An agent who speaks the language, not just about it
I am a real estate agent with The Nell Team at Equity Union Real Estate, based in Burbank, California, a former attorney, and I speak fluent Mandarin Chinese — 我会说普通话. I work with families across Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada Flintridge, Hollywood Hills and Arcadia, helping them buy, sell and invest in homes without a language barrier standing between them and the decision.
Asian Studies, Taiwan, and four years in China
My path here started with an Asian Studies degree from The George Washington University. That led me to live in Taiwan (歡迎用中文聯繫我), and later to spend four years working in mainland China. Those years shaped how I communicate and what I pay attention to — not just the language, but the questions families actually ask, and the things that matter to them in a home that don't always come up in a typical showing.
Why I focus on Mandarin-speaking families
Buying or selling a home involves a lot of detail — contracts, disclosures, negotiation, timelines — and that detail is hard enough to track in your first language. When a parent, grandparent or overseas family member is more comfortable in Mandarin, being able to walk them through it directly, rather than through a relative translating on speakerphone, changes how the whole process feels.
I also try to be attentive, respectfully and without assuming, to preferences some families bring to a search. If a home's layout or features matter to you for personal reasons, tell me and I'll factor them into the search, along with a preference for communicating over WeChat or LINE rather than email. Every family is different, and I ask rather than assume.
Who I work with
My clients include first-time buyers, growing and multi-generational families, overseas buyers and heirs handling property from abroad, and investors building a rental portfolio in Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada Flintridge, Hollywood Hills and Arcadia. Trust and probate sales for Mandarin-speaking families are also part of my work, when a family is selling a home that was inherited or held in trust.
As operations manager and later sales manager on two Burbank-area teams, I personally closed or oversaw the closing of approximately 50 trust sales, and I personally closed about a dozen of them. I've also closed two court-confirmed probate sales, one representing the buyer and one the seller, and about five probate sales that didn't require a court confirmation hearing.
How I work
- The first conversation is free, unhurried, and in whichever language is easiest for you
- Clear, written guidance at each step — not just a text message with a number
- Comfortable coordinating across time zones for overseas buyers, sellers and heirs
- Direct communication with every family member involved in the decision
- One point of contact from the first conversation to closing
If any of that sounds like what your family needs, call me at 310-920-1108 or send a note. If you would rather read first, start with what it means to work with a Mandarin-speaking agent.