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my formal education includes a bs degree in engineering from the university of illinois, an mba degree in finance and operations research from indiana university, and a phd (abd) in finance and economics from the university of washington (which is how i happened to end up in the pacific northwest). my informal education includes raising my daughter, mckayla, and son, kaj. interpersonal and organizational skills developed during four years of university teaching and seven years of managing my own import/export business and retail store chain, combined with an engineer's attention to detail, provide the basis for my marketing, negotiating, and contracting expertise. i counsel sellers in preparation, marketing, negotiating, and consummating the sale of residential property and assist buyers in identifying and negotiating and contracting for the purchase of and consummating the purchase of residential property.

i would characterize my negotiating style as win-win. i make every effort to negotiate agreements that benefit and satisfy all parties. a buyer or seller who feels that he or she has "lost" at the bargaining table is often resentful and subsequently less likely to be willing to work through the problems that invariably arise between entering into an agreement and consummating a transaction.  as recently as twenty five years ago, real estate transactions on the island were routinely consummated with a hand shake.  just ask one of the island old timers.  today it is not uncommon for a real estate agent's paper transaction file to be three or four inches thick.  do we really need all that paperwork, legalese, real estate jargon, timelines, contingencies, etc.?  only if a conflict should arise.  beyond that,  it doesn't hurt employment in the legal community.  as my assoicate, j, always says ... keith likes to cross all the "i's" and dot all the "t's".  i guess i do tend to be more analytical and attentive to contract terms and details, ... just in case.