Leslie Campos

Speak to a lender to get prequalified and set a realistic budget. Each area has its own type of housing and you need to understand what requirements are important to you in a home. Often, these include size, age, location, school district, garages/workshops, lot size, etc.

Take care of any deferred maintenance and ensure that the house meets condition requirements for FHA, VA and USDA loans.

I've worked with many first time home buyers, out of state buyers/sellers as well as investors and local sellers.

A young couple had made an investment in an older home and were selling it for a profit. Their new home needed to be larger and also have a garage. Our current market is very tight because of increased employment in the area. They saw two homes, the larger home needed updating and the smaller home did not. They opted for the larger home and quickly did some smart, cost effective updating. They offered very quickly on the home and were able to secure it because they were prepared with a solid preapproval.

My husband and I both took early retirements from our jobs and invested in single family rentals. Over a couple of years, it because evident that our interest in the entire industry was piqued and we each became brokers. He just recently retired completely.

My continuing education in real estate has always been focused on improving my skills in all areas. Recently, I became a Certified Residential Specialist and have long been an Accredited Buyer Representative. My continuing education has included specific course work in Property Management, Commercial Sales, Commercial Rentals and a course on Mortgages.