Mike Freund

Owner/Broker
Realty Central Inc.
360-921-6303

How long have you worked in Real Estate?
I entered the Real Estate Industry in 1993 starting with Lutz Snyder. I benefited by having the opportunity to have teamed up with James Kimball. I started Realty Central as a co-owner with Al Eilts in the iconic building “the Greatest Earth on Show” at Dollars Corner in 2001. I moved our company to Pacific 63 Center located in Hazel Dell in 2006.

What is your specialty?
The beginning of my career was working sub-divisions. While in Battle Ground, I specialized in developable land and working with builders. While I am still very active in those areas, Residential seems to top my list selling and listing. Relocations are also a popular piece of my work.

What is one tip you have for someone looking to buy or sell a home?
I keep up with the current mortgage loan programs so that I may guide my clients to find the best lender that will help them get pre-qualified. This is imperative for my clients to enter into a strong negotiation. When working with sellers, achieving a proper price point is helpful to ensure a successful transaction.

What is the most challenging/gratifying aspect of what you do?
It is definitely finding the perfect “home” not house for a client. I had a determined yet patient young man who knew what he wanted and we persevered for over five years to find the perfect piece, large lot, older fixer and in town. The end result was undoubtedly worth the challenge.

What do you see in the future for real estate sales/prices?
SW Washington is most certainly one of the most desirable places to live due to the climate, excellent schools, small town feel and being close to mountains and the beach. The demand is very high right now and I believe our prices will remain solid.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not working? Hobbies, volunteering, family, fun?
I talk to sellers about curb appeal when they list their house and part of that comes from my own hobby of working in the yard and garden. My wife and I enjoy camping and fishing and generally being outdoors. We are very fortunate to have our children and nephew and families live so close. Right now our top priority is spending as much time as we can with our one month old grandson Nolan.

What do you like about living in this area?
My wife and I have always lived in the Pacific Northwest. We moved to Vancouver in 1990 and chose this town to raise our children due to the excellent schools. Vancouver was very small back then and even though Vancouver has grown tremendously, it still has the small town feel especially on the westside where we live. We love the Farmers Market and how Vancouver is strong in supporting independent businesses.

Anything else you would like our readers to know about you and your company?
Realty Central is a small independent business and since there are no “corporate” rules I believe we have turned into a solid group of Realtors who stay with the company. Some of my agents have been with me since the beginning. I have two agents who are bi-lingual and I have three agents working in Portland with one specializing in restaurants and the others in Residential. I also give and receive many referrals as I know other agents in North Idaho and Southern California. We are always looking for new agents to add to our group.