Jane Volpe – Midtown Realty

I worked with Jane Volpe at Midtown Realty in 2012 to sell a relative’s home in Midtown Palo Alto, and then in 2015 for selling mine, and in both cases she made the experience as smooth as possible.
Obviously, it has been a sellers’ market in Palo Alto for several years, and I have no doubt that I would have sold both homes for a good price regardless. And, of course, I won’t be able ever to work with Jane as a buyer (since I am retired and won’t ever be able to move back to Silicon Valley).
But, I’m pretty confident that Jane would be exceptional to work with for a home buyer as well as seller. The difference with her is not just knowledge of the area, though she obviously has that. It is also her strong practical sense of what does or does not need to be done to a given home before sale.
Jane will not try to convince a seller to do expensive repairs or fancy staging if that would not gain a higher price. And if work does need to be done, she is in contact with people who can do cleaning or simple repairs affordably. Costs for other needed things such as photography are also extremely reasonable with Midtown Realty.
I’m sure Jane’s great attention to detail would also be of great benefit to a buyer. And for sure, so would her excellent communication. I know that Jane will never interrupt a meeting with one client to take a call from another, but equally, if you call her you get a call-​back as soon as possible. Or, if like me you prefer e-​mail, she will write you back — within minutes, in my experience. If you work with Jane, you’ll never be left wondering what is going on.
In short, Jane Volpe covers all the bases, she keeps you informed, and she is a joy to work with. Best of all, she is all about getting a job done, selling your home, or (I’m sure) finding you one. Unlike some other agents I have come across elsewhere, she is not interested in self-​promotion or telling you how wonderful she is, she is just interested in getting the job done.

This is a big shout-​out for Tim Foy of Midtown Realty who was the realtor for the sale of our house in Palo Alto in June 2014. I have sold other houses with other very good realtors, but Tim’s performance really stood out. The listing and marketing were very good, but what set Tim’s performance apart was the real estate consulting and renovation advisory services that he provided, starting more than a year before we listed the house.
Tim provided an analysis of the return on investment of various levels of remodeling the year prior to us listing the house. The house had not been remodeled since it was built in 1954. We wondered if it would be best to just sell it as-​is, as a scraper. Tim’s analysis, using comps of other houses in the area that had sold with various degrees of updating/​remodeling, showed us that it would be a good investment to remodel the house. His analysis also gave us insight on just what we should remodel and how much we should invest so as to achieve the «sweet spot» of remodeling and investing not too much and not too little.
We invested $ 135,000 in the remodel and it returned us approximately $ 600,000 to $ 700,000 in increased sale price. Furthermore, Tim provided multiple recommendations for the designer, stager, general contractors, painter, roofer, flooring installer, plumber, inspectors, etc. which made the project a success and much easier and faster than if I had to find contractors on my own. Because Tim’s projects represent a substantial part of these vendor’s workflow, they performed better and were more responsive. Tim frequently visited the house during the renovations to check on the progress and details. When he and/​or I were not happy with a detail or when there was a lack of coordination between the vendors, he would call them and get it fixed.
Furthermore, based on Tim’s deep experience with Palo Alto, he understood who our market was and we reflected that insight in the style of the remodel and in the staging. This very high level of service was all provided within a standard 5% commission. Tim definitely earned his commission. The house sold for about $ 500,000 more than asking price, which was about $ 400,000 more than our highest hopes and realistic comps. Hiring Tim was probably the best investment decision I have made in my life.

We worked with Tim Foy and Sherry Siesmore at Midtown Realty. What a wonderful experience! They helped us sell our home in San Jose, and it came with difficult holiday deadlines. But all along the way, Tim and Sherry did a great job in keeping us informed and taking the time to answers all the questions we had. We highlight recommend Tim and Sherry! Thank you both!

I’ve found Midtown Realty through a friend referral that said this: «Umut, meet Tim Foy, the most knowledgeable real estate agent that I have come across.»
I second that. And I have some to add on top.
Seriously, if you’re interested in working with an OK or so-​so real estate agent, don’t waste your time here and go someplace else. In Midtown Realty you will only find THE BEST. The most knowledgeable, most sincere, and the most reliable.
From friends and colleagues, I’ve heard many things like «my realtor is really pushy» «oh man, my realtor never responds timely he works with more clients than he can handle» «the other week my realtor trashed the other house that was very similar and pushed us to the house that she was listing herself»… We made offers to several places until we finally succeeded, and I also had my own experience of –indirectly– working with other realtors as the listing agents. I saw them not responding timely, and lying to us.
If stuff like these sound familiar to you, how about a realtor that advises you to be patient whenever necessary to prevent you from overpaying a house? and someone that always return your calls quickly or responds to your emails until midnight? and someone that always makes the time for you when you need him to go see a house with him even on same day notice? and someone that makes the time to go talk city officials in the permitting department to check if a renovation that he knows you care about could be permitted on that house or not, and advises you to reconsider making an offer based on that information?
Imagine you had the pleasure of working with a great person like this, and eventually ended up buying a great house for $ 425 /​Sq. Ft. (slightly below the asking price) on a neighborhood that has _​according to redfin_​the median of $ 633. Plus, this happens on spring 2013, when the real estate market is just a crazy seller’s market.
In our house hunting process, Tim was much more than what I would expect from a real estate agent. He was a guide with many outside-​the-​box ideas, and also a very good friend that taught us the home buying process (I am a first-​time homebuyer) and helped us understand what we care more and don’t care as much in the house that we are looking for.
I can go on and on about it, but to cut the story short, I’ll just say that wherever you look from small businesses to big corporations, you’ll find many people that do the bare minimum of what their jobs require. And there are only a handful of people that make a difference. Tim Foy is one of those. In short, I recommend Midtown Realty with absolutely no hesitation. Tim is simply outstanding. And I don’t know when I’ll be again in the market for buying or selling a house, but I know who I’ll be working with.

Leslie Zeisler did a brilliant job selling our Midtown house last year. She had five offers come in within four days of the first showing. Three of the offers were $ 30K over the asking price.
I gasped when I saw the amazing house staging Leslie had deftly supervised. I hardly recognized my old home. Leslie kept the work on schedule and at a very reasonable cost, even as we were still moving out. Leslie even personally sewed and installed a lovely shear curtain to cover a closet missing a door. Every detail was perfect, thanks to Leslie.
Leslie was wonderfully supportive of our family during the whole process. She sensed when our family was getting stressed, and gently eased us back to calm. Every question potential buyers asked had an answer, since Leslie did thorough background work. This solid preparation and personability put everyone at ease, and I believe maximized our family’s profit, while minimizing stretched nerves.
However, don’t let Leslie wonderfully personable style fool you. Her timing of the sale was amazing, and went forward with military precision. Leslie had all the offers in a spread sheet and projected from a large wall screen within an hour of their coming in. This vastly simplified the comparisons and analysis.
Our house sold for $ 1,000 a square foot, with half a million down in cash. This in January! By contrast, the lovely old house I’m now buying on the beach in San Francisco is going for $ 300 a square foot. As a single mom, it is a tremendous relief to have all three of my children’s college tuition and support coming from the ample proceeds of Leslie’s great work. And I am also now able to buy a home by the beach in San Francisco, even on a small government salary!
I cannot recommend Leslie Zeisler highly enough. She changed our lives for the better.

I trust these real estate professionals to do the best job possible and then some. The friendly crew and Midtown Realty helped me start my American Dream and buy my first house. Plus, when I referred them to my family they did an amazing job renting out their property and made me look like a hero! I am extremely grateful for the hard work and great advice that Midtown Realty has given me over the years. Thanks Midtown! Keep up the great work!

Loved working with Joann of Midtown Realty when we were looking for a place to rent. She took the time to show us a few places, let us know when new places were available, and we love the apartment we ended up in, which they managed for the building owner.
Joann and the rest of the staff were also very helpful go-​betweens when an extensive repair became necessary, checking in to make sure that the job was being done right.

Jane helped me sell my home and helped me get top price, and I can’t say enough good things about her. First of all, she had great suggestions for home improvements prior to putting my house on the market: replacing counters, interior painting, odds and ends; secondly, she helped find people who made these improvements at very reasonable prices. Finally, she helped me sell my home during a very tough year. After selling my home, when we bought our new home she helped us negotiate with the seller, which saved us considerable money.