Match in Africa 6
Personal Real Estate Corporation
GETTING TO KNOW RIK
In competitive real estate markets like the North Shore and Vancouver, you’ll be glad to have a former professional athlete on your side. Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, Rik will use the drive and determination he honed during his successful tennis career to ensure your real estate goals are met.
Rik was born in Italy and spent his formative years in South Africa. His tennis career took him all over the globe to more than 30 countries. This extensive travel taught Rik how to navigate through different cultures, languages, and communication styles and also gave him a unique perspective on dealing with adversity and managing unforeseen challenges – always with a positive attitude!
SOUND INVESTMENT ADVICE
Rik firmly believes in the value of continuing education. With a natural affinity for numbers, he completed a certification in technical analysis of the stock market even in the midst of pursuing his tennis career. Rik then completed a Bachelors of Business Science degree focusing in finance. His understanding of financial matters combined with his real estate expertise means you’ll receive knowledgeable advice on what is most likely to be your largest investment.
SUCCESS ON THE COURT
Translates to success in the real estate market. Qualities consistent with a successful realtor are a byproduct of Rik’s life as a pro-athlete. Motivation, integrity, professional preparation, the pursuit of excellence, and the ability to compete and win at the highest level are just a few of the assets Rik will bring to your home search.
Rik with former World no.1 Tennis Players.
Andy Roddick Novak Djokovic Andy Murray
Before settling on the North Shore and joining the world of real estate, Rik was a part of the ATP World Tour. Rik competed at all the majors, including Wimbledon and the US Open, as well as against top players such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, and Andy Murray. Career highlights include winning the prestigious Davis Cup Commitment Award (one of only four South Africans to receive this award), the singles title at the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open in 2006, and the doubles title at the same tournament in 2007 and 2009. With 37 titles, Rik currently holds the world record for the most doubles titles on the World Challenger Tour.
MEMORABLE WORLD RECORD CHARITY EVENT
In February of 2020, Rik was asked to be involved in the Match in Africa 6 held in Cape Town, South Africa as part of a world record setting event for highest attendance at a live tennis match. The total of 51,954 people were recorded at the event and over $3.5 million dollars was rasied for The Roger Federer Foundation. A Celebrity doubles match featuring Bill Gates and Roger Federer up against South African Comedian (and host of The Daily Show) Trevor Noah and Rafael Nadal was the curtain raiser to the main event ; Federer vs Nadal. Rik had the fortnuate experience to play 2 hours of tennis with Bill Gates and Trevor Noah to help prepare them both for the evening doubles match.
Bill Gates Trevor Noah Rafael Nadal Roger Federer Siya Kolisi
COMMUNITY-ORIENTED.
The community in which you live is just as important as your home. For Rik, it has always been important to contribute to the community and its livability. In South Africa, Rik helped support a disadvantaged primary school in his childhood neighbourhood by exposing students to a sport they may never have been able to try and by providing tennis equipment, clothing, and rackets. Currently, Rik volunteers his time, experience, and expertise with the next generation of Vancouver tennis players.
Rik also supports a charity foundation that is close to his family's hearts, the Strachan Hartley Legacy Foundation. Every year the foundation hosts the SHLF Run, a charity fun-run held in the Canyon Heights community with the start and finish at Handsworth School. Rik sponsors the event and also volunteers his time to host a fun mini-tennis area for kids to experience the joy of tennis, a sport which has given Rik so much.
http://shlf.cmail2.com/t/ViewEmail/r/835A48E5FF0BF9942540EF23F30FEDED
What Others Say
Rik helped us buy our first home in 2020, and when our needs and situation as a family changed, he coordinated the property's sale as well. Beyond ensuring that we achieved our financial goals, Rik made the selling process as smooth and straightforward as anyone could hope for. From fielding all our many queries to connecting us with excellent professionals for staging and photography, Rik took care of us from start to finish. Our property went on the market on a Monday, and we received our first offer on Thursday morning. As negotiations on the first offer went back and forth, Rik was also at work contacting every prospective buyer who had previously expressed interest. By Thursday evening, we had secured a second offer on our home, and by 10:00PM, our house had sold!
We feel very fortunate to have worked with Rik de Voest extensively over the past two years. He is knowledgeable, meticulous, and honest. Not once did we feel that Rik was not working hard on our behalf, and his tenaciousness really made us feel that we always had the advantage in a competitive market--both as buyers and sellers.
You can't go wrong with Rik--he is a great person and agent, and we are very grateful clients!
K&L North Van Townhouse
-By Thursday evening, we had secured a second offer on our home, and by 10:00PM, our house had sold!
"Exceptional Human being, super former professional Athlete, outstanding Realtor.
We first met Rik during his professional Tennis Career. We fell in love with his total commitment, dedication and professionalism, which he carried through remarkably into his Realtor career. An exceptional human being, a superb Realtor who provides you with a peace of mind, knowing he is going to be out there doing his ultimate best for each of his clients each and every minute. Rik is extremely personable, calm professional, and with a proficient knowledge of the industry.
We have worked with Rik on multiple buy/sell properties over the last 8 years and we are nothing but grateful and blessed. We highly recommend Rik for any of your real estate needs."
-O&B, North Vancouver Condo
Rik was phenomenal and such a pleasure to work with.
As first time home buyers in an incredibly competitive and quick moving market, he was so knowledgeable, patient with all of our copious texts, emails and questions, we never felt pressured and he was prompt with fantastic communication and helped us feel confident and calm throughout the whole process!
He is a genuine, kind human who we feel is in this business for the right reasons- putting his clients needs and dreams first.
We will be clients for life, have already gotten our parents to work with him as well and will recommend him without any hesitation to anyone who needs an amazing agent! We can’t say enough about how much we value him and all of the services he provided to us!
-Jen
We are very grateful to have Rik as our agent for a second time. His service is amazing and he put all his efforts into making everything go as smooth as possible. We are still amazed in this market that we were able to sell our property in such a short time - 2 days on the market ! Rik kept us well informed about market conditions and gave us the best advice regarding our sale and purchase of a property that we fell in love with. We highly recommend his services.
Gord and Ellen, North Vancouver.
-Gord & Ellen, North Vancouver
With Rik's help, we recently purchased our first home on the North Shore. Right from the start, Rik was incredibly helpful, informative, and professional.
He truly wants what is best for his clients; as first-time buyers, we felt supported throughout the entire process. Rik possesses a wealth of knowledge about the market and is detail-oriented.
At showings, he always came well prepared and would ask all the right questions to ensure that we left knowing as much about the property as possible.
When we finally decided to make an offer, Rik guided us through the process without ever making it feel stressful or rushed.
Thanks to him, we ended up with an accepted offer under asking.
Rik is personable, communicative, and very hard working. We are lucky to have found him and would absolutely recommend him to anyone looking for an exceptional (and even enjoyable!) home-buying experience.
Thank you, Rik!
-K&L. NORTH VANCOUVER
"Its always nice when Saffas help each other.
A bit earlier this year I had the crazy idea of seeing if I could buy property in Vancouver. With the pandemic, prices had dropped a bit and I thought it might be a good time to see if I could get a foot in the property door.
I remembered a post Rik De Voest made here. He's a tennis legend and has been in the property game in Vancouver for quite a while. I thought I'd reach out and see if he could help. You know, since he's also a Saffa he'd know where I'm coming from and the type of questions etc. I'd have.
Well, as of today I'm officially a home owner.
Rik was patient and guided me through the pitfalls and do's and don'ts in the property market, what to look out for and kept up with helpful advice and quick feedback throughout the process. Since he helped me, I thought I'd pay it forward.
So if this sounds like an endorsement, it most definitely is.Give the man a call, and then a Bells! "
-Hein S. (South African Client).
We have had the great pleasure of working with Rik over the past year in both the purchase of our home and the recent sale of our home.
In September, we decided to list our home with Rik. Initially, we had tons of interest in our home through the many open houses and showings but unfortunately no offers. Rik was bang on with his explanation of the current market and the potential type of buyer who would be interested in purchasing our duplex. He followed every lead and reported back to us instantly of the results of these conversations.
With the market taking a turn in October, We became quite discouraged. Rik really had his hands full but never wavered in his approach and professionalism. He thoroughly covered all of the bases with a great attitude and dedication to selling our home. He continued to explore all potential avenues.
In November, We ended up renting our home for a year with little hope of selling given the current market and the fact that we had rented our home for a year. Rik kept at it! Out of the blue he brought us a buyer who absorbed the tenancy and brought us a very competitive offer. We were thrilled! It was the best of all possible outcomes for us and was a huge relief. Rik's diligence made the difference!
Nina and I have found Rik to be an outstanding agent who cares about his clients and delivers the utmost in service with a level of professionalism and dedication that we haven't seen before in many of the other agents we have used previously.
We have recommended Rik to many of our friends without hesitation and will use him always in any of our future Real Estate dealings.
-M & N, North Vancouver
Rik assisted with the selling of our home. His marketing plan combined with open houses contributed to the selling of our home when another Realtor could not. He was there every step of the way and explained the selling process to us. Thanks for reducing the stress in selling our home.
-E & G, NORTH VANCOUVER
Professional and persistent! Rik was able to sell our home in 24 hours with a 2 week closing and very few conditions. He made the process very efficient and easy, requiring little work by my wife and I. Rik will come highly recommended by us for people who are looking to get the job done with minimal hassles. Thank you!
-B & E, NORTH VANCOUVER
Rik helped me find the perfect investment property. His knowledge of the area combined with his statisical breakdown of recent sales assisted in the negotiating a great price. I will happily recommened Rik to any future buyers looking to find an investment proeprty.
-O,J. VANCOUVER WEST
I was so happy that Rik found our new home fo us. Rik sent us a detailed list of properties that met our needs in our desired area. He then set up a tour to view the homes that we preferred and offered some expert advice on each one. We narrowed down our search, discussed a price we were comfortable with, and successfully bought our new home, all within a few weeks.
-K & M, EDGEMONT
Rik did a first-rate job selling our house in a weekend and for over asking price. He achieved this by expert marketing and holding three hour open houses on both Saturday and Sunday, inviting offers on Monday. He priced our home based on the most recent market data thereby attracting multiple offers. We would highly recommend Rik to anyone buying or selling especially on the North Shore."
-G & M, NORTH VANCOUVER
Rik was recommended to us by friends and his services exceeded expectations. We appreciated his thorough market research, knowledge and attention to detail as he assisted us in the sale of my mother’s apartment. He was always available to answer questions in a timely manner, offering good guidance and sound advice, with an excellent result. I highly recommend his services.
As my mother would say: Thank you, thank you, thank you !!!
-J & G, NORTH VANCOUVER
Rik comes highly recommended by us to anyone buying or selling a property of any type.
We really appreciated his professional and thorough approach in marketing our home. He was always readily available to provide us with excellent advice and to answer our questions.
He was calm, adaptable and persistent over several months of showings in a tough real estate market. He helped to minimize our stress and to keep us on track. Rik's expertise, diligence and persistence paid off.
We sold our home and are confident that he helped us make the right decisions at every turn. It was obvious to us that Rik is able to successfully combine caring dedication to his clients with professionalism and real estate smarts.
Thanks Rik, for all your great work.
L and W, North Vancouver.
-L & W, North Vancouver.
Thank you Rik for all your advice and guidance in selling my condo in less than a week.
You thoroughly explained all my options on how to deal with offers , and I was able to make the right decision for me.
Staging my place was a very positive experience , even though I was hesitant at first , but I’m so glad you encouraged me to do it . Monique was fabulous and I am very happy with the outcome and offer.
Thanks again