Home buying

Home Inspections: My Clients Don't Have A Choice

My clients will have a home inspection, no matter the market trends. This is a non-negotiable for my clients unless they sign a hold harmless agreement me, it is new construction or I am provided an inspection report from the listing agent within the last two months and I speak with the inspector personally. I have lost many offers I wrote for clients because of inspections and I had to  work a little harder to find them their perfect home. Fortunately, one thing that doesn’t scare me is putting in the extra work for my clients.  

Have I found every single one of those clients a home they purchased after? Yes.  

Have they thanked me multiple times for standing my ground on having a home inspection? Yes.  

Have they since referred me to their friends and family to use me as their Realtor? 100% they have and continue to do so.  

Let me put that into perspective for you in a way that drives my point home:  

Scenario 1: 

Imagine seeing a few photos of someone on a dating app and wanting to meet them after reading their bio. You are thrilled at what you see and read. You are so excited when you talk on the phone with them for a few minutes. So excited that you propose to them and ask them to meet you at the court house later that day to get married. You also give them around  $50,000 up front to just sign the documents to make it legally binding and tied together for the unforeseeable future. You also don’t sign a prenuptial agreement and they have access to all finances you worked so hard for years to save. When you leave the courthouse, in a legal binding agreement, you discover they are nothing what they told you. In fact, they just copied and pasted the bio from another profile they saw. Their photos had been photoshopped so much you didn’t even recognize them...

A Win/Win is the best in Real Estate and in Life

two hands shaking for a business contract

One of the main questions I get asked when meeting with a new client is, “How are you going to negotiate the best deal for me?” I always respond with the same answer, “I know I will negotiate the best possible deal for you. I will get your home sold as quickly as possible and for the most amount of money. That being said, I am also fair and logical in business, so when a situation might come up, I will treat the other side with respect and understanding. That way emotions do not get in the way and we can all come to an agreement that we can agree on. I always want everyone to walk away happy after the closing. I believe when we can accomplish a WIN/WIN for everyone, it is just a better way.”

I will go on to say that this does not make me a weaker agent, it is what makes me the best agent. I will not allow my ego to get in the way of selling your house. I have to show dominance sometimes when negotiating, but I will always do it with calmness and assertiveness, never maliciousness or emotion. I am hired to do a job for my clients, they are allowed to have emotions, I am not, when handling their largest assets. This is an invaluable skill I mastered over the years.

I have structured my business negations around the principle of a Win/Win for everyone involved. This does not mean that I ever leave any money on the table for my clients. It just means I dig a little deeper. I take the time and make sure I ask the questions necessary so I can understand what is important to both sides. Then I put the puzzle together and start writing and negotiating and winning the offers and get us to the closing table.

If you have ever met me, I don’t lose, ever in negotiations. However, I have never made anyone FEEL like they lost either....

My process for helping Military move into the 757

Our Military is what makes Hampton Roads such a unique place to live and a very specialized market with more Military Active Duty and Veterans sales than anywhere else (I need to fact check that but I am pretty positive it is a true statement.) 
sailor hugging a woman
We are surrounded by our Military Bases and Military families constantly moving in and out of the area. This creates a healthy real estate market but also a lot of families and Service members moving into an area they have never been to before. It can be nerve wracking and scary not knowing anything about your new city.
That is where I step in!! If you didn’t know, I moved here almost 9 years ago from AZ and sold real estate out there, after graduating from Arizona State University, for about 4 years. I NEVER DID ONE VA LOAN in Arizona. Now, about 50% of my business is Active Duty or Veterans Military. I think a huge benefit I have for my clients is moving to Virginia Beach, with young children, not knowing anyone and having no clue what a Harris Teeter was, let alone why the hell Princess Anne Rd started in Norfolk and curved all the way to the Pungo area in Virginia Beach. Where is the grid system and road infrastructure?? I figured it out though, slowly but surely and pride myself in helping my clients do the same.


I always ask my relocating clients a ton of questions to get to know who they are and what their best life looks like living in Hampton Roads. I found there were a few common denominators in every client's answers.
Two people holding moving boxes...