I've spent most of my life in Indianapolis. My family and I live in Irvington, and I work throughout Marion County and the counties around it, from the historic pockets on the east side to Meridian-Kessler, Broad Ripple, Fountain Square, and up into Hamilton County.

Before real estate, I spent years in coffee. At some point I decided it was my passion and told my dad I wanted to make it my career. He said something I have thought about nearly every day since: "I've seen you work. I don't think coffee is your passion. I think your passion is serving people, and coffee is just the vehicle in which you share your passion."

He was right. Coffee is also how I met the mentor who recruited me into real estate. She watched where my focus went and figured it would carry over. Houses turned out to be another vehicle.

Here is what that means for you. If you are ready for the house you have been picturing, I will work as hard as I know how to get you into it. If the house you can buy today is not that house yet, I will tell you so, and then I will help you find the one that gets you closer. A first home that builds equity and does not drain you on repairs is not a consolation prize. It is the step that makes the next one possible, and I have been at both closings for a lot of families.

Which brings me to the part of this job I probably enjoy too much. I like looking for what is wrong with a house. Walking through one with you, I will point out the foundation crack, the roof with maybe five years left, the panel that will need attention, and roughly what those things have cost my clients before. I will also tell you how I expect the inspection to go before we ever order one. Some of what we find is serious. A lot of it is just what a ninety-year-old house looks like. Knowing the difference ahead of time is most of what makes the rest of a transaction feel calm instead of alarming.

I want to be clear about the limits of that. I'm not a home inspector and I'm not a contractor. What I tell you is a starting point, and it should be confirmed or corrected by the professionals we hire. I've been wrong before, and I'd rather you hear it from someone licensed to say it.

When I'm not working, I'm usually trying a new restaurant somewhere in the city, in the middle of some project at the house, or with my wife McKenzie, our daughter Evelyn, and our three pets.

If that sounds like the kind of help you want, let's get to work.