Story By Joe Zlomek

When Priscilla Barnes-Davis and her husband, Arthur, sold their Brooklyn NY home in 2005 to move to Pennsylvania, they left behind a kitchen filled with new appliances. At the time, she says, she was unaware they could have stipulated that the stove, 'fridge and dishwasher would not be included. "Our agent didn't tell us. I know better now," she adds.

Barnes-Davis is determined to help others learn from her experience, too.

A retired mental health administrator, she started work 18 months ago as a sales agent for real estate broker Brode and Brooks Inc. in Pennsburg PA . As part of her marketing efforts, she now holds free weekly home buyer and seller seminars at the Pottstown PA Public Library .

Attendance so far is sparse and sporadic. On some weeks, the only faces joining Barnes-Davis at the quiet library's conference room table are those of her husband and Fred Troxell, a representative of Cambridge Mortgage Associates in Norristown PA, with whom she works the seminars.

Tonight's session (May 14, 2008) is different: two newcomers have arrived in response to publicity generated by local news coverage. It's obvious Barnes-Davis is delighted. "I told my husband that I imagined people coming to this," she says with a smile, "and they did." Arthur, sitting nearby, smiles too.

One visitor, a young woman who lives in Pottstown , expresses interest in buying a home. That launches Barnes-Davis into the night's pre-planned program, a review from the buyer's perspective of language contained in an agreement of sale contract.

It will take awhile to learn if her weekly series for consumers is worth the time and effort, Barnes-Davis admits. But she says she won't let the current state of the real estate market disappoint her. "I came in after the boom," she explains, "so I didn't have any expectations for big sales. People ask me, 'how's business?' For me, business is great because I've got nothing else to compare it to."