Jody faced stiff market challenges at the outset of her career, which began in the wake of the subprime housing crash. From the beginning, she worked with foreclosed properties and short sales — properties being sold for less than the owner owed on the mortgage. Dealing with these less-than-ideal circumstances gave her skills that agents newer to the business don’t necessarily have.

“A lot of the agents right now don’t know how to handle these situations,” she says. “I have a very high success rate of closing short sales.”

Of course, Jody knows that there’s no such thing as an “easy” real estate market: Whether things are hot or cold, whether the table is tilted toward buyers or sellers, there are always challenges to be navigated through. During the COVID pandemic, for example, houses were frequently selling far above list price, which was good for sellers but a challenge for would-be buyers, who may have been among 30 people making offers on a house. This caused many buyers to make rash decisions: Jody cited a survey that found that about 86% of Americans who bought homes post-pandemic have regrets, many feeling they spent too much or made their decisions too quickly.

Now that the market has slowed down, she says, “Buyers have some time to think.” And that means Jody is more likely to see something she finds extremely rewarding: The smiles that spread across buyers’ faces when they find the house they love, “This is why I love my job!”

After 14 years, Jody has had the pleasure of helping families more than once. “I’m more of an agent for life,” she says. “I love giving back to my clients through client parties, lunch dates, or catching up over coffee.” She also likes to keep her clients updated on their current home values once a year. “You never know when you will need to know your values,” she says.

Jody and her family are outdoor folks through and through. When she’s not working, you’ll often find her on the lake in the 1957 wooden Thompson boat she restored herself or hiking in the woods with her kids and dogs. She’s also very active in the community, as a member of the Eau Claire Rotary Club, volunteering for multiple other organizations, and you may even find her pulling that refurbished motorboat in parades.

Ultimately, Jody knows that helping her clients achieve a work-life balance depends on finding the perfect house for their needs.

“It’s all about communication, and how you set up your strategy for getting people into the next property,” she says.