Engel & Völkers Vancouver Island North

My husband and I were on a search for acreage in the Courtenay area this past year and had the pleasure of working with Abel O'Brennan. I have worked with many realtors over the years and Abel ranks as exceptional. First and foremost he listens to what your vision is and sets out to make that happen rather than trying to make a sale which would benefit him. We were trying to figure out what direction we wanted to go by looking at different properties and Abel was fantastic about setting up showings of different properties and giving us background information about the area so that we would be happy with our decision. Don't hesitate to hire Abel, you will be glad you did.

My wife and I just moved from Kelowna to join family. Abel came highly recommended by family members and we were not disappointed. Abel went above and beyond for us, took care of the smallest little details and was always there to answer our questions. We felt like we were working with a true professional but also a partner, it was like we were we purchasing our place together. This is the only review you need, Abel is your guy.

Lucie Himmelova contacted us after she had heard from our son that we wanted to sell our condo. 12 hours later we met and showed her our property. We were very impressed how confident Lucie was and even cleaned up after our renter to make the pictures look perfect. Within a week it was listed and twenty four hours later it was sold for a price we would not believe we would get. Lucie is an incredible negotiator, a perfectionist with a warm personality. We would recommend her to anyone who want to buy or sell a house. We are lucky to have her in Courtenay!

My family and I couldn't recommend Able and his team more highly. When we looked to move this time the mortgage rules had changed, with our own company and real estate investments this caused issues. Able took this in stride and lined us up with an amazing mortgage broker and the two of them made the deal work. His intimate knowledge of the valley and its subtle nuances, he made the move into our dream house not only possible but an all round success. When there were issues Able or his exceptional staff were available at a moments notice (at one point he was in New York and responded in under a minute!!) Able understands his craft and is truly gifted both in patience with us and drive to get us what we needed. This review comes from using multiple realtors in the past and knowing the difference between “this worked” and “this is exceptional”. Working with Able was a truly exceptional and a pleasure!

Abel did a masterful job of closing on our new home. We worked with him remotely from Vancouver. He ran FaceTime calls for us to tour properties, and showed us around in person. Abel has a deep understanding of the region and community that was helpful in narrowing our search to specific areas. When a good listing popped up, we are able to jump on it. Abel led us to win in a multiple-offer scenario while managing a reasonable price and preserving flexibility. He is responsive and gives straight forward advice. We love our new home and strongly recommend him and his office.

Buying a house can be so stressful. Abel was amazing at keeping the whole experience normal and on pace. He had a very clear line of communication that was always open and meaningful. Our purchase was incredibly smooth, quick, and we are very happy with our new home. He always had an answer or a direction/contact that had the answers. Even after the sale, he made sure all the loose ends were buttoned up. Thanks Abel ?!!

We were very fortunate and pleased to have met Lucie Himmelova at Engel Volker in Courtenay BC. Prior to hiring Lucie, we had been trying to sell our home in Nanoose Bay for several months without any luck. We had been using one of the so called ‘big name local realtors’ in our area but finally came to the realization that the local company we were using was probably not capable of getting the job done. While we were getting several showings, our realtor was unable to elicit any serious offers on our home and could not seem to bring us qualified buyers, and so we agreed to terminate our arrangement. After more research, we came across Lucie’s profile on the Engel and Völker site and contacted her about representing us to help market our home. Lucie came out to our home and genuinely listened to our story. We ended up listing our home for considerably higher than what we had it had listed for with our other realtor. I can only imagine what our previous realtor must have thought when Lucie sold our house for our full asking price in less than 30 days. Therein lies a big difference. Lucie felt we were undervaluing our home whereas the other realtor felt we were overpricing our home. Two completely different opinions that had the ability to materially impact us financially depending on who would have sold our house. This is what separates an exceptional realtor from a mediocre (or just plain bad) realtor and Lucie definitely rates as an exceptional realtor in our books. Sadly many of the ‘big name’ realtors, like the one we had the misfortune of dealing with, often don’t live up to their hype. For most of us our homes represent the largest asset we own. It’s important that when it comes time to sell that you have a realtor who will commit to getting you top dollar. Lucie is definitely one of those realtors. The difference , is that she took a chance with us and understood that we had a very unique and desirable property, but it needed a different approach to its marketing strategy. Lucie worked with us right at the start to come up with a viable pricing and marketing strategy and worked hard to identify and market the key areas of value of our home. Most importantly, Lucie, with the international depth of the Engel Völker network, was able to reach out to far more QUALIFIED buyers than any of the local realty companies could ever hope to have access to. In my opinion, that’s one of the biggest advantages that a brokerage like Engel Völker brings to the table. The quality of our showings improved immediately and we ended up with not one, but two strong offers in less than 30 days of having listed our home. We also worked with Lucie to purchase two additional properties and once again we were very impressed with her negotiating skills. She is well connected with local contractors in the area which came in very handy during the inspection and due diligence process. We highly recommend her as a realtor of choice for both selling and buying. Absolutely one of the best out there. Honest and ethical. A Tough negotiator. Good listener. Great sense of humor! She will look after your best interests and get the job done for you...without question.

Lucie Himmelova was an amazing agent at Engel & Volkers Vancouver Island North. Not only did she have patience when we didn't know exactly what we wanted, she gently guided us with her in-depth knowledge of the housing market. Her insight on what to look for and the understanding of all the important features on a house was impeccable. Extremely detail orientated. I would highly recommend Lucia for all your future home purchases. Thank you again for our wonderful new home! We love it!