Many people ask me where "Duke" came from. So here's the real scoop. When I was a young boy growing up in Circleville, Ohio, we had a dog named Duke. My mother used to call our dog to get me to come home - knowing that Duke would drag me home by the shirt sleeve! So began the nickname "Duke!" I was raised with 8 siblings and my Dad operated a gas station. Times were tough, as we lived in a very modest home in a poor neighborhood. I developed an early interest in football, which later turned out to be my ticket to success. My high school coach helped me earn an athletic scholarship and my hard work earned me a scholastic scholarship to Syracuse University.
At Syracuse I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and a Masters Degree in Finance. We also played in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans with Floyd Little (who later played for the Denver Broncos) and Larry Czonka (who later played for the Miami Dolphins). I went on to New York City to work for a major accounting firm.
While traveling from the East coast to California in 1968, my car broke down just outside of Denver. I've been here ever since! During the past 30 years, I've enjoyed selling many millions of dollars of residential, commercial and unimproved real estate, ranging from $3,500 to $3 million in the metro Denver area.
Professional Accomplishments:
I became a licensed Realtor in 1970 and began my career with a small firm in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. At the same time, I became a father of two children, Kari, now age 32 and Scott, now age 36. I joined Van Schaack in 1973 and went on to become Sales Manager of the Douglas County office. In 1979, I created my own firm "Premier Associates, a Real Estate franchise company. Premier grew to 9 offices throughout the Denver metro area and Colorado Springs. The total staff included 125 Brokers and Sales Associates and 30 support personnel. The company was later sold and I became affiliated with RE/MAX where I remained until November 2000.
In 1994 - 1998, I received the "Platinum Club" award for RE/MAX - the highest single year commission honor RE/MAX bestows upon a sales associate. 1998 was my best year ever with over 120 closed transactions, ranking No. 11 of 2,400 agents in the RE/MAX Mountain States Region.
In 2000, I moved my office to a new location and added an Associate -Thor Ourada- to my team. We have expanded our business to offer our clients the best of the best - 2 full time licensed Real Estate brokers!
Because I'm an instructor for the University of Colorado, teaching Contracts and Law and Buyer Agency, we all possess the latest knowledge in contract preparation and agency law. I'm a stickler for details! My team attends more than the required continuing education classes. We pride ourselves on giving our clients the personal and professional service they deserve!
If you are interested in obtaining further information about Denver, the current market trends, new lender programs, interest rates or just want to chat about our marketing strategies, please call us! We are here to serve you! We care and it shows!
