About:
Background I am originally from the Philadelphia area and have lived in New York, California, Texas and finally arrived here in the DC area in 1987. I have been a Federal employee for 31 years and have been involved in real estate, in one form or another, for over 30 years, primarily buying, selling and rehab of investment properties. Six years ago I decided to put my personal real estate experience to work for me and others and got my real estate license in both Maryland and DC. I have been actively working with clients since then to help them buy and sell their homes. My work with clients and as a Federal employee has taken me to all parts of Maryland and the District. As such I have become very familiar with neighborhoods from the U Street corridor up through Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Rockville, and up into the Frederick and Baltimore areas. As a Selling Agent As the Selling Agent on a property, I work with clients to understand their goals and then develop a plan for the sale of their house to help them achieve that goal. I go through each room with the homeowner to point out opportunities to improve staging. Buyers like to be able to picture themselves in the home, so it is essential that a seller de-personalize, as much as possible, by removing items like family pictures etc. I photograph the properties best features and some of the surrounding amenities (e.g., parks, shopping, transportation etc) to use in advertising. Approximately 93% of today’s buyers find the property they ultimately purchase through an on-line advertisement. For this reason I am very tied into the on-line marketing experience. Not only do I advertise on the usual sites (MRIS, Truila, etc) but we are also on Craigslist, You Tube and similar sites. As an extra for my clients I have expanded my advertising to include mp4 videos of the property, which I post online. I have found this to be just one more way to get the property in front of potential buyers. While each client has different needs, and sales strategies vary depending on goals, I believe that the more people that see a house, the more likely we are to find the buyer who will submit an acceptable offer. To market a property I do two open houses the first two Sunday’s after it goes on the market. I keep a close watch on the number of people who tour the property and the number of viewings that we have in the first couple of weeks. I work with agents who have toured the property to get feedback from their clients. I also hold a brokers open house to increase the number of potential buyers. As all of this information becomes available I meet with my clients to determine if the current marketing strategy is working or if we need to make changes. . As a Buyers Agent Buying a home is one of the biggest investments most people will make in their life. It is also one of the scariest transactions most people go through. Is this the right house? Can I afford it? Should I buy now or wait? As a Buyers Agent, I do my best to answer these and other questions for my clients. I work with my clients to understand who they are, their current needs and where they see themselves in the future. I research properties to find homes that have the potential to meet their needs and then, using a very critical eye, tell my clients how I feel about a property. I would much rather convince a client that a property is not right for them then to let the client move forward with a purchase only to find the flaws later. I want my clients to be fully aware of the pros and cons of a property. Once we find the right home I analyze comparables and the local market to determine the best starting offer for a property. With a contract in hand I work closely with the selling agent to negotiate the best price and terms possible for my clients. Throughout the entire process I work with my clients to walk them through every step in the process of buying and selling. The most important thing for me is to ensure that my clients are happy with their new home.