Upclose Magazine – Audra O’Neal

When Nicole and Tommy Marino’s family started to outgrow their home, Nicole reached out to Keller Williams Southwest (KWSW) agent Audra O’Neal to help find a larger house. Nicole says, “I knew Audra was a very successful agent in our neighborhood. I described to Audra what I was looking for, and asked her to let me know if something came up. I did not want to put our home on the market until we found something…I didn’t want to be in a position where I was forced to find something.”

After finding what they thought was the perfect home, Nicole and Tommy put their current house on the market. Nicole says, “As we worked through the process, the price of the home we were buying became unrealistic. Audra thought they were asking too much, and she told me we were not overpaying. She’s a bulldog when it comes to negotiations. We ended up with multiple offers on our current home, and nowhere to go…the situation I had tried to avoid! I remember driving around the neighborhood desperate to find a home. There was a specific floor plan I was hoping to get, but none had come up on the market. Then I drove by a home with that floor plan and saw it was being flipped. I stopped and stepped inside. I called Audra and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but I found the house.’ Audra came over immediately, and we walked it. Then Audra told the flippers to stop. This was the house. Again, she was a bulldog in negotiations. The inspection revealed a lot of issues. Audra decided how much should be taken off the price, and she made it happen.”

When the Marinos were looking for a 2nd home in Galveston, they contacted Audra again. “It was during a time when the market was crazy,” explains Nicole. “Nothing was on the market for long. My husband was with Audra in Galveston looking at homes when a friend who also has a home down there sent me a screenshot of a house ‘For Sale By Owner.’ Audra and Tommy went to the house immediately. The owners were sitting outside, and Audra asked them if they could look at the house. Tommy was so embarrassed! But the couple asked for a few minutes to clean up, and then let them in. That ended up being the house! Again, Audra went to bat for us in a bidding war. She does not back down when something is not right. Audra gets it done, and she’s also very kind and lovable. We’ve become friends, and I highly recommend her.”

Audra spent 10 years with Fort Bend Junior Service League where she worked the bar at Sugar Plum Market. This year, The Audra O’Neal Team is the front bar sponsor at Sugar Plum. Thank you Audra for your commitment to our community!