I got my real estate license in early 1994 and upon college graduation in May of that year I literally started the very next day. There were a few reasons that I decided to become a Realtor:
My family has had a real estate business since 1974. It’s actually named after me and I literally grew up in the real estate industry!I can’t imagine working a “9-5” job with a rigid schedule. I really enjoy m
eeting the flexibility that comes with being a Realtor. I love meeting new people and building relationships with them! There is something new every single day in this business. My favorite part of being a Realtor is definitely helping people! At closing, after all the kinks have been worked out, there’s no greater thrill than knowing I got to play a role in people’s huge life-changing decisions. My least favorite part of being a Realtor is the time that it takes away from family time. The flip side of the flexibility that this career offers is that I’m often working when other people aren’t. Evenings and weekends are the bread and butter of our business. This means that I don’t always get to be home when I want to be. This is a really really hard question to answer! I truly enjoy working with sellers, buyers, young people, relocation buyers/sellers and more! It’s the variety that keeps things fresh. I’d have to say my favorite clients though are the ones, whether buyers or sellers, who didn’t think they’d be able to buy or sell. Helping these types of clients figure out creative ways to buy a new home or sell theirs while staying in their comfort zones is incredibly rewarding for me. I feel like I’m part of something that really matters. When I’m not working I have two great passions- spending time with my family and coaching baseball. It may sound like a cliche to say “spending time with family” but for me (and many others too) it’s really true. Being a Realtor takes a lot of evenings and weekends away from family. So when I do get to be home it’s even more fun! We have a motorhome and packing that up and going camping or on a trip is awesome! I also help coach the local American Legion baseball team. I’ve been in love with baseball since I can remember. I coach with good friends and have been doing it for years now. This year my son is joining the coaching staff so that will make it even more special! The hardest part about being self employed is being my own boss. We all have days when we just “don’t feel like it”. Well, when you have a boss, you need to get “it” done whether you feel like it or not! Some days I wish I had a boss telling me to get “it” done so I’m not falling behind or letting down the people I’m working with. I have a huge family. My wife Sheila and I are so blessed! We have five, yes five, children. I’ve got a 21 year old son in college, a 17 year old daughter, a 14 year old step daughter and 7 year old identical twin daughters. Rounding out the picture are two crazy chocolate labs, Bailey and Lexi. A few facts about me:
I can’t stand to let people down. I have a really thin skin about this. We all make mistakes but I have a really hard time upsetting people, work related or otherwise. I’m a total home body. When I’m not working I just want to be home hanging out with the family, not running around. I play guitar with my oldest daughter. I’m not nearly as good as she is but it’s something that just the two of us do together and it’s time that I cherish. I really like beer! Ok, not too much beer but we are lucky in the Lehigh Valley to have several great local breweries to check out. I love the winter time. I have two snowmobiles Getting to experience the beautiful countryside around where I live from the perspective of a hilltop overlooking the Blue Mountain is breathtaking. This can’t be seen from the road or a car. I’ve lived in the Lehigh Valley my entire life. I actually never even considered moving away or living anywhere else. The real estate market is typically pretty stable here and being a history buff and living within a few short hours of New York, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. isn’t too bad either! Something that makes me different from other Realtors: With me, what you see is what you get. I don’t wear a suit and tie every day (I hate dressing up!). I’m very professional but found out many years ago that I’m most effective as an agent for my clients when I’m being myself. First of all, people are way too smart to fake out and second, it’s way too hard to try to be someone else. I can’t stand it when people have a split personality-one at home and one at work. By the way, I don’t claim sole ownership of this. I know other Realtors who are the same way. But watch out, I may show up at your house in jeans! The best compliment I’ve ever received from a client-this is another tough one. I can’t say one really stands out, and not because I’ve gotten so many! The best ones are from people who go out on a limb to trust me about a certain tough situation and it ends up working out the way we planned. This is not an ego trip either! Building trust with people about to make huge financial decisions is not an easy thing to do and it’s extremely rewarding when it all works out. Fortunately, it almost always does! Being recognized by a client for this is the best part of what I do. My favorite things in life-This is an easy one! Family and family time. Our lives are so busy today. It’s rare that all seven of us are ever in the same place at the same time. The times that we get to spend together are incomparable. Oh yeah, what are my qualifications? Well, I’ve been a licensed Realtor since 1994 and I’ve had my real estate Broker’s license for many years as well. I’ve helped literally hundreds of people buy and sell homes in that time, and there aren’t many situations I haven’t seen. Although every time I say or think that, it seems like maybe a new situation arises and it’s not usually good! I also help train new agents in our office. I’ve been fortunate enough to be the president of the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce from 2000-01 and serve on the Board of Governors of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce during that time. I’m typically somewhere in the top 5% of all agents in the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (formerly Prudential) network nationwide as well.
