We took a leap of faith, knowing there would be challenges along the way. While we certainly had our share, facing them made what we built on the other side even more meaningful.

 

Our lives were settled and quite comfortable in Minneapolis. We lived in a house we thought was going to be our forever home. My real estate business was thriving. We had four young kids, and my mom was always around helping with them. It was wonderful.

 

But then my mom went on vacation out to California and said, "I wouldn't mind moving back." That was the catalyst to our new chapter. We had built a close relationship with our kids’ biological family, who lived in California, and my mother loved it there and truly believed it would be good for all of us. After many conversations, several trips out west, and carefully considering the kind of life we wanted, we packed everything up and moved to Folsom.

 

We arrived in July of 2020, just after the pandemic shut the world down. Schools were closed, I didn’t yet have my real estate license, and we didn’t know anyone. All four kids were suddenly home, navigating online school, and our focus became keeping everything together day by day. California was expensive, and without a steady income, we questioned whether staying was the right decision. Still, something in my gut told me we had to stay.

 

In Minneapolis, I was a REALTOR®, starting my career in 2000. I went through every kind of market, working with everyone from first-time buyers to investors. My wife and I also flipped homes and renovated properties, learning a lot about home structure and design along the way. I was named a Super Agent for 10 consecutive years—an award based entirely on client reviews. I also converted a 72-unit apartment building into condominiums and sold most of the units myself, and was selected by HGTV to find, list, and manage one of their renovation homes. Real estate has become such a passion.

 

Then my wife became a flight attendant and experienced a serious back injury in the sky early in her career. She couldn’t work. So, we started asking ourselves: What would bring us fulfillment? The answer was a family. We became foster parents and eventually adopted four kids, changing our lives.

 

After moving to California, I took a job at a memory care facility, working with families navigating dementia and major life transitions. It was eye-opening in ways I didn’t expect and even led me to write and publish a book on dementia: The Dementia Family Care Toolkit Guide. Then my mom got sick, and I stepped away to take care of her until she passed. It was a hard time for our family.

 

After everything we’d been through, it was time to refocus. I knew I wanted to help people, to make an impact, and to still be highly involved in my kids’ lives. Real estate was the answer. I leaned into the relationships I had built through the healthcare world. One connection introduced me to someone buying mobile homes for cash—which most agents didn’t want. I found that many of the sellers were in desperate need of help: seniors transitioning into care, families managing estates from far away, and people who couldn’t afford more expenses. I did everything I could to create good experiences for them.

 

From there, relationships and trust began to compound. Referrals started coming in from all directions. When you do good work and treat people with genuine care, people want to share that experience.

 

I’m proud to be someone others trust with one of the most important financial and emotional decisions of their lives.

 

Life now looks very different than it did when we arrived. Suzanne is working a great job; the kids are involved in school and sports, and we spend our free time hiking, biking, and getting out to the lake. We love it here. And I certainly haven’t missed the Minneapolis winters!

 

Starting over was hard. Staying felt even harder at first. But I trusted that God had a plan for us—and He did.

 

Part of what makes real estate such a natural fit for me is my lived experience. I spent the first part of my life in San Diego before moving to the Midwest at eight, giving me a blend of West Coast Perspective and Midwest Values. Over the years, I’ve relocated multiple times, raised a growing family, and cared for my mom in her later years. Those experiences give me a real understanding of what clients are facing during major transitions. I don’t look at real estate as just a transaction. I help people think through lifestyle, financial needs, and both short- and long-term decisions so they feel confident about what comes next.

 

I’ve also done a little bit of everything in real estate: fix-and-flips, renovations, commercial, estates, short sales, foreclosures, and traditional buying and selling. With that depth of experience, very little surprises me—and if I don’t have an answer, I know how to find it quickly.

 

I bring real, lived experience along with more than 25 years of real estate expertise to guide you on your journey. I’m a problem solver, relationship-driven, and committed to creating the best possible experience for you. And my commitment doesn’t end at closing—I’m here to be a lifelong resource throughout your homeownership journey.

 

Sincerely,

 

Kim Eckert