
Meet the Team

Valerie Swihart
Valerie Swihart is the founder and managing real estate broker on site. Valerie graduated from the University of California at Riverside in 2001 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration. Her first significant job after college was working for the Los Angeles County Assessor’s office as a Real Estate Appraiser. Valerie was a Certified Property Tax Appraiser in California as well as a Licensed Fee Appraiser for Residential property. Due to the high volume of appraisals processed by the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office she gained a lot of experience in the nearly five years she worked there. In 2011, Valerie became interested in acquiring rental homes in a market that was less competitive than Los Angeles. Lower entry cost and lower risk. After being referred to an agent in Indiana back in 2011, she flew to South Bend, Indiana to investigate the opportunity, and next to her on that flight was her future husband! Valerie started in Michiana, as an out-of-state investor, and soon transitioned into the Real Estate and Property Management professions to offer the services she was looking for so early on. She became a realtor and managing broker in 2014 and has continued to grow the company ever since.
Tony Swihart – Director
Tony Swihart joined our team full time in 2023, he’s been in the background and helped with supporting projects over the past 10 years. However, came on full time to oversee our maintenance team and renovation crew. He has over 30 years of experience working in various industries as a general manager, vice president of operations and sales. His extensive knowledge in supply chain management, project management and business operations have been instrumental in stepping into this role. Additionally, he has a background in maintenance and construction and enjoys the daily challenges and chaos in the renovation and upkeep of older homes. Tony coordinates our vendors, in house maintenance team, tenants and more to insure all work orders, turnovers and renovations are done. Previously he worked for Patrick Industries as a vice president/group leader and before that he worked as the vice president of Troyer Foods in Goshen, IN.
Scott Wendland
Scott became our Associate Broker in 2020 and is looking forward to continuing to expand his client base in real estate. He is originally from South Dakota and obtained his bachelor’s degree in Bible & Pastoral Studies from the Trinity Bible College in North Dakota. He worked for many years as a minister, pastor and youth pastor. After leaving the ministry he utilized his customer service and people skills in various positions and eventually ended up as a contractor sales specialist at Lowes. He currently works in property management for our sister company, Marquee Property Management, in addition to his work as a Realtor. Scott has a wide variety of professional experience, making him very skilled at working with both investors and homeowners alike.
Sara Raabe
Sara Raabe is our Office Manager, she joined our team in 2022. Sara handles data entry, receipt processing, vendor invoices, vendor orders and more. Sara also assists with the front office to help answer phones, respond to tenants, process applications, and process work orders. She has extensive customer experience in client support and data and report processing. Previously, she worked for a local agency for 20+ years as a client support specialist.

Emily Casanova – Administrative Assistant
Emily Casanova joined our team in 2024. She handles all incoming phone calls, applicant inquiries, answering phones, responding to messages and talking with any walk-ins to our office. Emily also sends out leases and lease renewals as well as payment processing. She works with the utility providers to schedule utility turn ons and offs. Her high attention to detail makes her an invaluable part of our team. Emily has a background in customer service, administration, producing and content creation. Emily has a bachelor’s of science in broadcast journalism from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.