b'Five Transactionsand CountingWorking with Debbie Rybka HowardBY ELLEN DONKERD I N G H ON MIF EL inda Bradby raised two sons in Ma- taxes. I have reached a point in my life where plewood, mostly as a single mom.buying a beautiful house is very nice, but they She worked hard as a billing con- are expensive.trollerforvariouslawfirms,butOf course, she turned to Rybka Howard to now shes ready to retire. Althoughstart the process. Itll be their fifth transaction shes not sure where shell go, shetogether. Bradby says, When you make a phone knows who will sell her house.call to Debbie, you have to be ready as you know That somebody is Debbie Rybka Howard ofshes going to start that train, start those con-Coldwell Banker Realty. Theres just not enoughtractors,startthepaperwork.RybkaHoward words,notenoughadjectivestoexpresshowhandles every stage of the transaction. much I trust her, says Bradby. I wouldnt makeAlthough leaving a community that nurtured a move without her.her and her family isnt easy, she feels able to Bradby first met Rybka Howard at the sug- make a life change knowing that Rybka Howard gestion of an attorney. She was going through aDebbie Rybka Howard has helped Linda Bradby buy andwill be handling her house sale. This woman divorce in 2005. She needed to sell her Midlandsell homes over the years as her life changed.has come into my life at the times that I needed Avenue house that she had lived in for 20 years.her, she says. Buying a house alone is scary. It Bradby liked that Rybka Howard was very polite, calm, cool, respectful andcan be very rewarding if youre not panicked and if you have someone next worked with her and her husband to successfully sell the home. Everybodyto you. Shes always standing right there next to you.was happy, Bradby says. There was nobody mad at each other. Bradby knows the drill for preparing her home. Soon as [Debbie] says Next, Bradby needed to find a new place to live, which was the first homeits ready, even after the contractors leave, shell walk around and shell say she would buy on her own.to me in a very kind, authentic voice, Linda, Im going to say to you, this After looking at many houses together, Rybka Howard gave her the assur- is not the way people live, but this is what we need for the open house. So ance that she was on the right track. We found a beautiful house on Rich- once the painting is all done, I know I have to change all my towels to white. mond Avenue, and it turned into a dream house for me. I cannot express toI have to change my shower curtain to white.and make sure my vanity you how helpful [Debbie] was. I could not have done it without her.looks nice and neat.Years later, with one of her sons out of the house, Bradby felt the needBradby plans on being gone while the house is being shown. I will go to to move to a smaller home that required less upkeep. She says her youngerSouth Carolina and then go to some houses I like in Delaware and hopefully son pleaded with her to stay in Maplewood until he graduated high school.come back with something that I like.Rybka Howard came to the rescue once again, helping Bradby settle into aThinking about her next chapter, Bradby says, As I approach 65, Im home on Parker Avenue.updating my will. I have put in my will that the next house that Im buying Now that her youngest is out of college, Bradby is planning to sell herthat my son cannot sell it unless he calls Debbie to find out if it was a good home. She says, I stayed in Maplewood as long as I can. He has found amarket, a bad market. She wants him to experience Rybka Howards guid-girlfriend. Hes moved away, and I would like very much to stop paying theseance. In her words: I wouldnt call anyone else for real estate advice. 26/ matters magazine / hearth + home 2026'