Growing up, my parents cleaned new/preowned homes to earn extra money and would always take me along. I loved going and was always super excited to see what the floor plan was or what upgrades/remodels the owners had accomplished. I would play designer or pretend I was a real estate agent showing the home describing the good/bad/interesting features. When I was seven my dad decided to build a sailboat from scratch in our back yard. After three years he completed the 28 ft long by 8.5 wide sailboat. We sold our home in Northern California and we headed to Florida to live on it. Though living on a sailboat sounds super exciting…and it was at times…it was basically camping with no heat/AC and showers were an interesting task. When the storms came in we had to tie off up in canals…let the storms pass and hope for the best. I did this with my parents from the ages of 10-16. I started working as many jobs as I could by the age of 14. By the time I was 15 I had three jobs. I would leave school early for this on-the-job program the school had. I left and worked at a photography place for grades for a few hours. Then I would go to the YMCA and teach a few swim classes and then off to my last job of the day. I was a sous chef at a nice restaurant. Though my grades suffered at school I had a work ethic like no other. Right before I was 16 I bought my own car in cash. The day I turned 16 I drove myself to the DMV…got my license and came back to the boat and moved out. Don’t get me wrong…living on the boat was an adventure but I really missed having a home to decorate and call my own. My first place was a studio condo near my high school. Being under 18 my parents had to sign but I paid for it. I stayed there until I graduated high school and then signed up for the Air Force and left when I was 18. I was in the Air Force for 23 years and moved 13 times. I used my VA loan benefit at almost every location. I enjoyed going out on the weekends looking at model homes and talking to people about home buying/selling from my past experiences. I was a manager for many years in the military and it was always a passion of mine to help the troops make the right decision on a home whether to rent or buy. I lived overseas for many years in places like Pisa Italy and Madrid Spain where they do not have AC in their homes… things like sun placement on the home was important if you wanted to stay cool in the summer and I have always carried these experiences with me when buying/renting my homes.