following is a copy of a letter from geoff wood, chief executive officer of windermere real estate, which appears in the spring, 2009 edition of premier living.

as i was cycling around my neighborhood the other day, i realized i was actually riding through several neighborhoods. it made me ask myself "what exactly is a neighborhood?"

the answer is: it depends.

the truth is that each neighborhood is made up of many people who happen to live near each other. beyond that, a neighborhood is what you make of it.

we spend a lot of time in neighborhoods. in fact, most of our citizen-agents live in the neighborhoods in which they work. it's what makes us experts and what allows windermere to be more successful. if you live where you work, you know more. when you know more, you are more confident. when you are confident, you are passionate. and when you are passionate about something, it can be infectious.

i call it a virtuous circle. because we are so committed to building more livable and vibrant neighborhoods, which together become communities and then towns and then cities, it makes sense for us to invest a lot in knowing everything we can about our neighborhoods.

the best service we can offer is to be the source of truth, wisdom, facts and advice...hype-free. we try to do that in every neighborhood, community, town and city in which we live and work. that way, you'll know just what to expect when you are considering a move...or just riding your bike.