Margaret Rome-Baltimore Listing Agent and All Around Great Gal!

IF there is any question about why I am on ActiveRain or why I blog each day... read this beautiful testimonial by Bridget McGee.
We have been brought together not only as business associates but also as friends.
We understand and share the business challenges. We make it fun. We share the ups and downs. We are involved with what's going on in our clients lives. Neither one of us can figure out how there is time for any of this.

Via Bridget McGee, Maryland Mortgage Mama (CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc. 410-960-2061):

Margaret Rome-Baltimore Listing Agent and All Around Great Gal!

“I don’t need a lender, I am a listing agent.”

Those were some of the first words Margaret spoke to me.  I was new to ActiveRain and cold-calling Realtors.  I am sure my “pitch” went something like this.

Hi, I work with a mortgage broker (we are no longer with a broker, we are now a lender) in Baltimore and my brother (I was a processor and marketer back then) does a really good job for his clients and we would like to see if we could work with you.  We offer great rates and great service (Gee, bet she never heard that before!)  Looking back, I deserved the gentle brush-off she gave me.

In March of 2010, Margaret (Realtor Magazine's Open House Master) held the first ActiveRain Open House.  Thanks to ActiveRain, I had met Dr. Stacey Anne Baugh for lunch a few months prior.  We hit it off and began working together.  Stacey suggested we meet at the Open House.  I donned my Mortgage Mama pin and headed to Baltimore's Greenspring Valley.  I figured it would be great to catch up with Stacey and it would be nice to meet some of the folks I have been reading in person.

I introduced myself to Margaret Rome and Lenn Harley (Active Rain legend!) and met some other amazing folks that have since become an important part of my life and my business.  It really was a social event.  I did hand out my card, but I was really there just to check out what this was all about.  Margaret was so warm and welcoming.  She obviously knew how to bring people together. That first meetup, for me, was really the beginning of my embracing my inner Mortgage Mama.  

Flash forward about 3 months later, after Stacey had written a glowing post about a transaction we had just worked on together, Margaret reached out to me by phone, congratulating me on such a wonderful write-up.  She remembered meeting me at her Open House and wanted to ensure that I was the one known as Mortgage Mama. I still have that message saved on my phone.  THAT was the moment I truly embraced who I am, Maryland Mortgage Mama.

I called Margaret back to thank her for her kind message and to tell her how much it meant to be recognized by the lovely Dr. Stacey and by THE Margaret Rome.  Ever humble, she talked about how wonderful and special Dr. Stacey Anne Baugh is (she is, she really is!).  After a few minutes, Margaret mentioned that she might have a buyer for me to talk to, they had inquired about a short-sale listing she had and they needed to be pre-qualifed.   Based on her conversation with them, she knew they might be challenging buyers, but she was hoping we could work it out.   We did.   That settlement was a tough one. Even though Margaret had negotiated a contract that worked best for both buyer and seller and the short sale approval came in days, not months, it was very emotional.   The sellers were short selling their unique family home due to both the economy and health issues.  Margaret expertly handled both excited buyer and mourning seller with such kindness and compassion, I was duly impressed! 

Since that time, there have been many more meet-ups, many more transactions. My relationship with Margaret has grown from Realtor/Lender to a close friendship. 

She has offered me sage advice over the years.  One day I was lamenting a contentious buyer (not one of Margaret’s, her folks have been wonderful!) who after low-balling many and walking away from 2 ratified contracts, was still expecting me to ask how high when she said jump. Margaret said, “When the horse is dead, dismount”.  Not long after, I let that “shopper” go and a huge weight was lifted. That 6 word sentence has served me well.

Margaret thinks outside of the box, she is a master of marketing.  She embodies the ACTIVE in ActiveRain, inviting many local realtors new and “seasoned” into the ActiveRain fold.  She not only posts daily and offers thoughtful comments(over a million points),  Margaret has reached out to so many here on ActiveRain  personally. She reaches out by phone to have real, honest to goodness conversations. 

Margaret is one of the first to step up when there is a call for an ActiveRain Meetup, and each one has been a success.  The meetups are about new and old FRIENDS gathering to talk real estate, life and love. She doesn’t only talk to folks who might refer her business, she reaches out to connect.  She provides guidance. When someone posts a comment that might be taken differently than meant (or even if taken correctly!), she may suggests another way.  She checks in to offer condolences, when a loved one has passed away.  She offers encouragement to the newbies.   She is even helping my friend’s song “LOUD, PROUD and PURPLE” get as wide an audience as possible.  (see the video at the end of this post.)

She conducts training classes at the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors .  

She wrote a book (Real Estate the Rome Way). I would highly recommend this easy read.  Margaret shares of herself and tells it like it is!

She just took over a radio show on WCBM called “All About Real Estate.”  On her show, Margaret’s goal is to educate and to share.  She is encouraging folks who share her passion for real estate to call in, share their listings or their buyer needs. 

She is ready to answer questions or she will find the answer!

Like many of you reading this, I don’t know how she finds the time to do all she does. 

Margaret is the energizer bunny, starting her day at the gym and ending it…well, I am not sure when she ends…I just know that I have seen her post on ActiveRain at O dark thirty!  Once when wishing her TGIF, she said, “Whoopee, only 2 more working days til Monday!”   

Some folks believe she must have more hours in a day than anyone else, nope.  Or…maybe she doesn’t need sleep!  Or…she must not like her husband or her family…nope, try again.  Her life must be all wine and roses….nope, although she does take time to stop and smell the roses! She can’t have a life outside of real estate…nope, not that either, she has an active social life. 

Margaret does what works, and she does it well. 

She doesn’t try to SELL the buyer to any home that is available. She blogs, places ads in the paper, and online, and will send mailers to specific neighborhoods her buyers are interested in, when needed.  She will not stop until they have found the RIGHT home at the RIGHT price, some call her a Fairy Godmother!  When Margaret works with buyers, she guides them and educates them, after all, her buyers are future sellers.

SELL YOUR HOME WITH MARGARET ROME!  

As a listing agent, Margaret won't take on a property until she makes sure the sellers are 100% sure they are ready to sell and ready to work with her.  She advises them, finds needed resources and makes the process a smooth one.  For her listing clients, she doesn’t just stick a sign in the yard and put it on the Multiple Listing Service and hope for a buyer.  She finds ways to get as many eyes on her listing as she can.  She even holds impromptu open houses!  She gets most of her listings sold very quickly, sometimes even quicker than a seller expects.    If you are using Margaret as your listing agent, you need to be prepared to see “TOO LATE” on your advertising!

Margaret Rome surrounds herself with professionals who are like-minded, keeping the client’s needs first!

Margaret Rome is soft-spoken but a tough negotiator. 

Margaret Rome makes things happen. 

Margaret Rome conducts her business with integrity. 

On top of all that Margaret never fails to ask about my daughter (Miss Margaret happens to be one of Sydney’s favorite people) and the rest of my family. 

Margaret Rome cares, about  people, not just about business.

I am honored to give this endorsement of my friend and business associate Margaret Rome.  I was sure that she would have already had several requests for the OK to write about her, but like the prettiest girl in school sitting home on prom night, she hadn’t been asked (so far). 

I will be forever grateful to ActiveRain for introducing me to great folks like Margaret Rome.  I am more grateful to get the chance to share my experience with Margaret with you.  If you don’t know Margaret, you are missing out here in the Rain.  Subscribe to her, reach out to her, you will be glad you did.  Take some time to read her past posts (there are a ton of them), I promise you will become better at your job, better at blogging and a probably a better person!

If you have someone who you’d like to endorse here in the Rain, check in with them, you might be as surprised as I was.  Don’t let them miss the prom!

Warm Regards,
Bridget McGee  Maryland Mortgage Mama  NMLS# 196068  CrossCountry Mortgage, Inc.   410-960-2061 EHO   bmcgee@myccmortgage.com or marylandmortgagemama@gmail.com
If you are considering purchasing a home in Maryland and want to be sure you are mortgage ready, my brother Tony and I will be happy to help! We help to make the mortgage process a pleasure!
If you already own your home, we are happy to provide a no-cost mortgage review to help you to determine if refinancing may be in your best interest.  Please contact me at 410-960-2061.