Testimonials

Michael, Attorney, Pasadena

"I highly recommend Nancy for your real estate needs. As a single father of a young son, I wasn’t really sure about buying a home at that time. However, after speaking with Nancy she really helped me understand the value of a home in terms of raising my son in a safe and stable environment on a kid-friendly street. Once I decided to buy a home, Nancy helped me identify homes that matched my needs and wants all within my budget. We looked at numerous homes and she always kept me focused and informed on the pros and cons of each home we looked at. After finally finding the home I wanted, a foreclosure, that needed tons of work, she helped me out maneuver several contractors interested in the property and then guided me through the process of obtaining a complicated loan product that incorporated some of the renovation costs.

Once in escrow she really proved to me the value of her experience, knowledge and patience. During escrow, my lender on the East Coast was hit by a hurricane and shut down for several weeks. Nancy worked tirelessly to keep the deal alive even when the seller made unreasonable threats to kill the deal. Without Nancy there is no way I could have ever navigated the purchase process from start to finish.

Today I continue to rely on Nancy whenever I am thinking or doing any work on the house as she always gives me the market perception of what renovations make sense and those that don’t. She also knows so many contractors that she is a valuable resource well after you get the keys to the front door. She is truly the best!"

Mark

A friend has reservations about the reputation and ethics of people in the business. I told him that Nancy is, without doubt, one of the finest, most upstanding, hard working and moral people I know (not to mention caring, interesting and fun!). …Nancy sold us our home and is now a good friend of the family. As I told you on the phone, Nancy made us feel like royalty when she worked with us. She is an amazing, accomplished person and Claudia and I hold her in the highest regard. I hope that she can find some time to speak with you about how she does business and how she has found success being the exact opposite of the type of agents you have encountered.

Linda M.

I highly recommend Nancy Valentine. She has represented me on three transactions--one house sale in LaCanada and the purchase and sale of an Arcadia town house. First of all Nancy was extremely aware and responsive to the varying market circumstances of the various transactions. She came up with strategies that reflected the unique circumstances of the purchase or sale rather than working from preconceived notions. She is highly professional and attentive to the legal and financial requirements of a transaction so that I felt in each case my long term interests were being protected. She is attentive to detail in each stage of the process from how to show a property to how to guarantee that the transaction stays on schedule with a minimum of conflict. She Is an excellent negotiator always able to keep the long term goal in mind. She responds to concerns and answers communications promptly. She is professionally linked to the San Gabriel valley and has a wide range of contacts. Nancy has a delightful personality and is joy to be around.

A & M

Nancy,

We have started the process of moving into our new home. This past weekend we bought a refrigerator, and a new mattress.....

You were a star throughout the offer/counter-offer phase, the inspections and the escrow. We're very thankful for all your help and advice........

A--- and I agree that you are a consummate pro, and a delight to work with. We know you helped steer us through countless obstacles to make this purchase come together so quickly and smoothly, and we are most grateful. It seems everyone I talk to is trying to buy a house right now, and stuck in endless short-sale negotiations, offers fallen through, etc. We were guided and protected throughout our process, and just could not be happier! I can't imagine enduring all that stress for MORE than 30 days--short, intense escrows are definitely the way to go.

You introduced us to the couple across the street, and they stopped off for a short visit before taking their walk to Lacy Park. Thanks to you, we already have friends in the neighborhood,

Once we're settled, we hope you'll come visit. You've been a great pleasure to work with. I will send more photos of the house in the coming days.

B & A

Hi Nancy,

Finally I have a minute to thank you for all of your time and effort put forth in selling our home in Altadena. I must say that you are a remarkable individual, so dedicated, so driven, and so determined to keep your promise. My husband and I want to thank you for your diplomatic recommendations regarding home improvements to our home prior to placing it on the market. Your common sense approach helped to increase the value of our home by thousands of dollars. You give new meaning to “a woman’s touch”…..no kidding.

I must confess that when my husband and I first met you, I wasn’t impressed one way or the another, but I must say that having you as a realtor turned out to be quite a pleasure. You are not only a wonderful and personable person, but you are a die-hard professional, which is very hard to find in today’s climate. We watched as you actually made a difficult and uncertain sale, a reality. Noteworthy as well was your hands-on reassurance during the appraisal, the inspection, and the actual closing, naking sure that we experienced minimal to no stress.

We, like many sellers, did not realize the amount of effort a “good” realtor puts forth to successfully sell a home. I assure you that a true lesson was learned. Your marketing skills are unsurpassable. If we decided to move back to California, your number will be among the first numbers called. Never lower your standard of excellence. Again, it was a pleasure working with you.

C

To Whom It May Concern:

Well the dust has settled (literally), and I can take 2 minutes to remark on my gratitude to and my admiration for Nancy Valentine.

Nancy was the agent who acted as our agent in the sale of my father’s home. I should point out that I conferred with several Brokers throughout the sale of our house and they all agreed that Nancy was to a wonderful job for us. She was understanding of the fact that we were trying to secure a comfortable future for my father and really seemed to share in that goal.

It should be noted that I live in New York City and my father’s house is in Alhambra, California. There was a lot of cross-country faxing emailing and phoning. There were various tasks required that could only be described as above and beyond the job description. Everything from liaising with the "Bee" man we hired to extract the hive living in the eves of the porch, or moving my daughter’s car out of the garage when the house was going to be unexpectedly tented, and even stopping by our garage sale to lend moral support.

Nancy was at all times courteous, professional and diligent (almost to the point of annoying for a jaded New Yorker like myself, so used to barreling through any situation and suffering the consequences afterwards). She was always gracious and unflappable. She was good natured and very kind, almost what I would describe as prim and proper. And yet, every time anyone tried for even a moment to take advantage of us (or even cheat us if you will), Nancy caught it before it happen and would in the sweetest way, have none of it. On numerous occasions Nancy had to catch/educate our buyers broker on the proper procedure and paperwork. Several times this concluded with Nancy negotiating money back for us. This didn’t necessarily offer any additional commission for Nancy, but she fought the good fight anyway. No one got away with any shenanigans of her watch!

As to whether or not it is common practice, I don’t know, but I do know that Nancy came, she networked, she listed, she open housed, she brokered, she schlepped, she monitored, she negotiated, she gently listened when I was impatient, and she was at every turn vigilant.

So, did we get the highest price that we could have for our house? I reallythink that we did. Was there minimal disruption of my life? Considering the long distance nature of the situation? I think so, yes. Did Nancy do the best job for us that anyone could have? I would have to say absolutely. Would I have rather worked with someone else? Absolutely not.

I think that sometimes sellers can have a bad attitude about people whom they will pay a commission to. Nancy did not sit back and wait for the house to sell. There were no bon bon’s and casual chats about how she would spend the fortune that magically appeared after the droves of anxious buyers battled it out to see who would have the privilege of living our never kept up, very old house. Nancy earned every penny she is paid, and then some! This was not our money that we "gave" her. Nancy worked like a Clydesdale to get our house sold for the best price, as quickly as possible and to our best advantage. I am very grateful to her and would highly recommend working with her.

Sincerely,

C

P

Dear Nancy,

This note is to thank you for the exceptional work you did in listing and promoting my house on Del Monte Road in La Canada. Your knowledge of the market clearly paid off, for just as you anticipated, it effectively sold within a week of going on the MLS. And with no fewer than eight offers, all above the asking price, it was to my layman's eye an object lesson in how to successfully market a property.

Moreover, thanks to your efforts the entire process - from staging the house to the close of escrow - went, I thought, remarkably smoothly. Much of the credit, I dare say, goes to your extraordinary attention to detail and to your ability to identify potential problems before they became major issues. In addition to the successful outcome, I especially appreciated your unfailing patience and good humor, as well as your willingness to assist a novice like me in understanding the complexities of a real estate transaction.

In a word, working with you has been a delightful experience. Please feel free to use me as a reference should the occasion arise.

Sincerely,

P

L &C

Dear Nancy,

What an adventure it has been, but wow, you made it happen! When we were ready.

When Charlie's Mom died, after 70 years living in the house, we weren't ready to sell, although we live 6000 miles away. Too many memories. Charlie grew up in this house, our sons were babies there too, at Grama's once or twice a year...Too hard to imagine letting go of the thoughts of our now 19 year old son crawling for the first time on her living room floor, of our16 year old as a five week old baby being given a bath in the kitchen sink...I shared some pictures with you, and his comment this summer, "Gee, I can't even fit one foot in there!!!"

Despite the distance, we tried to hold on to the house. And everytime we came to CA, you sat down with us at our request and shared your views on the state of the LCF real estate mkt. We didn't necessarily like what you told us, but did like you more and more each time. And we hadn't even hired you yet! We liked you perhaps because your chequered past reminded us of our own. We've all spent a lot of time in Europe. And have all had other lives...

When it became clear that we could no longer keep the house, and asked you to sell it for us, you went into the most efficient whirlwind we have ever seen. Great MLS listing, beautiful brochure, open house...Sold in ten days! Of course, you'd warned us about the dangers of escrow, and we were no doubt deaf. In France, escrow means a done deal, except ifcthe bank refuses the loan. We really had no idea what it meant in the US...and we hit every speed bump in the road. Including the bank's pendulum swinging madly in the most insane direction.

Yet, you kept in whirlwind mode, and escrow did close, only a few days late. Throughout, I kept saying, in true NY fashion (ok, Nancy and I are originally New Yorkers!), "It ain't over till the fat lady sings"... And now, my dear Nancy, can't fatten you up, but you do have an opera past, so please, just sing... And if you're in the market, to sell or buy, just contact Nancy! She's the absolute best.

L& C