Reviews of Engel & Völkers Vancouver Island North (Real Estate Agency)

Erik Clevering

Great people who helped us with all steps during the process of buying our first house.

Mathew Collings

Abel is THE BEST! He was so helpful, down to earth and he had a smart answer to all our questions and when he didn't he was able to get us one fast. He made us feel super calm and comfortable the entire time, buying a home can be so stressful, you gotta find a person that makes you feel like they have your best interest at heart, and that is Abel 100%. Please do yourself a favour and book him if you can, you will not regret it!

Kristi Hansen

Where to begin? Lucie Himmelova was a dream realtor for us. I would describe my husband and I as "extremely particular" buyers, we knew what we wanted and didn't think it would be possible within our firm budget. Lucie stuck with us for a LONG TIME and wouldn't even consider presenting an option that she didn't feel was right. There was never any pressure about the amount of time we spent looking and she was more than happy to give her endless energy and enthusiasm to every prospect. When it wasn't the right one, no problem guys, we don't stop till we find exactly the right fit. The primary difference with Lucie is that she really took an interest in who we were as separate individuals, which ensured that my husband and I were both equally represented in our purchase. Then it seemed like she personally embodied our likes, dislikes, and preferences then viewed every property as if she was us and this was her purchase that was being made! WOW, that is a powerful and effective method! The end result? We found the property, house, and location we've dreamed of for 15 years, then "Lucie the Home Buyer" shifted into "Lucie the Realtor" mode and we ended up negotiating the price way down to match our precise budget! Do we recommend her as your realtor? ABSOLUTELY 100% Thank you Lucie, you are something special <3 and I apologize in advance, but you are our "forever Realtor" from here

aaron dowker

I bought a house with help from Lucie . She was a great househunting teammate. Could be fiesty, honest when the house wasn't my dream place, and professional... something that I lack. Although I don't have a computer that didn't stop her from showing up at a muddy jobsite in the middle of the night with papers to sign. She had on her gum boots. I got to know her as more than my relator and now consider her my friend. She even drove me to the bank when my car broke down to get my deposit in on time... I wouldn't have made it on my bicycle. She even showed up on moving day with champane. It feels like we got this house together. I have been looking for a home for years... "Dad, we need to buy a house "my boys needed a home of their own. Lucie was able to take our little family around and as well as finding the right fit, and letting me know when houses were definitely not great. We finally found the one, "buy it Dad!" the kids roared... but it was unavaliable. Somehow a backup offer and some well placed negotiating... and we got a house in a very hot market!

Jennifer Irwin

Lucie was excellent to work with. Very professional, and clearly always on our side, wanting the best for us as her clients. She really went above and beyond in every way!!!

Eliza Haugrud

I recently purchased my first home, the place I had been living sold from underneath me in less than 72 hours. Lucie stepped in and made me feel as if I had reconnected with an old friend. She walked me through the whole process making sure all my i's and t's were dotted and crossed. She knew exactly what I needed in my home, even when I didn't know how to express it. She showed me only places that would interest me and pointed out things that I would not have known or seen on my own. Lucie took one of the most stressful events in anyone's life and made it one of the most exciting adventures I've ever had. I can't wait to do it again with her, bit won't need to for a while ????.

Barbara Pearson

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.

Jacob Malthouse

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.

Tara Ludwig

Had such a great experience buying our first home through Engel and Volkers!! Abel was awesome, the process went so smoothly and every question we had was answered quickly. All of the great resource recommendations (inspector, mortgage broker, etc) were so helpful and took the guesswork out. Definitely recommend for anyone needing a realtor!

Thomas Janes

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.

Eric McConkie

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 ????!!

Mareesha Nesling

Lucie Himmelova was great to work with when selling our house. We had originally thought we would sell our house on our own but after one visit with Lucie we quickly realised the value of a professional realtor. Lucie was amazing to work with , really listened to our wants and needs, negotiated a more than fair price and was even able to keep our tennants, passing them along to the new homeowner. It meant a lot to us all. After our house sale closed Lucie presented us with such a thoughtful gift. We are actually shocked at how easy it was for us to sell our house, because Lucie did all the hard work! If you are looking for a great realtor we would highly recommend Lucie Himmeloca at Engel & Volkers Courtenay.

Mark Dalton

1st class operation!

Sally Anderson

Abel was amazing to work with! Hands down the best realtor... He sold our house very quickly, which was a house that other realtors had attempted to sell several times over the past few years with no success. His marketing of the home was great, and he took the time to properly vet potential buyers himself as to avoid unnecessary showings. Would highly recommend!

Island outdoor LandCruiser IslandLivn

It was a pleasure to work with Abel in purchasing a rental investment early 2018. After working with several realtors in the past, we were fortunate to have met a realtor who developed a persional relationship and took the time to understand our needs. He has a wealth of knowledge in the local comox valley and surrounding area communities, both in the real estate and rental markets. This was crucial in helping us make the right decisions. He was available when we needed, walked us through the entire process and gave us the advice to help secure the house we wanted. With finding us the right home and helping us to network with the right professionals who also understood our needs, he was able to help us find and purchase another real estate investment property within the same year in the comox valley. In this challenging market, he never pressured us to make a decision, always kept us informed, gave us the right advice - even if it was to NOT buy and set us up to move quickly when the right house came along. Engel and Volkers come highly recommended and we will be sure to go to them in any future real estate needs.

Brent Raddysh

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.

Jan en Marian Slomp

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!

Melissa Groat

We used Chantal as newbies to the Comox Valley. She was so helpful getting us acquainted with neighbourhoods and understanding the pros and cons of each. She worked tirelessly for us and acted with such integrity throughout the process. We couldn't be happier with our new home!

Teagan Hidber

We just used Abel to purchase our new townhouse. We came from out of town so we weren’t able to be there in person to see the place. He was so great to work with and our process was stress free. Communication was great and he quickly answered any questions we had. We would highly recommend Abel and will definitely be working with him again in the future.

Nicholas Stoneberger

From our first meeting, Abel’s genuine personality, enthusiasm and high level of professionalism reassured us that Abel O’Brennan of Engel & Volkers, was the perfect choice to sell our Campbell River home. He spent a lot of time answering our questions and listening to our concerns. We thought that our home, located might be a challenge to sell, but Abel was quick to point out all of its positive qualities. He made the process easy, taking steps that other realtors had not, such as using a professional photographer and giving us presentation and staging tips. When we saw our listing, we were amazed. His expertise really paid off – our listing looked incredible and overshadowed the competition. We had a full price offer within 24 hours. We absolutely recommend Abel O’Brennan of Engel & Volkers to anyone selling a home.

Janeen Forbes

We could not have been happier working with Abel and his very professional team. Always on time and promptly answered our questions no matter how trivial. He efficiently navigated a multiple offer scenario and made us even happier. So glad we found him!

Dana McPherson

It is with great pleasure we refer Lucie Himmelova! The moment we stepped into the Engle &Volkers office, Lucie's engaging smile and warm handshake greeted us! We knew this was the right place! After an hour of conversing over the market trends, we had found an agent who was definitely professional and would clearly be engaged with our requirements. During that time we lived out of Province for seven months and our connections with her regarding the listings were to be done via email or phone. Lucie listened with care to our choices and questions, while also discerning the real estate market accurately, She helped us navigate through the busy terrain of condos, ranchers to townhomes. It was her steady patience that lead us to signing a deal on a patio home the night of our arrival back to the Comox Valley. We sincerely couldn’t have done it without her! All the best to you Lucie, Happy Home Owners

David Wooldridge

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!