Gabriel De Los Santos - Realtor

🚨CLOSED🚨 This one was wild... my guy Kevin came to me with a very intense timeline with a quick turnaround. In this market that can be tough... I was unbelievably grateful to be able to find and get these guys into this home sweet home within their timeframe!

If you're keeping up with what's going on this economic climate you know that the world's getting smaller. It is getting harder to get your arm around homeownership and I advise anyone who is on the fence to give me a call!

Wow wow wow what an awesome year!!!! I am so incredibly blessed to lead the life I get to live. So unbelievably grateful for each and every one of you. Constant love to my clients, friends, and family who make this all possible!!!

Shoot me a text and let's chat real estate goals for 2022!

Happy hump day and congratulations to the new owner of this stunning foursquare in Northside! Incredibly stoked to have gotten to work together on this one, !!! Can't wait to see what's next for you!

It's not a bubble. The secret is out y'all. Richmond is THE place to be!!! I hope we see some institutions put in place to protect residents from the increasing assessments spurred on by buyers from stronger markets. These owners were here first and shouldn't be negatively affected by the outside interest in their neighborhoods!

'Richmond is on fire': New assessments show average Richmond home value leapt 13.7%. See where property values are rising the most. The average value of a home in Richmond rose 13.7% in the past year, according to new assessments conducted by the Richmond Assessor’s Office.

Open House Sunday from 2-4 in Hopewell! Come pay me and this incredibly cute cape a visit!

NEW LISTING ALERT!!! This lovingly tended Hopewell home comes from a dear friend of mine. Spread the word if you know of anybody looking for an incredibly cute Cape Cod on a corner lot in this area! Reach out to me with any questions you might have. MLS #: 2121737

Open House Roundup 6/27!!!!
Videos to follow!

Random Unsolicited Food Review (RUFR): Proper Pie Co.

Now Proper Pie is no secret amongst RVA locals on and around the hill, but I thought I’d share anyway. After a morning of showings for some clients looking at Church Hill and The Fan I picked up Nicole for some lunch. She’s always got an interesting selection and often deep cut assortment of places on deck that she wants to try. After visiting Proper Pie for about a year (the first time at her suggestion), I felt it’d be a good one to start these RUFRs off with.

We got a couple of savory pies and a sweet one to finish. I had the Pork Chile verde, she had the Chili Bean and Cheese, and we shared a Spinach & Feta Chickpea Roll. Everything was excellent, and you should definitely try all of them, but with my limited time I’ll clue you into my two favorites of our brunch.

The Pork Chile Verde
I have very strong opinions on these flavors. Growing up in my home, the salsa is everything. If you fail to make a strong salsa, you are then ill-equipped to make any dish that follows. Tacos? Forget about it. That’s all your flavor. Pulled chicken, pork, barbacoa, carnitas…? None of these will give you that same explosion without being doused (or cooked in) a competent salsa. Even your breakfast dishes… I can’t think of a single Mexican breakfast dish that isn’t improved on by sitting under a pile of quality salsa.

All this being said, these guys did it right. I hate to begrudgingly admit that I can be a little bit of a cultural purist when it comes to food south of the border. So to see Pork Chile Verde as an option for a savory pie was… odd for me. Of course I wouldn’t be writing this if that notion didn’t fly out the window. The flavor was there, the heat was mild and pleasant, the crust somehow crunchy and also pleasantly chewy towards the center, this pie definitely hit hard and heavy. They did NOT skimp on the pork as it made up the entirety of the filling. I was deceived by this little guys size, this was not a light meal (I found out going mobile shortly after eating 😂). GET THIS PIE. It came at a recommendation from one of the staff. Which gives us good vibes every time we go. These are some quality humans enjoying their work behind the counter.

OPEN HOUSE ROUNDUP 6/13!!!
For all of my out of town clients and your viewing pleasure, here's a collection of open houses in the city! Videos to come... 😏😏😏

In this market you'd expect to list Thursday and be ratified by Monday! These won't last.

YOU GUYS THIS ONE WAS A DOOZY BUT WE DID IT!!!!

My awesome, patient, and trusting clients had a very specific idea about what they were looking for; a cute, brick, early 1900’s build, with tasteful updates and a modernized layout close enough to the city to bike! The process was tough, but not impossible (anyone who has sought to purchase property in this market knows what I’m talking about)!

We took a deep dive into the neighborhoods that fit what they were looking for and made an assessment on where to focus our efforts. With the right strategy and team (thanks Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC), we were able to find and write on EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR.

Getting an offer accepted in this market can be tough. Often times, it is not enough to simply search and write offers. Here are a couple things to consider when attempting to increase their chances of having an offer on a property accepted! *what we call a ratified contract*

-How are you building your offer? Did you know that there is more to an offer than just the purchase price? Sometimes, the highest offered price is NOT the offer that gets chosen by Sellers. You must consider a whole host of circumstances. How long does the Seller need to move? Do they need a rentback agreement? Is the Seller also trying to find a property to move into while selling? Does your agent have someone in their office with that listing? Are you taking into consideration the contingencies of the offer? It is not uncommon for Purchasers in this market to waive certain contingencies that are not important to them. This could help. Big time. Your Agent should be communicating with you, as well as the Listing Agent to find out as much information as possible about both situations. There could be some gold in there to help guide on exactly how to write your offer to make it impossible to not accept. Agents need to be creative and thoughtful.

-Are you checking out the neighborhoods ahead of seeing the property? It is a good (and time-saving) idea to do this! If you’re not already familiar with where you’ve decided to focus your efforts, drive by some listings that you like. 
Spend some time in the neighborhood walking around and see if it feels like it could be home, maybe ask some neighbors what they like and don’t like about the area. You may realize you’ve cut down on the amount of properties and areas you’re interested in just by doing this. More time to focus on what you DO like! Sometimes this isn’t always possible if you’re slammed with work or moving to a different area altogether. Is your agent available to walk you through a property or neighborhood virtually? It is not uncommon for me to get a text from a client about a property that I may drive by on my own to be able to give them a firsthand account of the experience if I’m not recently familiar with that particular block.

-Is your Agent networking? It is important that your Agent is plugged into a reliable and varied network of contractors, lenders, appraisers, and yes… OTHER AGENTS! We all work together to make these sales happen. There are so many systems involved in selling a property that having a solid rapport built with the people running these systems is paramount. I’ve always said that one of the strongest indicators that a pended listing will close is that everyone on board is equally motivated to get the deal done. A Buyer’s Agent that has a repertoire of being a good communicator on your behalf may be your best insurance against having a deal tank from the fallout of what could have been a solvable issue.

Hope this helps! Please don’t hesitate to shoot me a text or give me a phone call for any reason! I love catching up and talking about my job!!!

Beyond humbled to be recognized alongside such an amazing group of humans! 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️

I wanted to take some time this morning to personally thank each and every one of you for being a part of my existence in any capacity. I am where I am because of you all. Thank you!!!