Courtesy images.
SANTA BARBARA — Village Properties, the Santa Barbara area’s largest independent real estate company, recently attracted five seasoned agents to its growing team of Realtors.
Jen Plana, David Marchetti, Deja Rabb, Nicole Wesley and Nicole Powers join the more than 180 accomplished Village Properties’ Realtors serving clients across the Santa Barbara region including Montecito, Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez. Agents are hired based on their expertise, credentials, local knowledge and commitment to superior customer service, as well as their desire to support Village Properties’ mission of giving back to the community.
All of the new realtors reside in the Santa Barbara area, have deep connections to the region and years of real estate experience. Four of the five are former schoolteachers, while the fifth founded an area nonprofit that funds holistic home birth and pregnancy care for women and families. Each agent said they were drawn to work for Village Properties because the company is locally owned, community oriented and has a reputation for excellence. Many said they were inspired by the agency’s dedication to assisting local teachers through its affiliated nonprofit, the Teacher’s Fund.
Jen Plana is a 55-year resident of the Santa Barbara area with almost three decades of experience in the real estate business. She previously worked alongside her husband, Victor Plana, before his retirement in 2017, and has closed well over $300 million in sales. Plana possesses a wealth of experience and knowledge about Santa Barbara’s history and culture, its various neighborhoods and micro-climates, and recreational and lifestyle amenities. She’s passionate about fulfilling her clients’ real estate dreams and goals.
“I have always admired Village Properties’ locally based ownership, its strong local presence, commitment to local advertising, and its support of the teachers in our community via the popular Teacher’s Fund, especially as a former teacher myself,” Plana said. “When the opportunity presented itself for me to join the Village team, I was absolutely confident that it was the right move for me.”
David Marchetti has over 8 years of real estate experience in the Santa Barbara region and has been a homeowner on the Mesa for over 30 years. He’s also a successful real estate investor, owning student housing in Isla Vista. He raised his family in Santa Barbara and was a science teacher at La Colina Junior High School for 18 years, as well as a small business owner working in building and construction. He has extensive real estate knowledge coupled with intimate understanding of Santa Barbara residential communities.
“I’m looking forward to working with other Village Properties agents to create a successful satellite office on the Mesa,” Marchetti said. “I plan to continue giving my clients on the Mesa and other areas of Santa Barbara and Goleta concierge-level service based on experience, local knowledge and integrity.”
Deja Rabb returns to Village Properties with six years of dedicated experience in the real estate industry and a background in interior design. This allows her to see the potential in a home and help clients imagine how to transform a space and make it something unique. She is solutions-focused and enjoys helping buyers achieve their goals, whether that’s negotiating the best possible price for their next home or assisting couples in working together to identify their forever home. Rabb is co-founder of The Victoria Project, a nonprofit that works to raise awareness and increase access to holistic maternity care in Southern California and beyond.
“Having worked at other brokerages in Santa Barbara it was very clear to me that Village is where I want to be,” Rabb said. “I knew Village was aligned with how I believe people should be treated. Village Properties is committed to the community, and so am I. Giving back to those in need exemplifies the type of realtor I am.”
Nicole Wesley comes from a long family line of real estate professionals and has served clients in Southern California for many years. She fell in love with Santa Barbara after graduating from UCSB and decided to make the city her home. Wesley has a deep understanding of local trends, neighborhoods and property values, and enjoys educating her clients through the home selling and buying process. She is a former elementary school teacher.
“I have always been committed to supporting local elementary schools through my personal donation program where I have been donating a portion of each sale to local neighborhood public elementary schools,” Wesley said. “Similarly, Village Properties continues to make a difference in the local community, and I am especially excited about supporting the Teacher’s Fund.”
Nicole Powers is a former teacher at San Marcos High School and brings compassion, dedication, and a team-oriented approach to her real estate business. She is passionate about helping her clients unlock their dream life, and supports and advocates for them through the entire homebuying process. In her free time, Powers enjoys coaching exercise classes at Bond Fitness, reading, spending time at the beach and drinking matcha lattes at Handlebar Coffee Roasters.
“I am proud to be an agent with Village Properties,” she said. “I am most excited for all of the professional development opportunities that will support the growth of my business, which will ultimately result in my ability to help, support, and guide more people in the Santa Barbara area.”
Founded in 1996 by Renee Grubb and her business partner, Village Properties is a locally owned and operated real estate company with a finely tuned focus on the Santa Barbara region and the people who call it home. The company represents a special connection between the people and places within the Santa Barbara region through highly trained and cultivated agents, and a focused mission on serving the community now and into the future.