Hello. For many years, I worked as the Designated Broker for Adams Country Properties, Inc., our small family owned and operated real estate office here in the heart of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge until the spring of 2009, when I made a change and closed my one woman office and moved next door to work with the agents at Windermere. I worked with them for the next two years and then, when they went through an internal administrative change, I decided it was time to go back out on my own. Along with another one of their top agents, I left and we started a new company called Pathfinder Real Estate Services in January 2011. We made this brave move because the market conditions have changed considerably in the last few years and we wanted to have more control, independence and the flexibility we felt was necessary to adjust to the market and make sales happen. I have lived here in the gorge most of my life, having originally moved to this area in 1963. I graduated from Stevenson High School in 1974 and went on to the University of Washington, and then later lived overseas in Germany and Panama and here stateside in Alabama, Maryland, California, Oregon, Hawaii and in 1993 returned to my home state of Washington to begin this career in real estate. I enjoy visiting with people from all walks of life and from various cultures and I welcome you to my neighborhood. Enjoy.
I have been a licensed full time real estate professional since 1993, and specialize in helping my clients resolve difficult and oftentimes tangled real estate problems. Honesty, confidentiality, experience and tenacity are the keys to my repeated successes in this field, and the root of this success comes from putting the interests of my clients first, without prejudice, without pressure and with a great deal of patience, understanding, compassion and mutual respect along the way.
Most people have no idea how real estate agents and brokers do their jobs. When I first started, I know I had no idea about this crazy career choice either, but when I quickly realized that I could really help people by making the process of buying and selling real estate as easy as possible, I was hooked. Almost anyone can become a real estate licensee, hang their license on a broker's wall and start working. But honestly, that's not such a good thing. Real estate done well is a vocation, and not a stop over on the way to some other employment opportunity. And like most other jobs, experience is the best teacher. You can take all the classes you want and get all the little letters to prove that you took the classes, but those letters don't automatically make you ethical or prove you have the knowledge and experience to do the job well. Of course I've taken many classes along the way as well and always enjoyed learning more and better ways to serve my clients. All the classes that are taken individually to get those little letters like ABR and CRS on the business cards are included in the basic training and testing that it takes to get a full fledged managing broker's license. I've had mine since 1996 and have kept it active as a full time real estate agent ever since. This is my career.
The State of Washington has seen fit to keep renewing my broker's license regularly, which requires a minimum of 30 hours every two years of continuing education, but I also read articles and professional reference materials every day and get weekly updates from the WARealtors Friday Facts for Brokers, which I read faithfully for answers to legal issues, etc. This is a full time job and a commitment to my community to be here when they need me.
For me, the basics are still the most important aspect of this job. To care for the client. To work honestly. To pay attention to the details. To be consistent, persistent and fair and thankful for the opportunity to serve those who really need my knowledgeable assistance, my expertise and occasionally, a hug when life has dealt them a tough blow and they find they need a good real estate broker to help them deal with it. Those are my real qualifications.
By the way, I was offered 29 choices of little letters to put next to my name. I'm choosing one that wasn't an option; I'm choosing "MOM" as the one that best describes my proudest and most successful achievement. And I would add, that I have now been promoted to GRANDMA!!! Life is so good! Enjoy every day is my best advice.