David Rathgeber's

2014 Personal Note

I'm writing this at holiday time, a time for reflection and thankfulness. 2014 was a bit slow for Your Friend in Real Estate. Maybe all my past clients are very happy in their current homes, but folks do keep moving away. One would think that I should relax and enjoy the slack time. However, I might have to start working with strangers. Yikes! But many folks do remember me, and some now have children who are buying homes. In any event, I am still smiling and paying cash at the Giant.

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 in Cape May, NJ. Then I prepared a spreadsheet to plot my future course. Over a dozen possibilities 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 an 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 the first 3 years I sold more homes than the average agent does in 20 years 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 in 1993 with the updated 5th edition now on the Web at drrealestate.net/books.

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, courses at NoVa 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 novel approach has come from fellow agents. My third book Agent's Guide to Real Estate was featured on the National Association of Realtors Web site. My articles on negotiating, market statistics, and many 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. Is the World Wide Web amazing?

THE RECENT PAST
In 2009 we moved to a large condo in Arlington, VA with views of the national fireworks; the River and the Capitol; the monuments; and the Marine Corps Marathon. Dorothy's commute is short and she still enjoys her job as Director of Pepco's tax department.

Son Davey is stuck in Athens, GA teaching at UGA by day and performing by night. In 2013 daughter Susan moved back to NJ and granddaughter Katie moved to Naples, FL.

Many of you have shared days on the Lady Katie in the Chesapeake Bay and in the Gulf Stream off Hatteras, but the Web site I produced to sell her worked in 2013 and she has a new home in Montauk, NY. She was a great boat and we enjoyed 14 glorious years. For all the photos, click here.

As webmaster, I have authored this site drrealestate.net and several others. I just learn the code to do whatever suits me. In 2013, I upgraded to the latest HTML5 with CSS. Huh? In 2014 I improved the "look" in modern browsers and on smart phones. Take a tour and you will be sure to find something of interest. Start with "Fun Events" or "Factoids" on the left. There is also a site for first-time home buyers, a mobile friendly site, and one just for real estate investors. For a change of pace, you might enjoy the lifetime collection of my grandfather's Christmas poems, which has old photos such as the family home in 1895.

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. Oh yes, notice the QR code on the sign!

Here's hoping that my calendar is on your fridge. Special thanks to those who have mentioned my name or have helped me meet new folks on the Bay, at the Races, and at your social events. A friend of yours is always a friend of mine. Let's get together in 2015 to fish, enjoy the races, have lunch or dinner, or even buy and sell homes. Give me a call or send an email!

Sincerely,
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Your Friend in Real Estate
Serving you and your friends for 28 years
703 434 0773