Today is the longest day of the year. The Summer Solstice. There are many folks at Stonehenge for whatever it is they do there on the Summer Solstice. I guess anything and everything is worth celebrating?

For me, I live in the DC area, it will stay light until about 9:00 pm today. I love that. I know depending on your location and time zone, you may have daylight longer than 9:00.

This got me thinking about Jesse Clinton, way up there in God's country. It stays light almost 24 hours during the summer? Wonder how big the party is in Alaska? Jesse . . .? I am sure I will be corrected here soon as to the exact hours - Sorry, I have gone to look up the exact time.

As much as I like the longer days, I wonder if we could sleep through it all? Maybe there is a big market for those eye cover thingyies that Thurston Howell III used to wear? I bet the sunsets, when they happen are breathtaking. If you haven't, check out Jesse's blog- I suggest you go there now. Not only will you learn with great humor, Jesse has some really great photos of the breathtaking sunsets in Alaska.

Where ever you are celebrate your Summer Solstice in style!!

Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. ZIP Code Statistics - <$100K to >$5M Format

ZIP Code: 20841 Boyds, MD
From: 05/01/2008 to 05/31/2008 Statistics generated on: 06/06/2008

Source: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. - MLS Resale Data
Copyright 2008 - Information deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed.

Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. ZIP Code Statistics - <$100K to >$5M Format

ZIP Code: 20874 Germantown, MD
From: 05/01/2008 to 05/31/2008 Statistics generated on: 06/06/2008

Source: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. - MLS Resale Data
Copyright 2008 - Information deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed.

Market statistics for Germantown Maryland, zip code 20874. The information is provided by MRIS services.

These are the housing statitics for the Gaithersburg zip code area of 20878. The information is provided my MRIS services.

Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. ZIP Code Statistics - <$100K to >$5M Format

ZIP Code: 20878 Gaithersburg, MD
From: 05/01/2008 to 05/31/2008 Statistics generated on: 06/06/2008

Source: Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. - MLS Resale Data
Copyright 2008 - Information deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed.

When I get a referral, depending on what the client's needs are, I get prepared for the appointment. I have a process that I go through to prepare for a listing, but I also have a buyer listing appointment.

This just got me to wonder, why does it seem that Seller does more research when choosing their agent than a buyer?

Sellers will read the advise columns in the papers, telling them to interview at least 3 agents who work in their area. Sellers are told to check the experience and volume information about the agent that they are interviewing. Agents will bring their dog and pony show to make their case as to why they should be the seller's agent. After speaking to each agent, they will make a decision on which agent will best fit their needs.

When I meet with buyers it is a different story? I will ask them if they have spoken to other agents and, and typically they will give me a quizzical look and say no, you are the only one? Some have said that they met someone at a house to see the inside and that was it. I will ask if they did a buyer listing appointment, they just shake their heads, no. If I talk to people that have just bought a home, I will ask them how they met or chose their agent.

The answers surprise me. Some will tell me that they just met their agent at an open house, or it is their mother's friend, their aunt, the Internet and the list goes on. That is not the part that surprises me because I have used all of these ways to meet new clients.

The part that surprises me is that there is no interview process to find out what kind of experience the agent has, what their knowledge of the market is and so on. It seems like a more random process. Being your mother's friend doesn't really say a lot about experience and negotiating know how.

Buyers will call an agent off of a for sale sign, meet the agent at a house and viola they have an agent? No interview process, references or anything?

Questions you should ask of your agent whether you are a buyer or a seller;

• What areas do the agents specialize in. Make sure they are up on market conditions.
• How long has the agent been in real estate? Have they sold homes in a similar market, are they familiar with financial options?
• What kind of volume does the agent do? Are they part time or will you have a commitment from a full time professional?

As consumers, no matter if you are the buyer or the seller, you need to make sure you have the most qualified agent to handle your largest financial transaction.

Car fever. I have to admit, I don't get it like some folks do. I am one of those people that gets a good car and drives it for 150,000ish miles and then I start thinking about a new one.

When I was a new agent I thought I needed to get a big fancy new car so people would think I was a smart REALTOR(R), but we all know that is not the case. You can't tell new agents, I tried when the market was humming along. Now all of those fancy leased cars have been turned back in. We all have to learn. Now I say I would just assume to pull up in a chevy dragging the tail pipe and smoke everywhere, think Uncle Buck . . . Not really, but I like to imagine people's faces. LOL.

I have a nice car that I take good care of to get my money out of it. When I get a new car I pay for it as fast as possible and want to be done with the payment, I hate a car payment.

My current car is a nice import. It was a couple of years old and a friend took me to a real car auction and picked the car for me. I told him exactly what I wanted, the miles, color and he picked it up for me at a substantial savings. The car was still under warranty. It was a happy deal.

The other day I was noticing the agent's cars in our parking lot. There are some very nice cars, but I have to say the biggest producers buy good cars and keep their cars for a long time. Nothing out of this world. We have some pretty heavy hitters in our office too.

I think the days of equating the car to the agent's capabilities is long over. I think the over the top luxury cars can be off putting to folks these days. It screams, yeah I do make too much money and hope like hell I can keep paying for this thing.

The confident, self assured, top producing agent knows his business well enough to not have to over compensate with an "in your face import". This agent is someone who makes sound financial decsisions, someone you should feel comfortable with helping you with your sound decisions.

A fancy car doesn't equal a fancy agent anymore, maybe it never did?

Please make sure your pets are properly secured when having workers out to your home.

This morning after my husband, Mike, left for work the phone rang. It was him and he says, Guess what I have in the backseat of the truck? He sounded just like a little kid that found a great treasure, you know the voice?

I am thinking, oh, boy this ought to be good? He says a soaking wet,- I immediately think raccoon, fox, deer, some wild animal- Golden Retriever! He said he found her wandering down the middle of RT 118, a fairly large, heavily traveled road in Germantown, Maryland. I asked if she had tags and he didn't see them, but that she had a collar. He said she hopped right up in his truck and he brought her home. Once she got here, she was not so sure about where she was but we coaxed her out of the truck and she came out.

She was soaked to the bone. I dried her off as much as possible, my dog, Hutch, was helping an supervising the entire time. After we dried her off, we checked her over and then I looked on her collar, where her name and phone number were sewn into the collar. Her name was Rudy and we called her owners so they could come and get her.

We figured she had been out all night so we gave her some breakfast, which she gobbled right up and then she and Hutch both sat for a treat.

The owner came right over to get her and thanked us profusely for our kindness. That sort of puzzled me because I think anyone would do the same, but that is not the case. Mike said that cars were swerving around her and honking the horn at her? Poor baby. I guess for the folks that don't have pets, they don't understand that the Rudys of the world are like our children.

When the owner came over, he told us that they had construction workers at their house and they left the gate open and the dogs got out. Rudy was excited to see her owner and go home.

Rudy just reminded me that when having anyone to our homes to do work we need to make sure our pets are secure because they are not used to them and what their boundaries maybe? If they have never had a pet, they may not even notice them? Luckily we had a happy ending.

Real Estate is my passion. I am one of the lucky ones, I love my job. It is important to me to help, educate and guide my clients to buy their first home or buy their dream home. I work this passion daily and it means a lot to me, but more importantly it must mean a lot to you, the consumer.

I want you to have the same passion about finding your home as I do. I am a very hands on personal REALTOR(R) . I am all about the experience you will go through when you work with me as your agent. I am a firm believer in doing a steady business of high quality real estate transactions rather than a high quantity of mediocre transactions. Most of my clients are friends, or become my friends after the transaction.

Your experience is very important to me. I want you to be very clear and happy with the entire process. I will provide you with as much consumer information as possible so you can make educated decisions. Customer service is paramount to me and your satisfaction is my main goal. I am not a robot type agent. The transaction is personal and all about you.

For some folks, their REALTOR(R) is not someone they research, just someone to facilitate the transaction. And that is okay, but that is not me. So, if you are a person who doesn't really care about how your real estate transaction goes, or doesn't really need a high quality transaction, maybe I am not for you?

For a High Quality transaction go to www.Audreyjune.com