Santa Clara Real Estate Agent
Victorians in the Old Quad and newer homes at Rivermark sit in the same city. Representation that starts with the zoning and the district for your address.
Lisa M. Lum is a Santa Clara real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Realty, based at 1706 El Camino Real in Menlo Park. Santa Clara was founded in 1777 around Mission Santa Clara de Asis.
Santa Clara University, founded in 1851, grew from that mission. Beside it, the Old Quad Historic District holds early 1900s Victorians and Craftsmans on walkable streets.
North of US-101, Rivermark is a master-planned community near Levi’s Stadium and Great America. Central Park adds 52 acres of open space with the International Swim Center and the Triton Museum of Art.
The city has its own Caltrain station and shares the Lawrence station with Sunnyvale. VTA light rail runs through town, and Mineta San Jose International Airport is about three miles east.
School district and historic design rules can differ from one address to the next. Lisa helps you weigh the ones that matter for a given address before you name a price.
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 Santa Clara home
Santa Clara has no city-specific disclosure ordinance on the county REALTOR association’s list. State and county disclosures still apply, and a Mills Act contract belongs on the seller property questionnaire.
Pricing starts with your neighborhood. Lisa prices from comparable sales nearby, since a restored Victorian in the Old Quad and a townhome at Rivermark answer to different comparisons.
Through her Home Refresh program, Lisa manages the vendors for repairs, paint, staging and curb appeal, and you approve every estimate before work begins.
Home Refresh also covers a pre-listing inspection and a disclosure package, so buyers can review the file before they write.
Tree work takes planning here. Removing a protected tree requires a permit, a report from an ISA-certified arborist and notice to adjoining owners at least seven days ahead, so start well before photography.
If your home sits in the Cupertino Union attendance area near Pruneridge, the listing should say so plainly. Lisa manages the marketing, showings and negotiations.
When offers arrive, Lisa reviews each one with you on price, terms, contingencies and the buyer’s financing.
Go deeper: 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 Santa Clara
Start with schools, because Santa Clara is divided among four districts by address. Santa Clara Unified covers most of the city, and Cupertino Union, Campbell Union and Moreland serve other portions.
High school assignment depends on the district. Santa Clara Unified students attend Santa Clara High or Wilcox High, Cupertino-zoned students attend Fremont Union High School District, and Campbell-zoned students attend Campbell Union High School District.
Confirm the assignment for the exact address with the district before you write an offer.
Then look at the lot. The main single-family zones are R1-6L, with a 6,000 square foot minimum, and R1-8L, at 8,000 square feet. Both allow two stories up to 25 feet, with building coverage capped at 40 percent of the lot.
Any new second story, or expansion of an existing one, requires a public hearing through Architectural Review. Historic additions must stay subordinate to the original structure, so confirm your plans with the city’s Planning Division before signing.
Near the airport, some properties carry FAA height-limit easements, so ask about them during due diligence. If the home has a Mills Act contract, its terms transfer with title, and the tax effect is a question for your tax advisor.
For the full picture of the market, see the Santa Clara community guide and Lisa’s buyer’s guide.
Santa Clara neighborhoods served
- Old Quad / Downtown Santa ClaraEarly 20th-century Victorians and Craftsmans on 5,000 to 7,000 square foot lots near Santa Clara University, under design-overlay rules.
- RivermarkA master-planned community begun in the early 2000s near Levi’s Stadium, with townhomes, houses and condominiums around a retail village.
- KillarneyMid-century single-family homes on 6,000 to 8,000 square foot lots along Pruneridge Avenue.
- Forest ParkMid-century ranch homes on tree-lined streets near Central Park and the city’s main library.
- Patrick HenryMid-century homes on flat lots in the north-central part of the city.
- Cupertino Edge / PruneridgeMid-century homes on 6,000 to 8,000 square foot lots along the Cupertino border, within Cupertino Union K-8 attendance.
Every neighborhood above has a full profile in the Santa Clara community guide.
