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Leslie Ballesteros
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Testimonials |
| Leslie Ballesteros has our fullest recommendation as a real estate professional. We had a very unusual property to sell in Old Mountain View. Our property consisted of two houses on one lot, our primary residence and a rental unit. Both houses were older and relatively small, and the property was zoned as legally non-conforming, with a long list of disclosure items. Furthermore, although the main house had recently been remodeled, the “curb appeal” of the property needed help.
We interviewed several real estate agents before selecting Leslie. We chose her as our agent because we felt that she was the most professional of the panel that we had talked to, and that she would be the best representative for us and our property. She had an immediate and unique suggestion for improving the curb appeal of our property which we feel added a great deal of value. We also felt that she presented us with the best overall market assessment and marketing plan. Leslie has proven to have been the best choice for our real estate agent. She has very good knowledge of and insights into the volatile nature of our local real estate market and the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of selling real estate in our particular neighborhood. Her assessment of the value of the property and method for maximizing our return on improvements to the property was very accurate. Leslie allowed us to be an integral part of her team from the beginning and throughout the entire process. She encouraged our input and considered all our ideas for selling the property, and integrated them into her marketing plan. She kept us informed throughout the process, providing us with email and telephone updates on almost a daily basis, and inviting our feedback. She also gave us great coaching and was encouraging and nurturing throughout the many steps of the process, which was unfamiliar to us and potentially very stressful. Leslie’s initial goal was to sell our property with multiple offers, at significantly more than the asking price, within a week of the listing of the property in the MLS. Leslie built anticipation for the property listing by placing “coming soon” advertisements in the local newspapers and circulating postcards throughout the neighborhood and to her real estate associates. We were especially happy that Leslie herself hosted the realtors’ tour and open house days for our home. Other agents who we interviewed would have delegated this responsibility to colleagues who we believe would have known less about the property and been less passionate about it’s special charms. We were very happy with the professional trades people who Leslie recommended to prepare our property for sale. She worked with us to interview several stagers, which proved to be an excellent strategy for identifying the best stager for our unique property. Leslie did an excellent job of coordinating all activities associated with the preparation for sale, marketing, listing, open house, coordination of offers, coordination of escrow, and the closing of the deal. She has wonderful people skills and was very professional when she has to work with high-spirited people in potentially stressful situations. She is also very detail oriented and has a firm grasp on every step of the process up to the transfer of the funds at the close of escrow. We were very happy with all aspects of the sale of our property. Leslie enabled us to show the house at the best of its abilities, and to get us the best possible price. We highly recommend Leslie for any one considering selling their property, regardless of any challenges that property may present.
~ Tim Johnson and Carol Soderberg
Thank you so much for your excellent work with the recent sale of our SFR in Los Altos owned by a trust with Borel Private Bank & Trust Company as trustee. Your work from beginning to end was excellent: efficient, thorough and professional. I know that the property was not the typical "in and out sale" even though we received 18 offers in 10 days! There was quite a bit of work before we even placed the home on MLS and an incredible amount of follow-up work that was needed even after we closed escrow. Leslie, I appreciate your efforts through the entire long process. You were very helpful dealing with the many parties that were involved and the special characteristics of the property.
You have fulfilled and surpassed all of the high expectations that we spoke about in our first meeting and I would recommend your services to other prospective sellers. It has been a pleasure working with you and I hope that we can do so again in the near future.
~Lynn Sereno, VP & Trust Officer
Borel Private Bank & Trust Company
We would like to write this letter of recommendation for Leslie Ballesteros.
My wife's 93 year old cousin was in a health care facility and was in need to sell her home so that she could have the funds necessary to take care of herself for the remaining years of her life. The task of selling her home fell upon my wife and I. When we contacted Leslie Ballesteros about the house, she was very accommodating to our schedule and time so that we could get the house on the market as soon as possible. Some of the difficulties that we had were:
1. According to my wife's cousin, there may have been an easement that she had purchased but might not have been recorded.
2. The property needed extensive cleaning.
3. We needed time to clean out the house of over sixty plus years of belongings and memories, but needed the funds from the sale for the cousin's support right away.
In preparation for the sale, my wife's cousin had set up her affairs with a trustee so that her needs may be met. This required that Leslie bid for the contract of sale. I should note that Leslie checked into the easement recording before we knew that she would have to bid on the contract, and was not guaranteed compensation for her time. The trustee interviewed three realtors. During the interview process, Leslie was very professional, comprehensive and had a very positive outlook. She saw the true value of the property and was not looking for "just a quick sale". Because of her belief in what she saw, she was chosen for the job.
The overwhelming task of cleaning up the house and property fell on my wife's and my shoulders. Leslie found and hired a clean up crew that took care of the proerty. This crew was careful of what they were tasked to do. There were three registered rose bushes that they dug up and placed within pots so that they could be given to us. (Incidentally, they are thriving in their new home.) This crew was very efficient and took care of the task at hand in one day.
The house was placed on the market for only one week and we received 18 offers, 13 of which were well over the asking price. Leslie negotiated with the buyer that we would have three months in order to clean out the house. After the sale was finalized, Mrs. Ballesteros followed up with the new owner and us to make sure that all was well. She even was able to negotiate a few more weeks of time when it became apparent that we were having some difficulty cleaning out the house and may not meet the agreed deadline.
Throughout the whole process, Mrs. Ballesteros was very professional, positive, caring, listened and understood the needs of the situation. She followed up on every detail, some that we did not even think about, and made this very easy so that we had no concerns about the outcome of the sale.
My wife and I highly recommend Leslie Ballesteros and would gladly call upon her services again if the need arose.
~Andy and Julie Wilkinson
With so many real estate agents to choose from, I feel fortunate to have chosen Leslie Ballesteros as our agent for the purpose of buying and selling our houses last summer. Leslie's knowledge and expertise enabled us to market our home quickly and successfully, while simultaneously helping us find and purchase the perfect home. Her negotiating skills were invaluable throughout both escrows, as was her acute understanding of the purchase contract, her sense of market timing, and her attention to detail. Leslie conducted herself in a highly professional manner, offered expert advice and guidance, and was able to juggle multiple tasks with seeming ease. Her enthusiasm and cheerfulness were contagious.
Leslie has the ability to think creatively to find solutions to issues that arise. For example, when the buyer decided late in the escrow that they no longer wanted our refrigerator, Leslie arranged to have it donated to a local school, which was a winning course of action for all involved. Leslie was in constant communication with us, anticipating and promply responding to our questions. An added benefit was that Leslie has great connections in the real estate industry. Leslie was able to line up a lender, property inspector and title company quickly. The fact that Leslie has lived in this commnity for over 20 years is a definite asset, as is her education and training, which are first-class. Without reservation, I would recommend Leslie to anyone interested in buying or selling real estate.
~Tim Widman
Leslie's work during the purchase of our first home was exceptional. She professionally guided us through the unfamiliar process and explained every step along the way. Her advice was spot on. She was diligent, committed, organized and prepared. We whole-heartedly and without hesitation recommend Leslie to anyone looking for an experienced, professional, and friendly agent. Should we need an agent in the future, she will be ours!
~Jeremy & Alison Buchanan |
