What People are saying

Client Testimonials

“Do I recommend Marilyn? Are you kidding? Of course!”

~ Pam P.

Gabriela and I have know Marilyn for over 8 years and consider her a friend as well as our agent. She helped us with our first home back in 2009, we saw a lot of homes and she helped us find the perfect one for my family and I. We kept in touch and 8 years later she helped us sell our home very quickly and find a new one.

She has all the experience in the world, patient, helpful and always one step ahead ready to keep the process moving. We are very happy to count Marilyn as one of our friends and highly recommend her when buying or selling a home.

~ Gabriela & Elias

This is truly from my heart...

Over the 42 years I've owned a personal residence, I've moved 9 times. That means I've had plenty of experience with real estate agents. While not all of the transactions went perfectly smoothly, none of the transactions were even close to the nightmare that Marilyn Johnson helped us through. Talk about an agent who earned her commission! So what made Marilyn stand out? Communication. Calmness in the face of unbelievably poor performance by the people buying our home as well as their agent. Extra effort to work through the obstacles.

Patience. Poise. The way she gave us "relative" peace of mind that issues would be worked out. Thoroughness in keeping track of the paperwork that became complicated when the buyers failed to meet various deadlines. Humor, when there was no other choice than to pull our hair out. I honestly don't think any other agent could have gotten us through that transaction and into our new home. We came away with the feeling that we had not just a stellar agent, but also a new friend.

~ Pam P.

During the summer of 2014 we were fortunate enough to be able to invest in a townhouse in Capitola. This could not have been possible without the exceptional hard work and professionalism of our agent Marilyn Johnson. Marilyn worked tirelessly, sending us information on properties that met our needs. A simple phone call or e-mail and Marilyn would always be available to take us to see properties that we had chosen to view. She was very professional and organized when showing properties, and

with her cheerful, friendly demeanor she made us feel very relaxed and in no way pressured. With no hesitation and a great deal of patience Marilyn would happily take us back again to see properties that we had already viewed and would willingly give an honest opinion about the properties that we were viewing.

Once we found the property we wanted to purchase it was with great knowledge, professionalism, interpersonal skills and integrity that Marilyn helped navigate us through the whole process of purchasing the property. Throughout the whole transaction Marilyn tirelessly, and with great patience answered our dozens of e-mails in a very efficient and understanding manner.

Over the years we have been fortunate to have been able to buy and sell property several times and therefore worked with many real estate agents. It is without hesitation that we consider Marilyn to be one of the best real estate agents we have ever worked with. Her familiarity of the local market, together with her experience and knowledge of the real estate industry and loan process, as well as her high ethical standards, make her one of those rare individuals that we are delighted to recommend, without condition or exception.

~ Melanie

Marilyn Johnson has been a wonderful partner in our personal and business real estate endeavors. Throughout our transactions with her, she was a wealth of information and gave invaluable advice. Even after the deals were complete, she followed up to ensure our expectations were exceeded. Marilyn Johnson is one-of -a- kind and delivers impressive results with her professionalism and attention to detail. We feel lucky to have been referred to Marilyn and are grateful to have benefited from her years of experience.

~ Dana & David R and Family

We were looking for a house in the Santa Cruz or Scott Valley areas, but we had no knowledge of places and neighborhoods. Marilyn brought us around, showing us different areas and properties; enabling us to make up our mind about where to look. Once we found the house we liked, Marilyn was fundamental to get it. The property got multiple offers and Marilyn followed all the process to make a counter offer while I was flying to Europe, sending me documents to sign electronically while in airports!

At the end we got the house and we are very happy of it. We strongly recommend Marilyn to whoever is looking to buy a house on the Santa Cruz area.

She is very helpful, patient, and professional, one of the best realtors we ever met.

~ Claudio D

I have worked with Marilyn Johnson twice in real estate transactions. My first experience was in purchasing my home in Santa Cruz.

From the start, Marilyn was very proactive in researching possible homes with my budget in mind. She was thorough and very supportive throughout the process and even assisted in moving forward the loan process as well as many other details.

My second experience was also a great experience. I was selling my home and with her support and guidance moved through the process very quickly and efficiently getting all processes done in record time and completely. I was able to sell my house very quickly due to Marilyn's representation and efforts on my behalf. She is an excellent agent who will help on either end of the process.

~ Susie R

When a job change required me to commute to Pleasanton everyday, I realized it was sadly time to sell my house in Soquel. I am a single guy and wanted somebody who was mature, responsible and focused on getting the result I wanted in a timely manner. After researching some local realtors, I found Marilyn Johnson. She met with me and took me through the entire process. She helped me get my house ready for the market and did a great job of promoting my property. In a very short period of time we were looking at offers. She helped me look at the pros and cons of each offer always keeping in mind my requirements and not pushing me to take any deal offered. Ultimately, we closed with a result that exceeded my expectations.

Marilyn was a pleasure to work with throughout the process. She always kept my interests in mind and was patient yet firm when dealing with they myriad of other people involved in selling a house. I would highly recommend Marilyn Johnson.

~ Randy R

Having been a veterinarian in Santa Cruz for over 30 years much of my investments have been involved in real estate. I have bought and sold a number of properties. In the latter part of my tenure in property management, my needs changed as the landscape of our holdings became more challenging.

Subsequently, I began to interview realtors. After attending a multitude of open houses and various discussions with Santa Cruz's top agents, I commissioned Ms. Johnson to handle our real estate needs.

Observing her effectiveness, efficiency and honesty laid the foundation for building a strong trust in her skills. Many can sell properties in a good market; only the best can sell problematic holdings in a difficult environment. She is such a professional and is worthy of her client’s trust.

In the course of 6 years she has been involved with over seven transactions involving both the purchase and sale of residential and rental property. At one time we simultaneously had four properties on the market.

Having Ms. Johnson's expertise combined with a level demeanor, a superb knowledge of marketing and an attention to detail successfully navigated the completion of those sales in less than a year.

She was always there for our questions, concerns and follow up. As issues emerged, unexpected details raised concerns and obtuse agents entered into the equation, Ms. Johnson effectively charted us through potential perils.

Real estate is not a hobby for Ms. Johnson; it is a passion. She is extremely attentive to detail in every aspect of the contract. Taking time to understand her client's fiscal needs in conjunction with the emotional factor is one aspect of her professional authenticity. This is substantiated by her ability to get the job done.

Knowing of her and actually experiencing her knowledge, insight and acumen allow me the opportunity through these brief paragraphs to thank her for all that she has done for us.

~ Halley and Jay V (DVM)

Marilyn was a pleasure to work with throughout the process.

~ Randy R

I called one of Marilyn's listing on a Saturday afternoon at 4:30, expecting to get voice mail. I was going to leave a message, guessing I would hear back Monday or Tuesday. Instead of voice mail, she answered the phone! She was actually in the office, working and we talked for half an hour. After her searching a bit, we agreed to meet Sunday AM for several showings.

During the following week, instead of waiting for callbacks and syncing up, I had my next dream home under contract!

Call Marilyn if you are looking for someone that is always working, always on the ball, and always willing to do whatever it takes to meet her client's needs.

~ Ed M

In 1997 I bought my first house in Santa Cruz County with Marilyn Johnson as my realtor. As a newbie to real estate and the county, I needed someone who was an expert on the area and with the process of buying. Marilyn was that expert, and she made the difficult process of buying a home as easy as possible. I recently used Marilyn again to sell my Aptos property and buy a new home in the area. Her professionalism and expertise was evident again as she guided me through the process of preparing my home to be sold. She organized the bids and contractors and took the load off of me so I could continue on with personal and professional life. She helped me get my property in to excellent condition and ended up getting top dollar with excellent terms. She was there during the entire escrow process makingsure that the deal went through smoothly so we could then began the buying process of a new home.

Marilyn’s professionalism and organization continued to be exceptional during the process of locating and buying my new home. She seemed to know more about what I wanted and needed than even I did. One of her best skills is that she never wasted one minute of my time and she seemed to always have a clear focus on what we needed to do to move forward. Yet she was patient with me while she explained the process and how things worked. She worked with me to find the property that was going to work best for my family and she was with us every step of the way from locating the home, to the offer, and all the way through the escrow process.

We are now in our new home and the only problem is that we miss our frequent interactions with Marilyn. She has become a good friend during this process and always will be. I look back on these last many months and two real estate transactions and feel very thankful that we had Marilyn on our team. I would highly recommend Marilyn and her team of other real estate for both buying and selling a home.

While I plan on staying put for a while, when the time comes to move again, I will be calling Marilyn
Johnson.

~ Ron C.

The sale of my Santa Cruz town home closed!

It is with gratitude that I acknowledge Marilyn Johnson, my Realtor, who effectively worked with me long distance to achieve the aligned goal of marketing the town home, finding the perfect buyer, and effectively selling the property with no glitches!

As an inherited property that had tenants, Marilyn and I began our process to determine the best way to proceed to create the sale. She was a patient and incredible resource for me as I proceeded to give notice to the tenants.

From the start, Marilyn was 100% there, effectively communicating and handling each detail to start the marketing process.

Her long time experience as a Realtor working in the Santa Cruz market and her grounded confidence reassured me as a Seller from out of area.

Affirming the professional relationship, she had respect for my questions and concerns. All in all I feel like she did not miss a beat!

The unique and incredible thing is we have never met in person! Yet, I trusted her implicitly to be there for me with my goals as the Seller.

I highly recommend Marilyn for anyone desiring an effective and satisfying real estate transaction in the Santa Cruz area. I have been extremely fortunate to have worked with her!

~ Becky S-F

Recently, we had to sell some property that was in our family for over 100 years. It was very emotional for me. I was having a very hard time having to sell. Marilyn went far beyond our expectations. She walked much of the usable 59 acre property, with everyone that looked at it. She also spent many weekends having open houses. She took us step by step though all the many disclosures, finding all the county required codes for anyone that wanted to build. With 3 and 4 generation of building cabins, garages, barns, and our own water systems it took her many, many hours of research, before she could even list it. Marilyn took it upon herself to find out all we needed to know. For me, she is a Real Estate Saint. I would recommend her to sell any kind of real estate. I cannot say enough about how professional she is in her work field. And I thank her for making it a pleasure to work with and to know her.

I would like to thank Marilyn Johnson for all she did for my family. The first time we worked with Marilyn was when she sold my Mother’s home after she passed away. She handled it very professionally and made it a pleasure to work with her.

~ Carolyn

Marilyn Johnson is the best

My husband and I recently purchased a house in Santa Cruz and she made it happen despite the crazy schedules and lack of inventory.

Marilyn is a sound professional; she is dedicated, insightful, patient, dedicated to customer service excellence and accommodating. During the several months of our house search, she did always adjust to our schedules allowing us to visit houses as late as 9pm on Sunday evenings.

We do appreciate her professionalism and her constant follow-ups. With Marilyn, you know each detail will be seen to. She is transparent, honest and trustworthy. She knows her business and is well respected in her profession which makes things easier for everyone.

We did enjoy doing business with Marilyn so much that we must admit we miss seeing Marilyn every week! We highly recommend her and would hire her again without reservation given the opportunity.

Marilyn, thank you we love the house!!

~ Fannie

Marilyn Johnson did a fantastic job for us finding a house in Santa Cruz county that we could afford in a neighborhood we wanted to live in was a challenge. She showed us a lot of properties wrote a several offers and, finally, with her guidance, we got the house we wanted.

Marilyn is a pleasure to work with. very thorough and efficient. AND....she is a really nice person on top of all of that.

She was recommended to us and we highly recommend her to others.

~ Leslie B

My husband and I purchased our first home in December 2014. As first time home buyers Marilyn made the experience educational, painless, and enjoyable! She allowed us to form our own opinions while providing us with her insight, expertise and professionalism. She alerted us to all the properties that she knew we would have interest in and worked with our schedule to show us each property with detail and care.  Once we found our home she met with us several times so that not only could we view the property and our families, but would meet with us so that we could take measurements and make plans for our future home as well. She always made herself available and though I know she is very busy, she made us feel as though we were her only client. To top it all off, she surprised us with a beautiful house warming gift that my husband and I hold dear to our hearts. I would highly recommend Marilyn time and time again.

~ Natalie

I am writing to express my pleasure with real estate agent Marilyn Johnson, who represented us in our recent sale of a single-family home on a large lot. Marilyn guided us through the entire process and kept us informed. As a former real estate broker, I could appreciate her thoroughness and professionalism. Her knowledge, experience and diligence in researching and marketing the property resulted in us getting an offer which exceeded our listing price by over 40K dollars. We are nothing but pleased with Marilyn and her expertise and would recommend her to everyone

~ Gerald L