Colby Lewis – Reece & Nichols Realtors

My boyfriend and I hired Colby to help us find our very first home back in 2014. What we didn’t realize was that when you hire Colby, you also hire this small and amazing army of contacts that can make things happen.
She was fantastic at helping us narrow down a huge field of homes to look at. She talked us through features we wanted. She really helped us organize our own wants and needs and thoughts so we could find the right house for us. She was always game to go look at houses, even at odd hours thanks to my strange work schedule. Colby bent over backwards to make time for us.
Full disclosure — it took us four houses to finally get one through to closing. But, that was absolutely no fault of Colby’s. She worked tirelessly for us. I could call her any time day or night and quickly get an answer to what I needed. She stayed on top of the sellers. I have to wonder if we finally got our amazing house because the team of realtors selling our home for Fannie Mae was so tired of hearing from her that they caved. Our home had gotten stuck in Fannie Mae’s computer system and she stayed on top of them day after day after day to make this deal happen. I think any other realtor would have walked away. And we got a steal of a deal on top of things.
Once we were finally under contract she introduced us to amazingly helpful vendors. Her recommended inspector was worth his weight in gold. Her contact for new carpet delivered better deals that we could have ever gotten on our own. Every person she introduced us to was amazing.
Colby listens. She’s a tough negotiator. And she’ll work hard for you. I recommended her to one of my friends who also used her to buy a home. She loved Colby.
When we finally grow out of our AMAZING first house, she’ll be the first call I make. Hands down.

We contracted Colby almost a year ago to the date. She was extremely helpful in getting us into our new home. The home itself was cosmetically set, but there were some deeper issues that needed to get resolved in order for us to pull the trigger. She went to bat for us, and we ended up getting everything done that we needed. After a year, we love our place more than ever!

When I hired Colby in 2011 she had just started working as a real estate agent. Her lack of experience was apparent. Fortunately, I was home during a showing when she allowed a family of 6 into my home, let them roam through the house unsupervised, and allowed the children to bring in an open bag of potato chips. The final straw was when I could hear noise in the master bedroom and walked into to find the mother, allowing one of the children to use the bathroom — Colby was nowhere to be seen. I fired her that day. Not only was this family not pre-​qualified for my home, which I insisted on, I believe they were just ‘shopping’ my home, assessing my belongings.
She did not sell my house and I haven’t seen her since. I hope that, after 3 years, she has more experience but it was obvious to me that she needed additional training to provide the level of service that homeowners require when selling and, from what I have read about some of the buyers here, that buyers need when making the level of investment that home ownership entails.

My husband and I were newlyweds when we began house hunting (August). Although we were anxious to buy a home, we were in a monthly rental situation, so there was no pressure to immediately get into a house.
We told her our budget and list of must-​haves. We fell in LOVE with the very first house we looked at. It was a foreclosure, great neighborhood and $ 10,000 under budget. It had just listed. My husband was hesitant to put an offer since it was the 1^st one we’d seen, so we compiled a list of other houses we wanted to view to ensure we were making the right decision. Colby took us, and none stood out the way the 1^st one did. She offered to take us to an open house that day in Lakewood that she knew of. That house was BEAUTIFUL. Everything we wanted-​plus some! We were eager to make an offer but found out that the house was $ 25,000 above budget. We asked for advice, and she told us that the house above budget was in a more stable neighborhood and suggested we try for that one. Needless to say, the sellers were insulted and didn’t even counter. By the time we discovered this, the foreclosed home was already under contract.
We looked at about 15 more homes. Colby was quick to point out things to us that we may not have noticed (wood rot, water damage, etc). We were very grateful for that, although we began to notice she seemed somewhat annoyed with us. I was still frustrated with the foreclosed home we lost and wanted to find a new realtor, but hubby thought he had signed a contract with her. Colby mentioned at one point that foreclosures were few and far between these days, so we figured that we wouldn’t see any more opportunities like that first house.
By the time October rolled around, I was feeling somewhat desperate. I was tired of living out of boxes in our temp rental, and all of our wedding gifts were in storage. I was so ready for a house!
We saw a house that looked great online. It was tip top of our budget. When we went to look at it (day 1 on market), I wasn’t too impressed. The driveway was steep, and the backyard was shaped odd and lacked privacy. Minimal upgrades. Scuffed walls. Pet odor/​stains. Things Colby pointed out in other homes for some reason didn’t get mentioned at this home. It did have our must-​haves when it came to # of beds/​baths. I was worried since it was one of the nicer homes in the neighborhood. When she showed us the comps, it was the highest priced. She assured us that those comps weren’t comparable and that the other comparables in the neighborhood were worth 25K+ more than this one .We made an offer a bit under asking price and asked for new carpet. The sellers insisted on asking price and said no to carpet. Instead of offering to take us for a second look before making a decision, Colby informed us that the house had 5 scheduled showings for the next day (according to selling agent). She put the pressure on. We panicked. Didn’t want to lose a house that was the best we’d seen in the past 2 months. We agreed to the full asking price and no carpet.
Inspection: All sorts of issues came up: wood rot, mudjacking, ext paint, roof, but she and the inspector (that she insisted we use and clearly got kick backs from each other) made it all seem like no big deal (so that we’d move forward with the sale). Little did we know how much those issues would cost us to repair. Again, no offer to take us by for another look before moving forward after inspection. No suggestion to counter-​offer.
At final walk through, the house was filthy. I noticed more stains, wall scuffs, missing chunks of drywall from moving out furniture. I cried afterward.
Colby didn’t come with us the day we closed. She wasn’t in the office when we were scheduled to pick up keys. We never saw her again.
We’ve been in the house for a little over 2 months. It’s snowed and my car can’t get up the driveway. We can’t enjoy our backyard because it’s non existent. My hubby (from KS) is bummed because we’re nowhere near the highway like we originally wanted and his family/​friends don’t visit. Carpets are frayed, worn, and stained even after we paid to have them cleaned. One of the ‘comparable’ houses listed 2 days ago $ 15,000 LESS than we paid for ours-​with a bigger yard, flat driveway, upgrades, and new carpet.
I realize no one forced us buy this house. However, I feel like our desperation made us vulnerable. I already want to do whatever it takes to get out of this house. This experience was supposed to lead to our forever home but instead has turned into a mess of anxiety and worry (not a great start for newlyweds). I torture myself by still looking at houses online thinking, «What have we done?»
Colby was great in the beginning, and we’re still not sure what happened. By the end of our experience, I feel Colby didn’t advise us well or fight for us to get the best. Oh – and after all the money we’ll have to spend on repairs, we could’ve had that house above budget in Lakewood.

Colby is as good as it gets! She knows her stuff, pays attention to your needs, and is a very tough negotiator. When buying a house you want someone on your team to guide you through the process with no hiccups and help you find the best home you can. She’ll work her butt off for you everyday, and you’ll thank yourself later for calling her. She not only helped us find a steal of a first home, but also got us a cash offer within a month on our condo while others in the neighborhood still sit unsold a YEAR later. Do yourself a favor and give her a chance!