Both Sides of the Deal

I'm a Realtor and a mortgage loan officer here in Las Vegas. I handle both the real estate side and the financing side for my clients.

Since 2005, so about 21 years. I started in California, moved here 18 years ago, and I've been serving Southern Nevada ever since.

When the recession hit in 2008, my brother moved to Vegas and opened a business. He called me and said, "I know real estate and mortgages are struggling right now. Why don't you move to Vegas and help me run my business?" That's what brought me here. Once I settled in, I knew I couldn't stay away from real estate, so I got my Nevada real estate and mortgage licenses and went right back to it.

Traffic. When I got here in 2008 there was almost none. That's changed as the population has grown. Home values have gone up too, but compared to California, Las Vegas is still a lot more affordable.

My wife and I moved here together from California. We have three kids, a daughter and two sons. And I just became a grandfather for the first time. She's five months old.

My two sons started Jiu-Jitsu, and I decided to join them. We train together and they compete. We also love the outdoors. Hot springs, Lake Mead, and family hikes whenever we can.

In California I earned a black belt in Taekwondo, trained Muay Thai where I also earned a black belt rank, and trained Kali Escrima. When we moved here, my sons wanted to try something new, so they started Jiu-Jitsu. Sitting on the side watching got boring, so I got on the mat too. Now I train right next to them and I'm a blue belt.

They're close friends of my son, a hardworking young couple. Another Realtor and loan officer had been giving them the runaround. My son told them to sit down with me. We put together a clear plan and closed in three weeks.

We got them a great rate, negotiated full seller concessions to cover their closing costs, and bought their rate down. Their payment came in a lot lower than what they'd been quoted before. At closing we surprised them with a new TV, a welcome basket, and some custom gifts. For first-time buyers, it was a big moment.

Most agents only have a real estate license, so they see the deal from one side and rely on outside lenders for the financing. Because I'm licensed in both real estate and mortgage lending, I see the whole picture.

I know what it takes to qualify a buyer, how rate buydowns work, how refinancing plays out over time, and how to structure offers that save buyers real money. I can pre-qualify a client myself and go see homes knowing exactly where they stand from day one.

Absolutely. With that young couple, their parents didn't speak English. Buying a home is a family decision, and the parents wanted to be part of it. I could explain the numbers to the parents in Spanish and talk with the couple in English, so the whole family felt confident every step of the way.

I wish we had a beach! Coming from California, that's the one thing I miss. But after 18 years, I've learned to love the desert.

We like trying new places, but our family staple is Chili's on Eastern. I worked at a Chili's in high school in California, so I know the menu inside and out. The burgers are always good.