Much has happened since the summer of 2002 when I became a licensed realtor. My wife and I have had 2 children, moved once (about 200 metres across Central Park West), travelled a bit and learned a considerable amount about being a self-employed realtor.
I was born in Ottawa (Grace Hospital), the product of parents from each side of the Ottawa river. We lived in in the country (close to North Gower) for my first decade, and then the west end of Ottawa for the remainder of my childhood. I attended Bell High School and then eventually graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Engineering in the mid-90’s.
A few years at BNR (Nortel) in Ottawa before the adventure started. Connie and I moved to Istanbul, Turkey for just over a year with Netas/Nortel, and then to Friedrichshafen, Germany to work at Nortel/DASA for 3 years. Great times — we met wonderful people along the way, many of whom ended up in Ottawa around the same time as us in 2001.
In summer 2002 I started as a real estate salesperson at a large real estate brokerage located in the Glebe. I made a lot of friends there, grew a team of realtors to what would be considered a high level of success, but eventually found that it was probably not the best fit for me in the long run.
In January 2013 we started Ottawa Urban Realty Inc. A boutique real estate brokerage that was mostly based on repeat and referral clients.
I have found over the years that there is a core of people that REALLY appreciate my knowledge/experience, honesty and work ethic. Most of those people have become clients for life. They contact me for most of their real estate and mortgage questions and often refer me to family and friends. If you are one of those special people, THANK YOU, please know that I appreciate your trust and will do my best to always protect and expand it whenever possible. Your support of my business with the occasional referral of friends and family has been wonderful.
If you are reading this as a potential client, wondering what I’m all about, I’d be happy to have a frank discussion at your convenience. I’m also always happy to provide references from past clients.
You may find that I am quite different than what you expect from a realtor.