After month of planning and preparation, I have officially left Ricker Realty to form a new real estate brokerage firm.

Foster Spahr Real Estate is now open for business.

I will continue to serve my clients in the same capacity as before- helping buyers, sellers, and investors - only now it will be under a new name. I am very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for our company as well as for our clients. As an independent brokerage, we will have greater control over the services you receive and greater flexibility in tailoring our company to meet the ever changing real estate market. We have many exciting offerings that we can't wait to deliver to our community. Innovative marketing strategies, elimination of ‘admin' and ‘document' fees, flexible listing agreements, and investments in the latest technologies are just a few of examples of how we plan to create a better real estate brokerage. 

I want to personally thank all my past, current, and future clients for without you, none of this would be possible. I want to thank Dennis Skelly at Ricker Realty for being a wonderful mentor and for his support. And last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank all my friends and family who have provided endless encouragement and support.

We are excited to begin our journey to build a better brokerage centered around our customers and on our community.  Please take a moment to visit our new website at http://www.FosterSpahr.com to learn more about us and how we do things.

At Foster Spahr Real Estate, our philosophy is simple:

Provide superior customer service in everything we do.

Our new contact information:

Foster Spahr Real Estate, LLC

8523 Cameron St.

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Office 240.695.2383 | Direct 240.375.5217 | Fax 301.576.3540

dan@fosterspahr.com | http://www.fosterspahr.com

I read a rather discerning blog post the other day concerning Real Estate Investing. The post basically listed 10 ways to fail in Real Estate investing, the concept being to describe 10 ways how to be a successful investor.
For 1 thing, the list was the same cookie-cutter list you will find in any Borders book labelled "How to Make a Million in Real Estate" or any informercial on at 3:00am in the morning. These cookie-cutter concepts are built around purchasing a home for 70% of market value and basically flipping it for a profit with a minimal of expense. I've got 3 issues with people hawking these ideas - 1) These "investors" wouldn't need to sell these books if the concepts really worked and 2) These concepts take advantage of the poor and uneducated home owner. 3) Realtors are held to a higher standard.

I live, work, and invest in Maryland, as does the person how posted the list and I can say with fair certainty that if you are purchasing in Maryland at a 70% discount, somebody is being taken adavantage of merely for a profit and the net benefit to society wiill surely be negative. Our banks do not even sell foreclosures for 80% let alone 70% of market value. Now, i am sure there are extreme cases of homes in complete disrepair, but in most circumstances this is not the case, rather the home owner is "sold" into a deal without being fully informed. To take advantage of someone simply for a small profit is morally wrong. Sure, if your only goal is to make a few small profits, then this can certainly be a successful endeavor, but if your goal is to build a lasting and respected business, this is not the path to take.

Here is a quick example - To purchase a $400,000 home in Maryland for 70% of market value, you would pay $280,000. Now unless the foundation and roof have completely failed, someone is getting a raw deal. A replacement value on a $400,000 home is approx $150,000-$175,000 so you could basically replace the whole house! Obviously the people purchasing the homes have no such intention and simply flip the home back on the market with minimal repairs and aim for a small discount of market value for a tidy profit.

I may be in the minority on this, but rather than waste your money on these worthless books, spend the money on legitimate classes and training material, work hard everyday, build loyalty with your clients and community, and you will experience a much longer and rewarding career.

Comments are welcome, but go easy on me :)