Robert & Holly Julian
Buyers: Central Edgeworth (Sewickley)
  

Jon & Chris Anderson
Sellers: Edgeworth (Sewickley)
  

Ken & Sally Paille
Buyers: Sewickley Community
  

Liz & Kevin Daley
Sellers: Central Sewickley Village
  

Fawn Chang

Buyer: Sewickley Community
  

Jay & Kristen Odell

Sellers & Buyers:Sewickley/North Hills
  

Cindy & Andy Forssell

Buyers: Sewickley Community
 

Jon & Gayle York
Sellers: Sewickley Village
 

Becky & Tom Musial
Buyers: Sewickley Community   

Testimonials

I would like to offer my unequivocal endorsement of Kathleen Barge as a real estate agent of the highest professional standards, knowledge, and abilities.

As a corporate executive for Fortune 500 firms my entire career, I have had occasion to employ real estate agents on numerous occasions throughout the years.  In fact, my wife and I have bought and sold eight homes, in five different states, over the past fifteen years.  We are admittedly very demanding when it comes to real estate agents.  We have historically not been bashful about “firing” agents that did not satisfy our needs or expectations.  When you move as often as we do, there is little time or patience for dealing with anyone other than a top-flight professional.

When we relocated to Pittsburgh from San Francisco in early 2002, we came upon Kathe somewhat by chance.  She was the listing agent for a house in a neighborhood that we had targeted to buy a home – the village of Sewickley.  I was first impressed with Kathe by the detail and thoroughness of her listing.  The house was available on the internet, with multiple pictures, a virtual tour, and a very detailed and well-written description of the house and property.  Kathe writes the most eloquent house and property descriptions that I have ever seen - anywhere.  If we were to ever move again, I wouldn’t want anyone but Kathe to list and market my home.

However, I was even more impressed with Kathe as a buyers’ agent.  Kathe was extremely knowledgeable about the local housing market, schools, and property values.  She was very conscientious about listening to our needs and showing us only the properties that met our requirements – saving valuable time and energy.  She worked around our busy schedule, and was available whenever we needed her.  But I was most impressed with Kathe by her ethical standards and personal commitment to helping us make a good buying decision.  On more than one occasion, Kathe actually talked us out of buying a home - due to technical concerns, or because the sellers’ price did not represent a fair value for the home.  Kathe wasn’t interested in just selling us any old house – she wanted to find us a home that we would truly be happy in, and for us to pay a fair price for it.

I have since recommended Kathe to both friends and colleagues for their real estate needs.  I will continue to do so, without hesitation, in the future.  Kathe is an outstanding real estate agent, who can satisfy even the most demanding of clients.

Sincerely,

Robert K. Julian

Sewickley
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Kathe is amazing.  Through a very difficult period in my family’s life, Kathe made our transition to a new home smooth and easy.  Professional, reliable, insightful, creative and informative, Kathe helped me handle the purchase of my family’s new home when I many times it didn’t look like it would happen.  I was amazed at how swiftly and surely she moved when divorce-monkey-wrenches kept falling on the table.  Prior to this, buying our homes or properties was an ordeal, but with Kathe's help, this one was extremely easy, in fact, it was amazing...we were thrown curve-balls and change-ups because of my divorce proceedings and Kathe was unflustered.  Closing the deal was amazing and she did it.  Kathe continues to be a resource for us:  whenever I have a question, need a contractor or assistance with any real estate or property legalities, or want to network in the community, I call Kathe and she responds with perfect answers. 

Prior to dealing with Kathe, I dealt with Real Estate Agents as a necessity only.  I now have a tremendous respect and gratitude for what a Professional Agent can do and I highly recommend Kathe to anyone interested in a smooth transaction and a lifelong resource for any Real Estate or community needs. 

Thank you Kathe, more than you know.

Fawn Chang

Sewickley
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If we could put down on paper what we really think of Kathe Barge, she would appear too good to be true.

For our family, the sale of our home came at a time when so many other changes were occurring that it was hard to devote the time necessary to do everything right.  That is when Kathe’s real value shone. Her knowledge of the market and her professionalism became apparent very early in the process. But it was the thoroughness and thoughtfulness with which she went about every big and small task that lay on the long road from preparing for sale, to marketing, to contract, to closing that leads to her receiving our highest recommendation.

When we couldn’t get any contractor for three weeks, she had one there within one. When it came time to decide on an offer price, she didn’t present just marked comparables, she prepared a marketing plan, analyzing not just the sell side of the market, but profiling potential buyers so that we could best position our home. By the time the closing occurred, we were comfortable enough to not even bother showing up. Kathe handled it all.

Jon and Chris Anderson

Madison, New Jersey
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Kathe is very good at dealing with busy people with little time to commit to finding a house, and she is extremely knowledgeable of the housing communities surrounding Pittsburgh. She also is a great negotiator, perhaps stemming from her former career as an attorney. She helped us get a great price on our house.

Jay Odell

Sewickley
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Kathe handled all phases of the house-buying process with competence and professionalism:

            Search.   Kathe was tireless and patient, as she showed us (and our two teenagers) dozens of houses. She quickly learned that we liked, and selected a variety of houses that met our needs.   No one knows the Quaker Valley area better than Kathe. She recognized that weren’t just buying a house; we were reestablishing our family in a new community.

            Offer. This was actually the most enjoyable part of the whole process. Kathe knows the market.   She approached the negotiation process strategically, and evaluated possible scenarios. It was fun to watch her in action. She was always a step ahead of everyone else. When the negotiations were over and our offer accepted, we knew we were making a good investment.

            Closing. Kathe made sure all “the bases were covered” so that the closing went smoothly. Her oversight and follow-through were impeccable. She told us exactly what needed to be done, when it needed to be done, and who could do it. There were no last-minute surprises. She is definitely the person you “want in your corner” to look out for you interests.

Working with Kathe was a delightful experience. Our only regret is that we had only one house to buy. If we ever move again, our only call will be to Kathe.

Sincerely,

Ken and Sally Paillé, Sewickley
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We knew we had a unique house, but that, although we loved it tremendously, it might prove difficult to sell. Therefore, we were quite surprised (and pleased) when Kathe told us how much our property value had increased in just four years and what she thought was a reasonable asking price. We were even more excited as she brought us an offer in less than 48 hours. Given that we had already committed to move, her swift action was very welcome.

As we discussed the initial offer and counter offer her calm demeanor and confidence quieted our nerves and allowed us to view the process rationally and without excess emotion. Her breadth of knowledge regarding the legal and practical aspects of a real estate sale allowed us to work with the buyers’ offer.

We have now settled into our new home, though our closing here did have to be postponed three days (how we wish that you could have handled this side of our move too). We hope that your career is going wonderfully. It should, you are great. We highly recommend you to anyone buying or selling in the Sewickley area. Your intimate knowledge of the community, the available properties, and the current economic conditions make you eminently qualified to handle any transactions from the most simple to the most complex.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth and Kevin Daley

Los Gatos, California
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Jon and I want you to know how lucky we feel that you were the one manning the office that day he called looking for an agent. You stayed with us through the ups and downs of selling our little house as if it were a mansion worth several million. You went so far beyond any expectations we had of a real estate agent that we would sing your praises and recommend you to anyone buying or selling a house. All of your advice, help and reassurance during the purchase of our new house was also much appreciated!  Thank you for holding our hands – Many thanks to the best real estate agent!

Very Sincerely,

Gayle York
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Thank you so much for your help through this whole process. You’ve helped us so much this last month as well as the years!!   We so appreciated your calm, logical advice, your knowledge of all the requirements, and your ability to firmly negotiate on our behalf.

Tom and Becky Musial

Sewickley
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