TESTIMONIALS

Success Stories

SEE HOW WE'VE HELPED OUR CLIENTS ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS

Steve & Janelle

Premier agents! We began the search for our home during the pandemic when nothing felt certain in the housing market. Casey and Tess gave us the hope we needed with their encouraging attitudes and sincerest advice. This duo is proactive, quick, and well versed in the housing market even in the most unpredictable times. We never felt like it was just another sale for them and rather truly felt their investment in finding a home for our family.

Anthony & Shasta

Casey and her team are true professionals. They listened to what my wife and I were looking for, showed us options, and then executed fast. They were always available to discuss details and strategy and easy to talk to. Most of all their experience, market knowledge and strong negotiating really helped to make sure we got our new home at the right price without overpaying. We could not be happier with our experience and can't believe it was so easy.

Barry & Lily - Luong Kim Family

Tess is a true gem! She represented us as both buyer agent and seller agent (we bought in 2017 and sold in 2022). She is an amazing person and truly on your side! She is thorough and knowledgeable and client-centric. Tess really made the selling process so seamless and took charge. She takes care of her clients. We also recommended her to friends who had her represent them in the buying and selling process and they share the same view. Tess gets the job done and she does this effectively and efficiently! We are so lucky to have had Tess represent us on our purchase and sale of our San Carlos home.

Sam & VJ

She was very pleasant and understood what we were looking for in a house to buy. She was always available even late at night to answer our questions. She looked out for us all the time. We have had a wonderful experience with our house buying with Leila and have no hesitation recommending her to anyone looking for an honest, reliable, hardworking realtor.

The Hein Siblings

When it came time to sell our family home we reached out to Tess and Casey from the Stern Smithgroup. They presented us with a detailed plan to update our property into the best condition possible for sale along with a timeline. It was clear that they brought the perfect mix of resources and expertise to get the job done. They managed the entire process and executed their plan flawlessly with a warm caring persona. Tess and Casey were ways available to immediately answer our questions along the way. Our home sold within days of coming to market for close to a million dollars over asking price. The Sternsmith Group is our families only call for all our Real Estate needs.

Bruce

It was a pleasure working with Susan Michal selling my mother’s house. She is extremely professional and has wonderful ideas. She guided us through the selling process and was quick to answer all of our questions has well as address and solve our concerns. Her follow through was impeccable. When deciding to landscape and stage the house, Susan put us in contact with reliable sources who did the job well. She researched county records of the house to assist us in the selling features and to establish a fair selling price of the property. Susan has excellent follow through every step of the way and I would not hesitate to recommend her expertise.

The Barretts

From our initial meeting through the entire home selling process Tess Salter and Casey Sternsmith provided stellar end-to-end customer experience and project management services. During our initial meetings, Tess and Casey listened carefully and captured every detail of our requirements and unique situation. Tess and Casey quickly gained our trust and confidence as she guided us through each and every step including local requirements and providing advice on home upgrades.

Mehul & Namita

Leila helped us buy our first home! Leila is talented, professional and proficient in the bay area market. As a first time homeowner, she took the time to understand our needs & requirements. She was always very patient with us, provided guidance based on market trends, and checked in on a regular basis to ensure alignment. She was readily available to set up viewing appointments, especially during the pandemic. She was always available to answer any questions we had and provided her expertise as we navigated the market. We had an excellent experience with Leila and would highly recommend her for anyone looking for a realtor, especially new homeowners!

Caroline & Tony

Tess was our primary realtor from the Sternsmith Group and as genuine and kind as she is, she knows how to hustle with grace and never misses a beat. We had somewhat of a complicated moving process because we also wanted to list our home to sell as soon as possible and not only did Tess and Casey work with urgency, but she was also a great resource for us with recommendations. Once we found the house we wanted she helped us put together an offer package that was accepted within hours. I believe

Fiona & Chen

Casey did an amazing job helping us sell our first home. She was professional, knowledgeable and efficient, making the entire home-selling process pain-free and stress-free for us. All we had to do was move out of our place and Casey took care of the rest (cleaning, staging, marketing, hosting multiple open houses, getting us the best offers, etc.). Overall a really fantastic experience!

David & Tayanah

Susan was exactly the buyer’s agent we needed to help turn our search into a success. Within a month of working with her, she alerted us to an off-market opportunity, which gave us our first real shot at becoming homeowners. And when we discovered that the opportunity was going to be more work than we thought we could take on, she never pressured us to close.

Ashish & Anagha

Gabby helped my husband and I get our dream home in the Bay Area! We truly appreciated her thoroughness in research and attention to detail. As first time home buyers, we needed someone who would be with us every step of the process, Gabby did that and beyond! She was always available to answer our questions and went to great lengths to provide us with the most accurate information- may it be knocking on the doors of city Government, or following up with home inspectors and listing agents. I would also like to call out that she's the warmest person and we immediately felt at ease as we embarked on the house hunt.

Natasha

We met Leila at an open house and we are so glad that we did! She helped us find our first home in the crazy peninsula market. She was very responsive throughout the process and knowledgeable about the market. She really took the time to understand what we were looking for in a home and helped us to see many homes across the 2.5 months we were searching. She was great about answering all of the questions we had before, during, and even after our home purchase. We couldn't be happier with the house we ended up buying!

Margie & Marty

We recommend that you contact Tess Salter if you’re looking to purchase or sell your home. We've just completed working with Tess on the purchase of our new home and, to put it succinctly, – she EXCEEDED our expectations! Tess is a great listener and immediately understood what we were looking for in a home. She locked-on to our requirements!...

The IP Family

We had an outstanding experience working with Tess in both buying and selling our home, especially during the height of COVID times. She was extremely responsive, ensured proper safety measures (for both our family and potential buyers entering our home), and provided great advice throughout the entire process. Additionally, she had very helpful renovation connections which we are currently using. We give Tess our highest recommendation and would definitely recommend her to anyone interested in buying or selling a home in the Bay Area!

Sarah & Jonathan

We worked with Tess for over a year to find our home and she was a delight to work with. She paid attention to the characteristics of our dream home and time and time again, had us looking at homes fitting our criteria. She was really attentive to our war stories from visiting numerous open houses and incorporating our feedback into future neighborhoods and homes to consider. For our third offer, Tess really went to bat for us in the back and forth known as negotiations. We couldn't be more pleased with the home we got.

Amy & Sebastian

Tess is incredible at what she does and made our first home-buying experience so enjoyable! We met Tess early on in our search and appreciated her knowledge of the market, patience with walking us through each step of the process, and expertise in helping us smoothly secure an off-market home. Once our bid was accepted, Tess had a phenomenal network of all-star professionals to guide us through escrow, mortgage loans, etc. It’s so clear from everyone we’ve interacted with in Tess’s sphere that she operates with high integrity, professionalism, and excellence...

Paul & Emily

My wife and I met Leila right here on Zillow. Now, just over 2 months later and thanks in very large part to Leila, we (and our daughter, son, and dog) have bought, moved into, and celebrated Halloween at our first home. We were just looking for someone to help us tour a house. We feel—and I suspect we are—just so lucky that Zillow paired us up with Leila. We'd highly, highly recommend her if you haven't already found someone to help you with your search and this process. Buying a home in Northern California is no joke, and yet it truly wasn't bad with Leila by our side. Thanks Leila!

Neal & Milee

Tess was recommended to us through a friend. From the beginning, it was clear that she has deep expertise on the market throughout the peninsula. We found her to be highly responsive as we worked together for almost a year, during the pandemic. She provided a helpful mix of open house trips and video tours that allowed us to quickly get a feel for the market. She assisted us in finding our ideal home, which was actually off-market. Tess guided us to put in a preemptive offer that resulted in us buying the home prior to its listing. Overall, we would recommend to other prospective homebuyers.

Ryan & Katherine

​​Casey was AMAZING. We found a house we liked on Zillow months before we were planning to buy and emailed Casey, who immediately told us that offers were due less than 18 hours later, worked with the listing agent to get us a tour the next morning, and guided us to make the right offer to secure the house. Then, she went above and beyond during the closing process to make sure everything went smoothly and that we had zero regrets about our purchase. Thank you Casey for helping us get our dream house; we couldn't have asked for a better agent.

Yumika & Bill

Tess is very resourceful and knows literally everybody in the area! She is not afraid of telling the client what is realistic and what is not. We were able to focus on what is most important and were able to move very quickly once we found our ideal house. I like her cheerful but very straightforward manner:) It was pleasant to work with her!

Sarah & Ian

Casey was fantastic in helping us navigating our first home purchase. We really had no idea what to expect, especially in the insane Bay Area housing market. After meeting Casey at an open house, she took us on a grand tour of San Mateo and surrounding communities, showing us the different neighborhoods and explaining the pros and cons of each. She helped us determine our must haves and narrow down what we really wanted...

Tyler & Devon

Highly recommend. Tess is a phenomenal realtor® and such a pleasure to work with. We first met with Tess to discuss what we wanted and within less than a month, she had helped us find exactly what we were looking for. We wrote 1 offer and thanks to Tess and her team, we closed earlier than expected. What really makes Tess special is how much she truly cares about her clients. She took the time to help us understand each step of the process, walk through all the details and provide guidance...

Amy & Amit

Thanks to Casey, my partner and I are now first time homeowners, after we won the first offer we made this year. Casey's familiarity of the nuances of the local neighborhoods in San Mateo county helped me and my partner focus our search to areas that were particularly desirable for us. Her deep knowledge of the home-buying process, and how she held our hands throughout the offer and closing process, brought clarity, confidence, transparency and to what could have an otherwise very overwhelming process...

Amit & Priya

We've known Tess for a few years as we have thought about selling our home. As we hired Tess for the listing, everything went so smooth and just had an overall fantastic experience. Really was a full, white-glove service, where she helped us move out, get things fixed, got the listing up and running in a good timeframe, and advised us as offers came in. Simply a 5 star experience, and we would highly recommend. We were happy with the outcome.

Mike & Yutiing

Tess was great to work with. She helped educate us on the areas, even gently guiding us to a location we hadn’t really considered, but which ended up being a perfect fit for us. As we visited homes, she always managed to point out important factors to consider, without offering too strong of an opinion, allowing us to form our own thoughts in an informed way. When it came time to buy, she helped us craft a competitive offer and used her relationships to put us in an advantageous position in the negotiation...

Jonathan Scharfman

Tess and her Team are the best!!! Cool headed, consummate professionals with market knowledge that is second to none. Their results exceeded our expectations - and kept our stress level to a minimum by covering all the key details. Don't hesitate to work with the Sternsmith Group - you will not be disappointed!

David & Nui

Tess was wonderful. I could not be more pleased with her and her team. From the selling perspective, she was calming, kept my wife and I on schedule, provided valuable input/feedback, and we could not have been as successful as we were selling our home without her, set a neighborhood record. From a buyer perspective it is uncanny how well she captured what my wife and I valued in a new home - not to mention how quickly she responded and scheduled home visits. I highly recommend Tess and her team

Lanam Family

Tess was an absolute rockstar as our realtor! She was hard-working, thorough, and displayed an exceptional level of expertise and mastery of her field. It was reassuring to have her by our side through the house-buying process. Not only did I know for certain that she would dot every I and cross every T, I was also put at ease by her positive and optimistic demeanor. Without Tess we never would have landed in our current home, which is nothing less than a dream come true. Can't recommend her enough!

Mary & Gary

Look no further than Tess Salter and Casey Sternsmith for real estate professionals. My husband and I were extremely happy with the service and expertise they provided. Tess and Casey were always available for questions, incredibly pleasant to work with and exceeded our expectations with the sale of our house. They took care of all inspections and prep, never pushed us to do something we didn't want to do and kept us in the loop along the selling process. We highly recommend the Sternsmith Group!

Sandy & Brian

Casey is professional, experienced, and has a great team. She and her staging team/contractors transformed our place and sold it very quickly despite the current macro and interest rate situation. She was also able to negotiate a great price for us. I highly recommend her as your go to for any real estate matters. (Sandy)

Jim & Stacey

A friend of ours recommended Tess & Casey to us and we found them to be very friendly & professional. Tess brought her people in to do some needed changes to our house, Their knowledge of the market is extensive and their suggestions and advice we’re right on point. They were very accessible and responsive, returning our calls answering any questions that we had in a timely manner. We would highly recommend Tess & Casey to anyone selling a home.

Phil & Lisa

My wife and I came across Tess Salter at an open house and we immediately knew this was the agent we wanted representing us. Tess is well connected in the Peninsula real estate community and has a vast network that benefits buyers and sellers equally. Tess became our best friend as we navigated our search and purchase. Tess communicated often and clearly, took the time to help us understand each step and answered all our endless questions...

Jason & Katerina

Tess was fantastic throughout the process. We're first-time home owners and she was patient and helpful the entire way. She answered our many questions and provided great local knowledge and guidance. Perhaps most importantly, she leveraged her relationships to put us in the most competitive position possible. Our offer was accepted the day before the house was supposed to go on market because Tess knew the selling agent well. We would highly recommend Tess to friends, family, and anyone else looking for a home in the peninsula.

Mimi & John

Working with Tess exceeded our expectations of the home buying process; she's very observant, respectful, and just made the entire process light and enjoyable. On our first day of working Tess, she selected a handful of different homes within the peninsula, and gave us a tour of each neighborhood, noting what we liked and didn't like. By the second day of our home tour, she already knew the type of homes that we were drawn to, and what was important to us. Tess is also very detail orientated, and would point out things about a home that we wouldn't have noticed...

Julie & Chris

Worked with Tess and Casey to buy and sell our homes. They are true professionals. They understand the local market and really know how to set your home up for success - the staging, advertising, photography, videography, and open events - they organize it all. Initially, i wasn't a fan of staging but once I saw the results, I was blown away. Our purchase was complex owing to some small issues with the home - Tess went out of her way to come up with resolutions...

Don

Tess Salter and Casey Sternsmith are awesome real estate agents. They are professional, truthful, honest and friendly. They are very knowledgeable on the dynamic real estate market and will give you talk straight. They work tirelessly to complete the tasks at hand and meet all deadlines, smooth as clockwork. They have a large network of contractors at their call who do great work at very competitive prices. We were 200 miles away while Tess and Casey handled everything needed to sell our home...

The Kunst Family

Needing to sell my Dad’s home, I noticed the house 2 doors down just sold. So I called the realtors listed Casey Sternsmith and Tess Salter, they just sold the house for record price and multiple offers. I talked to one of the neighbor’s across the street and they said the open house was nonstop cars of people looking at the house...

Adrian & Dayna

Leila was very knowledgeable, responsive and patient throughout our first house hunting experience in the Bay Area. From offering strategic advice during the bidding process to explaining what all the mountains of paperwork meant (and even putting new batteries into our thermostat before we moved in) we felt that Leila was with us every step of the way. We would definitely seek out Leila’s help again if we were ever in the market for a new home.

Seller

Casey is AMAZING! We find her because she is the NO 1 agent in San Mateo, and the data does tell the truth. She managed to do our renovation within 30 days with a totally brand new kitchen, carpet & floors, and lots of other upgrades in the bathrooms. She find budget yet high quality contractors. Our renovation cost is well spent. With her extensive tasty staging, our place is eye-catching. We expect to sell our place in a few weeks as our neighbors' all do.

Jasmine

This process was super smooth! I didn’t need to worry about a thing!!!! I would give her 10 stars!! From start to finish, Leila was right alongside me, making sure I had what I needed and wanted. She is friendly and professional, an absolute joy to work with! I got an awesome place thanks to Leila! She took care of all my paperwork, and I only needed to sign! Couldn’t have done this without Leila! In fact, it was so easy that I will buy my second place with Leila!

Dillon & Jess

Leila was an outstanding agent. She was very accommodating and willing to meet us at any property we requested at a drop of the hat. As first time buyers, she walked us through the entire process and helped us navigate the ins and outs of bids, contingencies, and all the buying nuances. She ultimately found us our dream home and we couldn't be happier, we highly recommend Leila.

Seller

Casey is top notch in terms of how she reads the market and how she executes. Highly recommend Casey and her team.

What other clients have to say

How can we thank you enough for your guidance, patience, professionalism and support you have given us through our house buying experience. We could not have asked for a better agent and feel so lucky to have worked with you. We hope that even though business has finished (for now), that we will still be in touch regularly.
– Adam & Katrina B.

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Insightful local knowledge and extensive expertise. We looks forward to earning your family’s trust and leveraging our success for your benefit for generations to come. We looks forward to earning your family’s trust and leveraging our success for your benefit for generations to come.

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