About Mary Pope-Handy: top Realtor in Silicon Valley, real estate expert in Los Gatos, Saratoga & San Jose
Summary:
- Selling homes full time since 1993
- Los Gatos real estate agent – selling homes in many different neighborhoods and price ranges, working with home buyers and home sellers (please also see my Live in Los Gatos blog – https://LiveInLosGatosBlog.com)
- Selling real estate throughout San Jose, Saratoga, Campbell and all over Santa Clara County and occasionally beyond – a true Silicon Valley Realtor who knows the area only like a local could!
- Top 5% since the early years, have won many awards for production but also for service, for my real estate writing, etc.
- Education junkie – lots of extra classes, lots of designations, lots of negotiation courses
- Co-author of a book on home selling (2004)
- Prolific real estate blogger, nationally known in this field – my writing brings in a lot of business each year. Most of my clients come to me either as repeat clients, referrals from past clients, or my blog readers.
- Best compliment from a new client: “were you a statistics major?” (See answer below.) I do a lot with realty stats and trends in my blogs.
- My target audience are highly educated people who want good information so that they can make informed decisions, not a “sales job”. I often work with engineers (I married one!), lawyers (half my family is in law), medical doctors, professors, and others who like to dig deep with the data. That said, I work with anyone who is nice, honest, serious about buying or selling, and committed to working with me. You’ll see “helping nice folks to buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley” on most of my sites. It matters to me.
- I enjoy sharing what I learn and am often asked to speak to real estate groups. Public speaking is a lot of fun and if I can help to “raise the bar”, so much the better.
- I have a BA in Religious Studies and an MA in Systematic Theology. My first career was teaching religion in Catholic high schools, which I loved. I’ve also done youth ministry, grief work with children, hospital chaplaincy, and a wide assortment of other related volunteer work. Loved all of it. The ethics come in handy.
- Happily married to my best friend, Jim Handy, since the summer of 1985. We have two adult children and some hearty fish (we had black labs for years and loved them, but currently have a dog-free home).
Team
Since 2010, Clair Handy, my daughter, has been assisting me with my many websites, market updates, and various real estate tasks as needed.
In 2021, Clair got her real estate license and became a Realtor to better help me with my clients. She’s been highly instrumental in my being able to keep up with market posts and neighborhood profile articles as well as other research, and her byline will show up more and more on the articles here and on my other sites.
Clair Handy
Realtor, GREEN
DRE # 02153633
Christie’s International Real Estate – Sereno
clairhandy@sereno.com
Clair loves historic homes in particular, and anywhere that design and functionality meet harmoniously. She keeps an eye out for resource efficiency and sustainability in the housing market and holds a GREEN Designation from NAR. Like me, Clair is always furthering her education. She is a great advocate for our clients, very consumer-centric, and a good listener. Our clients have been grateful for all of her hard work.
She’s a graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the College of Communication and Fine Arts.
Joe Chames of Serulian Virtual Services is our transaction coordinator. He expertly manages the timeline and pages and pages of documentation needed in escrow. Our clients love his prompt, thorough, and courteous handling that helps maintain a smooth and timely transaction.
Professional Real Estate Memberships
Mary and Clair are both members of:
- The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (and the in the past was also part of the SILVAR Global Business Council)
- The California Association of REALTORS®
- The National Association of REALTORS®
Also I am a member in the Council of Residential Specialists (the group for the CRS Designation, see below, as well as a member of the other trade organizations in which I am a designation holder (working with seniors, buyers, staging homes, internet marketing, etc.). Ethics are highly valued and strictly upheld by these organizations. Ongoing education is encouraged and required to keep members apprised of real estate related legislation, realty marketing venues, and anything that may assist us in getting our clients the best price and terms and avoiding any legal pitfalls.
Other sites:
If you’d like to browse our blogs to read up on our market commentary, area information and tips for buyers and sellers, please take a look.
Here’s a link to a page describing all of my blogs, or see below for the shortlist:
The award winning: Live in Los Gatos Blog
Another award winning site on Santa Clara County real estate (SanJoseRealEstateLosGatosHomes.com): Valley of Heart’s Delight blog
Silicon Valley Relocation: Move2SiliconValley.com
If you enjoy videos, please visit my YouTube channel and see some of my narrated video tours of neighborhoods in Los Gatos, Saratoga, San Jose etc., or hear me discuss real estate issues today: https://YouTube.com/popehandy.
Real estate education:
An education junkie, I have an ongoing and extensive real state education – including 8 college level courses: finance, appraisal, real estate law, real estate practice, real estate economics, real estate brokerage, real estate principals, and property management. I take non-required coursework to stay on the cutting edge, including courses on marketing, feng shui, negotiation, contracts, and much more. Recently I completed a negotiation class within the Stanford Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate program.
I hold many designations and certifications, all of which required extra training and classes. Special training & membership includes the following:
Luxury real estate training (in house)
CRS Designation – Certified Residential Specialist– National Association of Realtors (NAR) designation
ABR Designation – Accredited Buyer’s Representative – National Association of Realtors (NAR) designation
E-Pro Certification – Internet Marketing Specialist – National Association of Realtors (NAR) certification
SRES Designation – Seniors Real Estate Specialist – National Association of Realtors (NAR) designation
AHWD Certification – At Home with Diversity Certification – National Association of Realtors (NAR) certification
ASP Designation – Accredited Staging® Professional – Non-NAR
CNHS Designation – Certified New Home Specialist – Non-NAR
CDPE – Certified Distressed Property Expert – Non-NAR. Did this during the downturn, not something used much now.
CIPS – Certified International Property Specialist (2012) – – National Association of Realtors (NAR) designation
Also – served as a member of my board’s Global Business Council as part of my commitment to working with clients and Realtors from all over the world (2013-2015)
CNE – Certified Negotiation Expert – not a NAR designation (2013)
Negotiation: How to Get (More of) What You Want (XINE260) course – Stanford Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate program (2015)
Additionally, I co-authored a book, “How To Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley” (Dec 2004). It has been very well received and is now available in libraries and some stores. It would be my pleasure to give you a copy when we meet for our first appointment.
About Mary Pope-Handy – Personal Information
- Born at O’Connor Hospital in San Jose and raised in Santa Clara and Saratoga – Silicon Valley native.
- Mother, Pat Pope, was a Realtor here in Santa Clara County. Father, John Pope, was an attorney in private practice in San Jose.
- Saratoga High School, 1977 (photo editor of school newspaper that year)
- Gonzaga University, BA, Religious Studies, 1981 (Graduated Cum Laude)
- Gonzaga-in-Florence, Italy, 1979-1980 – was fluent, can speak some simple Italian now, but am rusty.
- Graduate Theological Union / Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, MA, Systematic Theology, 1986
Have lived most of my life in the Santa Clara Valley (Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, San Jose’s Cambrian Park District, and since 1999, our home has been in Los Gatos), but also spent a year in Berkeley and another in Fremont (for grad school) and together with my husband, Jim Handy, lived in Santa Cruz for three years and am very familiar with Santa Cruz County as well.
We bought our first house in 1989 (during a correcting market) when we began our family. It was in Cambrian Park, and we paid 10.25% interest with two points to get that loan with 20% down! We fixed it up and sold it ten years later for a nice profit, and then purchased our current home, which is in the Belwood of Los Gatos neighborhood.
Jim and I have two grown children, both graduates of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. When the kids were growing up, we had a delightful array of pets. In particular, we were graced by two black labs, Lancer (a Guide Dog for the Blind “second career dog” when the children were small) and Bella (a rescue dog who lived to a very extreme old age, and left us in November 2015).
About Our Professional Philosophy
for Buyers & Sellers of Silicon Valley Real Estate
I find that clients here in Silicon Valley are highly sophisticated, and above all they need detailed information in order to make good choices in buying or selling homes. I work to educate and guide my clients to making the choices that will enable them to benefit the most from the market and their own situation.
Dedicated to the highest level of professionalism, I stay current on everything affecting buying and selling homes here – disclosure issues, Silicon Valley market conditions, ever-changing contracts, etc. I listen to my clients and am responsive and accessible. I use cutting-edge technology to both stay in touch better and to give my clients the edge by having more information. My hard work, dedication and high-tech approach compliment the soft touch manner I take. I am not pushy and do not use a high-pressure approach to sales; this is simply a matter of treating others the way I myself want to be treated. (I am assertive on my clients’ behalf, though!) My clients refer me frequently, as they recognize the benefit of working with someone knowledgeable, experienced and dedicated, but most of all who puts their best interests first.
Thank you for visiting my profile page to learn more about me and the way I work. Please send me an email or give me a call if you’d like to chat about your real estate needs, whether you are here in the South Bay now or whether you are considering relocating to this wonderful area, once called “The Valley of Heart’s Delight”. Additionally, I can help you find a great agent in many other parts of the country as well since I network with many of them at real estate conventions, blogging events, training, and we communicate via many online portals (LinkedIn, Facebook) on current topics. I look forward to hearing from you.
