Realty Bites

Do you have distant family members who send you a Christmas letter every year but don’t interact with you at any other time? How about friends who send a canned greeting card on your birthday but don’t include a personal note?

I call this type of communication “relationship pinging.” It’s a term I coined about twenty years ago. At the time, I was receiving messages from a former college classmate who would send a mass e-mail to everyone in her address book. The theme was always the same: “Here’s a cause or charity I’m interested in at the moment, and I expect you to contribute.” She reacted angrily when I responded, simply, “Unsubscribe.” MORE →

C’mon kids. In my very first post I invited you to ask questions, let me know what topics are on your mind. What are you waiting for? Don’t be shy. As anyone who knows me could tell you, I have plenty to say. So, what would you like to hear about? Lay it on me, string bean.

Why am I doing this? It’s a question I’ve asked myself many times over the last 40 years. But this time it takes on a special resonance, as I contemplate starting a blog about my unconventional experiences in the very conventional real estate business. Do I really want to lay it all on the line? Share my innermost thoughts? Perhaps. I’ll start with my outermost ones, and we’ll see where it goes from there.

It started when I began my real estate career in 1989. I went to work for some of the well-know brands, beginning with Coldwell Banker. But this being 1989, a major downturn in the real estate market was just getting underway. Within a year, it was decided Coldwell Banker no longer needed a Baltimore office. I moved to Better Homes and Gardens, which couldn’t survive either. Within a year, the company was sold to Prudential. After a year, that company, too, pulled out of Baltimore.

I swear none of this was entirely my fault.

Now, I know you don’t start a company looking for job security, but that’s exactly what I did. In 1992, I founded The Kupritz Group, Real Estate Professionals, Inc. It’s been in business ever since. MORE →