David Rathgeber's
2012 Personal Note
I'm writing this at holiday time, a time for reflection and thankfulness. Our market is indeed healthy and balanced, but fewer homes are being sold. Consequently, 2012 was another slow year for YFiRE, especially the last half.
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 Susan and Davey would attend 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 different activities were carefully analyzed: franchises, marinas, a flirtation with inventing, and several real estate related ventures. The diversity of real estate seemed appealing, and from a logical start in residential sales and marketing, it would be a short step into home building for an engineer with a MBA. So I took the required courses and exam, gave notice to Mobil Oil, and joined Long & Foster in 1987.
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, and had established viability and expertise in the sales and marketing arena. But the real estate boom of the late 1980s had come to an end, and the 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 in finding 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 home selling book written decades ago and now on the Web at drrealestate.net/books.html
Although a book with local appeal is not the way to fame or fortune, it does help me efficiently transfer critical information to home sellers. The home selling book led to the home buying book (drrealestate.net/books), courses at Northern Virginia Community College, and many TV appearances and speaking engagements. In 2001 I launched my own company, Your Friend in Real Estate, LLC aka YFiRE.
Some of the greatest appreciation of my ideas has come from fellow agents. My third book AGENT'S GUIDE to Real Estate (drrealestate.net/books) was featured on the National Association of Realtors Web site. My articles on negotiating, market statistics, and more have been published in the national REALTOR Magazine and elsewhere.
I often get email from agents across the country telling me how much they enjoy my AGENT's GUIDE. A few years ago I got an email from a broker in Australia named David Rathgeber! A broker from South Africa also emailed kind comments.
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 fireworks, and 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. It was not a great fishing year in the Bay, but our new location in Solomon's Island, MD was a welcome change. The annual moonlite cruise was a big success and our Tall Ships cruise, which included some warships, was a blast! But Lady Katie is still for sale:
Click https://drrealestate.net/36-Express
THE FUTURE
My focus remains on fun, including the sale and marketing of homes for you and your friends. It is a joy to have you remember me when it's time to buy and sell again. And please think of your friend in real estate when you find someone who is buying or selling a home.
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. And many thanks to all who helped me celebrate my birthday in the spring. Let's get together in 2013 to fish, cruise, watch the races, have a lunch or dinner, or even buy and sell homes. Give me a call or an email!
Sincerely,
Your Friend in Real Estate
This Web site includes the Market Report, photos from Fun Events, and lots of new pages and useful links. Give a "click" on the buttons at the top left. Enjoy!
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YFiRE
Click HOME (upper left) for contact information.
Your Friend in Real Estate, LLC
Arlington, Virginia, USA
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