Where did you grow up and what is your background?
I was born and raised in Daly City, California. Daly City borders San Francisco and it was a great place to grow up. I had the privilege of growing up, along with my two older sisters, in the first house my parents purchased until I was 20 years old. I could see the ocean every day from my window and never understood how special that was until I got older. The daily sunsets I saw were quite spectacular!!! Both my parents were born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico, but met in San Francisco at Mission High School. We spent many summers in Jalisco. I am happy to have been raised with large families on both sides. Great food, laughter, and dancing was never missing. When I was 20, my parents bought a duplex in San Bruno. Since 2001, San Bruno has been my home. I got my A.S. in Business Administration and proceeded to work in the pharmaceutical industry until my husband and I moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to do our volunteer work for two years. We moved back to San Bruno in 2014 when I got pregnant with our firstborn, Lucas. We welcomed our daughter, Viviana, 17 months later. Being a mom has been an amazing journey that has taught me so many things. Seeing them learn and explore is such a joy.
Tell us a little bit about your own homeowner story and what you’ve experienced as a homeowner.
Along with my husband, Pablo, we bought our home in San Bruno in 2009 through a short sale. We needed lots of patience through that process. It took months to get approved, but it was all worth it in the end! We had been looking for a long time and finally felt we found a house we could make our home. It needed lots of love! We still have many projects to do, but I enjoy being hands-on and making each corner our own.
How did you get into real estate and why do you like/love it?
In a way, real estate and property management has always been something familiar to me. My parents owned several homes and had investment properties that we would manage since I was born. We always did our own remodeling and repairs. That is one of the reasons why a fixer-upper didn’t scare me. Another reason is because my husband had bought and sold three properties before we got married. It was so nice to have that extra experience to answer my questions during the purchase of our first home. A few years after we bought our home, we converted the garage into an ADU and have had tenants for over 10 years.
After my father passed away, I was the executor of his estate. Through this process, I sold his commercial building and residential home. I didn’t use a real estate agent for the commercial building. The current tenant wanted to buy it and I researched the best and less intrusive way to do it. So, you can say that was my first real estate transaction. My father’s home, which we nicknamed “la casita”, had an upside-down loan and therefore it required a real estate agent to sell it as a short sale. I am so happy to have had his help with that transaction and to see firsthand what a great value an agent is! At the end of the sale, he offered me a job. I regret not taking him up on his offer and starting my real estate career earlier.
Other things you want people to know about you as a person.
I'm a huge sports fan, 49ers are my favorite team!! What can I say, I am an 80´s SF baby.
I love to garden! I was very happy with my heirloom tomato crop.
I love all things French. It all started when we honeymooned in Paris. Butter and Julia Child any day!
I’ve lived in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Mexico for my volunteer work when I was single.
My husband and I have been exploring the bay’s hiking and biking trails recently and love it.
What are the things that influence your approach to working with your clients?
Understanding that I have a special opportunity to see someone reach their goals is a beautiful privilege and huge responsibility I don’t take lightly. I really do love getting to know people and understanding what their needs are. I will work hard to educate myself to make sure my clients have all the information they need to make the best decision.
What are your goals for The Girl and The Home?
To learn!! I’m very excited to learn more about real estate and make new connections. I’ve never been scared of hard work and see joining TGATH as an opportunity to grow. I really hope to be able to help people.