I cannot say enough good things about Alley Savin. I was introduced to Alley through a network of real estate and mortgage professionals because I was moving to the Olympia, Washington area from San Jose, California and I did not know anyone in the city. In retrospect, Alley was fantastic right from the first meeting when I revealed to her that my family and I were going to move without any friends or family in town. She asked so many great questions to make sure that when my family and I were travelling to look at new homes that our time would not be wasted. We were all impressed with her knowledge of Thurston County and her ability to educate us on all of our new options. Her communication style is great, she exhibits a high attention to detail in her answers and follow up questions. We had been planning our move for 6 months and when our house was in contract the coronovirus hit and things went crazy. Alley was very calm and reassuring through that stressful time. We needed a house within the limitations of our escrow and we literally found the perfect home. Sight unseen we put in an offer and with her help and experience the process went very smoothly from good faith deposit to key exchange. I write this from my new Olympia home and my family and I could not be happier with the experience that Alley provided. I still believe if I have any questions about the area I can contact her and she would send me one of her patented friendly answers. Thank you, Alley! read more

Ron & Kendra have been heaven sent for me. They provided solutions for me when I was getting my house ready to sell. The advice they have provided while seeking a new property has been invaluable. Would I recommend them?....YES! A million times yes! read more

Just had a bad experience with one of their realtors. Was told they would accept offers until Sunday when the seller was returning. The seller returned on Friday and they selected an offer. My realtor tried to get information on the house and her call wasn't returned. I wouldn't do business with Van Dorm Realty. !!! read more

"J" so gracious and patient in helping us look for a home. All our questions were promptly answered, and she has been checking up on us from time to time to see if we need anything. Transactions and all that goes into buying a house were handled smoothly and there were never any last minute surprises. This is our first home, and we were moving to a new state! She made the experience totally stress-free. Thank you! read more

I had a negative experience with a realtor, Mike Fisk, and his manager. They were not my realtor, fortunately. They represented the seller. Mike Fisk incorrectly completed forms multiple times. His seller was untruthful about major unpermitted renovations that had code violations. Because of this, I negotiated compensation to cover the coot of permitting and code corrections. Well, when it came time to do the walk through, my realtor and I found the house dirty and many personal belongings left behind. We took pictures and asked them to remove and clean up as they agreed in writing. After closing, I went to the house and found that they left it dirty and with personal belongings. My realtor and I contacted the sellers' realtor and he replied with a nasty text. He said that I was permitted to park my camper for free the night before closing on the side driveway of the home so, that was adequate compensation. The sellers weren't even living there anymore. When I contacted the manager at Van Dorm realty, his excuse was that that Mike Fisk was stressed because of the difficult sellers and the fact that the house sold for the asking price and not over. Neither of them apologized for the bad behavior. Look at all the one-star ratings. I recommend finding a professional realty team. read more

I worked with Alley Savin and had a great experience! She was extremely professional, expedient in delivering asks, and really worked as a trusted advisor throughout the process. Never once did I feel any sort of pressure to come to a decision I wasn't ready for and she was patient in explaining (and re-explaining) anything I needed clarification on in the process. She was very conservative in her estimates and in the end helped me get a killer deal. I'd highly recommend her if you're in the market for a property and need an agent. read more

Big shout out to Joan Lighty at Van Dorm Realty - she helped us get our home on the market right at the beginning of the selling season, organized a set of drone-based pictures of the property on the first beautiful, sunny day in weeks. That got us 9 walk throughs in the first 2 days after the home went on the market, which generated 4 offers at or above asking price. She then helped us navigate the complicated process of getting from offer to close in just 23 days, despite all the confusion caused the recent virus outbreak. Joan was always very well informed at every step along the way, composed and professional, provided all the facts in a thoughtful, balanced way, and was fully supportive in executing my decisions related to the sale. She was a genuine bright spot throughout the process and a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended! read more

We purchased our house with agent Ryan Fisher from Van Dorm. We could not be happier with the service we received from him! We were a long distance buyer on our first home. We had him schlep out to the country houses we were interested in. He sent us MLS listings to browse through that met our criteria. He went out and shot video of the houses showing everything you could want. It felt like we were actually there so when it came time to walk through the house, just before signing, there was no surprises, and we knew what we were getting. We HIGHLY recommend Ryan Fisher for anyone looking for an agent! read more

If you contact this office for your home sale or purchase ask for Paul Klenk. Great honest realtor. Works VERY hard for his customers first and foremost every time!!!! read more

I'd rather shoot myself in the foot DAILY than deal with Van Dorm ever again. The agent we used actually withheld contract modifications and requests submitted by the home seller for our evaluation and signing. We contacted the owner/manager after finding out, and I'll tell you this - he isn't going to help one bit. If he trains his Realtors - stay away. The person who recommended this firm also lost our business - we called and cancelled that account immediately. Imagine someone grabbing you and pulling you off a cliff - that's the feeling we had. They may possibly the the worst real estate brokerage in the United States. One wonders about the State of Washington real estate licensing program. The stories we can tell about Van Dorm are so jaw dropping that even we have a hard time believing what really happened to us. read more

Juliann at Van Dorm Realty came highly recommended by a friend, when I was looking for my first home. My recommendation is as strong as they come. Words that come to mind: organized, compassionate, intuitive, thorough, responsible, fun, and professional. Buying your first house (or any house, I imagine) can be an incredibly stressful and emotional process, and I am the kind of person who asks many questions. Juliann was able to provide thorough answers, very quickly. She worked extremely well with my lender and inspector. Most importantly, I felt that Juliann was the rock that I needed during such a huge transaction. The transition to home ownership was extremely smooth, and Juliann was there for me every step of the way. read more

We used Van Dorm Realty to sell a house and buy a house a few years ago and we discovered that the agent we had the misfortune of signing the contract with did not know the procedures for transactions and had to constantly consult their broker. Not only that, there was a miscommunication about our refrigerator not staying behind at our old house and they put the entire blame on us instead of treating it as a miscommunication (it was in the original contract but she neglected to transfer it to the amended one and we forgot to check) AND THEY WERE UGLY ABOUT IT. We got stuck with having to buy a new refrigerator. Not only these people refused to take responsibility for a problem they created, they got nasty about it. We will never use Van Dorm again. read more

If you are interested in moving into a community where the Board ignores the CC&R when it concerns their friends, then I know a great place for you. It's a small HOA where the Board hires the relatives of their friends to work with a little kick back, while the rest of the HOA pays for it, where the secretary can write a check to herself and not pay the HOA taxes, without any oversight and where in the Van Dorm ad says the HOA dues are only $3.00 a month. Look closer because they are over $400.00 a year (almost $40.00 a month) and will be increase according to the Board, well, because they can spin a great story for the residential sheep. If you are interested in this little beauty just be sure to pick the house with the classy basketball hoop in the road in front of the house, along with the Van Dorm real estate sign in the front yard. read more

We tried to work with Bob Hamil starting in early August, but finally called it quits on Sept. 26 after he failed to submit an offer or respond to multiple emails and phone messages asking for confirmation of the submission. There were numerous problems preceding that incident that I won't go into here for lack of time. But yes, there were too many to detail. I am now working with Windermere and am finding a true level of professional competence that was sorely lacking in Bob Hamil, and by association, Van Dorm Realty. read more

Love Van Dorm Realty! Dave Swanson is the Realtor you want to call for sure! He will always get your needs met!

We finally found the home of our dreams after two years of searching. Noel Grant was at our side during several write ups that didn't work out. Even with several offers that didn't work out Noel worked tirelessly and above the work that any real estate agent is expected. I could not believe after two years I could call her up to view a house and was always met with a smile and sunny disposition. Thank You Noel read more

I would give Van Dorm Realty a 1 star based on Richard and Bernie Moats' take the money and run approach. They have absolutely no regard for the people who get screwed when they accept questionable "receipts" as proof things have been done. The receipt from Bill McTurnal Enterprises, LLC (not an insulation contractor but instead a general contractor) didn't even cover all the items in the 35R, but was accepted as proof the work had been done. Also, Bill McTurnal Enterprises, LLC should be called on the carpet for providing a receipt for work done which obviously was not (and I have pictures). However, my realtor, who also works for Van Dorm, provided a mostly good experience when purchasing the home. She along with her "broker" also paid out of their pocket to try to remedy a situation that shouldn't have occurred had Richard and Bernie Moats done their job and required their seller to provide adequate proof that things were completed by a licensed insulation contractor as agreed by the seller in the 35R that was generated by the inspection. Richard and Bernie Moats didn't inform the seller he'd have to install a CO detector and install earth quake straps on the hot water heater prior to listing the home, even though as it was explained to me by my lender, they should have known these items would be required, by law, prior to sale of the home. This cost me a reappraisal, because their client, the seller still hadn't fixed those items prior to the appraisal, even though they were on the list of items the seller agreed to fix as part of the inspection contingency. This fee was small potatoes to what I eventually have gotten stuck with. Richard and Bernie Moats also refused to be involved when it was discovered after the sale, that some of the work on the inspection contingency was not completed. They refuse to contact the seller. Be vary leery of dealing with Richard and Bernie Moats. I would have verified this work was completed prior the sell had I not been denied access prior to closing to verify the work was done. I asked several times for permission to access the home to verify the work was done. I was eventually told I'd be granted access prior to closing, but only after continued hounding. However, I was never given the opportunity to verify the work was done prior to closing. When it was discovered, after closing, the crawl space work from the inspection contingency, had not been done and I asked my real estate agent what could be done, I was told it was too bad I was sick the day before we were to sign the papers so I didn't have a chance to "reinspect". How is reinspecting the day before signing papers going to do anything but postpone closing? Some what to their credit Van Dorm Realty and my agent, who also works for Van Dorm, agreed to pay a contractor to come fix the insulation and crawl space issues the previous seller did not fix. Unfortunately, the contractor that was sent, Jeff Wruck of JW Construction, didn't even go under the house before deciding he couldn't help us. He did however send another contractor Turner Insulation, to "fix" the insulation. Turner Insulation took less than an hour to do some substandard work under the home, prior to leaving a bill for around $500, which our agent and Van Dorm Realty did pay. However, later that evening when I went under the house to verify the work had finally been completed, it was obvious it had not. I took pictures and sent them to my agent. She contacted Jeff Wruck who called me saying I had no idea what I was talking about. So I got an estimate from a different contractor to repair the crawl space per the agreement the seller signed from the original inspection contingency. The estimate was for ~$2,550 to fix the improperly repaired items and finished other things from the 35R that neither the seller nor Jeff Wruck/Turner Insulation had even touched. The estimator provided, at my request, a second estimate of ~$3,150 to fix things not found by the inspector (because the inspector is limited to a "nondestructive" inspection). (No fault is being found with or implied to the inspector or his inspection. Had his recommendation to have a licensed insulation contractor provide an inspection and repair the crawl space deficiencies been followed, I wouldn't be looking down the barrel of ~$5,700 in repairs.) After sending this estimate (and pictures) to Van Dorm, I have not received any further correspondence. read more

I had a tough time finding an agent in Olympia that would actually put the time in and work with me (my budget was $275k). Van Dorm certainly sells a lot of houses in the Olympia area; the company obviously has a lot of knowledge of the market in the area and certainly has a large team. That being said, my first impression of their work was not satisfactory. I contacted one of the main sellers (great reviews, and many of them) online and she immediately called me and took down all of my information; I told her what my budget was and exactly what I was looking for. After this she simply did not contact me again; I waited about a week and a half and then texted her to tell her that I no longer am interested in her services. I then contacted another one of their big sellers; he also did not have time to work with me and ended up pawning me off on one of the up and coming Van Dorm agents Ryan Fisher. I am very happy with this turn of events; Ryan is young and less experienced than some of the other agents that work for Van Dorm but he is ambitious, tech savy and a total work horse. He answered my phone calls and texts day or night and was great to work with. Ryan Fisher helped me through a very complex and challenging home buying process. If you are looking for an agent that will put in the hours and be available for you throughout a buying or selling process, I definitely recommend him. If you have a modest budget, I would not recommend attempting to use any of their top agents. Thanks to Ryan Fisher I was able to purchase my dream hom 9-3-15. read more