Sally Takeda

"After raising our kids and living in South Pasadena for 21 years, we moved to Connecticut.  We decided to sell our home and contacted Sally to be our Realtor.  Hiring her was one of best decisions we ever made. While living on the East Coast throughout the entire process, Sally handled everything from start to finish and made the entire process painless and stress free…all while we were 3000 miles away!

She went far above and beyond what we expected and what is normally expected of a real estate agent.  She took such a personal interest and treated the sale of our home as if it were her own….and I can truly say, we were not the easiest clients.  She explained to us exactly what we needed to do to sell the house for the highest price, and most importantly, to the most qualified buyers.  She literally handled everything. 

Being very active in the community, and a longtime resident of South Pasadena, Sally was able to explain to potential buyers all of the special reasons we all chose South Pasadena to call home.

We would highly recommend Sally.  We could never thank her enough for what she did for us.

Make the right choice when choosing a Realtor."

-Joseph and Anne Cocuzzo

“We loved working with Sally so much. She made the process of buying and selling our homes less burdensome because of her experience, expertise, thorough communication, and willingness to execute every task. When searching for homes she was always there early, talking to the listing agents, always calling and checking with them to give us the most up to date information, and she took the initiative to provide us with important facts about the neighborhood. If we wanted to know the history of a home she was quick to find permits for us to view. This ongoing communication put us at ease. I really felt that every decision we made (whether to pass on a house, make an offer, or a counter offer) was well informed because of her help and clear explanations. She approached situations in a logical manner that helped me to feel confident about our choices. We eventually put in an offer in a competitive neighborhood and with her help we won the bid and closed escrow. She was there for every meeting and every inspection even if I couldn’t be. I am so glad that she represented us in purchasing our new house! 

When it came time to sell our previous house, I had just given birth and was suddenly overwhelmed to have three young children. Sally was so understanding and accommodated us with every last detail, even if we were busy with home life. She handled the staging, the open houses, and helped us to go over the offers we received. She handled everything right to the very end, even after the house we sold closed escrow. She is not the kind of person to leave things unfinished. My husband and I highly recommend Sally for her professionalism and her warm approach. Talking to her is like talking to a family friend and we look forward to working with her again in the future.”

-Jeanny and Ray 

“Sally helped us purchase our first home in Pasadena.  That sentence makes it sound simple, and indeed Sally made what would otherwise have been a stressful rollercoaster of a process seem smooth and simple, and even fun!  We cannot thank her enough for walking us through the various steps in a clear and straightforward way, while always clearly being several steps ahead of us. She gave us thoughtful insights on the market, guided us on making competitive offers, and represented us in a compelling way to sellers and their agents.  Her "local" knowledge of the immediate market is invaluable.  Given how incredibly competitive and fast moving the housing market is, I feel sure that without Sally's knowledge, advice, advocacy, and navigation we would not be homeowners right now.  

When we hit a major and very stressful roadblock (compounded by the fact we were sick with Covid at the time and about to have our second child) she was quick on her feet to understand the full situation, think creatively when we couldn't, and break down our options for us in a clear and thoughtful way.  She remained cool, calm and collected throughout and completely managed the situation with the seller's agents to buy us more time and ultimately avoid losing the house altogether.    

We noted that Sally rapidly built excellent relationships with other agents and teamed well with our lender. She also leveraged her wide range of contacts to recommend contractors and specialists as well as learn what she could about the local neighborhood from recent sales of other homes. Undeterred by the challenge of an accelerated timeline in the middle of the holidays, Sally somehow managed to line up inspections at short notice for us and be there in person when we couldn't be. 

Sally's commitment knows no limits....after researching everything there is to learn about septic tanks and local requirements, she was at the house first thing on New Year's Day for a full septic tank drainage and inspection - I mean c'mon, not even best friends do that!! 

Sally is unparalleled as a partner; she listens and really cares. As well as being a devoted mom and wife, we know she consistently has a full list of clients and certainly had a heavy workload at the time she was helping us but at no time did we ever feel like there was anyone else but us on her mind. She was always incredibly responsive and ahead of the game in every aspect. We also appreciated how patient she was in guiding us through a new and daunting experience, answering our many questions and handling our setbacks with compassion, optimism, and creativity.  It was a wild ride and we're so happy with where we landed thanks to Sally.  As a result of our experience of her through this process, we trust her completely and consider her a friend. Thank you again!”

-Rachel & Alex 

“Sally has been such an instrumental and supportive part of our family through the years.  She not only sold my mom's home once, but twice!  Throughout the process, she was extremely patient, understanding, and definitely went above and beyond.  She understands the clientele market very well and strives to do what's in the best interest of the client.  In addition, it's the little things such as driving her clients or picking up the housekeeper from the train station that demonstrates her character and compassion.

In addition to selling my mother's home twice, she recently assisted me on a rental property.  Though this is something she typically doesn't do, Sally definitely went the extra mile and found me the best tenant.  We had over 60 applications and 40 viewings.  Even though I told Sally to stop after the second day, she wanted to give every prospective renter a fair chance to view and apply for the place.  

She put the same amount of effort into selling a home as she did in finding me the perfect tenant for a rental property!  I highly recommend Sally to be your new agent whether it's to buy your future home or if you're in the market to sell.  It's been an absolute pleasure and positive experience and our family is very appreciative of all her help through the years.”

-Justin 

"We feel incredibly lucky to have had Sally by our side through the purchase of our first home! We came into this process knowing pretty much nothing about anything, and Sally went above and beyond to make sure we understood what was happening and that we were fully comfortable every step of the way. She didn't just do the things you would expect and agent to do: sending us listings, arranging showings, handling the logistics of the offer process. Sally did all that and way more. She spent hours upon hours teaching us everything there is to know about South Pasadena, Pasadena and Altadena (all of which she knows like the back of her hand). She went out of her way to accommodate our out-of-town schedule and always made sure trips to LA were as worthwhile and fruitful as possible. She is also hilarious, personable, and such an easy person to talk to. Most important of all, she took the time to get to know us as people, and it was obvious that she was trying her best to get us not just into any house, but rather, into the right house for us. She never glossed over potential negatives and never tried to pressure us into going forward with anything we were unsure of. She always gave us the time and space to become comfortable with every decision we made. At the same time, she was also realistic and candid about the home-buying process. Because of that, we felt like we could 100% trust her advice and trust that she was on our side. Sally is smart, hard-working, and we cannot recommend her enough. We love our new home, we cannot imagine being in any other home, and we could not have ended up here without her!"

-Sean and Stephanie

"Let's face it. Buying a home is one of those MAJOR life-stress moments. It can be an emotional roller-coaster even in the best of times. Now imagine trying to buy a home during a global pandemic, with major disruptions across the entire economy, total uncertainty on aspects of our daily lives that we take for granted in normal times. Everyone adjusting on the fly as cities issue stay-at-home orders and social distancing rules indefinitely. Maybe the smart move would have been to wait - after all, we had quite a bit of flexibility on timing. But sometimes, you find a property (ok, more accurately, Sally finds you a property) and you just know in your heart that your family belongs in it. Your mind starts seeing "memories" of your family in this home as though you have been living here for years. No, you know that staying on the sidelines is not a viable option, as you know deep down that you will regret letting this one slip by. (Yes, we've learned the hard way as it's not our first time buying a home.) We took the plunge and ended up closing escrow within a month. We spent the next month or so moving out of our old home and into our new one. We absolutely love this home, and have no regrets. We still receive those realtor.com alerts, and nothing on the market since then comes close to what Sally found for us.

Once we fully moved out of our old home, we decided to convert it to a rental property rather than sell it. This was something in hindsight we wish we had done the previous time we bought and sold our home. However, the pandemic made us question the wisdom of becoming landlords during these uncertain times. Are we better off selling it instead and give up on this dream? We turned to Sally again. She told us to keep an open mind, and while noting that nothing is guaranteed, she did help a recent (pre-Covid19) client find a tenant willing to pay for the entire year of rent up front. We were cautiously optimistic, but prepared for a long drawn out process. Within 72 hours of handing her the keys, we received multiple rent applications, including offers to pay the entire year of rent up front, and above our asking price!

Even in normal times, what Sally delivered for us would be nothing short of amazing. We should know, as this is our third time purchasing a home (though our first time with Sally as our realtor). And, given the circumstances, this should have been the most stressful of the three, but it was not, thanks to Sally. If you are reading this, then perhaps you are in the market and looking for a realtor. Who should you look for? There are many realtors who can boast of having years of experience, who really know the local real estate market of interest to you, and who have a lengthy list of homes they have successfully sold or purchased on behalf of happy clients. Those are, of course, important qualifications, and Sally certainly has all of those as well. But if there is one thing we learned from being in the real estate market during these surreal times, it is how much more of a premium you should weigh the trust you have in your realtor. Guess what? There are no realtors with years of pandemic experience on their resume! Every single realtor on your short list is dealing with these unprecedented conditions for the first time. So what's Sally's secret at successfully helping us navigate the market in these crazy times? For us, it's the perfect balance of her attentiveness, her empathy, and her professional integrity; qualities that no doubt she has always had, and definitely put into practice to great effect in these extraordinary times to earn our trust. She listened intently and truly understood what we were looking for, and so can put herself in our shoes to assess whether something would work with our family. She would never waste our time showing us homes that would never work for us just to, I don't know, look busy or whatever. If you work with her, it will quickly become self-evident that everything she does is motivated by what best serves your interests. That is clearly what drives her, rather than simply closing the deal, or meeting some sales quota. Entering escrow right when the stay-at-home orders were first implemented meant a lot of extra leg work for Sally. Nobody knew for sure if the various inspectors would still be available to work, and whether they could complete it within our contingency period. She was with us every step of the way, making all these arrangements for us, and actively keeping us apprised of the steps that still needed to be taken to stay on track to close escrow. This was so helpful and let us anticipate what was coming, so we always felt like we were a couple steps ahead. When the inevitable curveballs came our way, Sally was right there with us again, providing us valuable insight and advice, but giving us the space to make our own decision. Even though she has a ton of experience with real estate transactions, she was always sensitive to the fact that to her clients, this one real estate transaction is a pretty major life event, and thus is able to address questions or concerns we had accordingly.

We know Sally well enough to know she won't boast about how quickly she was able to find us a home to buy, or to find us great renters in the midst of a pandemic. We know she won't use that to sell herself to potential clients. Obviously, if you are in the market and are fortunate enough to work with Sally, your mileage may vary. We didn't expect her to be this fast, and it would not be fair to have this expectation next time we work with her either. But what we can confidently tell you is that Sally will absolutely do everything she can to help meet your real estate needs, and to do so with your utmost best interests at heart. We have seen that first hand. (Getting our purchase offer accepted had some twists and turns that Sally masterfully helped maneuver to get us the desired outcome - but you'll have to ask her about it!) With all the uncertainty these days, about the only thing we can be certain of is that circumstances remain unpredictable. Pandemic or no pandemic, buying or selling a home can be stressful. You want and need a realtor who you know you can depend on, and most importantly, who you know is 100% in your corner, and without question that is Sally Takeda.

Sally, we can't thank you enough for all your help!!!"

- John Au and Yuki Cutcheon

"During a busy time in my career and while my wife was 9 months pregnant, our forever home came on the market. Sally greatly reduced the stress of buying and selling at the same time. Her exceptional follow through with loan officers, escrow professionals and other agents eased both transactions and negotiations. She went through ever detail in the contracts and did not bother us with insignificant matters. We received a record price well above comps for the home we sold. Sally is a tough negotiator for her clients but maintains great relationships with all parties involved. I would highly recommend Sally to my closest friends and colleagues."

- Grant Davis Denny, Lori Davis Denny

"My wife and I recently had the pleasure of working with Sally Takeda in our search for, and eventual purchase of, our new home in South Pasadena. We had been searching for a place for three years and Sally was the third agent with whom we had worked. Sally was the first agent we were unequivocally happy with. She was responsive, very knowledgeable about the market, straightforward, receptive to feedback and questions, timely in her responses, and went

the extra mile to make sure everything went smoothly. She was also extremely diligent in gathering as much information as possible to help us make an informed decision, and I felt like she genuinely wanted to help us find the right place for our family, not just a place. The market is so competitive and difficult for buyers in Southern California, the last thing we needed was a high pressure salesperson. We needed an experienced and knowledgeable professional who had our best interests in mind and that's exactly what we got with Sally. I would unequivocally recommend her to anyone in search of an excellent agent."

-Ben Galante

"Sally Takeda is the best realtor a buyer or seller could hope for. My husband and I used her for both buying our new home and selling our old one. She is professional and hard working, approachable and honest. She is easy to communicate with via phone call, text, email and in person. She was accommodating to our busy schedule and did whatever necessary to make sure she was available to us. She made sure the buying and selling processes were made easy and as stress-free as possible for us---making sure documents were created, signed, and submitted on time, always talking us through our options, and honoring our wishes and vision for the sell and purchase of our homes. Without hesitation, I recommend her to anyone in need of an agent. She is fabulous!"

- Allison and Patrick Kelly