Sam Vail got into real estate over a decade ago after owning a mortgage company and working as a musician. Instantly a success in the Ann Arbor Area market, Sam landed the Rookie of the Year Award at a previous brokerage. "I always knew I had a knack for people, and my love of real estate coupled with my family's background allowed for perfect chemistry." The Vails have deep roots in real estate throughout North America dating back to 1640, with developments from Vail, Colorado, to Chicago and the Big Apple.
Sam’s hallmark includes outstanding customer service and adept negotiations. "I've been a musician my whole life, and you tend to develop a negotiating power through all the hoops you have to jump through just to get on stage." Given Sam’s double major in economics and business, along with his years of work with appraisers, Sam shines as a pricing strategist and his listings do not stay on the market long.
His holistic approach to clients means he values “going the extra mile and providing more service than just unlocking the door and writing up a contract. I want to be their guide and resource for all things to do with real estate."
Sam is a wizard at tracking trends and economics through Coldwell Banker’s cutting edge systems, as well as through systems he researches and seeks out on his own. His team watches trends and fluctuations in real-time, to stay in tune with the markets within the markets, the differences between what’s happening in Ann Arbor versus Ypsilanti or Dexter.
He values team collaboration and places emphasis on expertise and empathy, “not a culture of salesmanship as much as it is a culture of highly developed expertise. Empathy is needed in our relationships with clients: real estate is probably the biggest investment a person makes. We don’t take that lightly.”
We had a great experience working with Sam to purchase our home! He was prompt, reliable and always available to answer our questions throughout the entire home buying process. His knowledge of our area's housing market was excellent and we were grateful to have him on our team.
Strongly recommend working with Sam!
It was obvious to me immediately that Sam was the guy for the job, and all he did was back up that initial impression as we worked together. He does a tremendous amount of business in Michigan, and he's well connected in the ways that matter. He was recommended to me by a friend who said Sam was the only reason they were able to buy their house - I feel the same. If you need help navigating this marketplace, you can't do much better than Sam!
I’m old, but new to condo buying. Sam quickly gave me a detailed overview, listened to my requirements, and found me a great residence. I’d highly recommend his services.
As a first time home buyer, I needed someone that was gonna look out for me and make sure I not only got my money's worth, but also got exactly what I needed as it was a big investment. He listened to all my needs and was able to help me get a great deal on the perfect house! So happy!
We had an amazing experience with Sam. He is super knowledgeable about the area, and helped us narrow down to what we really wanted. When we found the house that we wanted to get, he was an amazing in the negotiation and his personal relationships to other realtors were invaluable.
Everyone he has recommended, including the mortgage lending team and locksmith has been wonderful as well.
We recommend him highly.
Sam was fantastic to work with. Our house was on the market with a different agent for several months with hardly any action. Sam recommended we make some updates and priced us aggressively to sell quickly. After we were back on the market, we had an offer the first weekend! We also used Sam to buy our new house, which was also a very pleasant experience. Sam was always extremely responsive and if we decide to move, I would definitely use him again!
You were both such a pleasure to work with on the buy and sell side! Thank you so much for trusting in me and my team.
Sam is very knowledgeable and has in-depth experience in the local market. We have used him for buying and selling a home in 2016 and again in 2019. I highly recommend him as a realtor.
Andy, it's been great to work with you and become friends over the years. I'm honored that someone already in the business sees the value in my skills like you do!
Sam is an Amazing Realtor, one of the best. He made the process so easy and even when I needed lots of help he was so very patient. He continued to send me listings until he found something that I liked. He is definitely 5 star and I would recommend him to all my friends, family, and associates. It was a wonderful experience and he made me felt very comfortable . Sam went above and beyond as a Realtor. He also has a great team that are very polite and helpful. I think that is very important also.
You are so kind! Thank you so much. I feel super lucky to have such great clients.
He has helped buy our dream home and then sell it for top dollar when work moved us to a new location. We had a unique property that another realtor could not sell in three months. Sam came in and sold it in one weekend. He is amazing!!! He takes time to get to know his clients and build a relationship with them. He is completely trustworthy and goes to great lengths for his clients.
How do you pick a favorite client? You can't! Thank you for all the trust and we really hit a home run for you. I move away too many good people sometimes! :-)
Worked with Sam a couple years ago to buy my residence, and then again this year to sell it. Sam was very knowledgable about the process, the neighborhood, and made the process as simple as possible. Highly recommend!
Buy low sell high? We did it! Thank you for being so equally awesome to work with all these years.
My fiancé and I were looking for a home with land & personality and Sam and the Spotlight team took excellent care of us! As first time homebuyers we wanted to keep our budget at the $200,000 mark and with Sam's excellent negotiations skills, we were able to purchase our move-in-ready home on almost 12 acres for well under that. We closed one month ago and we are both excited and eager to start planning our wedding on our property!! I would recommend Sam Vail and the Spotlight Agents of Ann Arbor to anyone that is serious about finding their dream property, they are seasoned realtors.
I was so happy we were able to meet and exceed your needs. Thank you for the wonderful feedback.
Sam Vail is most personable and professional. He was extremely conscientious of my needs and gave me sound advice with the many questions I had. He was not only my agent, he was my friend. I would recommend Sam to anyone who is in the market of selling or buying a new home. You will be thankful and most fortunate to have Sam as your agent.
Thank you so much for such kind words. So many of these wonderful reviews end with the words about friendship! Thank you again!
Sam, Jade and team did an absolutely nice job selling our home in Ypsilanti. We live out of state and needed a real estate agent that I could trust and have complete confidence would sell the home. Sam and team took care of all of the details related to the home selling process. They have a very comprehensive marketing approach and keen focus to detail. My wife and I are very grateful that we were fortunate to work with Sam and team and highly recommend them. They exceeded our expectations on all fronts!!! Sam, Jade and team thanks for all of your help.
Miguel we kept in contact for over ten years before we sold your home. I'm so glad it worked out!
I had been looking for some rental property on Zillow and clicked on one that interested me. Samuel Vail contacted me almost immediately, and a couple of days later I met Sam at the property to take a look. That one did not work out for me, so I asked Sam to keep his eye open for other properties. After quizzing me on what types of properties I was interested in, he contacted me frequently with prospective properties. We visited several together, putting in an offer on one of them. The market here is hot, a sellers market, and my offer did not win, despite offering the full asking price. Sam offered his advice on how to go forward, and kept feeding me more properties to look at, which I did.
A couple of weeks later, I became aware of a house that would soon be on the market. I asked Sam to help me out with it, and before long my offer was accepted, significantly below the asking price. The reason was that the home needed work, and Sam was instrumental in helping establish a proper offer, adjusting for the estimated cost of the required work. I closed on the home recently, at Sam's office. He was in touch every step of the way, providing accurate and practical advice. He is a very knowledgeable agent, and has a keen business sense. I trust him, appreciate his spirit and energy, and have asked him to look for new rental opportunities.
Who doesn't love hitting a homer and getting a great deal, even in a seller's market. I love these success stories and being your guide through the process. Thank you for being so great to work with.
Sam helped us move into our first home to get out of a bad apartment situation. He not only knows the area he also knows how to cut through red tape and road blocks in the home-buying process like a champ! He is absolutely amazing. He treated us like family and fought for our best interests. Thank you, Sam!
Birdie! You guys got such a great house in a great spot for a great deal. So GREAT! Thank you again for trusting in my services!
Sam partnered with us to sell our 100+ year old farm house. Another well advertised realtor refused our business and wished us luck. Sam was instrumental in providing advice and support throughout the process. He was both direct and optimistic. We were able to sell our home for the amount we wanted and in plenty of time to get ready for our new home deadline. We think this is the difference between a pro and a weekend realtor. Sam is clearly 100% a pro.
Sam was also instrumental in helping us find our new home. We are sure we would not have found the builder without his assistance.
It was so awesome and fun to work with you and Michael in both buying and selling a home. I love your new house. Coolest house in the hood for sure! Thank you again.
Sam and his team are very knowledgeable and talented in their craft. Sam and his team made themselves available anytime we had any questions and always sought to make sure we were getting the best service and deal while we were in the negotiating process. I would definitely recommend Sam and his team to anybody that is looking at buying or selling a home.
It was a pleasure working for you! Thank you for the kind review. I'm so fortunate to have so many great clients to work with.
Fantastic experience in the whole real estate transaction, very hard working and knowledgeable and a very positive attittude.
I would highly recommend!
Divya! We battled and battled but we ended up successfully completing a tough transaction. Thank you for coming back to us to sell your condo as well!
Sam is simply the best. Personable, great response time, knowledgeable. If you want an agent who knows his stuff, Sam is the Agent for you. My wife and I are most fortunate to have him represent us.
Joel It was such a pleasure to work with you and Jen and to now be able to call you friends!
The Spotlight Houses Team should be your first choice when buying or selling! Sam helped us close on our first home and we will always rely on him for our real estate needs. You need a professional to get your offer accepted these days and Sam is nothing short of that.
DEREK! So great to work with you and Millie and to see the great rehab job you did on your new home!
I hired Sam after I had a bad experience with another realtor. So I was more aware of things I wanted to do to help with getting my mom's house sold. Joe the photographer did an amazing job with the photos. Sam was very helpful and responded when I asked for an open house (which helped sell the house). He knew how to word description of the home to make it appealing for buyers. His team with Jade and Shari were very helpful when ever we called to ask a question, and helped with the closing. This is a very experienced and professional team. I am proud to have had a chance to work with all of them. I would recommend this group to anyone selling or wanting to purchase a home. They are very honest and extremely helpful in so many ways.
This was such a fun transaction! You kept us on our toes and we made it happen!
Sam and his team did a great job for us. From providing useful information in staging our house, providing professional photography for our listing, and filling the place on the first weekend open house. Sam priced our house at a level we felt was aggressive that we were very happy, got us 7 offers the first weekend, and sold it for 3% above asking price. Sam and his team were always available to take phone calls and field questions and even set us up with a realtor in our new home city to help us find a house.
This was a text book slam dunk! I loved working for you and what a great outcome!
Sam just helped me close on my very first home. He was incredibly patient through the long hunt. I asked to see a LOT of houses and Sam was very prompt and accommodating so that we could see the properties before they were snatched up in a very fast market.
I especially appreciated that there was never pressure to buy a house. Throughout the search, Sam would be very blunt about houses that were overpriced. I asked to see some pretty crappy houses, and he had a great sense of humor about them and never made me feel like I was wasting his time.
When I was interested in making an offer, Sam did his homework to understand my competition and suggest a competitive yet efficient offer. He helped me write 2 offers (I backed out of the first one after an inspection) and my offers were chosen both times.
Steph! What a beautiful condo we found for you and I'm so happy that you shared the progress you've made on the remodel.
Sam and the whole team were great to work with! We would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to buy or sell a home.
They were very helpful in recommendations when getting our house ready to go on the market and receptive to any questions and concerns we had throughout the entire selling process.
Thank you so much for the kind words and trust in our business.
Sam made the whole process enjoyable. Professional from top to bottom and very experienced with the trends of the market which maximized our selling price. Highly recommend Sam and his team, they were great to work with.
Steve, I love it when we are able to sell high and buy low!
Very helpful & looks out for his clients. Responds quickly to calls E mails & texts. His staff is also very on top of things. They put your mind at ease to help give you the warm & fuzzy feeling that things are going good.
Carl, it was a pleasure working for you. Let's get that drag car out and do burn outs in the neighborhood! :-)
Fantastic Sam did a great job of marketing our home. He managed to give it the maximum amount of market exposure and was able to sell it at almost the full asking price which was $15K more than most realtors said we could see it for. Anyone wanting to get maximum exposure and sell their home for what it is actually worth should definitely contact Sam Vail!
Jim, It was an absolute pleasure working for you and Patty and getting the highest price ever in the neighborhood.
I have known and worked with Sam Vail on real estate and mortgage lending matters for over a decade, and I can not recommend him highly enough.
Sam and his associates have all been fair, best practice following leaders in the community, and I am glad to have hired him in this transaction -- we would not have solved our situation without his help, and he did it in days, not months!
If you have the opportunity to work with Sam Vail, it will be worth your while!
Thank you so much! Another client friendship forever!
If you are looking for a realtor who will spend time with you and go the extra mile to get your home sold then you have picked the right person, Samuel Vail. He is available when you need him and he will give you the proper advise when you are not sure of what to do. Selling a home is stressful and finding someone you can trust is most important. He also has a great personality. He sold my home and the process went smoothly. If you have to sell a home I would highly recommend Samuel Vail.
Thank so for the super kind words. It helps that you are my mother for sure! :-)
Sam gets 5 stars in all categories. He was knowledgeable, great at managing the entire sale, patient and did it all with a sense of humor. We will always use Sam when selling/buying a house. We highly recommend him.
Kathy Ribbens
Thank you Kathy. It's a pleasure to work for you and to call you a friend. This house house being your first flip worked out so well!
I would definitely recommend Samuel to anyone I knew. He was there for us anytime we called him, text him or even emailed him. It's nice when someone makes you feel like they have all the time in the world for you and me and my husband appreciated that from him. He was always ready with an answer or solution to any problem that we came across. The day before closing our loan people asked us to do something that there was no way there was time enough to do I became very frustrated but call Samuel he told me he would call me back. In less than 30 minutes he call me back and solved my problem and we were able to close on time I cannot thank him enough. He was a big part of making me and my family's dream house come true.
It's so nice to hear such a great story and to know that we found you and your family a great place to live.
Sam is very kind and knowledgable. He was approachable throughout the entire process and answered all of my many questions very quickly. As a first time home buyer, Sam was supportive and shared in my excitement for purchasing a house!
Thank you so much. You purchased a really beautiful home and I'm glad it worked out so well.
Sam's knowledge and expertise was incredibly helpful in the purchase of my first home. I was able to contact him at any time with questions regarding every step of the purchasing process.
Jerry, wow! Did you get a smoking deal on your house. Super excited for you.
As first-time home buyers with a limited budget, we were nervous about the commitment, the intimidating process, and the thought of having to settle in this seller's market. Sam patiently supported us through the highs and lows, never trying to pressure us into a situation we were uncomfortable with. He was exceptionally responsive, skilled at negotiating, and has a great sense of humor. He made the experience less daunting, and surprisingly enjoyable. We are incredibly happy with our decision, and if we were ever to sell our home, we'd be excited to work with Sam again.
Mardee! So much fun working with you and Kurt. Thank you for inviting me to all of your parties! It's been a blast getting to know you.
Yup, Sam is as good an agent as all of these other reviews say he is. He's straightforward, knowledgeable, and will respond quickly to your questions and/or issues. He was great with negotiations, too. He knows the area and its other contractors/agents/etc. well. We highly recommend!
Thank you so much! Yup is right! The pleasure is all mine.
Sam listed our home and we had several offers the first week. Sam got the best offer of full price. We just closed and are very happy. I would recommend Sam as a relator.
Eileen, thank you so much. You and Kevin were great to work with.
Sam was a great help with our first time purchasing a home. He answered all of our questions and didn't pressure us. His relaxed approach and great sense of humor were a huge help! We would highly recommend his services!
Danielle, I really love the home you bought. It's such a neat house and we were able to get through a lot inspection issues.
Sam has been fundamental in our local Ypsilanti (and surroundings) home search. We told him what we wanted and he did not lose sight of our wishes. Bottom line, he got us into our awesome new house within 4 weeks, which is really fast, especially in this local area where demand is rapidly climbing. I would recommend Sam to everyone shopping locally, since he has proven to be very knowledgeable and seasoned in this area and his profession. Other than that he is just a great guy who wants nothing better then to get you that new house. He has proven it to us! Thanks again Sam!
Richard, so fun working with you and MJ! It will be fun to sell your house soon!
Sam made our experience as first-time home-buyers great! We looked at many different houses; he was quick to respond to requests, and patient in answering all our questions about the process. We had a last-minute hang-up with closing, and Sam helped us navigate through. We always knew he was after our best interests.
Miriam! What a great experience helping you purchase then selling the house for such a great price!
Sam made finding and purchasing our first home easy! He worked closely with our lender to make everything go smoothly. He was super flexible about showing us homes around our crazy schedule and overall super easy to work with. Thank you for everything!
Lindsay, you and Bill are such wonderful people. It was great helping you buy your second home in Saline as well!
Sam was particularly awesome for showing us places we could actually afford and using all his contacts to bring us to the perfect house! We had talked to realtors before who make all these smarmy assumptions about younger people; what their plans or desires might be (or what their bank accounts might look like), and there was none of that with Sam at all! We thought living where we wanted to was a pipe dream but There Are Houses To Be Found and Sam did! If you want to find the perfect home without being condescended to, Sam's the way to go. Especially as in our case for first time home-buyers. Also especially if you're in the Ypsi area; he knows it like the back of his hand.
Jenn! What a great house for such great people. Congrats on motherhood! I look forward to seeing you and Ryan soon.
Sam helped us sell our house in Ann Arbor, MI. He is very knowledgeable, diligent, and motivated. I think the best part about working with Sam is his personality, though. He is friendly and funny. He made us feel comfortable through the entire process and he worked hard to get us the best price for our house. I highly recommend him.
Thank you for the kind recommendation. It was great helping you sell your home.
Our experience with Sam is nothing short of spectacular. Sam took the time to listen to us and understand exactly what we were looking for. He then worked extremely hard in finding us our new home. As first time home buyers it was very important to us that we trust our realtor and we quickly came to trust Sam. He worked around our schedules and was available at our convenience. We are very happy with all of our dealings with Sam and would recommend him without hesitation.
It takes spectacular clients to allow me to do a spectacular job! Thank you again.
House-hunting was a nightmare for me, until I found Sam! He made the process so much easier. He was very upfront and honest about every house- we did not waste time and money on worthless investments. We are now happily living in our new home!
So great to hear about the happy outcome. I hope you are loving your new home.
Sam Vail is very nice and easy to work with. He is very knowledgeable. He worked hard to help us find the right house for us. Sam walked us through the whole process so that we had no problem figuring out what we needed to do. He recommended excellent people for inspections which was so important. We would recommend Sam Vail to anyone who is looking to buy a home.
Thank you so much for the kind review. We are fortunate to have some great inspectors to work with!
Sam is a professional first but also has a great sense of humor. He has an easy going personality that should vibe with all types of buyers. He is very personable but also understands the boundary and the importance of giving the buyer room to make their own decisions. He helped us understand the pros and cons of buying in different parts of town and also how the school districts are arranged. We would use his guidance again in the future without a doubt. Recommending Sam to anyone in the Ypsi / Ann Arbor area that is in the market for a down to earth realtor.
Ben! So much fun working for you and getting a great deal!
I was very pleased to have Mr. Vail as my realtor when we moved to the area from out of town. He found the home my family was looking for and in the area where we wanted to live. He is a good negotiator. He is available for all your answers and needs. He is a very good business man.
He is an excellent people person with a wonderful personality.
Thank you so much for the amazing review. Your home in Saline was beyond beautiful.
Samuel Vail has been helping me with all of my real estate needs in southeastern Michigan for almost a decade. He found my first house in Ann Arbor and he helped me understand the mortgage process. Sam also helped make the process of buying my first house easy, straight-forward and without surprises. When my family relocated to Chicago, he became an invaluable resource for finding renters, handymen and gaging the market. He has become more than just a real estate professional to me, he has also become a trusted friend.
Ted! Thank you so much. We've been pals for a long time and it's great to see your business grow like it has.
I sincerely cannot say enough great things about Sam and all the help he provided in guiding me into my amazing house. From the initial search, to navigating some difficult paperwork snafus and, most importantly, keeping me grounded and focused as we traversed some surprising curveballs with my financial institution, Sam was an incredible sherpa on the Himalayan hike to my buying my very own Mt. Everest. Clunky analogies aside, Sam truly was an incredible agent. He was friendly, curious, sincere, and (as embarrassing as it is to admit) even turned to playing the role of little league coach to bring me out of my sad-sack, Bad-News-Bears attitude when things got rough. And you know what? It worked. My life has been vastly and permanently improved by moving into my new place and I have Sam Vail to thank for it. (Pssst! Hey Sam! THANK YOU!!!)
It's an amazing house that you got to! Thank you for trusting in my expertise!
I have been working with Sam Vail, as my real estate agent, for several years. Sam has an excellent understanding of the real estate market and he is also very transparent with information. I can trust him to deliver and wouldn't use anyone else in the Detroit metro area when it comes to looking for a place to live.
Nick! We've known each other for so long and it's been great getting to know your parents as well. We have some great rental property storied to tell.
SAM WAS GREAT! HE IS FAIR, UPBEAT,AND INFORMATIVE. HE HAS GREAT FOLLOW-UP AND FOLLOW THROUGH ON ALL TRANSACTIONS. HE IS ALSO A GENUINELY NICE PERSON TO WORK WITH. I WOULD RECOMMEND HIM TO ANYONE.
Listings Details | Property Address Details Price |
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![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 3 Total SqFt: 2,288 $399,900 |
![]() | Beds: 6 Baths: 2 Total SqFt: 2,092 $300,000 |
![]() | Beds: 2 Baths: 2 Total SqFt: 1,409 $235,000 |
![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 2 Total SqFt: 1,139 $199,900 |
![]() | R1 Zoning | 0.51 Acre(s) $39,900 |
Listings Details | Property Address Details Price |
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![]() | Beds: 5 Baths: 4 Total SqFt: 2,919 $907,000 |
![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 3 Total SqFt: 2,250 $486,000 |
![]() | Beds: 4 Baths: 4 Total SqFt: 2,339 $309,000 |
![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 3 Total SqFt: 1,850 $258,000 |
![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 3 Total SqFt: 1,447 $250,000 |
![]() | Beds: 4 Baths: 3 Total SqFt: 2,000 $250,000 |
![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 3 Total SqFt: 1,606 $237,000 |
![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 2 Total SqFt: 1,267 $243,500 |
![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 1 Total SqFt: 1,332 $227,000 |
![]() | Beds: 4 Baths: 2 Total SqFt: 1,511 $185,000 |
![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 1 Total SqFt: 925 $162,000 |
![]() | Beds: 3 Baths: 2 Total SqFt: 1,448 $154,000 |
![]() | Beds: 2 Baths: 1 Total SqFt: 972 $130,000 |
![]() | RES2 Zoning | 10.00 Acre(s) $62,500 |
Team Member Profile Image | Team Member Contact Information |
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![]() | Tim Snyder |
Team Member Profile Image | Team Member Contact Information |
![]() | Adam Labowitch |
Team Member Profile Image | Team Member Contact Information |
![]() | Tara Habeck |
Sam Vail
2723 S. State Street Suite 130
Ann Arbor MI 48104
(734) 930-0200