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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

BJONES@DAVIDLYNG.COM WWW.BRANDIJONESREALTOR.COM

2170 41ST AVE, CAPITOLA, CA 95010

SALES ASSOCIATE OF THE YEAR ‘10, ‘11, ‘12, ‘13