douglas lee
Real Estate Broker
Three words to describe Douglas as an agent are honest, transparent, and responsive. He has been a residential agent for over 13 years and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, so Los Angeles is his home. He recently joined Compass in 2021 from Berkshire Hathaway. Over the years, Douglas has developed an expertise in expired listings, for sale by owner (FSBO), Foreclosure, and probate transactions. There is no deal that is too complicated for him to handle. One of his most difficult expired cases was in Monrovia, where the subject property was listed seven times over a five year period with five different listing agents. After 100 days, he sold the property for $1.27 MM, which was the highest amount the seller had ever received for the property to that point. Not to mention handling the sale when the seller was in South America.
At the beginning of his residential real estate career, Doug earned his stripes working in Highland Park and the surrounding north east Los Angeles integrating neighborhoods. His mentor used to be the chief appraisal officer and had incredible design insights. Doug learned how to stylishly update many homes, so that the client can sell for the top comparable in the most competitive market environments. From start to finish, every step of the way, he will hold your hand throughout the entire process.
Prior to residential real estate, Douglas worked as a commercial real estate agent for six years selling retail strip malls and apartment complexes. Most notably at Investment Real Estate Associates (IREA), where he sold a large shopping center in Pomona for over $8.3 MM that earned him Rookie of the year honors.
Douglas started his career on wall street in New York at Credit Suisse First Boston as an Analyst in the fixed income division doing structured finance. He was part of the Real Estate Finance and Securitization Group, focused on securitized products (Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities - CMBS). After that, he worked as an Investment Analyst at Divco West Properties in their acquisitions and asset management group to help deploy a $255 MM opportunistic private equity fund; focusing on class-A office properties.
Douglas graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance in 2000.
He is also a graduate of the Webb Schools of California.
Outside of work, he may pour himself a small glass of quality whiskey while watching NBA highlights, preferably the Lakers, on YouTube. He is also getting interested in Formula 1 racing and an avid sports card collector.
He is currently on the leadership committee for Carnegie Mellon Alumni in Los Angeles and does fundraising for Rancho La Hermosa mexican orphanage in Baja, Mexico. In the past, he served as a mentor in the Dragon Kim Foundation, the Los Angeles I Have a Dream Foundation, and Asian Professional Exchange.
Doug is a Certified Probate Specialist and Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE)
Phone: 650-279-1212
Email: doug.lee@compass.com