Arcadia REALTOR Magazine - October 2011

Arcadia

REALTOR速

The Official Publication of the Arcadia Association of REALTORS速

Scott Burtz Charity Golf Tournament

PEPster Luncheon

See page 10

See page 12

The Secrets of Effective Blogging See page 11

N.A.R. Leadership Summit REALTORS速 are the Heart of the Deal See page 9

OCTOBER 2011

WWW.THEAAR.COM

VOL. 15, NO. 10

Arcadia

REALTOR®

Arcadia Association of REALTORS® 601 South First Avenue Arcadia, California 91006 626.446.2115 626.446.4072 FAX www.TheAAR.com

2011 ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

REGULAR FEATURES 4 Events Calendar

4 From the EVP’s Desk

By Andrew Cooper, Executive Vice President

5 Attorney Comments

By Dave Freeman, AAR Legal Counsel

6 Market Matters

11 Tech Talk

“The Secrets of Effective Blogging” Source: N.A.R. Info Central Blog

13 Affiliate Corner “Estate Planning”

By Romy Rahmanian, Attorney at Law

10.11

{ Arcadia REALTOR® | October | Two Thousand and Eleven | Volume Fifteen | Number Ten}

2

October 2011

Paulina Lee {President} Ryan Asao {President-Elect} Andy Bencosme {Vice-President} James Thomas {Secretary/Treasurer}

2011 DIRECTORS

John Barker Margaret Garemore Jeanne Keating Suzie Koo George Monte Joseph Pacilio Mike Vachani Kelvin Wong Nick Zigic

2011 C.A.R. DIRECTORS

Ryan Asao John Barker Andy Bencosme Jeanne Keating Paulina Lee George Monte Richard Stone James Thomas Randall Traw Kelvin Wong Nick Zigic

ARCADIA ASSOCIATION STAFF

We are here to help you with your needs!

Office Phone 626.446.2115 Robin Allen Ext. 307 Bookkeeper Robin@TheAAR.com Michael Beltran Ext. 302 Webmaster / Tech Michael@TheAAR.com Jane DeGraaf-Wade Association Service Specialist Jane@TheAAR.com

Ext. 301

Stephanie Maertens Supra Specialist / MLS Caravan / Publications Stephanie@TheAAR.com

Ext. 303

Brenda Reed Social Media / MLS Data Integrity Brenda@TheAAR.com

Ext. 304

Maria Roberts Ext. 305 Director of Membership Maria@TheAAR.com Andrew Cooper Ext. 308 Executive Vice President Andrew@TheAAR.com

ON THE COVER 9 N.A.R. Leadership Summit Report “REALTORS® are the Heart of the Deal”

A recap of the recent N.A.R. Leadership Summit in Chicago, Illinois.

10 PEPster Luncheon

The Local Governemental Relations Committee recently held its third PEPster Luncheon of the year featuring special guest, C.A.R. President-Elect, LeFrancis Arnold

11 Tech Talk

“The Secrets of Effective Blogging”

Is your blogging consistent? Are you targeting the appropriate audience? Follow this checklist to ensure your blogging voice is heard.

12 Scott Burtz Memorial Charity

Golf Classic Tournament

Get the scoop on the recent annual charity golf tournament at the Glendora Country Club.

ADDITIONAL CONTENTS 5

Noteworthy News to Share with Your Buyers

An Energy Audit Program to benefit your buyers.

15

Commercial/ Investment Committee “Commercial Success Series 101-104”

16

Education Committee “Street Smart Negotiating Skills”

Did you know that many of our past and present REALTOR® members sit on local councils to fight for you and our industry?

17

Nominations Now Open for REALTOR® and Affiliate of the Year

Broker / Manager Luncheon

Do you have someone you would like to nominate for these prestigious awards? Are you interested in sponsoring the installation?

7

Commercial Marketing Mixer

8

Government Affairs Report “REALTORS® Who Keep You in Business”

10

10 Education Committee

“How to Successfully Sell HUD Homes”

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

3

October Events Calendar 3

9:00 a.m. - New Member Orientation

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6

8:30 a.m. - New Member Induction 8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan - Food Drive, Bring NonPerishable Food Items 9:30 a.m. - Events 4 Charity Committee Mtg.

7

10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. - CRMLS Training 12:30 p.m.-4:30p.m. - Budget and Finance Task Force Mtg.

10

8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. - Strategic Planning Mtg.

11

8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. - Strategic Planning Mtg. 11:00 a.m. - Tech Committee Mtg. 1:30 p.m. - CRMLS Operations Mtg.

12

8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan - Food Drive, Bring NonPerishable Food Items 9:00 a.m. - Affiliate Committee Mtg. 9:30 a.m. - MLS Committee Mtg. 3:30 p.m. - Equal Opportunity / Housing Affordability Committee Mtg.

13

12:00 p.m. - Young Professionals Network Committee Mtg. C.A.R. Leadership Meetings @ LAX (Oct. 13-14)

14

9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - “Mastering Advanced 1031 Exchange Concepts” Class

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10:00 a.m. - CRMLS Association Executive’s Mtg. CIPS Designation Course @ Embassy Suites (Oct. 17-21)

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10:00 a.m. - ZipForms Training 2:00 p.m. - Education Committee Mtg.

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8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan - Food Drive, Bring NonPerishable Food Items 9:30 a.m. - Marketing Committee Mtg. 1:00 p.m. - Ethics Video 1:30 p.m. - Local Governmental Relations Committee Mtg. 3:00 p.m. - Global Business Alliance Committee Mtg.

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1:30 p.m. - CRMLS Finance Mtg. 12:00 p.m. - Transnational Referral Certification Course 5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. - CIPS Networking Mixer

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Events 4 Charity Bowling Event @ Arcadia Lanes

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12:00 p.m. - CRMLS Board of Directors Mtg.

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8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. - AAR Staff Mtg. 1:00 p.m. - Budget and Finance Committee Mtg.

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8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan - Food Drive, Bring NonPerishable Food Items

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8:30 a.m. - Board of Directors Mtg.

4

9:30 a.m. - Commercial Committee Mtg. 11:00 a.m. - Commercial Marketing Mixer 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. - Young Professionals Network “Legislative Networking Event”

October 2011

FROM THE EVP’S DESK Eight of our fellow REALTORS® who represent the AAR at all C.A.R. Director Meetings just returned from 3 days of successful and important discussions in San Jose. An official recap of these meetings will be available in next month’s issue. Following are some very quick highlights of these meetings: • • • •

C.A.R. will not be raising their dues or Political Survival fee for 2012 Our own Richard Stone won the 2011 President’s Award as chosen by current C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce.

The AAR received Honorable Mention in the statewide C.A.R. Call To Action promotion C.A.R.’s Chief Economist, Leslie Appleton-Young, presented her 2012 Economic Forecast to a packed house.

Mrs. Appleton-Young visit our Association on November 4th where she will review the same forecast for us.

October marks the beginning of the 4th and final quarter of the year. I hope you will WORK HARD in finishing out the year as your efforts now will determine your start for 2012. We’re committed to all of our members’ success so please take advantage of our all-new classes on increasing production and creating sound business plans.

As an example, there is a great “Double Your Income” class set for November 17th - what a perfect opportunity to prepare for 2012!

Wishing you tremendous success for the rest of this year,

Andrew Cooper

Andrew Cooper, Executive Vice-President

Attorney Comments September 2011

By Dave Freeman, Association Counsel 1. CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY: Recently a well-known builder built and sold a condominium complex in a local downtown area without completing the project and without a Certificate of Occupancy, as required by the City.

Damages to the Homeowners Association and the individual homeowners combined to total in excess of $2,000,000.00, creating liability to the builder, the REALTORS® and the escrow company.

Do not allow escrow to close until you have made sure that the house, condominium, apartment complex or commercial property is properly permitted, with final sign-offs, zones for the proper use intended by the buyer, and has the Occupancy Permit or Certificate of Occupancy as required by the City.

2. EASEMENTS – PRESCRIPTION: When purchasing a property, be sure to have your buyers inspect the property for possible prescriptive easements. This situation can arise when someone, other than the seller, has been using part of the property being sold without permission of the seller. The use is usually for coming and going over the property, but can be for other uses. This use will not be shown on a title report or other inspection by a home inspector. Further, often times, sellers

do not disclose this use by other parties, including neighbors.

The best way to protect your purchasers is to have them inspect the property prior to purchase. If such a use is apparent, inquire and disclose all known factors to your purchaser prior to close of escrow. Advise your purchaser to consult with a competent real estate attorney concerning the potential easement on the property.

A prescriptive easement may be gained by a non-owner of the property by a regular use of the property in an open, notorious and hostile (without permission) manner for a period in excess of five years.

The ways to prevent the running of a prescriptive easement, if it has not reached the five year period are:

A. To fence or gate the area, preventing further use by the offenders.

B. To grant permission to the offenders to use the area, with proof of the granting of permission (written, return receipt requested, mailed by another party who signs the Proof of Service).

C. Filing suit against the offender in a Court of law prior to the running of the five year period.

3. FENCES – ENCROACHMENT: A frequent question I receive concerns the

location of fences or walls on or near the property line between properties.

Frequently the fence/wall will have been in place for many years, and before either of the current property owners owned their respective properties.

The neighbors then call or write, saying that they are going to remove the fence or wall because it is in the wrong location and encroaches on their property.

My clients usually state that they have landscaped up to the wall, or used the property or don’t want to lose the extra yard area that they have enjoyed for many years since they purchased the property. The problem is: the property line is where the property line is, and a survey can show this location. The location of the fence/wall does not change the ownership and the property line. Usually, the party on whose property the fence/wall encroaches has the right to move the fence/wall to the property line or to the edge of his or her property. As you may recall, much of the San Gabriel Valley was once open range and then chicken ranches. Fences and walls were placed rather haphazardly, without exact surveys.

However, long term placing of a fence or wall does not normally acquire the rights to leave the fence/wall in that location similar to a prescriptive easement.

Noteworthy News to Share with Your Buyers!

California REALTORS® Energy Audit Program provides up to a $250 rebate on a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) home energy audit conducted by a certified HERS rater. A home energy audit helps you identify improvements that you can make to your home to reduce your monthly utility bills. Improving the energy efficiency of your new home is a great way to counter rising energy costs and make your home more affordable. Participating in the REALTORS® Energy Audit Program not only makes good financial sense, it makes good green sense too.

C.A.R.’s Housing Affordability Fund is dedicating $250,000 towards this effort to help California homebuyers REAP great rewards!

How to qualify: • Purchase a home between October 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011 • Conduct a HERS home energy audit of the home before the close of escrow (as part of the Energy Efficient Mortgage*) or no later than 60 days after the close of escrow • Use a California REALTOR® in the transaction (referrals do not qualify) • Primary single family residence must be purchased in California

*Energy Efficient Mortgage provides additional financing for energy upgrades to your home.

Contact your lender for details.

How to apply: • Request an application from your California REALTOR® if you are interested in applying for the R.E.A.P. rebate For more information, including eligibility and application requirements, please visit www.carhaf.org.

Source: California Association of REALTORS® Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

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Market

Matters

Market Statistics for the San Gabriel Valley Single Family Homes

City

6

Zip Code

Alhambra

91801

Alhambra Altadena

Condominiums

Price % Sales of Chg from Single Family Price Median August Homes SFR ($1,000) 2010 7

$510

91803

8

91001

33

Arcadia

91006

Arcadia

August 2011

Price Median Condo ($1,000)

Sales Count Condos

-7.3%

13

$420

-6.7%

n/a

$399

-24.0%

2

20

$695

-10.8%

1

91007

19

$1,280

55.9%

Azusa

91702

27

$261

Duarte

91010

10

El Monte

91731

El Monte

91732

$352

SFR Only

Price & Chg from Median August Home Price/ 2010 Sq. Ft. -2.8%

$362

n/a

n/a

$295

$643

-24.0%

$299

$495

-17.0%

$414

12

$432

-1.6%

$483

-2.9%

12

$150

-10.7%

$207

$240

-20.0%

4

$240

2.1%

$273

10

$295

-11.9%

4

$363

-7.1%

$211

12

$310

-1.6%

7

$278

-8.9%

$207

El Monte - South

91733

8

$285

6.5%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$219

Glendora

91740

23

$305

-16.4%

1

$300

11.9%

$242

Glendora

91741

31

$488

13.7%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$276

La Ca単ada Flintridge

91011

23

$1,106

16.4%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$463

La Verne

91750

15

$385

-23.8%

9

$215

-18.1%

$231

Monrovia

91016

17

$485

3.2%

5

$325

-16.0%

$361

Pasadena

91101

1

$265

n/a

11

$364

-13.9%

$335

Pasadena

91103

13

$333

-11.2%

4

$387

-17.8%

$303

Pasadena

91104

17

$536

3.0%

2

$242

-12.0%

$323

Pasadena

91105

17

$930

-45.2%

4

$635

23.3%

$424

Pasadena

91106

10

$700

40.0%

15

$380

-7.9%

$486

Pasadena

91107

26

$559

-13.7%

4

$248

-43.0%

$375

Rosemead

91770

15

$378

3.4%

2

$215

-41.1%

$271

San Gabriel

91775

20

$546

9.2%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$379

San Gabriel

91776

3

$450

-4.5%

3

$252

-33.1%

$395

San Marino

91108

8

$1,495

1.1%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$573

Sierra Madre

91024

13

$689

-4.3%

2

$380

-22.4%

$384

Temple City

91780

9

$538

-4.8%

4

$488

7.1%

$377

Source: DQNews.com

October 2011

Commercial Marketing Mixer The AAR Commercial/Investment Committee recently held its monthly Commercial Marketing Mixer at the AAR building. This month featured a “Bank/Institutional Lender Panel” with Julie Freedman, VP Wells Fargo Bank; Davie Wong, First General Bank; Ted Wiersema, VP ACI Capital and Carlos Payan, Popular Community Bank. In addition to offering tons of great important information, a fantastic luncheon was also provided by Mary Kay with Advanced Group Property Inspection Co. and Mark Wu with Allstate Insurance for those who attended. If you are interested in Commercial real estate and would like to attend our free monthly marketing mixers, they are held at the AAR office on the first Thursday of every month at 11:00 a.m.

Members of the Commercial/Investment Committee with the speakers and sponsors are (L to R): Lex Cisneros, Advanced Group Property Inspection Co.; George Monte, Commercial Committee Chairman; Roy Blume; Julie Freedman, Wells Fargo Bank; Davie Wong, First General Bank; Paulina Lee, AAR 2011 President; Priscilla Yim; Ted Wiersema, ACI Capital; Judy Tsao; David Hyun; Fred Madjar and Mark Wu, Allstate Insurance.

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

Design Escrow, Inc. 20 Years of Doing Business and Providing Great Service!

Government Affairs Director Report “REALTORS® Who Keep We offer Five Languages You& in Business” Full time In House Messenger

By Chip Ahlswede, G.A.D.

Standing (left to right): Yolanda Vidales, Julie Nguyen, Kai Wu, Jackie Ramos, Liem Ho, standing (left to right): Yolanda Vidales, Julie Nguyen, Kai Wu, Jackie Ramos, Liem Ho, Janet Cerswell, Janet Cerswell, Suzie Archuleta, Luly Goodmand and Jojo Ong Suzie Archuleta, Luly Goodman, Jojo Ong Sitting Fabbri,Alexis Alexis Ostensen, KayShelley GassMalicek and Shelly Malicek sitting(left (leftto to right): right): Terri Terri Fabbri, Ostensen, Kay Gass,

We are members of the:

in: What isSpecialize the one thing that protects our Bulks, ability to do business the way we do? The Sales laws thatShort govern our industry. What is the Commercial one thing that keeps you from doing even Shortpays better? Okay, other than the tight lending REO’s restrictions...

Again, it’s the laws that limit yourExchanges business. So what is the biggest Residential can do to improve the thing REALTORS® and ways to fix the laws. Luckily industry? Find Loans we have REALTORS® doing just that.

Arcadia REALTORS® sit on several city councils. Tom Adams,

Escrow is beginning our 20th year of doing Century business! 21 Our staff ofand Barnes and Joe Garcia, Century 21 Adams D6 esign escrow officers, a full time messenger and a supporting staff of 6, are

• Arcadia Association of REALTORS® • California Escrow Association • Escrow Associates of San Gabriel Valley

• Amercan Escrow Association • National Notary Association • Pasadena - Foothill Association of REALTORS®

committed to the successful 128 East Huntington Drive timely Arcadia, CA 91006

Adams and Barnes sit on the city council in Monrovia. Former

completion of REALTORS® your transaction.

Phil Reyes and Josh Moran are council members in Duarte and Sierra Madre respectively. Also, one of Arcadias best

“It’s our people that make the difference.” mayors was one of our own, John Wuo. 626.445.6137

Our team is expert in all aspects of conveyance including: Residential We also have several REALTORS® sitting on commissions: and Commercial Real Estate Sales, Exchanges, Loans & Refinances, former AAR President Andy Bencosme is a commissioner in Business Opportunities & Probate Sales, Short Sales and R.E.O.’s .

Monrovia and Board of Directors member Nick Zigic does the

same in Duarte. These fellow REALTORS® are working for our communities, protecting private property rights and showing the We are members of the: quality leadership that comes from our industry. arcadia association of realtors

So what are you doing to make a difference? Here are some California escrow association opportunities for you: We have Spanish, Cantonese, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Mandarin speaking employees to assist you and your clients.

128 East Huntington Drive Arcadia, CA 91006

6 2 6 . 4 4 5 .6 1 3 7

escrow associates of • On October san Gabriel Valley

6th from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the AAR office, the YPN group will be having a legislative mixer american escrow with association our REALTOR® leaders, come learn about how you can get involved.

National Notary association Pasadena - foothill of realtors • Inassociation November, the

Duarte City Council will be having an election. Find out who is running that supports our industry.

Log onto: www.designescrowcorp.com

Later in the year, the AAR will be hosting an event encouraging REALTORS® to get involved in their communities. The coming year will mark the start of the Arcadia Association of REALTORS® rolling out its “My REALTOR® Party Initiative” to help strengthen the presence of REALTOR® in our area, and influencing the laws and elections that seek to impact our business.

This is an exciting time for our Association and our industry and we welcome your support and ideas.

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October 2011

N.A.R. Leadership Summit Report REALTORS® are the Heart of the Deal

By Kelvin Chang, YPN Committee Co-Chairman

In August, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the N.A.R. Leadership Summit in Chicago and represent the AAR YPN group. What an incredible experience!

The Leadership Summit serves as a national REALTOR® conference specifically designed for upcoming Presidents-Elect, Association Executives, and YPN Chairmen to discuss and plan future goals. Moreover, the Leadership Summit provides an overview of REALTOR® Association challenges in the Members of AAR leadership who attended the N.A.R. year ahead, trending topics, and Leadership Summit are (L to R): Kelvin Chang, Andrew N.A.R. updates.

Cooper, AAR Executive Vice-President; Mike Vachani and Ryan Asao, AAR President-Elect.

REALTORS® are the Heart of the Deal Next year’s campaign, “REALTORS® are the Heart of the Deal,” focuses on how to improve our professionalism as REALTORS®, how we can better serve our members and improve our local organization, how to preserve and maintain current tax benefits, and lastly, how to utilize our influence in the political arena.

In an uncertain real estate environment like we are experiencing today, it becomes even more important than ever to (continued on page 15)

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

9

Broker / Manager Luncheon The AAR was honored to welcome Dr. Tracey Seslen, Professor, USC Lusk Center of Real Estate & the USC Marshall School of Business to a Broker / Manager Luncheon at the beautiful Santa Anita Golf Course. Dr. Seslen discussed the “Economic Climate of the Housing Industry in Los Angeles County”. In addition, Art Carter, CEO of CRMLS and Lynn Movroydis, C.A.R. Governmental Affairs Director offered informational data regarding their respective companies. We sincerely thank Dr. Seslen, Art Carter and Lynn Movroydis for lending us their time to speak to our AAR brokers and managers. (photo) AAR 2011 President, Paulina Lee (L) with Dr. Tracey Seslen (R).

Education Committee

“How to Successfully Sell HUD Homes”

The AAR Education Committee recently offered an informative seminar on understanding how to sell HUD properties, how to market, advertise and show HUD homes, loan programs for HUD homes, registering with HUD, HUD sales contracts and much more! Speaker Stuart Merida, HUD Local Listing Broker and Selling Agent Trainer, offered wonderful information on all that is involved with being successful in selling HUD homes. A special thank you to our sponsor LaRocca Inspections for providing a fantastic continental breakfast for those who attended. (photo) (L to R): John Lee, Education Committee with speaker, Stuart Merida; sponsor, April Kass and associate of the speaker, Maritza Soto.

PEPster Luncheon The AAR was honored to welcome C.A.R. President-Elect, LeFrancis Arnold to the third free PEPster luncheon of the year. Arnold gave an “Update on C.A.R. and the Impacts on Real Estate from Sacramento and Washington D.C.”. We sincerely thank Mr. Arnold for lending us his time to speak to our AAR members and we wish him tremendous success during his Presidency in 2012. (photo) 2011 AAR President Paulina Lee (R) with C.A.R. President-Elect, LeFrancis Arnold (L). (front page photo) Attendees of the PEPster luncheon.

10

October 2011

Tech.Talk

The Secrets of Effective Blogging Source: N.A.R. Info Central Blog

A real estate blog is a strategic asset, provided it’s well thought out and planned. Here are some guiding considerations to help make yours an effective addition to your marketing efforts.

Target:As a blogger, you need to decide whom you want to reach and why. Define your audience by where they live or want to buy, the type of property that interests them, or some shared demographic characteristic like first-time home buyers or relocating retirees.

Focus:With that audience in mind, approach your blog as the source of information they need that you’re the best qualified to provide.

Use graphics and widgets to reinforce the overall theme and value of the blog. Provide links to other resources your readers may value.

Keep posts on topic, within reason.

consistently on a specific topic will do the most to make your blog a credible resource, and eventually attract your audience.

Promote:After you’ve found your audience and posted reams of entries, the blog will promote itself. Early on, though, you need to let people know why they should check it out. Promote it through your social networks and in your marketing materials. Comment on other related blogs with links back to yours. If you’ve done a good job, readers will find reasons to return and to tell others about it.

Voice:A blog, by intent, is a forum for expressing yourself and letting readers know who you are. Some of your personality should come through in the form of personal insights into real estate trends, observations and occasional glimpses into your life or what matters to you.

Consistency:Before you start, commit the time to make this work.

Depending on the type of blog, new entries should be posted at least monthly. Ideally, you’ll make updates every few days. Figure each post requires an hour of time, on average. The more you post, the more people have reason to return to your blog.

Content:If you don’t have a flair for writing, coming up with topics to blog about may seem intimidating. Again, think as your audience: Approach the blog as building a book of useful real estate information, one page at a time. When stuck for ideas, search the day’s news and events for subjects you can somehow make relevant to your audience. And, keep things relatively short: The ideal length for a blog post is around 500 words.

Optimize:Some sensitivity to keywords, as they relate to the interest of your audience, can help with search engine placement and attract more readers. That said, don’t write for search engines. Posting Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

11

Scott Burtz Memorial Charity Golf Classic Tournament $12,000 Raised for Charity!

The Arcadia Association of REALTORS Events 4 Charity (E4C) recently hosted the AAR’s Annual Scott Burtz Memorial Charity Golf Classic Tournament. This year, the event was held at a beautiful new venue, the Glendora Country Club in Glendora. The tournament was an amazing success in raising a fundraising total of more than $12,000 which will be distributed during the holidays to many needy local charities.

That is more than double the amount raised last year! In addition to the money raised, all who attended had a great time!

Sincere appreciation to our outstanding and hard working golf tournament Chairman, Adam Throop, Home Loan 123 and also Jill Nelson. Thank you also to Stephanie LaPorte, Scott Shimamoto, Julie Roybal, CD’s Paniagua and all the many Affiliate Members who are always there to lend a helping hand.

A special thank you to the generous individuals and companies who helped to sponsor this year’s event.

Our tournament sponsor this year was the Marguerite Rangel and Andrea Schaffer team of Pacific Advisors. Gold and Beverage sponsors were LaRocca Inspections; Diane Balsamo and Nikki Felix of Bank of America; Premium Escrow and W.J. Bradley. Also, we wish to extend a special thank you to Wells Fargo and Dan Bryant for their donations to the event.

12

October 2011

Affiliate Corner “Estate Planning”

By Romy Rahmanian, Attorney at Law

While nobody likes thinking about death or disability, having an estate plan is one of the most important steps you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones. With proper estate planning, you can determine who will receive your assets after you pass away, and who will take care of you and your personal finances in the event you fall ill or become incapacitated (unable to make decisions for yourself). This process not only ensures that your wishes are carried out, but it can also spare your loved ones a great deal of expense, delay and frustration associated with managing your affairs. Writing a last will and testament is only part of an overall process that may also require financial, medical, tax and business planning. A common estate plan is made up of four main parts: a will, a living trust, and powers of attorney for management of your financial affairs and health care.

A will is a written legal document that allows you to leave a set of instructions to be carried out after you pass away (such as naming who will inherit your property, and nominating a guardian to take care of minor children).

When you leave your estate to your loved ones using only a will, most likely, everything you own will pass through probate. Probate is a public proceeding where the court oversees the transfer of your property to the rightful recipients and ensures your debts are properly handled.

Many people aim to avoid probate because it is expensive and time consuming (probate proceedings can take anywhere from one year to eighteen months to complete).

A living trust is a legal tool that partially substitutes for a will, but has the benefits of: avoiding the costs and delay of probate, allowing you to provide for your own long-term care while you are living, and in some cases, reducing or eliminating estate taxes you may owe. Here’s how a living

trust works: you first establish the trust, and then transfer ownership of your property (such as your real estate, bank accounts and stocks) to the living trust. Since you become the “trustee”, of your own living trust, you don’t give up any control over the property you put into it. In the trust document, you name the people or institutions you want to inherit trust property after your death, and leave instructions for your own long-term financial care in the event you become ill or incapacitated. You can change those choices if you wish, or even revoke the trust at any time.

When you pass away, the person you named in the trust document to take over for you (called the successor trustee) transfers ownership of trust property to your beneficiaries, or may keep your property in trust and distribute it in installments, depending your wishes. Because a trust is recognized as a separate legal entity, distributions can be made by your trustee to your beneficiaries smoothly and efficiently, without any involvement by the probate court.

So what happens if you don’t do any estate planning? The legal term for dying without a will is dying “intestate.”

Distribution of your property and guardianship of any minor children would be determined by the probate court according to California law. The results may or may not be what you intended. Therefore it’s important for everyone to at least have a will in place to make their wishes known.

Estate plans are not “one-size-fits all” as there are a variety of legal and tax issues that can affect the decision of which estate planning techniques are right for you. This is why it is important to have a qualified professional review your particular circumstance and design an estate plan which is customized to your specific needs.

The Law Office of Romy S. Rahmanian is dedicated to providing high quality legal services in the areas of Estate Planning, Trust Administration, Probate, Business law and Commercial transactions. For more information, contact Romy at: (626) 869-8787 or romy@rahmanianlaw.com.

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

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Closing on time, with little or no red tape, saves you time, money and worry.

That’s why W.J. Bradley has put together a team of the best processors, underwriters, closers and funders in the business. They’re fast and accurate — and their goal is to make sure you get your loan when you need it. We measure our turn times in hours, not days. If you’re ready to discuss purchasing a new home or refinancing your current loan, call to speak to one of our experienced Loan Officers today.

Why delay? Call today to see what the Pasadena Branch of W.J. Bradley can do for you!

Michael Sohl

Jordan Nedeff

Area Sales Manager Office: 626-689-4240 Cell: 626-318-1970 NMLS #: 203040

Loan Officer Office: 626-689-4218 Cell: 626-755-9291 NMLS #: 310320

W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital Corp.

W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital Corp.

1055 E. Colorado Blvd. #120 Pasadena, CA 91106 License #: 813G696 WJB050610199

© 2011 W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital Corp., 201 Columbine Street Suite 300, Denver, CO 80206. Phone #303-825-5670. NMLS ID 3233. Trade/service marks are the property of W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital Corp. This is not a commitment to lend.

Restrictions apply. All rights reserved. Some products may not be available in all states. WJB is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of HUD/FHA or the federal government. NMLS consumer access: www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/EntityDetails.aspx/ COMPANY/3233. Licensed by the Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act RML# 4131002.

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October 2011

N.A.R. Leadership Summit Report (continued from page 9) educate and improve ourselves as professionals. REALTORS® truly are the centerpieces of every sales transaction and we must learn how to work together cooperatively, while still protecting the interests of our clients.

Home Ownership Matters During the convention, we had the opportunity to listen to N.A.R. President-Elect Moe Veissi, speak about N.A.R.’s campaign, “Home Ownership Matters”. N.A.R. leadership is constantly working in Washington D.C. to encourage public policies that promote responsible sustainable home ownership.

N.A.R. launched the “Home Ownership Matters” campaign to promote the value of home ownership to individuals and to communities, in order to counter media reports suggesting America might be better off as a nation of renters. Through advocacy and outreach to lawmakers, consumers, thought leaders and the media, N.A.R. is working to preserve home ownership as part of the “American Dream”.

Moe concluded his powerful message with a quote that I would like to share with you: “People are going to forget what you say and forget what you did, but they will always remember how you make them feel.”

I encourage you to keep this quote in mind when you conduct business with your clients. Please remember, our clients have put their faith and trust in us in helping them buy/sell the most

important asset they own. We need to keep housing first on the nation’s public policy agenda and keep REALTORS® at the heart of the deal.

REALTORS® Political Action Committee (RPAC) It is imperative that we, as REALTORS®, contribute to RPAC because it is crucial to protect the future of our real estate industry. RPAC raises funds that are invested in candidates that support the values of REALTORS®. The money to accomplish this comes from voluntary contributions—RPAC does not buy votes, RPAC enables REALTORS® to support candidates who support us and our industry. I highly encourage you to contact the AAR office and contribute to our RPAC fund!

YPN Community is Growing…Get Involved and Grow With Us! New YPN networks are expanding throughout the nation and we are doing many great positive things in our Associations and within our communities. Moreover, the AAR YPN Network is being recognized as a candidate for N.A.R.’s YPN “Network of the Year” Award.

Brokers/Managers—Keep your office(s) informed about the latest news, updates, and technology by recommending a candidate from your office to join our YPN Committee. If you would like to participate and learn more about YPN, please contact me at Kelvin.Chang@coldwellbanker. com. YPN Committee meetings are held the second Thursday of every month at the AAR office starting at 12:00 p.m.

Commercial / Investment Committee “Commercial Success Series 101 - 104”

The AAR Commercial/Investment Committee recently hosted “Commercial Success Series 101-104”. In this series of courses, instructors, David Weinstein and George Monte presented “Exploring the Business of Commercial Real Estate”, “The Mechanics of Valuing Commercial Real Estate”, “The Techniques of Analyzing Investments” and “Tax Aspects of Investment Real Estate”. The courses were very well attended. Attendees gained an extensive understanding of all involved with Commercial and Investment real estate. Special thank you to April Kass, LaRocca Inspections for a lovely continental breakfast and afternoon snacks.

411 E. Huntington Dr. Suite 101 B, Arcadia CA 91006 Phone: 626-446-2401 Fax: 626-446-2362

Ready for a Stress-Free Closing????

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Short Sales Commercial Mobile Homes

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Contempo Difference!!

Commercial Committee members with the Instructors and Sponsor are (L to R): David Weinstein, Instructor; Paulina Lee, AAR President; George Monte, Instructor and Commercial Committee Chairman; April Kass, LaRocca Inspections; Roy Blume and Carrie Crest, LaRocca Inspections.

Teresa L. Shaver Certified Sr. Escrow Officer

Amy Choy Escrow Officer

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

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Education Committee

“Street Smart Negotiating Skills” Recently the Arcadia Association of REALTORS® Education Committee held a free education course that offered six free consumer service continuing education credits with instructor Charlie Krackeler, M.S. Charlie discussed low risk places to practice negotiating skills, working with deadlines, negotiating on the telephone, offers and counter offers, negotiating with lawyers and much more. Special thank you to Design Escrow, Diane Balsamo and Nikki Felix with Bank of America who sponsored the event.

The ladies of Design Escrow with their beautiful continental breakfast.

Members of the Education Committee with the Instructor and the sponsors are (L to R): Charlie Krackeler, M.S., Instructor; Nikki Felix, Bank of America; Alexis Ostensen, Design Escrow; Terri Fabbri, Design Escrow; Janet Cerswell, Design Escrow; James Pai; Yolanda Vidales, Design Escrow; Shelley Malicek, Design Escrow and John Lee, Education Chairman.

Foothill Federal Credit Union Your Professional Mortgage Partner!

With 20 years of lending experience and a commitment to excellent client services, Bernardo Sotelo is Foothill’s local Mortgage Specialist that you can count on.

• Mortgage expert in home financing and will help you choose the best option to meet your clients needs • Availability outside of regular business hours – days, evenings and weekends to suit your clients schedule • Quick free mortgage pre-approvals that the seller can depend on and consultations for your clients with no obligation until they make their final decision • In house underwriting • Experts in communicating with all parties, so we are ready to close when you are Call Bernardo Sotelo at 626-698-9865 or email bernardo@foothillcu.org to help with your client’s next real estate purchase. You’ll have a Mortgage Partner dedicated to your Success!

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www.foothillcu.org 626.445.0950 October 2011

Stop by and meet the First Cal team at our NEW office location!

Citrus Valley Association of Realtors Building

REALTOR速 & Affiliate of the Year Nominations Now Open

504 East Route 66 Suite. #102 Glendora, CA 91740

Stop by and meet the First Cal team at our NEW office location!

The Arcadia Association of REALTORS速 is now accepting nominations and recommendations for the coveted REALTOR速 and Affiliate of the Year Award. Nomination forms are available at the AAR or on the AAR website at www.TheAAR.com.

Nominations are due no later than Monday, October 31st. For questions, please contact Maria Roberts at (626) 446-2115.

Citrus Valley Association of Realtors building 504 East Route 66 Suite. #102 Glendora, CA 91740 Or call: 888.918.3262 NMLS # 24055

Larry Davis Area Sales Manager

Or call: 888.918.3262 NMLS # 24055 Larry Davis Area Sales Manager

Installation Sponsorship Opportunities:

First Cal is a direct mortgage lender

Mardi Gras $1,500

3 Installation Dinner Tickets 3 Months Banner Ad on the AAR Website 3 Months 1/2 Page Ad in Monthly AAR Magazine Name Printed in Installation Program

French Quarter $1,000

2 Installation Dinner Tickets 2 Months 1/4 Page Ad in Monthly AAR Magazine Name Printed in Installation Program

New Orleans $500

1 Week 1/2 Page Ad in MLS Caravan Cover Sheet Name Printed in Installation Program and in Magazine

Louisiana $200

AUTO

HOME

LIFE

COMMERCIAL

Mark E. Wu Agency Owner Allstate Insurance Company 319 N. San Marino Ave. San Gabriel, CA 91775 Phone (626) 281-6854 / (323) 283-4296 Fax (626) 281-2746 markewu@allstate.com http://agent.allstate.com/markewu CA Insurance License #0C30508

Name Printed in Installation Program and in Magazine

Masquerade $125 (Centerpiece and 1 Installation Ticket) Name Printed in Installation Program

Carnaval $65 (Centerpiece)

Name Printed in Installation Program If you are interested in sponsoring the Installation, please contact Maria Roberts at (626) 446-2115.

24-Hour Customer Service

Arcadia REALTOR速 Magazine

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Arcadia Association of REALTORS® 601 South First Avenue Arcadia, California 91006

Save the Date!

When registering, use the promotional code NARVIP11E and gain FREE access to the Expo on all four days of the show ($25 value)!

Annual Inaugural Installation Gala Friday, December 9, 2011 Noor Banquet Room Paseo Colorado, Pasadena

This will be an event that you will not want to miss!

Dedicated to Providing High Quality Legal Services ®

• Estate Planning • Trust Administration • Probate • Business Law • Commercial Transactions • Corporation, LLC & Partnership Formations • Business Contracts

Call today for a free consultation

Romy S. Rahmanian, Attorney

(626) 869-8787 37 E. Huntington Drive, Suite A • Arcadia, CA 91006 romy@rahmanianlaw.com • www.RahmanianLaw.com

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