brandi jones- homebody magazine nov 2014
DESCRIPTION
Here is my real estate lifestyle magazine for NOV 2014. I have given it a new name from BJJB (many people felt that was alluding to something OTHER than initials) lolTRANSCRIPT
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BRANDI
Magazine, Voice, Message, Mission, Community, Home!
Jones homebody
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BRANDI Jones homebody
Pg 3 : Dear Reader
Pg 4 : Fun Th ings
Pg 5 : Favor i te P laces
Pg 8 : Before and Af ter
Pg 13: Local Ar t i s t
Pg 18 : 20 Years
Pg 24 : Market Report
Pg 26 : Other homes
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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homebody
Where have you been Brandi? I missed you your
and your magazine…...what’s up? Well let me
tell you….:) I have been growing. My last year was
a very hard year with many personal and
professional challenges. However, I wouldn’t take
any of it back because as the saying goes “what
doesn’t kill you makes your stronger”. What I
discovered in my experiences this last year was
that many of us lose ourselves in our kids, parents,
partners, family, friends, and work and we become
less and less of who we really are...our authentic
self. I have heard many spiritual leaders say that
we each have an individual spark that makes us
uniquely us. I can see that now how easy it is to lose
that spark in our busy lives. This coming year I am
focusing on sparkling in my work and my personal
life. I also want to help my fellow women realtors
find their spark. I have a passion for helping and I
believe modern women are still struggling with the
balance of being a leader and not a bitch or
mom and not a house maid. We women have so
much dialog in our brains on who we want to be
and often times we are limited by the lack of whole
hearted leadership examples, whether it be CEO
of a business or the family. I am hoping to share
some the newer more refined successful skills for
women leaders that have come out. So I joined
Women’s Council of Realtors and have become a
board member. I believe we are in the midst of
another change in society, where women are
LETTER TO READERS
finding their authentic self or spark in their bal-
ance between profession and personal life. I
am hoping to help women happily find their
spark in the real estate sales industry while
maintaining a happy balance in their life. I feel
that even though women were liberated
decades ago and the industry is predominantly
women sales people, that fact is men are still
majority brokers and business owners. Women
even though they were liberated years ago
they were not empowered to being successful
business leaders. which makes today’s modern
woman left with old antiquated ways of
defining herself and expressing her leadership
skills. It’s not our foremothers fault as they were
not given a guide book on how to be empow-
ered. They didn’t even have access to their
own money, property, or legal representation.
They didn’t know how to survive. Our mothers
and grandmothers paved the way the best
they could with many survival skills we have
adopted. But now it is our time to not only
survive but thrive. I want to thrive and help others
as well. My vehicle is real estate. My voice is
this magazine. My touch is my work and
volunteering at WCR. My mission is uplifting
communities through my real estate profession.
And my home is a reflection of my heart and
individual spark! I want yours to be too!
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FUN THINGS
One of MY FAVORITE s i tes
these days i s ETSY .com. They
a l so have a b log fo r fun
th ings you can do wi th f r iends
a n d f a m i l y . H e r e i s
someth ing I thought would be
fun fo r k ids , adu l t s , par t ies , o r
reading a book & snuggl ing.
Monogram marshmal low hot
chocolate! I t comes f rom the
book Candy A i s le Craf t s by
Jodi Lev ine. Check i t out
h e r e h t t p : / /
supermakei t .com/ . A l though
the cur rent average
temperature in Santa
Cruz i s 63 degrees in
November , maybe you
can out f i sh , beach
ba l l , o r su r fboard f rom
t h e m a r s h m a l l o w s !
However you do i t , i t
w i l l be a fun ho l iday
t reat !
To shop fo r cool c reat ive
m u g s o r g o u r m e t h o t
chocolate go to ETSY .com
MUGS and HOT COCO.
homebody
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2 for 1 wine tasting ticket
Believe or not my doctor said I SHOULD
drink 2 glasses of red wine a day!!!! Ya-
hoo. There are so many great wines out
there but our area features some amazing
wineries. VinoCruz downtown features on-
ly local wine and they have a hefty supply.
They often feature a vintner who comes in
and describes their wine. The atmosphere
Is light bright and casual. It is hopping on
First Friday and any special events going on
down town. Come talk to Jennifer or Steve
and they will be happy to pair you and
your palate to one of Santa Cruz Mountains
fine wines!
www.v inocruz .com
homebody FAVORITE PLACES
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I am wr i t ing th i s a r t ic le again because I want to emphas i ze how
much I en joy Verve cof fee. Not on ly do I love the f lavors of the
actual espresso , cof fee, tea , wheat f ree cook ies , g luten f ree
bread. . .as you can see I l i ke many th ings there . . . I rea l ly keep
going back because when I walk in and up to the reg i s ter
someone says…”Hi B randi , do you want you usual? A ta l l
Amer icano? How i s work today Brandi?”
That i s what I am addicted to the f r iendly h igh of see ing people
HAPPY to see you. They remember my name….I am hor r ib le at
remember ing names . In the book by Da le Carnegie , How to
Where everybody knows your name!
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Win F r iends and In f luence People ,
he s tates that ones name i s the
most mus ica l sound to someone’s
ear .
I get noth ing for p romot ing Verve
f rom the i r company, so th i s a r t ic le
i s pure ly because I want you to
exper ience the same specia l
warm fuzzy fee l ings I get when I
go in .
I t doesn’t matter which Verve I go
to , they know my name and they
smi le at me. Verve has qu i t the
reputat ion and I can see why,
when t rave l to see my s i s ter in
Ar i zona and I te l l people at the
cof fee shops I am f rom Santa Cruz
they immediate ly sp i t out the sen-
tence “Do you go to Verve? We
love everyone there . WE see
them at cof fee compet i t ions .”
I t goes to show i t ’ s not jus t a
qual i ty product Verve serves but
a l so qual i ty personal i t ies .
I t ’ s so s imple and yet even in my
own l i fe , I fo rget to smi le and re-
member names when I am busy .
So here’s to smi l ing and a good
cup of cof fee where everyone
knows name (cue Cheer’s s i tcom
theme song)!
V i s i t Verve Cof fee Roasters at any
of the i r th ree locat ions :
1540 Pacific Avenue
104 Bronson Street, Suite 19
816 41st Avenue
vervecoffeeroasters.com
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Before and After 320 Braemoor Dr., Bonny Doon
Market ing: what does that mean? To me i t means how can I
make one fee l the product ins tead of th ink about the product .
There i s a say ing that “people buy emot ional ly and jus t i fy log i -
ca l ly .” I have seen th i s over and over in my own career and
spending habi t s . I have spent a hundred dol la r s on the cutest
h igh heals that look l i ke l i t t le cats . I saw i t in the downturn of
the economy. The market was b leak , but i f the consumer
loved the home they would pay more than anyone e l se to buy
i t . WHY? I be l ieve because they fe l l i n love wi th the home
and the s to ry . I t i s amaz ing to me in my own indust ry how we
fa i l to capture the s to ry and emot ion of a home. Ins tead we
t reat i t a punch l i s t….3 bed. . .2 bath . . .g reat ne ighborhood.
Staging to me i s par t of the s to ry o r what market ing expert s
ca l l 3 rd party endorsements . A room i s jus t a room unt i l you
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BEFORE
put a bed in i t . . . then i t
i s a cozy romant ic
room s imply because
that i s what a bed may
m e a n t o t h e
consumer look ing at
the s taged room 3 rd
party endorsements are
key fo r a l l rooms. Put a
couch and chai r s in the
l i v ing room then you
fee l everyone gathered
around fo r wine and
cheese. Put a desk in
an ext ra room and you
fee l the pr ivacy of ba l -
ancing your b i l l s . I t ’ s
these fee l ings that se l l
a home. I have seen i t
over and over again .
There are a l so cer ta in
market ing techn i ques
wi th p ictures that he lp
evoke emot ions . Tes t
yourse l f . Look at the
before and af ter pho-
tos on the next few
pages and see which
ones you are at t racted
to . The af te r photos
are s taged and shot by
a profess ional photog-
rapher and des igner .
The before photos have
no s tag ing and were
shot by an average
photographer .
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BEFORE
BEFORE S o y o u c a n s e e . T h e
d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n f u z z y
dark photos wi th no 3 rd party
e n d o r s e m e n t i t e m s ( a k a
s taging) the home does not
fee l as l ight br ight cozy and
warm as the h igher reso lut ion ,
s tages , and des ign e lement
photos do. You are not the
on ly one to th ink that way.
The home was on the market
p r i o r w i t h a d i f f e r e n t
company and d id not se l l .
Wi th the d i f fe rent photos and
s taging th i s house i s pending
wi th a buyer who LOVES i t
g iv ing the se l le r more money
than i t was l i s ted fo r .
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LENDER’S VOICE
Hi , Ryan i t ’ s the end of the year and
you a l ready sa id loans were hard.
What do you want to remind fo lks to
do when get t ing a loan now?
Ho l idays are a s t res s fu l t ime and I
want my c l ients to s t ress . That i s why
I have a fu l l t ime team work ing over -
t ime to he lp dur ing the ho l iday sea-
son. In order fo r the process to go
smooth ly there are some th ings the
c l ient can do as wel l . Here i s a l i s t :
D DO star t keeping pr is t ine records o f
everyth ing ; make copies o f a l l depos-
i t s in to your accounts and keep a l l
receipts .
D DO keep copies of a l l f inancia l
documents , paycheck s tubs , bank
s tatements , and other documents a l l
the way th rough the c lose of escrow.
D DO send in updated documents to
my team as you get them i f you are
in cont ract on a property .
D DO keep a l l numbered pages of as -
set s tatements .
D DO make su re you have your
bank ing accounts set up fo r on l ine
access , i f poss ib le .
D DON’T take out new l ines of credi t
after you have been preapproved
th rough to the c lose of escrow , nor
pu l l your credi t w i th other f inancia l
ins t i tut ions .
D DON’T depos i t cash , w i thout
consu l t ing us f i r s t .
D Don’t buy anyth ing b ig l i ke a car
or boat wi thout consu l t ing us f i r s t .
I t i s hard somet imes dur ing the ho l i -
day season to th ink about your
spending but i t i s rea l l y important to
contact us f i r s t before mak ing any
major purchases , depos i t ing la rge
amounts of cash , or g iv ing away
large amounts o f cash .
I t i s bet ter to be safe then sor ry ,
and we are here to answer a l l o f
your f inancia l quest ions . Here i s to
happy home buying for the res t of
2014 .
Ryan Buckholdt
Mortgage Advisor
DRE 01196245 | NMLS 319442
www.ryanbuckholdt.com
831-425-TEAM
homebody
Buy ing in the remain ing 2014
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LOCAL ARTIST
Lorraine Lawson 500,000
The artist who can make your beach vacation come to life!
homebody
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Lor ra ine i s an ar t i s t who knows jus t how to capture wonderfu l moments
th rough her ar t . She a few d i f fe rent themes , but her ocean scenes
make her work h igh ly des i rable in the Santa Cruz area. In addi t ion , to
her co lo r fu l and br ight tones she a l so makes the are la rge and s tate ly .
I f you went to the beach of and want to capture las t ing memor ies she
wi l l take the sand and she l l s and make you your own p iece that i s
un iquely yours .
homebody
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Abst ract express ion i sm, wi th an emphas i s on “ ly r ica l
abst ract ion” has resonated wi th me and has become
my s ty le of express ing my intent and hav ing my
audience re late to i t .
Lor ra ine’s ar t i s avai lable to be seen or
purchased at
h t tp ://onef inear t i s t .com
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Born in L iege, Be lg ium and inspi red by my
great -grandfather’s work , I knew f rom a young
age that becominga f ine ar t i s t was my dest iny .
A l though my s ty le i s c lear ly my own, Gustave
F lasschoen has been the mot ivator in pursu ing
the l i fe of an ar t i s t and f inding my own voice.
“Art has the power to make us see th ings f rom
a d i f fe rent perspect ive”
The creat ive process inv i tes scrut iny of the
h ighest leve l . To create works of substance
and qual i ty that r i va l s the masters before me
requ i res end less se l f -examinat ion.
As a se l f - taught ar t i s t , def in ing my s ty le be-
came the ever -evolv ing quest fo r ident i ty . “ I
search for meaning beyond what I see.”
homebody
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20 YEARS 335 Coastv iew Dr . , Santa Cruz
Our s tory began over 20 years ago when we were but a young fami ly
l i v ing the home of our d reams. We were on an exc lus ive s t reet that had
amazing v iews of the ocean and of a lagoon. And in a b l ink of an eye
our k ids are grown and we need to downs i ze . Th i s took us months to
come to te rms w i th th i s fact . Where were we going to go, how were we
going to leave a l l our memor ies , and what wi l l the k ids say kept us f rom
making our f ina l move. Unt i l one day we met our rea l tors and knew they
cou ld he lp us . We rea l i zed we can f ind a p lace to go, and the k ids wi l l
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Wi l l be f ine , but MOSTLY , we wanted our s tory
our legacy to be to ld . We wanted the dai ly
nuances of our l i fe to be showcased in the
sa le of our home. We spent 20 years of good
t imes and bad t imes and th i s house knew a l l
o f them. We wanted the r ight buyer to come
and see how th i s home was par t of our fami ly
and we wanted to b less i t to a new fami ly or
group.
We were exc i ted and th r i l led and pat ient ly
wai ted for the r ight buyer . We fe l t that our
home was presented accurate ly and show-
cased beaut i fu l ly to the publ ic . The f i r s t few
weeks was incredib ly busy wi th potent ia l
buyers . But as t ime went on no of fers came.
I t a l l o f a sudden wasn’t about the money ,
we fe l t re jected. Why d idn’t they love us?
What d id we do? Where were a l l the mul t i -
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20 YEARS 335 Coastv iew Dr . , Santa Cruz
We kept hear ing about?
We met wi th our rea l tor s again and there was one f ina l p iece mi s s ing in
th i s equat ion. WE had the pr ice, we had the market ing, and had the lo -
cat ion, but we hadn’t let go yet . So my husband and I spent some t ime
ta lk ing about th i s one unseen factor and walked around the home say ing
good bye and thank ing the home for a l l that we have shared together . I t
was l i ke magic. Now, let s take a s tep back , my husband i s Mr . Log ica l .
Let ’s jus t say he wasn’t the most exc i ted about actual ly say ing goodbye
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So some log ica l th ings we d id fo r h im was
s tar t look ing for new places to l i ve by look on
cra igs l i s t , go ing to open houses , etc . Ce we
s tar ted look ing for our new home i t was l i ke
magic. WE got our mul t ip le of fe r s w i th
buyers who were ready to make th i s the i r
new LOVED home. I t happened, we took
cont ro l of the s i tuat ion and i t happened. We
p icked the buyer who we bel ieve i s the per -
fect new caretaker and fami ly member for
our be loved home of 20 p lus years . Thank
you B randi and Josh fo r making our d reams
and wi shes come t rue!
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As with all our properties, Josh and I
had a great time selling this home. We
had a wine tasting open house
featuring local wineries. In addition,
we had a chocolate open house
featuring local chocolate makers. We
also want to say thank you to Lauren
Spencer who made the sale a
wonderful experience with her buyer.
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MARKET REPORT homebody
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MARKET REPORT homebody
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BEN LOMOND, 2 BD 1 BTH
130 PASEO BONITO LANE, APTOS 3 BD/ 3BTH $825,000
320 BRAEMOOR DR., BONNY DOON 2 BD/2 BTH
Coming Soon
Aptos
Bonny Doon
OTHER LISTINGS homebody
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118 BURLWOOD DR, SCOTTS VALLEY –vacant lot $450,000
127 BURLWOOD DR, SCOTTS VALLEY– vacant lot $500,000
338 GEOFFROY DR, SANTA CRUZ $2,649,000 4BD/4BTH
Sold
Top schools
Top schools
OTHER LISTINGS homebody
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BRANDI Jones REALTOR, cal BRE#01385191
CELL: 831-588-5145
[email protected] WWW.BRANDIJONESREALTOR.COM
2170 41ST AVE, CAPITOLA, CA 95010
SALES ASSOCIATE OF THE YEAR ‘10, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13