Holly Can Help You.
Here are five star reviews from buyers and sellers Holly has had the pleasure of serving.
Leave Holly Noto | Coldwell Banker Realty DRE#01244498 | DRE#01908304 a review?
Holly was Extremely Thoughtful & Sensitive to all of our special requests!
WOW!! I can't say enough good things about HOLLY NOTO!! She is an Amazing Realtor! I rarely take the time to do reviews, but Holly is So Good at what she does I couldn't resist! She is not only an Expert Realtor she goes above & beyond for All your needs of buying or selling a Home! This time it was selling our childhood home... Holly was Extremely Thoughtful & Sensitive to all of our special requests! She made this sentimental experience happen flawlessly! She is always available, organized, optimistic & kind! She knows the market and the area. Holly basically takes care of Everything so You can be stress free! The Stager that works with Holly is also Amazing! Bottom line is that if you are looking to buy or sell... Call Holly! - Sandi P.
Holly really knows the Bay Area market!
Holly is an awesome realtor and person and was very helpful and flexible with my situation. She also found me an equally awesome realtor where I was moving. I listed my home very quickly and then my move fell thru so we relisted almost a year later. It sold in a few days. Holly really knows the Bay Area market and is very well informed and has a great team working with her. I highly recommend her if you want to buy or sell a home. - Marla R.
Holly Noto, Super Realtor of the year!!!
Holly Noto, Super Realtor of the year!!! If you're looking for a realtor to sell your house (or purchase one)... Holly Noto is your Best Bet!! She sold our house within 6 days on the market. She is extremely organized, well-educated and very knowledgeable on the market and conditions. Whenever, no matter what day or time, you contact her, Holly picks up the phone or returns your text and emails immediately. She is a very polished, kind, sharp, and skillful realtor. The best part about Holly is you leave EVERYTHING in her hands, she takes care of it all; staging, landscaper, painting, contractors that need to be hired, carpet installation etc. etc....you just sit back and let her run the show. Hats off to Holly and her team. We were very fortunate to find this gem and believe me, she shines day & night. - Sue D.
Holly and her team were great to work with
Holly and her team were great to work with. I found her on Zillow before relocating to the Bay area. She helped me find and preview many places for me which I could personally visit due to not being in the area or work. She was patient with me- never felt any pressure, understood my needs, and her knowledge and expertise helped me in negotiating a great deal. She is top notch and knows her stuff- Highly recommend her! Rudy E.
If you are looking to buy or sell your house then run not walk to your phone and contact Holly Noto.
If you are looking to buy or sell your house then run not walk to your phone and contact Holly Noto. I found her just like you through google reviews. My lucky day. I live in Colorado and had to sell a home in California. I never had to return to California after Holly took over. She finished clearing out the house for me then had it cleaned, staged, photographed and put on the market. Holly dealt with the inspections, open house and advised me of the best offer. She was 100% correct! The contract with Holly was signed on April 5 and the house closed on June 6. I asked her to sell the house fast as mortgage rates were rising. In my opinion she worked a miracle. Holly will do the same for you. Even two months after the house closed Holly helped with paperwork which she personally delivered to the Office of the County Assessor. - Holly B.
THE ABSOLUTE BEST REALTOR EVER!!!
THE ABSOLUTE BEST REALTOR EVER!!! I was selling a family home in Belmont, a 3 hour drive from my home. I interviewed 3 realtors. I knew immediately that Holly was the one for me. My husband and I had been emptying the house for a solid year - over 40 1 day round trips....ugh . We were completely burnt out by it. Holly, like a magic genie, swept into our lives as a very chill, super professional person and realtor. She gently took over our remodel and turned our little old house into a beauty we even considered keeping as a bay area get away spot. It was perfection. Me, being a bit controlling with design asked Holly to keep me in the loop with purchases and ideas. She's one of the very best communicators I have ever met. She always returned calls and sent multiple pics of items such a lighting, bathroom vanity, mirrors, you name it she followed through on her promise to keep me in the loop. As a baby boomer I was not in touch with what young families are looking for. Holly knew exactly what they were looking for!! Yay! I think I said a big YES to all of her suggestions. I completely trusted Holly from day 1 and it was a huge mental and physical relief to hand over the remodel to her. We were constantly and consistently impressed by her. She showed us what a true profession realtor can do for you. Now that the sale is over and we made about 20% over asking and sold it in like 1 weekend, I miss her. I know if we lived closer, I'd definitely want to add Holly to my circle of friends. She's the best. Don't look any farther. I had sold several family homes in the 5 years before meeting her and of all my realtors I absolutely loved Holly. She's uber professional, kind and understanding. She is so incredibly knowledgeable about anything remotely related to selling or buying a home. If you have a change to work with her don't miss it. I only wish I had another home for Holly to list!!!! THANK YOU AGAIN HOLLY THE WONDERFUL!!!!! Patty S.
10! 10! 10!
In early 2022 I started looking online for a real estate agent to help me sell my residence. Holly kept popping up as a five-star realtor but I had read again and again that a prospective buyer or seller needs to interview several realtors before making a choice, so I kept looking. Finally, it was time to start meeting with agents, and Holly just happened to be the last one with whom I met. From the time of that first interview, though, I was 99.9% sure I wanted to work with Holly; and by the time we began our second interview, I was 100% sure that Holly was the agent for me. And thus our working relationship began. What was I looking for in an agent, and what did Holly bring to the table? I was looking for an agent with a strong ethical awareness who was loyal not only to her clients but also to the real estate industry of which she is a part. Without question, Holly met those criteria. I wanted to work with a realtor who would take the time to get to know me and to understand my needs as a seller. Holly took a lot of time to get to know me and my druthers, and I never felt rushed when talking with her. As another reviewer noted, Holly is always so available that it's hard to imagine she ever sleeps. :) I needed to work with someone who knew the market, had developed an expertise in both pricing and negotiation, and who would sell my property within a reasonable period of time. Holly did all of that -- and she did it even more efficiently than I ever dreamed she could. Naturally, I expected Holly to do her job as a realtor, but what really surprised me is that she did a lot more than that! I was moving halfway across the country, and I had an old car that I needed to ship, rather than drive. The auto transport company couldn't promise that a driver would be available to retrieve the car before I had to relocate, and when Holly learned that I might actually have to leave town before the car had been picked up, she immediately offered help. That meant she would have to take charge of the car and meet the transport driver (whenever one became available) at a location large enough for him to navigate and park an 18-wheeler, and we had no idea just where or when that would be. As it was, the auto transport broker was able to arrange for the car to be picked up the day before I was scheduled to move, so Holly didn't need to stand by for the driver after all. Nevertheless, had the driver not arrived when he did, I would still have been able to leave town, knowing that my car was in good hands with Holly and that it would eventually reach me. That gave me peace of mind, and I have only Holly to thank for that! I kidded Holly about being an "all service agent," but the truth is that she is a consummate professional whose commitment to her clients reaches far beyond the walls of the home she is selling. And speaking of sales, I think it's important to note that Holly fine-tuned all of the details to such an extent that my residence went on the market on the date that she had targeted. She could not have priced the home more appropriately, and because of that, it took next-to-no time for an initial offer to come in. Thanks to Holly and all of her efforts and abilities, we sold the property for over-asking. I could go on and on, but I won't. In short, though, I will say that if you are a prospective buyer or a soon-to-be seller and are looking for a real estate agent who will not only do what a real estate agent is expected to do but will go well above and beyond her "job description," contact Holly. You will be ever so glad that you did. And you can take that to the bank! - Lynne R.
She offered invaluable insight on each home we visited.
Holly was fantastic to work with, and I'd recommend her to anyone. Holly helped us buy our first home. She was very flexible in working with our schedules. She spent many hours viewing homes with us to learn what we were looking for and really helped us figure out what we were looking for. She offered invaluable insight on each home we visited. Once our preferences solidified, Holly found an off-market listing through her network that was absolutely perfect. We closed on that home, and Holly continued helping us by connecting us with fantastic contractors and even helping with coordination. Through every step of the process Holly guided us. She took the time to get to know us and worked hard to find exactly what we were looking for. We feel very lucky to have worked with her. Joel W.
She sets a new standard of excellence in her field.
Holly Noto is simply the best! She sets a new standard of excellence in her field. I can't say enough great things about her. She's smart, hard-working, professional, experienced, resourceful, thorough and creative. When the going got tough for me, she always found a way to go above and beyond to get the job done. I love to tell the story to friends of how Holly found a second home for me that wasn't even on the market yet. It's a long story but suffice it to say that I felt like I'd won the lottery when she found it. I needed a place to stay while working in the Bay Area and commuting to my home in Oregon. That home will always have a special place in my heart. When I reluctantly sold it six years later to move back to my primary residence, Holly sold it for an amazing price, at 20% over asking, thanks to her exceptional marketing. I'd call on Holly every time I have the chance. She's the only agent my husband and I would ever want to work with, and she's a sweetheart to boot. Jayni K.
She provided expert guidance
Holly did an amazing job helping us sell our home. She provided expert guidance in making repairs and improvements prior to putting our house on the market, and was able to connect us with terrific service providers in a timely fashion. Holly is very detail-oriented, which made all the paperwork easy to understand and complete. Most of all, we appreciate the time and care she took to get to know our family and understand our goals before we decided to put our house on the market. My wife and I give Holly our highest recommendation! Brad & Gina - Redwood Shores
Holly Noto is the definition of "SUPERSTAR".
Holly Noto is the definition of "SUPERSTAR". We started working with Holly months before we were prepared to list, she offered guidance and updated information on the market to include times to sell and options to get the best price for our home, Holly never insisted on anything, she explained our options and guided us to the right decisions. We were close to starting upgrades and staging in our home prior to listing when Holly brought us an off-market opportunity, she encouraged us not to take any offers unless we felt it was the "Best Price" we could get if we were to upgrade, stage and list for multiple offers. With Holly's guidance we came up with what we felt was the absolute best price we could get, Holly agreed and delivered! When it comes to getting the BEST realtor, you need not look any further Holly Noto is your person!!! Don & Bev - Redwood Shores
Holly Noto is the best real estate agent ever!
Holly Noto is the best real estate agent ever! She helped us sell our house, and because of her knowledge of the market and her experience we sold the house in 1 day for about $400K over asking, without staging. Holly is a stickler for getting all the grunt work done before you put the house on the market so that buyers can be confident that there will be no surprises. Getting a house inspection done, disclosing everything you can think of, fixing things that can be fixed, collecting all the house repair and remodeling records, etc. lead to better offers because the buyers are confident that they are being dealt with honestly. (Our experience with other seller's agents as we try to buy a house in San Diego is not nearly as smooth, and we are never sure if something is amiss.). Holly guided us through all the pages of paperwork, answered all our questions right away, and worked with whatever we finally decided to do at each step. Holly is great, and if you are buying or selling a house on the peninsula you will be really happy with your decision to have Holly represent you. Eric & Emily- San Carlos
Holly sold my house for almost 25% over asking price
I learned about Holly from a dear friend whose house she recently sold and am forever grateful for that recommendation. Holly sold my house for almost 25% over asking price and I am positive that the reason is due to her superior marketing and prep and smart use of the Revitalize program. Holly coordinated a stager who had her own team, scheduled a window replacement, and other things that were needed after I'd already moved away. She and her team made upgrades to the house based on what the buyer they wanted would expect, and everything was done with ROI in mind. Holly took what could have been a stressful situation and made it easy for me. She and her team delivered a seamless approach and while I had full visibility into everything going on, Holly was my single point of contact. After moving to Houston and benefitting from a less expertly marketed home that I am purchasing for below asking price (and was able to afford because Holly did such a great job!), my respect for Holly reached a whole new level. I highly recommend Holly - and if you decide to work with her, please let her work her magic. Trust her. She's got this and you will benefit. I'm happy to answer any questions personally if you have any, and to share my experience with the Revitalize program that's a no-brainer in my book. Holly is the best! Stef - San Carlos
We were facing specially daunting tasks: moving abroad with a one-year-old infant during COVID
I have dealt with more than a dozen realtors for multiple purposes; in my opinion, if Holly does not belong in the so widely applied (or misapplied) "top 2%" category, then nobody ever will. We were facing specially daunting tasks: moving abroad with a one-year-old infant during COVID. Thinking about selling our house on top of all these can be a real headache. Yet we were so thankful that Holly helped us along the way and made the whole process easy and reassuring. She was always timely and attentive in response, communicated with clarity and efficiency, convinced with good reason, and (most importantly!) was never ingratiating or boastful. She kept an accommodating schedule for us, so we was always in the loop yet never felt being pressured. She also had a great working crew that took care of the house-refurbishing/staging/paperwork masterfully. Last but not least, she delivered an impressive performance in the final bidding phase so we received a very satisfying offer. If you care to read the above passage through and suspect if I am hinting at "perfection", i would venture to say in the positive---yes, Holly is almost the perfect agent you can find. If you are looking for good candidates to represent you, look no further---secure Holly's service while she is available!
We lived out of state and she supervised all the onsite repairs and prep for us
We first met Holly in 2014. We were looking to buy a townhome and we hired her as our agent. We bid on place and were told by the listing agent that we had won the bidding only to find out the next day that they accepted an offer after the agreed upon deadline. We were very disappointed. Holly then said that she'd write a letter to every other homeowner in the development, all 39 of them, and see if any were contemplating that they might sell. I thought that was very diligent of her but thought nothing would come of it. A couple of months later we get a call from Holly, one of the owners wants to sell and it's not even on the market yet. Bottomline is that not only did we get it for about the same price as the one we first wanted, but it was a better unit. An end unit with a better view! And that leads us to 2021. We decided to sell so of course we called Holly. She guided us through the process, suggested we hire a stager, which we did, advised us on where we might want to spend some money to enhance the sales price and where not to. We lived out of state and she supervised all the onsite repairs and prep for us. She made it all very easy. Cut to the chase, it sold in a week, we had a dozen offers well over asking and sold at 18% above asking price. We highly recommend Holly. Brian & Jaynie
Holly and her team were amazing
Holly and her team were amazing. We had a unique property in San Carlos that required a professional who knew the area and how to market our home. Holly was patient with us as we thought we could sell our home as is but we relied on her expert advice. Holly put us in touch with an amazing stager and they worked together to transform and market our home to those potential buyers. Holly was always on top of all issues that arose, had contacts to fix any problem and quickly responded to our texts, calls etc. Holly also was incredible at negotiating the best offer for our home and pricing our home perfectly. The result was 13 offers and a sale price 28% over ask! Our family lived in our home for 23 years and had lots of memories. Holly recognized how emotional the sale was for us and after the close of escrow she gave us a gift that we will always cherish to remember our home where our kids grew up. We highly recommend you call Holly now if you are going to buy or sell your home or thinking of buying/selling. We were so impressed with Holly and team that she was our realtor on our replacement home! Patrick & Julie
Holly was incredibly professional
It was great working with Holly. She helped and supported my family in purchasing our first home. Holly was incredibly professional. Great resources and knowledge! It was amazing to work with someone who was just excited as we were to find our new home. We always felt we were in good hands. If we had any questions or concerns Holly was more than happy to have a call with us. At the time mask restrictions were tight and we felt comfortable with Holly, who followed protocols for safely viewing properties. Holly was a great help in making the disclosures easy to understand and really helped us hone in on our ideal home, even though the process was overwhelming at times. Thank you Holly from me and my family! George & Theresa
We feel like we hit the jackpot having Holly as our agent for the purchase of our first home
We feel like we hit the jackpot having Holly as our agent for the purchase of our first home. Being a first time homebuyer on the peninsula can be pretty daunting, but Holly made the process so much easier for us. She genuinely wants to make sure that her clients find a house they will love. She spent a lot of time helping us figure out what we wanted in a house and was very patient with us as our criteria evolved. Holly is incredibly knowledgeable, well connected in the real estate world, and truly does bring a "local wisdom" that sets her apart from other agents. We always felt like we were a priority for Holly--no matter what else she had going on she was always very responsive and always looking out for our best interests. When it came time to write offers, Holly really went to bat for us and we ultimately had our second offer accepted on a house that checked all our boxes (we were amazed given that we'd thought it would take a lot longer). Even after the close, Holly has been helping us set up contractors and always makes herself available to answer any questions we have. Holly made such a positive impression on us when we had our initial conversations with real estate agents we were considering, and now, having been through the full process, we're confident we couldn't have found anyone better. Our only regret is that now that we've found a house we won't get to see her every weekend! Julia & Mark
Holly is everything we could have hoped for in a realtor when we were buying our first home in the Bay Area
Holly is everything we could have hoped for in a realtor when we were buying our first home in the Bay Area. She is an amazing listener, and took the time and effort to understand our priorities, needs and personalities. She enabled us to make our own decisions but made sure that we had all the information we needed to do so. She was nearly always able to make time for us on weekdays and weekends, and her communication was concise and timely, but also kind and friendly. Her connections and reputation as a great person to work with definitely helped us, and it's easy to see why she has the fan following that she does :) Even after we closed on our home and moved in, she has been a reassuring presence, continuing to provide references and advice, which we are very thankful for. The bottom line is that with Holly by our side, a demanding and sometimes exhausting search became a lot easier. I cannot thank her enough for her support, and feel lucky that we had the chance to work with her! Ritwik & Aakanksha
Holly Noto is the definition of "SUPERSTAR".
Holly Noto is the definition of "SUPERSTAR". We started working with Holly months before we were prepared to list, she offered guidance and updated information on the market to include times to sell and options to get the best price for our home, Holly never insisted on anything, she explained our options and guided us to the right decisions. We were close to starting upgrades and staging in our home prior to listing when Holly brought us an off-market opportunity, she encouraged us not to take any offers unless we felt it was the "Best Price" we could get if we were to upgrade, stage and list for multiple offers. With Holly's guidance we came up with what we felt was the absolute best price we could get, Holly agreed and delivered! When it comes to getting the BEST realtor, you need not look any further Holly Noto is your person!!! Don & Bev
Holly Noto is the best real estate agent ever!
Holly Noto is the best real estate agent ever! She helped us sell our house, and because of her knowledge of the market and her experience we sold the house in 1 day for about $400K over asking, without staging. Holly is a stickler for getting all the grunt work done before you put the house on the market so that buyers can be confident that there will be no surprises. Getting a house inspection done, disclosing everything you can think of, fixing things that can be fixed, collecting all the house repair and remodeling records, etc. lead to better offers because the buyers are confident that they are being dealt with honestly. (Our experience with other seller's agents as we try to buy a house in San Diego is not nearly as smooth, and we are never sure if something is amiss.). Holly guided us through all the pages of paperwork, answered all our questions right away, and worked with whatever we finally decided to do at each step. Holly is great, and if you are buying or selling a house on the peninsula you will be really happy with your decision to have Holly represent you. Emily & Eric
Holly sold my house for almost 25% over asking price and I am positive that the reason is due to her superior marketing and prep and smart use of the Revitalize program
I learned about Holly from a dear friend whose house she recently sold and am forever grateful for that recommendation. Holly sold my house for almost 25% over asking price and I am positive that the reason is due to her superior marketing and prep and smart use of the Revitalize program. Holly coordinated a stager who had her own team, scheduled a window replacement, and other things that were needed after I'd already moved away. She and her team made upgrades to the house based on what the buyer they wanted would expect, and everything was done with ROI in mind. Holly took what could have been a stressful situation and made it easy for me. She and her team delivered a seamless approach and while I had full visibility into everything going on, Holly was my single point of contact. After moving to Houston and benefitting from a less expertly marketed home that I am purchasing for below asking price (and was able to afford because Holly did such a great job!), my respect for Holly reached a whole new level. I highly recommend Holly - and if you decide to work with her, please let her work her magic. Trust her. She's got this and you will benefit. I'm happy to answer any questions personally if you have any, and to share my experience with the Revitalize program that's a no-brainer in my book. Holly is the best! Stef
First and foremost, she drew on her exceptional experience and market insight to tell me: wait for it
Holly is the experienced, level-headed, and candid realtor who somehow amidst the insanity that is the Bay Area housing market (and COVID-19 lockdown!), managed to make the process of purchasing a new home go smoothly and calmly. First and foremost, she drew on her exceptional experience and market insight to tell me: wait for it. She did not pressure me to find something quickly just so that she could make a commission and move on, but instead was willing to tell me when some of the properties I asked to go see just weren't going to hold their value in the long term. She prioritized making sure I found just the right property, in just the right neighborhood, for the just the right price. In addition to being a top-tier professional, she is also an extraordinary person. She was endlessly patient through my myriad questions, was always highly responsive to phone/email/text, and always made time to go see properties as soon as they came up, even on short notice. She was kind, calm, and reassuring and went above and beyond any reasonable expectations for a realtor to not only make the process go smoothly, but also to make sure the property was ready for me to call home. After having interviewed and met with >10 realtors, I can say without hesitation that Holly was the only one who could have made my dreams come true and I will always be grateful to her! Anna
No one has been more responsive, more professional or more courteous than Holly Noto.
No one has been more responsive, more professional or more courteous than Holly Noto. She was the ultimate professional, knowledgeable in Bay Area real estate, readily adaptive to our preferences and expectations, and always available by telephone or email. We were treated like family throughout the home-buying process. Professionals like these, in any field or occupation, are incredibly rare to come across.
Holly Noto helped us both buy and sell our properties and we were fortunate to have her support throughout the process
Holly Noto helped us both buy and sell our properties and we were fortunate to have her support throughout the process: As first-time home buyers in the competitive market of Bay Area, she gave us all the support and knowledge to make informed decisions / offers. As for the selling: She demonstrated her experience in the market leading to a perfect timing. This happened during the Covid pandemic and she went beyond expectation to help us scheduling cleaners, staging, and virtual tours. The property was in the market for almost a week with multiple offers. It was sold well over the asking price. It is great that I don't need any research in finding my ideal agent the next time; Holly is the one!
Cut to the chase, it sold in a week , we had a dozen offers well over asking and sold at 18%
We first met Holly in 2014. We were looking to buy a townhome and we hired her as our agent. We bid on place and were told by the listing agent that we had won the bidding only to find out the next day that they accepted an offer after the agreed upon deadline. We were very disappointed. Holly then said that she'd write a letter to every other homeowner in the development, all 39 of them, and see if any were contemplating that they might sell. I thought that was very diligent of her but thought nothing would come of it. A couple of months later we get a call from Holly, one of the owners wants to sell and it's not even on the market yet. Bottomline is that not only did we get it for about the same price as the one we first wanted, but it was a better unit. An end unit with a better view! And that leads us to 2021. We decided to sell so of course we called Holly. She guided us through the process, suggested we hire a stager, which we did, advised us on where we might want to spend some money to enhance the sales price and where not to. We lived out of state and she supervised all the on site repairs and prep for us. She made it all very easy. Cut to the chase, it sold in a week , we had a dozen offers well over asking and sold at 18% above asking price. We highly recommend Holly.
I’ll start off by saying I’m the kind of person that never writes reviews but for Holly Noto I made the exception
I’ll start off by saying I’m the kind of person that never writes reviews but for Holly Noto I made the exception. We meant Holly about 3 years ago when she had a home for sale in our neighborhood and I was impressive with her brochures and personal touches of her listing. At that time we were just considering selling our home but didn’t know exactly where to start. Holly was very patient with us answered all our questions and gave us our space to think about this big decision. We’ll just say we thought about this for 3 years. During those 3 years Holly always kept in touch but not in a overbearing way, it was more like a friend saying hello and how’s the family type of way. By the end of 3 years we knew we wanted to take the leap of faith and sell our home. We couldn’t think of anyone else more perfect than Holly. We had talked to several realtors but no one ever compared to Holly. Holly worked with us EVERY step of the way and had a person to help us with every detail of our home listing. She went above and beyond her call of duty. But the most important part was this wasn’t just another sale for her, she truly cared for what what best for our family. Hiring Holly as our realtor was the best decision we ever made!
If you go with Holly, you will be SO happy you did and thanking your lucky stars!
Holly Noto is one of a kind. You will never find another agent in the business like her. If you're looking for the best, go with Holly. My husband and I have known Holly now for a little over 6 years and we now consider her not only our go-to agent, but a great friend. We found her 6 years ago solely based on her Yelp reviews when we were looking to buy a home in the Bay Area and we both agree that we struck gold with Holly. We just used her again to sell our home and we've recommended her to other family members who have also used Holly to sell their homes. She's super professional, has tons of contacts so she can literally do anything and get anything done (even during a world pandemic - where we were still able to get everything done to sell our home quickly). She's also THE nicest person on the planet and not one of those drama filled agents. You can tell Holly just truly loves her job and loves her clients and wants the best for them. She treats you like you're her only client (which you definitely aren't), but you would never know because she's so responsive and always available to you. I could go on and on, but don't want to make this a 5 page yelp review :), so just know, that if you go with Holly, you will be SO happy you did and thanking your lucky stars!
We completely trusted Holly and she went above and beyond.
Holly is the best. She helped us sell our home recently, and the process could not have gone more smoothly - even in the middle of the pandemic. Her expertise and deep knowledge of the Peninsula market was apparent from our first meeting, and her advice was flawless. We were relocating and leaving town before our house went on the market, so we relied on Holly for everything, from hiring painters, stagers, etc., to dealing with the unwanted furniture and junk we left behind. We completely trusted her and she went above and beyond. When it came time to decide on a price, her instincts again were spot-on. Our house sold in three days for over asking with multiple offers. We highly recommend her. Bonus: She's a lovely person too!
Holly's combination of expertise, experience, personality, and dedication can't be matched.
When my father passed away in late December, we knew immediately the person we wanted to contact to sell our family home - Holly Noto. Holly had sold our home in San Carlos about six years ago and we hadn't forgotten how professional and helpful she had been. It was an emotional time for us but Holly helped make the situation much less stressful. Holly advised us on all aspects of the sale, including asking price, work that needed to be done to get the home ready, and timing. She presented the pros and cons of each decision that needed to be made and then sought our input. Thanks to Holly's advice, we were able to get the house on the market quickly and avoid some of the COVID-19 related issues experienced by other sellers. It's a real pleasure working with Holly. She is so responsive via phone, email, and text that we sometimes joked she worked 24/7. Her professionalism, contacts, and knowledge of the Bay Area real estate market were key factors in us selling our house in less than a week for $200,000+ over asking price. Holly utilized all of the latest technology in presenting our home, from drone videos to a virtual walkthrough, which ensured countless buyers viewed our house. She also helped coordinate the staging, landscaping, and general prep needed to get the house ready for sale. In addition, we always felt we could trust Holly implicitly, her warmth and understanding made us feel like family and we knew she always had our best interests at heart. In addition, her down to earth and supportive nature made us feel we were working with someone who truly cared about the outcome of the sale and not just the commission. After working with and observing other agents in Arizona (where we currently reside) and Texas (where our son has recently moved), we realize what a unique skill set Holly possesses. Her combination of expertise, experience, personality, and dedication can't be matched.
Holly's patience paid off and I am so happy!!
Finally I'm in my new home, my dream home with charm and character! Thanks to Holly for helping me pull through the past six months (temporarily living in an apartment, ugh!), Holly kept me on track for finding what it was I originally set out to find. holly knew what I wanted and she kept me from settling on something that I would not have been happy in. I think another Realtor would have steered me in the wrong direction just to make the sale or to be done with me, but Holly's patience paid off and I am so happy!!
We HIGHLY recommend her!!
Holly is truly an outstanding agent. We had interviewed and worked with several agents, and were lucky we found Holly via a personal reference. Her skills were as advertised. We were selling our home in San Mateo and Holly provided me with constant feedback regarding each showing. She made herself available to show our home whenever we requested, and gave us helpful advice on ideas for marketing. Even with a constantly changing real estate market, Holly understands and adjusts and has good knowledge of financial considerations involved with individuals and the process involved with bank/loan institutions. She represented us well in the sale of our home, negotiated a good deal, and we were extremely pleased with the ease of our transaction. Her local knowledge, integrity and responsiveness is second to none. You should definitely give Holly a call if you are looking to buy or sell....she will represent you will. We HIGHLY recommend her!!
She sold our very small cottage in SF that is in a unique spot
I would have to say the Holly Noto goes above and beyond. She sold our very small cottage in SF that is in a unique spot. She pays close attention to every detail and is very professional. I would recommend/use her again!!
I obviously cannot say enough about Holly.
Words cannot not express my gratitude to Holly. We were in a very bad situation, job loss, underwater, and of course the economic situation being what it is!! I was a skeptic. I didn't think there was any chance that our home would sell. Holly was recommended to us by not only one couple but two. She eased my fears immediately and exceeded my expectations. She had amazingly creative ideas that brought tons of prospective buyers to view our home. Seriously, I was shocked how many calls we were getting and it was due to the many events she arranged and her large network of professionals. Not a single weekend went by that we didn't have an open house. If Holly was not able to hold one, she found an agent that could. She called and emailed with every update and if we ever needed her she always either picked up the phone immediate or returned a call or email same day. When we were in the process of collecting documents for escrow and we needed documentation from third parties, Holly was relentless at meeting deadlines. She not only called consistently to ensure that the paperwork was submitted on time, she even payed several visits to the third parties office herself to WAIT for paperwork. Holly was at our home at the drop of hat for ANYTHING; to pick up a check to deliver for services rendered, meeting me along the freeway where it was convenient for me just to sign a counter offer, even enlisting the help of her husband to help with some household fix-ups. She had awesome connections with handymen, cleaning services, and gardners...all at lower prices then I could find. She honestly took on ALL the work and somehow made a horrible situation pleasant. I obviously cannot say enough about Holly. She's an absolute delight to work with and the right choice for anyone even thinking about selling. You'll find that she will never pressure you and be you're saving grace time and time again.
Thanks Holly!!!!!
We highly recommend Holly as your real estate agent. Thanks to Holly we've finally took the huge step of buying our first house and she made it so easy for us we really didn't feel it was a stressful process at all, and we were able to continue with our busy lives at the same time. My husband and I work full time, we have a 2 year old daughter and on top of that we were expecting our second baby girl. We've finally found the house of our dreams and moved a month before the birth, and Holly helped a great deal to make sure everything run as smooth as possible in every aspect of the purchase and moving process. Holly is an expert in the bay area, she can help in every aspect from legal stuff to schools to get the best deals for remodeling or quick fixes before and after the move, a truly and integral professional and partner. Holly will always stand up for her customers and make sure you make the right decisions and you get the best deal possible. Thanks Holly!!!!!
We strongly recommend Holly.
Holly is great! She has helped my wife and I a lot in finding and buying the house of our dreams! My wife and I were looking for a house, for more than a year and a half. We visited over a hundred homes! We have been working with a number of agents, but couldn't find the right one. We were very picky about the houses and not less about the price that we wanted to pay. ;-) We met Holly Noto and Debbie Wilhelm (see my other review on Yelp.com) just by chance, while visiting an open house in Belmont. Debbie and Holly make a great team. We started to work with them, and in about a week's time they found us the house that we were looking for! I cannot praise enough the professionalism of Debbie and Holly's advice and their overall assistance in helping us to come up with the offer. Once we made the offer, they helped us to negotiate the terms that we wanted. Their help does not stop here. Debbie and Holly were with us at every step of the process, and also well after we moved into our new home, including with great advice and recommendations for remodeling. We strongly recommend Holly. She is an expert in the San Carlos and nearby areas, but we feel that her area of expertise is even larger.
We will definitely be using her in the future!
My husband and I just bought our first home - thank goodness we had Holly with us, guiding us with her warm personality and thorough knowledge all along the way!! We love our home more than words can say and we would not have been able to get through the entire process without Holly. She is extremely professional, knows the ins and outs of eveyrthing and knows everyone, and more than that listened to all of our thoughts, answered all of our questions and really made us feel comfortable going through a sometimes intense and stressful process of buying our house!! She is very easy to talk to and spent as much time with us, after house, on her cell, as we needed. I would recommend Holly a thousand times over!! We will definitely be using her in the future!
It was money well spent!!!!
We can't express how grateful we are for your devotion during the sale of our cottage. Your commitment and attention to detail made us feel so comfortable and at ease during the whole process. You always went above and beyond, taking initiative whenever needed, and comforting us with your knowledge whenever things got stressful. We can't imagine dealing with anyone else. It was money well spent!!!!
Holly Noto is a dream!
Holly Noto is a dream! I like to think that I'm a nice, considerate, normal person. And I like working with like-minded people. Holly is just that. She's professional, friendly, hilarious, understanding and most important, HONEST. I'm also pretty crazy on the perfectionist scale and she never disappointed - she had it all together: showings schedules, paperwork, our wish list, etc. and never dropped the ball. I appreciate this so, SO much. My husband and I were first-time buyers in a market we thought was going to be so awesome. I guess I should have assumed that nothing is ever easy, especially live-changing events. Anyway, we visited countless open houses and it was kismet that we met Holly. We just clicked. We set up an interview shortly after and she sat and listened to what we were looking for. In particular, she made sure she understood what we needed as a young family in terms of location, layout and features. Holly stuck with us through an insane amount of showings. Nothing really fit. And then we were up against a wall. Our lease was ending and our landlord refused to allow us to go month-to-month so we were starting to get desperate and consider houses that we normally would never have if conditions were different. In those moments of hopelessness, Holly reminded us of our initial wish list, ensured us we'd be okay and encouraged us not to compromise. Not once did she pressure us to decide or bid outside of our comfort zone. When we found the place we knew it and we were ready to go. Holly patiently walked us through every step and coordinated all the players involved flawlessly. It was like the Real Estate Ballet. Gorgeous. She went to bat for us and we signed on a very fair contract for both parties. I never would have survived this process without her. She's super supportive and comes with Peninsula-Native knowledge. She seriously knows EVERYTHING. She's incredibly kind and just genuinely amiable. I recommend her to friends regularly but figured that including a review here would amplify the endorsements.
Thank you Holly!
My husband and I worked with Holly on the purchase of our new home in September. Holly is a tenacious advocate for her buyers and she knows the market very well. On our fourth try Holly helped us win the prettiest of homes we saw and we both absolutely love it. We have a toddler and Holly was amazing about accommodating him on our home tours and meetings. She would enthusiastically occupy him so we could really evaluate properties. He loves Holly! Once we purchase your home through Holly the support doesn't end. She is a wealth of knowledge about navigating the escrow process and has many good recommendations for contractors to fix everything on your inspection reports. Holly really cares about her clients and we really enjoyed getting to know her. We recommend her without hesitation. Thank you Holly!
We would continue working with her and would highly recommend her to everyone!
Holly helped us buy our first home a few months back. She is simply amazing to work with! It is a difficult market and we were searching for homes only in some specific areas of the Peninsula region. But Holly being an expert in the real estate market in these neighborhoods, she helped us get the perfect place that we wanted. Being first-time home buyers, we had a lot of questions at every step, but she was very patient with us and had answers to all our questions. She is extremely efficient, responds quickly to every email/text, is on top of all the things required throughout the process and someone you can completely trust on for anything regarding home buying. She provided us with great resources and advice throughout the process. The best part about her was that she never rushed us into closing a deal that we weren't comfortable with and stood with us for all our decisions. She is a thorough professional and an absolutely lovely person. Its great to know her...we would continue working with her and would highly recommend her to everyone!
Holly is the best!
Holly is the best! I've used her both selling a house and finding/purchasing a new one. She marketed and priced our house perfectly resulting in 14 offers and a selling price way over asking. She brought in help to cart away stuff we didn't need, referred painters, etc. Holly is always monitoring email and voice mail and is extremely responsive. She mellows me out when I'm stressed as happens with buying/selling real estate. She really takes the pain out of the entire transaction. She's extremely professional and knows the market very very well. Her help doesn't stop when the transaction is complete. She continued to follow up with things months after our closing date. I promise you can't do better when buying or selling a house. I seriously wouldn't even consider using anyone else.
She is also very knowledgeable, friendly, and reliable.
Without Holly's help I would not have been able to out bid 19 others and bought my dream home! In today's market bidding is a very critical step for getting the home you like. My agent Holly was great in helping me strategizing a plan to achieve the goal. She is very informative and with excellent tactics in winning the bid. She is also very knowledgeable, friendly, and reliable. She provides great advice and performs following-ups. I highly recommend her.
I can't recommend Holly highly enough, on a scale of 1-10, I'd rate Holly an 11!
My husband and I recently worked with Holly in selling our home in San Carlos. We chose Holly because of the wonderful experience our son and his fiancé had when she helped them purchase their first home. Holly is the consummate professional. She handled every detail and made this stressful process much more bearable. I always felt that Holly had our best interests at heart and she worked hard to ensure we accomplished our goals regarding price and timeframe for selling. We were in a unique position in that we didn't need to sell our home, we just decided to test the market. Had we not gotten the price we wanted, we would have stayed in the house. Also, we didn't want the process to drag on and would have pulled the listing if we didn't sell quickly. Knowing all this, Holly expedited the entire process and was able to sell our house in a week for $100,000 over asking price. In addition to being professional, knowledgeable, and reliable, Holly is also warm, friendly, genuine and down to earth. She was a delight to work with and I can't imagine another agent that would have provided such high level customer service combined with such an amazing attitude. I can't recommend Holly highly enough, on a scale of 1-10, I'd rate Holly an 11!
We highly recommend her to anyone!
My husband and I have worked with Holly Noto twice and had an amazing experience in buying and selling our homes. The first time was to purchase our first home in 2006. We had a lot of questions and they had all the answers and so much patience. They took care of everything and made it such an easy process. The second time was this past December 2012 when we found the perfect home in Belmont unexpectedly. Since we weren't really in the market and our house wasn't ready to be sold, they acted super fast and gave us everything needed to make an offer on the new house and get our house in top shape for the market - fast! Not only did we (obviously) get the new house but we had incredibly successful open houses with a lot of traffic right before Christmas! All due to their expertise and knowledge. Again, we had so many questions and they were always there for us; making us feel like their only clients (and we knew we weren't). From beginning to end, Holly was an amazing agent; always truthful, professional and patient with our crazy questions. While I love our new house so much, if we happen to need to sell or buy in the future, we will absolutely go back to Holly. We highly recommend her to anyone!
Holly we could not thank you enough for all you have helped us with.
When my husband and I decided to sale our home, we did not know how to start, what to expect, or who to go with. A family member recommended Holly Noto and promised we would not be disappointed. So we trusted the recommendation and called up Holly for an meeting at our home. From the moment that Holly walked through our front door she made us feel like we were just not a client but a long time friend, Her approach was inviting, caring, and attentive. Not to mention her world of knowledge in the business. From start to finish Holly made this an easy and painless experience. We cannot thank her enough for all she has done and our end result. Holly we could not thank you enough for all you have helped us with.
Do yourself a favor and get a hold of Holly!
If you are selling your house (or thinking of purchasing one) do yourself a favor and get a hold of Holly Noto. We purchased (2004) and sold (2012) the same house with her beside us all the way. The one thing I really liked about Holly is that she doesn't get all caught up in your craziness. Selling and buying is an extremely emotional process... She is the constant voice of reason. She is not going to tell you what you want to hear. Every buyer gets that "We are never going to find anything" feeling and it is then that Holly's expertise really shines through. She told us to make a list of what we wanted. So, when we started deviating because it seemed like we would not find what we wanted, she would listen and then casually remind us of our list. Well... we found our home and lived it in for almost 8 years. When it was time to sell and relocate out-of-state, we called Holly (again). The stakes seemed higher this go around because we now had 3 kids to think about, relocating to a new state, and of course, the dog. Because of her marketing, we had around 80 people come through on the first weekend of open house; about 73 the second weekend. I watched from up the hill of our home, giddy with excitement. Our house sold and closed rather quickly... Like I said initially, do yourself a favor and get a hold of Holly! You'll be glad that you did...
Thank you so much Holly for helping my wife and I buy our first home
Thank you so much Holly for helping my wife and I buy our first home, especially in this super-heated seller's market. In a competitive market where we were up against so many other well-qualified buyers, we really needed a strong, savvy, and hardworking Realtor and teammate. Holly definitely fit the bill! Holly's experience definitely helped guide our buying strategy and she was very level-headed throughout the offer and negotiation process. Thank goodness as we are relieved to have a home now and not have to spend countless more weekends driving around looking at open houses! Not only do you as the buyer (and your finances) need to come across as very credible to sellers, but it's also very helpful if your agent is well respected and known for facilitating successful transactions. Holly has a solid track record, is well-connected in the industry, and is well-respected. This gave my wife and I confidence that we would be well-represented to the sellers and to their listing agent. As it turns out, we got the first house that Holly helped us go after. After our offer was accepted, Holly diligently stayed on top of the transaction through close of escrow, e.g., by staying in good communication with the sellers, my lender, and my lender's appraiser. With Holly, I trusted that she would usher the transaction through to a successful end. On top of all this, working with Holly was great given her very personable and down-to-earth manner!
Holly sold our condo in central San Mateo early in 2016.
Holly sold our condo in central San Mateo early in 2016. I went with Holly after interviewing several top sellers and well-reviewed agents in the area, and now recommend her myself without reservation. I found Holly extremely professional and straightforward, while being thoughtful and warm. She was never pushy about getting the listing or at any other time, simply available and responsive to all my follow-up questions. Holly was sharp on the market and positioning, and ready with a good team for however much or however little we needed to get the property ready, from small fix-ups to staging and inspections. She both kept me fully informed at every step and also responded right away to every call or email from me. Everything went smoothly all the way through, and right on calendar, and she was again very clear about the pros and cons, while not pushing any individual agenda, of the multiple offers the property received. She even offered to come over and 'hold my hand' on the emotional last day of leaving the home. I developed a lot of trust for Holly's integrity and skill across the months we worked together, and I would definitely turn to her again if I needed an expert agent in the area.
We had a wonderful experience with Holly
We had a wonderful experience with Holly. We were very particular about finding a place in Peninsula and she was on track to direct us and share her experience about neighborhoods, schools, price range etc...We were in the market for less than 3 months and she helped us pulled through this awesome deal in San Mateo :) She was available to answer any silly questions and since we were 1st time home-buyers, she guided us step by step. We can't thank her more for being patient and understanding & meeting our expectations :)
After interviewing many realtors, I selected Holly
After interviewing many realtors, I selected Holly because she was the best and she did an absolutely fantastic job in selling my house. From start to finish, Holly made sure I was comfortable with our plan, provided input, but was never pushy, and kept the process on track. Not only that, Holly walked me through each step of the way. For example, many realtors simply throw the disclosure form at you and ask you to fill it out. Holly went through the entire form, line by line, to help me complete this document and keep me protected by disclosing everything relevant to the transaction. This took more then 2 hours but Holly was patient and helpful the whole way through. Holly also really shines in her communication skills. It seemed like within minutes, Holly would invariably respond to my emails and texts which always made me feel comfortable with how things were progressing. Lastly, Holly's knowledge of the Belmont / San Carlos area is unmatched. At our first meeting, Holly told us intimate details of the sale of the houses in our specific neighborhood in the last 12 months! This knowledge helped us to price the house perfectly. I never write reviews on Yelp, but I made an exception for Holly because she really did an unbelievable job for me. If you want to buy or sell your home, I would absolutely advise you give Holly a call. Oh, and the home sold way above listing! Thank you Holly!
Holly literally saved us $25k
Holly literally saved us $25k and I will tell you how. Holly did such an exemplary job with helping us to sell our house in Belmont that we of course turned to her when we looked to purchase in the hyper competitive San Carlos market. After 5 months of making offers and getting outbid, at times by offers in excess of $300k above the asking price, we were getting deflated. I never thought it would happen to me, but when the right house came along, I was ready to go "all in." When Holly heard our bid, she advised us that based on her decades of experience and intimate knowledge of San Carlos, our bid was too high and that we should lower it. We lowered our bid by $25k and still got our dream home in San Carlos. I do not know any other broker that would advise you to make a lower bid. Think about what that means - Holly clearly put our interests above everyone else. Holly - thank you so much! I also want to reiterate what many others have stated - that Holly is amazingly patient (she took us around San Carlos for months and kept us going even when we lost hope ourselves), goes above and beyond by scheduling inspections and attending on your behalf , and overall, she is simply outstanding. Holly - from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you.
Buying a home with Holly so you can get the best experience possible
We spent almost a year looking for a home. Along the way, we worked with over 10 real estate agents- some offered us over $10000 of rebate, some promised off marketing listings, some showed us listings in our native language, etc. At the end, Holly provided the best home buying experience and more importantly she got us the dream home below the market price. These are some of the reasons why I think you should give Holly a try: Local Wisdom - Holly knows most of streets in San Carlos, Belmont and San Mateo including the weather, traffic, noise, demographic, etc. It really helps, because tools like Redfin, Zillow, etc doesn't tell you much about the neighborhood you are about to buy in to. We knew few folks who brought their 'dream-house' using non-local agents and are now regretting about the wrong neighborhood. Responsiveness - In this market where decisions are made in seconds and you need an agile agent who can provide the attention you need. Holly will respond to you quickly with the information you are looking for usually within a few hours if not minutes. We had agents who don't return calls for days and cost us an opportunity. Honesty - Holly and Debbie told us not to bid on two homes because they had structural issues. I am not sure you will find many agents who do that for you. Due Diligence - We wrote six offers. For each of these offers, Holly throughly studied the inspection reports and reviewed critical areas of the inspection reports with us carefully to ensure we clearly understand the probability and the impact of each adverse findings. Buying a home is a big decision. Buying a home with Holly so you can get the best experience possible and more importantly- get the right home at the right price in the right neighborhood.
Throughout the sale, Holly was very responsive, answering questions and concerns quickly.
We recently sold a family home which had been lived in for 60 years. We interviewed three agents and selected Holly based on: her presentation was professional and complete; she had the most accurate information from county records, she had the most recent and appropriate comps, the comps she presented included properties that were staged and not staged. This was important because, as a family home, there was a lot of emotional attachment to the house as it was. Holly was sensitive to this and allowed the family time to come to the realization that the house, while in excellent condition, could not be presented as it was. Throughout the sale, Holly was very responsive, answering questions and concerns quickly. Her marketing plan was thorough and complete, resulted in multiple offers above the asking price and a quick sale. Holly is well known in the Peninsula real estate profession and has a great reputation. Without question we would use her again and recommend her to others.
We especially appreciated that they pointed out issues with one home that helped us realize it was not right for us.
Holly and Debbie provided us excellent guidance and were instrumental in our buying the right home. We especially appreciated that they pointed out issues with one home that helped us realize it was not right for us. They encouraged us to make our best bid for the house they felt did suit us, and with their pricing guidance we won the bid. It is, indeed, the right house for us, and we are so glad that we did not bid on the other one. Holly and Debbie were responsive and professional through the entire process and afterwards, and I recommend them both.
Holly helped us find our home on the Peninsula after eight months of looking.
Holly helped us find our home on the Peninsula after eight months of looking. The market is TOUGH! With every property we considered, she would always use her experience and research to show us how she arrived at her predictions of the best purchase price. Even a pro like her was baffled by some of the crazy stuff that has happened in the market this last year. My favorite part about Holly was that she never pressured us. Even when (in hindsight) we were totally wasting her time with a too-low offer she would enthusiastically walk us through the paperwork and put a positive spin on everything. She only wanted us to do what we were comfortable doing. She was so patient with us. We would add a city or neighborhood to our list of possible locations only to remove it weeks later, and we even called off the search once because we were so frustrated by the amount of stupid money people were throwing at houses. She was always happy to take our call and answer all our questions or meet us at a house on a moment's notice. She was AMAZING with our two young kids, watching them while we toured homes and genuinely engaged with them. My kids miss her and are thrilled when we occasionally run into her around town. Two major reasons to hire Holly is her stellar reputation and her connections. Other agents like working with her and she kept us in the game by knowing the other players, even getting an inside scoop on a preemptive offer that we were able to compete with when no one else knew it was coming. I can still call her with questions about how we can fix/update something and she always says "I got a guy". All her referrals have been as honest, reliable & friendly as she is. After all that work we think we got a great deal in a tough market, in the neighborhood we wanted. Thank you Holly!
I've recommended Holly to everyone I know.
Before choosing a real estate agent, me and my husband spent time talking to our friends and learning from their experiences buying houses in bay area. I personally knew that we have to find someone who lives in the area and is familiar with area's market. We emailed Holly Noto and Debbie Wilhelm and then met with both in their office during our lunch break. They answered our questions in our first visit, helped us find a good mortgage banker and helped us understand the process better. We were concerned about how to find propertied that matches our needs and also our budget. Holly helped us understand how they put an offer together and how long it takes to get things done. Holly also gave us a thick brochure containing all the information we needed. Bay area housing market is really competitive so it is important to have an agent who is well-known in the area and can make calls to win the deal. Holly is also great in terms of answering texts and emails which worked perfectly for us since both me and my husband work. I've recommended Holly to everyone I know. She's a true professional and someone that you can trust. She also knows many people in the area that can help you after buying your house if you want to remodel. Holly and Debbie are a strong team together who can really help you buy a house in this market.
We just bought our very first house thanks to Holly!
We just bought our very first house thanks to Holly! We've only just moved to the Bay area and after learning about how difficult the market is, we thought it was going to be very hard to find a place. Holly did an amazing job. She is such an expert about the area, neighborhoods and gave us great advice about what to do when we finally did find our place and started the bidding process. We fell in love with our home and ended up buying the first house we bid on, which from what I hear is pretty incredible in the area. Can't thank Holly enough for all the guidance with the house and also all the resources and support she has provided since. Would definitely recommend working with her to anyone I know.
Holly is dependable, works fast, patient and willing to invest time on the customer
We worked with Holly and Debbie at Coldwell for the purchase of our first home in Foster City this year. We casually started to look at the beginning of the year, met Holly and Debbie in mid-February and closed on our purchase in June. The market conditions were brutal as expected but we pulled it through in less time than expected and Holly and Debbie are absolutely massive help throughout. The fact that they never tried to nudge us to do a quick buy and talked us out of many properties were thoroughly refreshing and probably the biggest plus. We were also generally quite busy during the whole year, with less than 2 hours per day of non-sleep-non-work time. We only had one day per weekend dedicated to the search and worked the other day. Even with our restrictive schedule, Holly and Debbie got out of their way to be super accessible and responsive. The fact that they mostly just were so experienced to be able to answer any questions I have (and I'm a really curious person) saved tons of headaches too. Holly is dependable, works fast, patient and willing to invest time on the customer, building relationships and transferring knowledge. Even her referrals post-sale were great when we were renovating after closing! We're super lucky to have found Holly and Debbie to be on our side and will definitely use them again if ever we are selling our house.
We were so lucky to work with Holly . . .
We were so lucky to work with Holly, whom we met through our friends Elissa & Scott’s reference. Holly was so knowledgeable, responsive, and trustworthy throughout our entire six month period of house searching, selling and buying a new home. Holly knows the greater San Mateo area really well and she was so helpful when we were strategizing on whether to rent or sell our house and when putting in offers for homes on the market. She patiently and diligently helped us when we went through a tricky period of selling our house, getting rent back while waiting for the new house to be ready over four months. We wanted a hassle free sale process for our then current home and she quickly helped us find buyers off-market for a great price point and have a seamless sale and close process within a month. She was also so helpful when going through the mountain of paperwork for both sale and purchase of a home (she was better than having a lawyer!) and she has years of relationships with inspectors, title companies, electricians, etc. to help get things done very efficiently. Overall, I was very fortunate to have met such a knowledgeable and reliable person in the real estate business and plan to continue to do business with her in the future.
Ring up the real estate dream team if you want to live happily ever after.
Do you believe in Fairy Godmothers? If not, perhaps you should. They are alive and well and I know one of them, Holly Noto & Team. These miracle workers came to my dirty house with wild children everywhere, assessed our situation and gave us clear recommendations on what we needed to do to sell our house for top dollar. They sent their house fix people and stuff got done. Drama this and that popped up and it got dealt with, usually the same day. Permit and county record issues? Cleared. How to select paint colors EVERYBODY likes? They had the answers. At one point we wanted to give up and she drove to our house, color wheel in hand and gave us a much needed pep talk. We persevered and in the end sold for 16% above the asking. Did I mention I live across from the thundering commuter train driven by overzealous horn lovers? They absolutely went above and beyond our already high expectations. We are so thankful. Ring up the real estate dream team if you want to live happily ever after. You won’t be sorry!
Holly helped us find our new home in San Carlos . . .
Holly helped us find our new home in San Carlos, CA. Having moved to the area a couple years ago from Chicago, this market seemed tough to navigate. Holly was a true delight to work with and helped guide us through the entire process. She was always willing to go the extra mile, make additional stops/appointments, give context or share perspective and much more. The transaction went very smooth and we got everything we wanted in our new home. Even after we moved in, Holly was available to answer questions and share referrals. I would definitely recommend working with Holly.
We highly recommend Holly if you are looking to buy a home in the peninsula. . .
Holly helped my wife and I find a house in the peninsula. We talked to a few buyer agents and decided to work with Holly for the following reasons: 1. Holly is extremely knowledgeable about the peninsula real estate market. Before talking to her, we already visited a few open houses. She was able to discuss the pros and cons of all those places with good insights that you would not find online. 2. In our one hour conversation, she did not just hand out marketing materials and make generic sales pitch. Instead, Holly made some practical suggestions based on the information we gave her, such as things we need to pay attention to while applying for mortgage as first-time buyer. In the course of two months, we received lots of help and guidance from Holly and we are very glad that we chose Holly to represent us. There are a few things I'd like to mention: 1. She always gets back to our inquiries as soon as she can. This is very important to buyers in a competitive market like the bay area 2. Instead of hurrying us into a decision, she talked us out of several houses before encouraging us bidding on the current one. Because of her experience, she managed to tell us a lot of problems that we could not find out ourselves in a open house. This not only helped us avoid bad decisions that we would later regret, but built up our confidence when she was encouraging. 3. She did not just help us find a house and write an offer, but took care of lots of annoying things in the process, such as hiring home inspectors and working with contractors. Importantly, she even did that *after* we closed the deal and moved into the new home. We highly recommend Holly if you are looking to buy a home in the peninsula.
Without question we would use her again and recommend her to others.
We recently sold a family home which had been lived in for 60 years. We interviewed three agents and selected Holly based on: her presentation was professional and complete; she had the most accurate information from county records, she had the most recent and appropriate comps, the comps she presented included properties that were staged and not staged. This was important because, as a family home, there was a lot of emotional attachment to the house as it was. Holly was sensitive to this and allowed the family time to come to the realization that the house, while in excellent condition, could not be presented as it was. Throughout the sale, Holly was very responsive, answering questions and concerns quickly. Her marketing plan was thorough and complete, resulted in multiple offers above the asking price and a quick sale. Holly is well known in the Peninsula real estate profession and has a great reputation. Without question we would use her again and recommend her to others.
Holly, we cannot thank you enough for all that you have done to support us through selling our home . . .
We cannot thank you enough for all that you have done to support us through selling our home and, for a second time, buy a new home. Not only are you exceedingly professional and capable, but you are also a very wonderful, kind, thoughtful person. We are so glad to know you and are thankful to you for all you’re your time and efforts.
Holly helped us navigate throughout the whole nerve-wrecking process while keeping us feeling secure. . .
Holly helped us sell our condo in Foster City. She helped us navigate throughout the whole nerve-wrecking process while keeping us feeling secure. Holly was very transparent and explained every little step. She was also very receptive about our feedback. Holly helped us identify the right price point that we were comfortable with. She brought in an awesome stager and a good handyman to fix the place up. As a result, we received multiple non-contingent offers and sold the condo at 10% over asking price, above our expectations, and at a record price for our HOA. Highly recommended!
Holly made the whole process seem easy. . .
Holly Noto sold my house for well over asking price after just a few days on the market. She made the whole process seem easy, even though I was living out of the area when the property was listed. Her strengths include her experience and knowledge of the area and the ability to interpret shifting market conditions. She used innovative ideas for marketing the house including drone videos to display the view and a virtual walkthrough. She was able to get a lot of real estate agents into the house on preview day. She coordinated a stager, a landscaper, a handyman, cleaners, and an electrician for all the little things that need to be polished before a house goes on the market. The title company she uses is conveniently located in her office and she even arranged for a notary for me for an unrelated need. I'm not sure she ever sleeps because she seems to always be available by phone, text, and email. Her wonderful optimistic personality is reassuring and contagious. I can't say enough good things about Holly and this wonderful experience. Very highly recommended.
This is just to let you know how impressed we were . . .
This is just to let you know how impressed we were with Holly Noto from the very first time we met her to discuss selling our house at 1671 Hull Drive in San Carlos. From the first meeting when she gave us her presentation about her qualifications and knowledge of the area we knew that she was the one we would entrust with our property. She provided us with a complete preview of the process necessary to get the property ready to sell. She had a list of contractors for every aspect that was needed and she was right there every step of the way with assistance to make sure the job was done correctly and to our satisfaction. She was there any time we needed her and it felt like we were her only clients even though we knew she was very busy with other clients and meetings. Most of all, it was her PERSONALITY and her positive attitude that made her so easy to work with. There was really no stress involved because she took care of everything for us. She really became more of a trusted friend than a realtor to us. If we had the power we would recommend her for Realtor of the Century not just the year! We hope that you will relay our thoughts to your superiors and let them know what a great job she has done for us. In closing, if there is anything we could do for Holly in terms of recommendations, please do not hesitate to ask.
We felt that Holly always had our best interest in mind . . .
My husband and I worked with Holly for nearly 18 months before buying our current home. During our entire home looking/buying process Holly was available, attentive and we felt that she always had our best interest in mind. For example, after being in the market for a while and losing out of several homes, we starting to consider putting offers on houses that did not exactly meet the requirements that we had expressed to Holly were must-haves in our new house. Holly would say “I thought you said you really wanted . . . blah. . . in your new house” to pressure test us on our compromises. Holly never pressured us to bid high and would work hard to find us accurate comps so we could make the best decision. She often said that at the end of the day we need to be comfortable with what we paid for the property. We love our new home and we loved working with Holly.
We highly recommend Holly to anybody looking for a home in the Bay Area.
This was our first time buying a home, and Holly was extremely helpful. Holly was extremely perceptive of both our needs and the characteristics of different properties. She is very hard-working, and took the initiative to show us interesting properties, including off-market properties. Holly is highly knowledgeable about the real estate market, and has an excellent reputation and network. Holly was very meticulous in looking in detail at the houses we were interested in. She noticed important aspects that we often overlooked, such as needed repairs or aspects of the location or character of a house that we had not considered. In this way, we were able to make an informed offer on each house that we considered. Thanks to Holly's excellent reputation and network throughout the Bay Area real estate market, she often knew about off-market properties that we were able to make offers on. When we put in the offer for the house that became our home, we actually came in second place. But, due to Holly's professionalism and attention to detail, the seller preferred to work with us rather than with the first-place offer. We highly recommend Holly to anybody looking for a home in the Bay Area.
Holly is a great guide and resource to have when going through the home buying experience. . .
When we became serious about looking for a home, my husband and I met with 3 different realtors to figure out who would be the best fit for us. One did not seem to take us seriously and another made us feel very pressured/stressed when we were not ready to commit to particular houses. We met Holly in 2014 at an open house in Belmont and we were immediately impressed with how prepared she was with packet information, data, and she mentioned we can contact her if we wanted to 'interview' her. Several months later we decided to reach out to her (after the 1st realtor did not take us seriously) and we felt very comfortable with choosing her to represent us in the peninsula market. The market can be really, really TOUGH but Holly never once made us feel we should lose hope or sight of what is important to us. Several times she even advised that our bid price was too high for what the property was worth. Other times she'd tell us what she and other realtors think the house will go for after reaching out to several of her colleagues, the listing agent, etc. Once she represented us at the last minute in the South Bay (not really her region of expertise) and at the very last minute, my husband and I decided not to submit the bid in.. and she never made us for that last minute decision. It's important to Holly that her clients do what they feel is right for themselves. Sometimes trying to figure out the price on a house is a guessing game but she has great strategies for winning an offer; it's a matter of whether or not you feel comfortable with those strategies and making the final decision yourselves. Holly will help you through the home-buying process before, during, and take care of you even after close of escrow. She was always very responsive and did her best to meet us for every open house we wanted to go to (we'd provide her a list of homes we were interested in seeing). She went above and beyond being a realtor and she even helped us adjust and lower our bid on the house eventually ended up in. We highly anyone who is considering Holly as a realtor to least meet her in person to determine if she is a good fit. She's honest, straightforward, well-connected, patient, understanding, and a great guide and resource to have when going through the home buying experience.
Holly's experience and knowledge of the area and the ability to interpret the shifting housing market.
Holly Noto sold my house for well over asking price after just a few days on the market. She made the whole process seem easy from the beginning. Her strengths include her experience and knowledge of the area and the ability to interpret the shifting housing market. Holly found a painter a gardener/hauler, a handyman, and house cleaners to fix up the house before the house went on the market. The title company she used was great. I’m not sure if Holly ever sleeps. She is always available by phone and text no matter what time of day or night. I can’t say enough good things about Holly. I VERY highly recommend Holly as a realtor. Holly is a Rock Star.
She is quite simply the best!!
We had a wonderful experience working with Holly Noto. She is an absolute professional with a genuinely warm and friendly manner. She sold my mother's home in 2017. I didn't hesitate to turn to her again for my real estate needs in 2018. Holly is an expert in marketing strategy and every aspect of the business. She is so hard working and always available from the start to the finish of the process. She was ready with a team of professionals, from painter, inspector, to stager. She works quickly and efficiently and achieves great results. Everything went smoothly making an emotional and stressful process painless. I can't recommend Holly highly enough for you real estate needs. She is quite simply the best!! Thank you Holly for everything!!
One person we really want to thank (who made this happen!) is our real estate agent - Holly Noto.
This review is long overdue. We bought our very first home in March and have been busy with moving in and settling down. Throughout the process, one person we really want to thank (who made this happen!) is our real estate agent - Holly Noto. We were very lucky to bump into Holly at one of the open houses in Belmont. We were primarily looking to buy our first home in the Peninsula area (RWC, Belmont, San Carlos). As you know, the market in the Peninsula region is extremely competitive and if you need to buy a house first thing you need to do is to get in touch with a great agent who knows ins and outs of this local market. Holly is from the Peninsula and knows the region really well. She has a great reputation and is respected among her peers. Initially, we were completely lost since we were first time home buyers. But Holly was extremely patient and went through all the set of disclosures with us in person. She explained in great detail the overall process and helped us do our research before putting an offer on a house. She also spent her time to drive to open houses and also showed the listings on market during non-open house hours. She was also able to show us off to find our dream house in one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in Belmont. My wife Swetha and I are thankful to Holly throughout the process and highly recommend her (especially if you are a first time buyer). Please contact Holly Noto if you are looking to buy your dream house in the Peninsula.
We feel lucky to work with such a great real estate partner!
Holly was our buyer's agent and we highly recommend Holly as a top-notch realtor. Holly is extremely hardworking, patient and a no-nonsense agent that is very knowledgeable in her field. We have been working with Holly for over a year to find a house in Peninsula. Throughout that time Holly was very patient and always responsive but never pushy. She did periodic check-ins to see where we were with our decisions on housing location. Due to her experience in houses within the area, she also provided very meaningful insights on the physical conditions of the homes that we visited. Because of her expertise and her flawless estimates, we were able to find ourselves a very nice home in a great location. Holly was in constant communication with us as we navigated escrow. She addressed any concerns and explained the process to us. As a first-time home buyer I felt comfortable going through escrow because Holly was able to explain anything I didn't understand. Me and my wife feel lucky to work with such a great real estate partner!
Holly has a great team of pros to get everything in shape.
Holly Noto is wonderful to work with and gets the job done right. From my first meeting with Holly I knew she was a professional in every sense. Holly help my family sell our duplex in San Mateo earlier this year. Holly has a great team of pros to get everything in shape. When I found myself out of time and energy to get the two units cleaned up for the showing - Holly sent her cleaning team over the same day a poof - problem solved. Holly and team made the sale of the property as easy as it gets and provided expert guidance all along the way. Her marketing strategy resulted in more than a dozen offers and we ended up selling above asking. Do yourself a favor and call Holly Noto at Coldwell Banker in San Mateo for your next real estate sale!
I couldn't have done it without Holly!!
It is with immense pleasure that I recommend Holly Noto as a real estate agent for any individual or family needing to sell their current home. Holly had an initial meeting with me and took diligent notes regarding my specific needs. She addressed my concerns and quickly eased my anxiety by reminding me that she would be by my side each and every step of the way. She is a highly motivated individual with exceptional knowledge. She made sound recommendations which assisted me in the process of putting my home on the market. For each question I asked, she responded with just the right answer. I found her to be very honest in regard to changes that I needed to make in the home to attract buyers quickly. Her advice really paid off! My home sold in less than 1 week!! She had the right contractor for every job that needed to be taken care of in the home. Holly coordinated everything including house cleaners, pest removal, painters, landscapers, stagers, and movers. She held one of the most amazing open house events that I have ever seen. I was so happy when she mentioned to me that more than 100 people attended this event. It was an awesome turn out. I found Holly to be a highly attentive agent, almost as if I was her only customer. She returned all phone calls and emails the same day. I would recommend Holly Noto, hands down, to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. She is personable and engaging, and in my opinion, she is the best in the business. Thank you so very much Holly for guiding me through this process - I couldn't have done it without you!!
Holly just sold my house and it could not have been an easier, or more seamless process!
Holly just sold my house and it could not have been an easier, or more seamless process. I interviewed four real estate agents and hired Holly who deeply impressed me with her in-depth knowledge of the neighborhoods, the buyer pool, my competition, and the changing market conditions. She is sharp, experienced, professional, incredibly responsive, dedicated, detail-oriented, unflappable, trustworthy, energetic, focused and she is a great communicator. Getting my house ready for sale was daunting but Holly has an impressive list of go-to professionals from the stager, to wood floor installer to landscaper and house cleaners, junk removal, handyman (and the list goes on) who respect Holly from years of association and who quickly and impressively handled all the things, big and small, that needed some attention or polishing before we went on market. I was particularly impressed with her marketing and the professionals she used for staging, and the drone video and virtual walk through--my house looked amazing, there was tremendous interest and traffic, and she sold my house quickly and for well over asking price. Best of all, Holly is warm, disarmingly kind and thoughtful but also tough as nails when needed and is not afraid to negotiate hard or dive in and resolve tough situations. The buyer's agent in my sale was incredibly difficult and challenging but I had no idea because Holly handled everything. She could not have made this process any easier or convenient. There is no better professional in the Bay Area than Holly.
Holly was always willing to answer our many questions . . .
Holly represented my wife and I as first-time homebuyers. She walked us through the process and explained everything along the way. She was always willing to answer our many questions and was always available to do house tours with us. We never felt rushed to make a decision and she would often point out both the good and bad in the houses that we saw. Holly was very knowledgable about the area. She was patient as some of our must-haves changed from the time we first started looking. It took us about seven months to get a house and multiple offers. For each house that we put an offer on, Holly also reviewed the disclosures and gave her opinions on the details when we asked. In our house, there was a wall with large patches that the sellers covered with a painting so we couldn't see it on the house tour. Holly worked with her company to have the wall painted for us before we moved in and replaced all the old smoke detectors. Overall, we thought it was a good experience and Holly ended up helping us get a house that we can see our family growing into for years to come.
Holly is a true professional in every sense of the word
Holly is a true professional in every sense of the word ... second to none in a super competitive industry. Holly represented us as sellers and kept us informed every step of the way. She also has an amazing marketing team. Holly's experience and no- nonsense approach made us feel at ease in what was a stressful time. She got our home sold quickly and confidently guided us through all of the steps. In a day and age where realtors a dime a dozen, she is definitely the consummate professional in every way, always available to answer questions, no matter how simple or complex they may be. She's definitely the person you want on your side if you are thinking of selling your home, or buying a new one.
Holly went far beyond our expectations in every way . . .
Holly Noto was our buyer’s agent when purchasing a home in San Carlos in the summer of 2019. Some years before we had purchased a condo in the city with another agent so had some idea of what to expect with the process and what level of support we would get from a buyer’s agent. Holly went far beyond our expectations in every way, starting with understanding our needs and wants. This sounds trite but it isn’t. Many of the agents we interviewed or represented friends seemed to point their clients to a zip code or a house based on what they value instead of what would make the client happy. As my wife and I had some slightly out of the norm goals for a home this was important to us. Holly took the time to understand what we valued and tailored suggestions based on this. Over the search process, the more houses we saw and the more we learned, we ended up changing what we prioritized as we weighed what really mattered most to us. Holly patiently tracked our changes, reminding us to take our time and not feel rushed as this was a big decision. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that Holly knows the pros and cons of almost every street in San Mateo County. Crazy details like, which streets are cold and dreary vs sunny, which cluster of homes have foundation issues, which streets had gas mains on them and even whether you may have trouble getting fire insurance on a property. Unlike many Senior/Junior team agents, Holly works alone. This is much better than the team scenario because you are always talking to the experienced agent rather than someone learning the ropes. On the flip side when we first started I thought this was going to be a problem thinking she wouldn’t have enough time for us, but Holly somehow was always there for us, to answer a text or rambling email, meet us on short notice at a house or make a last minute offer. I work a lot of hours and my wife works on weekends so we can be a bit challenging to work with but Holly would graciously work around our schedules to the point that we kind of felt like we were her only client even though she was handling a number of buyers and sellers at the same time as us. When visiting houses she caught things which we would never have noticed, like floors being slightly sloped or uneven, which renovations were carefully done vs only superficial, the quality of building materials and construction, potential drainage issues etc. She has great relationships with vendors around the Peninsula and was able to get vendors and contractors to weigh in on the price of renovations, the difficulty of a repair or the cost of something before we made an offer. Deciding on whether to make an offer on a house also entails reading pages and pages of inspection reports, title reports and myriad other disclosures with important facts buried between hundreds of pages of inconsequential details. For every house we considered (and there were a lot of these), Holly carefully read through all of the disclosures, making a summary of everything we should really pay attention to. This made us sleep better knowing there wasn’t some problem hidden in the disclosures which we may have missed. Holly is also very well regarded among agents across the Peninsula. Every time we stopped by an open house and were asked who our agent was, mentioning Holly’s name instantly got a warm response from the showing agent. This was beneficial to us when it came time to make an offer. As buyers we tend to focus on the price but when evaluating offers in a competitive market, agents like to deal with experienced agents they know and trust to deliver their end of the transaction. Holly also has a knack for predicting the sale price of a home very accurately. This matters when you are picking a number trying not to over pay while at the same time trying not to lose out on a home. After we had our offer accepted Holly coordinated with our mortgage broker and they both worked together to finish everything with time to spare before closing. If all of this wasn’t enough, even after we closed Holly went through the trouble of arranging fumigation for our house just so that we had one less thing to think about. After this review, I am sure it is pretty obvious that I recommend Holly Noto wholeheartedly. Home purchasing in the bay area is challenging on many levels but all in all worthwhile and I can’t think of a better person to have by your side during this process."
Holly is simply amazing to work with!
Holly helped us buy our first home a few months back. She is simply amazing to work with! It is a difficult market and we were searching for homes only in some specific areas of the Peninsula region. But Holly being an expert in the real estate market in these neighborhoods, she helped us get the perfect place that we wanted. Being first-time home buyers, we had a lot of questions at every step, but she was very patient with us and had answers to all our questions. She is extremely efficient, responds quickly to every email/text, is on top of all the things required throughout the process and someone you can completely trust on for anything regarding home buying. She provided us with great resources and advice throughout the process. The best part about her was that she never rushed us into closing a deal that we weren't comfortable with and stood with us for all our decisions. She is a thorough professional and an absolutely lovely person. It’s great to know her...we would continue working with her and would highly recommend her to everyone!
I wouldn't work with anyone else . .
OMG Holly just helped us close on another house and saved us a bundle in addition to getting us vastly over asking on the house we were selling! I would not even think about working with anyone else if I had to buy or sell another house. We all know that the process of buying and selling is super stressful! Holly helped make the whole thing much smoother. 1) Very strong negotiator: Holly was able to help us strategize on a list price and a strategy that netted us more than $100K over our expectations in a fairly soft bay area market (El Granada) when we sold our home. Furthermore, she was able to help us win the bid on the house we have today in San Mateo even though we weren't the highest bidder. That was based on her advice on when to place the offer, where the price point needed to be and how to structure our contingencies. We got the second house we put an offer down on which is very rare in San Mateo real estate market right now! I credit that to her expertise on advising us and her negotiation skills. 2) Extremely accommodating: Throughout the process of selling our coast side home and buying a house on the peninsula, Holly was available over email, text and phone for all of our questions and freak-out moments. She helped talked my husband off a ledge a few times ;-) and never made us feel like we were putting her out at all - it was all just "part of her job". She helped coordinate inspections, contractors, all sorts of stuff without a fuss! She was such a God-send! 3) Excellent network: When we worked with Holly several years ago to sell a home, she actually helped us decide to take it off the market when it softened in 2006-2007, helped us find a renter, then helped find a buyer when the house wasn't even on the market! Without Holly and her network of people across the bay area and coast side, we never would have been able to sell our house in Moss Beach when it wasn't on the market! And we got a pretty good price too! Thanks Holly! Furthermore her office is connected with both a title company and a mortgage broker, making it a one-stop-shop. Super convenient for two full time working parents that travel! We've worked with her on two home sales and two home purchases. I wouldn't work with anyone else and would highly highly recommend her!
You definitely want to work with Holly!
We were fortunate to have Holly represent us in our first home purchase, she's the best! In the almost *2 year* long search in a super competitive market, Holly always made time for us and provided sage guidance and support - we also really enjoyed spending time with her :) If you're looking for a really good home buying experience, you definitely want to work with Holly!
Holly Noto is one of a kind.
Holly Noto is one of a kind. You will never find another agent in the business like her. If you're looking for the best, go with Holly. My husband and I have known Holly now for a little over 6 years and we now consider her not only our go-to agent, but a great friend. We found her 6 years ago solely based on her Yelp reviews when we were looking to buy a home in the Bay Area and we both agree that we struck gold with Holly. We just used her again to sell our home and we've recommended her to other family members who have also used Holly to sell their homes. She's super professional, has tons of contacts so she can literally do anything and get anything done (even during a world pandemic - where we were still able to get everything done to sell our home quickly). She's also THE nicest person on the planet and not one of those drama filled agents. You can tell Holly just truly loves her job and loves her clients and wants the best for them. She treats you like you're her only client (which you definitely aren't), but you would never know because she's so responsive and always available to you. I could go on and on, but don't want to make this a 5 page yelp review :), so just know, that if you go with Holly, you will be SO happy you did and thanking your lucky stars!
When we found our dream house
Holly is the kind of realtor you want. We were searching for a home in the bay area for quite a while, primarily because we were looking for something a little different. Holly worked with us for a number of *years* until we found the perfect house. Throughout that time, Holly was always generous with her time. She always would return my calls and emails quickly, giving advice regarding a particular property, if it was worth our time based on our budget, etc. When we found our dream house, Holly provided excellent guidance on price, inspections, and various items to consider specifically regarding the house we were purchasing, including potential future improvement costs, expenses we should be prepared for, etc. She fought aggressively on our behalf to ensure we got a price we felt was fair for the property. We are extraordinarily happy with the service Holly provided, and would recommend her to anyone.
I absolutely recommend her.
Holly represented me on both the sale of my townhouse and the purchase of new house. At first I didn't understand how an agent could advocate for you both as a seller and a buyer; I thought it had more to do with the condition the market. But Holly did negotiate for me in both situations. And I thought she did a better job for me than the other parties in both the sale and the purchase because she's experienced and she cares about her clients. She dissuaded me from making offers when she didn't like the homes, but she was right. As a single person on the peninsula, I didn't think I would be able to find a little house in my price range, but I ended up buying a small house with a big back yard in a quiet neighborhood close to work. Even after the sale closed Holly continued to help me paint and landscape before I moved in. Holly is a great agent. I absolutely recommend her.
Holly has been professional, kind and patient.
I found Holly on Yelp looking to help a family member sell their home with a unique situation. Her multiple highly rated reviews and picture stood out to me. I prefer to be recommended to the professionals I choose by personal contacts, but I didn't have a recommendation so I was searching "blind." Yelp reviewers have come through for me again. Holly has been professional, kind and patient. I'd highly recommend her to anyone in the peninsula! She's been in the business for 20 years with an experienced resume, excellent testimonials and many references. I appreciate her non-salesperson approach, straightforward, caring and willing to do what it takes to help to fit the circumstances - with an ethical and legal approach (this is very important when it comes to real estate, particularly in California!).
Holly just sold my house and it could not have been an easier
Holly just sold my house and it could not have been an easier, or more seamless process. I interviewed four real estate agents and hired Holly who deeply impressed me with her in-depth knowledge of the neighborhoods, the buyer pool, my competition, and the changing market conditions. She is sharp, experienced, professional, incredibly responsive, dedicated, detail-oriented, unflappable, trustworthy, energetic, focused and she is a great communicator. Getting my house ready for sale was daunting but Holly has an impressive list of go-to professionals from the stager, to wood floor installer to landscaper and house cleaners, junk removal, handyman (and the list goes on) who respect Holly from years of association and who quickly and impressivly handled all the things, big and small, that needed some attention or polishing before we went on market. I was particularly impressed with her marketing and the professionals she used for staging, and the drone video and virtual walk through--my house looked amazing, there was tremendous interest and traffic, and she sold my house quickly and for well over asking price. Best of all, Holly is warm, disarmingly kind and thoughtful but also tough as nails when needed and is not afraid to negotiate hard or dive in and resolve tough situations. The buyer's agent in my sale was incredibly difficult and challenging but I had no idea because Holly handled everything. She could not have made this process any easier or convenient. There is no better professional in the Bay Area than Holly.
Holly rocks!
Holly rocks! She listened, guided and took very good care of us during our year long journey on finding a house. She is the epitome of professionalism...every email, phone call and text was responded to in a timely manner. She knows her real estate market and will help you on many levels during the process. We enjoyed her company and look forward to continue working with her.
She has a strong work ethic and I can rely on her to help me
She has a strong work ethic and I can rely on her to help me in multiple real estate arenas. She calls me back in timely fashion, is proactive in multi-tasking and has integrity with her words. Enjoy working with her and highly recommend her!
Very professional and we would highly recommend
We worked with Holly and her partner Debbie Wilhelm to purchase a home and they are a fantastic team -- very professional and we would highly recommend. They are strong on communications, so whether it's by phone, text, or email, they are quick to respond, follow through, and are constantly on top of any issues. As out of state buyers, we required some different needs, but their depth of experience, skill sets and ability to execute were a great combination.
Highly recommend!
My wife and I are first-time home buyers and had been browsing for over a year now. Holly was very knowledgeable about the San Mateo area and we found a townhouse recently that we loved. Unfortunately our loan wasn't fully approved yet so we went in with a contingent offer. Holly was amazing throughout the process, she was very good during the negotiations and we ultimately had our offer accepted after Holly thought to put a 1 hour timeline on our counter. We feel so lucky to have gotten our house thanks to Holly and our loan officer. Highly recommend!
You will not be disappointed.
I have recently sold one of my investment property, a condo in San Mateo. Holly Noto, a Coldwell Banker realtor was highly recommended by one of my neighbor. My condo was sold in a short period of time for the price that I asked for. I am very pleased with Holly's professionalism and work ethic. If you are in the market of selling or buying, you should give Holly a call. You will not be disappointed.
If I had to describe Holly in one word it would be AMAZING
If I had to describe Holly in one word it would be AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING!!!!! My fiance and I are first time home buyers and when looking for a new place to live on the Peninsula, we hadn't the simplest clue of what to do! We called up Holly after a friend had referred her and after seeing her great yelp reviews and I honestly have to say that was the best decision we have ever made!! Holly was there for us every single step of the way and beyond. She literally went BEYOND what she had to do to ensure we were happy home-buyers. The market is VERY VERY tough right now, especially for first timers, but Holly was relentless to find us a home, and we did!! In Redwood Shores! Holly was always available, day or night, she would be there. You can call, text, email and she will respond instantly. She has many connections and is very well regarded and liked in the area which is so great because you automatically have an in with selling agents. If we wanted to view a place 4-5 times before putting in an offer (which we did!), without hesitation she would say "YES lets do it, ill be there!" Holly goes above and beyond to make sure you do everything possible to give you a chance at the home you are bidding on. She even HAND delivers your offer to the selling agent which most selling agents were surprised at as they said usually people didn't do that! A major plus is that she has been in the business for a while and knows her stuff! Being a first time buyer, the lingo and paperwork can get wordy and start to not make sense. She always explained everything we had questions on in ways we could understand. We never had too many questions though, because Holly was always so on top of everything and great at explaining what everything meant. When I say she is amazing, I don't just mean she is amazing at her job (because she definitely is), but I also mean she is just a down right amazing person! She is so genuine, so sweet, so caring and so fun!! She is just a COOL person! That's the best way to say it. After telling family and friends about our experience with Holly, they were shocked out how AMAZING she was and said they would definitely use her when it came to selling or buying homes. Just call Holly and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that Holly knows the pros and cons of almost every street in San Mateo county
Holly Noto was our buyer’s agent when purchasing a home in San Carlos in the summer of 2019. Some years before we had purchased a condo in the city with another agent so had some idea of what to expect with the process and what level of support we would get from a buyer’s agent. Holly went far beyond our expectations in every way, starting with understanding our needs and wants. This sounds trite but it isn’t. Many of the agents we interviewed or represented friends seemed to point their clients to a zip code or a house based on what they value instead of what would make the client happy. As my wife and I had some slightly out of the norm goals for a home this was important to us. Holly took the time to understand what we valued and tailored suggestions based on this. Over the search process, the more houses we saw and the more we learned, we ended up changing what we prioritized as we weighed what really mattered most to us. Holly patiently tracked our changes, reminding us to take our time and not feel rushed as this was a big decision. I wouldn’t be exaggerating to say that Holly knows the pros and cons of almost every street in San Mateo county. Crazy details like, which streets are cold and dreary vs sunny, which cluster of homes have foundation issues, which streets had gas mains on them and even whether you may have trouble getting fire insurance on a property. Unlike many Senior/Junior team agents, Holly works alone. This is much better than the team scenario because you are always talking to the experienced agent rather than someone learning the ropes. On the flip side when we first started I thought this was going to be a problem thinking she wouldn’t have enough time for us, but Holly somehow was always there for us, to answer a text or rambling email, meet us on short notice at a house or make a last minute offer. I work a lot of hours and my wife works on weekends so we can be a bit challenging to work with but Holly would graciously work around our schedules to the point that we kind of felt like we were her only client even though she was handling a number of buyers and sellers at the same time as us. When visiting houses she caught things which we would never have noticed, like floors being slightly sloped or uneven, which renovations were carefully done vs only superficial, the quality of building materials and construction, potential drainage issues etc. She has great relationships with vendors around the Peninsula and was able to get vendors and contractors to weigh in on the price of renovations, the difficulty of a repair or the cost of something before we made an offer. Deciding on whether to make an offer on a house also entails reading pages and pages of inspection reports, title reports and myriad other disclosures with important facts buried between hundreds of pages of inconsequential details. For every house we considered (and there were a lot of these), Holly carefully read through all of the disclosures, making a summary of everything we should really pay attention to. This made us sleep better knowing there wasn’t some problem hidden in the disclosures which we may have missed. Holly is also very well regarded among agents across the Peninsula. Every time we stopped by an open house and were asked who our agent was, mentioning Holly’s name instantly got a warm response from the showing agent. This was beneficial to us when it came time to make an offer. As buyers we tend to focus on the price but when evaluating offers in a competitive market, agents like to deal with experienced agents they know and trust to deliver their end of the transaction. Holly also has a knack for predicting the sale price of a home very accurately. This matters when you are picking a number trying not to over pay while at the same time trying not to lose out on a home. After we had our offer accepted Holly coordinated with our mortgage broker and they both worked together to finish everything with time to spare before closing. If all of this wasn’t enough, even after we closed Holly went through the trouble of arranging fumigation for our house just so that we had one less thing to think about. After this review, I am sure it is pretty obvious that I recommend Holly Noto wholeheartedly. Home purchasing in the bay area is challenging on many levels but all in all worthwhile and I can’t think of a better person to have by your side during this process.
WE OWN A HOME!
The biggest reference that we can give to you and your perspective clients is...bottom line....WE OWN A HOME! What more proof do they need? Not only are we home owners but it was very pain-free. We had worked with other agents with no luck. You were more than just an agent you were a friend. This was exhibited in your openness to answer ALL of our questions at any time, put us in contact with people that were friendly and supportive, and making sure we crossed every T and dotted every I. It was amazing to us that this pattern continued on your part long after the sale was DONE! We could not have purchased our home without you and frankly we will never allow any of our friends, relatives or co-workers to use anyone but you. You made what started out as a painful, costly experience into an event that filled us with joy and excitement. Holly, your skills as an agent are unsurpassed but your skills as a people-person and someone that cares goes way beyond what is expected. If anyone wants to talk to us please have them spend 5 minutes on the phone with me......they WILL be your client. Thanks for helping Thanks for caring and more importantly Thanks for being YOU! One Quote that is a GREAT example of your style: "People don't CARE how much we know.....until they KNOW how much we care!" This is something that we felt from the first moment we met!
Holly was extremely patient
This review is long overdue. We bought our very first home in March and have been busy with moving in and settling down. Throughout the process, one person we really want to thank (who made this happen!) is our real estate agent - Holly Noto. We were very lucky to bump into Holly at one of the open houses in Belmont. We were primarily looking to buy our first home in the Peninsula area (RWC, Belmont, San Carlos). As you know, the market in the Peninsula region is extremely competitive and if you need to buy a house first thing you need to do is to get in touch with a great agent who knows ins and outs of this local market. Holly is from the Peninsula and knows the region really well. She has a great reputation and is respected among her peers. Initially, we were completely lost since we were first time home buyers. But Holly was extremely patient and went through all the set of disclosures with us in person. She explained in great detail the overall process and helped us do our research before putting an offer on a house. She also spent her time to drive to open houses and also showed the listings on market during non-open house hours. She was also able to show us off-market property. In the end, we were able to find our dream house in one of the most sought-after neighborhoods in Belmont. My wife Swetha and I are thankful to Holly throughout the process and highly recommend her (especially if you are a first time buyer). Please contact Holly Noto if you are looking to buy your dream house in the Peninsula.
Holly will be honest with you
When my wife and I were looking for our first home, we had no idea what we were doing. We found a few realtors on Yelp and narrowed it down to 3. After interviewing all of them, Holly was our #1 choice and we were thrilled with our choice for several reasons: - Holly will be honest with you. If she thinks there’s a problem with a property, she’ll talk you out of it. If she thinks your bid may be too low, she’ll tell you, but she won’t push you to bid more if you’re not comfortable with it. - She’s quick to reply when you need something. We never had any problems getting a hold of her by phone, email or text. It’s a wonder that she always seems to be super busy, but never busy enough to give you 100% of her attention. - You can tell she has a lot of experience doing what she does. She made sure that we had favorable terms written into our offer, but nothing that would scare away sellers. She’s also well connected within the community so she knew a lot of the listing agents that we wrote offers to. - She went the extra mile for us. After the purchase of our home, she helped us with some minor issues that occurred after the sale and saved us a lot of money. We are so happy that Holly helped us purchase our first home and would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for an agent.
Simply put, Holly is the best realtor
Simply put, Holly is the best realtor I have worked with to buy and sell a house. She is always available to provide insight or answer questions, I swear it seems like she works 24/7. If you want the expert advice when buying house or to maximize your profit when selling a house, you would be foolish not to choose Holly. I have worked with other agents and Holly is head and shoulders above the rest. I can't express how invaluable Holly was throughout the entire process.
Holly honestly took on ALL the work and somehow made a horrible situation pleasant
Words cannot not express my gratitude to Holly. We were in a very bad situation, job loss, underwater, and of course the economic situation being what it is!! I was a skeptic. I didn't think there was any chance that our home would sell. Holly was recommended to us by not only one couple but two. She eased my fears immediately and exceeded my expectations. She had amazingly creative ideas that brought tons of prospective buyers to view our home. Seriously, I was shocked how many calls we were getting and it was due to the many events she arranged and her large network of professionals. Not a single weekend went by that we didn't have an open house. If Holly was not able to hold one, she found an agent that could. She called and emailed with every update and if we ever needed her she always either picked up the phone immediate or returned a call or email same day. When we were in the process of collecting documents for escrow and we needed documentation from third parties, Holly was relentless at meeting deadlines. She not only called consistently to ensure that the paperwork was submitted on time, she even paid several visits to the third parties office herself to WAIT for paperwork. Holly was at our home at the drop of hat for ANYTHING; to pick up a check to deliver for services rendered, meeting me along the freeway where it was convenient for me just to sign a counter offer, even enlisting the help of her husband to help with some household fix-ups. She had awesome connections with handymen, cleaning services, and gardeners...all at lower prices then I could find. She honestly took on ALL the work and somehow made a horrible situation pleasant. I obviously cannot say enough about Holly. She's an absolute delight to work with and the right choice for anyone even thinking about selling. You'll find that she will never pressure you and be you're saving grace time and time again.
Holly was sent to us by the angels of real estate!
Holly was sent to us by the angels of real estate! Since day one, Holly was attentive to everything we needed and were looking for in a house. She spent a lot of time listening to what was a must and what we could live without. As first time buyers we had a ton of questions and we needed someone to walk us through the entire process in plain English and in a way that would not overwhelm or confuse us. We also needed someone who would be dedicated enough to take us on house tours every weekend since we were set on finding our new home. Holly explained step by step how everything works avoiding using technical terms and this really helped us understand the process. She was always available for questions; she proactively sent us updates on certain markets, trends, pictures, comments and price fluctuations. She spent countless weekends showing us houses trying to find “the right one”. Rain or shine, she was always there, waiting for us at the front door of the first house on the tour with a big smile and an eager hug. Since she was so respectful and understanding of our needs she even discouraged us from visiting certain houses because she knew what we were and were not looking for. This avoided us wasting our time. On a couple of occasions, we thought we had found the house we were looking for but Holly would sit us down and explain in detail why that house was not “right for us” – (looking back we have to say: ”Thanks Holly! You saved us from making a really bad mistake) We have finally found the house we were looking for and are the happiest people on earth. (After Holly of course) Thanks for all you’ve done and I wish everyone who’s looking for a house to find you or someone like you (but I doubt they will).
Great job Holly Noto did selling my house in San Carlos. . .
I’m writing to tell you what a great job Holly Noto did selling my house in San Carlos and how extremely happy I am with her work. Holly was a huge help to me from the beginning – she provided practical, helpful advice about all the phases of the sale – preparing it, staging it and marketing it. She had resources and contacts for every type of professional and service provider we needed. Holly was extremely professional, dependable and organized throughout the entire preparation and sale process; she never missed a detail or forgot anything. She was proactive in offering advice and possible solutions to any decision I faced, yet never in a pushy way. She is very knowledgeable about the local real estate market and trends. In additional to all this, the best part of working with Holly is she is such a nice, pleasant and positive person to be around. I loved working with Holly Noto and I will recommend her without reservation to anyone I know who plans to sell or buy property on the Peninsula.
Holly took care of every detail. . .
When I was looking for a realtor to sell my home, I went to the internet. That is one place I have found that if you ask the right questions the answer is there. Sure enough I found a wonderful web site put out by Holly Noto. She listed all the things you should do before listing a home. This was my bible. Yes Holly, I asked the right questions and you were the perfect answer. I can’t say enough about your down to earth and professional approach you bring to your profession. Holly took care of every detail, called and updated me often. Being an out of town owner made it difficult to come to San Mateo to water our garden, Holly even did that for us. Thank you again for your dedication to your client and your profession.
Holly marketed the house with amazing skill. . .
Holly Noto helped my wife and I sell our house in San Carlos. She did an absolutely spectacular job. We were living in London at the time and our house was rented out as a duplex. She dealt with the tenants, organized their departure and had the house redecorated. She marketed the house with amazing skill and worked extremely hard throughout the process. She provided extremely skillful advice on dealing with offers and organized all the paperwork. We completed the sale while being almost 5,000 miles from the Bay Area! In short, we cannot recommend her highly enough. Out of 10, we would give her 12! I work as a barrister in London and during the sale I was extremely busy. Without Holly’s steadfast help, it would have been impossible for us to sell our house. I do not think that any other realtor could have given such superb service.
Not only is Holly a fabulous realtor . . .
We are writing on behalf of Holly Noto, Residential Realtor with Coldwell Banker. We have known Holly as an acquaintance for a number of years, but recently had the opportunity to get to know her better, as she sold our condominium in Redwood City and assisted us helping to find our new home in San Carlos. Not only is Holly a fabulous realtor, offering a multitude of expertise and knowledge in the Bay Area real estate market, but she was instrumental with assistance in a variety of other areas, as well. For example, Holly was always available, flexible and willing to meet with contractors, inspectors, appraisers, etc., during times when our schedules would not allow us to do so. Additionally, we needed to be out-of-town on several occasions when selling and purchasing our homes, during those critical times, Holly was able to take control and act responsibly on our behalf when we were unavailable. We deeply respect Holly as a professional and a friend. We feel lucky to have been able to work with her, and in the future, if needed, will ask for her assistance and representation once again. Finally, we strongly recommend Holly Noto as a Realtor for your personal and/or professional residential needs.
Holly spent tireless hours looking up stats for us on various neighborhoods . . .
I wanted to drop you a personal note to let you know about Holly Noto. I know that you have lots of agents working for Coldwell Banker but I assure you that none of them exhibits the professionalism that Ms. Noto does. Holly spent tireless hours looking up stats for us on various neighborhoods. She took us out one Saturday afternoon for 4 hours just looking at houses. We wanted a 3/2. It was a 2/1 ½ bath. “Guys, I’ll put the bid in for you if you want it, but you aren’t going to be happy with this” she would say. “Take your time, it will happen” and “Make a list of what you and Bill want” We only bid on two houses. The first we lost (thank God). To make a long story short, we found this house that was up where the fog meets the earth. It was the ugliest house that I have ever seen. Powder blue, 1950 fixtures, hardwood floors that were hideous and I could go on and on. Holly asked one questions, “Do you see the potential?” We thought about that long and hard. . . . The house had been on the market for a while which I assumed was bad. She kept reminding us that people have this preconceived idea and then painted all these scenarios for us of what could be done. She met with all the inspectors, went to the City to see what permits had been obtained, took measurements. We bought that home in October and closed on it in January. When we learned it would be a 90 day close she kept our spirits up by saying, “What a wonderful way to start the year in a new house”. I do believe that was the longest close ever and Ms. Noto was right by our side. I could go on and on but I think you get the picture. We closed in January and we have never looked back. It’s the first time we have ever purchased a home and it was a truly pleasant experience. On Saturday mornings we look out our family room and watch the fog in; on the evenings we watch the planes glide through the stars. . . and we think of our chance encounter with Ms. Noto and how she makes this happen.
I can't say enough good things about my experience with Holly
I can't say enough good things about my experience with Holly Noto during the selling of my father's home. As the trustee of my father's estate it was my responsibility to settle his affairs. As I looked ahead at all I would have to do to accomplish this, selling my father's home from where I live, about 200 miles away, was the task I was looking forward to the least. It was the single most complicated task I would have to complete, and seemed like it would require "hands-on" attention almost daily. Fortunately I found Holly. For me, the task got much simpler from that moment on. From my perspective I moved from the driver's seat on this journey, to riding in the back seat of a very comfortable car. Holly would contact me throughout the journey to keep me posted on progress, ask me for information or advise me about actions to be taken. Meanwhile, while Holly kept negotiating obstacles, and navigating steadily toward our destination, I was able to keep doing the rest of the tasks required to settle my father's affairs. The whole process went so smoothly that it was almost anti-climactic when I heard that escrow had closed and the sale was finalized. I could not be happier with my experience with Holly. In preparation for selling the house I began to do some reading about "how to sell your home". A common theme was to select a real estate agent that was competent, experienced, knowledgeable, trust worthy and whose personality was compatible with your own. Then, tell them what you were hoping to accomplish and be smart enough to stay out of their way and let them work. When I found Holly I knew I had found that special real estate agent. From the beginning Holly seemed to be a partner I could trust implicitly. During our introductory walk-through of the property her sharp, experienced eye for details quickly noticed evidence of an old repair that I had completely forgotten about. She then discussed different approaches to preparing the house for market, how long each might take, what they might cost and what they might return. She laid out the options, explained the virtues of each and let me decide which approach I was most comfortable with. Once that choice was made, she had her team of fellow professionals begin to de-clutter nearly 70 years’ worth of living. Then she got them started on updating and brightening the property inside and out. Holly kept me posted on the progress and made me aware of things I should be doing at my end to allow the process to continue moving smoothly forward. She addressed my questions and concerns in a down-to-earth manner that allowed me to absorb a lot of new material and make educated decisions. When the house was ready for the open house it was beautiful. I think my parents would have been proud to see it. It generated early interest and received several offers to choose from. Again, Holly was there to explain the offers and help me to select what I felt was the best offer. The asking price for the house as shown, with improvements Holly suggested, was significantly higher that the initial estimated asking price. The final, accepted price, allowed us to clear, after all expenses, the asking price. As the Trustee, responsible to the beneficiaries of the trust, I couldn't be more relieved, and pleased, with the end result! While my philosophy was to stay out of Holly's way as much as possible, she was always easy to reach and communicate with whenever I had a question or issue that I felt needed addressing. Because of her professionalism and thoroughness the entire process, from beginning to end, went as smoothly as I had hoped, and much more smoothly than I had expected, especially for something with this many moving parts. There was never an instant where I second-guessed my selection of Holly as the agent to sell my parents' home. If I had to do it all over again, I would want to make the journey with Holly at the controls. Thank you Holly!!
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