Upclose Magazine: Karine D’Souza

When Marc Demers retired a year and a half ago, he and his wife, Annabella Brocato, were ready to downsize. “We first wanted to sell the larger home,” says Marc. “We worked with an agent I had used in the past, and it was a disaster. Our home literally sold on the last day the contract. I knew Keller Williams Southwest (KWSW) agent Karine D’Souza from the gym. She’s a fitness nut, and we work out at the same time. We asked Karine to help us find what is hopefully our last home!””

Prior to engaging Karine, Marc had done a fair amount of research. He and Annabella knew the area and style they wanted. “Karine is motivated and enthusiastic,” says Marc. “I think we took four or five trips out to look at places, and each time we saw five or six homes. We had two false starts. One seller didn’t respond to our offer…they had decided they didn’t want to sell. The second came back with a lengthy inspection report. Karine used her tools to put a value on the report, giving us several options: What it would cost to fix all, what it would cost to bundle certain items, and what things cost individually if we wanted to pick and choose what got fixed. We ultimately passed on that home. We had actually written off three- story condos at our age, but then we saw this place…and we loved it! It was clean and required no maintenance. With Karine’s guidance, we closed quickly.”

“We absolutely recommend Karine,” continues Marc. “For every bump in the road, Karine has a solution or a tool. She’s a fabulous communicator, and she’s sweet with a pleasant personality. Karine does her homework; she understands it. I’m a data guy…I like numbers and analytics. Karine was one step ahead of me all the time. We’ve always lived in Houston, and our new home is also in Houston. It was worth the trip to Sugar Land for me to engage Karine, and she didn’t mind coming this way. Karine’s the hardest worker I know!”

by Amy Sharp, Upclose Magazine