The license took months. The lessons took every single deal.
I got licensed in August 2023. Since then I’ve closed 75+ transactions across the small towns east of Lincoln, mostly along the Highway 2 and Highway 50 corridors. Syracuse, Unadilla and Palmyra in Otoe County. Weeping Water, Louisville, Murdock and Elmwood in Cass County. Bennet in Lancaster County. Rookie of the Year in 2024. Top 5 the last three years. Ranked in the Top 200 agents in Lincoln.
None of that came from the coursework. The class taught me agency law, contracts, and what I’m legally allowed to say. Useful. Necessary. But it never taught me how to sit across from someone whose inspection just came back rough and help them think clearly. That part you only learn by doing it, over and over, in real houses with real people.
Here’s what the deals actually taught me.
Pricing honesty beats pricing optimism every time
The single biggest predictor of how a sale goes is whether the seller and I agree on the truth about the house before it ever hits the market.
Not “as high as possible.” That’s not a strategy, that’s a wish. We price it to be the obvious option in its market so it gets attention early, and attention is what creates leverage. The homes that sell well in Palmyra or Elmwood aren’t the ones that started high and chased the market down. They’re the ones that were priced right on day one and had three people paying attention in the first weekend.
Condition is the same conversation. You don’t have to fix everything. Plenty of small-town homes sell as-is and sell fine. But you have to be honest about what’s there. We either address it upfront or we account for it in the price. What you can’t do is ignore it and still expect a premium. Buyers find it. Inspectors find it. Appraisers find it.
I’d rather have the uncomfortable conversation in your kitchen in week one than watch your house sit for two months while the market tells you the same thing louder.
The real work starts after you’re under contract
A lot of agents treat “under contract” like the finish line. In my experience it’s closer to halftime.
I had a deal where inspections came back ugly. Multiple issues stacking on top of each other, and a seller who wasn’t easy to work with. The easy move was to tell my buyers to walk and go find something cleaner. But they loved the house. So we didn’t panic. We slowed it down, got actual quotes, sorted out what genuinely mattered from what was noise, and went back to the seller. More than once.
It took several rounds. They got the house, they didn’t get taken advantage of, and they knew exactly what they were walking into on closing day. That’s the outcome I care about.
Messy deals close when the seller actually wants to sell. My job is to figure out if that’s true and then keep working the problem until it’s solved.
Never force the wrong house
This is the one I’d put on a sign if I made signs.
I’ve told people to wait. I’ve told people the acreage they’re in love with is going to be a maintenance problem they don’t want. I’ve told people their offer was too much for the condition and we should hold the line instead.
We don’t have to force it. There will be another one if it’s not right. Love where you live.
Small towns move at their own pace. Inventory in Weeping Water or Unadilla isn’t Lincoln inventory. Sometimes the right house shows up in three weeks and sometimes it takes eight months. It takes as long as it takes. If you don’t give up on me, I won’t give up on you.
Doing both sides at once is a plan, not a hope
Most of my clients are selling and buying at the same time. Usually a Lincoln starter home, and they want more room and a slower pace out on Highway 2 or Highway 50.
The mistake is treating those as two separate projects. They’re one project with two moving parts, and the timing is the whole game. Who goes first. What contingency structure actually protects you. What happens if your house sells in nine days. What happens if it doesn’t.
The buyers winning right now are the ones who could list tomorrow if they had to. That readiness is what gives you options, and options are what keep you from making a panic decision on the biggest purchase of your life.
What the awards actually mean
Recognition is nice. It’s not the point. What 75+ closings gave me is pattern recognition: I know what sells in these towns, what sits, and why. I know which repairs matter to a rural appraiser and which don’t. I know how long a septic inspection realistically takes in August.
You can’t test into that. You earn it one deal at a time, including the hard ones.
I was a recruiter before this. A job matters. Your home is where your whole life happens. That’s why I stay in it.
If you’re thinking about a move out this way, reach out and let’s talk through your situation. No commitment, just a plan.
If you’re juggling a sell and a buy at the same time, or eyeing a move to the small towns east of Lincoln, this is exactly what I do all day: See how I work →