About / The Office

John Lim

REALTOR® · Mortgage Broker · 1NE Collective Realty

Vancouver-grown. Dual-licensed REALTOR® and Mortgage Broker with 1NE Collective Realty. Bilingual in English and Korean. One trusted person for the home and the financing.

I came to Canada in 2005 and started my finance career at CIBC, where I spent five years learning how banks actually decide who gets a yes. I left in 2019 to become an independent mortgage broker, and earned my real estate license in 2022 because too many of my mortgage clients were stuck with realtors who didn't return their calls. Today I hold both licenses on purpose — so a single conversation can cover the home and the financing, without the handoffs.

The Korean culture I grew up in puts loyalty above almost everything, and I run my business that way: twenty active clients I can answer at 9pm, not forty I can barely keep up with. If a bank specialist would actually serve you better than I would, I'll send you to them — no fee, no awkwardness. The relationship is the asset.

My culture values loyalty above all else, and I apply that to my business. I treat my clients like family.

— John Lim

Experience

Banking depth · CIBC, 5 years: Inside the lending desk at one of Canada's Big Five before going independent. I learned which scenarios get approved — and which patterns get declined — before they ever leave the application stage.
Dual-licensed since 2022: REALTOR® and Submortgage Broker, both active. One conversation handles the home and the financing — no handoffs, no waiting for "the right person to call you back."
$100M+ in closings: Combined mortgage and real estate volume across Metro Vancouver. Most repeat or referral — the long game outlasts any single deal.
5.0 ★ on Google: Five-star rated on Google across both real estate and mortgage work. The reviews are public — read them straight from the source.
Bilingual · English & Korean: Paperwork in whichever language your family will actually read. Korean YouTube channel for ongoing market commentary, in plain Korean.
Specialties: First-time buyers · Presale + assignment · Investment properties · B-lender / private mortgages · Reverse mortgages (55+).

Have a question about the home, the mortgage, or both? I'd rather have a 15-minute conversation than send a brochure.

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