It's taking everything in me to not write this entire review in ALL CAPS to express my extreme enthusiasm for Vanessa! My husband and I just closed on our first home (in our dream location!!) all thanks to Vanessa's expert guidance, unwavering support, and constant communication from the moment our house hunt began. Our close friends recommended Vanessa after having an amazing experience buying and selling with her, and she absolutely lived up to the hype. We had our hearts set on a very specific neighborhood, which meant houses within our budget were far and few between. Every time "the one" popped up, Vanessa gave us honest, thoughtful advice and somehow managed to predict exactly what it would sell for, which was almost always welllllllll over asking. When our house finally hit the market, we were crushed to learn it had already gone into escrow by day three. Instead of giving up, Vanessa encouraged us to submit a backup offer anyway. Long story short, we got the house! What's even more miraculous is my husband and I were traveling overseas during the inspection contingency and much of escrow, and Vanessa made sure we didn't miss a beat, accommodating WhatsApp calls with us at crazy hours and emailing us clear, digestible info. What could have been an incredibly stressful experience/vacation ruiner ended up feeling smooth, organized, and surprisingly easy. On top of all that, her connections with various vendors are unmatched. From plumbers to electricians to a custom glass shower door guy, she has someone fantastic for literally everything a new homeowner could need. TLDR VANESSA RULES!!! read more

Vanessa is incredible. I knew for years about her reputation as the best of the best, and getting to finally experience having her as our agent was nothing short of spectacular service. My wife had her eye on a property for months and we didn't realize it until basically we were in the moment that we were going to try and go for it. Vanessa sprang into action so quick! Within less than 24 hours we had an offer on a property and her strategic approach was on full display. You can just feel completely safe in her hands while she handles all the complex nuances of a real estate transaction. She makes it look easy even though we all know it's absolutely not. At every juncture, she led us through with supreme expertise and confidence. I'm so thankful to her for helping us find our "palace in the sky". It's literally a dream and I still can't believe it's real. In a time of economic uncertainty she managed to get us the most amazing deal, and helped us by taking a leap we may have been a little nervous to take on our own. We appraised for 80k over sale price!! Instant equity. And it's only up from here. Thank you SO MUCH Vanessa!!! read more

Where do I even begin? We started working with Vanessa around July 2025 and from day one she took us under her wing like we were family. In a market as crazy and competitive as Los Angeles, having someone as smart, strategic, and experienced as Vanessa in your corner is everything. What I appreciated most about her is that she never pressured us into anything that didn't feel right. She was always honest with us, even when it wasn't what we wanted to hear, and she consistently managed our expectations while educating us on the realities of the market. That kind of transparency is rare and we valued it so much throughout this whole journey. Her negotiation skills are truly on another level. She knows this market inside and out and it showed in every strategic move she made on our behalf. We genuinely felt like she had our best interests at heart every single step of the way. If you're looking for someone who is knowledgeable, caring, strategic, and truly invested in her clients, Vanessa is your person! We would work with her again in a heartbeat. read more

We contacted Vanessa about helping us buy our first home in 2022. She helped us get pre-approved with a great broker and came out to a couple houses with us. Ultimately, we couldn't afford anything bigger than a one bedroom at the time so decided to wait. Four years and a couple more false starts later, we found the perfect place. Luckily for us, we already knew how good Vanessa was so we reached out to her for help making an offer. We were starting from zero and she hooked us up with an amazing loan officer who got us pre-approved for a great rate in less than a week and got us underwritten 11 days later. Vanessa also got us enough time for inspections and hooked us up with wonderful and reasonably priced vendors. Throughout the process (and the last 4 years), Vanessa gave us wise counsel and advice. Highly recommend! read more

When I started the process of looking for a home, there was no one else I wanted to contact but Vanessa. I had followed her business page for years and always noticed the client reviews and the gorgeous homes she helped her clients find. They all seemed so happy with their experiences and ecstatic that she had secured their dream homes. So when it came time for my partner and I to start looking I was already anticipating an amazing experience, but she exceeded all my expectations and beyond! Vanessa's professionalism, honesty, and knowledge was unmatched! Not only did she find us our dream home but the entire process felt extremely easy and stress free! I genuinely could not believe how seamless the process felt even though I know there is a lot behind the scenes that happens during a transaction like this. I can't recommend Vanessa and her team enough! Not only did she manage to get us our dream home but we later found out that the home we purchased came with instant equity! If you're looking for an agent who is an expert in her field you I could not recommend Vanessa enough! Thank you Vanessa and team, we are extremely grateful for all you did for us! read more

If you are in the market for a new home in the North East Los Angeles area, we can not recommend Vanessa enough!! As first time home buyers, she was the absolute best agent we could have worked with. Vanessa is extremely knowledgable about the market and was always on the nose when predicting how things would go. She was super patient with helping us search for the perfect home that matched our criteria, was incredibly efficient and communicative throughout the entire process, and very detail oriented when it came to helping us with all the paperwork. Her expertise is unmatched and anyone would be so lucky to have her representation. We will be recommending her to all our friends and if the time ever comes for us to sell, we will definitely reach out to work with her again! In the meantime, we will be enjoying our charming new abode in Silver Lake! We wouldn't be here without Vanessa and her wonderful team!! read more

My wife and I were lifelong renters with no realtor connections in Los Angeles. After some searching, we found Vanessa through her excellent reviews, especially from other first-time buyers, and set up a call. From that first phone call, we knew she was the exact real estate agent we wanted to work with. We never felt pressured at any point, even after taking a four-month pause in our search. Vanessa not only helped us close on our first home, but also guided us through every step of the process (open houses, neighborhoods to hone in on, lenders, offer negotiations, and inspections). She was incredibly informative and patient, helping us feel confident and educated throughout. She also connected us with her trusted network of vendors, while still encouraging us to explore other options to make sure we felt comfortable. A common theme from everyone we interacted with: "We love working with Vanessa!" And we fully agree. We're grateful for her support and will absolutely refer her whenever we get the chance. read more

We worked with Vanessa to close on our dream home in Silver Lake. My partner is a designer and we will admit, we had very particular criteria, but somehow Vanessa was able to understand our wants and make it happen (not an easy task!). Los Angeles is such a tough real estate process with so much competition and we felt so lucky to work with a realtor that is VERY WELL RESPECTED by other realtors (very important!!!) and also knows the process inside and out. Vanessa was there for all of our novice questions and honestly made the home buying process so seamless that we felt like we weren't doing enough! All our friends told us to prepare for all the stress that comes with buying a house, but Vanessa made sure it was stress free and we could enjoy our first experience buying a home. Shout out to her entire team that helped us close. We couldn't have done it without you and we were so impressed with the expertise. We can't wait to continue working with Vanessa and her entire team on all our future home endeavors!!! THANK YOU SOULFUL ABODE TEAM! Fun fact: our friends also worked with Vanessa to buy a house 12 years ago in Highland Park and they still love their house! No brainer to go with Vanessa! read more

After successfully buying in Highland Park several years ago with Vanessa Yan as my real estate agent, when it came time to sell, I knew I wanted to work with her again. Vanessa's in-depth knowledge of the North East Los Angeles market (over 20 years of experience!) is unmatched, and she and her team came through in a big way despite a tricky market. She advised on impactful renovations and improvements that would help sell the house, which ended up being spot on, and recommended several contractors who did high-quality work at a fair price. Throughout the entire process, she and her team smoothed the way, making the listing and closing very smooth. She was incredibly responsive to my questions and gave great advice and input on all aspects of the sale. Whether you are buying or selling on the east side of Los Angeles, I wholeheartedly recommend Vanessa Yan and Soulful Abode. read more

I can't recommend Vanessa and her team at Soulful Abode enough! If you're looking to buy a home in the Eastside, her expertise in the area as a native Angeleno was so crucial in narrowing down our search and giving us confidence in our final decision. Even more, her connections with inspectors and vendors have helped us save money and feel well-prepared for the projects ahead. We actually started working with Vanessa as our buyer's agent after visiting two of her open houses. The homes were beautifully staged to highlight their unique characteristics which is a testament to her eye for home design. We told her that we were willing to take on a reno project but the caveat was that we'd be using a VA loan. Within the week, she showed us a house in prime Eagle Rock that had been sitting on the market for a couple of months due to the sellers being not quite ready to sell and the amount of work that would need to be put in. She pointed out that it was unheard of to get into this neighborhood at this price point and with the right reno choices, we could highlight the panoramic views of the surrounding hills and could easily make 2x the ROI if we ever decided to sell. There were all sorts of challenges with our offer and escrow process-not to mention a higher last-minute backup offer that slightly weakened our negotiating power during inspections. Vanessa was there to keep us in line with our contract deadlines to make sure we wouldn't be dropped from the sale while also keeping a friendly working relationship with the seller's agent. She was also extremely patient and ready to restrategize when it came to our VA loan process which attests to the fact that she always had our best interests in mind. Her expert negotiation skills, strategy, and time management helped us close escrow on our house UNDER asking, WITH seller's contribution towards some repairs post-inspection, AND with our VA loan! We're now working with some of her vendors to repair the house and transform it into the character home of our dreams. Thank you so much, Team Soulful Abode!! PS. She's also a foodie so get those restaurant rec's in as well ;) read more

Hi Vanessa! Earlier this morning, I sent over the final signatures needed to close out my aunt's file. So surreal how we just closed on my aunt's house. Seems like it was just yesterday that I initially reached out to you. Ever since the Insta algorithm placed your content on my feed, I knew you'd be the one to someday show me a property I desperately had to see IRL after scrolling on my various real estate apps. Little did I know that I would be contacting you, not for myself, but for my aunt after she approached me about possibly purchasing her first house. On behalf of my Aunt, me, and our entire family, we would like to extend our deepest gratitude to you for your role in getting her across the finish line. As a renter for almost four decades, you were instrumental in helping her accomplish something she thought was completely out of reach. Your guidance via your immense knowledge, professionalism, approachability, accessibility, and patience were the key factors that transformed her dream into a reality. We especially appreciate you taking the time to diligently answer and address our multitude of questions and concerns based on your experience. You've helped to keep our feet firmly planted in reality and your ability to troubleshoot and problem solve hasn't gone unnoticed. When we learned that the appliances belonged to the tenants even though the listing clearly stated that they were included amenities, you generously stepped up to the plate and said you'd gift my aunt a set. Thank you so much in advance for that and she regards it as such a touching and heartfelt housewarming gift. Looking back at my aunt's home buying journey, I'm so glad you captained the ship. With the rest of your team on board, Jean Tiller, Eddie Ajamian, and your inspectors, we felt like we were in extremely capable hands (which says a lot since buying a house can be incredibly complex and stressful). With your golden Rolodex of craftspeople you've shared with us, we now look forward to turning her house into a home (hopefully with your input). I'm so proud of my aunt as she is now the new steward and guardian of a charming pre-war bungalow. We look forward to creating many wonderful memories there. And when the opportunity arises, we anticipate working with you again. read more

Vanessa Yan was born to do real estate. She is solutions-oriented, knowledgeable, patient, results-driven, and communicative. Her deep appreciation for Los Angeles and its character homes was evident from the moment we first chatted. We can't say enough great things about her professionalism. The added bonus is that she's a delightful person to be around. My partner and I worked with Vanessa on both selling our house and buying a new one. The thought of this undertaking had us shaking in our boots! Thankfully, Vanessa was there to navigate through the process with us step-by-step, arming us with her vast expertise and skilled network of people. From stagers, to contractors, and everything in between, Vanessa had a person for the job. She and her team worked alongside us to prepare our house for sale and give it the best chance to succeed, and succeed we did! Within a week of listing, we accepted an offer. Vanessa was instrumental in finding enthusiastic buyers who would close and she fostered a positive environment for all parties involved to deliver a seamless experience. Then, the search was on for our next place! Looking at the height of buying season in NELA came with its challenges and disappointments, but Vanessa's focus never wavered. After a month of house hunting, an opportunity to see a special property was presented to us, through Vanessa. As soon as we stepped foot onto the front garden, we were smitten. It was a well-loved gem beyond our imagination. What a find! Through careful and considered negotiating, we entered escrow within days of seeing the home and before it was scheduled for open house. Now that we've officially closed, we'll be working with Vanessa's crew to give the home some much needed systems upgrades, which she helped us secure a seller's credit for and put toward costs. For something as high stakes as finding a home to live in, you want Vanessa and her team in your corner. Thank you, Vanessa! read more

Vanessa was an absolute rock for us during an unorthodox and at times unpredictable process -- and we honestly couldn't have navigated it without her. Her professionalism, responsiveness, and calm confidence made all the difference, and we always felt like we were in the most capable hands. Vanessa went above and beyond at every step, offering not only expert guidance but recommendations for vendors as we start our renovation. We are endlessly grateful -- thank you times a million! read more

If I can give Vanessa more than 5 stars I would ! She is truly such a pleasure to work with! My partner and I were scared to purchase our first home but Vanessa made it so easy and simple ! Any questions we had she would answer us right away and what I really appreciated was she always had our best interest! It's been a year since we purchased and we couldn't be more happy ! My best friend also purchased his first property with Vanessa and was very impressed with her guidance, knowledge & professionalism! Vanessa you are one in a million and can't wait to keep working with you! read more

Vanessa Yan - Soulful Abode - Christmas family photo - Real Estate Agents Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I am so glad I found Vanessa! I had been looking to purchase my first home for nearly a year. I worked with a few agents prior to meeting Vanessa, but felt I needed to find someone who specifically focuses and is familiar with Northeast LA. I reached out to Vanessa, and we had such a good initial call where she set my expectations. She helped me understand the market and brought me to the realization that not only was I looking at houses that would inevitably sell for over my budget, I was getting fatigued by the number of homes I was looking at. I loved that she framed the start of us working together as a reset/clean slate. Crazy enough, I will be moving into my first house less than one month after our initial contact. We found the right fit, and she helped me close in less than two weeks by quickly coordinating inspections, contract negotiations, and more. She's extremely knowledgeable and knows all of the right questions to ask with inspectors, sellers, and lenders (which is super daunting for a first time home buyer). I'm so thankful for Vanessa and would refer all my LA friends and family to work with her. read more

We worked with Jean Tiller and Vanessa Yan to buy our home, and oh my god they are the absolutely best realtors on planet earth! I can't stress this enough they are so well-versed in the LA market, are incredibly patient, and SO efficient with absolutely everything in the home buying process. We mostly worked with Jean to purchase our home and she made it happen within the span of a MONTH! We were ready to house hunt for 6 months to a year, but she made it so easy and was so incredibly efficient that we placed an offer, went through inspections, got a loan, and they recommended the trades people so quickly!!! We never felt pressured, ONLY supported. If you're looking for a realtor Jean and Vanessa are the way to go. NO doubt or reservations about any of their work. Thank you Jean and Vanessa we are eternally grateful to you! read more

I discovered Vanessa's business on Yelp back in late August when I had gotten tired of looking for a place to rent and finally decided to purchase a home in North East Los Angeles. As a first time buyer, I was totally intimidated by the home-buying process! I knew that I needed to find an experienced, smart, and honest realtor, who would patiently guide me through the process. Right from the start, Vanessa responded promptly to my messages, answered all my questions, and shared her expertise when I asked her for advice. Vanessa was instrumental in helping me negotiate seller credits when inspection reports revealed that the property needed some immediate repairs. As a result of her diligence, we were able to close escrow exactly one month after I contacted her!! What I appreciate most about Vanessa is that even after closing escrow, she offered to help me schedule home repairs prior to moving in. To me, this act demonstrates the highest level of commitment to her clients. For all these reasons, I absolutely recommend Vanessa's services to anyone who is looking to purchase a home in Los Angeles. read more

Wow! If you are looking for an AMAZING realtor for areas around Northeast Los Angeles this is your gal. Vanessa is a super star! She listened thoroughly to our unique needs for a home purchase, taking into consideration the location of our children's schools, accessibility needs for our live-in grandmother, two work from home situations and the desire to have enough space with as much character as possible within our budget. The housing market in Los Angeles is intense, and we had been looking for several years prior to working with Vanessa. After our initial conversation she immediately sent us several homes, met us for private viewings and put us in touch with an amazing lender that provided us with all of the guidance we could have ever imagined and more. She helped us understand the realistic price a home would actually go for and what type of budget we would need to make any upgrades to meet our needs which supported the financial decision making process immensely. Exactly 1 month to the day of working with Vanessa our bid was accepted on a home and eased through escrow with a 21 day window to close. She stayed connected through the entire process and is still engaged with us to ensure that the repairs and upgrades we need are being managed properly and within budget. It is clear that she cares deeply about her clients and wants them to truly enjoy their new home. We cannot recommend Vanessa enough! read more

Vanessa is wonderful to work with. She was able to get us an off market listing for an office space, live/work space after only a few weeks of looking, and the process was super smooth. She is very knowledgeable, calm, and helpful. Constantly available and great communication. She answered all of our questions about the process, escrow, loans, etc. and gave us ideas for our approach. I would recommend Soulful Above to all of my friends. read more

My wife and I can't say enough great things about Vanessa. She's an excellent realtor who completely exceeded our expectations. She's first and foremost a kind person who genuinely cares about her clients and takes the time to fully understand their needs. This was felt from the first interaction all the way through til the end. She is generous with her time and resources and really goes above and beyond. We were weary to enter the home buying market in Los Angeles right now as first time buyers with a limited budget and she helped us land our first offer and a home that has exceeded our expectations (not to mention under budget)! Vanessa has an in-depth understanding of the local market. She possesses an impressive knowledge of each neighborhood's unique characteristics, amenities, and housing trends. She introduced us to neighborhoods we weren't aware of that really matched our needs. Vanessa held our hand through every step of the process and never let us feel like we were in the dark about anything. From walking us through what felt like endless amounts of documents to coordinating inspections and managing contractors, not to mention all of our questions via text, she helped us through it all. Even after we got the keys, she connected us to great contractors and continued to support us throughout that process as well. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her and couldn't imagine going through the process without her in our corner. read more

There is a reason I have asked Vanessa to be my agent 5 times now. She's the best. When we decided to sell our El Sereno duplex, there was a lot of work to be done to get it ready. Vanessa and her team expertly handled all the arrangements and recommendations for staging, landscaping, etc, making it a smooth process for us. She tapped into her expertise of the current market to make sure we listed at the right price and time. All of that wisdom paid off with us getting hoards of people at the open houses and 20 offers in all. Thanks Soulful Abode! read more

My partner & I consider ourselves very fortunate to have had Vanessa on our team, she is an absolute rock and so reliably savvy! Our house hunt occurred during the challenging post-pandemic, high interest rate market and Vanessa helped us land an amazing first home, below asking! We're grateful for her help in the home we ended up purchasing and also all the other options she helped us evaluate along the way. During the process, many other homes came onto our radar and her insight and expertise was invaluable in helping us prioritize and say no to several that were not good fits and that would have otherwise been distracting and a waste of our energy to chase. Vanessa was our goalie and striker and we couldn't be more grateful for her leadership and would highly suggest her for others looking to buy in the East LA area. read more

My partner and I were very lucky to work with Vanessa on our search for and ultimate purchase of our first home. Vanessa had all the answers to our (many, many) questions. She is professional, extremely knowledgeable, organized and fun to work with. During our search, Vanessa helped us focus our search on homes that fulfilled our needs. She provided a ton of guidance on the real estate market generally, on individual neighborhoods, on listing agents, on developers etc. She was indispensable in making our decision to pursue our eventual home. Once we decided to pursue the house, Vanessa negotiated an offer that was under list price. We were delighted to get our house for what we felt was a fair price. She was also valuable in helping us understand all of the contractual language. Her here guidance here still gave us clarity. Once in escrow, Vanessa had a crack team of inspectors to assure the house was in good condition. Many people recommended we hire our independent inspector but after doing so we found this unnecessary. Her team was very knowledgeable and polite. She managed the process of requesting repairs where needed, and was able to secure substantial repairs before the end of a quick escrow period. She got us a credit for the few outstanding items that need addressing. Throughout the process, Vanessa was our mentor and coach. We learned a lot, and had a good time along the way. Could not recommend her more! read more

We just purchased our dream home, and we couldn't have done it without Vanessa and her team. We're first-time homebuyers. Vanessa expertly guided us through every step. She helped us find the right location, condition, and size home for our price range. She helped us weigh short and longterm investments. She helped us navigate schools, yard size, commute, and a loan. We took a huge leap for the future we want, it was very expensive, and we feel nothing but thrill because we are so happy with the purchase and investment. We trust Vanessa entirely. I half joke that we trust her with our lives. We were in escrow for a house before this one, and Vanessa advised us to back out. Even as the backup offer, with inspection reports from the prior buyers, Vanessa advised us to perform inspections with her team, and they turned up a mold issue. With 24 hours to make a decision, we felt we could make it work with remediations. Vanessa advised us to pull out though. She said it was too much work for us working full time with a baby, and that we'd always worry to mold would return. She said buying a house should be fun, that she didn't want me to worry about anything more than what color to paint my daughter's room. Just two days later, Vanessa found us our dream home. We'd bid on five houses by this point. Every time, Vanessa advised us on what to bid to be countered, or what to bid to win. Every time, she was right. This time, we bid what she advised us to in order to win, and we did. We outbid three other buyers. We went just the right amount over asking. Vanessa strikes the perfect tone with everyone she works with. We always felt we had the upper hand in negotiations simply because other realtors liked working with her. And Vanessa's team - her assistant Massiel, her lender Eddie Ajamian, the inspections and repairs teams - we felt everyone gave us fantastic advice for the most competitive rates, and each person seemed to go above and beyond to really teach us about our options while still giving their honest opinion about what to do. Several people on her team pulled us aside at one point and said Vanessa was one of the best realtors in LA, and their favorite person to work with. Vanessa saved us so much TIME. She told us exactly which listings were worth seeing each weekend. She also told us which ones we shouldn't bother seeing because of the location, schools, price, or condition. I cannot overstate how skilled Vanessa is in negotiations. She NEVER urged us to bid over our comfort level. She always represented our needs and the seller's needs with poise and clarity. She never pushed for a sale. She was always just trying to get a clearer picture of what we really wanted. We even paused and restarted our search several times over the course of a year. She was so easy to engage and disengage. There was no pressure. But when we were on the hunt, she was in lockstep with us. She goes above and beyond... truly. I've never seen someone slay as hard at their job as Vanessa does. She is truly an inspiration. She sparkles, and she makes it look easy. Buying a house is very scary. It's a tough market. It's very easy to be pushed around and taken advantage of. But it can also set you on a path that you're overjoyed with, tangibly and financially. You really want Vanessa in your corner every step of the way. She'll give you great advice on what is worth the money from the huge stuff down to the cost of wood flooring, landscaping, and remodeling bathrooms and kitchens. She specializes in the East Side, but we bought in Culver City and we'll go with Vanessa again anywhere in LA. read more

We love Soulful Abode! At the beginning of August, my partner Ray and I were first-time millennial home buyers drowning in real estate app search results with no real direction. We didn't even know what area we wanted to live in - Vanessa showed us houses in Burbank, Glendale, Silver Lake, Pasadena, Highland Park... and she knew every single neighborhood super well! The huge area of Los Angeles she's familiar with is impressive, and Vanessa is always kind, patient, and willing to explain things - even via text message at like 10pm. When giving her recommendations, she always explains all the options so we felt fully informed. We learned a lot! She's extremely competent and being able to trust her to stay on top of the situation took a huge load of stress off us. One thing Vanessa is particularly great at is knowing exactly how much a house is going to end up going for. I wouldn't be surprised to find out she has a crystal ball! With how crazy the housing market is right now, the list prices on all those apps are basically useless - people are listing their houses higher, lower, anything but what the house is actually worth. Vanessa could take one look at a house and tell us if it would actually be in our price range, and because of this knowledge she ended up leading us to a house we never would've considered because it was listed near the top of our budget! Ingeniously, she brought her laptop when she showed us the house, so we were able to send in an offer on the spot. And it was ACCEPTED a few hours (!) later! Less than a month after first contacting her, we are now proud owners of a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 FULL bathroom mid-century house in Tujunga - with original wood floors, an exposed beam vaulted ceiling, and mountain views for miles. She's not kidding about "character homes"! As a final note, she can finesse the heck out of a deal. We ended up with plenty of money left over to refinish the wood floors and re-roof the place. (Both with guys from Vanessa's exhaustive list of vendor recommendations. She has a guy or gal for everything.) We made a few offers on other houses before we found our house, and she had plenty of tricks up her sleeve during those negotiations too! Vanessa is an all-around class act. If you're reading this, you'd BETTER give her a call! PS - we also double Vanessa's rec for one of her preferred lenders, Eddie Ajamian. We'll be writing him his own review, but they work and communicate really great together. Thanks guys! #WeLoveYouVanessaYan #SoulfulAbode #Minty read more

Vanessa Yan - Soulful Abode - Pic from the original listing. Look at those ceilings - is this real life!? - Real Estate Agents Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Me & My Husband were looking for a real estate agent to purchase our first home and were referred to Vanessa by a friend and we couldn't be any happier!! Vanessa and her team made the process of buying our first home so easy, she was always available for any questions we had no matter how early or late it was. From the start we mentioned that we were looking in the Los Angeles area, She would send us listings and every time we would tour a location she knew exactly what it would sell for and would also advice us on things not to settle for since it was our first time buying and we didn't know what exactly were the do's and don'ts when looking to purchase our first home. Without a doubt we would recommend Vanessa to anyone who asks if we know a great Real Estate agent!!! read more

Vanessa -- the queen of North East Los Angeles -- comes highly recommended to no surprise. At this point, you probably figured out that Vanessa is the best realtor in the industry from the sheer number of times you've seen "Purchased by: Vanessa Yan..." on the Zillow listings of homes you lost out on. Lucky for you, Vanessa can save you from the intimidating buying process by winning you a home in this red-hot Los Angeles market. We heard from friends that most buyers land their dream home after putting in 10+ offers. But, with Vanessa, we almost won the first offer we put in for a house in Mt Washington (we earned backup offer status). For our second offer in El Sereno, we placed in the top third (until I chickened out from the bidding war). And for our third offer... for a dreamy home in Highland Park... we got an acceptance within 24 hours of seeing the place. Is it surprising that we landed our dream home on our third try? As Vanessa's clients, no, some of her clients get an offer accepted within a week of working with her (!!!) Is it absolutely impressive?? Yes - insanely so. I'm convinced Vanessa is a genius. One of her special talents is that she can guess the exact price a home would sell for, and why. I'm pretty sure she also has the whole Los Angeles area memorized and can tell you where every little street is on the map, with a list of all the best food spots around each neighborhood (Portos one block away... Joy just a short drive away... and wait - this celebrity lives on my block???). Her expertise runs deep and her network runs wide; now that we've landed our dream home, Vanessa has given us guidance on the renovation process by sharing high-value and cost-effective changes we could make, along with her *best-in-class* vendor list. It will only be a couple of years until we work with Vanessa again and we can't wait. read more

Buying your first home (or any home in general) can be a very daunting task even without the unprecedented market conditions we're currently in, but you're in luck, because Vanessa and her team at Soulful Abode are here to help you navigate through the entire home buying process. We are blessed to have had Vanessa on our side every step of the way. Her deep experience in the real estate market is evident in her attention to detail, networking prowess, and her uncanny ability to nail down a price for any given property. There are plenty of real estate agents out there, especially when the market is hot, but Vanessa is a tried and true professional who is highly knowledgable about the ever-evolving market conditions. It didn't matter where in LA we were looking, Vanessa had a pulse on the action and was always able to offer great insight to help us better asses our overall situation; all this with our best interest in mind. She was patient, responsive, and simply on top of everything. Working with someone who cares about their clients, while also actually being skilled in their craft is a rare and invaluable advantage to have in this market. Do yourself a favor, and just reach out already! read more

I just closed on my first house last month, a sunny bungalow in Mt. Washington, and couldn't have done it without Vanessa. I first contacted her when I was in the browsing phase, after noticing that so many of the listings I had bookmarked ended up getting bought with her. After our first conversation, I was convinced by how easy the communication was, and how much I learned when I asked what it takes to win a bid in a hyper competitive market. Vanessa knows Northeast LA and the surrounding markets inside out. This saved me a lot of agony, since she was able to gauge when a house would be out of budget before placing an offer. She also has a great sense for when pricing could be a bit unpredictable. We ended up getting outbid on a couple houses, and got backup offer #1 on a house in Glassell Park and another in Eagle Rock (which honestly felt like an accomplishment in this market). When the perfect place came around, Vanessa had a good relationship with the listing agent, and she advocated hard for me. We ended up beating out 21 offers. One thing I'm especially thankful for is Vanessa's patience. In one case during my search, we were ready to place a competitive offer on a house, and Vanessa had even reserved inspectors ahead of time. The night before the offer was due, I was second guessing whether the neighborhood was a good fit. Vanessa was understanding, gave excellent advice, and I didn't feel pressured when I ultimately decided not to go forward. (Her estimate on pricing was spot on by the way, and I'm pretty sure our offer would have won.) I also wanted to give a shout out to the team that Vanessa assembled: Massiel the operations manager, all the inspectors who combed through the house, and Eddie her recommended lender. Everyone worked well together, and made escrow super smooth, in spite of this anxious first-time homebuyer. read more

This review is long overdue but I had to still write it. I can't recommend Vanessa enough if you are looking to sell (or buy) your home. We sold our home in East Hollywood during a time when the market was slowing down, in summer of 2022. We also had a few obstacles (one buyer backed out, we were moving to a new state and city and looking to buy a house contingent on the sale of our house, just to name a few) but no matter what came up, Vanessa kept her cool, kept us grounded and got us an even better sale than we thought possible! (Better than the first offer that backed out!) If you choose her to list your home, you won't be disappointed, I promise! While I can't speak to buying a house from her, if we ever come back to LA, I will 1000% go with Soulful Abode to purchase our home- I fully trust Vanessa's ability to negotiate the best deal, her vast knowledge and experience in the market and her attention to detail. Thank you Vanessa for taking such great care of us in the selling process and for ensuring our very loved home found some great owners. read more

We were referred to Vanessa by friends and we're very glad for it. Vanessa and her team were amazing though our home buying experience! Answered our questions and were extremely communicative through the whole process. We felt cared for and it is a necessity when purchasing a first home and not knowing what it will take or the steps that are required. Vanessa referred us to her lender and shared some super valuable tips on renovations, scheduling service and other essentials steps to making our home perfect before moving. Her team is fantastic and on top of their game. Vanessa is a fantastic realtor and we would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking to buy in Los Angeles. read more

Vanessa and her team were amazing though our home buying experience! Really could not have done it without them. Everything felt meaningfully thought through and curated to our needs which made us feel like they really cared about finding us a great home. I primarily worked with Jean one of Vanessa's associates (who is also super amazing by the way) but Vanessa was overseeing the whole process to make sure things went smoothly. We really appreciated their attentiveness and we felt like they really had our best interests in mind! Would absolutely recommend soulful abode to anyone who asks. read more

We just closed on our first home in Pasadena (a dream location we never imagined we could get into), and Vanessa is a complete whiz at her profession -- absolutely everything you could want in a realtor. Her acumen for the ferocious Northeast LA real estate market is unparalleled, she is responsive, reliable, and decisive, and she uniquely understands how to orchestrate all of the complex pieces together to get the job done in one of the most challenging markets out there. Our house search gauntlet began in the Bay Area in 2016. After a series of unsuccessful offers and some soul searching, we moved down to LA. On a whim last month, we decided to start looking again. Based on our previous experience, we had zero illusions that anything would happen any time soon -- we reasonably expected months to years of heartache and stress all over again. We stepped into our first open house down here and were blown away by the place. Magic! We reached out to Vanessa and asked her to come see it with us. Within 10 minutes of arrival, she had gotten significant intel from the seller's agent and proposed a bold strategy, which included connecting us with an incredible local lender so we could get a mortgage in record time to sweeten the deal for the seller. We made the offer that day, and it was accepted the next -- we got a magical house in Pasadena at asking! An unbelievable real-estate lightning strike that simply could not have happened without Vanessa's expertise. I will be recommending her to everyone I know. read more

After living (and renting) in NYC for 15 years, I finally made the brave journey to move cross country and buy a home! After all the horror stories my friends and family have been telling me about with the housing market 2020-2022, I knew I was in for a rough road ahead. Of course, as soon as the search started, it was exciting. Going to open house to open house and seeing all the potential. But after a few months of doing this every weekend, and tracking prices and seeing how high every property I liked went out of budget, the harsh reality set in real quick. That's when my colleague recommended I meet with Vanessa. Right off the bat, after a one hour phone conversation, Vanessa started sending me recommendations of houses in different parts of Northeast Los Angeles (Glassell Park, Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Adams Hill, Mt Washington), that I had never even thought of looking. She matched pretty much every prerequisite I had, but also kept it honest that certain places I had in mind would end up way over budget (and yes, she was always spot on with her predictions). She really helped open up my eyes and also gave feedback on other houses and neighborhoods that I was looking into. I ended up getting a cute Spanish-home in Burbank. When I visited the place, offers were due that very afternoon. Vanessa met me there in the morning to check the place out with me. With her guidance, I placed MY FIRST BID EVER, and after one round of counter offers vs several other bidders, I ended up winning the house. One and done!!! And my final price ended up 100k lower than my max. It was meant to be. The journey didn't stop there, escrow was tight... And there were some logistical problems with my lender, and timelines, and so forth. And this being my first-time purchase, I needed all the help I could get. Vanessa helped keep things on track and pushed all parties as best as she could for the smoothest escrow period as possible. And finally, after a successful escrow close, now Vanessa is even helping me with finding some contractors for some small repairs and touch ups / remodeling that I want to do. Truly a life saver! More than just a realtor or real estate agent, but a true comrade in this life-changing event! read more

VANESSA GOT US OUR DREAM HOME IN A WEEK. If you don't choose Vanessa, you're doing it wrong. Seriously -- as first time home buyers, my partner and I were extremely discouraged about getting the home of our dreams after putting in multiple offers and losing (miserably) with another realtor. We reached out to Vanessa and within a week, she had us in the door of a perfect home that already had multiple counter offers. With her connections, responsiveness, and extremely useful real estate experience, we beat out all the offers and are moving in to our dream home today (literally today -- I'm writing this outside as the movers are here). I cannot express how awesome she is to work with, especially during the stressful/tough times -- she helped us navigate through our fears and confusion and made an overwhelming experience amazing. 5 stars is not enough. read more

Vanessa's terrific. We bought our first home with her and she was there every step of the way giving us great advice on what to offer, what houses were potential money pits, and which ones would meet our needs the most. She has a wealth of knowledge about the buying process and the home ownership experience in general. Perhaps most importantly, she has a very calming demeanor which is great since purchasing a house certainly has its share of stressful moments. 6/5 stars! :) read more

If you're in the market to buy, look no further, Vanessa will get it done. She was our realtor several years ago for our first home in Eagle Rock and made the entire process as quick and painless as possible (see review below). And if you're in there market to sell, Vanessa is the best in the business. We knew that when we were ready to sell we had to have her on our team. She has a really streamlined and effective approach to showing your home to prospective buyers in response to all of the Covid guidelines and restrictions. We had no problem getting multiple offers over asking during a pandemic and election! Bottom line- If you're searching for a real estate agent who knows the NELA market up and down to help you buy or who's super adaptable to unique circumstances to get your home sold - all as quick and painless and exciting as possible - go with Vanessa. read more

My husband and I had been looking to buy our first house for roughly two years before we reached out to Vanessa from Soulful Abode. We discussed what we wanted in a first home, and she brought up things that we hadn't previously thought about. Her knowledge of the area was so helpful - she really knows the nuances of each neighborhood and helped us think through where we wanted to land. From that first conversation we were able to narrow down some potential neighborhoods with the important factors we were looking for. Fairly quickly, Vanessa was able to pull together a list of houses to tour - one of which would become our home! She was absolutely instrumental having our offer accepted - this was a home that received multiple counteroffers and because of her expertise, we were able to get our dream home within our budget. I cannot recommend Vanessa enough and highly encourage reaching out to her if you are in the market for a "character home" on the east side! read more

As first-time home buyers, we've heard horror stories from friends and relatives about their first buying experience. Thanks to Soulful Abode, this was far from our experience! In Vanessa, we found a real estate agent that prioritizes buyer-side transactions, specializes in clients like us who are new to home-buying, and is well-connected and knowledgable in the NELA market. We began "casually" house hunting and speaking with mortgage companies in late summer, and Vanessa was both extremely responsive and respectful of the pace that we wanted to work within. She gave us a clear overview of the house buying process and shared insights on our "must have" criteria. Once we were ready to start looking more seriously in the fall, Vanessa shared listings with us (and vice versa). For each home that interested us, Vanessa was very upfront about its drawbacks and positives and was able to inform us about its investment value. In one case, we were very excited about a home, but once Vanessa shared her insights (the location is less-desirable because X, the house does not have off-street parking, there is too much street noise, etc), we were able to steer clear. Another realtor may have rushed us into purchasing a sub-par home that would have been difficult to sell down the line. Vanessa cares about her clients and wants them to be happy in homes that suit them and are good financial decisions in the long run. After a few weeks of "serious" looking with Vanessa, we made a first offer on a home in Highland Park. Throughout this process, Vanessa remained in constant contact with the seller's agent and updated us frequently. She offered accurate estimates for the price that the house was likely to sell for and what it may be "worth", but never pushed us to offer amounts that we were uncomfortable with. We were eventually outbid on that home, but very shortly thereafter found our home in Atwater Village! The escrow process was smooth, thanks to the incredible team that Vanessa assembled through her wealth of contacts in Los Angeles. We couldn't be happier to have found our home, and we owe so much thanks to Vanessa! read more

We closed our on first house this week and it was 100000% all because of Vanessa. My husband and I were Zillow window shopping last summer and kept seeing Soulful Abode on a ton of cute east side houses that we loved, I started stalking on Instagram shortly afterwards and finally, towards the end of last year, I made a move and DM'ed her ;) As first time home buyers in LA's crazy pandemic real estate market, we did not know the full extent of what we were getting into. But from our very first call, Vanessa was professional -- straightforward, efficient, but also so patient, understanding and respectful. Through the entire process, we didn't feel pushed beyond what we wanted to spend or like our time was wasted looking at neighborhoods we didn't want to be. She is definitely an expert in the NELA market and had her pulse on everything from other agents, to upcoming developments that'd impact property value, to assessing different renovations/ improvements we could take on as buyers and DIY vs. get into a bidding war over. Once we got our offer accepted (out of 48 offers!!) Vanessa was super quick in getting inspections lined up, staying on top of escrow and even leaning in to project manage some pieces with our lenders. There were definitely moments we felt overwhelmed with all the moving pieces, but Vanessa was with us every step of the way. We couldn't recommend her enough - if you are looking for a house in NELA, she is definitely the way to go. We can't wait to move in to our house and start to set up our home!! Thank you thank you read more