About Gusto Casa
Lindy started her career at several estate agencies in Utrecht and Arnhem and really got to know the profession from the inside. From commercial in-house work and valuations to residential estate agency in different segments of the market. She saw how different agencies worked, what felt right and, above all, what she wanted to do differently herself.
She brought all that experience with her when Gusto Casa was founded. Not copying one agency, but combining the best of several worlds. The knowledge and professionalism of traditional estate agency, but with more creativity, attention, styling, strategy and room for the personal story behind a home.
Gé brings a very different, but at least as valuable, background. He worked at Rabobank for more than ten years, so he knows the financial side of property well. He still helps out behind the scenes when a mortgage threatens to fall through. Where Lindy looks first at presentation, positioning and feel, Gé automatically looks at the numbers, the risks and the feasibility too.
Over the years, together they built up a broad network of estate agents, mortgage advisers, notaries, building surveyors, stylists and other specialists. People they know and trust, and can call on quickly when needed.
Gusto Casa has long since stopped being just Lindy and Gé. There is now a bigger team, with different areas of expertise and different characters, but the same way of working: personal, sharp, committed and always putting the client's interests first. Precisely because not everyone needs the same skills, together we can offer more than any one estate agent on their own.
“Lindy and Ge are very professional and always go the extra mile for their client. Of the five different selling agents I spoke to, they clearly came out as the best. They had a good sales plan, showed that they knew the neighbourhood well and have a strong combination of marketing and financing. However busy it is, whatever the time, they make time for you and try to get everything out of the sale. I would recommend this selling agent to everyone!”
About us
A few years ago, Gé and I seriously thought we would stop with Gusto Casa. Because of my illness, we decided to make room for a different way of life and moved to Spain. I felt better there, but it was in that very calm that I noticed how much I missed the profession. The clients, the houses, strategy, styling, negotiating and above all the personal contact. That feeling of being able to make a real difference at an important moment in someone's life was something I didn't want to lose.
So we didn't stop. We started rethinking how Gusto Casa should work. One thing was certain: we never wanted to grow at the expense of the personal touch. No cookie-cutter service, no just shifting boxes, but an estate agent where you know who is beside you and where you stand.
That is how Gusto Casa grew from Lindy and Gé into a real team. Joyce and Lylian are right in the middle of the Utrecht market. Lianne and I work a lot from Spain, but are involved every day in the files, the preparation, the administration and the strategy. Gé guides clients on the northern Costa Blanca.
Working from two countries may sound complicated, but for us it works really well. Everyone brings their own strengths, from client contact and structure to numbers, styling, negotiating and spotting opportunities. So a client doesn't get one estate agent, but the strength of a whole team.
Internally we sometimes call ourselves Team Bitterbal and Team Tapas. But wherever we work, Gusto Casa has to feel the same everywhere: personal, approachable, honest and committed.
NVM estate agent
Joyce is enthusiastic, energetic and pretty direct. She is curious, asks a lot of questions and is secretly a bit of a nerd: she wants to understand how something works, and why. With her eye for atmosphere, detail and potential, she quickly sees what makes a home special. And Joyce's enthusiasm is contagious. She lived in Ondiep for years and now lives in Hoge Weide, so she knows the city like the back of her hand.
NVM estate agent RM RT
Lindy combines market knowledge with a sharp eye for marketing, timing and presentation. She asks a lot of questions (and talks a lot too), gets to the bottom of everything and never settles for half a job. She spots opportunities others miss and thinks creatively about how to show a home at its best. Sometimes a bit of a know-it-all, but the kind you benefit from as a client.
NVM estate agent
Lylian has wanted to be an estate agent since she was sixteen. She loves the mix of people, homes and interiors, and she is enthusiastic, committed and always a step ahead. That is how she brings calm and clarity. From Lylian you get honest advice, even when it is not always the easiest answer. And when things get tense? She makes it manageable, over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table if need be. Lylian has almost finished her training as a valuer, so she knows exactly how to judge what a home is worth.
Back office
Lianne loves overview, tidy work and making sure everything behind the scenes is right. She makes lists of lists. After years as an estate agent and valuer, she knows how important a good file and clear follow-up are. At Gusto Casa she keeps track of documents, appointments and deadlines and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks. She is down-to-earth, committed and loves helping clients, even if that usually happens a little more behind the scenes. You won't see her at the office: she works from 'the cheerful city', Villajoyosa in Spain.
Keeper of the calm
Lylian Kamphuis knew from the age of sixteen that she wanted to be an estate agent. While others her age had no idea yet what they wanted to do later, for her it was already pretty clear. Houses, people, interiors and the stories behind a home: it was exactly that combination that drew her, even then.
So for Lylian, estate agency is not just about bricks, square metres or a good sale price. Buying or selling a house is often an important stage in someone's life, and that is exactly where she finds the personal contact most rewarding. She wants clients to look back on a good experience, whatever the story behind the sale or purchase.
Enthusiastic, driven and committed: those are the qualities that sum Lylian up. She likes to think ahead and tries to answer questions before a client has to ask them. Because the more nerve-racking a process gets, the more calm and clarity matter.
Lylian won't promise you the moon. She would rather tell you honestly how things stand and what she thinks is sensible. If it gets complicated or emotional, she doesn't shy away from the conversation. Sometimes a phone call is enough, and sometimes it simply calls for a cup of coffee at the kitchen table.
She feels most at home in the parts of Utrecht with character. A little city street, a nice coffee spot on the corner, a park nearby, or a stately canal house. That combination of atmosphere, people and living is exactly why she loves this job so much.
And if she hadn't become an estate agent? Looking back, there was never really a plan B.
The creative one
Lindy Hendriks grew up in an entrepreneurial family in Doornenburg, a small village between Arnhem and Nijmegen with cows, a castle and these days even a starred restaurant. She soon knew that Utrecht would be her city. She moved to the Dom city and chose Commercial Economics, specialising in Sales & Marketing and Real Estate & Estate Agency. Looking back, exactly the combination that suits her.
Because for Lindy, estate agency is never just about selling a house. She wants to understand why someone once fell for that particular house, what makes it special and how to get that story across as powerfully as possible to the right buyer.
Creative, sociable and curious: those are the qualities that sum Lindy up. Making something out of nothing may well be her favourite thing in the world. She quickly sees where the opportunities lie and doesn't easily settle for “that's just the way it is”. Sometimes a different layout, a small styling tweak or a different sales strategy is enough to make a house suddenly feel completely different.
She asks lots of questions, likes to get to the bottom of things and follows the Utrecht housing market closely. Data, marketing, timing, presentation and negotiation all come together with her. That sometimes makes her a bit of a know-it-all, but the kind you benefit from as a client.
Lindy loves negotiating hard, but loves the personal contact at least as much. She wants clients to feel seen and to know that someone is standing beside them who really fights for their interests. Not for the quick deal, but for the best result.
Enthusiastic
Joyce de Wolff has worked in estate agency since she was nineteen. No surprise, because for her this profession brings together everything she loves: architecture, design, styling, seeing possibilities and above all working with people.
Joyce is energetic and talks with her hands. Before you know it, you can picture exactly what she means. She asks lots of questions, is curious and loves to dive right into something. New information, details about a house or a totally useless fact: chances are Joyce wants to know it.
Joyce is pretty direct and would rather not beat about the bush. She doesn't believe in making things sound better than they are just to close a deal; she prefers to look honestly at what a client needs and what is sensible.
At viewings she is completely in her element. She senses atmosphere, notices details and quickly sees a house's possibilities. Having lived in Ondiep for years and now in Hoge Weide, she knows Utrecht well and knows how different the city can feel from one neighbourhood to the next.
Joyce loves figuring things out, preparing thoroughly and rolling up her sleeves. And when she is curious about something, she usually doesn't stop at the first answer.
That nerdy streak? With Joyce, you simply get it thrown in for free.
Down-to-earth
Lianne Sikma worked as an estate agent and valuer for years and ran her own valuation firm in Friesland for nine years. She loves houses, but perhaps even more everything behind them: people's stories, the choices they make, and making sure a file runs smoothly from start to finish.
With big renovations, Lianne would sometimes drop by months after a valuation to see how it had turned out. That really says everything about how she works. Committed, curious and not only interested while there is an assignment open.
Lianne loves structure, clear agreements and lists with everything neatly on them. At Gusto Casa she keeps watch over documents, deadlines and the administrative side, so that agents and clients don't run into surprises.
She works a lot from Spain, where she lives with her family in Villajoyosa. Flexible working suits her well, but her way of working stays the same: careful, down-to-earth and attentive to the people behind the file.
Making dreams come true matters to her. She once took a photo of a house with a view she fell in love with on the spot. Now she lives right there.
Maybe that is also why Lianne understands so well that a house is sometimes much more than just a house.
Pit bull
Gé Hoeijmakers grew up in Horst aan de Maas and worked in the financial world for years. He spent more than ten years at Rabobank, including in its special asset management department (Bijzonder Beheer). His knowledge of financing, risk and investments is still the basis of how he looks at property.
These days his focus is entirely on Spain. From the northern Costa Blanca, Gé guides clients buying a home, from the first shortlist to the negotiation. He looks not only at the property itself but very much at the financial side too: the risks, the possibilities and whether a purchase really makes sense in the long term.
Gé is calm, approachable and easy to get along with. A real friend to everyone. People quickly feel at ease with him, and he gladly takes the time to explain how things work.
But as soon as there is negotiating to be done, something changes. He becomes sharp, tenacious and pretty competitive. Gé loves working out where the room for manoeuvre is, and won't easily be fobbed off with the first answer.
So for Gusto Casa Utrecht he now mainly plays a supporting role in negotiations. His day-to-day focus is on guiding buyers on the northern Costa Blanca, where he combines his financial background with local knowledge, sharp analysis and a hefty dose of negotiating drive.
Whether it is about price, risk or potential: Gé calculates, compares and puzzles away until he knows exactly where the room is.
Let's have a cup of coffee or a good glass of wine! Then we'll go through all the steps together.
