— The Honest Answer —

Why I Do This Differently

Here’s the honest answer. When I look at how most agents present themselves, I see two kinds. Agents with the technical details someone might Google, and agents who have played the marketing game well but couldn’t tell you a thing about the neighborhoods they claim to serve.

I’ve been inside the schools. I’ve helped run the carnivals. I know principals personally, and I have friends at every campus in our area through everything our kids have been involved in.

Nothing about that shows up in production numbers. The pride of being part of a community. Knowing your neighbors. Showing up for the schools, and not just your own kid’s school. That’s the part of real estate most agents skip, and it’s the part I refuse to.

— The Origin Story —

How I Got Into Real Estate

I was a usability designer in tech, and I lost my job right before 9/11. Right after it, I was up late one night watching a Carlton Sheets infomercial, and I bought the course. My best friend and I had both just read Rich Dad Poor Dad, and we jumped in with both feet.

Our first renovation was in Deltona, Florida, four hours from where we lived in Miami. We drove back and forth the whole project and made just about every mistake you can make. We still made money, barely.

During that stretch I scraped together $4,000 I did not have, borrowed most of it, and went to an investing seminar with one rule for myself: make the money back by end of day one or cancel and take the refund. We found a deal, the instructors helped us put it together, and it wholesaled for $12,000. I never looked back.

I’ve been licensed in Florida since 2005 and in Texas since 2015. I got my Texas license when our oldest was two weeks old, which tells you something about how I operate.

Real estate also pulled me back toward my tech roots. When we hit an email deliverability problem in our own business, we bootstrapped the solution into a seven-figure email marketing platform. I spent a decade teaching investors nationwide through courses and coaching, and hosted hundreds of real estate trainers on a weekly teleseminar, and later webinar, series. This was all long before Zoom existed. I’ve spoken internationally on real estate, marketing, and email.

Today I’m with eXp Realty, and honestly, the creative marketing side is still my favorite part of this business. Every listing is a story to tell.

— The Part That Matters —

What That Means for You

I’m not going to recite production numbers at you. Those are easy to Google, and they don’t tell you anything about the person who’s about to be your partner for the next few weeks, months, and possibly years.

Here’s what actually matters. For over twenty years I’ve been buying and selling my own properties. My own money, my own mistakes, my own negotiations. When I sit on your side of the table, I’m not just managing a transaction for someone else. I’ve been the buyer trying not to overpay and the seller trying not to leave money behind, dozens of times, with my own checkbook on the line.

That’s a different lens. I see what a house could be, what it will cost to get there, and where the deal can go sideways, because I’ve lived all three.

If I have a superpower, it’s seeing potential where others can’t. Brandon jokes that there’s never been a wall I don’t want to knock out, and he’s not wrong.

One of my favorite renovation projects was a small main house with an addition that was little more than a slab and a really bad layout. We turned that space into two full bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and an extra living area. It changed the entire function and feel of the home.

I bring that same eye to your house. Whether you’re selling a home that needs its story told or buying one whose best version isn’t visible yet, I can usually see it before anyone else can.

— Off the Business Card —

The Community Part

This is the part of my life that doesn’t fit on a business card, so here’s the short version.

I’ve served our PTA as VP of Fundraising and VP of Clubs and Programs, and I built our elementary school’s art club from the ground up, full curriculum and all, serving nearly 15% of the campus. I’ve hosted neighborhood mother-son and daddy-daughter dances (epic ones, if I say so myself), helped create spring flings and fall festivals, thrown around-the-world potlucks, and volunteered on HOA community events. I serve on a local youth football board. Our girls swim for the neighborhood swim team, and if you’ve been to a meet, you’ve probably seen me there doing something with a clipboard.

The schools are where I’ve dug in deepest. I served on our school district’s long-range planning committee for two and a half years, until it was disbanded, and I’ve worked closely with school board members and dozens of local families to protect our schools and the community-school concept here. I’ve helped with carnivals at several neighborhood elementaries, coached neighborhood soccer, and been a team mom for cheer.

None of that was networking. It’s just what living here looks like for our family. But it does mean that when you ask me about a school, a coach, a street, or a swim team, you’re getting an answer from inside.

— My Why —

My Why

When I was first getting started in real estate, long before I had kids or even a husband, someone asked me what my why was.

I’m not perfect at it. But I’m home with them every night, we have dinner together almost every night, we spend our weekends together, and we travel together. That’s still the driving force behind everything.

It’s also why I believe home is where your story begins. The house matters. But the people in it, and the memories you make there, are what turn a house into a home. That’s the actual product I work with. Everything else is paperwork.

— A Few More Things —

Beyond Real Estate

A few things that don’t fit anywhere else. I’m a serial entrepreneur, most recently created a mobile mural art company (we’re still navigating the plan). I’m a party planner by nature and a photographer by habit. I’ve served on the board of the Fertility Foundation of Texas, a cause close to my heart. And our family travels every chance we get. Italy, Greece, New Zealand, and Costa Rica top the list, but honestly, anywhere works as long as the four of us are together.

— What Clients Say —

What Clients Say

You can read more client reviews here.

Credentials and the Fine Print

Heather Tankersley, Realtor, eXp Realty. Licensed in Texas since 2015 (TREC License #661413) and in Florida since 2005. Real estate investor since 2001.

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