My Business Philosophy
My business philosophy is based in helping and educating the people I work with on one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. It is important to me to meet the needs of each individual client, to take the time to get to know them and to help my clients make the decisions that are in their best interest. People usually don’t buy and sell houses several times a year, or even several times in a decade, and this process is not a transparent one, especially with ever-changing market conditions.
I became an agent because I found that a lot of friends looked to me for help when it came time for them to buy a home. They trusted my judgment and knew that I cared about them. I would help them out the best I could, explaining things that their agents didn’t take the time to do, but I didn’t have all the right tools and complete knowledge base, so I went back and got properly trained for it.
Although I have a Master’s degree in public health, my old job traveling and working in international health and development was strangely unsatisfying. Because of the immensity of the problem, I never felt that my individual contributions made much of a difference – very different than working in real estate!
What my clients will get out of their experience with me is someone who will work hard for them every day after we decide to work together, someone who will put their minds at rest and someone who will make this process as smooth and worry-free as possible. Whether my clients are buying or selling an efficiency or a million dollar home, I give the same care, hard work and attention to detail in every transaction.
In people’s lives, they have accountants, lawyers and financial advisors who they can call on to help them with the problems in their lives, but many don’t feel like they have a realtor that they can regularly call upon for advice or help. My clients know that they can come to me throughout their lives with any real estate need – long after they have bought or sold their home.
Feel free to contact me whenever you have any additional needs or questions. I’m quite easy to get into touch with – just email me (I’m very accessible on my iPhone wherever I might be), or give me a call on my cell phone (703) 624-4657!
Personal
- Born in northern California, raised in Alexandria, VA; moved to DC in 1998; married in 2001 to Richard, had one little boy, Simon, born in September 2009 and a little girl, Wren, in August 2011; have two brothers, two sisters-in-law, three nephews, one niece, an unofficial step-mom and -dad; daughter of a Montessori school teacher and a retired Air Force and commercial pilot.
- Currently live in a detached house in northwest DC near the National Cathedral in Cleveland Park and own rental properties in DC. Lived in Dupont Circle for about 10 years as well as Foggy Bottom for a year.
- Attended Florida Tech my first year, then transferred to and graduated from William and Mary in 1995 with an undergraduate degree in international development. Attended George Washington University and received a MPH in epidemiology in 1999. Lived abroad for five months in Guadalajara, Mexico (1992) and five months in Bogota, Colombia (1995) while attending undergrad.
- Interests and hobbies include traveling, scuba diving (rescue diver), Latin dancing, gardening, cooking and sewing (albeit with very little talent).
- Speak English and Spanish fluently.
Real estate designations:
- ABR | Accredited Buyer’s Representative
- GRI | Graduate Real Estate Institute graduate – only 10% of real estate agents have gone through so much education
- REALTOR | dedicated to a higher level of service and representation.
- GREEN | the National Association of Realtor’s eco-designation for advanced eco-sustainability training.
Previous Work
- Worked in international health and development since 1996 for various international organizations, including John Snow (MotherCare Project), PAHO (Pan American Health Organization) and Macro International (a USAID contractor) and have contracted for Glaxo SmithKline as an epidemiologist in hepatitis A related research. Worked in Bolivia, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua, Uganda and Ghana.
- Switched to real estate, have many happy clients and have never looked back! Have always been a big believer in, and frequent practitioner of, investing in real estate as taught practically from birth by dad and my agent relatives in California. Real estate has been a long time love – I’ve read the real estate pages since I was in grammar school – I work hard because it doesn’t feel like work!