My journey to holistic real estate began years ago when my family purchased our first home. We were so excited to find a charming home with an amazing greenbelt yard that we neglected to consider the health of the home. Rose-colored glasses, first-time buyers. Within a few months of living there, mystery symptoms crept in – unrelenting fatigue, depression, brain fog – and my son was in constant PANS flares. I then had a really difficult pregnancy. Sick for almost the entire nine months. My baby also had respiratory issues. Then I was later diagnosed with neuro Lyme disease after being bitten by a tick. I crashed hard, really hard. My immune system was tanked, my toxic burden load was overwhelmed, and the diagnoses just kept coming. For my son as well. Our lives were turned upside down, and even with a medical background, endless research, and doctors, I wasn’t healing. We thought surely it was all due to Lyme disease. After two years, we discovered a much deeper root of the problem – mold illness.

One day our neighbor came over to visit and said, “Wow, the place looks great! Considering what it looked like before I never would have thought…” (Always important to ask neighbors about an older home before buying!) It turns out that the house was nearly condemned before a flip company bought it as a foreclosure. The roof had caved in in some areas due to water damage, leaks in the bathroom, ceiling, and attic, and ductwork inundated with mold. Essentially mold throughout the house. Around this time it even started to reveal itself through the paint. (Yes, the flippers had painted over the mold.) Even my clothes grew mold in the closet. The flip company made a nice profit by covering up the mold issues, and we were left to deal with the consequences.

Never once did our realtor question why there were foundation issues, a new roof, and musty smells, mention the HVAC issues beyond saying it needed replacement–which we did–but didn’t think to change the moldy ductwork. We were young, invincible, and excited for the new chapter of home ownership. Mold and the health of the home were never on our radar, however, it should have been on our realtor’s radar. Especially in humid Austin, TX.

What a difference it could have made for my family if my realtor had considered our health over completing a sale. This is what I hope to change for families.

I’ve yet to fully recover from that house, 9 years later. As anyone that has dealt with mold illness, CIRS, MCAS… you don’t fully recover upon leaving mold. Your body develops a strong memory of your triggers and becomes hyperreactive to the world. Mold illness recovery is a rollercoaster, to say the least. Rarely is just one house that made you sick. Once mold illness takes its toll, it’s almost as if you become a beacon to more moldy situations. I can speak volumes to this – biologically and energetically. Not an easy journey.

All the while, I was in Traditional Chinese Medicine school throughout this experience. Upon graduation, I researched endlessly in the realms of chronic illness–specifically Lyme disease, PANDAS/PANS, autism, environmental illnesses– and in turn, mold illness. After years of practicing within this demographic, I saw repeat patterns in my patients – entire families being affected by chronic illness, often it looked a little different from each person to the next, but you could see whole families affected. Mold, sick homes are often at the root of the problem. And so a new path in my career was born, I realized I could make such a stronger impact in healing families if I could help families find a healthy home from the get-go. Root cause medicine, no doubt.

As a holistic realtor, I prioritize the well-being of my clients and understand the vital role that a healthy home plays in promoting their health. Unfortunately, many real estate transactions overlook the importance of a home’s health, often leading to issues that are only noticed after a family member falls ill. This is the industry standard that I hope to change. That’s why I offer a unique and personalized approach to buying and selling homes, grounded in empathy, mindfulness, and a dedication to helping families live their healthiest lives. I believe that our homes should not be a source of illness, but rather a sanctuary, a place of healing and rejuvenation.