Menlo Park Real Estate Agent
Cottages near Santa Cruz Avenue and oak-shaded lots west of the Alameda sell on different terms. Representation that starts with your street.
Lisa M. Lum is a Menlo Park real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty, working from the office at 1706 El Camino Real. Menlo Park behaves like several towns at once.
West of the Alameda, West Menlo Park offers 7,000 to 12,000 square foot lots with mature oaks. Sharon Heights adds elevated lots with western foothill views near Sand Hill Road, and both fall in the Las Lomitas Elementary District.
Closer to downtown, Allied Arts is known for 1920s and 1930s cottages and an easy walk to Santa Cruz Avenue and Caltrain. Felton Gables, north of downtown, is a small enclave of about 80 homes on roughly 10,000 square foot lots.
Linfield Oaks, beside Burgess Park, and Suburban Park, east of El Camino Real, offer single-story mid-century ranch homes.
School district and zoning can change from one street to the next, and a protected heritage oak can shape what a lot allows, so two homes a mile apart can sell on different terms. Lisa’s work is knowing which of those differences matter for your street, and telling you plainly before you commit to a number.
Meet Lisa M. Lum
Lisa is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty, working from the brokerage’s Menlo Park office at 1706 El Camino Real. She has been licensed in California since 2018 (DRE #02005150) and studied Legal Studies at UC Berkeley.
More about Lisa →Selling your Menlo Park home
A Menlo Park sale is priced street by street. A cottage in Allied Arts, a ranch home in Linfield Oaks and a rebuilt home in West Menlo Park draw different buyers with different questions.
So Lisa builds pricing from the closest comparable sales in your neighborhood. A citywide median says little about any one street.
Then comes preparation. Through her Home Refresh program, Lisa manages the vendors for repairs, paint, staging and curb appeal, and you approve every estimate before work begins.
The paperwork starts early too. Home Refresh includes a pre-listing inspection and a disclosure package, assembled before launch so buyers can write with confidence.
If a tree near the house needs work, the heritage tree permit and arborist report belong on the calendar weeks ahead of photography.
Lot size and zoning belong in the marketing. On a 10,000 square foot R-1-S parcel, the potential of the land can be as persuasive as the house itself.
When offers arrive, Lisa walks you through each one on price, terms, contingencies and the buyer’s financing, so you choose with the full picture in front of you.
Go deeper: current Menlo Park seller data, how to choose a listing agent in Menlo Park and the Home Refresh program.
Lisa’s guide
The Home Refresh Guide
How Lisa prepares a home before it goes to market, from the pre-listing inspection to staging.
Buying a home in Menlo Park
Start with the school district, because in Menlo Park it follows the address. Districts serving the city include Menlo Park City School District, Las Lomitas Elementary District, and the Ravenswood City School District, which serves the Belle Haven area east of US-101.
High school assignments run through the Sequoia Union High School District. Confirm the assignment for the exact address with the district before you write an offer.
Next, read the lot as carefully as the house. Menlo Park’s single-family zoning is split principally between R-1-U, with a 7,000 square foot minimum lot, and R-1-S, at 10,000 square feet.
That zoning shapes what you can add later, from a second story to an accessory dwelling unit. If an addition is part of your plan, confirm setbacks, floor area limits and design review triggers with the Community Development Department before signing.
The heritage tree ordinance matters too. Removing or significantly pruning a heritage tree requires a city permit, so a protected oak in the wrong place can decide where a future addition goes.
For the full picture of the market, see the Menlo Park community guide and Lisa’s buyer’s guide.
Recent results in Menlo Park
From Lisa's published client reviews.
“Lisa made what could have been an overwhelming process feel seamless. Her knowledge of the Menlo Park market and negotiation skills got us a home we thought was out of reach.”
Menlo Park neighborhoods served
- West Menlo ParkOak-shaded 7,000 to 12,000 square foot lots west of the Alameda, in the Las Lomitas Elementary District.
- Sharon HeightsElevated lots near Sand Hill Road and the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club, with western foothill views.
- Allied Arts1920s and 1930s cottages around the historic Allied Arts Guild, a short walk to Santa Cruz Avenue.
- Felton GablesAbout 80 homes on roughly 10,000 square foot lots, with oaks growing in the middle of some streets.
- Linfield OaksA 1950s planned neighborhood of single-story ranch homes beside Burgess Park.
- Suburban ParkMid-century ranch homes on 6,000 to 8,000 square foot lots east of El Camino Real.
- Stanford HillsA small enclave on the city’s southern edge, with some larger parcels backing onto the Stanford foothills.
- Vintage OaksEarly-1990s detached homes east of US-101, with HOA-maintained common areas.
Every neighborhood above has a full profile in the Menlo Park community guide.
