- Van Christian
- Van Christian
- Van Christian| 0
12/14/2012 - user3143426
Bought a home in 2012.
12/13/2012 - user6054545
Bought a Single Family home in 2011 for approximately $750K in Westchester, Los Angeles, CA.
First of all, this was my first time purchasing a home. And the circumstances were incredible stressful for me. My fiancé at the time and I had been looking for a home for about 4-6 months on our own before I meeting Van. We were feeling incredible defeated and underwhelmed by the homes we were seeing in our price range.
In the 4-6 months prior to working with Van, I was working with an agent who was a referral by a co-worker. She was friendly, but that was about it. I found all the homes we went to look at and she called to make the appointments. She had no incite into any of the homes. We did find a house that I still dream about a little to this day. We had put an offer in on this home, but in deciding on what to offer, my realtor made me feel very uneasy. She was pressuring me to offer at the asking price. Telling me we're going to loose the house if I don't. Did I mention she happened to be acting as our mortgage broker as well. I refused to offer the asking price. She told me to have a back up offer ready. I was so angry, I didn't want the house under these conditions. And I didn't want her making money off of me like that.
After all that, we didn't get the house, and we later found out she had approved us for a home we couldn't afford! So even if we wanted it, we couldn't afford it. So needless to say, I was pissed and not wanting to trust anyone after that experience.
After about a month of looking on my own again, I met Van through a listing I found online. We emailed about what I was looking for, and I was upfront with him about my previous experience. I loved his attitude of wanting to undo everything the first agent did. And to regain my trust in the whole process. He was VERY understanding, patient, and even answered my calls in the middle of the night which was often(cause I work 7-6pm M-F) He's a saint, for putting up with me.
Not only were we looking for a house, we were also getting married in the midst of all this. Lol Well after getting approved for a proper loan, Van helped me to look outside of my comfort zone (Santa Monica) and we found a great little neighborhood in Westchester that my fiancé loved.
Now the thing to know about Van, he's honest. If he didn't think a house was right for me, he didn't push it. And I love that about him. Just after seeing a few house with me, he knew what I was REALLY looking for. He showed us a few houses in Westchester and nothing really excited us. But then we found a house that was just what I wanted. We put an offer in, but the home owner didn't want to negotiate on the price. I was going to send a counter offer but Van caught wind of another property that was going to be reduced the next day. He was able to get us in to see the house before the reduced price was announced, and my fiancé fell in love with the place. He loved it so much we put an offer in that night.
Although the other house would have been a higher commission, Van didn't push for it. He knew this house would be a better fit and better value for us. He helped us with everything, walking us though all the paperwork, always letting us know what are next step was, and don't forget, we were getting married.
The long and the short of it is...we closed on the house on a Thursday, we moved in on Friday, our family showed up that weekend, and we got married on Monday. We left the following day (Tuesday) for our honeymoon and Van was still there for us. He helped to make sure when we came home from our honeymoon there were no issues with the house. And to this day, even though our business is done, we remain in contact. Is it common to stay in contact with your realtor after they close on a house? We did. Van emails me to see how we are, the house, and even our families. He's not just a realtor, but a friend. Would I recommend him? Absolutely. If we ever decide to purchase another home, I'd call him in a heart beat. But I think the house he found us is our forever home.…More Less
In the 4-6 months prior to working with Van, I was working with an agent who was a referral by a co-worker. She was friendly, but that was about it. I found all the homes we went to look at and she called to make the appointments. She had no incite into any of the homes. We did find a house that I still dream about a little to this day. We had put an offer in on this home, but in deciding on what to offer, my realtor made me feel very uneasy. She was pressuring me to offer at the asking price. Telling me we're going to loose the house if I don't. Did I mention she happened to be acting as our mortgage broker as well. I refused to offer the asking price. She told me to have a back up offer ready. I was so angry, I didn't want the house under these conditions. And I didn't want her making money off of me like that.
After all that, we didn't get the house, and we later found out she had approved us for a home we couldn't afford! So even if we wanted it, we couldn't afford it. So needless to say, I was pissed and not wanting to trust anyone after that experience.
After about a month of looking on my own again, I met Van through a listing I found online. We emailed about what I was looking for, and I was upfront with him about my previous experience. I loved his attitude of wanting to undo everything the first agent did. And to regain my trust in the whole process. He was VERY understanding, patient, and even answered my calls in the middle of the night which was often(cause I work 7-6pm M-F) He's a saint, for putting up with me.
Not only were we looking for a house, we were also getting married in the midst of all this. Lol Well after getting approved for a proper loan, Van helped me to look outside of my comfort zone (Santa Monica) and we found a great little neighborhood in Westchester that my fiancé loved.
Now the thing to know about Van, he's honest. If he didn't think a house was right for me, he didn't push it. And I love that about him. Just after seeing a few house with me, he knew what I was REALLY looking for. He showed us a few houses in Westchester and nothing really excited us. But then we found a house that was just what I wanted. We put an offer in, but the home owner didn't want to negotiate on the price. I was going to send a counter offer but Van caught wind of another property that was going to be reduced the next day. He was able to get us in to see the house before the reduced price was announced, and my fiancé fell in love with the place. He loved it so much we put an offer in that night.
Although the other house would have been a higher commission, Van didn't push for it. He knew this house would be a better fit and better value for us. He helped us with everything, walking us though all the paperwork, always letting us know what are next step was, and don't forget, we were getting married.
The long and the short of it is...we closed on the house on a Thursday, we moved in on Friday, our family showed up that weekend, and we got married on Monday. We left the following day (Tuesday) for our honeymoon and Van was still there for us. He helped to make sure when we came home from our honeymoon there were no issues with the house. And to this day, even though our business is done, we remain in contact. Is it common to stay in contact with your realtor after they close on a house? We did. Van emails me to see how we are, the house, and even our families. He's not just a realtor, but a friend. Would I recommend him? Absolutely. If we ever decide to purchase another home, I'd call him in a heart beat. But I think the house he found us is our forever home.…More Less
11/29/2012 - user914470
Bought a Single Family home in 2012 for approximately $775K in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, CA.
We switched to Van early in our house hunt when we met him at a house in Hllywd Hills East. His work ethics, Southern hospitality, well-rounded background in real estate, and honesty won us over. He held our hand and fought every battle our fickle personalities requested and even several we didn't bc he knew the details were in our best interest.
If you have the pleasure of working with Van, he will become a great asset to your home hunting life and to your home buying armament.…More Less
If you have the pleasure of working with Van, he will become a great asset to your home hunting life and to your home buying armament.…More Less
Specialties:
Buyer's Agent, Listing Agent, Consulting, Rehabbing Properties
He's helping me find my next home and sell my current property. I have worked with several agents in the past and I only chose to go with Van due to a glowing reference from a coworker.
His knowledge of my area (Hollywood) is very good. I'm an LA native and I'm impressed. I have pretty specific requirements for my new home and the surrounding area, such as public transit, etc.
Van was able to find many properties that fit the bill and we recently opened escrow on home that is perfect. This is an amazing listing that Van caught as soon as was available.
I have been searching for a home on my own for over a year now. After only a few weeks with Van, we found a place. He has a really good eye for construction issues and opportunities that I would have never caught.
Obviously, he's prompt, very good at keeping me updated and is pretty well connected. He's been handling and negotiating the few escrow issues that have popped up promptly and aggressively.
This is not my first home purchase, but it's seems to be the easiest.
PS: I have already recommended him to my parents.…More Less