We were sure we had to redo the loft kitchen before listing. Ava walked every room, showed us building comps proving buyers prefer to choose their own finishes, and talked us out of an $18,000 remodel. About $3,200 of paint and lighting later, we had three solid offers and sold in five days over asking.

Selling the family house after twenty-eight years felt overwhelming. Theo found an honest estate downsizer, lined up painters and window cleaners, and negotiated a 30-day rent-back so I moved straight into my new apartment instead of paying for storage. Patient, unhurried and protective throughout.

As a first-time buyer I fell for the first loft I saw and would have overpaid on emotion alone. Naomi spotted an ageing electrical panel on that first tour, pulled every closed sale within six blocks, set a disciplined escalation ceiling and used the inspection findings to win $11,000 in seller credits.

A hospital fellowship gave us a single weekend to get to know Nova Bay. On one half-day tour Naomi covered four neighbourhoods, drove our real morning commute and steered us off a glossy flip with hidden water problems. When the right home appeared, she video-called us through it and negotiated $7,500 in closing credits.

Marisol ran conservative cash-on-cash numbers on four duplex candidates, including the tax reassessment most agents ignore, audited the leases and kept our 1031 exchange inside the 45-day window. I would have liked a few more mid-week updates, but the underwriting was the real thing.

We nearly bought into a new tower unrepresented. Marisol helped us choose a unit that did not face a future commercial site, told us which upgrades actually hold resale value and brought an independent inspector pre-drywall, who caught two disconnected bath exhaust runs before the walls closed.

I sold my loft and bought a larger one within the same month. Devon lined up a short rent-back on the sale and timed both closings so there was never a gap or a second mortgage. That level of coordination is worth a great deal.