The Hills Living Magazine - Meet the Menser-Polley Family

**Check out Pages 12-14!**

Ben Polley and Stephani (Menser) Polley met at the beginning of 2012. They were introduced through a mutual friend that they both went to meet with at the Folsom Hotel on Sutter Street. They spent several hours talking and Stephani mentioned that she was a realtor and was hosting an open house on Breese Circle that weekend. Ben, living in Serrano, decided to stop by the open house and ask Stephani on a date. In 2015, they got married in Cancun, surrounded by 70 of their closest friends (most from EDH) and family.

Ben, originally from Sebastopol, CA, moved to the Sacramento area in 1994 to attend college at Sacramento State. After college, he moved up the hill and settled down in El Dorado Hills. Ben owns Polley Insurance and Risk Management, formerly known as Clinton Polley Insurance Brokers. After 20 years of building his business, Ben recognized a greater need to manage risk for his cli- ents beyond the placement of insurance policies. At the beginning of 2020, he announced the launch of his new company branding.

Stephani grew up in El Dorado Hills and graduated from Oak Ridge, the same high school her teenagers now attend. Her parents, Steve and Donna Menser still reside here as well. Stephani is a realtor with the Menser Real Estate Group at Coldwell Banker. She formed this team in 2013 alongside her mother, Donna, and longtime friend (also an EDH native) Melissa Cvitanovic.

The Polley’s are a blended family with Aden (17) and Lauren (14) from Ben’s previous marriage. In August 2016, Steve was born. “We have a very busy household!” says Stephani. “The big kids live with us a week on/a week off. We have our au pair Barbie, from Coahuila, Mexico, that lives with us to help with Steve. We also have two dogs-Juicy, a 12-year-old Chihuahua, and Caymus, a 6-year-old Yorkie.”

Aden is a junior at Oak Ridge and works at Safeway. He is a big Sacramento Kings fan and when he is not working or teaching his little brother how to play basketball, he is working on his ‘67 Chevelle. Lauren, a freshman at Oak Ridge loves to play soccer and, as a typical teenager, socialize with friends. Steve is attending his second year at Step by Step, Paso a Paso, a Spanish Immersion preschool. Steve is the biggest personality in the Polley household. His hobbies are golfing, swimming and dressing up in costumes. Some days he can be found dressed up as a bagpipe player in their backyard, entertaining his parents while they pretend they are in Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach. Barbie (20) is the Polleys’ third consecutive au pair. She’s lived with them for a year and a half and will be returning home shortly to finish college.

For fun, the Polley family loves spending time on their boat or golfing at Serrano. They also frequently attend concerts and Sacramento Kings basketball games. Prior to COVID, they would often visit KP Karaoke as a family and take trips to the Delta, Lake Tahoe and Mexico.

“COVID has really been an eye-opener for us,” Stephani says. “We’ve always loved where we lived, but being forced to shelter in place, we have become much more grateful for our neighbors and our beautiful community. We are very social people and our backyard saved our sanity. We live on the 8th tee box and were able to (from a distance) visit with members from the Club as they drove by our house.”

Their favorite part of living in El Dorado Hills is the sense of community that comes with it. Although it has grown tremendously since Stephani grew up here, it still has the small-town feel that they love.

July 2020 - Luxury Market Report for Placer County

JULY 2020 - LUXURY MARKET REPORT FOR SACRAMENTO COUNTY

The Hills Living Magazine | The Menser Real Estate Group

THE MENSER REAL ESTATE GROUP - YOUR ‘GO-TO’ REAL ESTATE TEAM!

Since 2002, the Menser Real Estate Group has been specializing in El Dorado Hills residential real estate. Their intimate knowledge of the area and collaborative approach to assisting their clients have landed them in the top 10 of Coldwell Banker teams in the entire Sacramento region. You may have seen their TV commercials. 

How was the Menser Real Estate Group formed? 

Surprisingly, mother-daughter, Donna Menser, and Stephani Menser Polley, were initially competitors. When Donna's husband was sick, Stephani helped by showing homes while her dad recovered. It was a blessing in disguise because they ended up forming a team. A few years later, Melissa Cvitanovic left the brokerage she was at and joined the Menser Group. 

What are your services? 

In short, we help people buy and sell residential properties in the El Dorado Hills area. It is much more than that, though!

We are negotiators, stagers, marketing professionals, personal shoppers, strategists... Our clients don't just call us when they want to buy or sell. They call us when they need a referral, remodel/decor advice, or comps for an appraisal. We like to be their go-to source for anything house, EDH, or real estate related. 

What sets you apart from other Realtors? 

What works today won't always work tomorrow. We are continually adapting and setting new standards of what we think the real estate industry should be. Our process is different; we take a concierge approach to listing and an innovative marketing strategy for selling it. 

While many agents depend on a "for sale" sign and the MLS to sell their listings, we actively search for buyers through our multi-tier distribution plan. We develop a custom marketing campaign for each listing to target and retarget individuals that are likely to buy the home. We advertise homes the way a large scale marketing company would brand and advertise a product. 

We also stage our listings. We've realized that buying and selling real estate is a major undertaking, and our clients still have other commitments to keep up with. With this in mind, we manage and facilitate the entire process. 

Do you hire stagers or stage yourself?

We are Accredited Staging Professionals (ASP). The majority of our clients live in the homes we have listed. Staging occupied homes can be difficult; most staging companies want the homes to be vacant. Staging is incredibly important to assure the fastest sale with the greatest return. We became professional stagers to make sure all of our listings look perfect. We have three massive storage units full of furniture and decor and are constantly changing inventory. Having in-house staging also helps save our clients money. 

What challenges have you experienced with COVID-19, and how are you adapting?

Luckily we have always been heavy on virtual marketing and technology. Just like everyone else, we have been using Zoom and FaceTime. One of our favorite new changes we've made is that we purchased a 360° camera. We've always had walk-through video tours, but the 360° tours are great. They will even work with VR glasses! We have been using them for listings and even showings for our buyers because most agents aren't doing 360° yet. We are also making individual websites for each listing. It is helpful to track how many people are virtually touring the home, the demographics, and how many times they have visited the site. 

How long have you been in El Dorado Hills? 

We've lived here for a long time - back when El Dorado Hills was mostly rolling fields! There was no Serrano, no Town Center, and only a few original developments. We know the area very well. Did you know that Raley's on EDH Blvd. originally faced the opposite way? That's how long we have been locals. 

What are some real estate tips that you have?

We have several curated guides for buying a home, preparing a home for sale, the sale process, etc. They can all be found on our website at EDHrealtor.com.

"Who you work with matters!"

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Is Granite on its Way Out?

According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association, granite countertops are in less demand today, while the use of quartz is on the rise.

Why? For one thing, man-made quartz countertops are offered in a far greater range of looks and feels. Reason number two: it’s a bit easier to maintain over the long haul, and it’s deemed a better environmental choice because it emits lower levels of radon—a potentially cancer-causing agent. To be fair, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains the radioactive materials in granite countertops are far too minuscule to pose a health threat.

So what, exactly, is a quartz countertop? It’s made of engineered stone, composed of at least 90% ground-up quartz mixed with a binder (like resin) then molded into a slab. Because pigment is added during the manufacturing process, the sky’s the limit when it comes to color. And quartz is non-porous and fairly resistant to stains, mold and bacteria.

Unlike granite countertops, which require periodic resealing to maintain their beauty, quartz is low-maintenance, needing only regular cleanings with soap and water or a mild detergent.

Quartz can be more impervious than granite to cracking or chipping under average conditions, although it is not quite as heat-proof. Most manufacturers recommend using a trivet when placing scalding hot pots or pans on a quartz countertop.

Apart from durability and maintenance, quartz comes in an infinite variety of designs, ranging in look and feel from sleek solid colors to organic-looking variations that resemble real substances found in nature, like veined marble. It can have a smooth and shiny finish or a softer, brushed feel (almost suede-looking). Choose wisely because the design can make a huge difference in the look and feel of a room.

Quartz counters may be a bit more expensive, up to 10 percent higher in cost than their granite counterparts, but shopping around and resealing over the years can mitigate any cost differences.

So, what side are you on? Natural stone mined from the earth or a man-made variation?

4 Home Features to Look for When Starting a Family

Starting a family is one of the most significant moments in life. Oftentimes, it requires moving into a new home where your family can comfortably grow and spend time together. If you’re getting ready to start this exciting chapter, here are several home features that are ideal for new families. 

Large Backyard
The backyard is a special place for kids. It’s great to have a spacious outdoor area where they can run around and expend their energy, but perhaps more importantly, it’s a place where early memories are formed. Whether they’re learning to throw a ball or practicing cartwheels, there’s nothing like having a big backyard while your kids are growing up.

Kid-Friendly Design
Now that you’re going to be a parent, you’ll start to see everything differently. When it comes to homes, you need to make sure that it’s safe for kids. You probably don’t want a residence with lots of sharp corners or a spiral staircase that can be dangerous with little ones crawling around. However, a tub where you can wash them during bath time is a must-have. 

Neighborhood and Schools
Of course, if you plan on having children in the near future, schools are one of the most important things to consider when moving into a new neighborhood. In addition to that, living in an area with lots of young families can have its benefits, like knowing that there are other parents keeping a watchful eye on the neighborhood when the kids are out playing or riding their bikes around.

Room to Grow
If you want to be on the safe side, be sure you have plenty of extra space for the family to grow. An extra bedroom or two might save you from having to move again in a few years and, inevitably, you’ll want ample storage space for all the stuff that you’re going to accumulate, like strollers, cradles and toys.