Hi! We’re Heather and Susan, co-founders of REST Easy. Two high-level operations directors who found themselves bonding over a passion for supporting agents, and raising the bar for support roles in the real estate industry as a whole.
We know how utterly exhausting it can be to find and hire fabulous staff who not only do the job efficiently, but care about your clients like you do. Our mindset of being a supportive extension of the agents we worked with, was not the industry standard, and that didn’t sit well with us. Thus, REST Easy was born!
The brainchild of two operations unicorns who believe you and your clients deserve better! We take great pride in what we do, we love learning and growing & using that knowledge to grow your business, and we’re both particularly fond of laughter and finding the joy in an unforgiving real estate world. Simply put, we’re two peas in a pod, ying and yang, frick and frack.
However you put it, we’re an unstoppable team, and that has made all the difference.
“Work hard, play hard, give abundantly” is how we would describe Heather’s approach to all she puts her effort towards. She receives such joy in witnessing the positive impact she has in the lives of others when “putting your heart into it”.
She is a graduate of Towson University with a bachelors’ degree in education and a graduate of Stevenson University with a bachelors’ degree in Paralegal Studies. She has earned the nickname of “Google” from those who know her best because of her uncanny ability to (almost photographically) memorize random facts, numbers, etc. Prior to co-founding Rest Easy, Heather spent nearly a decade working in real estate law as a paralegal for some of Baltimore’s best real estate attorneys. Her legal experience resulted in a well-rounded knowledge of contracts and the settlement process before shifting her focus to the real estate industry where she worked as the Director of Operations for two high performing teams in Maryland. Her experience in these areas continues to prove invaluable in assisting agents to succeed in their businesses, and is only surpassed by her generosity of spirit and servants heart.
Passionate about family and friendships, to be on the receiving end of her generous heart is to truly know her. A natural teacher and mentor at heart, you can often find her spending her free time assisting newly licensed agents with their business goals. She feels such pride at Rest Easy’s client success, especially in what she lovingly calls “baby agents” (newly licesned agents) with watching them grow. She is the mother of two and loves to watch her children play sports or playing with her dog. She loves a cool afternoon spent at the Maryland Zoo, weekend visits to wineries, happy hour with good friends, and she’s a big fan of comedy shows and off-Broadway musicals.
Susan started her real estate career when she was in college working as an assistant to a local realtor. With over 20 years of experience in and around the real estate industry, she has held the title of every back-office support role working alongside both single agents and teams. Having been a single agent herself, she can personally attest to the ceiling one hits and the challenges that arise when attempting to maintain a high level of quality service alone. Knowing her skills and talents were best utilized in the support world, she returned in 2016 as the Director of Operations for a high-level team in Maryland. She has taught classes and facilitated masterminds focused on real estate operations, as well as, spoken at events on topics such as systems, leverage, and growing your business through others. People are drawn to her warmth, genuine enthusiasm, and desire to exceed expectations which are foundational pillars of Rest Easy.
Susan has many passions, the common thread being her caring, empathetic nature which makes for a strong desire to see others succeed. She brings this distinguishing attribute to everything that she does; whether it be her sense of responsibility to the agents she works with and the clients they serve, or her involvement in various organizations and causes including Autism awareness, the Baltimore Humane Society, Catonsville Women’s Giving Circle, Catonsville Tree Canopy Project, and more.
When she has hung up her real estate cape, you can either find her rocking a toolbelt and overalls hard at work on a new DYI home project, or in the garden covered in dirt. She feels most at home outdoors in nature and loves past times of hiking, camping, road trips, lazy days on the Eastern Shore, writing and playing music, and spending time with family, friends, and her fur-baby Chaco.
For over 18 years Melissa has had the honor of representing hundreds of buyers and sellers in real estate transactions. Her #1 priority is helping her clients which is a passion that has driven her throughout her career. Her abundance of real estate knowledge and experience not only comes from having been immersed in the industry from childhood as the daughter of one of Coldwell Banker’s most seasoned agents, but she is also an instructor for the MD Real Estate Pre-licensing Course, Brokers Course, as well as, Continuing Education Courses in Ethics, Contracts, Addenda, Disclosures, Fair Housing, and MREA supervision. Let’s just say she would beat us all at Maryland Real Estate Trivia, hands down!
She is a member of The Hayden Team of Coldwell Banker, a multi-million dollar, high unit volume sales team, and has her e-PRO, SFR, and MRP certifications. She has worked with all types of buyers, sellers and investors, and as an added bonus, she has firsthand knowledge of the process working with our Military community being married to a former Marine. Her approach to assisting buyers and sellers through their transactions is simple – guide them to success by giving them the time and attention they deserve coupled with the benefit of the real estate knowledge she’s acquired from her many years in the biz. She truly believes that “the process is as important as the purchase” and pours her all into the client experience so from start to finish, her clients can truly “Rest Easy”.
Melissa is married to an amazing guy and has 4 beautiful, amazing kids (and one fur baby named Shelby). She graduated from the University of MD, College Park with a bachelor’s in graphic arts. Her real estate knowledge can only be rivaled by her knowledge of sports. She is an avid Ravens and MD Terps fan, and loves lacrosse, field hockey and college basketball. She is fun-loving yet competitive, so we’ve learned to tread lightly if you’re rooting for the other team…haha! The only thing bigger than her love of sports and real estate is her generous heart. She is a giver by nature and giving back to the community is amongst her favorite pastimes, along with spending time with her family and traveling. When she isn’t home in Catonsville, MD you can find her “down the ocean” on the Eastern Shore soaking up the Maryland coast and sunshine – a true Marylander to the bone!
Calling all rockstars!
