Thanks Fred Chamberlin in Oregon for passing along the title of Real Estate Professional to me. I feel honored that it has come from someone as dedicated and knowledge in the field as you.

I love being in the real estate industry.  It is such a multi faceted business. 

Every single day is different... 

One day I'm sitting in my office blogging on ACTIVE RAIN and making and taking phone calls.

The next day I'm out showing houses with people from another part of the country, that I have been corresponding with by phone and email.  I finally get to meet them and I get to spend time showing them the beautiful area in which we live here in South Brevard County Florida.

The next day I might be out helping my husband, father, and daughters prep, repair and paint a rental house for the next tenant that will be moving in. 

I got my real estate license back in 1995.  And went to work with Bill Mallery at M & M Real Estate in Melbourne Florida in July 1996.  Bill has been in the business for nearly 50 years and works primarily with investors. I believe that I was meant to meet him.  I was eager to learn the investment end of the business. Bill has been a blessing to me and an absolute wealth of knowledge.  He is like a second father to me.

My husband and I bought our first rental house in September of 1996 for  $3,200 down and seller financing.  The rest is history.  We have been buying a couple of houses a year, with my father and we continue to buy today, if we can find something that suits our criteria.  We have sold a couple along the way.

We are happy to be able to provide good, clean, affordable rental houses to good families.  I love my tenants. Some of them are incredible people!  Some have been with us for over 8 years. I enjoy the investment end of the business, as it is so rewarding.  Sometimes it's alot of work, and we hit some bumps in the road,..but that's life...isn't it?

I love working with investors and have worked with many over the years.  Investing isn't for everyone and I tell them that, upfront. Some just cannot stomach it.  But, I am so happy to help an investor reach his desired goals in real estate. Some stay in for the long haul and others get right back out.

Prior to getting into real estate I spent 10 years in the banking industry. I started in the 80's as a bank teller, moved to drive in teller, then head drive in teller, customer service, region auditor, assistant manager and then it was time to go.  I loved being in banking, but I had nowhere left that I could go in the industry. 

I shifted to a Collections Manager Position for the Doctors in the Emergency Room of the hospital here in Melbourne Florida. I left after 3 years to have my first daughter and to eventually pursue a career in real estate.

In real estate I love working with buyers and sellers.  I love to help them reach their real estate goals,

I love to help buyers find that "perfect" home that suits their wants and their needs.  It is such a pleasure to see the excitement in their eyes, when they know the home is finally theirs. 

And, I love seeing sellers be able to move on to the next phase of their lives once their home is sold and closed. They are so grateful.

The majority of time I have built a long lasting relationship with my buyers or sellers that has put new, special people in my life, that I may not have had the privilege of meeting otherwise.

I love making new friends. I love making friends with other REALTORS, I mean true professionals in the business...others that love their work as much as I do. 

I love meeting so many incredible people here on ACTIVE RAIN and on my other blog and social networking sites as well, and building and nurturing those relationships. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our industry!

In the real estate business, my favorite part of the profession is that I learn something new every single day.  No two days are ever the same and no two transactions are ever the same.  We must constantly stay educated to national as well as local market conditions, trends and news.  We must continue our education to stay abreast of new laws, new marketing techniques, new loan guidelines, new ideas.  In real estate we never stop learning. I love that! It never gets stale!

FOR ME, REAL ESTATE IS NOT MY JOB, IT'S MY LIFE!

So, today it is so hard for me to decide who to pass this tag along to, because I have so many friends here on Active Rain and I believe that so many are TRUE real estate professionals, but today I am going to pass this Real Estate Professional tag to Ann Hayden in Missouri  and Rich Mielke in Maryland and Marie Meyer in New York.  I think they are all true professionals here in the real estate business.

And thank you Fred Chamberlin, for allowing me to take a moment to reflect on how and why I am here today.  I have learned so much from reading your blog. You have truly become a dear friend to me here on Active Rain.