"Don't Buy Shoes, Buy Buildings"

I grew up in an extremely poor, single parent home in Texas, and I went to a ritzy private school because my mom taught there. My classmates had name-brand clothes and went skiing in Colorado over Spring Break while I wore hand-me-downs and did chores during school breaks. The one vacation experience I was regularly granted was via my grandparents who owned a condo on Lake Conroe. Every summer, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my family would go to the condo for a week. We would swim and play games and eat and laugh - and it would serve as one of the foundational experiences for how I envision and invest in family. The condo was located in community called April Sound.

I now have a family of my own - an amazing husband, a remarkable adult niece/daughter, and two active teenage boys, and my husband and I have modeled our love of, passion for, and commitment to family. We believe in spending time with family - doing the every day stuff and having new experiences together. A few years ago, my husband began to regularly drop hints that we might consider another avenue for our family: a second home in Deep Creek Lake, MD.

Growing up, I’d had April Sound, and my husband had an uncle with a lake house that he would visit with his family every summer - but we’d never dreamed we’d be able to provide similar experiences to our family. I couldn’t fathom it and so my husband’s hints went mostly ignored. After about a year, I went to a women’s leadership conference and heard from television producer and former Telemundo President Nely Galan. As a self-made wealthy and successful woman, she shared some tips focused mostly on independence. The advice she gave that resonated with me that day was: “Don’t buy shoes, buy buildings.”

The point Nely was making was that long-term, independent financial success is based in investments that will sustain you. This struck a chord with me because I was at a point in my career where I was continually told to diversify my investments - a common sentiment that quite frankly stressed me out because I didn’t (don’t!) know the first thing about the stock market, and I had (have) no desire to deal with what I perceive as that kind of daily stress. And while I also have no interest in the types of commercial buildings Nely Galan buys, it hit me that I could buy a second home to not only share with my family but to also invest money in a way that could bring joy to others. That was April 5th, 2018, and my husband and I closed on April Sound at Deep Creek Lake on June 5th of the same year.

We’ve spent the last year and some change refreshing the house, getting to know the Deep Creek Lake area, and truly finding our happy place. As I type, we are preparing the house for renters, and we are so excited to bring the joy and peace we’ve experienced to others. April Sound at Deep Creek Lake is an honor, and we look forward to this new chapter. Let the journey begin!