought and buy a new one, just to work with Jenny and Charles again!

Prior to buying my home, I was a seasoned apartment dweller, often moving from place to place without actually unpacking boxes!

Now, I’m a first time home owner. The biggest adjustment I had to make was to stop pinching myself. I still can’t believe I actually own a house. I’ll go to my back yard and think, “This is mine
This little piece of land is mine.”

I’m really looking forward to my first summer in the house. On clear days, I can see Mt. Hood down the street. Portland really has some breathtaking scenes. I’m originally from Rochester, New York, and visited Portland on a road trip, some years ago. It was so beautiful that I stayed.

One of Jenny’s most important and welcomed skills is being on top of things during the whole buying process, which in my case, was fraught with unforeseen glitches.

Take the sewer problem, for example. Talk about opening up a can or worms—or sewer pipes, for that matter. The owners/sellers of the house were living out of the country in the British West Indies, but included a stipulation in the sale of their Portland home, that they would not be responsible for any repairs needed. Gulp! Where did this leave me?

I got a crash course in “party sewers” (homes adjacent to each other sharing the same sewer line), what “negotiations” I could garner with the current owner regarding the repair to broken sewer pipes, who pays for what and what repair services were available to do the work.

To say I felt mired in these decisions is an understatement. The aspects of searching for and buying a house suddenly seemed so simple! Finding the house didn’t take long; financing the house didn’t take long; the final closing didn’t take long. But this sewer thing loomed larger than life every day.

Jenny was tenacious as ever in hounding the people who did the “sewer scope” to determine if my house was, in fact, on a “party sewer line”. When we discovered that it was, Jenny managed to get the city of Portland to allow me to use the very sewer line that runs right in front of my house and she also made sure that I was locked into a fixed price with the sewer repair people.

She just kept on it, giving me progress reports every step of the way. By that time, I felt confidant that Jenny was taking care of everything, so it was a stress-free process for me. I didn’t worry about a thing, She left no stone (or sewer pipe) unturned.

For first-time home owners like me, the prospect of making this huge move can be scary and very intimidating. Jenny and Charles made me feel so secure and comfortable. They are focused, accessible, knowledgeable and just terrific people.”

– Katherine