I never thought I’d see the day that I would be referred to as a blogger, but here I am and I’m thrilled with the opportunity to share my thoughts on housing on this great new Coldwell Banker blog.

One of the things I most enjoy about my job is answering questions from customers. I travel so much and every time I meet someone in the airport, on the plane or in the hotel and say who I work for, they immediately have questions on housing.

Helping people was the reason I got into real estate 35 years ago.  At that time I was fresh out of the University of Illinois (Go Illini!) and working at a YMCA in the suburbs of Chicago.  I loved working with the kids and teaching them skills.  I thought it would be my life’s work.  But the guy I played tennis with owned a local real estate company and he convinced me that I would be a really good real estate agent because of my personality and love of statistics and math.  But what really got me was when he said I would be able to help people in real estate too.

He was right.

The first deal I worked on was for the receptionist at the Y.  She and her husband had never owned a home and didn’t think they ever could.   I knew that wasn’t true.  I walked them through the process, helped them get an FHA loan and find the right home.  I’ll never forget their tears of joy when I told them the sellers agreed to their offer and they were going to be homeowners.  I even turned over my small commission check to them to help with the down payment.

I look forward to writing about important topics in housing.  Consumers are facing one of the most challenging real estate markets in history.  So the usual questions I might get about mortgage rates, home prices and how upgrades impact potential resale price have now multiplied.  The recession, unemployment and job stability, the impact of adjustable rate mortgages, foreclosure fears and so much more has made the decision to buy or sell a home tougher than in normal times.

Yet one thing remains a constant.  People buy and sell homes usually because of changes in their lifestyle.  Growing families, marriages and new jobs are just a few reasons.  So a home is an investment in our lifestyle made even better because of the tax advantages our government provides homeowners.

I look forward to sharing so much more of my thoughts and suggestions as time goes on.