About Ray Mikus
I thought maybe I'd post my resume here, but then I figured I'd just tell people about me.
I live in Middlesex, VT with my wife (a biology professor at Norwich University--I married her because she's so smart) and our two daughters. Josphine is 3 and Willoughby is 7 months. We also have 2 laying chickens--Fuzzy and Nacho.
Like lots of people, I've had a few professional experiences that help me as a Realtor in the Montpelier area. Out of college (Michigan State University, with degrees in Finance and Political Economics, and good grades, to boot), I worked as a financial planner, eventually becoming a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). I learned a lot, and I got good at working with clients, but my managers tried to make me sell dumb insurance products that my clients didn't need. So I didn't sell them. And then I wondered what the heck I was doing in that business.
So I went back to school to become a teacher. I taught 2nd grade in Northfield, VT for a number of years, and I have to admit, it was pretty fun. I mean, are you kidding me? Recess? Plus, I taught the kids how to read baseball stats, and I had a worm farm in the classroom. All in all, teaching's a pretty good job. But, I was looking for a new challenge.
Now, all along, I'd been buying and selling properties in Barre and Montpelier. I own a few rental properties in the area. I realized I was spending a good chunk of my free time looking for deals, trying to put them together, working on pricing, etc--that's the finance part. Then I reflected on my own thoughts--that's teaching part.
Now I'm a Realtor. I love it. I get to look at houses, meet people, and use my experiences to help them. If I have an idea for how to market a house, I can do it. If I want to snowmobile up to a remote camp to show it (which I did, even though I'm not a snowmobiler), I can do it. If I want to have donuts on Saturdays when I'm in the office, I can do it. If it helps sell a house, or helps a buyer get what they want, I can do it. Sensing a common theme?
Blah blah blah, you've probably read dozens of agent bios talking about how they provide "excellent customer service" and "knowledge of the market". Duh! Even if they don't they're still going to say that. I use technology, my connections, my own personal experiences, and mix it all in with a good healthy dose of my personality to help people buy and sell houses.
I do like a little structure in my life, and I do have a couple of "Guiding Principles". Yeah, the term makes me shudder too. But hear me out.
1. The Montpelier and Barre areas are actually pretty small. Chances are that we know a lot of the same people. So, what good does it do me to be a jerk? I mean, our kids probably go to the same day care, and there's only one grocery store in town. Well, two if you count the co-op.
2. Whatever I do, when I see the people I work with, I want to be able to smile. I send out emails, letters, and make phone calls to people that I sometimes don't know by face. But my face is right here on the Internet, so they know me. I better be good at what I do and I better be nice about it.
That's me. If you want someone to hard close you, or someone to make up a high price just to get a listing, I can refer you to others. But if you understand that having a good working relationship with a Realtor can take time, and that we're going to be doing a lot together, then it makes sense to work with a Montpelier and Barre Realtor with whom you can get along, and who can get the job done.
Give me a call.
