Cathy is the best seller's agent in the DC area! She sold our house for well above the list price, with multiple offers, immediately after open house weekend. We couldn't be happier. We selected her after interviewing multiple agencies including the big name firms to sell our house. Cathy was clearly better. Cathy's analysis for house value was the most thorough and well researched. Unlike the other agents we interviewed, she toured every competitive home in our price range. Her comps were exactly right (we didn't share our thoughts or estimates prior to receiving all the agent comps). Cathy recommended strategic home upgrades including expanding our existing living room and adding a new bathroom that transformed the house and added significant value prior to sale. This ultimately payed off big time and elevated the final sales price by at least 5%. She made this so easy and brought in her own contractors and finished all of this construction work in less than 2 weeks just prior to listing which was truly amazing. Cathy also professionally furnished and staged the home and this feature added tremendous value to the final sales price. I was skeptical but the tasteful furniture and design touches made by the stager really boosted the appearance of the house and we received many complements from prospective buyers during the open house. Before going to market, Cathy also prepared outstanding marketing materials, photography, and a special video presentation of the home which made it stand out in the marketplace. In addition to MLS, our house was marketed on several social media platforms. These all led to a very active open house weekend. We had 4 bids within 48 hours of listing leading to a sale at significantly above listing price. Cathy's communication during the entire process was truly exceptional. Our sale just closed yesterday. We cannot recommend Cathy highly enough. Seriously, no other agency can provide the full scope of services and value that she provides including social media marketing, home improvements, contractor sourcing, professional furnishing and staging, and open house hosting. I would give her 6 stars if possible. If you are searching for an agent to sell your home at maximum value, CALL CATHY now. You'll be delighted you did. read more

Cathy is a fantastic realtor and Frankly Realty is a great company. My family made a cross-country move from California to Virginia. Hoping to expedite the process and have a home waiting for us when we arrived, we contacted Cathy and Frankly Realty months before our move. Cathy listened to our requirements and quickly forwarded us a list of homes that might meet them. From that list we were able to better determine what kind of home we were looking for and what neighborhoods we wanted to consider. About three months before our move, I traveled to Virginia to meet with Cathy and look at some of the homes we'd been considering. While we weren't able to find the perfect home on that visit, we were able to nail down the type of home and neighborhood we wanted. Shortly after my return to California, a new home appeared on the Frankly MLS site. I called Cathy and asked her to preview it for us. Cathy quickly made a detailed video preview of the home and the neighborhood in which it was located. It was almost like being there in person. After viewing the video and discussing the property with Cathy, my wife and I decided that we wanted to make an offer. In the two days that the home was on the market, four other families made offers on it as well. Cathy provided us with great advice on our offering, including some flexible terms that we're sure contributed to our offer being the one the sellers accepted. We bought the house without ever seeing it in person. A number of our friends thought it was a rather risky thing to do. We, however, didn't doubt it for a minute. Cathy knew precisely the type of home we were looking for, and we had complete confidence in Cathy's advice and ability to represent our interests. We've been living in the new house for about three weeks now. It's the perfect house for us. I'd like to say I couldn't be happier, but everyday we're here I am more pleased with our home. We're grateful to Cathy and Frankly Realty for helping us find our new home. read more

It gives us an absolute pleasure in recommending Cathy and her team regarding all real estate needs. In course of the process of renting our current condo. and buying a new home we learned that not all real estate agents are created equal. Cathy has been in this industry for a long time as a top producer and knows the NOVA housing market like the back of her hand. Cathy and her team are extremely proactive. Cathy listened to our specific needs which also included some budget limitations. She is tech savvy and made excellent use of the relevant search engines and databases to quickly find us a collection of homes in great neighborhoods. Most importantly, Cathy did not waste our time with homes that were out of our price range or not in line with our needs. She's a master contract negotiator with many connections. Whether it was lenders, inspectors, contractors, mover, you name it... her network is endless. Cathy came up with a great deal (both money and terms) that kept us happy & protected. Cathy was able to get our new home below listing price (which is almost unheard of in our area or market). When it comes to listing our condo, Cathy and her team have amazing marketing skills. She and her team worked very hard and had maximum outreach to renters for our condo. Cathy and her team are very attentive. Their attention to detail meant we were never surprised by stages of the process and always had a clear path to the end goal and realistic expectations. Cathy returned our phone calls, texts, emails almost immediately. We never felt neglected throughout this process. She is very personable with high energy and puts this energy into her work. We would not hesitate to refer her to all our friends and family. Again, we are very pleased to recommend Cathy to anyone who is looking to buy, sell or rent a home. Cathy and her team are hands down the best in this business. Cathy will always be our first choice when we are ready to sell or buy again. Thank you Cathy! read more

My wife and I were referred to Cathy Poungmalai, a Realtor with Frankly-Realty and we are so glad we were. We have been thinking of listing our property for several months when we heard of Cathy who was selling multiple properties during the peak of Covid-19 pandemic. We spoke with Cathy over the phone and then met with her at our home. She spent hours answering our questions, providing objective data regarding how long her listings typically stay on the market, and providing tons of info on comps in the area. We were concerned that our house, which was located close to a busy street would be tough to sell. Cathy made the process incredibly easy and took extra steps many other Realtors don't (but should) like advising us to repaint some areas of the home and get the property staged by a professionally staging company. I hired my handyman to repaint the areas she identified and ended up hiring a staging company by the name of "Inspired Home Design" to stage the property. When we saw our listing we were blown away. Cathy's hard work and knowledge of what it takes to sell a home really paid off - our listing looked amazing to the point that family and friends couldn't believe it is the same house (kudos to Inspired Home Design). The property was listed at a price way more than we expected and went under contract in a few weeks. After we received the offer, Cathy walked us through every step of the closing process. It couldn't have been a more pleasant experience. We would recommend Cathy Poungmalai to anyone who wants a realtor who listens, cares and works hard and earn top $$$ for her clients. read more

Our family was living in California and looking to move to Virginia. Due to the pandemic, we were unable to travel to the area to look at houses in person. Cathy worked with us from the very beginning -  tailoring her searches, and helping us find an area that fit our needs. She was flexible and would have calls with us whenever we needed. Once we were ready to seriously look at specific houses, she reached out to agents to get more information and took extremely detailed video tours so we could see what a house looked like and pointed out anything we needed to know that wouldn't easily be seen through pictures (eg - seeing water damage, a funny smell, difficult to get to neighborhood, etc.). She also helped us visualize housing details we could change to make a house more our style. We found our dream house and Cathy worked late into the night to help us win and beat other offers (without overpaying for the house). Cathy and Undrah helped arrange all the inspections and work we needed to get done, providing excellent and trustworthy recommendations for providers (including a realtor to help sell our California home). Even after the closing, they still stayed in touch, helping us coordinate various work that was required before we moved in. We could not have had such a smooth move to VA without the help Cathy and Undrah provided!!! They truly cared about getting us the right house that fit all our needs and made the house buying and moving experience as easy as they could for us! read more

I engaged Cathy Poungmalai to handle the sale of my mother's house after my mother moved to a single-floor home (I live in another state). I would not hesitate to hire her again: she and her team of three assistants were remarkable, true partners in the entire effort. They were unfailingly friendly and prompt in all communications, with sensible solutions that, with my approval, would simply get done. She acquired multiple estimates for renovations and repairs, as promised, and all vendors she recommended were prompt and on budget in completing work, with very reasonable prices. None were taking shortcuts on licenses or permits for work done on the house, and so there were no surprises from buyers' inspectors. Cathy thus truly brought an exceptional network of contacts to the project. She and her team also stepped in repeatedly, and unhesitatingly, to solve problems personally, such as arranging short-term storage or transfer of some household items, making sure new sod was watered regularly, and checking in on repairs, sending me photos and texts or emails. She thus fully met, indeed exceeded, the high standards of expertise, professionalism, and advocacy that she promised at the outset. Given the complications of handling this at a distance, I cannot imagine the sale having gone half as smoothly with any ordinary real estate agent. read more

Cathy Poungmalai is an exceptional realtor. From our first contact with her, she was collaborative, knew the market in our area well and brought multiple comparable homes to help us bracket our selling price. Cathy is more than a realtor though, she and her team prep repair, improve and stage homes. She presents the home to the market in the most positive light. As for the house we bought, we found a builder in Maryland, and Cathy was present and involved in the building process. She provided guidance on various features and was reassuring when the building ran into issues. Cathy and her team traveled an hour and a half away from their area of operation to take photos and video of our new home in Maryland. When we had issues with the quality of the build (our roof was buckling), as a courtesy, Cathy sent a roofer to inspect it and provide guidance. Cathy and her team go above and beyond, she maintains close relationships with critical professionals to solve whatever problem may occur. In addition, Cathy not only manages the details of the sale itself, but provides reassurance and confidence during the stressful process. The sale of our home was easy and the upgrades her team provided (at a low budget cost), brought a higher sale price than expected in less than a week. read more

I cannot give enough praise to Cathy and her staff. Cathy helped me find a new home just as the coronavirus caused the DMV to shut down and limit an already tight housing supply. Cathy walked me though several potential homes across the DMV and always made sure I was safe. She wore a mask and gloves every time we went out and had a mask and gloves for me in the event I forgot mine. When I put in an offer on a home, Cathy navigated me through a multiple bid situation and helped me put in an winning offer before the other buyers could match or outbid my offer, saving me from a protracted and expensive bidding war. I attribute Cathy's ability to help me avoid a bidding war to her years of experience selling and buying homes in the DMV, which has made her both smart and savvy about the real estate market in the region. And since I closed on my home, Cathy has been gracious enough put me in touch with contractors and other home professionals in her network who I intend to use to repaint my home and provide other services. If you're a buyer looking for a Realtor who knows the market and has the skills to help you out maneuver the competition, hire Cathy and her team. read more

Cathy was the first realtor that we reached out to for listing our home, and after speaking with her we knew that she was the one who could get the job done. She not only met our expectations, she far exceeded them! Cathy puts in the work. She had some beautiful photos taken and recorded a video walkthough of the property. They looked amazing! She was also willing to chat with my partner and I at different points in the process. She showed us comparable listings in the region and helped us to understand the sale process. Cathy knows the market. When we discussed what the listing price should be, my partner and I were very cautious. We knew that the market was good for sellers, but we were interested in getting this house sold and did not want to have to take care of a house on the market for weeks on end. It turns out, we should have trusted Cathy from the start - we received multiple offers, and the house was under contract for $60K above the listing price in 6 days! Not only that, but the seller waived the appraisal, financing, and the home inspection! We want to give a big THANK YOU to Cathy, Undrah, Vanessa, and the rest of the team! read more

We used Cathy for the sale of our condo. We had originally listed our condo with another realtor. After 3 months and several close leads, we needed to make a change to our approach and decided to work with Cathy after hearing great things from other former clients. Cathy was extremely knowledgeable and immediately gave us recommendations on some additional changes to make to our unit in order to get it to sell faster. We made those changes, listed the unit on Friday, had an open house on Sunday, and received an offer on Monday. Cathy goes above and beyond to get her units sold, including beautiful marketing materials with professional photography, a video walking tour, a personal webpage for your property, and free staging. We feel confident that these things, along with the changes that we made to our unit per her advice, helped us to sell our condo so quickly. Cathy also has a team of assistants who also help everything in the process move along smoothly. We could not be more pleased with our experience and would recommend Cathy to anyone looking for the best realtor they can find! read more

I've purchased seven properties over the years and have worked with many real estate agents. Cathy stands far above the others in terms of knowledge, patience, drive, work ethic, and people skills - knowing what the seller wants - to close the deal. In a very competitive market, with little inventory, and upward price pressure, Cathy found the ideal property for us and guided us through various options and contingencies as we put together a solid offer. Cathy's insights into current and long-term market trends, natural personable comportment to work and communicate with others, and years of experience in the industry, were the main reasons we beat several other offers. Cathy's executive assistant, Yvonne, was instrumental in arranging visits, guiding us through the home buying process, and keeping us on track to closing. Similarly, Yvonne has an incredible work ethic and was there for us 24/7. I highly recommend Cathy. I know that for all my future real estate needs, Cathy will be my go-to-gal. She is simply, and by far, the best. read more

After listing our house sale by owner with no success, our friend had recommended Cathy Poungmalai who had help her selling her house in less than 1 week. After signed up with Cathy, we got 3 offers in less than 10 days. Not only did we get close to asking, but we got closed in less than 30 days. Cathy provided us free staging and the listing photos were amazing. Cathy and her team were friendly, knowledgeable and responsive to any questions or concerns we had. Throughout the process, she had proved to be extremely knowledgeable about the local market as well as about what potential buyers would be looking for in the home. The thing that impressed us the most was that Cathy was highly responsive and always available to answer questions either by phone or by text in a timely manner. She is knowledgeable about the real estate market, and represents your best interest throughout the proceedings, without being overbearing. It has been our pleasure to work with Cathy on the sale of our home. We could not have asked for a better agent. read more

Cathy and her team ("Cathy") have been a true pleasure to work with.  Not only did Cathy assist with the recent sale of my condo, but Cathy was also responsible for helping me rent my condo for 13 years!  Cathy was able to find a reliable tenant year in and year out and always made the process smooth and easy.  Such assistance was greatly appreciated since I don't live in the state where my condo is located. When the time came to sell the condo, Cathy's sales approach was superb and highly effective. I accepted an offer above list price within FIVE days of listing - and even had home inspection waived! Cathy was highly attentive to my questions and needs through every step of the process, and since this was my first time selling a property, I greatly appreciated the patience and hand-holding. I know I can count on them after my many years of experience working with them and they definitely lived up to expectations. I would have no hesitation in recommending Cathy to my friends and family. read more

It is my honor and pleasure in recommending Cathy and her team regarding the purchase of my first home. The undertaking of this purchase was a success as a result of Cathy and her team's professionalism, expertise, and care. As a first-time home buyer, it was essential that I find a realtor that was experienced and personable. Cathy and her team attended to my needs and did so with the upmost care. They not only walked me through the home buying process but also assisted with coordinating various purchase activities. This made it possible to get the home of my choice within four weeks. At each step of the process they advocated for my interests and worked to ensure the best outcome. This put me at ease and made the home buying process very smooth and positive. As a result of their efforts, my first-time home buying experience was successful and stress free. I couldn't have gone through this process without them. A big thanks to Cathy and her team for a successful and positive experience. read more

Cathy Poungmalai is a top-flight realtor. She is experienced, very knowledgeable about the local real estate market, and super efficient. I hired her to sell my brother's condominium, which had been largely neglected for the 40 years he owned it. Cathy very quickly developed a cost effective renovation plan, found multiple local contractors to bid on the work, arranged the contract, and within a few short months sold the place for an historically high price. She priced it aggressively but reasonably and we received several offers above the list price. It sold for $40,000 above the original list price in eight days without the need for appraisals or a home inspection. She also arranged very tasteful staging without charging us anything for it. She is the hardest working, highest energy realtor I have ever encountered. She and her staff were very tuned in to my goals as the seller, and responsive to my questions at every stage of the representation. read more

I strongly recommend Cathy if you are looking for your future home or selling your home. We were in California when we are searching for a new house in DC area in February. It is amazing that she helped us to get our dream house within three weekends. My husband and I are both working in California and we can't fly to Virginia for the open house on Friday. I told Cathy that I really like a house that I know it's going to be gone soon. She immediately told me she would take video for us that day. We both liked the video tour so my husband flew the next day to make an offer. She helped us to get the offer ready and we finally got the house! She is also really resourceful. She helps us to connect the carpet cleaning company before we move in. If you have questions, she will help you and find someone who can help you. I am glad she is our agent and I will recommend her to anyone who is looking for a house in DC area. read more

Cathy is the professional's professional-- I can't recommend her strongly enough. A few years ago, she helped us buy our first condo. She patiently walked us through the whole process. When we found our dream home, she moved FAST in a heavily competitive market to help us secure it within our budget! Now, she is helping us sell the condo as we move to a larger home. She assisted us through every stage of prepping the condo for market, including professional staging, photography, and brochures. Now, we fully expect to be able to sell the condo at a significantly higher price than what we bought for. Cathy's professionalism, knowledge, and sheer energy is a joy to see. From discussing selling strategy to making comprehensive video tours during this pandemic, her attention to detail, work ethic, and attention to the customer is complete. I look forward to working with her and her great team in the future! read more

Cathy was the selling agent for our house in Virginia. We are impressed by how professional, diligent, thoughtful, and responsive she and her team are. With years of experience in real estate, she helped make our selling process very smooth. She knows the area very well, which transits to her ability to help us set the right selling price. We really appreciate that Cathy and her team held our hands with every single step, from arranging contractors and handyman with good price and high quality of work, staging the house very nicely, taking professional photos, putting together informative and pretty brochures, setting up regular open house and virtual open house on Facebook and Zillow, proactively reaching out to potential buyers, following up with buyer feedback, to explaining every singe questions we have on the contract. If you are selling your house, i highly recommend you talk to Cathy. read more

Sold a condo home in 2017 for $395K in Vienna, VA. We met Cathy at an open house for a condo that she was selling in our neighborhood and she impressed us for getting the property sold at a record high price. We eventually hired her to be our agent when we decided to sell ours because of her professionalism and her caring personality trait. We reluctantly did some renovations to our condo as she recommended, and we were glad afterwards that we took her advice. Cathy offers excellent home staging, beautiful marketing materials and feedback that you can view online from agents that showed your home to their clients. She was also able to find an unrepresented buyer for our property. Her market expertise and the support that she and her assistants provided to us greatly facilitated the process of selling our condo from start to finish. read more