Each year, Inman News sponsors a “people’s choice” voting for the most influential person in real estate.  Inman nominates 100 strong candidates but voters may also write in someone not listed.  This week, I was very deeply honored to have been included on such a prestigious list of real estate leaders nationwide, and I’d be thrilled if you would consider voting for me.

Where to vote:  follow this link and the fields for entering your desired winner’s name and info will be about 20% of the way down (midway through the article and just after a large ad) – deadline is Dec 1, 2011:

http://www.inman.com/news/2011/11/2/2011-peoples-choice-real-estates-most-influential

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Instead of writing about the news, today I am in the news, so contrary to my normal practice, I’m the focus of this post!

Today’s San Jose Mercury News has a pull out section, styled like a magazine, with its annual “best of” list – the “Best of Silicon Valley in 2011“.  I was deeply honored to find myself listed as the “Best real estate agent in Silicon Valley” (if you have the print edition, it’s at the top of page 33). The online edition isn’t yet published.

The results of the list come from voting by consumers.  I believe that my clients are the best on the planet (you may have noticed that on all of my sites and blogs, somewhere is the line “helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley“) and their endorsement is usually apparent with their repeat business and referrals, but this is a wonderful acknowledgment that I deeply appreciate.

For those finding this who do not know me but who are searching for a good, knowledgeable, communicative and ethical Silicon Valley Realtor, I invite you to read about my background and see some comments by clients on my websites.

Info on Mary Pope-Handy on the popehandy.com website (testimonials here, gallery of sold homes here)

Info on Mary Pope-Handy on the Valley of Hearts Delight site (pull down menu for various aspects)

Many thanks to all who voted for me!

The “Top Places to Work in the Bay Area 2010” has named Sereno Group as #1 for companies of its size (they ranked companies by small, medium and large sizes – 60 firms are named in all) . With about 130 people on staff and working as real estate agents, Sereno Group is considered a small size company.  We are very proud to be listed as top in our group!  We are also proud to be the only residential real estate brokerage on any of the three lists. Congratulations to all the winners!

The “Top Places to Work” list comes as a result of an annual survey done by the Bay Area News Group (community papers).

If you live in Silicon Valley, you probably know a lot of real estate agents (most of whom are Realtors).   Some of them may have left the industry in the last few years since it’s gotten a lot harder to earn a living in this business. 

For those like me who are still successful and committed to selling Silicon Valley homes, work weeks tend to be long (usually at least 6 days), busy and hard.  The general public sometimes thinks that real estate agents just hold open homes on the weekend and do nothing more.  That’s not the case, at least not for successful agents!    Today I wanted to share with my readers how my time is typically spent.  Each day, week and month is unique, but this will give you the general idea of how my work usually breaks down by time committment per month (the numbers reflect estimated hours per month).

By far the biggest identifiable part of my time is emailing with my current clients: answering emails, researching or answering their questions, looking homes up on the MLS for them, providing insights on pricing or comps, commenting on inspections, etc. Most days it’s much more than 2 hours if a buyer or seller is about to write or receive an offer.  By the end of an escrow, it’s not uncommon for me to have several hundred emails going back and forth in the file.
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Thinking of selling your home in Silicon Valley?  No matter what kind of residential real estate you may own, this book offers guidance that will be a huge help in maximizing your profits from the sale of your home and doing it with the least amount of “hassle” possible!

Written with the consumers’ biggest questions in mind, “Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home in Silicon Valley” aims to help property owners tackle the enormous task of selling their homes from start to finish. We, the authors, (Ken Deshaies and I, Mary Pope-Handy), address the gamut of topics in this comprehensive book, from how to chose an agent (or whether to “go it alone”), the role of the internet in marketing and selling your home, presenting your silicon valley home in its best light (staging tips, showing tips), selling your property in any kind of market (buyers market or sellers market), how to screen potential buyers and what to expect in the escrow process. The second part of the book discusses buying the next home, avoiding mortgage headaches, provides a moving list and a real estate glossary.

How can you get this book?

The book is available throughout the greater San Jose and Silicon Valley areas in Border’s and Barnes & Noble bookstores. If they run out, it can be ordered for you. Or order it online at Amazon and have it delivered to you at your home.

It is also available directly from me and is a tool I provide to prospective seller and buyer clients. (Although the book is largely about homeselling, the second part of the book is also about home buying.) Call or email me today for your free 30-60 minute consultation and receive this book at our meeting.

I entered real estate full time as a licensed professional and a Realtor (a member of the National Association of Realtors, Calif Assn of Realtors and Silicon Valley Assn of Realtors – these are trade groups with high standards demanded and not all licensees are members) in the first few weeks of 1993.  The market was slow and difficult.  I cut my teeth on a couple of short sales, never knowing I’d need to do a lot more of them in 2008 – 2010 and beyond.

My mother, Pat Pope, was a Realtor since before I was born and she logged 40 years in the business when she died in 1996.  I like to joke that my first words were “raised foundation“.  I learned a lot from her and am grateful that we had a few overlapping years. She was a great coach and mentor! 

In the course of my career I have worked in several offices (for several brokerages) and know a lot of the local Los Gatos – Saratoga – Almaden – San Jose area agents. This is very helpful with networking.  I also racked up a lot of classes, seminars and conferences and truly am an education junkie.  In that vein, I also worked to earn a number of certifications and designations, the most prized of which is the CRS, Certified Residential Specialist (which is held by only about 7% of all Realtors).  I love to write and in 2004 co-authored a book on selling homes in Silicon Valley.

In the last decade my business has grown and I’m now usually in the top 5 – 10% of agents in the county for sales.  I have won many awards for production and also for service.

My real estate sales have centered around the west valley communities of Silicon Valley: Los Gatos, Saratoga, Cambrian Park, Campbell, Almaden Valley, Willow Glen and nearby areas. I have sold all over Santa Clara County (Los Altos, West San Jose, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Alum Rock, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Teresa, Blossom Valley…) and occassionally have sold in neighboring counties too (at my clients’ request).

The price points and home types I work with range from modest 1 bedroom condos listed at under $200,000 to houses or duplexes to multi-million dollar estate properties. I have sold new homes as well as “resale”.  I do not sell the mountains or mobile homes, but will gladly refer them out. I have not sold raw land or commercial but again can help you to locate a great agent if need be. 

Today most of my clients come to me either through my blogs and websites or are repeat or referral based.

For more information:  To read a complete resume and list of my designations, awards, college level real estate courses and more, please visit my profile on my popehandy.com website:  http://www.popehandy.com/profile/index.cfm

And please also read testimonials from my cients here:
http://www.popehandy.com/profile/testimonials.cfm

Several people, companies, and systems assist me in my work with buyers and sellers in Silicon Valley. Most often, my clients will not see or speak with many of them much (if at all), but they are all part of the package, if on the “back end” much of the time.

Within My Brokerage:

At my brokerage, Sereno Group in Los Gatos, my escrow coordinator, Kathy Wimble, makes sure that the paperwork is complete. With a myriad of places to sign and initial and papers not to forget, it’s helpful to have a second set of eyes on the file. Additionally, other agents also review the file on behalf of Sereno management. When there are legal questions, which can come up from time to time, we have a legal counsel available through Ryan Iwanaga, my manager, or Chris Trapani, the CEO of Sereno Group, and we get answers back within a business day, if not a few hours. Finally, there are several agents who assist me in some cases (vacation, sickness, family emergencies). So I’m well supported on the office or firm level. When you hire me, you get a full staff behind me.

Outside Specialists:

(A) INSPECTORS

Whether buying or selling a silicon valley home or investment property, good inspections are critical. I don’t have one list for buyers and another for sellers – no matter which end of the transaction you’re on, you want excellent information. Surprises tend to sour escrows, so part of the plan in helping you avoid trouble is to avoid surprises. Only with excellent information can you make good decisions and have more control of the way your real estate sale progresses.

1. Home or Property Inspectors. It is crucial that your property inspector be exceedingly well trained, experienced, careful, clear, and through. In California, there is no license for home inspectors. However, there are a couple of trade groups which have a very high standard of practice. One is ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) and the other is CREIA (California Real Estate Inspection Association).

There are many good home inspectors in the San Jose area, but my #1 choice is Duane Serrano of Tri Star Home Inspections. Duane is an ASHI member with 15 years experience. I have not found him to either miss or over call issues (I have sometimes had inspectors who say a chimney or roof is bad, have the clients hire more experts, only to find out that it was fine – that aggressive over-calling is expensive, time consuming and upsetting). Duane also provides my clients with suggestions as to solutions and how to make the home last longer with proper care. He gets the reports out, with digital photos, on a same-day basis. Duane’s website is http://www.tristarinspections.com/ or he can be reached by phone at 408 266-2706.

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