"You buy a house and live in a home" is an old saying that Real Estate agents should understand better than anyone.  Or so you would think.  I seem to think most of them love the "selling you a house" part, but don't really care about the you "living in a home" part.

Anybody who knows me knows that I'm a huge football fan.  But one of the aspects of the game I don't like is all the grandstanding the players do after every play, big or small.  One of my favorite all-time players was tight end Mark Bavaro of the NY Giants.  Here's a guy who would catch the winning touchdown pass from Phil Simms, then simply toss the ball to the ref and jog to the sidelines.  His humble humility was something that I admired and tried to emulate.  Until now.  Now I'm scrappin' all that.

Right now I'm standin' up and tootin' my own horn, I just hope it doesn't come across as if I'm blowing smoke up your butt.  So here's what makes me better, "I know the value of home."

I thought all agents knew this too, until the other day when I went to a broker open house (this is the time that agents go to preview houses on the market).  I got to the last house on my list and signed in.  There had been a lot of agents there before me.  Then, like always, I headed for the basement.  Only I couldn't find it, so I asked the agent who was sitting the open house where it was.  It took her a minute to locate the door and turn on the light for me.  As I went down it dawned on me...  I was the only one who bothered to go down there.  I was the only one who wanted to check to see how old and how safe the furnace was, how efficient it was, same with the hot water heater.  I wanted to know what condition the water pipes were in, to see if they were wrapped in asbestos.  To see if there was any water seepage, any mold, if there was a sump pump.  I was the only one of all the agents who toured that house who cared enough about their clients to make sure they were going to see a safe, healthy home.

Any agent with a lock box key can get you into a house and point out the obvious, like granite counter tops.  And while I'm not a home inspector, I've learned alot by being at their side during home inspections.  Enough so that I could educate myself on how a home works.  I've also earned my EcoBroker's designation, which taught me about home efficiency, indoor air quality, the health hazards of mold and asbestos and ways to cut down your carbon foot print.

See to me a house should be a place that's safe and comfortable.  A place that envelopes you in body and spirit as soon as you step inside.  A place to sit in peace with hot beverage on a cold day, a place to blow out birthday candles, cook turkeys on holidays and giggle with a loved one in bed.  It's not suppose to be a place that kills you... or gets you physically ill or drains your bank account because of endless repairs.

Look I can talk paint colors, furniture placement and spacial flow with the best of them (just ask my neighbor Debbie) and I love to do that.  But it's my job to educate you on what problems the house may have.  Not that any of them are insurmountable, but you need to know them before you make an offer and not be blindsided during a home inspection.

I'm better because I care.  I educate myself so I can educate you.  I look at things others don't.  I take the time because the time needs to be taked and I go the extra mile because it needs to be traveled.

"I know the value of Home."

Forgive me Mark Bavaro, I just had to have a Chad Johnson moment...