David Rathgeber's
2011 Personal Note
I'm writing this at holiday time, a time for reflection and thankfulness. 2011 was another slow year, especially the last half, but I am still getting more than my share. Our market is indeed healthy and balanced, but fewer homes are being sold. With a little help from you, 2012 will be even better.
HISTORY
It was 1985 when I decided to end a rewarding career in industry to do my own thing. I had a secure management position but wanted greater control over the future. How can one trade in a 22-year engineering and management career for the great unknown? I did have resources to ensure that the family could eat, live in a home, and that Neen and Davey (now with 2 degrees each) would go to college. I also believed that I had whatever was needed to meet a new challenge and again be a winner. →
With my decision made, off I charged to sell my sport fishing boat, the Undecided II that was berthed in Cape May. Then I prepared a spreadsheet to plot my future course. Over a dozen diverse activities were carefully analyzed: franchises, marinas, a flirtation with inventing, and several real estate related activities. The diversity of real estate seemed appealing, and a logical entry point seemed to be residential sales and marketing, from which it would be a short step into home building for an engineer with a MBA. So I took the required courses and exam, interviewed with several firms, and gave notice to Mobil Oil.
Within days, Mobil announced the transfer of its New York headquarters to Fairfax. (Insider trading?) In my first 3 years I sold more homes than the average agent does in 20. Although I had established viability and expertise in the sales and marketing arena, the real estate boom of the late 1980s had come to an end. The new slow market of the early 1990s was not the time for my home building venture.
Meanwhile, I had developed my own ideas about real estate and about how an agent could provide real value. As new ideas emerged, new questions arose. My technical background was valuable in helping develop my ideas and find answers to my questions. My methods and message began diverging from what everybody knows. To make a long story a bit shorter, this led to my first book.
A book with local appeal is not the way to fame or fortune, but it helped me efficiently transfer my message to home sellers. The home selling book led to the home buying book, my courses at Northern Virginia Community College, plus many TV appearances and speaking engagements. In 2001 I started my own company, Your Friend in Real Estate, LLC (YFiRE).
My third book AGENT'S GUIDE to Real Estate was featured on the National Association of Realtors Web site. I often get email from agents across the country telling me how much they enjoy the AGENT's GUIDE. I got an email from a broker in Australia named David Rathgeber! An agent from South Africa also emailed kind comments. My articles on negotiating, market statistics, and more have been published in the national REALTOR Magazine, in several state and local Realtor magazines.
THE RECENT PAST
In 2009 we moved to a large condo in Crystal City (Arlington, VA) with great views of the Potomac River, DC and their July 4 fireworks, and even the Marine Corps Marathon. Dorothy's commute is now less than 20 minutes and she still enjoys her job as head of Pepco's tax department. John McCain is our neighbor!
We enjoy many days on the Chesapeake Bay, cruising and fishing with friends on the Lady Katie. In addition, we took Lady Katie to the Outer Banks again in 2011. It was not a great fishing year, neither in the Gulf Stream off the North Carolina coast nor in the Chesapeake Bay. So Lady Katie will move 20 miles south to Solomon's Island for 2012. The annual moonlite cruise was a big success. By the way, Lady Katie is still for sale: Click https://drrealestate.net/36-Express
THE FUTURE
In 2011 we moved our vacation home from Chesapeake Beach to Palm Beach. The new home backs up to the famous Bear Trap on the PGA National Championship Golf Course. We do not golf, but it is a nice view. We will rent the home out to snowbirds for the winter months and spend a few weeks there during the year.
My focus remains on fun, including the sale and marketing of homes for my friends and their friends. It is a joy to have you remember me when it's time to buy and sell again. It's likely that in the next few months, you will know someone who is buying or selling a home. Please think of your friend in real estate and keep in touch. Special thanks to those of you who have helped me meet new folks on the Lady Katie, at the Middleburg Races, and at your social events.
Let's get together in 2012 to fish, cruise, watch the races, have dinner, or even buy and sell homes. Give me a call or an email!
With very best fishes,
Your Friend in Real Estate
Serving you and your friends since 1987
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AFiRE — Florida-licensed real estate broker
A Friend in Real Estate, LLC
YFiRE — Virginia-licensed real estate broker
Your Friend in Real Estate, LLC
* Copyright © David Rathgeber *
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