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BUSINESS BASICS
Started as a Realtor in: 2005
Specialization: East Vancouver North of 33rd. Inclusive of Main, Mt. Pleasant, Cedar Cottage, Granville, Commercial Drive, and Knight Street.
One piece of advice: Work with an area specialist and be sure to ask what services your Realtor provides.
Why MacDonald Realty? They are known for their Professionalism. Full-service local brokerage and BC’s largest company owned by a female, Lynn Hsu.
“A pleasure to work with! She is professional and works hard for her clients.” Carol Palfrey, Associate Broker, Macdonald Realty
Q & A
1. What has been your most interesting client? My parents. It was the most challenging and emotional experience. For one, I was selling our family home, the home I grew up in. Two, I had to help find a place for my parents to downsize to. It gave me an appreciation and insight on how to handle the empty nesters and the emotions that can be part of the process. We managed to find them a wonderful 1 bedroom and den (space for the grandkids) in the West End. They absolutely love their place and it was their confidence in their decision that made it easy to deal with.
2. What was your favorite success story? I had a couple that had purchased a pre-sale. Within 3 months of taking possession they split up, which required them to sell their property. They were barely speaking to each other, but each loved the building so much that they both wanted to still own within the building. They were concerned that they were selling at a time that they would be competing against established real estate investors. They worried they wouldn’t get the value or return they would need for their separate purchases. We ended up being able to sell their unit for over asking. We were then able to find a place in the same building on separate floors for each. It worked out perfectly!
I should share this story too. In 2010, I was fortunate to reconnect with an old best friend who moved away after grade 8. We lost touch after she moved, but she had heard I was a Realtor after she found out her family was being transferred to Vancouver from out East. It took us nearly a year to find her a house. We competed on 5-6 houses to come up empty handed. However, the happy ending is that we managed to find her and her family a beautiful home three doors down from my place. Now we get to hang out and have our kids play together…the story gives me shivers…how well it turned out and having an old friend so close now.
3. Since education is important to you, what else do you do to keep yourself educated and informed? The Real Estate board hosts an annual legal update. It’s only required every two years, but I believe every agent should attend every year. They are very informative and keep current on all the changes. As agents we are required to complete a basic level of PDP (Professional Development Program) credits each year. I feel these credits need to be exceeded, not just met. The courses offered are great! I also believe that attending seminars, workshops and information sessions including coaching and goal setting, helps to motivate and inspire. I also read the Real Estate Board’s publications and attend Macdonald Realty weekly and bi-weekly meetings, which include market review, rule changes and guest speaker sessions.
4. What differentiates you from the 11,000 licensed real estate agents in the Greater Vancouver area? I’m good at my job. Not only do I have experience, but I believe that my professional skills paired with my people skills enable me to provide a really high level of service. Knowing your product, your clients needs, being apart of the community and building relationships with colleagues are all things I excel at, and firmly believe they are what make an excellent Realtor. I’m a fantastic negotiator, and that comes from me knowing the product really well.
I am a relationship person, so I require my clients to meet with me before we take any steps towards working together. I have a unique buyers package that I step through with my clients so they understand the process and we can layout out our expectations. For sellers, I offer a package that includes professional pictures, virtual tours, floor plans, extra marketing placements, and an hour and a half consultation with a designer from the Canadian Redesign Association. It helps clients redesign their home to make it more appealing with the current furniture they have in place.
“Naomi is one of the most personable people you could hope to meet. She positively radiates warmth and good energy. She takes a genuine interest in each and every client, to the point that I’m never quite sure if she’s on the phone with a client or a friend. I think one of the most valued aspects of the work Naomi does as a realtor is in minimizing the stress the inevitably comes with a large real estate transaction. Naomi is totally selfless in giving her time, and unfailingly patient. She is incredibly thorough in performing her due diligence and always vigilant about protecting her clients from future headaches. To see how happy Naomi is for her buyers when they finally take possession of their new homes is really great. It’s a true measure of the realtor and the person that Naomi is that she considers this the highlight of the work that she does.” Justin Morrison, Partner
PERSONAL SNAP SHOT
About: Husband, 2 kids: Juna (3.5) & Cian (2), snowboards, enjoys reading, sports (volleyball & soccer), travelling and most of all city biking.
She’s Unique because… 1. Car-FREE family. They bike with a chariot or walk. Realty tours she uses Modo and Car-to-Go for meetings. 2. Family is so important that Fridays are Family days. No work on Fridays, except for urgent deals. She has set up a resource system to manage business while she is with her family. 3. If Naomi wasn’t a Realtor she would be a midwife.
Likes (If you had more time, what would you do more of): Meeting with clients, Personal coffee time with friends, community involvement and volunteering.
Loves (can’t live without): She loves everything! However, her biggest everything is her family, immediate and extended.
THE EXTRAS
Naomi is all about family, building close relationships, and knowing her product. She believes her best features as a real estate agent are her product knowledge and personality. She believes that clients want to have an agent with personality and professionalism. Someone that listens to their needs, works well with other realtors, and they can be confident they are being given the correct information.
Naomi works with a wide-variety of clients, but says the common theme is that they are all really great, solid, confident, personable, honest and positive people. She tends to find her clients are like-minded and genuine, which has fostered great friendships, making the buying/selling experience even easier.
Wish to share your thoughts, feel free to comment below.
