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, I have great support from staff, other agents, and management.
Assisting me with every listing or sale’s paperwork is my wonderful escrow coordinator (or “transaction coordinator”). She makes sure that the myriad of forms and documents are handled as required. Although my clients may never need to talk with her directly, she is a support for both them and me. At times a report, inspection or some document may need emailing or faxing right away and if I am unavailable, she can make sure it goes where it’s needed in a timely manner.
Sereno Studios is the creative genius of our in-house marketing department with a talented staff which designs, assembles and prints the fliers for my listings with the photos and text I provide to them. Sometimes another agent may hold one of my listings open, and when that happens, Sereno Studios will create personalized fliers for them with their contact information on it. This insures that my home sellers are always represented with excellent marketing since we don’t have to rely on the “helping agent” to make a flier from scratch or to omit using them altogether. It’s classy and it’s seamless!
When there are legal questions, which can come up from time to time, we have the company attorney available through Sereno, (as well as another resource through CAR), and we get answers back within a business day, if not a few hours.
Other agents too: Finally, there are several other Sereno Realtors who assist me in some cases (vacation, sickness, family emergencies as well as times when I get more incoming buyer leads which I cannot handle on my own). If I am super busy, I may bring someone in to assist me one a transaction or two to make sure my clients always receive the highest level of service. 8So I’m well supported on the office or brokerage level. When you hire me, you get full support behind me.
Outside Specialists who add to “The Team”:
(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).
Several good inspectors can be found on the ASHI website: list of ASHI Inspectors in Santa Clara County. On this list, I’ve had positive experiences with Craig Moorhead, Brett Reeder and Michael Strom-Berg and I would not hesitate to work with any of them.
2. Termite and Pest Inspectors. In California, especially in our sub-tropical coastal area of Silicon Valley, termites are an ongoing issue. We have both subterranean and drywood termites here (and sometimes dampwood termites, too). By far and away, the termite company I prefer to work with (and have work on my own home) is Thrasher Termite & Pest Control. They are located in Los Gatos but serve all of Santa Clara County (and I believe occasionally go into nearby counties – they once helped me with a listing in Scotts Valley, which is in Santa Cruz County). Thrasher Termite & Pest Control now has a great website, or you can reach them by phone at 408 354-9944.
I did a two-part blog article about pest work and Thrasher on my Live in Los Gatos blog, and you can read those two pieces here:
On the rare occassion that Thrasher is not available, there are other termite companies that I may need to use. Or, if I’m working with a buyer and the seller has pre-sale inspections, there are pest control companies whose work I trust to be ethical and thorough. The Pest Control Operators of California can provide a complete list of who does termite and pest work in the San Jose area, but the companies I’m comfortable with include Able Exterminators (San Jose), Fraboni Termite Control (San Jose), and J & M Termite (in Mountain View).
The State of California has a site, The Structural Pest Control Board, which has great information for consumers and agents alike, including a license lookup feature.
There are more inspectors whom I endorse and work with, but these two categories are the main ones.
(B) TITLE & ESCROW
There are a number of excellent title companies in Santa Clara County. For many years, I have worked with Old Republic Title in Los Gatos. There are other good companies locally too – if you want a complete list, just ask!
They are all also financially sound, which is critically important in today’s real estate landscape in Santa Clara County. (In recent months, two title companies have shut down abruptly, causing headaches for consumers, agents and lenders.)
(C) LENDERS
I have a short list of about 3-5 lenders I can refer to you. Some specialize in one type of loan or home situation, some another. Please contact me and I can give you a couple of names that are most likely to be a good fit for you.
(D) And More….
Depending on your needs, I have assistance from movers to house cleaners to photographers and full-time stagers. The list is extensive, reflecting my many years in the business!
