Resort Properties Internationale LLC

A Florida real estate company specializing in paradise. Mark Muller of Resort Properties Internationale LLC was our agent when my wife and I recently (January 2012) purchased a vacation home on North Captiva Island, Florida. He was outstanding, and we cannot recommend him strongly enough.

We took a summer vacation on North Captiva with our kids in 2011 and absolutely fell in love with the island. After deciding we wanted to own a home on the island, we biked around to see what was available. Resort Properties Internationale had many of the listings and Mark came highly recommended by the locals, so we spoke with him and toured a number of homes at the end of our vacation. We visited again at Thanksgiving for more viewings.

There are three things my wife and I look for in a real estate agent: exhaustive market knowledge, an ability to listen and understand what we need and want, a willingness to proactively work on our behalf and get beyond the standard listings that everybody reads, impeccable ethics, prompt communication, attention to detail, and ultimately, an ability deliver value in return for their commission. Mark Muller exceeded our expectations in all of these areas. It was very clear that he knew everything there was to know about the Southwest Florida real estate market in general, and North Captiva, in particular. Florida is much different from our home here in the Midwest, and North Captiva is, after all, a specialized market: vacation homes and properties on a subtropical barrier island where cars are prohibited (folks get around on golf carts, bikes, feet, and boats), and much of the land has been set aside in a state nature park Barrier Island Geopark). Mark did a great job in educating us about the issues associated with home ownership in this special environment.

Patience is not one of my virtues, but Mark’s responsiveness to questions and requests for action satisfied even me. He saved us money by helping us formulate an offer for the home we finally purchased that was fair to seller, but still a great buy for us. His negotiating skills then assured that we received the home in the condition we wanted (pristine), and with the amenities we needed to immediately begin using it for vacations (furnishings, a golf cart, bikes, a kayak). He helped us get the best possible insurance rates, and referred us to a lender that gave us an amazingly low finance rate. After we closed, he did not disappear. We are by necessity absentee owners, and Mark periodically checks the house to make sure all is well.

Mark’s ethical standards deserve special mention. He did not try to ease us up into price ranges above our financial comfort zone. Instead, he focused on finding value within that comfort zone. Nor did he try to steer us toward one of his listings. When we viewed his listings, he presented the home very well indeed, but he was also extraordinarily conscientious about pointing not only the good features, of which there were many, but flaws and potential problems as well.

In the end, and thanks due largely to Mark Muller and Resort Properties Internationale, we found the perfect home on North Captiva: our own little piece of paradise. We plan to retire there and we expect the home to remain in our family for the use of our children and grandchildren long after we are gone. If you like peace, secluded pristine beaches, unspoiled nature, and the most beautiful sunsets in the western hemisphere and, you might want to consider renting a vacation home on the island for a few days. Careful though; you may just end up falling in love like we did. If so, you owe it to yourself to call Mark and ask him to show you around!…