When I bought my first house back in 2010, I had a TERRIBLE experience. Not only was I on a tight budget, I was super pregnant with my first child, and had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into. I burned through several real estate agents VERY quickly who decided I (and my tiny budget) wasn’t worth their time, and when I finally found someone who showed me some options I could live with, I was on such a tight timeline that I felt pressured to just pick the house that ‘sucked the least.’

Fast forward. Living in that house and fixing it up as I had time and resources really gave me a sense of pride in ownership. Despite having a very small income and being a new mommy, I found time to paint and update the house room by room. By the time I sold it three years later, I was hooked on projects and couldn’t wait to find my next fixer upper. I started shopping online and calling agents to let me in to see the houses I was interested in, but I kept running into the same things: “no you don’t want to buy this house, it’s too much work, it’s not right for you, etc.” This drove me NUTS! After one particularly terrible showing, I went home and signed up for real estate classes!

After my first day in class I knew I had found my calling. I loved every moment and couldn’t wait to get out there and start seeing houses. I had initially only intended to get licensed to find a fixer upper for myself, but discovered shortly after that many other buyers had similar experiences to me with other agents and that I could help a lot of first timers navigate the process without pressure or stress. This became my niche for the first year and I was very lucky and excited to have helped 19 people buy and sell in my first six months in business.

I took the leap and quit my job to pursue real estate full time and in my second and third years I helped lots of people (over 30 each year!) buy and sell houses and have fun while doing it!

During this time, lots of friends reached out to me expressing an interest in getting started with real estate. Some of them got licensed, but I noticed most didn’t gain much traction in the business like I had. I wanted to help, but wasn’t really in a position to until now.

So here we are today, I decided to launch Brick & Banister Real Estate Co. so I can continue to help buyers and sellers, but also help real estate agents learn how to be successful in this business. I think that old school sales tactics and high pressure selling are not the way to go about things. I prefer to get to know my clients so I can help them find a place that feels like ‘the one’ instead of selling them on something so I can be done. I will work with anyone, regardless of budget or other challenges, and help you find a place that is right for you in this time of your life.

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