Joining Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Palmetto

You are probably here because you care about me, or you are genuinely curious, or maybe you just found me. Either way, I am glad you are here.

I also want to say this gently: I do not owe anyone an explanation. And still, for those who were blindsided by my decision, I can tell you I was blindsided too. If you are reading this because you care, thank you. That matters to me.

I have always operated with the philosophy that there are enough houses to sell, and collaboration over competition.

I joined Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Palmetto on September 4, 2026.

Honestly, I never thought I would leave eXp, or not anytime soon.

Many have reached out to ask why, and I hear you. From the outside, August does not look like someone about to leave: five closings in South Carolina, top sales by volume, top sales by units, capped with eXp, and Top LGI agent of the month. From the inside, circumstances beyond what I could control were already making it almost impossible to stay.

Saying goodbye to my old brokerage was like a breakup. Except I get to keep all my friends and colleagues.

Most of the time, the universe or whatever has to force me out because I am so loyal and caring.

That is the honest version. I am not rewriting history to make the exit look tidy, and I am not making this about blame. Loyalty is how I am wired, and sometimes the only way I leave is when staying stops being possible.

It is not for the lack of good people, amazing resources, guidance, or care. I am grateful for all of that. It is purely from a business standpoint. When I could not do my business and had no clear guidance ahead, I had to move on.

Where I found a divide was on a different side of the business at eXp, where processes and paperwork were prioritized at a level over a person and explanation. I share that carefully, because people still matter to me more than the paperwork ever will.

Although I know the paperwork does matter, and will get done. And done right.

The friends stay

I loved my team and had amazing support at eXp Legacy Group International. There is no doubt about that.

Hayley Hindell is one of the most incredible and compassionate humans I know and cherish. People like Hayley are why leaving feels like a breakup instead of a paperwork exercise. The support was real. The care was real. I am grateful for every bit of it.

I also love my daily huddles and my incredible coach, Kelly Henderson, and all the connections I have made along the way. The good thing is, I get to keep them. Brokerages change. Good people do not become strangers because your email signature did.

The hardest part about this was I wanted to stay with my team, but I also wanted to go somewhere with local support for all the statewide questions. Being a free agent was very difficult because I had advocacy on all sides, and I appreciate everyone fighting for me. I have never been in that position before where I felt so wanted in so many places, and it was not for the lack of trying.

Could I have stayed with eXp and done everything I wanted to do? Yes and no. My business has limitations, and without having a way ahead, I was limited. And I knew my business was already shifting. I had felt it for months, so that does not come out of the blue.

I really want to focus more time on doing the things I love, like writing, teaching, and putting ideas into action. My first year in real estate was the best I could ever have imagined, and I am ready to learn more and move forward.

There is something about the buy-in of a family-owned brokerage.

Why Palmetto

The good news is that it is growth and expansion, and being able to merge all of it: teaching agents, AI that actually helps on a file, military and VA work, giving back, a Charleston practice with real Lowcountry roots, and work on local and statewide issues.

I do not know everything I will build here yet. In the age of AI, teaching others how to harness it is why I said yes. And the agents: I am joining a team of powerhouses.

I wanted room for that merge inside a house that feels owned by people who live here. Palmetto gave me that room.

National branding can open doors. Local ownership decides whether anyone is home when you walk through them. Palmetto is a locally independent franchise under Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. The brand is national. The leadership is here. That buy-in shows up in training, standards, culture, and who answers when something hard happens on a file.

And put leadership and a Broker-in-Charge that was reachable and able to help and not hinder. That is Aimee Peterson, together with her husband, Terry. They built this house with a long view: clarity, accountability, education, and communication that actually protects clients and agents. Aimee is a Charleston local. Their path runs through medicine, case management, custom construction, and owning businesses together before real estate ownership. Voyage South Carolina has more of Aimee’s story here: Inspiring Conversations with Aimee Peterson.

And the agents. I am joining a team of powerhouses. A brokerage is only as good as the people who show up on a Tuesday. Education is built in. Leadership is reachable. Nobody is left to “figure it out” alone.

Follow along: @bhgrepalmetto.

Curiosity, teaching, and getting out in the wild

I do not know exactly what comes next. That is part of the point. In the age of AI, teaching others how to harness it is why. Not as a buzzword. As a daily skill: research faster, see risk sooner, explain the file clearly, and still use human judgment when it counts.

Palmetto already runs weekly training and a Mentor Program. That is the kind of house where you can layer on how to prepare a file, how to talk about VA and assumable deals, how to tell a client the truth early, and how to put AI to work without losing the plot.

And work on local and statewide issues. Housing. Military families. How policy and practice actually land on a PCS file or a first-time buyer in South Carolina. That work belongs next to the closings, not after them.

I do not think I need to explain this to anyone, but I have had some incredible clarity this weekend, and I am holding it with gratitude.

But I am excited to be surrounded by curiosity, and a place to have physical events and get out in the wild.

What the first days taught me

A brokerage move looks clean on paper. In real life it is passwords, people, and proving the reasons you moved still hold when the week gets ordinary.

Family-owned buy-in is real. You feel it in how fast questions get answered and whether leadership is actually in the building.

Aimee and Terry set the tone: clear expectations, real training, accountability without theatrics. Reading Aimee’s interview before I joined was useful. Living it was better.

Having Aimee sit down with me early on, go through all my files, and guide me, with Terry bringing lunch so we could keep working until it was done. That is not the norm.

The team is the product. Teaching and AI land better when the house already teaches.

And clients did not have to relearn the work. Same phone. Same standards. Same military and VA focus. Same research habit. The brokerage changed. The practice did not. That was the quiet win of these first days.

As I enter this new year, I am excited to grow more than I have before. I have been reassured that if I want to go back to eXp, that is an option. But I think I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

This next year I expand on my brand, USMilitaryMoves, more than I ever have, and make more community, state, and national connections as I focus on what is ahead.

It was about using the tools and resources I have built, and sharing them first locally to make sure it works, and then making them beyond.

I am interested in all sides of real estate, especially those areas that others don’t do.

And my number one strength is responsibility, and I hold that to a high standard.

Maybe the grass isn’t greener on this side, but I have a feeling it is right now.

Common questions

Why Palmetto? Collaboration over competition. Family-owned buy-in. A Broker-in-Charge who is reachable and helps instead of hinders. A team of powerhouses. Room to teach AI, serve military and VA clients, and work local and statewide issues in Charleston and across South Carolina.

Did the practice change for clients? No. Same phone. Same research standard. Same military relocation and VA focus.

Are you staying? I have been reassured that eXp remains an option. I think I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Ahead: grow more than before, expand USMilitaryMoves, and build more community, state, and national connections.