Joan Sakyo’s high standards of professionalism, knowledge and experience, work ethic and dedication demonstrate how much she cares about you and your home!

Hello all, welcome to India Parent Magazine. This is Meena Yeggina with another episode in the series of Top 30 Women Real Estate Specialists of the Bay Area in our Homes and Schools Special Editions. If you find our videos informative and interesting, please don't forget to subscribe, like and comment so we know what your views are about our series.

Today, meet an astounding lady, Joan Sakyo. Her warm and friendly nature comes across to you at the very first meeting and pulls you into her all-pervasive character which includes out-of-this-world professionalism. You wonder how can such a fragile, soft-looking lady has so much motivation, energy and passion for what she does, that is, moving the world one family at a time.

Her community knowledge made her the Tri-Valley Certified Residential Specialist for 35 solid years. Prior employment with AT&T Internal Auditing and Security for 10 years proves her unquestionable ethics. She is an educator as well, acting as real estate mentor and trainer, teacher for Department of Defense in Europe and Asia for three years.

She is a fantastic organizer, leader and fundraiser, board member of San Francisco Theatre Group, volunteer for Culinary Angels, Organic Food for Cancer Patients and Bone Marrow Donor Program. Her honors and achievements include Certified Council of Residential Specialists, Certified Negotiator, Graduate Residential Institute and Rookie of the Year. As an educator with outstanding organizational skills, attention to detail and resourcefulness, she guides you through the intricate process of buying and selling a home.

Her high standards of professionalism, knowledge and experience, work ethic and dedication demonstrate how much she cares about you and your home. As a certified negotiator and a tenacious intermediary with a win-win attitude, her harmonious nature makes every situation a positive experience. Meet the extraordinary real estate specialist, Joan Sakyo.

Today it's truly my honor to introduce her to all of you.

India Parent Magazine (IPM): Hi, Joan. Good morning. Welcome to India Parent Magazine. Thank you for being here today on a Saturday, that too, and welcome and I'm looking forward to hearing more about you.

Joan Sakyo: Thank you, Meena. Pleasure is mine as well.

IPM: Joan, for the sake of my viewers and my readers, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, education?

Joan Sakyo: Oh, I've lived such an interesting and adventurous life. I was born and raised on a large dairy farm in upstate New York, population 350 people. We had 100 cows, 350 acres and four girls. Growing up, it instilled in me two valuable life lessons, my work ethic and my values. And that is the foundation of which I have lived my life. Gathering cows gave me plenty of time to dream about my future.

I wanted to be a teacher and I wanted to travel the world. I received my teaching degree and I interviewed with only California schools. And little did I know when I signed on the bottom line, it was Livermore, California. I had no idea where Livermore was. And upon arriving, there were very familiar surroundings. Cows were on the hill and they even had a rodeo.

I love teaching such young minds who were so eager to learn. After two years experience, I wanted to travel the world and to explore both Asia and Europe. So I first I went to the Department of Defense working for the American schools in Japan.

I was like a foreigner. I didn't speak the language, but I did learn the culture and I'm so proud of my heritage. I was eager to go to Europe. And so I took the adventurous route. I left from Yokohama, Japan, and hopped on a ship. It was not a luxury ship. It was more like a freighter. It was the most treacherous journey I had ever had. I arrived in Russia.

Then I boarded the Trans-Siberian Railroad and I took the adventure of a lifetime. Once I arrived at the docks in Moscow, I had soot all over my face and body. And I couldn't wait to get to a hotel to clean up.

I then went on to my destination in Europe. I again taught for the Department of Defense teaching American school children in Germany. And in Germany, I had a great introduction to European culture, art museums, food and wine, which are my hobbies today.

I've led such a rewarding life. My childhood experiences and my travels around the world have enriched my life and have made me the person I am today.

IPM: Absolutely, Joan. And I met with you and it's an honor to have you on board with such a well, not only educated in actual terms, but well educated in a global way. I'm so honored to have you on board. Thank you so much.

Coming to the next question, Joan, tell us a little bit about why real estate? I mean, what's so special about that profession that you took it up? And I know that it's not easy job and you stuck to it for so long, almost three decades, if I'm not mistaken. So tell me about that. Why real estate?

Joan Sakyo: Well, after spending three years abroad, I returned to California. I worked for corporate America for ten years in the internal auditing and security department. That desk job was not for me. I missed the interaction with people and serving my community.

It was time for me to buy a home. I knew nothing about real estate, so I went knocking on doors, asking people if they knew anyone who was going to sell their home. And that's how I bought my first home.

And little did I know that would be my future career. I've also mentored and trained other agents and so happy to give back to my community, knowing that my colleagues have become successful agents.

IPM: Absolutely. So do you have any story to tell us about how you made any client happy and how you felt about that day? Anything that comes to your mind, any specific situation?

Joan Sakyo: I remember in the early days of my career, they asked me to knock on doors. I said, me? At my age? So I went ahead because I have an outgoing personality. But the first thing I could think of was people slamming doors on my face. Would you believe the first door I knocked on, I listed their million dollar home.

IPM: That’s wonderful, Joan. Going on to the next question, can you tell us a little bit about your city, little bit about your area?

Joan Sakyo: Schools, newer communities and locations are the reason why people purchase in the Tri-Valley. We're at the crossroads of 580 and 680, 35 miles east of San Francisco and 30 miles north of San Jose.

Two train systems, the BART train and the ACE train and regional mall plus close access to three major airports. Recently, out of 500 cities and thirty five thousand neighborhoods, San Ramon and Pleasanton were voted number one and number two respectively in the nation for the highest quality of life. And that was recently last month announced by the U.S. Social Progress Map, which is a nonprofit.

The charming community of the small towns here fall under 90,000 people. There's activities for both children and adults alike. Parks, regional parks, there are 46 parks in Pleasanton alone and fine dining, wineries, famous golf courses, the Jack Nicklaus golf course and so much more.

Plus lots of parades and all of that without going to the city. Most important are the attraction of the schools, of course, award winning school districts. We have diverse student bodies, top athletic and music programs, special STEM programs with courses in bioengineering, biomedical and computer science.

And also there's a K through five dual immersion language program. We can highly recommend the schools because my children went to local schools and have become very successful adults. So finally, Joan, and thank you for that wonderful information, by the way, you've given us such great statistics that that viewers would love.

IPM: And to end the interview, one final question I had in mind was in case some young couple or anyone who wants to buy or sell their home from your area, what is the first step they should take according to you? Where should they start?

Joan Sakyo: Well, first of all, I do love working with first time buyers. They remind me of teaching my first experiences of teaching. They're so excited and so eager to learn.

So the first thing I would advise certainly is to get pre-approved. You want to know how much home they can afford and also which are including taxes and how much money that they will need to put down. I also advise going to open houses.

There you're going to be seeing different agents, seeing how people, different people work. I always advise working with a local agent. There's so many different rules and regulations and red flags in real estate.

And every city is different. Ask questions. That's so important. And one of the most important questions is what is your greatest strength or attribute? And the number one answer should be they are a top negotiator. Most people don't think about this. Finding your home is so much easier than getting your home accepted.

I'm also a certified negotiator. Not only have I sold negotiated homes, but also a great piece of art. I negotiated the Passion by Rouault for the largest collector of French Impressionists.

One very important aspect of real estate, your agent is going to ask you to sign a buyer broker agreement. And this is a new form, which in previous years, the buyer has never been able, has not been able to sign. Representing a new client to me is such a privilege that they would entrust me with their greatest asset.

And that said, with the heart of a teacher, I look forward to exploring the Tri-Valley with you and finding your home sweet home.

IPM: Thank you,Joan. You've been wonderful. I mean, the information you gave is something so different from what I've done so far. It's wonderful to have you on board. And I'm sure in person, you will be able to give more and more to your clients.

And I just want to say to my viewers that Joan is a fantastic person. And I'm honored to introduce her to you all. Please take advantage and mention that you've seen her on our program, India Parent Magazine. And trust me, she'll treat you special. So please, contact her and we'll have all the information right there. Thank you.

Joan Sakyo: Thank you.