David Chen Reviews

I have met many "Real Estate Professionals" in Vancouver (they are everywhere). And every time I decided to take a couple of minutes to ask about the market, I knew I was being sold. Yet I have worked with a few of them when I rented my first apartment in UBC to selling my ageing mother's property in Richmond. From the moment my mother decided that we were going to enter the market, I quickly realized there were buttloads of information so I quickly concluded that I could execute on it myself. I thought I might as well learn something and possibly some money by putting in some sweat equity. Sure enough, I was eventually overwhelmed with the information then put this project for cold for a while. David is an amazing Realtor to work with. He continuously answered my questions to help curate information. We appreciated the concise summary, timely information, and advice on possible risks. This enables me to shift my mindset about working with a Realtor. I was no longer being told which properties in the area "sold for x price" therefore we must "sell for y price." The absolute flexibility to ask for his advice when needed helped alleviate my mother's anxiety and remove the uncertainties in our selling journey. I do not have a degree from the UBC SCARP, nor am I a seasoned real estate investor. But I have done sufficient research to acquire literacy in the field to know which websites to get information and raise questions when a piece of information is dubious. And David was the right person to ask and discuss. The sage saying of "hiring people smarter (more experienced) than you" holds in this case.

Our experience was almost 10 years ago when we purchased our first property in Vancouver. As we just moved to Vancouver and did not really know anyone well enough to ask for a Realtor recommendation, we went on a search website and completed a contact form. We were then contacted by David. We wanted a bigger condo with comprehensive amenities in the building and in the immediate area as we did not want to drive anymore due to age. Proximity to the seawall was also a plus for us as well. Thankfully there were not many available properties to choose from, and David scheduled the viewings and went to every viewing with us; during which he would provide us with housing statistics in the area and at times offer his knowledge in a few of them. We later settled in the Coal Harbour in Vancouver. David helped us solidify our intent to buying a property instead of renting, as we were relocated to Vancouver and had a very small window to settle down. David was able to answer most of the questions about the purchase and facilitated communication with related trades. David was probably there at the right time but we appreciated his help nevertheless.

<p>David showed us homes that were originally not within our search criteria, homes that needed some extent of renovation to be suitable for our lifestyle. We eventually bought a single family home build in the 90s in Dunbar, Vancouver. We then invested to renovate the property inside out to somewhat close to our very initial expectation. No complaints there, as our purchase was said to be the lowest purchase price among comparable homes for that month by local news media.</p> <p>As the market continued into 2020, a good number of newer homes in our area have been on the market for some time now. We are grateful we did not waste time buying something that probably would be too big for us anyway (and more money).</p>