“Real Estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt
 
Susan Burns has been a resident of the Santa Barbara community since 1965 when she first moved to the area to complete graduate studies in the Department of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In two years, she completed her Masters’ Degree in Diplomatic History and received a teaching credential from the California Department of Education. Susan loved the challenge of teaching History and English, whether to adults at Honolulu Community College, 7th graders in Kamehameha Schools, juniors at the lovely Cate School in Carpinteria, or high school students at Dos Pueblos in Goleta, California. The challenge was always to get students involved and engaged in discussion while nurturing their curiosity and questions. The friends and students developed in those 17 years in the academic world will always be a part of her life.
 
After years in the teaching profession, Susan worked in marketing at Montecito Bank & Trust, after which, she was asked to join a boutique Montecito real estate firm in December of 1984 known as Gene O’Hagen Associates. This position lasted six months until a friend of Susan’s asked her to list a family home – that listing became Susan’s first sale. The process of selling a house and visiting large estates, garden cottages, and beachfront homes has been incredibly enjoyable for Susan. Studying the historical merit and great architecture of the homes brings back the joy of her college years. From that point on, she never looked back. Approximately 34 years later, the passion continues as enjoys meeting new friends and clients, seeing properties, being outside in a garden planted by Lockwood de Forest, and feeling inspired by architecture and landscape design.
 
In her work at Coldwell Banker and with previous brokers, Susan has been recognized as one of the Top 100 agents in the nation as listed in Wall Street Journal, consistently in the Top 1000 agent list in national rankings by National Realty Trust LLC, and has received annual awards for being in the upper 100 agent rankings in California. Success in real estate has been a result of consistent attention to detail and the centrality of client needs. When it really comes down to it, Susan absolutely loves the details of writing copy for brochures, presenting the features of a home and its setting clearly, doing research on the history of the property, and understanding the historical and architectural merit of each listening. Susan’s experience and passion is unmistakable in the work she does. The process can only be described as joyful!