I joined Long & Foster Real Estate in July, 2002 because it is the largest real estate firm in the Washington D.C. area. Long & Foster Real Estate currently has over 225 offices and 13,600 sales associates throughout the mid-Atlantic region. I am proud to be part of such a company. I am working hard to become "YOUR Maryland Internet Realtor" and use the tools that are available to get results for my customers and clients. As a Realtor who is affiliated with Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc, I can provide you with general brokerage, property management, new home construction, relocation, and resort rental services. If you want to sell a home, buy a home, rent a home, or purchase investment and income-producing properties, I can help you, so Contact Me today! Just to give you an idea of the work that I do, the chart below shows the sources of my business during my affiliation with Long & Foster.
As you can see, most (over 40%) of the people who I help buy or sell real estate find me through this web site. Another 22% are people who have been referred to me, mostly by OTHER REALTORS through this web site. They contacted me because they had clients who needed a Realtor in Southern Maryland. A total of 63.1% of the real estate transactions that I have been involved in have been helping buyers purchase a home (many of them, their first home!). The other 36.9% were sellers of homes and land. There is a little more to this part, but I'm providing some links so that you can jump to the parts that you're interested in:
At Long & Foster Real Estate, we have a simple goal. That is to be the best provider of real estate services in our business. To that end, I am ready to list your property for sale or help you find the home of your dreams. You can read about the way I will work for you.
I joined Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. on July 31, 2002 as a "dual career" agent while I was still working for the Federal Government. On March 3, 2003, after 25-1/2 years in my Government position, I was fortunate enough to be able to retire at a very young age and began a full-time Real Estate practice.
A few years ago, I built a new home ... a modular home ... in the Town of Indian Head. It was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had, thanks to the cooperation of the Realtor I used and the builder who handled the construction. As exhilerating, exhausting and sometimes frustrating as it was, my own experiences building that house (and selling my previous home) helped me decide to put the knowledge I gained to good use helping others accomplish their real estate goals. I worked with a total of four different Realtors during that transaction ... and 3 of them turned out to be people that I would NOT want to work with again (or recommend to anyone else)! After my house was completed, I did some work for the Custom Home Builder. He encouraged me to become a Real Estate Agent. When I did decide to become a Realtor, I remembered the way I was treated by those so-called "heavy-hitters" that I sought out and vowed that I would never become the type of Realtor who was more interested in earning a quick commission than providing good service to my customers and clients.
Continuing Education to Improve Service to You Since I began my affiliation with Long & Foster Real Estate, I have taken many continuing education (CE) classes. A certain amount of CE credits are required by the Maryland Real Estate Commission during every licensing period. Even if they weren't required, they are very useful to help me to better serve YOU. Here is a list of the classes I have successfully completed:
I'm always looking for new opportunities to learn more about this business ... sometimes my clients force me into areas that I know little about, so it becomes a learning process for both of us. Some of those areas have been Zoning, Perc Tests, Wells and Septic Systems, Land Subdivision, Forest Conservation Areas, Development in the Critical Areas, Wetlands, Building Permits, School Seat Allocations, and Infrastructure.
For most people, though, the easiest way of owning a home is to buy a "resale" -- a home that someone else is living in and decides to sell. These come in all shapes, sizes, and ages ... everything from condominiums to townhouses to single-family homes to mansions. I've seen houses that are 2 years old, houses that are 82 years old, houses that sit on 10 or more acres of land and towhouses that have very, very small yards. I've seen homes that sell for $100,000 and homes that sell for $1,500,000. No one particular home is better than any other ... and the only thing that really matters is what YOU think about it. I can help you find what's right for you. I urge you to read my "Guide to Buying a Home," so that you will have some advance knowledge of how the process works from start to finish. If you want to buy a brand new home in a "New Home Development," I have compiled information put out by the builders to get you started. Contact me so that I can work for you as your "Buyer's Agent."
If you have a home that you want to sell, I can do that for you, too. This process would start when we meet to sign the listing agreement. This is definitely my other favorite real estate service. That's because when someone decides to sell their home, it is usually for a very specific reason ... they want to move. It may be that they want to take a new job, they want to move into a bigger home, they want to move into a smaller home, or they want to relocate for retirement. It is that motivation that gets them to make the decision to sell their home. Their future is changing and they don't want anything to stand in the way of those plans! It's a great feeling when you can help someone attain their goals.
My "Guide to Selling Your Home" will provide you with information on the process of selling, from start to finish, so that you will know what to expect. It will explain what you can expect to happen once you decide that you want to sell your home.
There are always properties that do not sell for one reason or another. I spend a great deal of time reviewing listings that have not been successful. I enjoy working with a seller who tried to sell a home but, for whatever reason, wasn't able to accomplish it at the time. There are many little things that can stand in the way of a successful listing. I will work with you to figure out what went wrong. As an example, my listing on Cobb Island was one of those "Hard to Sell Homes." There's quite a story there ... but let's just say that I was able to accomplish what three Realtors before me failed to do! If you have listed your property for sale unsuccessfully or changed your mind, but are still motivated to sell, Contact Me so we can discuss your needs. The best part for me is to find a buyer for that property. There are many, many reasons why a home doesn't sell ... even in the best market. The challenge is to find those reasons and adjust the marketing strategy to compensate for them.
My "Guide to Selling Your Home" will provide you with information on the process of selling, from start to finish, so that you will know what to expect. It will explain what you can expect to happen once you decide that you want to sell your home.
If I were going to pick one of my favorite types of real estate transactions, it probably would be helping people with the building process. It's very tricky, though. You first must find land to build on. That is usually the hardest part, for a variety of reasons that are much too detailed to go into here. Once you acquire the land, you then must arrange the financing, find a builder to construct the house, and then watch every step of the process to make sure you get what you want.
Dealing directly with builders without having a "Buyer's Agent" to watch your back can cause potential home buyers some problems that aren't necessarily easy to solve. Builders are businesses, after all, and are going to watch out for their bottom line. It would ALWAYS be my recommendation that a potential home buyer NOT visit a Home Builder site without a licensed Real Estate Agent at their side. It's unlikely, though, that they can "customize" the house to their exact specifications. I developed a "Guide to Building a Modular Home," that walks you through that process, based on my own experiences building my house. The process here is very similar to building a "stick-built" home. I'm not advocating one type of construction over the other. Each has its advantages, and I can recommend good builders, regardless of the type of construction. There is also a wealth of information on "New Home Developments" that is designed to help people who want to buy a new home that is under construction by one of the major home builders that work in this area.
I also usually enjoy working with people who, for whatever reason, want to (or need to) rent a house. Many Realtors in today's market don't want to be bothered with rental properties ... and I have come to realize the reason for this. Many people who approach Realtors about renting a home do so because they can't buy a home due to credit issues. Unfortunately, if you have credit problems, that is going to prevent me from helping you to rent a property that is listed by real estate companies. In a buyer's market like we have right now, there are so few homes available that the owners can be incredibly particular who they rent their properties to. Unless you have ALMOST PERFECT CREDIT, they won't even consider you. It's a service issue, though. People who want to (or need to) rent still need the services of an experienced Realtor in some cases, and I'll be happy to work with you on finding what you need. There are limits, though, to what I (or any Realtor can do to help you with rentals). I'm going to ask you to contact the loan officer that I work with to get your credit report verified to determine whether or not I can help you. If there are credit problems involved, we may not be able to find anything that will work. In this market, most owners are incredibly particular and are looking for potential tenants with "near-perfect" credit. You can read more in my Guide to Rental Properties. It outlines the circumstances under which I can PROBABLY help you, as well as more information about the circumstances under which it may be almost impossible.
To give you an overview of the home buying process, I urge you to read my "Guide to Buying a Home." It will give you the basic information that you need to get started. Also, the information that I am compiling on "New Home Developments" is designed to help people who want to buy a new home that is under construction by one of the major home builders that work in this area. I have also found that there is a lot of interest in building Modular Homes, so I developed a "Guide to Building a Modular Home," that walks you through the process, based on my own experiences building my house. I have also started working on a "Guide to Buying Land" that will explain some of the difficult decisions that you will need to consider when trying to buy land to build a home on. In addition, my "Guide to Selling Your Home" will provide you with information on the process of selling, from start to finish, so that you will know what to expect. It will explain what you can expect to happen once you decide that you want to sell your home. Finally, I have written a guide to Rental Properties and am continuing to develop a guide about Investing in Real Estate. Whether you review this material or not, I'm available to answer any questions that you may have about building, buying, selling or renting a home. There is NEVER any cost or obligation to you if you want to discuss your real estate needs with me. I'll be glad to give you any information that I can. It doesn't hurt to ask!
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