Jane LaFrance

""We are so fortunate to have found Jane as our Real Estate agent! Brad and I struggled with two other realtors before we found someone motivated, knowledgeable and professional- Jane LaFrance. Jane was prompt in returning all our phone calls and e-mails. She provided up to date information on the market and went above and beyond to ensure we had a full understanding of the real estate market in Kissimmee. Being from Canada, the prospect of purchasing a home in Florida was daunting. Jane helped us narrow down our search from home by providing us with many professional photos of the interiors of the homes that we had some interest in. When we arrived in Florida she dedicated her time to us and took us to see many homes to assist us in finding the perfect home. Following the purchase of our home Jane continued to assist us. She helped us set up our utilities, change the locks, and even provided us with the names of many great contacts that will prove helpful as we move forward with the rental of our home. Thank you Jane and we would definitely be referring you to anyone here in Canada thinking about buying in Florida!""
Michelle Shipley and Bradley Hodge Tue Aug 11, 2009

"Alan and Jane are the nicest, friendliest and most efficient realtors you would ever have the pleasure of dealing with. First, Alan helped us with buying a new house. We met him in an Open House and found that he was happy to show us anything he could. We liked him straight away and were very happy for him to help us. He made a lot of effort to get appointments to look at houses. We could tell straight away that he is very committed to his work and always had our best interests at heart. He was not desperately trying to sell us any house he could....he just wanted us to be happy with the house we finally chose. We found a house in about a week....went to see it a few times of course. Alan knew that we are from the UK so we didn't really know what we were doing, he guided us all the way so that we felt very comfortable. In total, finding and buying the house took about 3 weeks which is so quick to any buying/selling we have done in the UK - just amazing! Jane actually helped us in buying a business. As we are from the UK we wanted to buy a business out here, to allow us to stay in Florida permanently. She helped us pick out a business and recommended us to an immigration lawyer. She knows all about visas and the type of business that we needed. She was so helpful, we definitely couldn't have done it without her expertise. She is so knowledgeable, confident and highly skilled in everything she does! They are both now helping with selling one of our houses. They have put in the time to do a lot of open houses, so have really made an amazing effort for us. Makes us feel like number 1 on their list of priorities! We couldn't have asked for anyone better or recommend them highly enough! They do everything they can to make the often stressful time of buying/selling a very easy and enjoyable experience. We couldn't imagine going through any of these types of processes again without Alan or Jane involved........thank goodness for open houses!"
Carole and Lucy Clark Wed May 16, 2007

"Alan and Jane - Words cannot express our gratitude to you for the professionalism, dedication and patience you showed when escorting us daily through many houses at a time when sales were so fast that contracts were being written as we viewed the houses. You persevered however until you found a house which fitted our requirements and where we managed to be first with an acceptable bid.Your diligence in advising us and leading us through the mysteries of home purchasing in Florida is to be commended and your continuing follow up assistance to us in Kent, England, is gratefully accepted and helps ease the concerns of remote property ownership. We wish you both every success in your realtor business and you are both definitely #1 on our Recommendation List."
Jan and Andy Austin Sun Jul 9, 2006

"From the first minute we met Jane we were confident that she had our best interests at heart. She allowed us to make up our own mind about houses we viewed, quietly pointing us in the right direction when we were about to make a mistake. When it came to us seeing the right house that day and we didn't want to make the leap she very nicely allowed us to back off and think about it. After a few weeks and a lot of her patience we made our minds up and Jane negotiated a nice reduction on the price. All through what seemed to be a long process, (not her fault but our mortgage guy )she kept us going. We would recommend Jane and her team without hesitation."
Carol & Joe Holden Mon Jan 23, 2006

"I know we have thanked you for selling our home,which you got a buyer for us very quick and at a good price,but i want to again thank you jane,it must have been fate the day we met you,you made the buying and selling so easy for us,we will always recomend you to enyone thinking of buying in florida ,you are the best."
Eric and Sue Mon Aug 15, 2005

"We doubt if anyone knows the property market like Jane. After a few meetings she knew exactly what we wanted, found a house over our budget and negotiated it down to our price. She really impressed us when she quizzed our mortgage broker to ensure they were on the ball. She organised everything and more and has held our hand throughout the process. Without Jane, we would not have a villa let alone such a lovely villa! Jane is the ultimate profesional and a really nice person we like to call a friend.""
Fiona and Gordon Dawson Tue May 31, 2005

"This letter is referring Jane LaFrance to Fiona & Gordon Dawson: Dear Mr Dawson, I haven't heard anything from you over the weekend so guess that you will be happy with just an email response. My wife and I have just returned from Florida (14 May) having managed to find, view, select and close on a suitable purchase in just 6 working days!! So as you will no doubt note for yourself, purchasing property in the US is not for the faint hearted! On the Monday following our arrival in Orlando Jane came to our hotel armed with a viewing itinerary, which we got stuck into straight away. From the word go Jane was fantastic, she transported us from property to property, was available to deal with any questions or queries, whilst at the same time managing to strike the right balance between a facilitator and guardian angel. A bit whimsical on my part I admit, but in truth she was never pushy, rather she allowed us to arrive at a decision in our own time without allowing us to feel under any pressure at all. Once we felt that we had identified the property we wanted to make an offer on, she handled the negotiations (under our direction) and eventually we were successful in having a very reasonable offer accepted on our chosen house. From that point she really moved into top gear. She introduced us to representatives of two separate management companies, we eventually selected Paradise Vacation as their rep., a guy called Wayne Carter, impressed us with his local knowledge regarding short term letting in the Orlando area, and his insistence that Paradise Vacations are ultimately working for you, the home owner, rather than for the holiday let client. We had a meeting with Wayne at our new property, so he was able to make an accurate assessment of that specific property insofar as its letting potential, start up costs etc. etc. Again very comforting as you gain the impression that you are entering into a deal which is demonstrably tailor-made for your and your property. Jane also provided an introduction to Susan Harding of Harding & Associates, a local Florida accountancy firm and tax service provider. In my opinion this contact is of prime importance because if the US property purchasing process seems easy, the US taxation and accountancy process seems anything but!! It appears that any new landlord must gather together all the pre-required documentation and certificates relating both to the business premises and personally before any short term lets can be placed. Therefore the choice of a suitable accountancy firm is critical. Once again I am very impressed with Jane's recommendation. Susan Harding is an ex-pat Brit. and so is fully aware of the subtle cultural differences between the average UK and US citizen. It is that old adage, two cultures separated by a common language. Rest assured Susan Harding will look after you very well. Finally Jane took us along to a local branch of the Mercantile Bank, with offices just off the west bound Route 192 in Kissimmee. Again she had prepared the ground for us. She delivered us to the bank premises where we were expected, and it only took a matter of minutes (and $50 cash) to open our new US checking account. Very efficient indeed. Of course the bank and many of the other agencies mentioned here do require proof of ID etc. so don't forget to take along your passport, driving licence etc. when you attend the various meetings. We have already received our first bank statement back here in the UK from Mercantile, how's that for customer care? In addition to the above Jane also introduced us to an Insurance Broker, Mariel Ventura of Torres Roman Insurance Group. Insurance is a major requirement to cover possible loss of property in your home whilst it is being let, and also for personal liability cover. You must be aware just how litigious a society the Americans can be, so the appropriate insurance cover is really necessary. Finally Jane accompanied my wife and I to the Sunbelt Title Agency in Winter Springs, just north of Orlando to close the purchase deal on our last full day in Florida. This felt like six weeks, but in reality it was only six days. Yes six days from the initial viewing itinerary to closing on the deal!! Phew what a ride !! You mentioned a mortgage broker in your email. I cannot help you there I am afraid as we were in the fortunate position of not requiring a mortgage, but if the broker in question lives up to the rest of Jane's contacts then I would bet money on them being kosher !!! Mike Price-Jones"
Mr & Mrs Price Jones Mon May 16, 2005

"Dear Jane, I know we have already thanked you for selling our home and wanted to thank you again. We appreciate you always working around our schedules and assisting and informing us when offers were made on our home. It feels great to have gotten full price and to have you help us find our new home which we love by the way. We knew when Karen and Mike recommended you after selling their home and finding them a new home that you were someone we wanted to work with. You have met and exceeded our expectations so thank you so much"
Terri & Joe Carter Fri Jul 15, 2005

"My good friend Jesus Sanchez and I came accross a residential property in Kissimmee through a third person, but Jane was the listing agent. The property is a lovely home, just perfectly located within minutes of Disney World. To my delight, since both of us live in Miami and Boynton Beach, respectively, Jane LaFrance was most definitely an essential element in making this transaction go nice and smooth. Well, it worked! Jane took care of everything that needed to be handled, even showing us the property separately based on our convenience. We closed on the property within the prescribed timeframe, without any hurdles. Without a doubt, had it not been for Jane, this transaction would have run into problems. Jane even assisted Jesus and I in doing the closing in the mail, as Jesus and I both work late and hard. Thanks very much, Jane, and Alan."
Lourdes Rodriguez Thu May 25, 2006