I have to thank Sandy Shores for passing along the title and honor of Real Estate Professional to me. Sandy is one of the first members here on Active Rain whose blog I had subscribed to.

I didn't grow up to be a REALTOR. As many of us have found ourselves in this profession, this is my second career. I worked in the telecommunications industry for nearly 24 years. Corporate downsizing had offered me the opportunity to retire with a pension at the ripe old age of 46. Time to find a new career.

A transfer by my partner led us to the Metro DC area of Maryland. In preparing our home for sale back in Illinois, an idea started and took root. Real Estate as my next career. I became increasingly frustrated with our agent in Illinois. We had used her before to buy and sell, but she just didn't seem to have her heart in it anymore. And as for some of the agents who showed up to show my house, you know there is a problem when the agent is wearing sweatpants and a tee shirt. We terminated her agreement and interviewed some agents before hiring a new, more professional one.

I remembered the first real estate agent I had ever met, as a child. His name was Harold Hamm and he helped my dad and mom buy their first home. He was a broker, had a few agents working for him. He always wore a white shirt and tie, drove a Cadillac, and was always smiling. He was always happy to help people.

Fast forward again to 2003. Now that we were settled in Maryland, I decided to attend pre licensing classes and get my Real Estate License. I affiliated with a small office that was family owned and run, but the opportunities just weren't there. Everybody who came to do business there wanted the owners to help them. I then joined a successful team in town as a listing agent. I quickly learned the business and handled many transactions in the process.I decided to also get my Pennsylvania Real Estate license since some of my sellers were moving just over the border into south central PA.

I also saw opportunities in education, to further myself in the business. I could never understand why some agents would gripe about having to take classes to renew their license. I wanted to learn more. I took classes locally through our board as well as classes at the MAR Conference every year. I decided to complete the E-Pro program. I received the ABR and CRS designations after learning the benefits of their specialized training.

In 2006 I changed brokerages, deciding that I preferred to work with a smaller number of clients and would strive to serve them well, rather that the high volume, impersonal service I was providing as part of a team. Now I have my Frederick Md business and my Gettysburg Pa business. I am active with my primary board especially with the education committee. I am a mentor for two agents in Maryland.

As bad as the market is right now, just compare it to 1983 when I bought my first home. Interest rates were around 13% on a mortgage, if you could find a lender who had money to loan. Today, mortgage money is available to those with good credit and there are lots of homes to choose from. I am in Real Estate to stay. I love the satisfaction of helping buyers and sellers achieve their goals.

Some people got into the real estate business with visions of making easy money. Some people are not disciplined enough to budget their money, their income and put aside some for taxes, retirement and a rainy day. Real estate, like any other profession, is hard work. You will only get out of it what you put into it. You have to treat it as a job and be accountable to yourself, your clients and fellow professionals.

I joined the Active Rain community in May of 2008. I have grown since joining here. There is so much information on here, so many people who are eager to share their ideas, be a sounding board for my ideas, and a sympathetic ear to my rants. I have met many fine people on here, and there are more I have yet to meet.

I now have the honor of passing along the title of Real Estate Professional to Ken Montville. I first spoke to Ken when I was looking to join the MD-DC CRS chapter. Ken was the chapter president and helped answer my questions. I have since met Ken in person at the annual Maryland Association of REALTORS Conference. Ken is one of my Active Rain associates.