Real Estate for First Responders, EMS, and Veterans
Fire, EMS, police, hospital staff, and veterans: you have spent your career taking care of everyone else. Let Melissa take care of your next move.
You served the community. Now let the community serve you.
This page is for the people who put on the uniform: firefighters, EMTs and paramedics, police officers, dispatchers, nurses, doctors, hospital staff, and the veterans who have served our country. Melissa A Johnson is a Realtor with Pemberton Realty, and she is also a retired firefighter/EMT with 15 years at the Mahtomedi Fire Department. She has lived the shift work, the holidays on duty, and the decompression after a tough call. When you sit across from her, she genuinely gets it.
She pairs that shared experience with over 20 years of real estate investing, including flips and rental properties, so the advice you get is practical, hands-on, and honest. Melissa is licensed in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, based in Mahtomedi, and serves the Twin Cities lake communities, the St. Croix River valley, and Minnesota and Eastern Wisconsin.
Whether you are buying your first home on a VA loan, selling before a transfer, relocating for a new posting, or navigating a simultaneous buy and sell, you get the steady, clear-headed care of a trained professional. Melissa is a retired firefighter/EMT with 15 years in fire and EMS and more than 20 years of real estate investing experience, licensed in both Minnesota and Wisconsin and dedicated to serving those who serve. That is the standard you deserve.
15
Years Fire / EMS
20+
Years Investing
2
States Licensed
MN / WI
40815413 / 98496-94
- Retired Mahtomedi firefighter/EMT, 15 years in fire and EMS
- Over 20 years of real estate investing, flips, and rentals
- Licensed in Minnesota (40815413) and Wisconsin (98496-94)
- Pemberton Realty, Mahtomedi, MN
- Serving Twin Cities lake communities, the St. Croix valley, and Spooner, WI
Understood from the inside
Plenty of agents thank first responders for their service. Melissa has 15 years of first-hand understanding to back it up.
She has been there
Fifteen years as a firefighter and EMT at the Mahtomedi Fire Department. Melissa knows shift work, knows what it means to put your life on hold for a call, and knows the difference between someone who understands and someone who just says they do.
She knows the market and the trades
Over 20 years of real estate investing, including flips and rental properties, taught Melissa what a home really needs. She can spot deferred maintenance, estimate renovation costs, and tell you honestly which upgrades pay off at resale.
She protects like family
Momma Bear energy is not a slogan. Melissa negotiates with the same fierce care she brought to every call, watches every deadline, and treats your move like it is her own family's move.
The communities you serve are the communities she knows
Melissa has lived and worked in this corner of Minnesota for years, and her life revolves around the St. Croix River valley. She knows the lake communities of White Bear Lake and Mahtomedi, the riverside towns along the St. Croix, and the north-woods country around Spooner, Wisconsin. When you work with her, you get local knowledge you cannot look up: which streets flood in the spring, which neighborhoods are quietest after a night shift, and where a starter home still makes sense.
Mahtomedi
White Bear Lake, Dellwood, Grant
St. Croix Valley
Stillwater, Hudson, Osceola, Somerset
Spooner, WI
North-woods living with real value
Anywhere in between
Licensed on both sides of the river
Built around your schedule, not the other way around
Shift work should never cost you a house. Melissa structures everything around when you are actually available.
Reach out on your schedule
Call, text, or book a consultation. Off-hours and weekends are fine, we work around your shift.
Tell us your story
Buying, selling, relocating, or both at once. Melissa listens first and maps out your options in plain language.
Get a plan built for you
A tailored plan for your timeline, budget, and benefits: VA loan guidance, relocation timing, or a sale strategy that protects your equity.
Close with backup behind you
From offer to keys, one steady advocate manages the process so you can keep serving the community.
To those who serve, the broker administration fee is on Melissa
For her fellow medical professionals, firefighters, EMS and police officers, and veterans, Melissa covers the broker administration fee on the transactions she handles. It is her way of giving back to the people who spend their careers taking care of everyone else.
She has been there. Melissa is a retired firefighter/EMT with 15 years at the Mahtomedi Fire Department and more than 20 years of real estate investing experience. She knows what serving costs, and how much a small relief can mean.
"From one who served to another: thank you for everything you do."
Share your story on a no-pressure call and ask about the fee coverage. She serves the Twin Cities lake communities, the St. Croix River valley, and the Spooner, Wisconsin area.
You have taken care of this community for years.
Let a retired firefighter/EMT take care of your next move. Book a free consultation and tell Melissa your story, no pressure, no obligation.
Melissa A Johnson · Realtor, Pemberton Realty · MN License 40815413 | WI License 98496-94 · Equal Housing Opportunity