Phil Faranda is your guy.

There are lots of nice realtors out there, any of whom can drive you around and show you houses. But considering the fact that a home purchase is likely to be the largest and most complicated financial transaction of your life, it’s worth seeking out someone who’s not just nice.

You want someone who has deep knowledge of the process and is on the ball with execution. You want someone who can advocate for you interests with sellers’ agents, attorneys, home inspectors, loan officers, mortgage brokers, and the myriad other players who can screw things up. You also want someone whose judgment you trust when he’s advising you.

Based on all that, Phil Faranda is your guy. We used him for a tortuous, years long, on again, off-again house search in a difficult market and he never flagged. We were very glad to have him. Oh, and he also has a great sense of humor and is a really nice guy, but that’s just a bonus.