Testimonials for the
Ruth Bethem Real Estate Team

"Our reputation is our best asset."

If you want fantastic service with a smile then stop here. When we decided to buy in Naples I sent our requirements to 4 different realtors. 3 could not be bothered to return my emails. Given the market conditions at the time this surprised me. Ruth took the trouble to make contact and from that moment we did not look back. She maintained regular contact throughout the searching and buying process and always returned my calls or emails promptly. She started by listening to what we wanted to achieve. She then drew up a list of potentially suitable properties and sent the details to us from which we selected a short-list for viewing. I made 2 viewing trips. On both occasions Ruth met me on time at my hotel on the first day and on each occasion she presented me with a file that contained details of all the properties we were going to see, with a front summary sheet showing the essential information in an easy to read format. She took me to view all the properties and spent time discussing the pros and cons with me afterwards. She worked hard to get second viewings at short notice and always checked out facts I wanted to know so that I had answers as soon as humanly possible. This often meant working late in the evening as we had spent the whole day out viewing. At all times she worked professionally and at no time did she step too far into the arena and start imposing her own opinions, ensuring that while the information was made available, the decision was mine to make. She has a good relationship with the other realtors in the area and has contact details of all the people you might need to use during the purchasing process. This purchase has not been without its complications, all out of Ruth’s control, however they have all been managed with speed and expediency and absolutely no fuss. She works with high quality professionals who you know you can trust, because she trusts them. Her service has continued after the closing date, as there were a few minor issues that still required sorting out. There has never been any doubt that Ruth has worked in my best interests throughout this process. In doing so she has saved us from possible financial disaster and ensured the property we have bought is the right one for us. Her appropriate interventions have ensured that the house is in the best possible condition. Having put my trust in her she has never let me down. I am thrilled with what we have achieved together.

We were contemplating a Florida home and fell in love with Olde Naples on a rather hurried visit in April. On returning home to Canada, we spent hours on the internet searching for that perfect place. That’s where we met Ruth!! Her website was always up to date, easy to navigate and best of all she waited for us to contact her! And we did. We returned in June and finally met her….she was on time and well prepared for visits to some of the properties we had indicated an interest in. She even prepared a binder for us with all the listing, pictures and so on that was a great help to us as were started to narrow our choice. Ruth was always pleasant, always on task. My husband remarked that he could have used a few good salespersons like her in his business. She did close the sale for us, but her attention to detail did not end there. She has walked us through the intricacies of Florida real estate, flood insurance and everything else we have had questions about. All of this was accomplished with great efficiency through email, attachments and phone calls. So it is true, we did “meet on the internet”.

When we first mooted the idea of owning a property so far away, it seemed a bit fanciful to imagine it actually happening, but Ruth helped us enormously to realise our dream and did it with the minimum of fuss and hassle.

We had been coming to the Naples/Gulf Coast area for several years as holiday makers and were particularly fond of the Olde Naples area. After one such journey we decided to see whether it would be possible to dip our toe in and see how difficult it would be to try and buy something. We initially contacted several random realtors on the internet ("estate agents" to those living in the UK), hence although it was quite by chance that we came upon Ruth, from an early stage her extensive local knowledge and professionalism shone through. Although at first it seemed quite a daunting task to first find and then successfully negotiate the many aspects of a property purchase in a quite alien legal, practical and administrative framework, Ruth helped us every step of the way.

She is very perceptive and realised very quickly what type of properties we were interested in and the areas which would be most suitable. This helped enormously in cutting down the time spent otherwise trawling through endless lists of properties. She helped us whittle things down to short lists and was very thorough providing us with all the information we would need. She then made herself available to us on two separate visits from the UK to view these short lists; driving us around over several consecutive days so that we could obtain a very good feel for the area. She helped us to initiate the legal side of things (providing a short list of attorneys) and also put us in touch with other services we would need (i.e. property inspections, caretakers, gardeners, cleaners, etc).

Nothing was too much trouble and having had many bad experiences of realtors (especially in the UK) we were delighted with Ruth's honesty, professionalism and thoroughness. Several months after buying our home Ruth is still helping us with information in many different respects;such a providing a list of recommended local doctors or helping with additional legal aspects of the purchase.

 

We both feel very fortunate to now be owning our lovely place in Naples and are looking forward to many happy years of enjoyment in such a beautiful part of the world. None of this would have been possible without your strong support, your calm guidance and understanding and Hilary and I are extremely grateful to you for all of this. Thank you for everything you have done for us.

"We met on the internet". We were contemplating a Florida home and fell in love with Olde Naples on a rather hurried visit in April. On returning home to Canada, we spent hours on the internet searching for that perfect place. That’s where we met Ruth!! Her website was always up to date, easy to navigate and best of all she waited for us to contact her! And we did. We returned in June and finally met her….she was on time and well prepared for visits to some of the properties we had indicated an interest in. She even prepared a binder for us with all the listing, pictures and so on that was a great help to us as were started to narrow our choice. Ruth was always pleasant, always on task. My husband remarked that he could have used a few good salespersons like her in his business. She did close the sale for us, but her attention to detail did not end there. She has walked us through the intricacies of Florida real estate, flood insurance and everything else we have had questions about. All of this was accomplished with great efficiency through email, attachments and phone calls. So it is true, we did “meet on the internet”.

Aside from being utterly impressed with their expertise and knowledge of the Southwest Florida real estate market, Naples in particular, and their consummate professionalism and trustworthiness, we found it remarkable how they went that "extra mile" for us as clients.

Ruth is an outstanding, comprehensive realtor who carefully managed our limited time, thoroughly screened homes, provided advice in the negotiation process and addressed all post-sale issues. We have been purchasing homes and investment properties for many years, so we appreciated working with such a professional.

Dave and I found Ruth a pleasure and a treasure in the Real Estate world of Southwest Florida. Her website gave us a good idea of the market even before we arrived in Naples to begin our search. She was organized and efficient in presenting homes to us and worked tirelessly to find what we feel is the perfect Canadian snowbird community for us to migrate to. She has a good working knowledge of real estate practises in the area. Her colleagues in the business and the businesses that support and provide auxiliary services obviously like and respect her. Altogether, she made looking for and acquiring our new home a great experience. We have already recommended her to friends and acquaintances who are looking to make a similar move."

We want to thank you for a totally professional experience in locating and negotiating for our beautiful new estate home in Medittera. Throughout the arduous process of first locating the right community, then finding the right house, and then negotiating the right price in unusual market conditions in Naples, you were always highly professional but, most of all, you kept it fun with your great sense of humour.
We valued your insights as we reviewed the various locations and homes for sale, and we found they were always correct. Without hesitation, we will recommend you to friends in the future.

We were extremely satisfied with Ruth's professionalism, real estate etiquette and knowledge, and overall attitude towards a successful completion of the sale of our property.

--Mr. and Mrs. George Trotter, Naples, FL

Ruth was exceptionally thorough and helpful. She was quick to return phone calls and always was pleasant to deal with. We appreciated her good advice and guidance. We will recommend Ruth again.

With Ruth as our realtor, buying a house is as easy as 1-2-3. Thank you so much! We will recommend Ruth to our relatives and friends.