Celebrating 6 Years As Your Realtor!
This month is my 6-year anniversary as a real estate agent and I’m celebrating each of the 55 transactions and all of you who have been there along the way. Some of you I met early on in my career, some I’ve known forever and there are several I’ve just met and our journey together is beginning. I thought I would share how I started in real estate, why I ended up in this career, and some fun things about me.
How did I get my first client? I held open houses every day of the week. I would sit in them from 10 AM until I had to pick up my kids from school at 3:30 PM. Every day. Rain or shine. One day someone walked in on a Tuesday morning and needed to buy a house immediately and the circumstances were rather tragic. I helped them close in 13 days and this picture is the day I gave them the keys to their new house. I still will hold open houses for my clients, all day, any day. Whatever it takes to get the house sold.
What did I do before real estate? I have an extensive background in various careers and each and every one help me excel in real estate. I graduated from University of San Diego pre-law with a BA in International Relations and minors in Spanish, Business AND History. I studied in Guadalajara, Mexico and taught Spanish to USD undergraduates. Teaching college kids was a thrill. I then went into environmental consulting as a contracts administrator and this is where I discovered my love of integrating urban planning with nature while maintaining budgets and understanding local laws. I was passionate about helping others while being a part of growing a small business. I decided law school wasn’t for me and continued to work full-time and get my MBA in Finance at SDSU. I did the corporate thing for many years and climbed the executive ladder of a $1 Billion international company based in New Zealand which was amazing, did some recruiting of financial professionals when I needed a break from grueling 80 to 100 hour work weeks, did consulting while I stayed home with my kids, started a handmade invitation business, and then decided my first job in environmental consulting was what I loved the most and real estate would be the most aligned career choice. Phew, that was a lot!!
What do I do for fun? Let’s see, I have a lot of hobbies. I’m an avid runner and have run 12 half marathons, a marathon and some other crazy races. I love to read. I read a lot. I know all of the librarians in town and if you’ve heard about the book, I’ve read it. I have a rose garden and it brings me much joy. Yes, I talk to my roses. Right now I have 27 rose bushes and each is uniquely beautiful. I love to travel. I enjoy discovering new places and learning about the people living there and especially any fun historical facts. I’m a huge history nerd. I drag my husband and kids to many obscure places and as of now I’ve been to 35 states and Washington DC.
What is something not many people know about me? I’ve spent most of my life in Southern California, mostly Oceanside but I was born in Anchorage, Alaska. I lived there until I was 2 and moved to Oceanside. After a few years here, we moved back to Alaska where I spent my elementary school years trudging to the bus stop in snow and ice skating and sledding during recess while it was 10 degrees below zero. We had to wear bells around our neck to scare the moose and bears away. I rode my bike at midnight during the summers with my sister and friends and walked home from school in the dark at 4 PM. I’m very lucky to have lived in probably the most two beautiful places in the world, San Diego County and Alaska.
