A Word About the Blog
This blog is written by Mary and Clair with the intent to be a resource to Silicon Valley homeowners, buyers, and sellers. We believe that knowledge is power and by providing this information freely we hope to give consumers more control through a better understanding of the local housing market.
To be 100% clear, we are Realtors first and bloggers second. Have you noticed there are no ads? We have high standards for our blogs and choose to keep them free from external financial influences for the reader’s benefit. Our income is generated through real estate transactions, so our articles come from experience in the field and are often inspired by what’s happening in the market. If you find them useful and are thinking of buying or selling your home, we hope you will consider working with us. Some of our best clients have found us through the blogs!
Comments have been turned off because of spamming, but we always enjoy meeting or hearing from our readers (feel free to say hi to Mary on Facebook or Twitter!)
Read more about the blogs, how they began, and the two-writer team over at Popehandy.com/Blogs
Get to know Mary Pope-Handy and Clair Handy below!
About Mary Pope-Handy
It is very wise to be careful when hiring a Realtor to counsel, represent and guide you in buying or selling Silicon Valley real estate. Most of my clients are highly sophisticated, and those who find me from one of my websites or blogs usually do a little reading up on me before ever contacting me. So to make that easier, I’ll provide here a mini-summary plus some pages where you can learn about me, how I work, my background, qualifications, testimonials etc.
The Quick Story on Mary Pope-Handy
I’m a top producing Realtor, licensed & full time since 1993, working all over Santa Clara County (and occasionally in nearby counties), specializing in the “West Valley” communities of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Cambrian Park, Almaden Valley and Campbell. I sell all types of residential real estate – everything from small condos to large estates. (I do not do rentals, mobile homes, or raw land.)
I’m a real estate education junkie with a lot of designations. I’ve won a lot of awards for production as well as service. I’m committed to being on top of the market, to doing a great job for my clients and to making them happy with my work on their behalf. I’m a top blogger & nationally recognized for my blogs and websites. I occasionally teach or do public speaking on real estate related topics and have done so within various brokerages, at real estate board meetings and even at national conventions.
Relocation clients make up a significant portion of my business. These aren’t referrals from a relocation company, but rather people who find me via my websites and blogs and hire me to assist them in moving to Silicon Valley. I have great tools for working long distance with people, whether coming or going. It is really enjoyable for me to work with people coming in from other countries. I lived abroad my junior year of college so am very empathetic! (I lived in Florence, Italy. I do speak some Italian and am almost conversant with a little practice.)
I have Realtor friends all over the country, many of whom are also bloggers, and if you need a great Realtor anywhere in the US I can usually help you to locate one.
My office is in downtown Los Gatos and I live in the Belwood of Los Gatos neighborhood, which is on the border of San Jose’s districts of Almaden Valley and Cambrian Park. Most of my work is centered in these three areas, but I focus on all of the “west valley” communities in Santa Clara County and do work all of Silicon Valley.
Personal
I’m married with two great kids (both grown). Jim, my better half, loves to cook, and I am probably the most spoiled woman in California, probably anywhere. Happily, both of our kids are in CA.
I was born in San Jose and raised in Santa Clara and Saratoga, and am grateful to have stayed in touch with many old friends, including some I’ve known since the 3rd grade. My mom was a Realtor for 40 years and my dad was an attorney in private practice. My siblings both ended up in Massachusetts, so I love to go there and to DC to see Jim’s relatives, too.
Like most Realtors, I had a career before real estate. My background is in theology (BA in Religious Studies from Gonzaga University in Spokane, and MA in systematic theology from the Jesuit School of Theology (now connected to Santa Clara University) in Berkeley, in conjunction with the Graduate Theological Union. I taught secondary religious education and did volunteer work as a hospital chaplain and in working with grieving children.
In my free time I enjoy travelling, taking walks in our neighborhood, spending time with family & friends, reading, watching Law & Order or a few other favorite shows, making jewelry for family & friends, writing, taking photos, cheering on my favorite football team, and collecting ghost stories. I have a blog, just for fun on Haunted Real Estate. But 99% of the time, when I write, it’s about real estate. All together, I have over 2,000 real estate articles across my realty blogs.
More Info on Mary Pope-Handy: Some Links
Online Resume and background on my PopeHandy.com website
Realtor.com profile & video of me, some reviews posted also
Reviews on Zillow
Clair Handy
Clair Handy is a South Bay native, third generation Silicon Valley Realtor, and Mary Pope-Handy’s best (and only) daughter. From a very young age, her keen eye and curiosity towards Mary’s work lead her to learn how to recognize architectural styles, identify signs of termite infestation, and become quite good at playing Guess-The-List-Price on trips around town. In high school, one of her first summer jobs was as Mary’s assistant, creating content for her award-winning blogs.
Clair continued to provide content for the blogs since. After graduating from LMU’s College of Communication and Fine Arts with honors, Clair pursued a career in museums and historic homes while studying animation part-time at DeAnza Community College. During the 2020-2021 pandemic, Clair took the opportunity to pursue a real estate license and to assist and learn from top-notch Realtor Mary.
Clair continues to enjoy exploring the many communities and neighborhoods of the South Bay and studying the cares and concerns, new and old, of homeowners.
Most of all, she looks forward to joining Mary’s team to help even more nice folks to confidently buy and sell homes in Silicon Valley.
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- Real estate blogging and assisting since 2009
- Selling real estate full time since 2021
- NDSJ and LMU Alum
- Background in nonprofit theatre and museums
- Outdoors enthusiast, animal lover, nerd
Most Popular Articles
Here are some of the most popular articles on this site, penned by Mary Pope-Handy and Clair Handy:
What does it mean to be “out of contract” in a home sale?
Cambrian Park: Good Schools, Low Crime, Close to Los Gatos and Campbell
The Evergreen area of San Jose – Real Estate in Silicon Valley, the Valley of Heart’s Delight
What Is Cellulose Debris (in a pest or termite report)?
Sunnyvale real estate market trends & statistics
What is the difference between a duplex and a duet home
Expired, Canceled, Withdrawn Listings – what happens if you take your home off the market?
What is implied agency in real estate
Cupertino Real Estate Market Trends and Statistics
The Santa Teresa area within the City of San Jose
