About Val
Let me help you with your next real estate transaction on BC’s Sunshine Coast!
My love of real estate started more than 20 years ago when I bought my first home! I remember my initial excitement transforming into terror as I thought, “What have I done?!” That first home was a nerve-racking experience but was one of the best decisions I ever made!
I’ve participated in all aspects of the real estate market.
- As a homeowner, I renovated a number homes and sold them for profit.
- As a real estate investor, I owned and self-managed eight rental properties for over a decade before selling in 2019.
- As a mortgage broker, I helped dozens of clients secure financing on their own homes.
- As a professional real estate photographer/videographer, I’ve marketed hundreds of homes on BC’s Sunshine Coast.
Sunshine Coast REALTOR®
Now, as a Sunshine Coast REALTOR®, I combine all that experience to super-serve my clients! When you work with me, you benefit from my years of related experience and my daily market research. If you’re selling, your home will get amazing photos and videos that highlight the best aspects of your home!
Whether it’s your first transaction or your tenth, I’ll guide you throughout the process. The more information I can provide you as my client, the more confident you’ll be in making decisions when buying or selling your home.
Integrity and honesty are the overarching values that drive all my relationships. If you’re a friendly person with real estate questions or questions about living on the Sunshine Coast, reach out to me and let me look after all the “hard parts” of doing a real estate transaction.
Why BC’s Sunshine Coast?
Life is too short to live someplace you don’t want to be, doing work you don’t want to do. That philosophy brought me and my husband to Gibsons, BC from Alberta waaaay back in 2014.
We both had solid jobs in Edmonton. I worked as a pharmacy technician at the University of Alberta hospital and I was also a mortgage broker. My husband worked in Fort McMurray before starting a career in broadcasting and marketing. Our families were either in Edmonton or within a few hours’ drive and we had lots of friends that we loved spending time with.
Despite living good lives, we weren’t happy with where we were at, both physically and professionally. Edmonton’s long, cold winters were grinding us down and while we had jobs that paid the bills, we knew we didn’t want to keep doing those same things for the next 30 years.
Leaving Alberta
Around 2011, we hatched an escape plan. We promised ourselves that by January 1st, 2016, we’d be living someplace warm and spending our days at the beach. We first set our sights on Hawaii but quickly decided that wasn’t for us. Then we thought about relocating to the Okanagan but a less-than-inspiring trip to Osoyoos in January of 2014 put us off making the move. We came home disappointed and frustrated.
Best drinking water in the world
Back in Edmonton, my husband found a story about a small town in BC that had the best drinking water in the world. I didn’t like the strong taste of chlorine in Edmonton’s water so this piqued my interest. We dropped what we were doing and, in April of 2014, we spent a week on BC’s Sunshine Coast.
My fate was sealed as soon as we drove off the ferry. I instantly fell in love with the weather, the surroundings, and the charming seaside towns of Gibsons and Sechelt. When our week was up, we returned to Edmonton knowing that we’d be living in Gibsons by fall.
Life in BC
We spent a hectic summer getting our lives in order and 4 months later, we rented a home in Gibsons sight unseen. In September of 2014, we loaded a truck full of furniture onto the ferry and the Sunshine Coast has been our home since.
I kept up the mortgage brokering for a fews years after arriving on the Sunshine Coast but found it hard to maintain client relationships in another province. Around that time, my husband and I started shooting real estate photos (me) and videos (him) for local REALTORS®. I loved meeting REALTORS® and sellers and telling stories about real estate on the Sunshine Coast. This is ultimately what lead to me getting my real estate license.
My expertise
I’m a Sunshine Coast relocation expert! I know what it’s like to move here from someplace else, and I can help you pick the best town, neighbourhood, street, and home for you and your family! If you have questions about schools, shopping, doctors, the ferry, or anything else, reach out and let me help you! Relocating to the Sunshine Coast is the best choice I ever made and I think you’ll love it here, too!
Connect with Val
My favourite thing is talking about the Sunshine Coast! If you live someplace else and are relocating to Gibsons, Sechelt, or anywhere else on the Sunshine Coast, I would LOVE to hear from you!
Call or text Val: 604-399-8935
Email Val: info@vallabrecque.ca