In this episode of Housing4Good, we take a closer look at how REALTOR® Sande Bulawa is making a significant impact in the Vail community. Known for more than just her real estate expertise, Sande has dedicated herself to supporting local schools, businesses, and families. Her role in Vail is deeply intertwined with her passion for building connections and fostering community growth. Learn how her work as a REALTOR® goes far beyond buying and selling homes—she’s actively shaping the future of Vail.

Committed to Vail’s Growth and Success

Sande’s dedication to her community is evident in everything she does. As a parent and volunteer, she has been deeply involved in the Vail school district, participating in school programs and events that enrich students’ lives. Her active role in the PTO and local organizations shows her commitment to the well-being of Vail’s families. Additionally, Sande’s support of local businesses has helped strengthen the area’s economy. She frequently highlights local entrepreneurs through her social media and video efforts, knowing that a thriving business community helps create a better Vail for everyone.

Her engagement in these areas not only demonstrates her commitment to Vail but also reflects her understanding that strong schools and businesses are the backbone of a prosperous community. Sande sees her work as a REALTOR® as an extension of this mission, using her platform to support the growth of the very community she calls home.

From Flight Attendant to REALTOR®: Sande’s Journey into Real Estate

Before becoming a REALTOR®, Sande’s career was in customer service, including a notable stint as a flight attendant. These experiences helped shape her approach to real estate, where customer care and attention to detail are paramount. The skills she honed in her previous profession—such as patience, problem-solving, and a knack for building relationships—have translated seamlessly into her real estate practice.

Sande transitioned into real estate with a desire to make a more personal and meaningful impact. Recognizing that a home purchase is one of the biggest decisions in a person’s life, Sande takes pride in being there for her clients every step of the way. Her journey from the skies to the real estate market is a testament to her adaptability and dedication to serving others.

Building Bonds with Clients and the Community

For Sande, real estate is about building lasting relationships with her clients. She emphasizes the importance of staying connected long after the transaction is complete, often forming friendships that last for years. Her clients appreciate her genuine care and her commitment to helping them make the best possible decisions for their future.

In addition to serving her clients, Sande is a passionate advocate for local businesses. She understands the importance of a strong local economy and often goes out of her way to promote and support small businesses in Vail. This approach to real estate, where community involvement goes hand in hand with client service, sets Sande apart as more than just a REALTOR®—she is a key part of the fabric of the Vail community.

A REALTOR® Making a Difference

Through her work in real estate and her deep involvement in the Vail community, Sande Bulawa has shown that REALTORS® can be powerful agents of change. Her commitment to supporting local schools, businesses, and families is a reflection of her broader mission to build a stronger, more connected Vail.  Contact her through her website at SandraBulawa.com

If you’re inspired by Sande’s story and know of other real estate professionals making a difference, contact Tom Heath to share their stories. Together, we can continue to highlight the important work being done in communities across Arizona.

Tom Heath
Well, welcome back to another episode of housing for good. We get to talk with amazing real estate agents who are not only having success within the real estate world, but also transcending that and having impact in our community. And today we are joined by none other than the Sandy Bola. Welcome.

Sande Belawa
Thank you Tom. Always nice to be here with you.

Tom Heath
We have all kinds of stuff to talk about today. Great. But let’s talk about before real estate because you were in an interesting business for a while with the the you were an airline when you were a pilot. What were.

Sande Belawa
You doing? Yeah. Oh right. Right.

Tom Heath
Were you were on the planes okay.

Sande Belawa
So yes. And back in the day I started, I turned the age 21 right, in training school. So I started at the ripe age back then but loved it. Flew for ten years with Eastern Airlines. Okay. No longer here, but, I found traveling to just be such a I learned so much about culture.

Tom Heath
You know.

Sande Belawa
I was a flight attendant.

Tom Heath
Okay? I was doing contests. Like winning, I’m sure. No no no, no. So we would start this interview first. Interview takes off. Make sure your seat back is in the upright position.

Sande Belawa
That’s right. And when I. When I flew senior me as a people person that I am I used always, you know, little jokes. Hold your coffee over your neighbor’s lap as we hit turbulence. But I enjoyed it and I had fun. And then after that, I went into hospitality. I worked for hotels. That’s actually what I did at a high school right before I went into the airlines.

Sande Belawa
Okay. And so it’s always been about people and traveling, and there’s just so much education. Then when I had my children, I went into and I homeschooled. And we traveled, we did mission work, but we traveled a lot overseas and we, I taught them through traveling.

Tom Heath
Wow. What, what like what timeframe was that like. Okay. What were you homeschooling.

Sande Belawa
Yeah. So Kyle’s 34 now Joyce. 28. But I homeschooled them their first eight years. Okay? They both went to a high school, Kyle, in Kentucky, where we were living. And then Joy here at Push Christian Academy.

Tom Heath
Wow.

Sande Belawa
But, like middle, middle ages, medieval times. We learned in Prague at a lot of the castles. And.

Tom Heath
We went around. That’s a field trip when you get to historian.

Sande Belawa
Well, we did mission work to our church, but because I homeschooled, we were able to stay in our there like family now. And they gave us their cars. My husband would have to come home to his business sometimes, but we actually drove to the different countries and we learned a lot. But it’s you know, we set with people that nowadays, you know, they say we’re shooting in different things, but we can all three of us that my kids and I can honestly say we sit with people of different, beliefs and faiths and we had a great time learning about cultures.

Tom Heath
So at what point then did you decide that real estate was going to be something that you wanted to pursue?

Sande Belawa
So to this day, we just celebrated 45 years. And in that time we’ve lived in 18 different homes for.

Tom Heath
25 years of.

Sande Belawa
Marriage.

Tom Heath
Yeah, okay.

Sande Belawa
And, we’ve lived in 18 different homes. And Ken and I have always enjoyed looking at model homes, open houses. He’s more of a decorator. And again, I’m working with people, finding them their dream home, working through challenges that we may have to work through. But it’s it’s all so worthwhile. I have so many, all of my clients, I can almost say I can say 90% of my clients are friends.

Tom Heath
The other ones are jerks.

Sande Belawa
No, no, no.

Tom Heath
But.

Sande Belawa
You know, people who aren’t is, like, my husband and I actually go out with two different couples. Two of our couples that we’re the husbands get to know each other, and we go out, like, once a year. And the other one is singing. Now we go and visit and we kids. I just went to a shower, baby shower, and they just had their baby.

Sande Belawa
Yeah, a baby shower a month ago. And that was the third house that I had. The third transaction I had with this young couple in their late 30s. And they informed me that they’ll be moving again in a couple of years because their family is growing.

Tom Heath
So, yeah, as I keep expanding.

Sande Belawa
The family a little more room, I love it, I just love.

Tom Heath
It. I always, I, I don’t know how many other people have that experience. And being a flight attendant, but I think that it’s interesting because that sort of where I see the real estate role working, right. If everything goes well, it’s just a fun transaction, but you’re always prepared and always in your mind, like looking for what might not go well because you got an emergency, you got the safety of these passengers.

Tom Heath
And and that mindset probably carries through to your real estate side.

Sande Belawa
Exactly. Because before each flight and I flew senior that working first class and we would have to do a little skit, you know, before we went another flight, an impromptu I would just Collin but myself or someone to what if this happen? What is your response. Because we always have to have oh.

Tom Heath
Yeah, give.

Sande Belawa
Our money. So I mean whether it be oxygen or whether it be, you know, but the window seats and really checking those and now, I mean, I just got back from a trip with my 94 year old dad going back to Chicago, and the girls were like, my age. And they’re like, oh, you should come back and fly.

Sande Belawa
You’d love it, you know? But I said it. It is exactly that. And now it’s just strictly because they don’t really serve any, food like we did a full meal, but now it is exactly just the emergency is.

Tom Heath
The comfort, is there? We’re definitely there for, understanding the training, I would imagine is quite intense. And that, I mean, in real estate, it’s the same way, right? I things people see the easy side of real estate like, oh, you just put a sign in the air of the house so they don’t see everything else that you prepare for and plan for and, and all of those contingencies.

Tom Heath
And, you know, the, the, the world is changing. The rules are changing.

Sande Belawa
We know that.

Tom Heath
Well. And speaking of changes, you just, is it okay to announce where you working then? Yes, yes. So this is a fairly recent change which you went to July 1st.

Sande Belawa
I went to Tierra Antigua. And the reason being I miss not being with my local and my community oriented, brick and mortar brokerage. There’s something for everyone. And, Tom, you and I met at local first seven and a half years ago.

Tom Heath
There’s I did not know a seven and a half years ago, but I remember we met there. Yeah. And we had talked for some time and immediately understood your, your passion for this community and and wanting to support the local entrepreneurs and.

Sande Belawa
Yes, yes, I’m.

Tom Heath
Seeing you with, tier two and you’ve had success with other companies, so there’s nothing against anything else. But this just seems like a fit for you because of that, that. Yes. Locally owned connection. Yes.

Sande Belawa
And, I’m only ten minutes from the, take over the office, the east office. And and for me, because I care give my dad and my husband his home. No, I yeah, it’s great for me to be there. And it’s encouraging because a lot of the, very successful, very successful realtors there in the office and I’m holding open houses.

Sande Belawa
And as you know, I’m marketing highly in Vail because both of my children are educators. They’re two different high schools. And so I’m there a lot, and they’re it’s all school and communities. And I just I’m doing open houses there now. And it’s just that’s another thing I just love about here. It’s a it were a family. And it’s always put on our internal emails when someone’s looking for an open house or if I wanted to do an open house.

Sande Belawa
And I’ve always been an open house queen.

Tom Heath
So you’d be.

Sande Belawa
Very hospitality again.

Tom Heath
Yeah. People, people show up and they latch on to you. Yeah. And Val, it’s not just marketing in Vail. I mean that community because both of your children teach there. You’ve been heavily involved with the school system and you got some award recently. Didn’t you like a recognition of volunteer of the year or something to that effect?

Sande Belawa
Yeah. And I right now I can’t even recall. But I am very involved in PTO with a couple the high schools that my kids teach at and in Vail. They are not their own city. That has not passed yet. For the third time it went down, but it is growing so much and their community is their school district.

Sande Belawa
Like I befriended, I’m on the I’m on the chamber. So I do know a lot of the people. And as I’ve sat with the superintendent, it’s like everything is done for the schools through the community and I, I believe and that’s 100%. But I think there’s 22 schools, including all of them, including high schools to elementary. And now my grandson is in an elementary.

Sande Belawa
I go their.

Tom Heath
Grandson’s in elementary already.

Sande Belawa
Yeah, his first grade just went into first grade. So I volunteer at his school. I was just there for picture day and oh my gosh, all the kids they did, they just warm my heart. But, so I am very, very involved. The voice Vail voice is the local paper out there, which I have, done advertise and but the, editor just called for me, and she said, we’re looking for maybe one of the schools knowing that I have some connections.

Sande Belawa
For them to take a column to do all the new businesses and so I talked to my son, and they gave me the name of the journalism, contact. And then I talked to my daughter from Cienega and here she is, the journal. Yeah. So I connected her. So. But they’re kids. They they don’t get paid, but their names are going to be on at the schools names.

Sande Belawa
And it’s just it just is just still a community. It’s growing leaps and bounds as you know.

Tom Heath
Yeah. And I think the fact that both of your, your kids, your adult children teach there, that that has. Yeah. From the stories you’ve told me, you know, people people know you. Yeah. When you come on campus.

Sande Belawa
Yeah. And I advertise, in on the field, you know, at one at mica mountain. And, so. But I’m very. And Tom, Tom and I are going to be hosting Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus this winter.

Tom Heath
They’re going to for a special occasion in December.

Sande Belawa
Yes, and.

Tom Heath
Forward to meeting.

Sande Belawa
Them and are wonderful marketing.

Tom Heath
So I’m not sure which list I’m on. So a little nervous about meeting. But.

Sande Belawa
Our wonderful, marketing lady, your marketing lady, Lisa, who’s my no. Two, she and I just met up there, and we have a wonderful set up. They’re letting us really going to do this big during the second Saturday, which is, every second Saturday of the month. They have between the tracks, they have, it’s like a farmer’s birthday.

Sande Belawa
And so we’re going to be there with Santa, and that’s going to be a lot of fun. And even Kim and Matt, who are the owners of the TR Antigo brokerage, want to be involved in it?

Tom Heath
Oh, well, let’s see. So they probably know the big guy person. Yeah. Yes, I’m probably the person in there, but I just call him Nick. Yeah.

Sande Belawa
And Nick.

Tom Heath
The rest of us like Santa.

Sande Belawa
So it’s going to be fun. And I love doing community. Oh, I just I just love being there. I love supporting, it’s still just a quaint. They just built a barber shop. It’s just still like, like Mark Tait, who is almost like the mayor, which they don’t have a mayor because they’re not a city. But he said it’s just, if somebody’s barn goes down, they still help their neighbors.

Sande Belawa
But they are growing, but they are still, you know, their for their people.

Tom Heath
Yeah. It’s a very nice community. And you know it’s, it’s interesting because I know a lot of real estate agents and others, they get involved with their schools because the kids are there. Yeah. But your kids are there. And if capacity is great and it’s interesting that you’ve you’ve really kind of grown through that. And I do know that there was a recognition, you know, you were very humble about it, but you did get recognized as having that volunteer spirit award.

Tom Heath
And I think that’s tremendous, given that you don’t have children attending right now, the grandchild. But right at the time, it didn’t. And then the other thing, which I’ve loved about you since we met seven and a half years ago, was the, the commitment to supporting local businesses. Oh, yeah. And I’ve seen you doing videos on your Instagram and you’re highlighting local businesses, talking to business owners.

Tom Heath
And, you know, that’s I think that comes from somewhere. I see there a correlation like the homeschooling and how you, you know, your children are very entrepreneurial minded and, and they’re very independent. I know, but I see you supporting a lot of the local community through, through those organizations. And I guess we’ll see you back at local first now.

Sande Belawa
Yeah, that’s my next thing. That’s my next thing. I’ve been I’ve been learning so much through TR Antigua. I just want to give a a shout out to them. They have so much education with all these changes and just the classes we take every two years, they offer those free of charge to their, their agents. And there’s, they’re just such a great help in their offices.

Sande Belawa
And they have seven offices now and they’re all owned. They own them.

Tom Heath
And it runs at seven offices.

Sande Belawa
And that’s another one of their beliefs. They believe in owning the real estate. Sure. And I really.

Tom Heath
Yeah, they’re intrigued by it. Makes sense. Matt and Kim, great people in our community. We need to have, you know, we had Kim on this housing for good very early on when we were talking about community involvement. It was kind of a no brainer that she would be, she may have been the first person be.

Tom Heath
I think she was the very first person we interviewed because of what Tierra Antigua has done. Yeah. And this community, through their foundation and and through their agents and how they attract people like yourself to them for not just the business practices, but their community involvement.

Sande Belawa
Right.

Tom Heath
So so you do a lot I, you know, got videos going out there some some professional videos, some fun videos and community videos. But where do people find these? Where do you post a lot? Are you on the Instagram or are you taking and talking?

Sande Belawa
Good question. I just I am on Instagram and Facebook and those do correlate. And I some of them which are the educational which I do like you said, I do videos, I try to do a local business and once a week and I do a little bit of something of what I’ve done volunteering in the family.

Sande Belawa
I just did photo days. I just, my grandson, school, Desert Willow Elementary and but I also, I know I do want to learn TikTok, which I haven’t learned yet, but I see that that’s really become a big one. But, and I also YouTube, so any of my videos that I do and you and I have done videos and will continue to do videos, I put those, as a post, but I, they always go on in my YouTube account.

Tom Heath
And where like, what are the handles for these accounts? So oh, where’s your YouTube is. And under.

Sande Belawa
Sande Bulawa realtor.

Tom Heath
Okay.

Sande Belawa
And pretty much all of them are that okay. Sandy Boulevard realtor. And then the other thing is, my new, with Tierra Antigua, I have up my new website set up and I have I do blogs and there I do pictures. I have a very large, resource tab there because I just want to be whether I have they are my clients or not.

Sande Belawa
I just really love giving. And I have resources for people to help you declutter to help you pack up from the from the electricians to anything I can just give a resource for. I have you and there is. Oh yeah, we just had a closing together in June. Yes, that was great. I always love working with you. Well thank you.

Sande Belawa
And, so I have a lot. And I’m. The more I meet people, I’m putting more and more on there just for there’s so many different areas that we don’t even realize that our clients can use help with. So I try to go through the whole system of just buying, selling, and, you know, just having stuff in there for people.

Tom Heath
So and what’s that website.

Sande Belawa
That is Sandra bullosa.com.

Tom Heath
Which Sandra.

Sande Belawa
Sandra. Yeah. I couldn’t use Sandy I some reason it wouldn’t take it. So Sandra Bullock dot.

Tom Heath
Com and it’s bull wa.

Sande Belawa
Bull a.

Tom Heath
Oh yeah of course due out anyway sorry. Well okay we’ll make sure we put it properly on the screen. Sandy it’s always fun to chat with you. I love what you’re doing in the community. I love your enthusiasm. And and I think it comes from from day one, when you were a flight attendant. And everything you’ve done since then, it all sort of comes through.

Tom Heath
And and your real estate career and the way you treat people and the way you, protect people and their transactions, I think it all correlates with, with your past and your background. And that is why you are on housing for good.

Sande Belawa
Well thank you. I really enjoyed this time and as always, I love working with you.

Tom Heath
Thank you.