Buying on the Coast, without the surprises.

What's different about buying here

• The flood zone is half the conversation. VE, AE, X — the letters on the FEMA map drive your insurance bill, your lender's requirements, and your resale story. I check the current FIRM panel on every home before we tour it. Plain-talk flood guide →
• Three insurance policies, not one. South of I-10, most homes carry homeowners (ex-wind) + Wind Pool + flood. Budget $5K–$13K/year on a ~$300K home near the water; far less inland. Named-storm deductibles are percentage-based — read them before the premium.
• Build era matters more than curb appeal. Post-2011 elevated construction insures cleanest. Pre-Katrina slab homes in flood zones are the hardest to insure affordably. I flag build era and foundation type on every listing I send you.
• The deals that don't make it to Zillow. Coast inventory moves through relationships — estate sales, pre-list conversations, investor trades. Twenty years of operating businesses here means I hear about things early.

How I work with buyers

1. The real-number conversation first. Budget, monthly payment including the insurance stack, towns that fit. Thirty minutes, no forms, no drip emails.
2. A shortlist that's already vetted. Every home I send has the flood zone, build era, and likely insurance picture attached. The pretty-but-uninsurable ones die here, not at closing.
3. Tours that tell the truth. I'll show you the neighborhood at 5 PM on a Friday, not just the staged living room. Schools, drainage, the street after a hard rain — the stuff you'd learn your first year, before you buy.
4. Offer strategy for this market. The Coast is a specific market — pricing patterns, seasonal rhythm (spring/summer peak, PCS waves), and seller expectations differ town to town.
5. Contract to keys. Inspection, elevation certificate if we need one, insurance binding, closing. I stay on it daily.

Who I work with most

Out-of-state movers relocating for lifestyle, remote work, or retirement (start with the relocation guide) · first-time buyers figuring out what monthly cost really looks like here · families trading up or down within the Coast · investors running numbers on long-term and short-term rentals — where the STR ordinances actually allow them.

What it costs you

Nothing out of pocket for my time as your buyer's agent — compensation is negotiated in the transaction, and I'll explain exactly how that works in Mississippi before we sign anything. No surprises is the whole brand.