aren’t you that oasis gal?

Kinda like that “Crazy Cat Lady”, only that “Crazy Oasis Lady”. 

That is me. 

Brace yourself, this is a long story.  I will start it from the point at which my husband and I decided to move back to Washington from Montana.  We met in college at The University of Montana in Missoula and stayed for the better part of 10 years (minus one in Germany and 2 in Alabama). I called up my dad to see if there might be a place for me with my parent’s production housing company and he told me I would be better off getting my Real Estate License. I was very skeptical.  I was not typical Realtor material in my eyes.  I was too nerdy and not outgoing enough. But my dad said I would be great because I was a good listener. 

I got my license and jumped in.  The operations manager and construction manager thought I was annoying at first, I asked too many questions and was so worried I would tell a client something that was wrong. The other agents did not like me because they saw the bosses daughter with her newly acquired real estate license and who knows what they were thinking, but I saw the elevator eyes and eye rolls. Sales meeting were a little awkward because my dad would give me hugs in front of the other agents sometimes and say that I was doing great in front of everyone.  I wanted to crawl into a hole sometimes. 

My dad drove me up to where the Richland Country Mercantile was -before it was there.  It was an excavated piece of land that seemed to be far away from everything.  There were a handful of homes but that is all.  He said this would be my development.  At the time I was wondering what the heck was going on.  The agent that sold my dad lots there let us know that this was going to be huge.  We sat at Starbucks with him and he went over blueprints for the entire project.  It had a 20-year plan. A 200 page land use development packet published online. https://www.ci.richland.wa.us/departments/development-services/planning/badger-mountain-subarea-plan

For the Parade of Homes, the experienced agents got to sit the glitzy parade home.  I sat in the one that was under construction across the street and managed to befriend a family that was interested in building that same plan.  This was my first client. My dad and I met them at this new development, and we showed them our lots and helped them pick the best one.  Then we wrote up the deal. Now known as “West Vineyard Estates”, this was one of the first homes built out there.  I sat in homes that were under construction for years.  Every Friday through Sunday 1-4pm. I lugged the yellow Oasis A-frames up Dallas Road and propped them up and set up shop.  Originally it was me and another Realtor with New Tradition Homes. Slowly other builders began to see the potential and the development really took hold. For 5 years I sold homes in West Vineyard and West Village in the Badger Mountain South development.  I met the inspectors, appraisers, neighbors, green-built 3rd party inspectors, fire suppression contractors and a bunch of great homeowners. I have gained some pounds from eating samples at the Country Mercantile and have lost pounds shoveling the endless tumbleweeds that blew into my model home’s patio and backyard.

At one point, close to my parents’ retirement, the construction manger and operations manager left. I stepped into a bigger role with producing the mini-prints that got sent to all the subcontractors using Adobe InDesign, and attended all of the color selection meetings, blueprint meetings, final mini-print sign offs, framing walk throughs, electrical walks, final walk throughs and helped with warranty items at the end. I also helped market and sell the last Oasis Homes by sitting every weekend at the last spec homes. All this work was not only to sell homes and make a commission, but to help my parents get to retirement.  This was also on the heels of my father being diagnosed with multiple forms of cancer and Covid beginning its reign.

So yes, I learned a TON from holding many roles within the company.  YES I was very lucky and blessed to have the opportunity to work for a builder and be a listing agent immediately after getting my license. Let me tell you however, there is a greater pressure to do well by your family.  Sometimes there were mistakes and issues that made people very angry, and I took EVERYTHING personally.  But I always showed up.  I think all that shows that a local production home builder has a level of caring those national builders might not possess. Most of all, I am grateful for getting to spend time with my parents and for the opportunity to learn the business inside and out. I am also grateful for getting to know some great sub contractors, construction managers, and for being treated like family by all of my parents friends across the real estate community in the Tri-Cities.

YES people know me still as the “Oasis gal”.  However, now that Oasis is no longer building, I am a great choice if you want to sell your Oasis home.  Why? I know your home better than any other Realtor. Also, I have nostalgia for Oasis and want your home to shine as best as it can. I also know many of the subcontractors if you need to do some spiffing up before putting it on the market. In the case of Badger Mountain South homes, I can get a copy of your built green cert or energy star cert to include on your listing. Most Realtors do not know that your home was built to a higher standard than any other home in the Tri-Cities. 

Many people love the Oasis floor plans.  I have the hook ups if you want to have another builder build a specific plan.

Lastly, I love new construction. I love everything about it. I like that you have time to scrutinize details, I like that you get to spend time with your clients for a year. I like that you get to watch your home at all the stages. The best part is to see the faces at the final walk through! The excitement and “wow factor” is just amazing. If you are wanting to build, call me, Lexi.