LYNNWOOD— When Isatou Ceesay immigrated to Lynnwood from The Gambia in 2002, she didn’t plan on a career in real estate. But after years of helping African immigrants navigate jobs, social services, and everyday life in a new country, she noticed a troubling pattern: many families were signing home-buying contracts they didn’t fully understand — often because no one spoke their language or took the time to explain the process.
“Many people in my community didn’t understand what was in the contract, so they felt like they were being taken advantage of – basically sign here, sign here, sign here,” said Ceesay. “There’s pages and pages of documents to sign but it’s not always very well explained and even if it is it doesn’t resonate well because of the language barrier. I feel like many of the real estate agents saw that and thought they could make more money without having to explain fully …so I saw a problem and decided to fix it.”
Ceessay received her real estate license in 2018 and has been working with the African community since – finding houses, navigating the process and documents, and finally laying down roots.
Ceesay also helps African-owned businesses find property. Some of these businesses have even been inspired by Ceesay’s passion for serving her community and opened businesses in community caregiving.
Prior to real estate, Ceessay worked as a translator for the Department of Health and is fluent in three languages: English, Afrikaans, and Mandinka.
“It’s kind of like being at home, speaking the same language as somebody. You get more comfortable, more relaxed, and most of the time you don’t have anxiety about making a big decision,” said Ceessay. “So speaking the same language as someone who understand you lets people feel like they won’t be cheated.”
Ceessay sells houses anywhere in Washington State. She’s has currently sold houses as far south as Vancouver, Washington, and as far north as Marysville.
The steps to buying a house, Ceesay said, is first establishing credit, be on time with your payments, have a job and do well for at least two years, financial discipline. If you check off all that, that’s a good first start, she said.
If you’re low-income Ceesay suggested to push yourself, get in school and try to advance your career. If you do all that potential homebuyers can reach out to Ceesay to discuss lending, downpayment assistance, and the search for housing.
In addition to helping African immigrants buy houses, Ceesay teaches classes on various tools for the house buying process – such as how to secure downpayment assistance from the state.
Even through her real estate journey, Ceesay continued her local community work and started a charity.
In 2020 she founded Isatou Properties Welfare Funds to lend helping hands to the most vulnerable individuals in Gambia. It started with a scholarship program which grew to a start-up business capital for women, clean water projects, and agricultural farms.
Isatou Properties has invested in Groundnut farms in The Gambia, since 2021. The nonprofit started with four farms and continued to expand every year throughout the regions of the country. The communities that she works for are “impressed with our initiatives and spreading the word rapidly,” she shared.
But her charity work doesn’t end there. Cessay also has helps connect people with scholarship opportunities.
“As a beneficiary of college education, it was a privilege for me, as a female African woman to receive such. We want the same opportunity for the children of families that are financially struggling,” said Ceesay.
And lastly, Ceesay is heavily engaged with Easter Seals for charity work, particularly for African immigrants, women, and people with disabilities.
“My journey in charity work has been a transformative and humbling experience. It’s a constant reminder of the power we possess to create positive change in the world,” said Ceesay. “I encourage everyone to find their own path in giving back—whether through volunteering, donating, or advocating for causes close to their hearts. Together, we can make a difference, one act of kindness at a time.”
Ceesay’s drive for charity work stems from her upbringing in Gambia, where she saw a lot of people struggling. While she knew she couldn’t solve the problem she knew she could at least do her part. It began with sponsoring children from all over the country.
60% of all of Ceesay’s proceeds from real estate sales are donated to Gambia, she told the Lynnwood Times. Her commission goes straight to Easter Seals charity.
“I saw a problem, I contributed to fix it. I want people that have language barriers to have equal opportunity,” said Ceesay. “I am making progress in this community by empowering many folks. I’m a broker with a purpose.”
To reach out to Ceesay, she’s open to receiving text messages at 206-604-1936.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
