In 2006, my husband and I bought our first home.
We were young, excited, and ready to start our family. Buying a home felt like the American Dream — and we were willing to stretch ourselves financially to make it happen. We purchased in what we believed was an up-and-coming neighborhood. I was already working in real estate at the time, so I thought I understood the process.
I thought I had all the answers.
I didn’t.
We were approved for a balloon mortgage. The pitch sounded simple: enjoy a lower interest rate now and refinance before the rate adjusted. What could go wrong?
We bought at the peak of the market.
That first summer was filled with hope. We peeled wallpaper, painted every wall, and restored hardwood floors until they sparkled. We made that house a home for our one-year-old.
Then reality arrived.
The first day we moved in, we needed a plumber. $1,000.
A week later, the refrigerator broke. A month later, our insurance was canceled because the garage roof needed replacing.
We hadn’t planned for any of it.
And then the market crashed.
Home values dropped. Utilities skyrocketed. Vacant homes lined our neighborhood. We tried to refinance, only to be told our home had lost value. We begged for a loan modification. We were denied.
Eventually, we had no choice but to sell our home through a short sale. We lost our credit, the money we had invested, and a sense of pride we had worked so hard to build.
It was humbling. It was painful. It reshaped everything I thought I knew about real estate.
What Changed Everything
Years later, I joined the Find Your Village Team.
And I learned more in those first months than I had learned in years.
This team doesn’t just focus on getting someone into a house. They focus on keeping someone secure in that house.
The Find Your Village Team taught me something that sounds so simple, but is so powerful: if you live in a single family, put away the equivalent of a condo fee every single month for maintenance; even if you don’t need it yet. Because roofs age. Boilers fail. Life happens.
That mindset — long-term sustainability over short-term excitement — changed how I see everything.
I’ve worked on other real estate teams. I’ve seen different models. But Find Your Village is like no other.
There is genuine care here.
There is education.
There is strategy.
There is love.
We don’t just talk about affordability — we talk about stability.
We don’t just talk about approval — we talk about sustainability.
We don’t disappear after closing.
We stay connected. We check in. We problem solve.
And truly, there is no problem we cannot face together.
Why This Matters
My first home taught me what can happen when you don’t fully understand the risks.
Find Your Village taught me how to protect families from those same mistakes.
That is why we educate.
That is why we over-communicate.
That is why we build a network of trusted vendors.
That is why we stay after the sale.
Because homeownership isn’t just about buying.
It’s about staying.
It’s about thriving.
It’s about building a village that supports you when things get hard.
And I know firsthand how important that is.
