There were at least four generations of real estate professionals in my family before me. In my late 30s when all of my kids were in school and I was looking for work that I would enjoy, real estate was the logical, exciting alternative for me. I had been restoring Victorian homes and paying large amounts of money to my (less than competent) Realtor when I had an ‘aha moment’ and realized that not only did I enjoy it, but it was something I had known and grown up with all of my life.

As I was thinking of the expressions that have become common tenets that I tell my Clients when we are looking at houses, or when I am taking a listing, I thought of the four absolutes my grandfather used to tell me when I was growing up:

• Never buy a house with a flat roof
• Never buy the nicest house in the neighborhood,
• Don’t buy a north-facing house, and
• Start buying at least one house per year in your 20s and selling them off, one by one, in your 50s and you will have your retirement set for life

Not advice that is a common part of my Realtor repertoire today, but certainly still good advice.