Mercedes Van Pelt

6/16/22Denise Villafana

Google Review

Mercedes did double duty for us- for the sale and purchase of our homes. She guided us through the listing/selling process, with a thoughtful strategy to drive interest and get us the best offer and sale terms. On the buying side, her knowledge of the South Bay was invaluable in helping us decide where best to focus our search. We felt early on that we were in good hands, and her business acumen and expertise in the real estate market helped alleviate a great deal of stress and anxiety- and got us into a home in a great neighborhood! And throughout our months working together, she was great with communication. There was always a quick turn-around for responding to our calls and emails, and there were lots of them. Thank you, Mercedes!

5/3/22Jackie Sheng

Google Review

All reviews are true! Mercedes is THE REAL MVP.

We were first time home buyers and we were previously working with a realtor that left us with more questions than answers. After deciding to end the relationship, we reached out to Mercedes.

We also decided to restart the buying process in Jan of 2022, a hyper competitive time. Mercedes was with us every step of the way and she is a SHARK. With 100% confidence, I can say that she will FIGHT for you. We had SO MANY QUESTIONS and needed so much guidance - Mercedes was honest, dedicated, tenacious (and VERY patient!).

Thank you MVP for the making our first home buying process educational and rewarding in an intense market!! I will be using Mercedes's services for a long time to come.

1/1/22Otto Afanador

Google Review

Mercedes is truly worthy of her "MVP" moniker and her team/network is just as exceptional. My wife and I have limited experience purchasing a home, however this was our first time selling. At first we thought, due to the competitive market, the house would sell itself. Very quickly we learned the time, energy, responsiveness, and dedication required would be substantial -- that and more is where Mercedes nailed it! Similar to other reviewers, we met with three other realtors before deciding to work with MVP. Mercedes helped us navigate intricacies we didn't even realize existed and expanded our knowledge in other areas. Her strategies and tactics ultimately exceeded our selling goals. Finally, her network of contractors and staging companies are professional and supportive. Stop looking for a realtor and call Mercedes.

10/2/21Marc Mays

Google Review

It was a pleasure working with Mercedes every step of the way. We had met with several agents before meeting with her. After meeting with Mercedes we knew she was the right person for us. From her knowledge of the market in our area, to explaining options to help maximize our selling potential, we appreciated her knowledge and expertise. She has relationships with contractors and staging companies that were extremely professional. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mercedes to anyone looking for a real estate agent.

9/27/21Jim Talbot

Google Review

To say that Mercedes knows the South Bay market is an understatement. She’s super knowledgeable about everything and everyone in this area and yet she’s patient enough to shepherd even the most uninitiated clients through the competitive home search and buying process here. Six months ago, we would’ve said we were at least a couple years away from being able to enter the market as first-time buyers, and now our family is getting settled in our new home that we would’ve thought was completely out of our reach. Mercedes made it happen, and she will be the first person we call when we’re ready to do it all again for our next home.

8/27/21Mattie Gullatt

Google Review

Working with Mercedes was an absolute dream! As first time homebuyers we had A LOT of questions and Mercedes answered every single one and provided more insight and support than we ever could have asked for. Our home buying process was incredibly smooth and we owe all of that to Mercedes. We highly recommend working with her and look forward to continuing to work with her in the future!

7/28/21Rob Cadle

Google Review

My wife and I have known Mercedes for years, and when it came time to sell our house in Redondo Beach's Golden Hills neighborhood, we didn't seriously consider any other agent. In today's real estate market, anyone can sell a house, but here are aspects of our experience with Mercedes that make her stand out:

1) Outstanding use of all tools available to her to list, promote, and secure top dollar for our property. How many times do you see $1M+ houses listed for sale with crooked iPhone pictures (yes, agent, we see your reflection in the bathroom mirror and why can't you take 5 seconds to put the toilet seat down?). Mercedes brought in a top stager and photographer that made our house look so good we couldn't believe we were selling. She promotes properties using listing options like 'Coming soon' on the MLS, and on her social media feeds. Mercedes had qualified buyers lined up before our house even hit the market.

2) Deep knowledge of the community, especially the Golden Hills neighborhood. Mercedes does most of her work in the neighborhood where she has lived many years and raised her children. If you want to buy a house in Golden Hills, you want to work with her. If you are selling in Golden Hills, you want to work with her. She knows the in's and out's of all the floor plans, which builder models have what problems, what you need to ask the seller about to avoid an expensive repair after you move in, and what you have done to your house to promote it and get top dollar. She follows the local market closely and knows what a property should sell for and how it should best be promoted.

3) Attention to detail and complete mastery of realty contracts and processes. Mercedes knew how to check all the boxes to ensure that as sellers, we were left with minimal expenses and fees selling our house. She had more knowledge and experience than our buyer's agent, which gave her the upper hand in all negotiations. She used this advantage to get us the best deal possible and put more money in our pockets.

4) Honesty and integrity. The equity in our house represents a huge portion of our net worth. We only wanted to put faith in this transaction in someone we could trust. Mercedes does not play games or walk ethical lines. She is black or white when it comes to conflicts of interest and there was never any doubt in our minds who she worked for or what her primary motivations were.

5) Pre- and after-sales support. Mercedes did everything she could to help take the load of moving off our shoulders. She called the electric company (at least 3 times) to make sure our meter got fixed before we closed escrow. We accidentally had a table delivered to our old address after we moved out of state. Mercedes returned it to the store for us and got us a refund. Who does that? She knows cleaners, contractors, whatever services you need to make your move easier, Mercedes can help you out.

6/6/21TERESA SHOLL

Google Review

6/2/21Sophie Peter

Google Review

My girlfriend and I just bought our first home together and Mercedes was recommended to us through a friend - she usually works in the South Bay, so we weren't sure if she would take us as clients - but she did! I am so glad she took us on - I know the only reason we were able to buy a house in Los Angeles, in an area we are excited to live in, and in our budget, is because we had Mercedes as our agent.

Mercedes really walked us through the biding process and the buying process - she was so communicative, really guided us and listened to what we were looking for, and also was honest with us if we sent her a house that needed a little *too* much work. She really built relationships with all the sellers agents of the properties we put offers in, and just is so good to work with. I can't recommend her highly enough! Thank you so much Mercedes!

1/23/21Greg Hughes

Google Review

My wife and I recently purchased our first home in Redondo Beach, CA. We met with a few different realtors during the process, but we're so grateful that our paths crossed with Mercedes.

The South Bay is a competitive housing market, but Mercedes and her team helped us make informed, decisive decisions about what to pursue. As South Bay residents themselves, their guidance was invaluable. We appreciated their help and insight every step of the way: from their initial thoughts on how to prioritize our "must-haves", to the final steps of escrow. We always felt like we could reach out to Mercedes with any question, however small, and she would always respond quickly and thoughtfully.

Without hesitation, we would recommend Mercedes to anyone looking for a terrific, engaged real estate agent.

12/24/20Scott and Elena Colon

Google Review

We were blessed and fortunate to hire Mercedes Van Pelt for our recent sale in Long Beach providing us the opportunity to move mortgage free to Palm Springs! My wife and I were introduced to Mercedes 6 ½ years prior by our previous realtor for our purchase in Long Beach and we couldn’t have been happier with her. Fast forward to 2020 and we instantly hired Mercedes once again as we consider her not only as a great realtor, also as a friend!
First, she was very responsive and provided her professional guidance every step of the way. She listed our condo preparing us to what to expect with listings during the Covid pandemic. The listing looked great and we got plenty of interest based on her experience and marketing skills.
Like 2020 has been a year Like no other, the sale of our condo didn’t go as desired, to no fault of Mercedes whatsoever.
We had two separate buyers, the first which ended up defaulting, breaking our contract and Mercedes, with her due diligence and professionalism was on top of every issue that came up working proactively to solve them as they came. While in escrow, during the final days after completing our walk through, with only the buyer having to sign loan documents, the buyer pulled out!
To show the example of Mercedes’s tenacity, during this unfortunate period, she reached out to the buyer’s agent for constant updates, she contacted our listing agent in Palm Springs keeping her in the loop and even contacted the listing agent in Palm Springs to explain what had happened, asking for patience with our sale. She even reached out to the listing agent to vouching for us as her clients! Who does that?! Mercedes does!
In the end, we had to relist our condo, got a second buyer and this time, the escrow went much smoother, selling our condo enabling us to move to Palm Springs!
Mercedes is a professional through and true treating her clients as if you were her family! We know we would recommend her to anyone looking for an experienced professional who knows her craft in and out.

12/18/20S R

Google Review

Mercedes helped us purchase our first single family home in the South Bay and also helped sell our townhome. She exceeded our expectations. She was responsive and her negotiation tactics helped us get top dollar for our townhome, and also a very reasonable purchase price for our new home in a seller's market. We consider Mercedes part of our extended family!

12/9/20Chris Damkoehler

Google Review

Mercedes is the best realtor I've worked with. If you're looking for an agent that offers their buyers and sellers a top not service, look no further. Mercedes is extremely established in the area and brings her clients access to top notch professionals no matter what the need is including home inspectors, termite inspectors, general contractors, etc. I'm extremely thankful I found her as she has made life much easier and less stressful. I hope to do more work with her in the future.

12/9/20Sheri McCampbell

Google Review

Choosing Mercedes to sell my home was the best decision I could have ever made! She is absolutely fantastic and exceeded all expectations. After our first meeting to discuss the process, timeline, expectations etc...I knew I was in good hands. She is very professional, honest, knowledgeable, and direct with her guidance and really takes the time to explain her strategies and doesn't sugarcoat anything. Her attention to detail with preparing my house to sell was perfect and mindful of cost.
She said she would likely sell my house in approximately one week (in a hot market) and in fact it was even quicker. She listed my house on a Thursday and we accepted an offer the following Tuesday, above asking price and with multiple offers. I really can't say enough good things about Mercedes...I would highly recommend her to anyone, buying or selling, and can honestly say I don't think you'll find a better agent out there...anywhere!

12/7/20Sandy Kenney

Google Review

Mercedes is a true professional, she knows the real estate business inside and out, stays informed, and is a constant professional. She knows how to get the job done and follows through 100% of the time. Mercedes has helped us buy and sell our homes, she marketed and sold our home yielding 13 offers in a matter of days, and selling for over $100k above asking. Trust her to do what she is best at, you will not regret it!

12/3/20Brian Fife

Google Review

Mercedes is highly knowledgeable and a trusted referral for me. I've sent several friends to her for their real estate needs. If you're looking for a quick and easy sale of your property, Mercedes is a great choice.

9/7/18Spencer Dunn

Google Review

Working with Mercedes was the best decision of our life and we would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone searching for their dream home in the South Bay. We spent 6 months looking in Torrance/Redondo Beach for the right 3 bed/2 bath home and Mercedes went above and beyond every day to answer questions, provide unique insights, share her network of resources, and negotiate when needed. Looking back on the experience, it's now safe to say that finding the home and getting the offer accepted was the easy part.

As a first-time home buyer, it's very easy to feel overwhelmed in the escrow process and either submit to all of the seller's demands or walk away. Mercedes showed us how to leverage multiple inspections to get all of the information we needed to make informed requests and decisions. There's no way we could of gotten the house we wanted at the price we wanted without the help of Mercedes. If you want the right home at the right price, we strongly recommend going with Mercedes Van Pelt.

6/15/18Debbie Hines

Google Review

I had a great experience working with Mercedes! I was in the process of selling another home in a different state while searching for a new home in the South Bay, so my time frame was short. With her extensive knowledge and attention detail as a Realtor, she made the process as seamless as possible. Her follow up even after the closing on the property, showed me her dedication to her clients. I will continue to recommend her to anyone I come in contact with that is buying or selling a home!