Janice & Tom Stromar Reviews

Both Tom and Jan were super helpful in supporting our relocation. They very quickly knew what was worth us viewing and what wouldn't suit us. Super responsive and very professional.

Jan & Tom were incredibly patient and professional as we bought our first house. They were supportive and knowledgeable from initial conversations to after we took possession. Thanks Jan & Tom!

Jan and Tom are the best at what they do. They have excellent market knowledge and are prompt and responding to every question or concern I had. I highly recommend them as a real estate team to anyone looking to buy and sell property on Vancouver Island. - Melissa Peoples

The above score is based on rankmyagent.com definitions and not reflective of our actual experience. Please see written review below: "Even a Monkey Could Sell a House In This Market..." -Janice Stromar ...turns out we should've gone with the monkey. Okay, that's a harsh title, but upon our first meeting these were Jan's words, instilling confidence in us when interviewing for the best realtor to represent us. The market did begin to turn when we listed our house, which we fully understand is beyond anyone's control. If a monkey could sell our home at our expected price before the market dip, then we expected our realtor to dig in and demonstrate the advantages of human evolution. Jan and Tom aren't bad realtors, they're very professional. They're great sales people as they did come prepared and were very effective in selling us their services. We know they have many clients and have had success in a hot market. "We don't need to sell your house, we'll keep making money regardless" is me paraphrasing one of Tom's favourite lines dropped on more than one occasion (in hindsight we should've given more weight to this red flag). The thing is, any sales person can look good in a hot market, but what separates the great from the mediocre is how they perform when the market starts to cool. Jan and Tom chose a strategy that didn't work, in fact backfired, and may have cost us a great deal of potential money, but that can be contributed to unfornate timing as that strategy worked for them in the past. This poor review isn't a reflection of a misfired strategy or the complaints of people that wish they made more money. This review is about value for money. We firmly believe Property Guys would've given us exactly the same service as Jan and Tom. Pros: - pulled all the necessary paperwork - took photos and virtual 3D walkthrough (did not post to their website though) - scheduled viewings - contacted us with offers - sent someone to put the 'for sale' sign in the ground Cons: - frequently out of town, often not telling us and being unreachable (Jan would defer us to Tom once we did make contact) - never being present when 'serious' buyers were viewing the house. - never providing feedback because 'that doesn't happen anymore'. (Our current buying realtor is constantly asking us for feedback to pass back on sellers) - Upon selling the home we didn't see or speak with Jan or Tom again, except when Jan texted to ask us to leave the keys behind and Tom called to make sure the money went through before giving the keys to the buyers (we really did appreciate Tom's call and diligence). In fact, being Jan's client we felt she was actively avoiding us. She came to get the lockbox and didn't even attempt to knock on the door because she 'thought no one was home' and knowing I work from home. - no congratulations or otherwise upon closing the deal. No thank you for choosing them as realtor after they got paid. I don't know the exact costs that Realtors pay when listing a home, there's not itemized bill and the industry isn't exactly transparent. I know these costs come out of their commission, but the amount of our money Jan and Tom walked away with for the amount of service provided are grossly out of balance. I would not recommend Jan and Tom to anyone simply due to the lack of service for the amount of commission paid. For a very similar experience hire Property Guys, 2% Realty, or something similar. Hiring a monkey would be a challenge when trying to convert a commission percentage to bananas.

Jan & Tom could not have made us more comfortable as we stepped into the unknown of buying our first home! We felt welcome to ask any questions no matter how basic, and they made the steps very clear. The combination of Tom’s detail oriented eye and Jan’s realistic and honest approach made it easy for us to feel safe in making such a huge investment. They made what can be a very stressful and confusing experience calm and simple with easy to follow guidance. We never felt pressured by either of them (at one point we walked into a house and Jan was able to read our expressions and said “okay so this isn’t the home for you!”) In the end we were able to purchase our dream home for asking price on our first offer! I wholeheartedly recommend their services and am so glad we had them on our side throughout this experience.