The truth is that real estate isn’t about property. It’s about people.
You can take the man out of Maple Ridge, but you can’t take Maple Ridge out of the man…or so it seems for Chase Shymkiw and Jeremy McCarthy. The former was born and raised in this Vancouver suburb and the latter has been a resident for most of his life.
This affinity for their community is what’s made them such a successful duo in the real estate industry, selling hundreds of homes to families wanting a piece of the Ridge lifestyle.
We get to know Shymkiw and McCarthy in Season One of RealTours, as they guide Stephen Tadgh through their favourite neighbourhoods.
Car! Game on!
Shymkiw knows the streets of Maple Ridge well. Growing up here, he played road hockey on many of them. He also played hockey - the ice version - at the local rinks and baseball on the local diamonds. This quintessentially Canadian upbringing helped shape Shymkiw’s approach to selling real estate. He understands the lifestyle that families are looking for and knows how to find them the perfect home.
Six years ago, he had the opportunity to create that lifestyle for his own family when they built a house in the Silver Valley neighbourhood.
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Maple Ridge has a lot to offer for me, and part of it was that I got into real estate at a young age, when I was around 20. It just made sense for me to stay here. Plus, I love the community. It's a very family-friendly, family-oriented community.
Chase Shymkiw
Royal LePage - Brookside Realty
From Coach to Mentor.
McCarthy is someone who likes to give back to his community. Like Shymkiw, he’s a sports superfan and grew up playing hockey and baseball. These days, he coaches both sports, training the athletes of tomorrow how to skate and hit home runs.
Funnily enough, coaching is actually what brought McCarthy and Shymkiw together. Years ago, he used to coach Shymkiw’s brother’s hockey team. When he started out in real estate, the Shymkiw boys’ dad reached out to see if he could act as a mentor again, this time for Chase as he started his own career.
From the sports field to the show home, McCarthy’s community-focused values are an example of what makes Maple Ridge such an attractive place to live.
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It's not as small town as it once felt like. I've been here for 33 years now and it's changed a lot.
Jeremy McCarthy
Royal LePage - Brookside Realty
A Dynamic Duo.
These days, McCarthy and Shymkiw are riding high in Maple Ridge. They’ve taken their deep connections to the community and built an extremely loyal customer base.
Shymkiw has a story about when he first started out. He held a homebuyer event at a local community centre. Hardly anyone turned up. You’d think that would discourage him but instead, he was inspired to win over the people who did attend. Two of those people are still clients today.
“I can truly say that I do love what I do,” he tells us. “I think it's working with people, right? I'm lucky to have a very good clientele. I have a lot of repeat families and repeat customers. But even my new clients, first-time buyers, families, downsizers, a lot of the people I work with are just good people."
