Real Estate Agent Ray Werking is a customer service oriented leader and negotiator honored as a Top Producer for the Century 21 New Millennium team for April 2010.  A University of Maryland graduate, Ray has done everything from negotiating contracts for General Electric’s Storage USA, Inc., to being an award winning business owner.  He is eager to put his experience in leadership and negotiations to use, helping you buy or sell your home.  When his clients find their dream home, or a buyer for their existing home, Ray’s job is far from over.  He is available to answer questions and maintains a list of high quality businesses that can help his clients with any home improvements they may need.  You can feel confident referring Ray to family and friends because of the high level of service he provides.

     Ray works hard to become Maryland’s most client-oriented real estate professional.  His motto is: “I’m here to help you find what you want.”  Real estate is essentially customer service at a higher level than normal because it deals with such a major part of people’s lives.  Ray brings his customer service expertise to bear for his real estate clients, such as a military man looking for his first house, a young family seeking something to suit their growing needs, and a single mom ready to move into a house with a yard.  Whether you need to see only a few houses or more than 60, Ray works with you to find your dream home.  Specializing in Prince George’s and Anne Arundel Counties, he deals with old and new houses, single family homes and condos, short sales and foreclosures…all to find the right home for you, anywhere in Maryland.

     Some people want to build a huge team and do hundreds of transactions a year, but that is not Ray’s style.  Ray wants to give clients the individual attention they need and deserve, which would be difficult if he were running a gigantic team.  Ray is very conscious that, when someone uses him to buy or sell a house, they are saying, “I’ve chosen you to deal with a big part of my life.” 

     Whether you are upgrading, downsizing, or just starting out, Ray Werking can help you and your family to find your dream home, or make others see your home’s charm.  Wherever in Maryland your search takes you, Ray will go the distance.  He can’t succeed unless you’re happy, so while he can offer advice, you are the one to say when it’s time to strike a deal.   He has the people skills, negotiating techniques, and tenacity to help you get the home of your dreams or the best price possible for your home.

     Ray Werking · Ray.werking@c21nm.com · 301-300-2738

Virginia Jackson of Sankofa Financial Group LLC      

     Virginia Jackson has always been interested in being an entrepreneur.  In 2006, after 15 years as a CPA, doing budgets and financial analysis for large corporations such as Arthur Andersen and Choice Hotels, she started Sankofa Financial Group, LLC, a personal and small business financial advisory company.  She was ready to refocus her skills on individuals and small businesses as a financial planner who also does taxes.  Virginia can relate to their needs and she believes that the little guy should be able to get sound financial help too. 

      

     Now, with Sankofa, Virginia educates clients on their options, working with them to find out what plan of action is best.  The Sankofa Principle guides everything they do.  ‘Sankofa’ comes from the Akan community in West Africa and means, “We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; we must understand why and how we came to be who we are today.”  Virginia applies that concept to her business by helping each client reach an understanding of their own personal financial history, how they got to where they are, before starting to plan for the future.

       

     Virginia provides services for individuals and families such as financial planning, investment options, credit counseling, debt management, retirement planning, and strategic tax planning.  For small businesses, she provides business management, customized onsite financial training, and bookkeeping.  She also offers seminars on a wide variety of financial subjects.

       

     Virginia teaches financial literacy, encouraging her clients to build good financial habits.  It is always one of her goals to “help people learn how to manage their money better and escape the financial debt trap.”  Following the precepts of Sankofa, she helps clients gain a more realistic understanding of where they are by having them track their spending for thirty days.  “If we don’t change the past behavior and understand how you got there,” says Virginia, “in two years you’ll be back in my chair.”  She also asks, “Is your debit card your favorite thing in the world?”  Virginia encourages clients to pay everything with checks.  It’s easy to swipe a debit card and not really notice your spending.  If you have to take out your checkbook, write out the check, and record it in the check register each time, you’re more aware of your spending and you have a better record of it, too.

        

     Virginia’s credit counseling is quite a bit different from other credit counselors.  She helps clients form a ranking system listing the order in which to pay things, but she has the clients make the payments themselves instead of paying her to do it.  This fosters more client responsibility, as does her budget coaching.  She can educate clients on where they were, where they are, and how they can get to where they want to be financially.  She is an advisor and an educator, but not a decision maker.  That is the client’s responsibility.       

     Any securities offered by Sankofa Financial Group, LLC are offered through J.W. Cole Financial, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.  Check out the Sankofa Financial Group website at http://sankofafinancial.net