"Yan is incredibly knowledgeable, thoughtful and responsive. She did such a thorough job that I didn't even need to hire an inspector. She even read through the HOA board meeting minutes to uncover potential issues. The best realtor I have ever worked with."
- Cynthia
♥♥♥♥♥ Highly likely to recommend
07/19/2021
"Yan is very professional and patient to answer every kind of question we have. She went through house inspections with us and help us to find out every problem with the house before making an offer. Her negotiation skills also helped us to get a great house at a good price in this crazy market."
- lisa xiaohui
♥♥♥♥♥ Highly likely to recommend
04/17/2021
"We were so lucky to have Yan as our buyer agent in the super 2021 crazy market. We bought our dream house with her impressive real estate expertise. Yan is very professional and also very responsive to help on any of our questions. As first time buyer we got tons of questions and we appreciate Yan's patience and suggestions. Yan also has strong and proactive communication throughout the whole transaction from the very beginning to even after close. With her excellent negotiation skills we were able to save a big chunk of dollars. Highly recommended!"
-JasonZ716
♥♥♥♥♥ Highly likely to recommend
03/08/2021
"To say that Yan made our home purchasing experience amazing is an understatement. We had started working with her for over a long time visiting homes and putting in multiple offers before we found our home this February. She was super patient, always willing to take our calls to ask as many questions that we had and was very transparent with us when she saw homes that were just not worth it. She has an amazing work ethic, very personable and just simply a wonderful person to work with. We also had some very specific requirements that were not the exactly the easiest to satisfy, and regardless of how rare these requests were, she made us feel like she was on our side and looking out for our best interests. In the end, we found a home that checked off nearly all boxes. We know that every client is different and all have very different needs and Yan has not only the experience, but also the emotional intelligence to work with you as much or as little as you want. When looking back on this entire experience, we couldn’t have asked for a better agent to represent us. Yan is and will always be on your side."
- Meng Zhou
♥♥♥♥♥ Highly likely to recommend
02/21/2021
"This is our first time buying a house in the Bay Area. Before we started the process, we thought we would spend at least half a year to find our home as we have heard many stories from our friends about the challenging market in this area. Because of Yan, our experience has been pleasantly smooth. The housing market was still tough (probably even more competitive during our home searching window), and we had a tight budget limit. Still, Yan helped us find the home with the perfect timing and location in two months (from the time we started actively looking to the time we closed the deal). She took time and her heart to understand our family’s needs and priorities before helping us identify the neighborhood with the best fit. She is a logical thinker, but also a caring and active listener. She handled the negotiation process thoughtfully and professionally, and with integrity. After we purchased the new home, she helped us move out from the house we were renting and get our full security deposit back. After we moved into our new home, she continues being approachable whenever we have a question about our new home. We could not be happier about the experience of working with Yan. The sense of trust she has built with us will last lifelong. She has our highest recommendation."
- Chunyan Yang
♥♥♥♥♥ Highly likely to recommend
01/29/2021
"We met Yan when we visited one of her listings and immediately had great rapport with her. As new neighbors in the area (moved to the Bay area from SoCal a year prior) we had met a couple other agents, but Yan immediately came across as solidly knowledgeable of the Lamorinda market, neighborhoods and schools, very direct and to the point, while also being very friendly and approachable. As we started visiting other homes with her, she always offered valuable input very specific of each home we visited and her clear understanding of our needs. As we wrote offers, she was detailed, prompt and communicative. When we found our ideal home, Yan masterfully handled the entire negotiation from offer to close of escrow. There was no question or issue that arose that she didn’t have answers and solutions to, in a most prompt manner. We laughed a lot along the way and felt lucky we had such a capable, patient and personable agent on our side, with a sense of humor to boot."
- Jeffrey and Francis Thaler
♥♥♥♥♥ Highly likely to recommend
12/24/2020
"We are very happy with Yan's assistance with the sale of our home during the challenging times of Covid-19. Yan is extremely patient and understanding, professional, detail-oriented, knowledgeable about the market and is responsive. She is well connected with local vendors and resources who performed good work on a timely basis and at reasonable costs. Due to her personal involvement in orchestrating all pre-market activities, we listed our home ahead of an already aggressive market plan. Yan kept close tabs on and followed up on all market activities, which led us to a successful and smooth sale. We were particularly happy that she found a good family to take over a home that carried so much of our loving memories. Yan's dedication and commitment made the entire sale experience stress free from the beginning to the end. We highly recommend Yan should anyone have real estate needs in the area."
- S. Chan Moraga
♥♥♥♥♥ Highly likely to recommend
12/13/2020
"I haven’t purchased a house in the Bay Area for over 20 years. Finding myself stranded here during Covid, needing a place to call home and with the start of school looming ever closer, I knew who I had to call for help. Yan has been a close family friend and this gave me the opportunity to ruthlessly vet her for the last 22 years. I trust her completely and when you are making one of the biggest purchases of your life, you have to. At a time when buyers were over-bidding for the few homes on the market, Yan recommended we stay rational and give a measured offer. Um, what? She carefully explained her thoughts on our target house in relation to the upheaval that has gripped the housing market and pointed out our strength lay in other areas of our contract. We submitted our offer, knowing there were others that were higher than ours. Nail-biting? Check. Hand-wringing? Yes. Insomnia? You bet. Yet, she was so right. She understood the market and in particular the Lamorinda neighborhood. Even though we did not have the highest bid, we got the house of our dreams. That has been my experience with my dearest friend, Yan. This is what I wish for you, too. Happy house hunting~"
- lisa km young
♥♥♥♥♥Highly likely to recommend
07/23/2020
"Working with Yan was a great experience. She is patient and professional. For more than 8 weekends she helped us schedule appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic and drove over an hour (one way) to see the houses. I never felt any pushy from her. We finally got our first home with a great deal (30k less than the listing price). During the negotiation with seller agent, Yan convinced me to be firm on the offering price even I intended to offer a higher price. Thanks to her professional skills the offer was accepted within a day."
- Johnjwchen
10/07/2019
"Yan is professional, dedicated, patient and kind. She helped us understand the housing market and explained the pros and cons of each property that we were interested. She offered very valuable advice so that we could get the most out of our budget. Yan continued to help with the remodeling after the close to ensure a smooth transition"
- Ethel Z.
06/24/2019
"We couldn't be happier with Yan as our listing agent. Yan worked out a detailed timeline after the first visit and executed the action items impeccably. With years of real-estate experience, thorough understanding of the market, and extensive knowledge in finance, Yan handled the entire process with meticulous attention to details and professionalism. Our property was listed and sold (closed) within 30 day. It was our first time as sellers; however, Yan has made this daunting task a stress-free experience. At the same time, we learned so much from her. We have recommended her to all of our friends and family with real-estate service needs, as we couldn’t have asked for a more responsive, resourceful and pleasant agent to represent us."
- The Baumans
08/07/2018
"Until I met Yan I had never sold a house. With the passing of both my parents within a year I had 2 houses I needed to sell and I was admittedly clueless. She walked my brothers and I through the process step by step, clearly spelled out details and was always ready to assist. Communication was excellent and always quick. All questions were answered patiently. All phone calls were returned promptly. Since one house was the family home of 63 years there was work that needed to be done before sale. Everything was coordinated by Yan flawlessly since we all lived out of town. When 22 Offers came pouring in she calmly sat and explained the process. Since working with Yan I have had to sell yet another house with a different agent in another distant County. It is only at this point of comparison that I now fully realize what a Gem we had with Yan. With this last sale I constantly felt out of the loop and confused. A sensation I never experienced with Yan. Highly Recommend."
- Robin B.
10/24/2016
"I highly recommend working with Yan Heim. Her attention to detail and care for her clients is incredible. She helped with a rental in getting the CAR agreement together. She also helped prepare with the sale of the home in getting together everything that was needed including all inspections and estimates for work that needed to be done. She will do everything that’s in her client’s best interest to get the best price for a sale of a home. She also helped with a purchase of a home and she made sure that everything went through on schedule. She made us confident that this was the best home for us in our price range. She is smart and knows the business inside and out!"
- Selva Robyn
09/16/2016
"Yan is absolutely the best in the field! I highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for a place to call home. She is extremely knowledgable, patient, warm-hearted, well-informed and makes a house-hunting experience a very pleasant one for me. She has never pressured me into anything. Best of all, when I fell in love with a beautiful home, and ready to sign a contract the night before, she took the initiatives to research on the history of the house and warmed me about some of her concerns. Even though we did not go through with the sale, her trust-worthiness and her kind spirit of putting the interests of her clients first touched my heart. I wish all the agents were like her. I cannot recommend her more! Trust me, this is the first time I felt compelled to write an on-line review for any business and I just feel that my story should be heard and Yan's kindness and professionalism should be acknowledged!"
- May Chen
11/30/2015
"Yan has a long history in negotiating, writing and reviewing contracts. She assisted my firm Berkeley Engineering And Research, Inc. in a land purchase and in several contract negotiations with large entities (e.g. Chevron, UC Berkeley, the Golden Gate Bridge District and others) to provide engineering services. When we purchased the land under our laboratory, she suggesting a lower price in our rent-to-buy contract if we paid early, after the seller requested a higher price for payment past a certain date. The seller agreed and we managed to pay early, saving almost $100,000. Yan is a quick study, knows the Bay Area real estate market in detail and is an excellent negotiator. I strongly recommend Yan to anyone purchasing rental or commercial real estate in the Bay Area"
- Glen S.
11/5/2015
"Yan has strong knowledge about local market in terms of what are the expectations, the cycles of local market. Though the process to rent out my property, Yan gave me some very good insight advices that helped me understand the market, what needs to be prepared, what need to be look out. She took time to explain to me what is property management what's their responsibilities. The good and bad about different property management. She took time to helped to prepare what need to be done to rent the place out. I highly recommend Yan for your next home project."
- Marria Ma
11/03/2015
"Yan has been helping me to find investment opportunities in Lafayette, orinda and Oakland area. She is very knowledgeable to the area and every type of property from single family house, condo, to multi units. Although I have been looking for over months and haven't closed any deal, she is still patient and listen to my questions. She always think from your point of view and put customer's interest first. She is also my reliable resource. When I had some problems with my other rentals, she used her professional knowledge and resource to help me address rent control, how to write notices… While she spent her valuable time and had no direct benefit to her, she still keeps helping me, not like an agent but a old friend. Even when I troubled her about landscaping issues of my own house, though not her business, she consulted gardeners in her resource pool to help me. So I highly recommend Yan to any customers"
- Jian F.
11/01/2015
"Yan has been helping us finding another home in Moraga. She is very professional, responsive and hard-working, not to mention extremely knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the real estate business. On top of everything else, Yan is always willing to listen patiently and has our best interests in mind. She carefully screened and studied each home along with all the disclosure packages and made good recommendations accordingly. We were impressed by her professionalism and work ethics. We would recommend Yan in a heartbeat."
- Brandon W.
10/28/2015
"Yan helped me in my previous business sale. Throughout the entire process, Yan was professional, conscientious and highly motivated. Yan has incredible attention to detail, excellent follow-through, and is extremely kind and personable. Yan handled my contract negotiations. I was most impressed with her attention to detail, her willingness to research questions that she couldn't answer right away and always try to find a win-win solution. She is very knowledgeable in financial analysis and has very good business sense. I found Yan to be knowledgeable about aspects of realty and business that surpassed just the legalities of buying and selling properties. I highly recommend Yan to anyone looking for a highly effective and reliable real estate agent."
