By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
It’s a familiar story among folks who have moved to the Moapa Valley after living in the city. They came here just for a visit and immediately felt at home. They quickly fell in love with this small, close-knit community and decided they just had to make it their hometown.
But in the case of two relatively new real estate professionals in Moapa Valley, the story doesn’t end there. Both Dawn McTaggart and Bridget Aguilar have taken very different paths in coming to Moapa Valley. But the two have ended up with similar goals. They are both hoping to assist others who have developed the same love of this community to find the small-town home that they want.
Dawn McTaggart has lived in Logandale for about three years.She is a Las Vegas native who went to Centennial High School. She attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she competed on the UNLV Rodeo team.
Her husband, Colin is also involved in the sport of rodeo. But he initially preferred to compete on the back of a bull. He qualified to ride bulls in the National Finals Rodeo for three straight years, 2007-2009. Nowadays, Colin works as a firefighter for the City of Henderson. But he and Dawn still compete together in team roping events in the region.
Eventually this horse-riding, rodeo couple felt that they needed more room to move. And space seemed to be becoming more and more restrictive in the northwestern Las Vegas area where they lived. They also have two young children for whom they wanted to provide a small-town upbringing.
With the help of real estate broker John Faulis of Las Vegas Dream Homes, the couple found their own dream home in Logandale. But Faulis also left a lasting impression on Dawn.
“He had such integrity and a strong moral compass,” Dawn said. “He did things right and really was interested in what we wanted. It sort of restored my faith in what I perceived of real estate in Las Vegas.”
Dawn said that she had always been interested in the real estate industry going back to her early years in college. So she had some conversations with Faulis and decided that she would like to join the LV Dream Homes team.
“I was looking for a career where the schedule could be more on my own terms,” she said. “And I was inspired with how (Faulis) built relationships with his clients and became friends. I saw an opportunity to work with him as a mentor and help people in Las Vegas, who are wanting a small-town experience like I did, to achieve that dream.”
Dawn quickly received the necessary training, became a licensed real estate agent and has been selling Moapa Valley homes to Las Vegas emigrants for the past two years.
“I feel lucky to be able to use contacts on both sides: in the city and in the valley here, to help my clients make the change,” Dawn said. “To me, it is not just about selling homes, but it is more about selling a small-town lifestyle that I love. So it just comes naturally.”
Dawn also has enjoyed working with the other local real estate agents in facilitating these ‘lifestyle changes.’
“It is not like it is in the city,” she said. “You are not just working together for one transaction, but we work together often. You have time to build trust and respect. Everyone out here works together well and helps each other. It’s just been a pleasure.”
Dawn can be contacted directly by calling 702-249-2299 or emailing dawn@lasvegasdreamhomes.com.
Bridget Aguilar originally hails from Long Beach, California. But she lived for a time in her husband’s hometown of Helena, Montana. It was there she got a taste for small-town living.
Her husband’s job brought the family to southern Nevada about three years ago when they settled in Henderson.
The family loves to go camping together and do trail rides with four-wheelers and dirt bikes. Eventually they ended up discovering the Logandale Trails area and, of course, came into contact with the Moapa Valley community. From there, they were hooked.
“We love small town living, so it wasn’t much of a stretch for us to want to move here,” Bridget said.
They contacted Clea Whitney of Clea’s Fabulous Moapa Valley Realty in Overton. Whitney helped them find a place in Logandale. They moved in last August.
“We have just loved it here!” Bridget said. “We were a bit hesitant at first because we knew that sometimes small towns can be a bit clique-y. But everyone has been so friendly and welcoming. And our kids are loving it here.”
The couple has three children: two sons, ages 15 and 10; and one daughter, age 8.
Bridget said that the real estate shopping experience provided by Whitney was eye-opening for her. She had been studying to go into the nursing field. But she had come to realize that nursing would be a difficult job for a mom of three kids still in school.
“I had always thought about real estate because of the relative freedom of your work schedule,” she said. “But as we were working with Clea, I had a chance to chat with her about the real estate business too. She was very encouraging and gave me confidence to give it a try.”
Bridget completed her training and passed her exam in October. Since then she has been gaining experience while receiving mentoring from Whitney. She said she has found significant success.
“Clea is so good at what she does and I have a lot of trust in her as a mentor,” Bridget said. “I wouldn’t have done it if not for her support and help.”
Bridget can be reached by calling 702-343-2377 or by emailing bridget.snvh@gmail.com.
