When Grace Nordt and her husband Will were moving from Charlottesville to Richmond in 2021, they didn’t know much about the neighborhoods in their new city.
“We both had jobs. We knew we were coming to the area, but that’s about all we knew,” Grace says.
But they also had a key connection to help their search for a rental apartment in Richmond. Will’s mom is a long-time friend of real estate agent Mark Cipolletti, who pointed the couple to areas within the city where they might want to live.
Grace and Will ended up renting in the bustling Scott’s Addition neighborhood. A couple of years later, they started thinking about buying a house that could offer more living space.
Grace was initially hesitant about jumping into the housing market because she was concerned about the availability of homes and about rising mortgage rates.
But once again, Mark re-emerged to guide their search and to offer insights on where the housing market was headed.
“He was definitely able to calm some nerves and to help us to start getting out there and looking for houses,” Grace says. “He was available all the time to show us houses and to consult with us. Really, anything we needed, he was right there.”
Mark set up tours, contacted other agents, and did his research on homes the couple was interested in. Not only did he answer their questions, but Mark was also a good listener who paid attention to the couple’s feedback as they toured homes, Grace says.
“He started figuring out exactly what we wanted in a house,” Grace says. “We thought we knew, but he advised us that you probably don’t really know until you see the houses that are out there. That was really helpful because that gave us a clear picture of what we cared about and didn’t care as much about.”
“Mark was someone we were immediately comfortable with,” Grace says. “He was so genuine and really cared about us finding the perfect house for us.”
Grace was preparing for a six-month search, but it ultimately took only about half that time to find the house they were looking for: a ranch home with plenty of space and a good amount of yard in the Forest Hill/Westover Hills area of Richmond.
Their new home offers easy access to the Fan, Scott’s Addition, and other parts of Richmond. And it’s also close to businesses like Crossroads coffee shop, the Veil Brewing Company’s Forest Hill Avenue location, and friends who are just a short walk away from their new house.
“It was really the sweet spot, and Mark was able to guide us to this area,” Grace says.
The couple closed on the home in June 2023. They were out of the country at the time, and Mark helped handle the details needed to seal the deal.
“Mark was someone we were immediately comfortable with,” Grace says. “He was so genuine and really cared about us finding the perfect house for us.”
