Not “what’s your budget.” A yard, a catchment, one home for two families, less house than you have now — tell me that first, and I’ll show you what it takes to get there, what it costs, and what to sort out before you look at a single house.
No pressure and no deadline. I’m licensed with Royal LePage Wolstencroft and based in Cloverdale, and I work across Surrey, Langley, White Rock and the Fraser Valley.
If I were to meet you for the first time, I want to know a bit more about you. What’s the goal, what would you like to do, where do you want to be, what’s your plan? And I want to be here to make that happen.
Caroline Jeklin, REALTOR®
Short answers here. The long ones are in the guides and the conversation, and none of them come with a deadline.
Not to look. Before you write an offer, yes. A pre-approval tells you what a lender will support, holds a rate for a set window, and means your financing subject is a formality rather than a gamble. What it doesn’t tell you is what you’ll be comfortable paying every month — that’s a different number, and it’s the one I’d rather you knew first.
What can I afford? Run your own numbersSubjects are the conditions your offer depends on — financing, an inspection, reviewing the strata documents, sometimes the sale of your current home. In BC you get an agreed number of days, commonly around a week, to satisfy them. Remove them and the deal is firm; walk away inside the window and you’re out nothing but the inspection fee. The deposit is typically due within a day of subject removal and is held in trust, not handed to the seller.
The checklist walks this through day by dayProperty Transfer Tax is the big one in BC. It’s a graduated tax paid at completion, with a first-time buyer exemption that phases out as the price rises and a separate exemption for newly built homes. Then legal or notary fees, the inspection, strata document fees, adjustments for property tax already paid, and moving. I’ll give you the full list, with current thresholds, before you write anything.
The First-Time Buyer Guide walks through every lineAs many as it takes, and usually fewer than you’d expect once the first question is answered. I’ll tell you what I actually think of each one, including the ones I’d skip. Seven years in development and construction before I was licensed means I look past the staging to the building, and I’ll say so out loud.
Why work with Caroline
Most of what I do is explain. What the strata minutes are really saying, what a subject-removal date means for your deposit, why two similar houses on the same street aren’t priced the same. Once you understand it, the decision tends to make itself — and it’s yours.
I came to real estate after seven years in development and construction, so I read a home the way a builder does, and I’ve lived and worked in Cloverdale, Surrey, Langley, White Rock and the Fraser Valley for over 20 years. Whether you’re buying, selling, or doing both at once, you get the same thing: what I actually think, and the room to decide.
Figures cover 2021 to 2026 and are current as of August 2026.
Every purchase has the same six stages. Knowing what’s coming is most of what keeps it calm.
What’s the goal, where do you want to be, what’s the plan. Not the budget — that comes second, once I know what it’s for.
A pre-approval from a mortgage broker or your bank, and a payment you’d actually be comfortable with. Those are two different figures, and I want you to know both before we look at anything. Start with what you can afford.
If schools are part of the decision, we start from the catchment and work back to the homes inside it. If not, alerts on the criteria that matter to you, and I’ll bring you the ones that don’t show up on a filter.
I’ll tell you what I see, including the things a fresh coat of paint is standing in front of. You’ll get my honest opinion on every home, and you’ll make the call.
Price, deposit, subjects, and the completion and possession dates, explained line by line before you sign. In BC you also have a three-business-day rescission period after acceptance, and I’ll tell you what backing out during it costs.
Inspection, strata documents, financing confirmed, then the lawyer or notary, the final walkthrough, and keys on possession day. The checklist covers this stretch in order.
Stages five and six are the ones people wish they’d had written down. Get the Offer to Keys checklist
Three calculators built with BC figures — Property Transfer Tax, the stress test, the first-time buyer exemption. The monthly payment and the headline number are free to see. The full figures — cash to close, your ceiling, the line-by-line net sheet, and a PDF to keep — take a first name and an email. A mobile is optional: it’s for a two-line text if a rate move changes what your numbers mean, never a call you didn’t ask for.
Your income, your debts and the stress test against a real payment. The ceiling a lender would give you, and the number you’d actually be comfortable with — they’re rarely the same.
Price, down payment, rate and amortization, with CMHC insurance and Property Transfer Tax applied where they belong. The monthly figure is free to see; cash to close — PTT, legal, the total — is one step behind it.
Selling to buy? What’s left once the mortgage is paid out and the lawyer’s account is covered, before REALTOR® fees — and what that becomes as the down payment on the next one.
Every move starts somewhere specific. How each one usually goes, what it costs, and what to sort out first.
Free checklist
The part nobody explains is the six weeks between an accepted offer and possession day. This is that part, in order, with the dates that matter.
Six ways to search, all free. Most work without giving me anything but an email, and some don’t even need that.
Three communities I know street by street. Each page carries every active listing, the neighbourhoods inside it, and what’s sold.
Looking somewhere else? Every Fraser Valley community I work in
Free, readable on a phone, and no call required. Take what’s useful and ignore the rest.
Thank you Caroline in helping my wife and I purchase our new home. We love that you always took time out of your day, at any time to answer questions for us and clear things up when needed. Caroline will always do her best to ensure she is available to help whenever she can and make it out to showings. We love how knowledgeable you are with strata and everything. As well she will give her honest opinions when looking for a place. Thank you again!
Caroline was great to work with! She helped us sell our home and find a new one in a pretty tough market. Selling our home in a buyer’s market felt stressful, but she pulled through for us and made it happen. She’s extremely knowledgeable and helped us score a great price on our new place. We’re really happy with everything and would definitely recommend her to anyone buying or selling a house. Thank you Caroline!
Caroline was wonderful to work with. She replied quickly and had great insight. She helped us buy our rental property easily. Highly recommend.
Caroline helped us sell our home and find the perfect townhouse. She took the time to truly understand our needs and preferences, listening carefully to what mattered most to us. The entire process was transparent, well-organized, and seamless. We always knew what was happening and felt fully supported every step of the way. Caroline’s dedication and attention to detail were exceptional—she consistently went above and beyond. We couldn’t have asked for a better real estate experience and highly recommend her to anyone looking to buy or sell a home.
Every word is the client’s own. Read them all on my testimonials page
Eight I get asked most. Where a tool or guide goes deeper, it’s linked from the answer.
In most cases in BC, my compensation is paid from the seller’s side of the transaction at completion, not by you. Before we start, I’ll put in writing exactly how that works for your purchase, so there’s nothing unexplained later.
In BC, once a seller accepts your offer on a residential property, you have three business days to change your mind. If you do, you pay the seller a fee of 0.25% of the price. It’s a safety net, not a strategy — subjects are still the right way to protect yourself.
Typically around five percent of the price, though it’s negotiable. It’s due shortly after you remove subjects, it’s held in trust by a brokerage, and it counts toward the purchase price at completion. It isn’t extra money. The Offer to Keys checklist puts the deposit on the calendar beside everything else that’s due.
The depreciation report, the last two years of minutes, the bylaws, the contingency reserve fund balance, and the Form B. Between them they tell you what the building knows about itself and what it’s planning to charge you for. I’ll go through them with you.
Sometimes. It depends on whether you can carry two homes for a stretch, whether a lender will bridge you, and whether the seller will accept an offer subject to your sale. All three are worth a conversation with a mortgage broker before we look — I’ll point you to a good one. Start by seeing what you’d walk away with from the sale; that number is your next down payment.
Completion is the day the money moves and the title transfers to you. Possession is the day you get the keys, usually a day or two later. Adjustments for property tax and strata fees are calculated to the adjustment date, which is normally the possession date. Your lawyer or notary handles all three.
Cloverdale, Surrey, Langley, White Rock and the Fraser Valley, where I’ve lived and worked for over 20 years. I also work in Abbotsford, Maple Ridge and Chilliwack when that’s where the right home is. Every community has its own page.
I won’t answer that with a date. I’ll tell you what the market will and won’t support in your price range the week you ask, and what would have to be true for the answer to change. Then it’s your call.
If you want more than short answers, the buyer tips are the long versions of these, plus a few dozen I didn’t have room for here. Read the buyer tips
Cloverdale-based, Fraser Valley-wide
Most of the conversations I have start months before anyone looks at a house. Somebody wants to know what their townhouse would fetch, or whether a catchment is worth the longer commute, or what buying with a sibling actually involves. That’s the right time to ask.
Send me the question. I’ll answer it properly, tell you what I’d want to know next, and leave the timing to you.
No pressure and no deadline — a conversation about what you’re weighing is genuinely useful on its own. More about how I work
What sold in Cloverdale, Langley and South Surrey, what it went for, and what that means if a move is somewhere on your list. Short enough to read on the way to school pickup.
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The data relating to real estate on this website comes in part from the MLS® Reciprocity program of either the Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR), the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB) or the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB). Real estate listings held by participating real estate firms are marked with the MLS® logo and detailed information about the listing includes the name of the listing agent. This representation is based in whole or part on data generated by either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB which assumes no responsibility for its accuracy. The materials contained on this page may not be reproduced without the express written consent of either the GVR, the FVREB or the CADREB.
