Currently, I serve on the Education Committee with the Richmond Association of Realtors (i.e. RAR). I am sure many of the younger members of that committee roll their eyes whenever I begin to wax and wane on the "good old days" of real estate. While I am the first to appreciate and praise all our modern conveniences (ask me about pre cell phone days some time), I do miss how impersonal real estate has become.

     In the good old days, whenever we had an offer for a listing agent, it was necessary to coordinate the delivery of the offer. Most times this meant physically placing the offer in the listing agent’s hands. The same applied to counters; and due to the nature of real estate, many of these exchanges were nocturnal. For some of the oldtimers in the Richmond real estate game, I can remember the exact place I met many of these people for the first time. I might not remember exactly when or who the parties to the contract were, but usually I can remember where the property was located that we were negotiating. 

     Nowadays, an offer can be transmitted via facsimile or e-mailed as a .pdf. With current gas prices, this is not all bad, but it does take away some of the personal nature of the business. These days it is not uncommon for me to be in a committee meeting at the RAR and be seated next to someone I don’t recognize. After we introduce ourselves, I often find it is someone with whom I have done a prior transaction, but just had never met. 

     Real Estate Youngsters, think about occasionally delivering a contract and meeting the other agent. If you insist on conducting business electronically, how about doing so with .pdfs? Your facsimiles are just too blurred for my tired old eyes.