ActiveRain Success Stories

"I have gained MANY Real Estate Friends by joining Active Rain!! Thanks~~"

"rtmp://videos.newenglandmoves.com/nemflashplayer/_definst/ct/videoresumes/678098_1.flv"

"It goes without saying, We Love ActiveRain. Having been memebers for a while now, we can honestly state that our business has grown on so many levels. We have received numerous referrals and made many freinds along the way. Our phones are always ringing with the community wanting to know more about our blogs and how we can assist them in their next purchase or how we will market their home to the fullest. One of our most recent calls was from HGTV, wanting us to participate on one of their shows. So keep your eyes peeled for us on one of your favorite shows and we will keep everyone updated, as always."

"I just recently connected with a local activerainer in Trumbull who is a stager (Julie Mayer) and hope to be able to recommend Julie in the future. It's all about networking and that is what Activerain makes it easy to do."

"Just found this site and already networking with other professionals on the first day!!"

"ActiveRain was my catalyst to opening up more about my personality and how business communications have a trememdous impact on the ways to communicate in real estate business blogosphere. Truly, social networking in ActiveRain has expanded my business, opening lines of communication with other fellow real estate professionals from Realtors to title companies, appraisers, and mortgage professionals to the buyers and sellers that have found me through my blogs. I personally want to extend my gratitude to those who have helped my business grow in the past 3 years and for the power of Active Rain blogging platform of real estate professionals in which I have taken full advantage of in learning from informative posts pertinent to the real estate business.

Thank you to ActiveRain and for its members for helping me and my business bring it to the next level!

Diana Perez"

".Real Estate has always been one of my favorite interests. I have owned many homes and enjoyed making them over and learning so much. For me to get my license and sell was a perfect fit. I am now able to show and share all I have learned to benefit my clients finding their special home. This process has been very rewarding and full filling to have become a Realtor, and be able to appreciate my career so much! Active Rain is an added bonus!"

"Went to rain camp last year. As a company we activated our web site with Market Leader and have had a very successful year!. Soon we will be upgrading to Realty Generator, our web sit on steroids! I am in process for my IMSD designation and business is booming! Thank you all....."

"On my first Blog post, someone commented..."excellent blog!""

"I have been able to choose the best Realtors to refer my clients via Active Rain. After a good friend of mine ask me for help with her mother's house in another County, I was able to post the referral on Active Rain and within a couple of hours I had enough Professional Realtors from that area that I was able to interview and check their profiles in order to choose the most qualified and most appropriate Realtor to hand over the referral, I would have never known who the true Realtor was had I not been able to read their profile, read their posts on the blogs etc. etc. Great place to meet wonderful people in our profession as Realtors."

"I joined active rain and am now a rainmaker ! I look forward to having my blogs posted outside Active Rain !

My marketing strategy gets homes sold quickly at great prices.


Servicing Northern Virginia including Alexandria, Burke, Springfield, Chantilly, Clifton, Centreville, Fairfax, Loudoun, Sterling and Ashburn

I help families buy and sell homes in Northern Virginia including Alexandria, Falls Church, Arlington, Springfield, Burke, Centreville, Clifton and Fairfax."

"Through my years on ActiveRain I've received countless opportunities from homeowners who contacted me after reading my blogs about Home Staging and viewing photos of recent staging projects. The homeowners are often well-versed in the benefits of Home Staging after gathering information online and on television, and understand what a positive impact hiring a Professional Home Stager can make in the successful sale of their homes. Often they call me for consultations and staging before they've selected their Realtor -- who later arrives thrilled to list the freshly-merchandised home targeted to market to an appropriate buyer."

"I log on to AR every day without fail. I am always learning something new from all of the experienced agents on the site. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten much experience yet, but I am still learning every day. Thank you AR for giving me the training that I need!!"

"I was in a transaction where I represented the buyer on an REO property that my client really wanted to purchase for their small family. The property seemed perfect for them, despite it was in need of some repairs and light upgrading. Prior to writing the offer, I ran my own analysis of the property's value and felt the property was over priced by at least $60,000. My client's insisted on writing the offer, despite the value was so much higher than comparable properties. Their fear was that if they wrote the offer and another buyer came along and gave a full price offer they may miss out on the home. This made perfect sense, as the market at the time was moving in a very fast pace with multiple offers on good properties. I wrote into the contract that the property must appraise to value and that my client could use a secondary appraisal at their chosing should they not be satisfied with the appraiser's oppinion. Also in this was the statement that should the home not appraise to value that the bank would agree to negotiate only on the appraised value, so we would not lose the deal to a possible cash buyer. Sure enough the bank's appraisal came in $55,000 lower that the listed price and we were able to negotiate the price to the appraised value. I was also able to negotiate the seller paying for the termite and some closing costs to help my clients out. The only negative experience in this transaction was the time frame of the REO company's negotiator took up to 2 weeks to return responses, leaving my clients on pins and needles waiting for results. Their persistance and my hard-pressed negotiations on the property's value was well worth seeing the smiles on my clients faces at closing!"

"What My Clients Say

"When we initially began the house hunting and purchasing process with Doug, we knew very little about the logistics of how the process worked. Thankfully, Doug’s patience, expertise and excellent communication skills made the experience not only seamless, but also enjoyable. What first impressed me about working with Doug was his integrity. We feel we made an excellent choice in working with Doug Hecker. We love our new house, and have made a new friend."

- Susan Kostrzewa



"We had a very smooth experience purchasing our home thanks to Doug Hecker. I have never worked with someone who cared so much about a purchase, as if it were his own. It’s very rare to meet someone that takes such pride in what he represents."

- Erik & Jenny Hahn



"It is with great pleasure that we recommend Doug Hecker as a realtor for anyone who is looking to buy or sell a home. Doug’s great personality made him a pleasure to work with. He was very knowledgeable with the current real estate market and trends. He is dedicated to his clients, deeply conscientious, professional, and hard working."

- Rob Wittmer & Suzzanne Stowe



"We had a very smooth transaction with Doug Hecker. His knowledge and attention to detail were first class. We highly recommend his services to anyone looking to purchase or sell a home."

- Casey & Becky Aiwohi"

"Learning is the reason I have become a Rainmaker. With the colaboration of other agents on a daily basis, we all learn from each other. I gain from the experience of others in our profession.
I have had comments and help along the ActiveRain path from others who I know only through the ActiveRain system. I feel like I know them personally. I now have friends I can call on for advice who are not competitors.
I am here for anyone else that needs some help too. As a professional, I owe it to my associates to be helpful and a guiding light to their success. I plan to leave real estate better off for my time in the industry."

"More to come stay tuned...."

"I've been on Active Rain for over a couple of years now. I still find it a very valuable resource; as there are discussions on every topic imaginable. It's a wonderful way to stay updated on the world of real estate.

And this year, I have received referrals from potential clients who have found me profile on ActiveRain, one of which is closing this month. Yipee!"

"Since I started blogging with Active Rain, my skin is free of unsightly blemishes, and I no longer smell of elderberries. Thanks, Active Rain!"

"Our company was established in 1999. Shortly after a recovering real estate market. We are a family owned and operated organization that prides ourselves on family values and proper businesss. We enjoyed the robust real estate market of the early to mid 2000's, survived the hurricanes of 2004-06, remained in business through the BP oil spill, endured through some significant family health issues and look foward to continued growth in the future as the economy and real estate market rebound."