Bernice Sim

Preparation is your BEST tool. To that end, we have prepared a comprehensive Buyer Booklet for all our buyers and take time with an onboarding meeting so that we can not only prepare you for THIS market, but also how you can get into the strongest position to win. In a competitive seller's market, we coach you on all the tricks to get you to the front of the line. Our proactive agents make sure we inform, educate, guide, and advocate for you. We have a track record of huge success with our buyers due to our hands on approach and the experience we bring to the table.

Selling a home, even in a sellers' market, is more than just putting a sign in the yard. I spend time with you preparing your home from long before that sign goes up! Sometimes that involves making decisions on renovations, paint, carpet replacement, and more. I help you determine what will get the most bang for the buck. I am personally invested in making your home SHINE. That's why I have a stager, professional photographer, and an upgraded marketing campaign so that you can get MAX dollar on your home.

At Happy New Beginnings, we work with a diverse array of clients. While I specialize in listing homes, my fantastic buyers' agents help with buyers. Currently, some of specialties are: divorce/separation, estate sale situations, and relocation. As a former USAA Preferred Agents, I also have extensive experience helping with military relocation and understand the crazy time pressure of that situation.

One of my recent sellers came to me after he was offered a VERY low cash offer for his home. He wanted to get a "second opinion." I told him that with minimal preparation (very low/no budget), I was confident that we could do MUCH better on the open market. Sure enough, we got TONS of competition and we were able to get $50K more than he thought. This was an estate situation so every penny was needed and went to help his nephew. We were also able to help him navigate some of the more multi leveled paperwork involved and he was super grateful. I have TONS of stories like this.

Before I got into real estate, I was selling real estate. What I mean by that is that I'm originally from Toronto (then Boston)--both much more expensive cities to live in. Richmond was an intentional move on our family's part, partially for the real estate, partially for the weather. The real estate choices were fantastic compared to what I was used to, so I became a huge advocate of Richmond AND Richmond real estate. I felt like a kid in a candy store - there were so many great homes for sale!! I started posting other people's listings to entice my Boston and Toronto friends to move down. They started asking me if I was in real estate... and that is how my job chose me. I've never looked back and am always delighted when we work with someone who is relocating here.

I worked for a while as a USAA Preferred Agent so have extensive experience with military. I also attained my SRES, which gave me special training and exposure to seniors. I have VAST experience with working with those in troubled situations like ESTATE and divorce. There is a special place in my heart for these particular situations because it is so satisfying to help those who are going through a hard time, but be able to be something good and helpful amidst the difficulty.