We worked with Helene to help us purchase an apartment in Manhattan. This was our first time purchasing an apartment and Helene was very helpful. She assisted us throughout the process and made valuable contributions. We highly recommend her!

Helene was a pleasure to work with during this very stressful process of buying my first apartment. The entire process took approximately four months from the start of my search to closing. I was completely new to the entire process and am glad Helene was my agent! She began the process by having a preliminary call with me to understand what I was looking for (must haves, nice to haves, deal breakers, my price range, and areas I was considering) as well as how far into the home buying process I was. She gave an overview of the home buying process, the specifics of NYC real estate, what homeownership truly means, and most importantly helping me organize my thoughts on what I was looking for. We visited a number of apartments together during my search and each time Helene always respectfully took cue from my initial reaction. The reason I’m emphasizing this is that I’ve encountered agents that will state their opinion first or say, “I like this apartment for you.” I think it’s important that the agent doesn’t influence your judgment but rather remains impartial and sees how you react to the listings you attend together. Helene took good direction from our discussions on what I was looking for and was able to show me an array of apartments from pre war apartments to new high rises. I didn’t have a preference for either and appreciated the effort to gather a variety of listings to help me make a decision. Ultimately, I found the apartment I bought and now call home. It was one of the first listings I saw and I couldn’t stop thinking about it even weeks and months after our initial visit. Helene was helpful during this as she noted to me I kept bringing this specific listing up after seeing other apartments. We went back to see the apartment two additional times. Due to the pandemic, I didn’t have anyone else going to the listings with me so I appreciated her honesty and her experience as an agent to help me realize how much I loved the apartment. Personally, while I knew I loved the apartment it was scary to find it so quickly and commit. Having someone point out the signs of when you know you really love an apartment, how it fits into your criteria, and how you respond to the apartment provides reassurance in your decision which I personally needed. She wasn’t pushy about it and emphasized she’s just sharing what she’s noticed and is of course happy to continue showing me other listings. After finding the place, I think she did a great job at negotiation and settled on a price I was happy with. I think her biggest help was during the board process. She kept us organized and on top of deadlines to get our board package ready and prepped me for the interview. The board package was massive and I’m grateful for her organization and review of the documents so we didn’t have to edit the document too much. After board approval, she continued to help me through the closing process by keeping me aware of the timeline and whether I should be reaching out to the lawyer or the mortgage banker as I had a tight timeline for closing. If you’re looking to purchase a home in NYC, I highly recommend Helene as your agent. She was honest, listened to what I was looking for, showed me listings I liked, and didn’t push me to make a purchase. She truly takes her clients considerations to heart and wants to help them find a home they love!

My husband and I are first time homebuyers and we didn’t know much going into this beyond the advice our parents gave us. We are so fortunate to have had Helene by our side. She is so attentive, so smart, so confident, so hard-working and an absolute pleasure to be around. She advocated for us and knew exactly what we would like and feel comfortable with. Buying a home is never easy, especially during a pandemic, but Helene made it feel easy and made extra sure everything we did was COVID-safe. We only have wonderful things to say about Helene and anyone would be lucky to have her along for their home-buying journey.

Helen Xu was great! She provided multiple listings to our search criteria and worked very hard to get us as many showings as possible. The whole process from the beginning to the end was smooth. She is knowledgeable and effective and I would recommend her to anyone who is looking to buy in NYC.

Helene was incredibly patient with my many questions and wants and helped me clarify what I wanted and what I needed. She then found excellent options that were equally tempting and was instrumental in helping me make a decision that took into account both logic and how I felt about various  properties. Highly recommend!

Helene has good local knowledge given her diverse background. She understand the process of buying and selling properties and would guide her clients in the right directions. In addition, I find her to responsive to my needs whenever I pose a question to her. She also helps me through the negotiations process and when questions unfold. I would highly recommend her.

This review is dated back in January 2020. I knew the moment she contacted me as a follow-up for some listings I was interested in, I was in good hands. Helene was very professional and knowledgeable. She did thorough research and showed places that fit my criteria. She was patient and knowledgeable in answering all my questions. It was nice to meet a professional agent who’s not just trying to sell but to make sure that they fit what I was looking for/what I want. Though it did not work out at the end (it was on my end), I greatly appreciate her professionalism as an agent. I would greatly recommend her!