Client Testimonials

--Mari and Ford F., Home Seller/Buyer
As we sit here in our beautiful new home, it’s hard to believe that our decision to “downsize” by selling our home in University Park and buying a smaller home in Rancho San Joaquin was quick and painless. And we thank you for making this a success by representing us in both selling our old house and buying our new one.

As Ford and I are both involved in business negotiations and transactions at our work, we know what characteristics are key to success. And these same characteristics hold true to what people should look for in trusted real estate agents – and what we have consistently experienced with you both.

First: Attention to details and execution of a well, thought-out plan.
We couldn’t be more pleased with how you handled the sale of our old home in which you presented (and carried out) a fully, comprehensive marketing plan. You fully researched the selling price of our home (which is a crucial decision), as well as marketed our home to the widest audience of potential buyers both online and through well-timed open houses and showings. The entire process was planned and communicated fully to us. We believe that because of your well-planned efforts, you got us the one of highest sales prices in our neighborhood in a short amount of time.

Second: Trusted representation.
In any business negotiation, you have to trust those who will represent you in the “deal.” And this is especially true for real estate negotiations. Throughout the process, we knew that we could trust your advice and that you would represent us with integrity and professionalism. Because we received multiple offers for our home, you successfully (and calmly) navigated this process, all the while keeping the buyers continued interest through the counteroffer phase.

And third: Excellent communication.
In both our selling and buying process, you both continuously kept us up-to-date on every detail, large and small. Also, we were always able to get in touch with you and receive thorough answers to our endless questions and concerns. This provided us much comfort, and averted – what could have been – a stressful process.

Again, thank you for your professionalism and help. University Realty is the BEST!

--Sara and Naser S., Home Seller/Buyer
My husband and I will like to thank you for the wonderful job you did in helping us sell 18 Ironbark way, Irvine. I must admit with the market being the way it is was we were so skeptical that this sale would not go through. The speed and expertise you showed in closing this sale, handling all the paperwork through the e-signature system, caring for the house, your expert advice, etc., was quite incredible. Sitting here in Dubai 6000 kilometers away we had no qualms at all giving you our house to sell. So, thank you again for a job well done.

--Barbara B., Home Seller
My family is so grateful for Samantha and Chris from University Realty, and we’re proud to have them as neighbors. They helped me sell my mother’s house in University Park, the home she had lived in for 42 years. It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, but with their professional skills and personal support we were able to get it on the market with perfect timing and we got top dollar. I can’t recommend them highly enough!

--Kim Family, Home Seller
My wife and I had a pleasure of working with Samantha and Chris at University Realty when we recently sold our home in Irvine. We first met over six years ago, and we were very impressed how sincere they were. We ended up not listing our home at that time, however over many years they periodically followed up with us. When we were finally ready to sell our home, Samantha and Chris immediately came to our minds.

Our initial impression of them turned out to be absolutely correct. From day one, both spend a lot of time listening to our needs. They immediately developed a strategy and had a timeline with ‘milestones’ to check the overall progress. When we saw our listing we were blown away. Their hard work and knowledge of what it takes to sell a home really paid off - our listing looked amazing and knocked out the competition. Furthermore, their effort in marketing our home (from staging, taking ‘inspirational photos’ of our home to carefully scheduled open houses to both public visitors & focused real estate groups) turned out to be highly successful. We immediately had multiple offers. Sam and Chris brain stormed with us during negotiation process, and their support ultimately led to getting the most attractive offer.

Their effort continued during escrow period where both helped us dealing with ‘repair’ process. They even took our window to the hardware store to get it fixed!!!! Throughout the entire transaction process, they were more than our real estate agents – they were our friends, counselors and supporters who proactively helped us with ALL our needs.

It couldn't have been a more pleasant experience. My wife and I highly recommend Samantha and Chris! We were so fortunate to have found Sam and Chris.

--Melodee and Rodolfo Z., Home Seller
In the high-pressure and high-volume real estate market in Irvine, you want to choose your Realtor wisely. We hope that our sincere message about the fantastic personalized service Samantha and Chris gave us as our Realtors in the sale of our Irvine home, will help you to choose. They are simply “the Best!” Both Samantha and Chris provided expert advice and guidance through the period our house was on the market. They tirelessly promoted our house. They applied their considerable talents & knowledge as they helped to prepare our house for viewing. They encouraged us to prepare for and cheerfully hosted open house days. They represented us during the negotiations with the buyer, and reassured us throughout the process. We are certain that their recommendations and personal attention led us to the successful sale and closing of our University Park home. We recommend Samantha and Chris without reservation as consummate real estate professionals. We wish you as smooth and worry-free sale of your property as we enjoyed with their representation in our sale.

--Rosemary & Rich, Home Buyer/Seller
We found Chris and Samantha to be very professional and knowledgeable about the Irvine California area. We are extremely satisfied with the level of service we received. They stayed on top of things, kept us informed every step of the way and made sure the process moved along avoiding unecessary delays. They sold our condominium in 30 days and at the price we wanted!

--Rick & Elissa, Home Buyer/Seller
Samantha and Chris exemplify quality, knowledge and professionalism. They provided substantial and important information on the Irvine real estate market. They appropriately researched information not readily available. Most importantly we feel both Chris and Samantha are honest and of high integrity.

--Shapour M., Home Buyer/Seller
I just wanted to take a few minutes to thank you for helping me find and purchase a home in Irvine California. I still cannot believe I got this house within 30 days of locating it. I will be your reference for life!!!

You made everything SO easy and smooth for me. From day one, you made it your goal to help me find what I was looking for, constantly e-mailing properties that you felt matched what we wanted (and they did!), always going out of your way to make sure I had all the information, setting up appointments on short notice and just providing the friendly service that is often hard to find these days. You were extremely patient, always smiling and willing to help in any way possible. No matter what the obstacle was you found a way around it!! You were not pushy to get the sale and always looked out for our best interest. Anytime I or anyone I talk to is in need of buying or selling a house, I'm DEFINITELY sending them to you.

Thank you Samantha for all your hard work and dedication and making my dream come true. It gets frustrating trying to pull all the last minute details together in a complex VA loan. I'm glad I had your experience was on my side!

During a very stressful time for me, your professionalism in carrying out your responsibilities as my agent were beyond reproach. Your attention to all the details, responding to phone calls and keeping me abreast of everything that was happening certainly took a lot of the pressure off me.

I would not hesitate to recommend you to any of my friends who might need a Realtor in the future especially with VA home purchase.

--Mike and Cindy R., Home Seller
Samantha and Chris make a great real estate team. They took care of everything we needed in a seller's agent, from a great listing, productive open house events, negotiations, and finally a very responsive and active closing support. Samantha has a very warm, comfortable personality, but is not afraid to step up when it counts. We were very pleased and grateful of their efforts.

--Atul and Neena V., Home Buyer/Seller
We have known Samantha Younghans-Haug for years now. Our relationship with Samantha has grown and changed from stranger, to buying agent, to friend, to selling agent, and now, to a very deeply valued friend. The fact that what started as a purely professional relationship between real estate agent and client is now a valuable friendship speaks volumes to the kind of individual Samantha is, and to the level of tireless commitment, personal attention, and authenticity she brings to her working relationships. It is but inevitable, when working with Samantha, that the divide between ‘professional’ and ‘personal’ simply melts away. Samantha’s ability to overcome this divide was very reassuring to us as newcomers. Perhaps the most significant thing was that she was able to do this without ever lowering her premium professional commitment to our buying, (and later) selling needs, and without ever encroaching on our boundaries.

We first met Samantha in June, 2003, at an Open House in Irvine, CA. She was the Selling agent of a property that we had short-listed to view on our house hunting expedition. We had no agent at that time, as we were new to the City, and did not have any references for real estate agents. We were extremely weary of taking on an agent who was ‘incompatible’ with our own temperaments and decision-making styles. We wanted to take the time to do it right. However, at the end of our first half-hour conversation with her, we were convinced she was the right person for us.

Not only did she succeed in finding us the right home, at the right cost, and within the right time-frame, she was also extremely helpful in providing us with information on every other aspect of community that would have been potentially useful to us. Two years later, when we had to sell the very same house, it was inconceivable to think of anyone else as our agent. The fact that our house sold at tens of thousands of dollars more than the listed price, within two weeks of its listing, and at a time when we had already relocated to another city, clearly demonstrates how well she represents her clients, and how committed she is to their interests. Selling and closing on a house from long-distance can be a nightmare, and we would never have been able to do it in a timely fashion without her singular efforts.

Samantha’s greatest asset as a real estate agent is that she is deeply intuitive about people’s likes, dislikes, and needs – perhaps even more so than the clients themselves. After a few house-hunting trips with her clients, she is able to accurately profile their housing needs, while at the same time contextualizing and factoring in the ‘feasibility’ of those needs. This becomes the basis of an ideal find.

Samantha’s research was always thorough and detailed. What we especially liked about her was that, when asked, she would always frankly lay out the pros and cons of any scenario at hand; and yet, through it all, we were always given the space to be our own thinker and decision-maker. We wish her the very best, and highly recommend her services to any one buying or selling property in the area.

--Joe R., Home Buyer
I just wanted to take a moment to let you know how pleased and happy I was to have had the good fortune of meeting Samantha and getting to work with her. I actually started out with another realtor from another company but I felt my needs were not being met and that there seemed to be a lack of communication.

However, when I began working with Samantha I immediately felt comfortable and assured that she would do everything and anything in her power to help me. She made me feel like I was important and that my desires/needs for a particular type of home were also important and that she would assist me in finding something that I could afford and liked. She always explained everything to me in detail and always went out of her way to make sure I didn't have any questions or concerns about a particular property. She always kept excellent communication with me and filled me in via e-mails and/or phone calls on the latest listings. In no time at all I was able to build a strong trusted relationship with Samantha which ultimately lead to my commitment to her and my willingness not to give up searching for a home in such a difficult real estate market.

I am very excited to be living in my new home now and I give Samantha a lot of credit for making it happen. Being a first time buyer, Samantha was patient with me and guided me along every step of the way. She was flexible with her schedule and always willing to help even after escrow closed. I can't say enough how blessed I feel for having worked with Samantha and I look forward to referring my family/friends to her in the future.

--Boris T., Home Buyer
I am very happy that I found Chris and Samantha at University Realty. Coming from outside California, I knew very little of the Orange County real estate market. I had a lot of questions, and Chris and Samantha were always prompt to provide me the answers. They have excellent knowledge of the neighborhoods where I was looking, and they explained the home buying process to me so that I became an informed buyer able to make good decisions. When we found the right house, they analyzed the valuations and recommended negotiation strategies to get me the most house for my money. They are trustworthy and dependable. I am very lucky to have them as my Realtor and recommend them highly.

--Teri and James K., Home Seller
Samantha Younghans-Haug represented my husband James and I in the sale of our Irvine home as our real-estate agent. She was absolutely wonderful from the beginning to the end. She was always timely and very professional. She has integrity and is honest in her dealings, which was so important to us. The transaction was quite quick and went very smoothly. James and I highly recommend Samantha to anyone who is a buyer or a seller.