Ah, the glamour of being a residential real estate broker in Houston!  Seven years in this business and still not one work week where I can predict what will happen next, where I'll be, or who I'll meet.  I'll admit -- it's kind of addictive being a Realtor.  A true love/hate relationship.  Running around aerating lawns in my heels, remembering comps, avoiding traffic between houses, and recalling square footage and recent sale prices off the top of my head -- it takes the work of a magician sometimes. 
   Allow me to introduce myself:  I am married to a wonderful Houston guy named Alex Jackson.  We live in a historic home that we completely gutted and renovated in Winlow Place with our British lab, Dolly Puddin.  Professionally, truth be told, I am a bargain shopper masked as a businesswoman.  Luckily buying and selling houses is actually a form of shopping in disguise!  As a Realtor I do everything from working with buyers to listing properties to consulting.  Because I have "other lives" as an interior decorator and artist, I love working with my real estate clients who are planning on renovating,  or advising  them about staging, paint colors, curb appeal, landscaping, building materials, and finish selections. I've acted as general contractor on more than 7 investment properties.  Most of all, I love getting a deal for my clients.  
    The flexible schedule of a Realtor is fabulous, but it is not controlled by me -- it's my clients calling the shots.  I've worked with everyone from my best friends to people relocating, Houston Texans football pros and country singers.  Foreclosures and short sales? First time buyers? Your grandmother who has lived in the same house for 50 years?  Done it. 
   People tell me that I have "an eye."  (Also in this blog I will refer to some of my "finds" as "the find's eye")  What I think they are saying is that I sell houses as if I were buying them myself.   I do not let my buyers purchase homes that I would not want to sell in the future.  I am completely honest with them, but I do recognize how to listen to their needs. It saves them from making huge mistakes like settling for a property that is missing major appeal for most future buyers or committing to property that cannot be fixed. Ultimately it is their decision, but it is also the biggest investment in their lives so they tend to listen to me. 
     Most realtors are not as bad as those on tv -- Million Dollar Listing (although I am a huge fan) is quite the cheese-filled unprofessional depiction of our job.  Allowing a seller to settle for a first offer that is 1 million below asking price?  Ridiculous --Where is the counter offer?  Stupidity! I do not stand on tables when negotiating deals, and my hairstyle is irrelevant to selling homes.
    HGTV is another irresistible indulgence, but again the realtors and designers on many of the shows do not often give the public the wisest advice.  Don't think of realtors greedy monsters or slimy pushy salespeople.  I am here to help calm the chaos of purchasing and selling property. Welcome to the glamourous life of this realtor -- at least I don't have TMZ trailing me.