Dan Melman

Licensed Sales Agent in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.

“I started a career in real estate for purely selfish reasons—I wanted a new home. Looking in the paper or on the Internet was not getting me where I needed to be. I made a big leap from the not-for-profit field into something completely new—and I have found my calling.”

Growing up, I felt my parents must have been nomads. We moved every few years based on my father’s job. I distinctly recall “helping” my parents pick houses although I always thought the process was rather inefficient. Agents didn’t seem to listen, and my room was never big enough. I’m actually quite surprised my mother didn’t go into real estate herself.

I left home to attend Tulane University in New Orleans – a great place to get a good education. While in college, I toyed with computer sciences and then communications before ending up in business school.

After four years, I was ready to leave New Orleans, but really was not sure where I wanted to go. I wanted to get away from New Orleans’ humidity, bad roads and crazy local politics. Needless to say, I feel right at home in Washington.

I parlayed my business degree into wonderful opportunities with one of the Big Eight (now Big Five) public accounting firms. The work was challenging, but I found that I wanted more contact with people. My second career was as chief financial officer for two organizations involved in public policy – how very Washington. I was able to really stretch the bounds of position and became involved in human resources, administration and technology.

Real estate interests me because it is an information business. It involves trying to find not only the obvious solutions but also other possibilities. With a business background and cutting-edge technological approach, I also felt I had a way to set myself apart from the many other real estate practitioners.

Needless to say, I got involved in real estate at the right time (Spring 1998). I had many friends who were ready to bust out of their homes, and I have been able to build on this base. I sold $3 million in my first 12 months, and I was just finding my way.

Technology is changing this business and has always been a cornerstone of my marketing efforts. Being new to the field, I was open to new approaches to the business. Starting and staying ahead of the curve has created great opportunities. The effort involved in maintaining a website and crafting an electronic newsletter is more than offset by the new email messages from far-off places.