I started because I wanted my dog to have a yard.
I entered real estate because I wanted my dog to have a yard, and because I already understood the importance of entering the market early, and not waiting for the perfect time to jump. I grew up in Palo Alto, California, and watched tech companies price an entire generation out of my hometown. When Amazon announced plans for HQ2 in Arlington, I didn't sit around and wait to see what would happen to local prices. What followed was a crash course in house hacking, landlord life, depreciation, HELOCs, and the creative financing plays most agents never bother to understand.
Since then I've bought multiple properties, including a distressed 1892 Victorian in Harpers Ferry that I took to the studs and rebuilt. I've navigated a plethora of unique transactions, managed tenant-occupied sales, and handled the kinds of complicated situations most agents quietly pass on.
Before real estate, I earned my undergraduate and master's degrees at the University of California, San Diego in political science, business, and international relations with an emphasis on Latin America. That focus is why I speak Spanish, and some now-waning Portuguese. From there I spent years as a national security analyst, training myself to think systematically about risk and reward when the stakes were real, and that analytical mindset is now my edge. Any agent can open a door, but I can read a situation, run the numbers, and tell you what's actually happening.
I got my license to help my own investing career. Then I realized I could do more good helping others navigate theirs. I stay in your corner before, during, and long after closing. Today, I strive to teach as many people as possible how to build real financial freedom and actually pursue the American dream.
Yes, my dogs are still a big part of the why. I'm a rescue dog mom, fully devoted to my perrijos, Jethro, Nella, and the late Sawyer, who have been my renovation crew and occasionally show up at properties.
When I'm not running numbers or walking properties, I'm thinking about where to travel next. I've been to four continents, lived in three countries, and am nowhere near done. Travel makes me a sharper strategist. You learn a lot about markets, people, and negotiation when you spend real time in places that don't work like home. If you're planning a trip or just got back from one, I genuinely want to hear about your experiences.
I don't time markets. I find angles. Big difference.