Testimonials

Buying a house seemed like a daunting, yet exciting, thing. We did not know every single step, but our agent did. Ron was so patient and great with us, from all of our questions to us deciding what we liked and didn't. Thank you!!!

Mariya was never pushy or rushed through the home-buying process. She really listened and gave the space I needed to make my own decisions every step of the way.

I'd definitely recommend Mariya Vandivort and her team, especially for first-time or international buyers, because she explains the steps and terms so clear that I can easily understand and follow the timeline. Besides, Mariya really cares about her clients and their demands. She made an effort to meet my requirements even though they might not be her responsibility. The team is very professional and planned nearly everything for me. I really appreciate their job!

Our first home buying experience lasted more than 2 years and Mariya was there to help every step of the way. When we took 6 months off the search, she didn't pressure us in any way. When we were ready to get back to looking, she was right there to assist. We don't think we could have gotten a better realtor to assist with our first time home purchase.

It was a pleasure to work with Mariya. She is very knowledgeable and conscientious and cares about doing a good job. We were surprised at how quickly we were able to sell our home. Mariya and her team had the house listed in no time, and we had an offer within two weeks.

Scott and I are very appreciative of the patience and kindness Mariya extended to us as we navigated our way through the selling of our home. Mariya is the best! Thank you, AroundCU.

Ron and his team were awesome! I never had to wait for a response to any questions I had, whether via email, text or phone. He was always available. He understood my needs and had a lot of constructive feedback.

Mariya helped us purchase our first home. It took us over 8 months to find the home of our dreams and Mariya was patient with us the entire time. We never felt like we were burdening her with all the house viewings. She was very informative and responsive. We valued all the information she provided us with. We will most definitely be working with Mariya in the future whether it be selling or buying. And we will recommend her to all our friends and family looking to buy or sell.

Mariya is absolutely worthy to recommend. She is energetic, enthusiastic and sees your buying as her own. The buying process needs a high amount of communication and Mariya was definitely always on my side, giving me constructive suggestion without any pressure. She even helped me enter the crawl space to inspect the furnace twice! Fully understanding the house condition made us stand high when negotiating the price. Isn't this what we buyers are all looking for? If you are searching for your next dream home, Mariya is definitely the agent you would like to work with. Thank you, Mariya!

I used to think that all realtors were basically the same and it didn't matter which one I chose. Now I know better. Mariya was extremely helpful, responsive, and available throughout the entire process. She kept our best interest as her priority, even when it did not seem to be in her best interest. She went above and beyond what I have ever experienced with any other realtor. Mariya's website is the most useful home search that I have seen and is the reason that we first contacted her. Her excellent service to us throughout the process of buying a home is the reason that we are going back to her to assist in selling our previous home.

As a first-time buyer, I had no experience coming into the buying process. Mariya helped me understand the entire buying process from the start and gave me the information I needed every step of the way. She was excellent at communication, rapidly answering all my questions whether by phone, email, or in person. Working with her was a very pleasant experience.

Mariya is unfailingly professional and warm, and her thoroughness in researching pertinent information made me feel as if I understood the market better, even though I've lived in the area for a few years now. Her feedback for preparing my home for the market was spot on, and she took great pains to produce a fantastic online listing, even providing a detailed floor plan for prospective buyers. She is very good at anticipating needs and just fun to be around. I have enjoyed both my buying and selling experiences with her. Thanks, Mariya!

I would recommend Ron for anyone who is looking to buy a house. He was very patient with us throughout the whole process. Ron communicated with us constantly and kept us in the loop of everything that was going on. As a first time home buyer, Ron was very helpful and he educated us on everything related to real estate and the house buying process. He truly puts our interests first. We never felt like we were pressured into buying something that we weren't so sure about. He took time to show us as many houses as we wanted until we found the perfect house for us and accommodated our busy schedules. I highly recommend Ron!

I enjoyed my experience! Thank you for finding this home and then helping us to sell it.

Mariya made our first home purchase a lot of fun and gave us exactly the guidance we needed. She's phenomenal!

I was very pleased with the service I received from Ron during the purchase of my new home in Champaign. He acted promptly to requests and adjusted his schedule as needed to accommodate the various milestones for my purchase. I would recommend Ron and AroundCU to prospective home buyers.

Mariya is an excellent choice for a realtor in Champaign-Urbana. I've used other realtors in the past, and Mariya outperformed them in every measure -- keeping me informed, knowing the market, helping me prepare to sell, assisting me throughout the process, and negotiating on my behalf when necessary. She is easy to work with, very professional and made my selling experience stress-free.

Mariya gave us lots of updates through the whole process, and since we live out of town, it was helpful to feel "in the loop" during the sale of our home.

I'm in the mortgage business, so I knew I wanted a good Realtor for my first home purchase and Mariya's name was the only name on my list! As expected, she was professional, knowledgeable, kind, efficient, and patient with all our first-time home buyer questions as well as all my behind-the-scene's knowledge. And listening to her saved us over $5,000 in the purchase price of our new home. I could not have asked for better!

Mariya Vandivort, of AroundCU, is an outstanding realtor. She meets or exceeds standards of excellence. She is very knowledgeable and courteous, and her business dealings are highly professional.

Mariya was very much on top of everything, and did a great job. She was an excellent realtor. Very thorough and was always there to help when we asked. Would recommend her to anyone who is searching for a home.

I like Mariya's data-driven and empirical approach to analyzing real estate. This perspective is invaluable when seeking to set a price that will produce results.

Working with Janice and Mariya was a great experience. They were helpful, professional, informed, and enthusiastic. So now we have not only a new house, but new friends. We are two professors from out of town trying to buy a second home in Champaign--and couldn't be happier with our purchase. Janice was the perfect realtor for us--professional, knowledgeable, prompt, and she helped navigate us through the process with careful attention to detail. We would highly recommend her to others.

Mariya is so good, she sold my house twice!

Mariya was a wonderful Realtor! We needed to get our house on the market quickly and she was able to do so in only a couple of days without sacrificing any quality. Due to her quick response, our house sold in just 3 days. She also goes above and beyond - once I happened to get locked out of my house and she brought me the house keys within minutes!

Mariya Vandivort was absolutely phenomenal throughout our buying process. She really took the time to listen to us and helped us find our perfect home. She was always very prompt with communication. Mariya is very smart and funny, and she has a keen eye for pricing homes. She was honest with us throughout the process, especially when it came to putting offers on homes. Mariya's website was also a huge help in our home buying process, providing an easy way to keep track of the homes we'd visited, alerts on new listings and price changes, and extra pictures of many houses. We would never have ended up in our new home without Mariya's perseverance, dedication, and knowledge. She really took the time to understand our needs and did not pressure us into making a hasty decision. We will continue to recommend Mariya Vandivort to everyone we know looking for a home in the area.

During this, our first home-buying experience, Mariya offered just what we were looking for: someone knowledgeable, communicative, willing to help in any way possible, and pleasurable to deal with. She provided great insights and tips on the home-buying process, as well as suggestions on home improvement options. We enjoyed our time with her while searching for homes and felt she took a real interest in "us" rather than just the business we could bring her. She fit home searches into our crazy schedule and was incredibly understanding and patient as we tried to figure out exactly what we were looking for. We would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone looking for a personable and professional Realtor and we're thrilled we found her so early in our own search.

I purchased my first home and I couldn't have bought it without Ron's assistance. I knew very little about the process, but he answered all my questions and gave me all the information I needed. He is the best realtor I have ever worked with.

This was our first time using the internet to sign paperwork and get notifications about our purchase. Beth walked us through the process and it was so easy.

Ron made home buying easy. He was friendly, helpful, and insightful.

I can think of nothing Mariya could have done better. She answered our questions and made the whole experience much easier than we could have anticipated. The booklet she provided was a most helpful guide. We frequently referred to it if we had questions. Also, Mariya and Ron were available to help us as we were inexperienced home sellers/buyers.

My wife and I purchased our first home through AroundCU. They made the entire home buying process very easy. The first time we spoke to them we realized we wanted to wait to buy a home. We ended up waiting for 2 years. During this two year period they periodically checked in and gave us more information as-needed. We used their website to research homes in the area. Eventually we started searching more seriously for homes. Our realtor, Ron Fields, could not have been better. He was informative, flexible, and put our interests first. Once we started visiting homes with Ron, it only took us three weeks to find one that we loved. We honestly could not be happier with Ron or AroundCU, and would highly recommend them to any interested home buyers.

Mariya was extremely honest and helpful. You could tell that she cared about making our home-buying successful and fair. She also knows a lot about all parts of the home-buying process, including home maintenance and legal issues. And she is friendly and positive. We are very glad we found her.

We really enjoyed using Mariya's website as a search tool. That helped us greatly to rule out a lot of properties in our range of interest and cut down the time spent touring houses. We only spent two days of actual house-hunting before we found the house we made an offer on. We also appreciated the great advice that Mariya provided during the entire process (ranging from general home-buying knowledge to personal home-improvement experience) and her leading us to the best people to contact for different needs. As a result, we feel that we were served by the top experts in the area for financing our purchase, inspecting our prospective home, etc. All along the way, our feeling was that our realtor was on our team; there wasn't any step where we felt we were left to fend for ourselves. Rather, our impression was that Mariya went out of her way to make our first home purchase smooth, stress-free, and even enjoyable! It all made for a confident and very satisfied experience for us!

After using two Realtors with little success and satisfaction, I turned to Mariya. We hit it off immediately and she seemed to know exactly what I was looking for and what I needed. She answered the few questions I hadn't even thought of yet and was one step ahead of me all the time. The beginning of my home-buying process was absolutely brutal, but once I found Mariya it seemed to fly by with few worries. I really felt like she was on my side, instead of just saying she was. I will absolutely recommend Mariya to my friends!

Mariya really goes the extra mile. She found many prospective homes for us to look at and was very flexible with our work schedules in touring the homes. We believe she gave us honest feedback and guidance about the homes we were interested in, and helped us act quickly when we found "the one." She was patient and responsive and we would recommend her to anyone we know!

Mariya was helpful and kept in touch. Selling from a distance was hard, but she was wonderful to work with. We would strongly recommend Mariya!

We had an excellent experience purchasing a home with Mariya. She responds to questions extremely quickly and is very thorough. Mariya was a pleasure to work with. She is friendly and informative. We wanted to make sure we worked with someone who was not pushy and would let us take our time. Not once did I feel pressured by Mariya (even after looking at over 50 homes!). We 100% trusted her judgement and expertise throughout the entire buying process. We would recommend Mariya to anyone with no reservations. She is the best and we would work with her again in a heartbeat!

Mariya was extremely helpful walking us through our first selling process, and always responded quickly to any questions we had.

Another stellar performance by Mariya and her team. House sold within days and the whole process could not have been smoother. We have completed several real estate transactions with the AroundCU team and would not hesitate to work with them again in the future. We have already recommended them to friends who have gone on to become satisfied customers as well. An incredibly hard-working team that always goes above and beyond.

Ron was prompt and professional. I had a smooth home-buying process; thanks, Ron!

Mariya is a very patient and calm person which benefited us greatly as anxious first-time home-buyers. She was accommodating to all of our quirky preferences and did an EXCELLENT job during the negotiation process. She remained supportive through our year of searching and we ended up with a fantastic home!

Mariya worked tirelessly to help us find a home with the amenities that we desired. It took several months (we were picky!) but she always had a smile on her face and suggestions at the ready for homes to look at. She was a great help when we finally settled on a home to bid on, and kept us informed every step of the way during the closing process. She truly knows the local market, which is an invaluable asset for a realtor to possess to serve clients. I would highly recommend Mariya whether you are buying or selling a home!

Mariya is not only exceptionally competent / experienced / knowledgeable / hard-working, she is also gifted with a persistent patience and grace that allows her to work successfully through sticky situations that would trip up many others. I feel extremely lucky to have found Mariya when I did.

We truly felt like Mariya had the same enthusiasm for selling our house that we did. She was decisive and, when we took her advice, our home sold in less than a month. What seemed overwhelming at first was manageable with her help and guidance.

AroundCU was an excellent experience. Ron was a pleasure for us to work with. As first-time homebuyers, we were never uncertain or uncomfortable with the process. Supporting local business really is the way to go and Ron will make sure you know what you're getting into.

Mariya helped us buy what we 100% believe to be the perfect house for us at a great price (thanks to her stellar negotiating skills)! She always took the time to answer all of our questions about house-buying and made the daunting process of buying our first home all the way from California seem really easy and enjoyable. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job!

My previous real estate agent was useless at selling my home. AroundCU actually got it done, for about the amount I expected. Thank you.

Mariya was absolutely awesome! Very professional and conscientious about every step of the process. We were thrilled at how soon our condo was under contract. Wonderful experience.

As a first-time home buyer, I didn't realize the roller coaster we were about to go through, but Mariya did the impossible and, after all those ups and downs, we still closed on time!

Mariya was absolutely awesome to work with. She was great at communicating from the very beginning of the process all the way through the sale of our home in Illinois. By the end of the process we were some 1,200 miles away in our new community and she made sure everything went smoothly. She had great resources in the Chambana community for repairs and looked out for us, making sure that we were treated fairly. Mariya has a ton of integrity and it was refreshing to be working with someone who we knew we could really trust to have our best interest in mind. You will not find a more committed or honest realtor anywhere.

Mariya made finding our first home a much more pleasant experience. She is knowledgeable, honest, and has a great sense of humor. We relied on her expertise and experience at every step, from finding the right type of house in the right neighborhood to choosing a home inspector and closing. It can be scary--making such a big investment and not knowing much about the process--but we couldn't have chosen anyone better. Mariya is the best!

This is the second home that I have purchased with Mariya's help. From the very beginning of the process, Mariya was responsive and excited to help us. She is very flexible with her schedule and did whatever she could to put us first. She is very friendly and fun to be around, which made the whole process fun. She displayed a strong moral character by advising us away from purchasing a house that was over-counting rental bedrooms. She is very knowledgeable about state/local ordinances, and is able to explain that information in an understandable way. She does research on neighborhoods, so you know what to expect. She is excellent at advising during negotiations, and seems to have a good feel for when you can ask for more. We are very happy that Mariya was our realtor for this purchase, and we highly recommend her.

I was so impressed with the responsiveness of Beth, my buying agent. She kept in touch almost daily during the search and the purchasing process, and helped me navigate a couple of unexpected obstacles. It helped so much to have her as an advocate, especially since I was doing most of this from out of state. (Also helpful: the website this company uses for signing secure documents online, rather than having to use fax or snail mail.)

Working with Mariya to sell my house turned a stressful experience into just another event. I am certain that her house-staging advice, photographic skills and expertise in setting up the web presentation played a major part in the quick sale of my house. In addition to her technical skills she was extremely helpful organizing and reminding me of all those dates and tasks involved in closing the sale. Mariya is a professional with a warm and caring personality; I highly recommend her for any real estate transaction.

Mariya is definitely professional in all her showings and brings with her the advantage of a user-friendly website that hosts a gallery of pictures of homes we have seen, savable searches, and a calendar of home-buying steps. I enjoyed having Mariya as my realtor, and I'm glad she helped us find our new home.

Mariya made the process of selling our home completely painless and effortless. We were not in town for any part of the process, but it didn't matter - Mariya made sure that we were informed of everything that was going on and took care of what needed to be done. There was never a time when we didn't know what was happening. Mariya helped us buy our home and, at that time, we said if we ever had to sell our home, Mariya would be the one to do it; we couldn't be happier with that decision.

Mariya is the best realtor I have worked with in years.

I accepted an offer for full asking price in under a week thanks to Mariya's repair, staging, and pricing advice and the amazing photos and descriptions on the website she created. She then nursed the sale through a contentious home inspection and two mortgage rejections to a very happy closing day.

Mariya was extremely helpful throughout the home buying process. Not only was she informative and on top of everything, she genuinely cared about helping me find the right home. She was always quick to respond and she was available for questions anytime. I absolutely loved the home-buying process with her!

Mariya was extremely helpful and pro-active during the entire house-selling experience. Her assistance was especially valuable in finding vendors and workers to help sell the house from half-way across the country! I was extremely pleased with her as a Realtor.

My first home-buying experience was scary, but Mariya helped me buy the perfect home for me. Thanks!

Working with Mariya was the best home-buying experience of my life.

I could not have asked for a better home buying experience -- Mariya is at the top of her game. She is not only exceptionally thorough and driven, she is genuinely honest. She truly is there to do what is best for her client -- to make them happy and get them the best deal that she possibly can on their dream home. Whether you know exactly what you want, or you're not quite sure, she will find it for you. Bottom line, she is amazing. You will not find a more sincere, determined, dependable person to help you through your buying process in the most pleasant and hassle-free manner possible. She's the best there is.

As first-time sellers, we were a bit concerned about selling the house in a low market, especially as we had already moved away to Atlanta at the time. Mariya came highly recommended from my wife's colleagues. It turned out that we were lucky to have her as our Realtor. Mariya made our selling experience smoother than we had expected. The first thing that struck me was Mariya's artistic photographing of our house which made the house look so appealing and spacious. This made a big difference, as it drew a steady stream of potential buyers. We really appreciate her sensible and practical advice which saved us effort and money. The handy man, repair workers, and attorney she recommended were trustworthy and efficient. Mariya represented our interest firmly in negotiation with the buyers.

I was under a tight deadline to purchase a home when I contacted the AroundCU team. Ron Fields helped to make the process as smooth and efficient as possible. Ron is friendly and knowledgeable. He was excellent in all phases of the home buying experience. I was particularly impressed by the success Ron had in negotiating with the seller. I would recommend Ron to anyone in the market for a new home in CU and would gladly use the AroundCU team again.

Ron did a fantastic job of helping my family through a stressful time of selling our parents' home. He was quick to respond to our questions and very empathetic to our situation. I would highly recommend Ron and this company to anyone who is considering selling or buying a home.

Beth is dedicated, knowledgeable, and wonderful to work with. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend her to friends and colleagues.

We were delighted with Mariya's service from the beginning of our cross-country relocation. She somehow managed to combine a low-key, no-pressure atmosphere with very fine efficiency and swift response time, and she really understood what we wanted in a home. It was evident that that our whole transaction was being carefully monitored, and we appreciated not having to worry about next steps ourselves because Mariya had them in hand. We have already recommended her and will continue to do so.

I was really pleased with the entire process -- we had some special circumstances/prep steps as a church, including several extra visits to look at the house -- Ron was very patient and supportive along the way. Great experience!

Mariya was the perfect guide on my journey to buy my first home. She was patient with my timeline, responded quickly to emails & calls, and provided excellent advice throughout the entire process. She is a tough negotiator and helped me get a good deal on my home. Most of all, Mariya has a great sense of humor and a really upbeat attitude. I ended up having a lot of fun during this process and it was all due to Mariya's professionalism and personality.

Mariya was a great agent and definitely helped me sooooo much throughout the process. As a first time home buyer, I wasn't sure what to expect, but she kept everything as simple as possible and always answered my questions in a timely manner. She was incredibly flexible and definitely tried to work around my schedule as best she could. Mariya has gone above and beyond and has taken great lengths to help me find a home that I can call my own, and has made the entire process as painless and fun as home-buying can be. Thank you for all your help-- I learned so much and I'm so happy with my new home!

This was our first home purchase and Mariya showed us many properties, listened to our preferences, gave great advice, and was a masterful negotiator on our behalf. She was also great to just spend a day with while looking at properties. I would definitely recommend her to other prospective clients!

Mariya and her team were recommended by a friend. It was great working with Beth and when she wasn't available during an emergency, Mariya contacted us to make sure we were taken care of. I would gladly recommend working with AroundCU.

Mariya dealt very patiently with us and was sensitive to the fact that we were moving from a house in which we had lived for thirty years, raised our family, etc. She maintained a very positive attitude about the whole process of finding a new home when we had doubts and were intimidated by the enormity of our decision to move. We feel that she is candid and trustworthy, and gave us excellent service.

Mariya did a terrific job helping me to sell my home in Champaign during difficult market conditions. She took the time to research and gather all the statistics necessary to price the property appropriately. Her work to offer an enhanced web presence is excellent, and when it was time to evaluate offers, she gave sound advice during the negotiation process. I would recommend Mariya Vandivort without reservation for any of your real estate needs. She is a gem in the CU community.

Mariya was an absolutely amazing agent for us when we bought and sold our first home. She was always friendly and constantly went above and beyond to help us out and make us feel comfortable with the confusing and stressful home buying and home selling processes. Not only that, she and her team were also extremely thorough and well organized. I can't recommend her enough to anyone looking to buy or sell.

I was a little worried when I decided to sell my condominium because there were 3 other condos in my association on the market at the same time. Mariya did a great job helping me stage my condo. The photos she took for the website were excellent. My condo sold in less than 5 weeks. If you need a Realtor, I highly recommend Mariya.

Mariya did a wonderful job selling our home. She kept us up to date on all developments and represented our interests very well during the sale. She was very prompt with her communications both to us and the potential buyers. She went above and beyond on many occasions and we would absolutely work with her again on future purchases or sales!

Mariya and her team did it again! I bought my first house with Mariya about 7 years ago. When my fiancée and I started looking for a bigger house, I knew I could count on Mariya to help me again. This time around we worked with Ron, and he was amazing. Always ready to answer our questions and never feeling pressured to move to buy something quick. I will continue to use the AroundCU team and always recommend them for anyone looking to buy or sell property.

I enjoyed having Mariya as my agent. Although buying my first home (in a foreign country), I never felt uncertain about my decisions because she explained everything so well and I felt that I could really trust her. She organized everything; I didn't know the process of buying a house can be so easy. Thanks, Mariya!

Mariya is great at getting back to you very quickly about any questions, problems, etc. A+ for communication, which is so important during the stressful process.

Mariya was our realtor when we purchased our first house and I couldn't have hoped or asked for a better experience. We had a lot of questions and she always responded quickly and in a way that didn't make me feel dumb for asking.

She kept us updated thru the whole process on what our next steps would be and always had our best interests in mind. I never felt forgotten about or nervous about a decision because she was there and attentive thru every step of the process.

Would recommend her in a heartbeat!

Mariya was knowledgeable, attentive, and considerate of our wants and needs. She greatly exceeded all our expectations. We would eagerly recommend her to others.

I knew what I wanted going in and Ron was there every step of the way to help me get it. He would fill me in on details, walk me through new processes, and was very professional throughout. He also never pushed me towards something I didn't want, which has happened in the past elsewhere.

After interviewing a few realtors from Champaign, I chose Mariya as my realtor because she stood out from the crowd although she was the youngest. She posted and sold my house after I had moved out of the town. I was concerned about selling an empty house while I was not around, but Mariya gave me much good advice, confidence and actual help. She is a good listener, quick responder and good negotiator. She knows the market and, to my surprise, is very experienced! I felt that she was on my side and I could trust her during the whole process. She represents a new generation of promising realtors who incorporates new communication and marketing technology into traditional house selling. I am glad that I had chosen Mariya.

Mariya was very informative and answered any questions I had promptly.

I moved to Champaign from Europe and I was a little worried about the process of buying a home in the US. From the moment I started working with Mariya, I realized that she had perfectly understood my situation and was willing to help me not only as a Realtor, but also as a friend. Indeed, Mariya has been a constant presence in every step of my home-buying experience, which went extremely smoothly overall. In particular, I really appreciated Mariya's organization, cheerfulness and honesty in suggesting which properties would be the best deal for me. I would definitely recommend contacting Mariya to anyone looking for a professional Realtor in the Champaign area.

We highly recommend our selling agent, Ron Fields. He is friendly; knowledgeable; quickly responsive to texts, emails and phone calls; professional; and a good listener. We sold our house extremely fast and for an acceptable price without officially putting it on the market thanks to his advice.

Mike and I had a fabulous time cruising around town with you. ;) You were awesome. I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate your attention to detail, organization, and determination to get the job done. I know that my situation was a bit more involved in that I needed to find something that I loved, and find it fast. And I know I'm particular! =) Yet you were there to give me any and all suggestions while keeping things in order, trying to make things as easy as possible. And you were honest on top of everything else!! You definitely amazed me. It was refreshing to have someone like you help me through this -- I couldn't have done it without you. I promise you that I will recommend you to everyone that I possibly can. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Mariya is a great Realtor for anyone to work with, especially first time homebuyers. Mariya is able to explain every part of the process in a way that allowed me and my husband to feel confident about our decisions while never feeling pressured. Mariya always made herself available to us, no matter if it was for a home viewing or to call for general questions. She kept us very up-to-date even when there were stretches of time where there was no news. I felt very comfortable being honest with her about my needs, concerns and questions in the home-buying process. I felt that she really listened, which resulted in her connecting us with a house that was a perfect fit for us within our price range. Her flexibility and genuine personality makes Mariya second to none. Honestly, I can't think of anything she could have done that would have made the experience better for us. I would confidently recommend her to anyone seeking to purchase or sell a home in Champaign-Urbana.

Ron helped me purchase my first home and made sure I understood what to expect. He was helpful with looking at different homes and making sure I found the right home for me.

In the process of buying a house, my wife and I had many realtors to choose from including friends and acquaintances. I decided it was best to find someone unbiased in the process and after living in Chicago for 3 years, the best place to start was Yelp. Unfortunately, not many people in Champaign use Yelp but Mariya had 8 reviews (all 5 star) compared to maybe 1 for any other realtor. This indicated to me that many of the people that chose her were savvy and non-local consumers that had a great experience with her.

After reading reviews and looking at her website, I liked her military background which I thought would make her a good negotiator, one of the most important things in my mind with buying a house. She did not disappoint and was always calm and collected.

Mariya is very knowledgeable about the buying process. She has a great website that makes it easy to follow houses that come on the market. She takes photos of each showing to help you remember the house and important concepts to consider. As a matter of fact, I have a colleague who used a different realtor and when I showed him Mariya's website and what it allowed us to do, he was pretty impressed and wished his realtor had that capability.

I recommend her highly and will definitely use her again should it be selling or buying a house.

It was very comfortable to work with Mariya. All the houses she chose for us met our expectations, so we found our house very fast. It was our first experience buying a house and Mariya helped us a lot. She explained all of the details we asked for and even more. We do recommend her for prospective clients.

Mariya is awesome, and I will undoubtedly hire her and her team again when I plan to sell my next house. The AroundCU website (myAroundCU) was particularly helpful in keeping me organized and in the loop. I referenced it often, and it kept me on top of the buying/selling process. Mariya is a consummate professional who knows how to market a home flawlessly, negotiate a contract firmly yet fairly, and sell a home quickly. Despite the fact my condo was one of several similar ones on the market, it sold in less than a month due to Mariya's tireless efforts to market it in a way that generated lots of viewings and multiple offers. If you want an honest, extremely hard-working realtor who knows the in's and out's of real estate, you should hire Mariya and her AroundCU team. Their glowing online reviews are spot on.

Based on her website and reviews, we "cold-called" Mariya in hopes of having her help us find a perfect place. All the reviews are right -- she is an awesome realtor!! She goes above and beyond and is great to work with!

Ron Fields, my agent, was diligent and patient. When he got a clear idea on my preferences for a condo, he worked out a plan to approach potential sellers and was successful in identifying one of them whose property I ended up buying. Ron and his support staff kept me updated regularly and also walked me through the closing process. This was a pleasant home buying experience. Thanks to Ron and the Around CU team.

Got the pleasure to meet with Ron. He was an absolute pleasure to work with. I lived out of town while searching for a home and set up a day to look at many homes. We looked at least 8 homes within a day. None of the houses that I picked met my expectations. Honestly, I was a bit defeated and went to grab lunch with my family. During lunch, I received a phone call about Ron who after learning my tastes, had a couple of more houses to preview. One of those houses ended up being the house that I decided to put an offer on. That house unfortunately received an offer the same time that I placed mine. Ron was a tremendous help during that bidding war and helped give me the advice to secure my home. After acquiring the house, he was an integral part of helping me navigate through the loan process, the inspection, and closing on the house. I would strongly recommend the folks at AroundCU to anyone looking for a home in the CU area!

I'm very glad that I selected to work with Ron and Mariya on buying my first house. As a real estate agent, Ron did a great job answering all my newbie questions, explaining the timeline, arranging the process to address my special circumstances, and negotiating on my behalf. Ron was very patient and not only navigated us to a hassle-free closing, but helped me to learn a great deal about Champaign-Urbana (I'm not from Illinois). Now my plan is to convince at least several friends to move to CU too, and I'll definitely recommend Mariya and Ron's agency to them :)

We are so grateful to Mariya and her team for working with us with such dedication and professionalism. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Mariya. She took the stress out of an inherently stressful experience. She shepherded us through each step of our condo sale with professionalism and warmth. Mariya was on top of every detail, responsive to our needs, and client-centered regarding decision-making. She provided us with top-notch referrals to prepare our home for sale. It is rare to find someone with Mariya's combination of expertise, work ethic, and integrity. She is a gem!

On all levels, you were a great asset for selling our home. In particular, we believe your photos of the home sold our home quickly. Nobody else presents a home like you do. You took your time with the angles and brightness of every shot. We appreciate all your help, especially in the suggestions for the staging of the home. We also appreciate you addressing all our stresses and questions with your full attention and care. Your expertise was well appreciated. Thank you!

Mariya did an excellent job of selling our home in a difficult market. Her advice was spot on, and she did an excellent job of communicating with us and prospective buyer' agents.

Mariya often went above and beyond to help us in the preparation and listing of our property. She was a true pleasure to work with. I would recommend her service to anyone in the CU area looking to buy or sell.

It was a wonderful experience. Ron is very knowledgeable and professional and we could conduct the purchase from out of state.

Mariya was very helpful and accommodating to a first-time buyer. She has an excellent understanding of the area, and was able to help me narrow down my list of prospects and find the right house for me!

With the purchase of this home, this is our second time utilizing the AroundCU team. We met Mariya six years ago; she offered excellent service. Needless to say, when we chose to buy a new home this time around, we were happy to see her team had expanded. Ron is a fantastic addition to the team, and we would not hesitate to reach out to him again with any future home buying needs.

You listened to what I was looking for, and the first and only house that I looked at fit my needs exactly, and I ended up buying it! The minor hurdles encountered (as with any home purchase) in the process were handled properly and in a timely manner. I look forward to working with you to sell the home I am moving out of.

Everything was perfect! We couldn't have wished for a more kind, caring, hard-working Realtor and friend. Thank you so much, Mariya! We love it!

Ron with the Around CU team was an excellent realtor! He brought us to all the houses we liked and showed us some he thought we would like. He never forced an opinion on us and let us make own decisions about what houses we liked and didn't. With Ron's help we found our home extremely quickly! We are in LOVE with our new home.

I chose Mariya because she was very highly recommended by several co-workers, and she was, indeed, an excellent realtor. She clearly explained to us the whole process, accommodated our schedules, was very pro-active, and never left us in a limbo in any matter. Even if she did not hear back from the other realtor or someone else, at the end of the day she let us know that she did not hear anything and when she would contact them again. As a person, she was full of warmth and cheerfulness, with a ready smile or laughter to liven up all of us. I would recommend her to anyone.

Mariya took care of all the details! Everything went perfectly.

She was the best. I'd found her online and all the references she had convinced me to contact her to sell my condo.

Mariya is a top-notch professional. I recommend her without reservation. She knows what she is doing, she does an excellent job of keeping you up to date all through the process of purchasing a home. Mariya knows the Champaign area extremely well and makes excellent use of technology to improve the entire buying process. Mariya is very nice and friendly and very, very patient. She continued to show me properties above and beyond the call of duty until I found the perfect new home.

We had a great experience with Mariya and would highly recommend her. She is knowledgeable of the market, communicates well, and has excellent follow-up and follow-thru.

I heartily recommend Ron Fields and the AroundCU team for both buying and selling real estate in Champaign-Urbana

Mariya helped me sell my old home and buy my new one, and I highly recommend her. I got a good price for my old home in what has been considered a difficult market. Her marketing techniques are fabulous. When I purchased the new home, things moved very fast. Mariya was there every step of the way. She was especially helpful when we were deciding on the initial bid amount and through the negotiations.

We were selling our house at an extremely stressful time and she made the process clear and easy. Even though our house was small and inexpensive she made us feel like we were extremely important clients. She is extremely professional and I would highly recommend her and her team to any home buyers or sellers.

Mariya did an incredible job of helping us to find the perfect house; she met with us after hours and on weekends and helped us to understand all the intricacies of home buying. All of her recommended service professionals were wonderful and provided nothing but the best service. I will definitely recommend Mariya to anyone I know who is looking to buy a house, and when it's time to sell our house, Mariya will be the one to do it.

We had a great experience working with Mariya! She was patient with our questions and very thorough in her work. She consistently gave us excellent advice, and we truly felt that she was "at bat" for us. We will recommend her in a heartbeat to anyone we know who is looking.

Mariya has been amazing - so helpful in every step of the home-buying process - if we ever decide to buy again (or if anyone we know wants to purchase in the area), we will definitely be repeat customers. She made the process totally painless and that was much appreciated since we were located in California when trying to buy our house in Urbana. It would not have been possible without all of her help! I've dealt with several real estate agents over the years and Mariya has been the absolute best!

Ron was warm, accommodating, responsive, and extremely knowledgeable. He gave thorough and thoughtful advice without ever being the slightest bit imposing. When we were having trouble with our first mortgage option, he went above and beyond to help secure us another option in time for closing. We couldn't have asked for a better realtor - or a better overall experience. We are first-time home buyers and were quite apprehensive about the process, but Ron made it feel like a breeze. We love our new home and we feel so indebted to AroundCU!