An Advocate, on Your Side

Valerie Soltau

You want to buy or sell your home… but you also deserve the best price, an uncomplicated process, and an advocate who will help you navigate the many choices along the way. With me, whether buying or selling, you’ll find that I exceed every expectation.

For more than 26 years, I have specialized in real estate sales on the Peninsula.  I define my work with my clients in mind and offer complete confidentiality and an honest approach.  Whether it’s buying or selling a home, I will customize a plan, adapt to a changing market, negotiate the best price, and follow up on the details.    I offer a unique sales and custom marketing strategy including complimentary staging, that will maximize the exposure of your home both here and abroad.  I collaborate with a team of professionals to ensure that all of your needs are met, and no detail left unchecked.  I have a deep pool of buyers and specialize in Relocation and Off Market sales.

I look forward to working with you!

 

  • Your Real Estate Partner

    “…understanding our needs, hyper communicative, insanely organized, attentive to every detail, incredibly caring. As first-time buyers, we hugely appreciated the time she spent educating us on the home buying process, and how quickly she understood us as a couple and zeroed-in on properties we loved.”

    – Jonathan and Brittany

  • There is no one else I’d ever use

    “Valerie has helped us buy and sell homes and there is no one I’d ever use other than her.  She knows how to deal smoothly with unexpected problems that can come up, and her calming influence helps take the stress out.  While she helped us sell our home under the most trying of personal circumstances, I’m convinced that my home purchase would not have been successful had it not been for Valerie’s strategic guidance as we came out on top of 14 offers.   I could go on and on, but you will not find a better agent ANYwhere on the Peninsula!”

    – Barry Treseler

  • Valerie is a true professional

    “We have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Valerie Soltau for over 14 years. She has been incredibly instrumental in helping us both sell and purchase two different homes in the Bay Area. Our experience working with her has always been superb. She is a true professional in all aspects of her job.  We love that Valerie walked us through the process from beginning to end, and lessened our stress by handling so many of the minor details while still keeping communication open at every juncture.  She had a genuine interest in getting us into the right home and looked out for us as individuals, not just clients. She is well rooted in the community and was able to handle every step quickly and efficiently. We have highly recommended her to everyone we know either looking to purchase or sell a home, many of whom are very thankful for the recommendation.  We are very grateful to Valerie and look forward to working with her again in the future.”

    – Dawn and Todd Hemm

  • In-depth knowledge of each town

    “Valerie is truly a top notch real estate agent and found the perfect house for us!  Because of Valerie’s in-depth knowledge of each of the local towns where we were looking (Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Mountain View), we were able to locate a suitable property very quickly. Valerie even had access to inventories that were not yet listed publicly.  At the end we decided on a house in Los Altos that was perfect for us as a young family. We have two small children and Valerie also is very knowledgeable about the local schools.  Valerie was super responsive to any questions we raised and also weighed in with her bidding strategy and negotiation skills that helped us achieve the price point we were prepared to pay.  Valerie also provided extra services that came from her long-established contacts with various vendors and contractors that helped us get the house ready. As a result, we were able to move in quickly after the house was handed over to us.  We greatly appreciate Valerie’s wonderful assistance to find us a home and a community. THANK YOU!!”

    – Sonia & Alan Seem

  • She gets it done

    “Valerie jumps in and gets the job done for you!  I can’t say enough about her professionalism, guidance and delivery in managing the sale of our property.  There are a lot of decisions and options to consider and she is well versed in what to do, how to position the property best, and to get it closed.  Her negotiating skills were outstanding.  I unequivocally recommend her as my real estate professional of choice for the San Francisco Peninsula.”

     

    – Mark T Mitchell

  • The right experience

    “Valerie represented us in purchasing our home in Menlo Park in spring 2010.  At every step in the process, from casual home viewing through inspections and closing, she was a pleasure to work with.  From our initial conversation, it was clear that Valerie knew the market and had the right experience to navigate what is often a challenging process.  She knew the ins and outs of the neighborhoods, the people, the community and the housing stock.  Most importantly, she knew how to handle the process with cool, professional expertise so we didn’t have to worry about a thing.  She is a great asset for buying a home in the area, and is someone I strongly recommend working with.”

    – Steve C.

  • Better representation for your home

    “My sister and I had always heard that selling real estate out of an estate could be a real challenge. After we met with Valerie Soltau we felt a lot more comfortable about it. Her experience selling real estate from an estate was invaluable. Our mom’s house was in Linfield Oaks, which had it own very specific sub-market dynamics. Valerie was extremely well-versed in those dynamics. She knew exactly all the things that needed to be done to ready the house for sale and handled the entire process. Her market and process knowledge, experience and professionalism throughout made the process very easy for us. You could not ask for better representation when looking to sell your home.”

    – Paul and Julie S.

Rooted in<br /> our Community Rooted in
our Community

I’ve lived in Menlo Park since I was 2 years old.  I went to Sacred Heart, swam for Ladera Oaks for more than 10 years, was a cheerleader, and the first girl to swim on the boy’s varsity team at Menlo Atherton High, married a Palo Alto native,  and our daughter attends Santa Clara University.

I’m deeply rooted and committed to this community and can’t imagine living anywhere else.