In the spring of 2022, my husband and I decided that we wanted to buy a home in the Hudson Valley.Having family in Dutchess County, we spent time in the area and discovered its wonderful cultural and natural qualities.A broker we knew in NYC had worked on a sale with Barbara Bodnar at Coldwell Banker in the Yorktown office, and highly recommended her to us. Buying a house is not easy.It takes perseverance.You need a broker who is not just experienced, but also one who is professional and patient.You need a broker who communicates well, who has integrity and truly cares about your interests. It doesn’t hurt if you really like them and enjoy spending time with them. This is an important relationship. I’m describing Barbara, and our relationship with her. Along the way, Barbara cautioned us when necessary, negotiated when needed and understood when we were discouraged. We learned that she had a previous career as a social worker, and rapidly understood how she used those skills in the entire process. After a long and difficult search, and after submitting bids on multiple properties that didn’t pan out, we found just the right property. Finding a house you like enough to submit an offer and getting an offer accepted is only the first step. You want to know that you are making the right decision. Barbara connected us to a trusted network of professionals that included her indispensable assistant Nathalie, a home inspector, a general contractor, an electrician, a radon remediator, a security company, an appraiser and a company for window treatments – all expert and terrific to work with. It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the “to do” list around buying a home, let alone find expert and reliable professionals. Barbara and her network gave us confidence that we chose the right home pre-sale and could help us make the property the home we wanted post-sale. We finally closed on our house in April of this year. We could not have done it without Barbara. She is a gem.
Barbara Bodnar
