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Personal and Professional Ethics
Having a roof over our heads, a place to call our own, that place we call "home", what could be more important? When are we more vulnerable than when we are buying and selling the places we live? When is more money "on the line"?
I, and everyone on my team, share the same commitment and mission: ". to help our clients safely and successfully buy and sell residential real estate property while building mutually beneficial, life long relationships and always acting from our guiding principle - '.to treat other people the way we like to be treated while delivering superior service.'" Everything we do for you is evaluated with two simple tests: "Is what we're doing the way we would like to be treated?", and "Is what we're doing going to deliver superior results?" In order for us to proceed, the answer to both questions must always be "Yes".
I Give Back
I live in Montgomery County and work in Montgomery and Frederick County. I support my community by tithing my time to various groups in various ways, my talents by donating my services as a pianist once monthly to my place of worship, and my treasure by contributing 4% of my commission on any completed transaction split 50/50 to a charity of my choice, and as importantly, to a charity selected by my client should they wish me to do so. Now that my Laborador Retriever, Dessert, has matured (Labs take a good while to "settle down."), I'm working with him towards certification of us as a "therapy team". See http://www.nctdinc.org/ for details on the Delta Society and "Pet Partners."
How I Came to Real Estate
I come to real estate after working as a classical musician from my late teens through my twenties and in various aspects of computer software development for twenty years thereafter. Originally trained at Boston University and Yale School of Music as a classical pianist, I spent most of my twenties working as a staff accompanist and music instructor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where I performed extensively as an accompanist and soloist. In 1980, economic realities intruded on my arts career, and I ventured into the field of computer application programming. I accepted an offer to join Ross Perot's EDS Systems Engineer Development Program, and over the next 19 years, I worked full time in computers as a developer, manager, marketer and methodologist. I am one of a handful of experts, worldwide, certified to teach Alistair Cockburn's "Writing Effective Use Cases" (cockburnandassociates.com), as a means for developing application requirements, and I still, on occasion, teach that course when requested, and I have the time to do it. Taking stock of my life after the events of September 11, 2001, I decided it was time to make yet another change, one that would allow me to be home more with my family, work more directly with people, where my entrepreneurial talents could flourish, so I left the computer career behind and started working in real estate.
Other Life Interests
Now, when I'm not helping people safely and successfully buy and sell residential real estate, I spend time with my wife, our son Arthur, and Dessert. I still play the piano, alone and with other musicians. A number of the young musicians I've been coaching and accompanying have won scholarships to top conservatories, universities and music festivals. I'm a life-long walker, and I particularly enjoy riding my bicycle on the C&O Canal tow path.
The Joy of Working in Real Estate
I thoroughly enjoy working in real estate, because it allows me to work with people, something I missed when I was working in the computer business, and I get to see a lot of houses, something I've enjoyed since I was a kid. Knowing technology from the inside out the way I do benefits my clients with truly superior service by enabling me to work better, faster and smarter than the competition. I strongly prefer working with people as a consultant rather than as a salesperson, and that "consulting" or "consultative" approach is natural to me. I really listen to what my clients tell me. It's a good life. It works for me, and working with me has worked for my clients. I look forward to it working for you too. |
