insideABODE

Part 5 of 5 of our conversation with Jeremy "Dash" Dashiell, who bought his home through Habitat for Humanity. The full episode is out now on the insideABODE feed.

If you think owning a home isn't for you, Jeremy "Dash" Dashiell has a question: is it not for you, or not for you right now? Dash on the first thing he did with his keys (it involved a printer), why his story took four or five years and not one, the friend whose parents applied to Habitat for Humanity after seeing his post, and his advice for anyone in Pierce County who's where he was: think future, not right now. And Dave on why everyone's timeline is different, so you start from wherever you're starting from.

📲 FOLLOW & CONNECT:

📸 Follow us on Instagram → @windermereabode
🌐 Visit us online → windermereabode.com
😍 Go crush on a house → abodecrush.com
🏠 Read more on fair housing → tacomafairhousing.com
🎙️ Listen to the insideABODE Podcast on all podcast streaming platforms

Part 4 of 5 of our conversation with Jeremy "Dash" Dashiell, who bought his home through Habitat for Humanity. The full episode is out now on the insideABODE feed.

Was there a point where it felt like it wasn't going to happen? For Dash, it was April. He'd paid his $1,000 upfront, his lease was ending, and he'd already told his kids they were moving. Then his down payment assistance through the City of Lakewood hadn't come through, so his April 13 closing date came and went. Staff turned over, the updates stopped changing, and he went numb to it. A July 6 funding date fell through too. Then the money hit, everything moved at once (he was sending documents from his backpack on a walk at Wapato), and on July 27 he got his keys. Plus the landlord, a Realtor himself, who told him not to worry about the timeline.

📲 FOLLOW & CONNECT:

📸 Follow us on Instagram → @windermereabode
🌐 Visit us online → windermereabode.com
😍 Go crush on a house → abodecrush.com
🏠 Read more on fair housing → tacomafairhousing.com
🎙️ Listen to the insideABODE Podcast on all podcast streaming platforms

From the insideABODE archive: Windermere Abode agent Heidi Hurst on a listing that almost fell apart (recorded October 2025).

A pre-listing inspection turned up a foundation issue the week before the home went live. Heidi walks through what came next: bringing in a structural engineer and a foundation company, lining up the fix with reports and videos, and giving that whole package to every interested buyer. The first buyer still walked after their own expert panicked them. Twenty days later the home was back under contract at full price, with the seller paying some closing costs toward the repair. Her lesson: tell the emotional story, but lead with the logic.

📲 FOLLOW & CONNECT:

📸 Follow us on Instagram → @windermereabode
🌐 Visit us online → windermereabode.com
😍 Go crush on a house → abodecrush.com
🏠 Read more on fair housing → tacomafairhousing.com
🎙️ Listen to the insideABODE Podcast on all podcast streaming platforms

Part 3 of 5 of our conversation with Jeremy "Dash" Dashiell, who bought his home through Habitat for Humanity. The full episode is out now on the insideABODE feed.

The day after his sweat-equity orientation, Dash was asked if he wanted to go look at a house. He thought it was just part of the process. Then he was asked if he liked it, and he looked at his son. Dash on the 100 hours his program required, about 56 on the construction site and the rest in the Habitat store. He took every Friday off work for two months to get it done, worked in the rain, and found out it's really preparation for owning a home: when something breaks, you know how to fix it. Plus why the crew treated him like part of the team instead of a volunteer.

📲 FOLLOW & CONNECT:

📸 Follow us on Instagram → @windermereabode
🌐 Visit us online → windermereabode.com
😍 Go crush on a house → abodecrush.com
🏠 Read more on fair housing → tacomafairhousing.com
🎙️ Listen to the insideABODE Podcast on all podcast streaming platforms

Host Dave Jones sits down with his friend Jeremy "Dash" Dashiell: Tacoma community counselor, founder of the Protected Energy clothing brand, and, as of this summer, a homeowner through Habitat for Humanity.

With rates where they are and prices up for years, a lot of people in Pierce County are getting priced out of owning a home. Dash heard "no" too. The first time he tried the Habitat program, his credit and income verification weren't where they needed to be. So he spent the next three to four years building his credit until he knew the answer would be yes.

Then the real work started. Dash walks through the whole process: orientation and the homebuyer course, the paperwork that decides whether you fit the income range, why he kept his car loan open but paid down his credit cards, proving the income from his clothing business, and a board review that stalled over the holidays. He was accepted in late January. He put in 100 hours of sweat equity, half on the construction site and the rest in the Habitat store, and was shown a house the day after orientation without knowing it was his.

Then the closing date slid. Down payment assistance through the City of Lakewood took months. April 13 came and went with his lease running out and his kids already told they were moving. A July date fell through too. When the funding finally hit, everything moved at once (he was sending documents from his backpack on a walk at Wapato), and he got his keys on July 27.

This isn't a story about it being easy. It took almost a year in the program and years of prep before that, and as Dave says, everyone's timeline is different. But it shows it can be done, and Dash's advice for anyone who thinks owning isn't for them is worth hearing: think future, not right now.

For renters, first-time buyers, anyone curious about Habitat for Humanity, and the people who work in housing in Pierce County every day.

MEET THE GUEST

Jeremy "Dash" Dashiell, founder of Protected Energy
📸 Instagram → @protectedenergy20
👤 Facebook → Jeremy Dashiell

🏠 Learn about Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity → https://www.habitat.org/us-wa/tacoma/tacomapierce-county-hfh

#InsideAbode #HabitatForHumanity #FirstTimeHomeBuyer #DownPaymentAssistance #SweatEquity #PierceCounty #Tacoma #Lakewood #WindermereAbode #RealEstatePodcast #PNW

📲 FOLLOW & CONNECT:

📸 Follow us on Instagram → @windermereabode
🌐 Visit us online → windermereabode.com
😍 Go crush on a house → abodecrush.com
🏠 Read more on fair housing → tacomafairhousing.com
🎙️ Listen to the insideABODE Podcast on all podcast streaming platforms

From the insideABODE archive: Lender Gio Cervantes on the first step toward buying a home (recorded November 2025).

What really keeps people from talking to a lender? Fear of hearing no. Gio explains why a no with a reason is actually a plan (fix the credit, work on debt-to-income, come back in three or six months), why it's better to know your baseline than to guess, and why the credit moves you think will help sometimes don't. His advice: talk to a lender at least a year before you want to buy. He also shares how he built his own credit from scratch.

📲 FOLLOW & CONNECT:

📸 Follow us on Instagram → @windermereabode
🌐 Visit us online → windermereabode.com
😍 Go crush on a house → abodecrush.com
🏠 Read more on fair housing → tacomafairhousing.com
🎙️ Listen to the insideABODE Podcast on all podcast streaming platforms

Part 2 of 5 of our conversation with Jeremy "Dash" Dashiell, who bought his home through Habitat for Humanity. The full episode is out now on the insideABODE feed.

What actually happens between "I want to apply" and "you're accepted"? Dash walks through it: a night class at his job, orientation and a list of documents, and the homebuyer course he'd already finished from his first try. Then came the paperwork that decides whether you fit the income range. He was told to keep his nearly paid-off car loan open and pay down his credit cards instead ("think of the bigger picture"). His clothing-business income needed extra verification. The board reviews applications once a month, and his file landed the day before Thanksgiving, right into the holiday pause. He didn't hear yes until the last week of January.

📲 FOLLOW & CONNECT:

📸 Follow us on Instagram → @windermereabode
🌐 Visit us online → windermereabode.com
😍 Go crush on a house → abodecrush.com
🏠 Read more on fair housing → tacomafairhousing.com
🎙️ Listen to the insideABODE Podcast on all podcast streaming platforms

From the insideABODE archive: Windermere Abode agent Jenny Wetzel on what sells a home besides the price (recorded January 2026).

Price still comes first. Overprice it and, as Jenny puts it, you're dead in the water. From there she covers why a unique home needs an agent who can sell its features, how to present a quirky feature to a buyer who isn't sure, and why offering a credit instead of fixing something like carpet or a roof can shrink your buyer pool. Buyers without extra cash can't take on the work, and visible deferred maintenance makes them scrutinize everything else in the house.

📲 FOLLOW & CONNECT:

📸 Follow us on Instagram → @windermereabode
🌐 Visit us online → windermereabode.com
😍 Go crush on a house → abodecrush.com
🏠 Read more on fair housing → tacomafairhousing.com
🎙️ Listen to the insideABODE Podcast on all podcast streaming platforms