We had the pleasure of working with Deborah Samuel, a Senior Specialist Realtor in Santa Barbara, CA, over the past six months as we searched for the perfect retirement condo—and we couldn’t be more grateful for her guidance. Deborah demonstrated exceptional patience, professionalism, and deep knowledge of the Santa Barbara and Montecito real estate market. We wrote multiple offers, and she remained steady, strategic, and encouraging throughout the entire process. What sets Deborah apart is her understanding of the needs of senior homebuyers. She listened carefully to what mattered most to us and kept us focused, even when the process felt overwhelming. There were moments when we felt discouraged, but Deborah never gave up on us—her persistence and optimism made all the difference. Her construction background and attention to detail gave us confidence in evaluating each property, especially regarding long-term livability and potential maintenance concerns. When we found the right condo, Deborah’s negotiation skills ensured a smooth, successful escrow. She also connected us with trusted local professionals, making the transition seamless. If you are buying or selling in Santa Barbara, Montecito, or Goleta—especially as a senior or downsizing—we highly recommend Deborah Samuel. We are now happily settled and grateful she helped us find the perfect home.

I had an outstanding experience working with Deborah Samuel, a Senior Specialist Realtor in Santa Barbara. Deborah and her team went above and beyond to help me prepare my longtime home for sale. At our first meeting Deborah asked me numerous questions to understand my reasons for selling my home and I asked for her ideas about selling my home. She clearly presented her multi-faceted plan. She also accurately identified the likely age of the buyers and the size of their family. Her SBSOS downsizing team coordinated trusted local vendors and helped organize everything needed to get the house ready for the market. Everyone who works at SBSOS is polite, efficient, hardworking, and knowledgeable. Deborah’s creative, high-end marketing strategy generated immediate attention, including a broker open with a coffee bus that brought more than 80 real estate professionals through the home on the first day. The results were incredible — my home sold in just three days with multiple offers and over the asking price. She also guided me through the complex paperwork and escrow process, making everything smooth and stress-free. If you are selling a home in Santa Barbara and need an experienced Realtor who understands senior transitions and downsizing, I highly recommend Deborah Samuel and her SBSOS team. Jim Whipple

My father passed away somewhat suddenly in California. I live in Washington state and was my dad’s only child and surviving relative. My dad had a modest home and overall small estate but he had “lived” in his home filling it with items that gave him enjoyment and a sense of purpose. He was also paralyzed from the waist down for over 40 years so his home was full of ADA equipment wheelchairs and even a modified minivan he could wheel into and drive himself. I still have a full time job and family to take care of myself so the idea of taking care of all the clean up needed for my dads home let alone the soft remodel and demolition needed just to try and sell his home and getting an agent to represent the sale all while living over 1000 miles away was daunting to say the least. I found Deborah Samuel by happenstance searching the internet for help. There are truly no words to accurately describe what Deborah and her team did for me and my family. She took ALL the stress that I had been under away and handled every step of the process needed to settle my dad’s estate. She is very well connected and has a strong team of professionals that are all of the same mind and ilk. They are all caring respectful and understanding. They know what needs to be done and how to do it in a timely and most professional manner. Her expertise and connections are truly inspiring and I was able to put all my trust in her through the whole 5 month project. Her communication with me was thoughtful understanding and backed by her extensive knowledge of her profession. Thank you Deborah and the rest of your team from the bottom of my heart.

I needed to sell my home of 49 years. I chose Deborah for her enthusiasm, marketing plan and experience of walking older folks through the home selling process which is so complicated these days. What I appreciated was her honesty of getting inspections done and being straight forward with buyers when selling my house in an as-is condition. She prepared all the paperwork so I could sign documents in ink and explained anything I did not understand. She was constantly in touch with all the timelines getting the house on the market and all the way through closing. I would highly recommend her as a realtor. She is very kind, thoughtful and respectful to everyone she works with.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Deborah on two transactions now, and each experience has been nothing short of excellent. She’s consistently professional, communicative, and collaborative - making the process feel smooth and seamless for all parties involved. Deborah brings a calm, thoughtful presence and a genuine commitment to her clients. It’s always a joy working alongside her, and I look forward to the next opportunity.

Deborah is thorough in her research and preparation of each property for a smooth sale in a very timely manner. She is able to bring the best buyers to examine the property and help them understand how it will be the perfect place for them. Bringing the best offers and concluding the sale is a technique that she has perfected.

I had an exceptional experience working with Deborah Samuel as my real estate agent. Her thorough market analysis and expertise in identifying the appropriate price point resulted in my house receiving four offers within just 24 hours and closing in a mere four days. Deborah expertly guided me through the escrow process, ensuring a smooth closing experience. One of the key factors in the swift sale of my home was Deborah’s proactive approach in completing multiple inspections prior to listing. This allowed us to address and disclose any potential issues to prospective buyers, ensuring we were fully prepared for the market. Deborah’s dedication and professionalism, combined with the support of her team at SB SOS Senior Relocation, not only facilitated the successful sale of my home but also made my transition to my next beautiful residence at Samarkand Covenant Living seamless. I highly recommend her services and SB SOS to anyone looking to buy or sell a home.

Among the most significant decisions we have had to make as a couple was the choice of an agent to help us sell the striking, architecturally significant home that we built almost 40 years ago. Much as we loved the home, we are now seniors and needed to sell and downsize. As listing agent, Deborah Samuel far exceeded our highest expectations. We cannot imagine an agent who could have met our high expectations and needs more seamlessly than Deborah. Her staging, print, video, social media, and open house presentations were extraordinarily creative and thoughtful. She even organized a small, private cocktail party for invited agents and their high-end clients so that they could experience our home as it was designed to be lived in. She thought constantly what she could do that could be new, catching and effective, implemented creative and effective strategies to market our home, even featuring it on her segment of American Dream TV—all at her own expense. Thank you, Deborah! She urged us to conduct a thorough pre-home inspection, addressing every identified concern, and thoroughly documenting all inspections and corrections. Prospective buyers told us that made all the difference to them. As high as we rate Deborah Samuel, we rate even higher the value of working both with her and Kelsey Samuel, who runs Santa Barbara Senior Organizational Services (SB SOS). Working together, Deborah and Kelsey are not “just” a Realtor and a relocating consultant, but true partners in the home selling/transition journey. Their professionalism, compassion, connections, and drive make them invaluable. They are now friends of ours. If you’re considering selling your home, and whether you are “merely” moving or downsizing, we highly recommend working with Deborah and Kelsey Samuel. It is difficult to adequately express what a difference they made for us. We would be happy to speak to anyone who, like us, is getting ready to sell their home. Derek & Beth Westen Montecito, CA

How would we describe Deborah Samuel as our realtor? Deborah is professional, efficient, organized, punctual and detailed. She is energetic, positive,knowledgeable and communicative. She prepares the property for a clean sale by recommending various inspections so that there are no surprises for the seller or the buyer. And she did excellent creative marketing of our property. She found a buyer that appreciated the amenities of our condo. Deborah Samuel is a great and charismatic realtor. She was tenacious and pulled out all the stops to market our property. She quickly responded to all our questions, and her follow-through was exceptional with paperwork and keeping us informed about the status of open houses and private showings. Deborah was creative and did fantastic outreach marketing beyond our typical real estate experience in previous property sales. Deborah helped us with pre-home inspections and a comprehensive inspection portfolio with all disclosures prepared for buyers to review. She kept our condo very clean and was very professional with handling all the challenging situations with the two offers that came in, but ultimately did not culminate. Deborah kept going, and she quickly reignited her marketing and got our condo right back into the front line with potential buyers to avoid losing traction. We were confident in her real estate skills as she negotiated the best outcome for selling our condo. If you are looking for a go-getter with excellent communication and follow-through, we highly recommend Deborah Samuel.

We hired Deborah to help us with the sale of a family home and she did a wonderful job. The house needed some love and Deborah's team was able to clean it up and get it ready for sale. Deborah is so knowledgeable about Santa Barbara real estate which was very important to us. The complicated sale process was simplified thanks to Deborah's experience and expertise. We would definitely recommend Deborah to anyone who is looking to sell or purchase a home in Santa Barbara.

Deborah did a great job for us. She changed our mind on how we'd position the house for sale and ended up getting us more than we initially expected. She also took care of nearly everything. We did a fair amount of work on the house and she managed it all. And since I was not local, and was dealing with many other family matters, she made the process such that I didn't have to worry about anything. During that time there was a lot of other things to worry about and deal with! I am so grateful for her removing this stress. She and her teams communication was very good and I could get a hold of her when I needed. I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with Deborah and her support us through the process. Unfortunately, I live out of state but if I didn't I'd definitely work with her again. Thank you, Deborah.

Deborah was the perfeect agemt for us.She began by getting to know our needs and giving us confidence in her ability to work with us to meet them. He knowledge of the market and her skills to advertise our home were spot on. She followed a predetermined schedule and managed to get an offer above asking quickly. We were impressed by all the behind the scenes work she had done. She kept the lines of communication open and answered our concerns . We were so lucky to find her and her partner in the downsizing business. Thanks so much, Deb!!