01What does your business do, in your own words?
I help people buy, sell, and invest in homes across Round Rock and Avery Ranch. Most of my clients are buying their very first home, but I also work with real estate investors and with people 50 and older making a big move later in life. Whatever brings someone to me, my job is the same: build a clear plan around their budget and timeline, then walk with them through every step until the keys are in their hand. No pressure, no confusing jargon, just someone in their corner who's actually done this before. 20+ Years Real Estate Investor · Realtor® · Seniors Real Estate Specialist® (SRES®) · Hoyden Homes Brokerage · Texas License SA848552
02How did you get started? Give us the origin story.
Before I was ever a Realtor, I was a real estate investor. I bought my first investment property in 2005 with more determination than experience, and I made almost every mistake you can make: deals that didn't pencil out, late-night maintenance calls, and lessons I had to learn the hard way. I kept at it and built a residential portfolio over the next 20-plus years. Long before that, I spent years as a copywriter, running newsletters and an online magazine, then working in community management. And for 21 years, I lived in Avery Ranch, including 12 years serving on its HOA board. That means I was answering neighbors' questions about which HOA covered their street and which school their address fed into a decade before I ever got my Realtor license. Getting licensed was really just catching up on work I'd already been doing for years, as a neighbor, an investor, and a writer who's always believed real estate should feel like clarity, not chaos.
“I was answering neighbors' questions about which HOA covered their street and which school their address fed into a decade before I ever got my Realtor license.”
03What's the hardest part of running this business that nobody sees?
Everything that happens between an accepted offer and closing day. Coordinating inspectors, lenders, appraisers, and the title company, catching small problems before they become big ones, keeping track of a dozen deadlines that all move at once. My clients just see a calm, organized process, but that calm takes a lot of quiet work behind the scenes. I'd rather do that work myself than hand a client a surprise two days before closing.
04What's your favorite customer story?
I don't like to pick favorites, but one that still means a lot to me is a first-time buyer couple in Cedar Park. In their words: "unwavering communication and support… made the entire journey so seamless." That's exactly what I want every first-time buyer to feel, not overwhelmed, just supported, from the first showing to the closing table.
“My clients just see a calm, organized process, but that calm takes a lot of quiet work behind the scenes.”
05Why here? What made you choose this area?
I chose to build my business in Round Rock and North Austin because this is where I've lived for over two decades, including 21 years in Avery Ranch. I raised my family here, and it's a market I understand street by street, not just from a map. This area has also been a big part of my own investing story, so when I help someone buy or sell here, I'm working in a market I know as a neighbor first and an agent second.
06What's changed most in the area since you opened?
In the 21 years I've lived here, I've watched Round Rock and Cedar Park grow from smaller, quieter communities into some of the most in-demand markets in Central Texas. Neighborhoods that used to feel like the edge of town now have full amenity centers, new schools, and a lot more competition for buyers. That growth has been good for property values, but it also means buyers need someone who can help them cut through the noise and understand what a specific street or HOA actually means for daily life, not just what a listing says.
07What do you wish more people knew about your industry?
That the gap between the market headlines they see online and the actual numbers on their specific street is what ends up costing them money. A general headline about "the market" doesn't tell you what's happening in your neighborhood, your school zone, or with your specific HOA. Real clarity, not waiting around, not guessing, is what actually gets a deal done at the right price.
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