Choosing the best realtor in Vancouver starts with proof.

Start with proof you can check yourself: a current licence, recent sales in your area and price range, and reviews from past clients that you can read in full. Then test the plan. A strong realtor explains pricing or search strategy in plain language, shows the comparable sales behind every number, and tells you how you will hear from them at each step. Mike Dirks has been licensed since 2015, works across five Greater Vancouver areas, and holds a 5.0 rating on Google across 20 reviews. A short call will tell you quickly whether the fit is right.

Ask who will actually do the work, how the price or the budget was set, what the marketing includes if you are selling, how often you will get updates, and what happens if you want to end the agreement. Ask for recent sales near your home or in the areas you are watching, and read the reviews with those answers in mind. Mike answers each of these in the first conversation and puts the plan in writing before you sign anything.

Reviews matter when you read them for patterns rather than scores alone. Look for comments about communication, honesty on price, and how problems were handled, and check that the reviews are recent and spread over time. A perfect score across a modest set of reviews still tells you something real: every client who reviewed the work rated it at the top. Mike holds a 5.0 rating on Google across 20 reviews, and he is happy for you to weigh those words more than anything written on this page.

For buyers, the seller typically pays the commission through the listing agreement, so working with a buyers agent usually costs nothing out of pocket. For sellers, commission is a percentage of the sale price set out in the listing agreement, with GST charged on the commission. There is no standard rate, and the exact numbers belong in writing before you sign. Mike goes through the full cost picture in the first conversation, so nothing surprises you at completion.

It depends on your move. If you are still comparing areas, an agent who works across them can show you honest trade offs between neighbourhoods instead of steering you toward the one pocket they know. If you are settled on one street, deep knowledge of that street matters most. Mike works across Vancouver, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Richmond, and Burnaby every week, and matches the area to your schools, commute, budget, and daily rhythm before the search or the listing begins.

Experience is not just years. It is repetitions in markets like this one, plus training that goes beyond the licence itself. Mike has been licensed since 2015 and has produced more than 300 listing marketing campaigns through Dirks Digital Media. He also spent part of his career as Director of Education at Royal LePage Westside, training other agents on the systems behind a well run move, and he is a UBC Sauder graduate. That teaching habit shows up in every client conversation.

Earlier than most people do. A realtor can shape the budget, the timing, and the preparation long before a sign goes up or a search begins, and that early advice costs nothing. Sellers get the most from several weeks of lead time to prepare the home. Buyers get the most from a fit conversation before the first viewing, so the search starts with the right areas and a real price range. Mike offers a free home value review and a short first call, with no obligation attached to either.

Three things clients point to. First, the move is planned around your life: schools, commute, and daily rhythm come before the house itself. Second, the marketing is built by the person selling your home, because Mike runs Dirks Digital Media and includes a cinematic video tour and a coordinated launch on every listing. Third, the proof is public: a 5.0 Google rating across 20 reviews, licensing since 2015, and more than 300 campaigns behind the work. Start with a call and judge the fit yourself.