Today we’d like to introduce you to Eva Lin.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Eva. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a child growing up China, I certainly couldn’t have guessed that one day I’d run a residential real estate sales team in Pasadena, California, but here we are! My family immigrated to the US when I was 13. We had little money and didn’t speak more than a few words of English between the five of us; however, we were excited to pursue a better life. My parents tried their hand at different businesses, and worked tirelessly 7 days per week for years and years, eventually finding success in the restaurant business. This allowed them to buy a home and it meant the absolute world to them—all their sacrifice was worth it.
Witnessing this left a lasting impression on me, so I decided to pursue a career in real estate after earning my degree from USC in Business Entrepreneurship. During my 20’s, I learned by working for other real estate agents and over time I came to see that the industry was sorely deficient in a few critical areas—client care and transparency. That’s why I decided to strike out on my own, find my own clients, and build a team focused on providing a world-class level of service and the utmost transparency to those families we’re fortunate enough to work with.
Has it been a smooth road?
The first year after starting Lin Realty Group was a huge challenge. Fortunately, I was accustomed to struggle thanks to my family’s difficult, early years in the U.S. and my experience working 3 jobs to put myself through college. As I was trying to get Lin Realty Group off the ground, I convinced my fiancé, Joe, to quit his secure job in the world of “Big 4” financial consulting and become my business partner. The pressure was definitely on for both of us to attract clients and offer them something they couldn’t find from the thousands of other real estate agents around the Pasadena area.
Months were going by, we were putting all our savings into the business with no return, and we were getting nervous. However, we shared a great moment during this period that perfectly exemplified our philosophy. Joe overheard me speaking to a client about a home she was excited to make a purchase offer on. I was describing all the potential problems I noted with the home, based on my years of experience, to make sure she was aware of them and would truly be happy with her decision in the long term. When the call ended, Joe told me how proud he was to have a partner so willing to put her clients’ interests first, rather than just going for the easy commission check.
We share this story with anybody interested in joining our team so they know that we think differently than most in the real estate industry. For us, our clients come first, no matter what.
Things today certainly aren’t as stressful as they were during that first year, but given our big goals for client service, we have yet to find “smooth sailing” and I doubt we ever will. We believe our team provides a level of service, care, and results that are unrivaled so we want to help 100’s of families per year. We’ll get there, but we know it’s going to be a huge challenge!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Lin Realty Group story. Tell us more about the business.
We help folks with their home buying and home selling needs in Pasadena and the surrounding areas, and we’re proud to do a darn good job at it! Real estate is a lot like the Wild West, with so many agents constantly joining and leaving the industry, it’s hard for people to know who to trust. We set ourselves apart in numerous ways.
For one, we deliver superior results to our clients. Performance statistics show that compared to the average agent in the area, we sell our clients’ homes for 4.5% more money and in half the time. We also sell 13x more homes per year than the average agent. This affords us a depth of experience and breadth of marketing tools that other agents simply can’t provide.
Second, we offer two great programs that help our clients immensely. For home sellers, we have our 100% of Asking Price Guarantee, wherein we guarantee to sell our clients’ homes for full asking price, otherwise, we’ll pay the difference. For home buyers, we have our Buy Back Guarantee, wherein we guarantee to buy a home back if our client isn’t satisfied with it. Of course, some reasonable conditions do apply to these guarantees and we’re happy to share them.
Third, we strive to provide a level of client service that simply doesn’t exist in the industry. In fact, our team actually has a WOW! Coordinator, Carlen, who is passionately dedicated to creating a WOW! experience for our clients. For instance, that could mean delivering hot soup to a client who’s at home under the weather, coordinating a surprise ice cream party for a client who just received a big job promotion, or countless other acts of thoughtfulness and sincere caring. Because we feel so privileged and honored to work with our clients, we believe it’s important to go the extra mile and show them just how special they are to us.
Eva Lin, Broker Associate (CalBRE#01817694) is associated with Keller Williams Realty Pasadena, Broker (CalBRE#01444805)
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We expect the real estate industry, like most all other industries, will be drastically disrupted by new technologies in the next 10 years. We are completely comfortable with this because Lin Realty Group is built on relationships and a value-add mentality. Every day we ask ourselves how we can better serve our clients, so we’re excited about changes in the industry that present us with new opportunities to make a positive impact and guide our clients toward achieving their real estate goals.
What’s your favorite memory from childhood?
I grew up in a rural village in China where my extended family—aunts, uncles, and grandparents—all lived in dwellings that, while separated, still neighbored one another. I had many cousins, but I was among the eldest so it became my responsibility to help watch over and care for my younger family members. I secretly suspect that my older family members all lived so close to each other because they wanted to save money on child care! I loved being the caretaker and protector of my younger cousins and it has been so rewarding to see them grow into happy, healthy adults. Children are so innocent, full of hope and promise, and are truly a blessing to their families. I can’t imagine the devastation that must be felt when a family’s young child develops a terminal illness and that’s why my team donates a portion of our income from every home we sell to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.LinRealtyGroup.com
- Phone: 626-807-6581
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credits:
Chris Considine
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
