Archive of ‘Building My Legacy’ category

With death comes life…

It’s a couple of days after the tragic death of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi. I’m a basketball fan, but not a die hard fan- and definitely not a Lakers fan. But I am a HUGE fan of people who live to be great and learning of the grit, work and mindset it takes to be the superhuman that Kobe was. And that’s why this story of his untimely death has struck me in a way that I don’t think it has with any other celebrity. From what I’ve learned of him in TV/Media, it was clear he wanted to be great at everything he was a part of. Living in the Philadelphia area and being a part of the Lower Merion community, people are sharing their stories and tributes of Kobe the human being- not the celebrity or basketball player. And it makes this loss even more sad- because at the end of the day, he was just living to be the best example he could be for his kids- so that they in turn could be their best and be great and whatever they do.

When he finally retired, he focused his efforts to provide stories/content for kids to see and realize their full potential. You can’t help but admire someone who really gave to the world as much as he did- and through that all, strived to be present for his kids/family! When I think of someone successful- a few things come to mind- their time freedom, their material success, their ability to give to others, their faith and happiness. I think, how can it be possible for someone to be great at all of these things? Something has to give! It’s too much for 1 person to be great at all those things. But it isn’t. God wants us to be great, and it’s on us to make the choices to be great- and BELIEVE we are capable. Kobe wasn’t superhuman. He just lived and breathed what he was called to be and kept in his mind that he was destined for greatness in every area of his life. I’m not saying that you aren’t successful if you don’t reach Kobe’s level of success. What I’m saying is, it’s in our power to decide what we want and in the choices we make, to create our story of how we are great. That was his story- but what is mine? “Mamba Mentality” is something I never lived by, but totally see and want for myself. It means working towards a life that allows me to choose to be giving of my time- and spend it with who I want, how I want and when I want by removing dumb/time sucking shit/people and focusing on the things that I am great at. The bottom line is that the story of how we define our greatness is different for everyone and we can decide by every choice we make whether we want to be great or not!

When the stories started coming out about the daughter being on that flight, and her name being Gigi- it hit me hard! And then in coming across photos of his daughter, and seeing that Gigi was dressed up like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz- I just lost it.

I think about the pain and fear he experienced in those last moments- knowing he couldn’t protect a life he helped to create. Knowing what lied ahead for the future of his surviving children and wife. And his wife- I feel for his wife! I pray that she can be carried through this unimaginable loss. Without even putting basketball/fame/etc. into the equation- anybody that has to deal with the loss of a husband is unbearable- but the loss of your husband AND child- the child that most exemplified your husband? Not saying that losing any child would be OK because it’s just awful no matter what- but it makes that pain just more heavy- because at least if Gigi had lived- seeing that child continue her career in basketball would possibly soften the blow, because she would have been able to see her husband live through her daughter. I can’t even imagine. Everything about the story is heartbreaking. But at the same time, it uplifts me- as I’m sure it has many others- to choose to live life in the middle… and rest at the end.

I’m a part of the InvestHER community- and in one of our mastermind sessions with group leaders throughout the country- we went around to share what our theme for this year would be. For me, it’s FEARLESS. Fearless in my sharing, making and SHARING mistakes, taking risks and growing – because although I have the choice to take action on the plans I make for myself- I also need to surrender and understand that it’s HIS plan that I’m living through and am grateful to be living in. So whatever happens as a result of choices I’ve made, or my circumstances or what someone else has done- is part of HIS plan for me- and I am learning how much peace that gives me. I believe my faith has grown so deeply that I don’t care about being judged by being vulnerable and experiencing/sharing mistakes and how I try to grow in area of my life- because in the end- we’re all not perfect- and there are too many people that are in our immediate circle- that need to feel connected, loved, helped, guided- that are living a life full of fear. And if something I do or say by living the way God had planned for me- can impact the trajectory of someone’s life, then I have no other choice than to be FEARLESS!

Recap of Home Renovation- #1 Choosing your architect

Taking on this project was a huge leap of faith for me. Doing a renovation of this scale (the amount of $, the level of renovation, the time and details required) was a first for me, but I knew that in the end it would be worth it. As I’ve shared, we were on the hunt for a house for a LONG time and we were OK with waiting. To recap, the first time I made contact with the owner was in the fall of 2016. Giselle’s friend lived nearby and my eyes were immediately drawn to how awful it looked. “Could this finally be the ugliest house on the block that I’ve been praying for?” I have no doubt that Jesus took the wheel (I love that term because it’s so true… I generally believe we have control over certain things but at the end of the day, I’m just working God’s plan for me)

At the end of the day, I’m grateful for the growth that I experienced throughout this journey. My process wasn’t perfect and I made some mistakes (expensive ones too!)- which I’ll share- but my goal at every “bump in the road” was to move forward.

One of my intentions for this project was to document and share the progress because a) I wanted to have this process together for future projects and b) I envisioned the transformation to be seamless! When B didn’t happen the way I envisioned, I was hesitant to share because I was mad at myself for making stupid mistakes. The reality is, sharing my mistakes may help others avoid them (and my goal this year is to impact the lives of 100 people) so I need to get over myself and just do it.

So I can’t do this all in 1 post, but I will highlight different stages- share what worked for me, what didn’t, how I moved forward and what I learned.

First thing I’ll share is my experience working with an architect. This needs to be shared since I learned a lot from this process because apparently I was not aware of this important distinction. Architect does not = designer. This isn’t the case for everyone, but the sole job of an architect is to build a house based on codes that need to be adhered to. Every architect needs to create plans for houses that adhere to a code, but design is not an element of every architect that should be assumed. So in essence you need to be really specific with your vision or provide a similar model/plan to work off of, in order to achieve the design that you have in mind.

After we hired our architect and as we were going through the process to get the plans finalized- and even while we were in the trenches of the renovation after plans were approved- there were a lot of things that I assumed would have been considered based on the incorrect assumption that architects provide design- the pitch of a roof, the placement of lighting, the flow of a room, the ideal space for rooms, bathrooms, etc. exact placement of windows and doors (the height from which the windows should be from the floor, for example) turning radius to get furniture in/out of the house. My assumption was that these things were considered in creating the floorplans and design of the house. It was only after we were in the thick of working with the architect did we how much double and triple checking we needed to do. There are firms that provide this component, but when selecting your architect, be clear with your expectations on what should be provided and have it in writing. I didn’t know what to compare and honestly (as stupid as this sounds) I didn’t interview a lot of people because it was someone I knew. In the end, I am at peace with the choices I made. We spent a long time finalizing plans for various reasons, but I think the main one was that I expected much less back and forth because I expected more knowledge of design from the architect. Next time, I know that I will need to be really specific with expectations or expect to pay more money and factor that expense in at the purchase.

And to make clear, this isn’t a post to bash the architect I worked with because there is a possibility I would still work with them and there’s responsibility in my actions as well. My intention is to share what my expectations/assumptions were, how they were incorrect- and what I learned from that process so that I can avoid the same mistakes when I’m selecting an architect in the future.

Building intentional partnerships

I was hesitant on putting my past projects up here because I felt like what I’ve done in the past doesn’t align with what I’m looking to do with Legacy Collective going forward- but this is how my Legacy started so now I feel inclined to share it because it’s part of my journey. The point of me sharing this is so you can gain an understanding of my track record. Most properties that were purchased required building trust with a potential partner or investor. Going forward requires me to do much of the same- but I look to be more intentional on who I partner with.

Here’s a few highlights of deals I’ve closed over the years:
Track record

Pay attention to the numbers, which are circled in red. I share this because getting into real estate doesn’t mean you need to have deep pockets. Most developers aren’t using their own money to fund their projects, and even if they are, you need to know that it isn’t the only way. There are many things I love about real estate- the potential to impact lives with what is created, the ability to give me time to be with my family and being able to use it as a vehicle to build generational wealth- which for a lot of people, feels so far removed and not even a possible. But along with this, comes the possibility of creating financial freedom to spend time with those who matter most and do the things that make our lives more meaningful- AND you don’t need to be a landlord or rehabber to achieve any of this. People keep their careers and do all this without crunching numbers, managing contractors, etc.

– Have you thought of investing in real estate as an additional stream of income but don’t know how to get started? If you haven’t, have you thought of building an additional revenue stream but can’t because your time is committed to your job and you can’t possibly take on another thing to do?

– Would you call yourself a socially conscious consumer? Are you mindful about the brands you buy because their goals and mission align with yours? If so, have you thought that you could also be a socially conscious investor? That money that you invest (whether it’s in real estate, an investment fund or some other vehicle) can support socially conscious businesses, while you receive a return on your money?

I’d love to hear from you even if none of this relates to you or is on your radar. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or just want to connect!

Find solutions to Problems You Wanna Punch!

That was a quote from Morgan Berman, CEO of MilkCrate- which was sort of my theme/takeaway from the PA Conference for Women- which I attended on Friday, October 12th- along with 12,000+ other people- including men! Below is a re-cap of people/books/quotes that resonated with me that I hope you will look into as well. It wasn’t too long ago that I shared my blog post about about the BlogHer event in NY and learned about Tiffany Dufu, founder of TheCru, which I am now a proud member of, along with 9 other ambitious women that will help me achieve my intentions! If you haven’t heard of The Cru, learn more about it here: Find Your Cru

Overall, I thought there was a ton of content- I learned a lot about people/companies/topics that I would not have been aware of had I not attended. I think it’s a great event to attend if your intention is to come back with a few nuggets to help build yourself/your business. The majority of the topics were geared towards people working in corporations, that didn’t apply to me- which makes sense, since many of the sponsors were large companies- Beneficial, Jefferson, GSK, etc. Would I go again? Yes- but it would depend on what topics are covered- specifically surrounding issues that face entrepreneurs. It just so happened that a few topics were areas that I was interested in, that could be applied to my business- but that may not always be the case.

Morning keynote:
Amal Clooney– What a beautiful human, inside and out- an attorney/activist for human rights and has represented people like Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize winner- who have been victimized by genocide, mass atrocities, and human trafficking.
Amanda Southworth– a 16 year old who created the app Anxiety Helper, for those with mental illnesses and Verena, a security system for members of the LGBTQ community-

Session 1:
Jenn Welter, author of Play Big– shared her journey on becoming the first female coach in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals and revealed her nuggets on how she was able to lead her team effectively. I loved her approach because when I think of leading a bunch of men- football players nonetheless- I would never think that gaining their trust and connecting with them personally, would give her an edge. In thinking about it- when men have only been lead by men- they’ve only gotten that approach/perspective. Being coached by Jenn was probably a long overdue breath of fresh air. Emotional intelligence played a huge role in leading to her success- as well as being AUTHENTIC- which is a message I hear constantly! Few quotes that she shared:

“Even as a coach, you need to be coached”
“People you lead have to feel like you’re human”
“Perfect is not human”
“Get Buy In from the players (or key stakeholders) before getting buy in from the top/decision makers ”

Session 2:
Sally Helgesen co-author of How Women Rise lead a panel discussion that covered key topics in the book and included

Panelists:
Dani Rylan, founder, National Women’s Hockey League and Fast Company “Most Creative People in Business 2016”
Fran Hauser, author, The Myth of the Nice Girl
Karen Etzkorn, CIO, Qurate Retail Group

There were so many quotes/tidbits that I took away from this discussion and am eager to get to listening to the book! But one thing that brought me to tears was when Karen Etzkorn shared that women tend to be reluctant on sharing their achievements. This is a huge thing for me that I need to get over. I’ve definitely had moments where I felt like I wasn’t delivering my best self as a mom, business-owner, wife and once I get down a path, it just opens up Pandora’s box. But she said, look in the mirror and just say, “Look at what I’ve done!” Just writing that made tears well up in my eyes. I need to focus on the good I do and what I’ve accomplished vs. the opposite. Doing this is definitely something I intend to do whenever I fall into a moment where I feel like I’m falling short. How many times have you not given yourself enough credit and fell down tquote le of not feeling like enough? That affirmation is something that I always need to keep in mind to help me see and acknowledge what I’ve accomplished.

Afternoon keynote:
Serena Williams: New mom, elite athlete- extraordinary and ordinary all at once

I mean, I know Serena Williams and what she stands for. But I totally connected with her journey about being back in the finals less than a year after giving birth to her daughter- and the internal struggles she shared as being an elite athlete and a mom. I mean- not that I’m an elite athlete- LOL but her journey as someone who wants to be great at her career and as a mom, and the struggles that come with are so common. Being in the presence of greatness really does something to me, and seeing/hearing her talk and realizing she’s just as human as anyone else and the only difference between her and everyone else is where she focuses her time and energy. Aside from being there to share her journey as an elite athlete and a mom, she wanted to raise awareness for maternal health, specifically for black women and domestic violence survivors. Purple Purse is a cause that she supports to help victims of domestic violence rebuild their lives.

Some quotes she shared:
“I’m obsessed with breaking records and making history”
“Success of one woman should be an inspiration to the next”

Session 3:
By this time, I was already tired from the day- but still felt I gained some info re: companies/people/topics that I should be keeping on my radar!

Nathalie Molina Nino, CEO, Brava Investments and author, Leap Frog: 50 Hacks for Women Entrepreneurs lead a discussion surrounding social impact investing. This is a topic that I’ve been doing a lot of digging around- so I intend on writing up another post re: this. People, specifically women and millennials, are increasingly becoming more conscious about the products they consume and the companies they invest in. On the panel were:
Morgan Berman, social entrepreneur & CEO, MilkCrate @morganberman
Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne, founder and CEO at iNTENT Manifesto
Sally Susman, EVP, corporate Affairs, Pfizer

Things I intend to keep on my radar:
http://conference.ic-svn.org/

Our Story


Pipeline Angels
SheEO
BRAVA Investments
100WomenPhiladelphia
Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs
BlockChain

When responding to political issues, Sally Susman of Pfizer suggested that the company has criteria which it uses to decide whether it needs to respond:
– Is it relevant to our purpose?
– Is it important to key stakeholders?
– What options do we have if we choose to respond?
– What is the price for not responding?

I thought this criteria was a useful way to decide how we spend our time and be intentional about it.
– Is it relevant to our purpose? (does this action/person/activity align with my purpose?)
– Is it important to key stakeholders? (Is this action/person/activity important so that I can better serve the people that matter to me/my business?)
– What options do we have if we choose to respond? (What are the potential outcomes of doing this?)
– What is the price for not responding? (What are the pros/cons of doing this?)

Yes, this post was sort of a ramble, but there was so much content to be shared- hopefully you get 1 or 2 nuggets out of it!

“Those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind” Bernard Baruch/Blogher18 Recap

My blogher18 tribe pic! @nerdinthecity @safia_alice @cffowler13

I wasn’t sure of what to expect from this conference since I’m not in the fashion, health or beauty industry. Honestly, I was finding a reason NOT to go. I think I’m a pretty good networker, but I can’t say that I have any interest in schmoozing with people overly obsessed with perfection and selfies! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 I wasn’t sure if it’d be the best use of 2 days time. I mean seriously, I rarely get full days to myself so I was definitely able to think of plenty of things I could do instead of going to #blogher18.

How many of you have those moments when you signed up for something or about to do something and then you flake? I’m guilty of it. I think there are definitely times where you commit to something and make a decision whether or not something is worth your time. There are other times when you keep telling yourself that something else is a better use of your time, but deep down what’s really happening is that you’re not being open to something and are trying to avoid it. That was me. So I decided I was gonna go in and make good connections and look for the good in everything! And that’s what I did.

And I walked away with so much! I connected with some truly inspiring women doing really remarkable things- 20 somethings-50 somethings, moms, entrepreneurs, self-starters, leaders- jewelry makers, marathoners, authors, inventors, designers and most importantly… DOERS! Being in the same room with that type of energy can’t be replicated through a video or Facebook group- and is an experience that really needs to be on the priority of my to-do list for my own personal growth.

When I saw the list of names of people attending the event, it was quite overwhelming. But wow! There were names I’ve never heard of and people doing great things. People you need to know about because of what they are about so here’s my ramble in no particular order:

Dr. Alaa Murabit @alaamurabit (AND she’s down with TLC!) is a global policy leader who stressed at the importance of having women of color “at the table” when it comes to global policies and peace building. I can’t remember the exact stat she shared, but there’s a stark contrast in successful programs/policies when women of color are at the table helping to make those decisions.
Monserat Adebanjo @browngirlforthearts, founder of Brown Girl for the Arts-
Nekpen Osuan, founder of @womenwerk
Angie Thomas @angiethomas, author of “The Hate You Give” which inspired the movie of the same title (she has such a light to her and I seriously wanted to grab drinks or do karaoke with her)
Gabrielle Union… @gabunion #blessed #grateful
Denise Woodard, @partakefoods founder of Partake Foods and based in Jersey City, a mom of a toddler, she took it upon herself to create snacks that are free of the top 14 food-based allergens that are delicious!
Maria Menounos @mariamenounos, both her and her mom are brain cancer survivors- Maria had brain surgery last summer and shared the importance of making her happiness and health a priority
Maria Forlio @marieforlio, founder of The B School: “Life should not be compartmentalized”
Tiffany Dufu @tiffanydufu, founder of The Cru: “If you want something you’ve never had before you’ll have to do something you’ve never done before”
Clemantine Wamariya @clemantine1, refugee from Rwanda and author of “The Girl Who Smiled Beads” https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=112&v=kiWDY01KSAA
Donna Orender, author of Wowsdom
Tiffani Thiessen @tiffanithiessen, on sharing her approach on what she’s involved with/projects that she takes on:
It has to come from the heart
It has to have meaning
It has to be something that is great, so that my children can see that I’m great and so they can see themselves be great
I mean… RIGHT??? I totally identified with her last point which is extremely important to me.

And how about the people that weren’t speakers but are women who are doing their thing and striving for greatness? I immediately connected with @nerdinthecity @cffowler13 and @safia_alice who are amazing women (because they are intelligent, gorgeous, fun and positive!) in the featured pic for this post and I am so grateful I did.

I know, I can go on and on… but what I took away was that life is too short to worry about the small shit and how much my success is influenced by those who have values that are in line with my own. There will always be things/people that get in our way. But it’s my choice on who/what deserves my time. Many times our excuse is lack of money/lack of time but it’s because we want things without doing the grind to get there. It is on me to decide what I want for my life, and live with purpose and intention to achieve that and share my light. And forget about everyone else who doesn’t uplift me in making that happen. And I need to remember to not forget to give that same support to others as well! That I’m doing a disservice to my ancestors, our loved ones and God by not being great!

Some quick quotes/notes:
Find a “joy buddy”: someone you partner with to ensure that you’re both doing things that make you joyful regularly
“Don’t compare your inside self with their outside self”
Gabrielle Union shared her thoughts on how women are 80% more likely than men to post the hashtag “#grateful” or “#blessed” This was bothersome because it implies that the women posting those hashtags didn’t earn her way to get to where they are, where as men rarely ever say that because they typically own where they are/are confident in how they achieved the success in their lives.
Become disciplined in making yourself matter
Alison Lewis, JNJ’s First Female CMO, on the work/life blend: “You can’t have it all. Having it all is a marketing ploy. Decide what your priorities are and be at peace with that.”

So what’s on your mind? How can you be great or find joy??!! Don’t be greedy with knowledge that you have that can empower others. Please share!

Antiques Roadshow Meets Hoarders!

Before this long post, let me get this out of the way. Pls take a look/share this link with those who you think would be interested. It’s the online auction for many of the antiques that were included in the sale of the house we bought in January: https://bit.ly/2IqmHYQ

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So it’s been 2 months since we closed on our future home and I thought it’d be a good time to post an update since I feel like we’ve made some decent progress.
When I made the offer, I thought I had an idea of what I was getting into, since I’ve seen it before. Buying a house full of stuff, where there was literally no room to walk is something that is pretty normal for rehabbers. The owner emphasized that there were a lot of antiques that I could resell, but there was no way for me to know the value of everything prior to making the offer and prior to buying the house. Because there was so much stuff, I’m not sure there are many people who would take the time and money to go through all the contents to sort through the trash and valuables, without actually owning the house. In addition, he was on a time crunch. The fact that we had been in touch for over a year, it took a really long time for him to trust me and it would have taken him just as long to develop the trust of another potential buyer. I honestly had not walked through the entire house to see what was inside prior to closing. There was no room for me to go up the stairs, so I just assumed it was full of stuff. The owner understood that and it was decided he would remove any valuables prior to closing and that everything else left behind was ours.

After we closed on the house, I did emphasize to him that if there’s anything in particular that he was hoping to keep, to let me know. The only thing he mentioned was his taxidermied dog! He ended by saying to not worry about giving anything, “at this point to me, it’s a gift.”

So, normally any developer who buys a property full of stuff usually goes in with the intention of trashing everything. Getting a dumpster and clearing out a house is a quick process- when receiving quotes for the cleanout, I was getting told it would take a few days at most. But the people who walked through told me a lot of the items could be salvaged, donated or resold. I personally don’t like the idea of just trashing everything. I understand from a developer’s perspective why it’s done. There are a lot of holding costs associated with rehabbing and every day that adds to the timeline of a project affects the bottom line. Since we still needed to work on getting architectural drawings in place, there was no rush in our opinion to clean out the house. We didn’t need it cleaned until the house was ready for the work to be done, which was a few months. So it was decided that mostly my husband (with the periodic help of myself, family and friends) would spend our “open time” on the weekends getting rid of the trash and sorting through what appeared to be valuable. Not to mention, that trashing everything is so wasteful, which didn’t make me feel good. To me, the less that I could keep out of the landfills, the better.

Going through everything was definitely gross. But there were so many cool things that we found. We couldn’t possibly take pictures of everything. But there were so many moments when we’d hear each other say “WHOA, CHECK THIS OUT!!” Paintings from the 1800’s. Leather bound 1st edition books of classic authors. Sconces- lots of sconces. Lots of silver. Lots of period furniture. French antiques. Signed porcelain pieces from Japan and China. Issues of Time Magazine from when JFK was assassinated. Lots of American and Pennsylvania history books and collectibles. Persian Rugs. When we initially went through the stuff, we thought the previous owner was just a hoarder of antiques. But probably after a month, we found some letterhead and receipts and learned that he owned an antique shop. Mind you, the items have been sitting in a vacant house for a LONG time. So we weren’t sure if there was initially any value since lots of items were in bad shape. However, there were lots of items that were in very good shape. Here are some pics of a few items we found:

After feeling like there might be some valuable stuff in the house, we sent a few pics to auctioneers and antique buyers and got some strong interest. But we didn’t want to set up time with various people and have them pick at everything. We wanted to get as much out as we could at one time. Additionally, since we had an idea that the items were valuable, we didn’t want random people to go through the house- and possibly let others know so that they’d just steal everything.. I know, I am a little neurotic and think about these things! And how do we know that if we got offers on these items, that we are getting a fair price? Do we get the items appraised and then sell them off to a collector? I would imagine 1 appraiser wouldn’t be able to accurately appraise all of these items. And once they’re appraised, it would need to be stored somewhere- which would cost money every month. The financial return to do all of this would need to be worth it for us to go through a process that could possibly take months.

We were not expecting this and it was quite the process- figuring out what we do with all this stuff. Asking for referrals to connect with appraisers, antique collectors and buyers. We paid a consultant to give us some advice, who told us we probably couldn’t get much because of the condition of the items. (Insert the theme music from “The Price is Right” when a contestant loses right here.) Here we thought we had some items that lasted over 200+ years and because they weren’t preserved properly, they’d die with us! I hated that feeling. But she gave us a few names of some local auctioneers, which is how we got connected with Michael Locatti.

Cisco was the one who managed this process of sorting through the trash and setting aside the items that appeared to be of value. And after he got through almost all of it, I had to do some aggressive nudging…. I mean… nagging- to make sure we scheduled auctioneers to walk through and give us their opinion, prior to being out of town for over a week. The first person who walked through was Michael and he immediately hit it off with Cisco. Cisco called me immediately after he met Michael and he seemed overly excited. I’m thinking… “This is the first person you’ve met. We probably should talk to other people.” But a huge reason why Cisco felt he was the right person to handle all of this was he immediately felt like he could trust him is because his wife is Filipino. Ha! Really though, he could tell that Michael saw value in the items and a great communicator. I needed to get on the phone with this person and see if I get the same feeling as Cisco did. And I did. Basically we’re asking someone to go through a house full of treasures and hopefully they won’t steal anything that could potentially have a lot of value. Through his experience, we could tell that the reason he has been doing this for years and gained the trust of handling some prominent estates because he was able to establish himself as a trusted resource. It’s a huge undertaking- to gain the trust of someone and build a team that you in turn trust as well. His team has been with him for years and in talking with them, they all have really great things to say about each other.

We liked Michael’s diligence to get the items out of our house as fast as he could. After that first meeting on a Saturday, he had his crew removing stuff from the house for the 4 days following our initial meeting. He took everything that he thought would be worth it to put up for auction. Now, there are still a lot of things left at the house that we could sell off, donate or keep. We decided to keep a few items- which is quite the treasure for us! It’s really gotten me to appreciate period furniture- and how these items have lasted for over 100+ years. My next step is to find out how I could use what’s left over in a way that feels modern.

Finally, since we received this “gift” we decided that after all is said and done- we’ll be taking a portion of the proceeds from the sale and will be donating it to a charity of the previous owner’s choice. He had a lot of people interested in buying this house, who would have likely paid more, but he stuck with me. He knew what he was doing, and we are extremely grateful!

Home Sweet Home!

So.. big news for my fam. After renting for 7 years, we finally bought a house! We live in an area that has very little inventory for the price range we wanted to be in and have been looking for over a year. It was seriously difficult for me to come to terms that we may actually have to be like everyone else, buy a house and pay retail!

Well.. thankfully, that didn’t happen. After getting outbid several times, shedding tears and thinking of creative ways to finance our purchase so that our offer would get accepted, we bought a house that was not listed and no bidding war. We even put in an offer on a house down the street from where we live, that was accepted. And literally less than 24 hours later, I had to back out because it didn’t feel right. It’s quite a story, but one I hope my girls will appreciate when they’re older.

To get an idea of the scope of what I was working with, the house had been vacant for over 10 years, probably closer to 15. Investors and realtors were constantly sending him letters and calling him to sell the house to him. So I had PLENTY of competition in the sense that there were a lot of people willing to make him offers. But I had ZERO competition at the end of the day because he got to know me, know what I was about, and learn that I was going to treat him with compassion and be understanding. I wanted to work with him as his agent or as a buyer, because I felt that there would be agents and investors out there taking advantage of his situation. This deal almost fell apart, weeks after we had already been talking.

I’ll post a video on the story behind it and document my journey into making this house our home.

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