Arcadia REALTOR Magazine - September 2011

Arcadia

REALTOR®

The Official Publication of the Arcadia Association of REALTORS®

Take the World into Your Hands with CIPS! See page 5

Join a Committee in 2012 See page 8

Initial Thoughts on Google+

“Fun in the Sun” Bingo See page 10

See page 9

Commercial Education Summit & Expo See page 7

SEPTEMBER 2011

WWW.THEAAR.COM

VOL. 15, NO. 9

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

9 Tech Talk

“Initial Thoughts on Google+”

Source: David Shumaker, N.A.R. Info Central Blog

11 Affiliate Corner

“I Have Loaded Your ‘Magic Bullet’ for You”

By Jordan Nedeff, W.J. Bradley

09.11

{ Arcadia REALTOR® | September | Two Thousand and Eleven | Volume Fifteen | Number Nine}

2

September 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 5

Take the World into Your Hands with CIPS!

The Global Business Alliance Committee will be hosting a serious of five Certified International Property Specialist Courses to obtain the prestigious CIPS designation.

7 Commercial Education Summit & Expo

The Commercial / Investment Committee held its

annual Commercial Education Summit & Expo with

three fantastic speakers and a wonderful group of sponsors.

8

Join a Committee in 2012

9

Initial Thoughts on Google+

AAR 2011 President-Elect, Ryan Asao, invites you to join one of our fantastic Committees in 2012 and get involved with what happens at our Association.

Have you heard about Google’s new hot topic?

10 “Fun in the Sun” Bingo

A recap of our recent fun-filled charity event.

ADDITIONAL CONTENTS 5

Membership Survey Winners Announcing the three winners of our recent Membership Survey Drawing.

Notice Something Different?

The Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine has been redesigned with you in mind! While keeping into consideration the recent AAR Membership Survey results and the suggestions that you, our members offered, we created a brand new look for you with many new features to help keep you up-to-date on Association happenings, the local real estate market, new tools to help your business and much more!

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

3

September Events Calendar

FROM THE EVP’S DESK

By Andrew Cooper

1

9:30 a.m. - Commercial / Investment Committee Mtg. 11:00 a.m. - Commercial Mixer

2

9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. - “Street Smart Negotiating Skills” Education Class

5

AAR Office Closed in Observance of Labor Day

6

11:45 a.m. - PEPster Luncheon

7

8

8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan 9:30 a.m. - Events 4 Charity Committee Mtg.

13

8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. - AAR Staff Mtg. 11:00 a.m. - Tech Committee Mtg. 1:30 p.m. - CRMLS Operations Mtg.

14

8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan 9:00 a.m. - Affiliate Committee Mtg. 9:30 a.m. - MLS Committee Mtg. 3:30 p.m. - Equal Opportunity / Housing Affordability Committee Mtg.

15

9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - “CIEA 101” Course @ AAR 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. - “CIEA 102” Course @ AAR

16

9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - “CIEA 103” Course @ AAR 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. - “CIEA 104” Course @ AAR

19

10:00 a.m. - CRMLS Association Executive’s Mtg. AAR Annual Charity Golf Tournament @ Glendora CC

20

10:00 a.m. - ZipForms Training 2:00 p.m. - Education Committee Mtg. C.A.R. in San Jose (September 20-24)

21

8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan 9:30 a.m. - Marketing Committee Mtg. 1:00 p.m. - Ethics Video 3:00 p.m. - Global Business Alliance Committee Mtg.

22

9:30 a.m. - Tech Thursday “Point2”

26

12:00 p.m. - CRMLS Board of Directors Mtg. 1:30 p.m. - Local Governmental Relations Committee Mtg.

27

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

28

8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan

29

9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - Pro Standards Training

30

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

4

12:00 p.m. - Young Professionals Network Committee Mtg.

September 2011

“...we’ve ALREADY began to make significant efforts to give you what you want and need based on your responses.”

Thank you to all 545 of our members who completed our recent 2011 AAR Membership Survey. This is a record number for survey completions for the AAR and I’m extremely pleased to see so many of our members rise to the occasion. I’m just as equally excited to tell you that less than a month after the completion of the survey we’ve ALREADY began to make significant efforts to give you what you want and need based on your responses. To begin, you need not look any further than this brand new edition of the Arcadia REALTOR® magazine. Beyond the new, contemporary look and feel we’ve become more environmentally friendly and reduced the number of copies we print each month, which is in direct response to your answers. It’s important to note this has been done without sacrificing readable distribution or availability of the magazine. Also, you’ll notice the new content matter in this month’s edition. According to the survey responses you wanted local market statistics and we delivered.

Next month look for additional new content on legal matters affecting our industry which is another topic many expressed they would like to see.

I would like to share with you some data gathered from our survey – some you will find interesting and some you may find quite surprising: • The largest percentage of those who completed the survey have been a member of the AAR for less than 3 years (38%) • The largest percentage who completed the survey are over the age of 55 (34%) • Almost 2/3 of respondents have never served on an AAR committee. (My thoughts: completing the survey is the first step in getting your opinions read – becoming a member of a committee is the next step in getting them heard and implemented).

• Most of our survey takers plan on remaining in the real estate industry for 21+ years and only 4% plan on leaving in less than 2 years.

• The top 3 industry challenges facing us the last twelve months are: #1) Lending restrictions #2) Negotiating/closing short sales #3) Obtaining listings (Finding buyers was a close #4) • The top 3 types of classes you would like to see offered at the AAR include: #1) Sales-related classes (i.e. how to get more clients and do more business) #2) Legal classes #3) Technology classes • 2/3 of our survey takers typically visit our website less than twice a month . (My thoughts: Stay tuned! We are already underway in creating a robust, user-friendly, fun and interactive website that you will be very excited to use. This will be a very thought-out and wellplanned website and as such, we hope to launch in January.)

Thank you again to those who completed the survey. On behalf of your Board of Directors and Association staff, you have our commitment that we will work steadfastly to take our Association in the direction you want and that’s in the best interest of our members. We’re very excited about our new vision and we hope you are too. Wishing you success for the remainder of the year!

Andrew Cooper Andrew Cooper, Executive Vice-President

Attorney Comments August 2011

By Dave Freeman, Association Counsel 1. MARS: In the April 2011 Attorney Comments we discussed the federal law referred to as the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services (“MARS”). This onerous law required agents to make it clear, in writing, to Sellers and Buyers working on a Short Sale, Loan Modification, Deed in Lieu or Loan Forbearance issue, that the clients could pretty much back out of a deal at any time prior to the lender’s approval of the transaction. Further, the commission could be avoided if the consumer rejects the lender’s offer.

We have now been notified that the F.T.C. (Feds) are no longer going to enforce the MARS rule. Reasonable protocol would still suggest that you disclose to Buyers and Sellers all the details of these types of transactions, and the situations that can go wrong. Further, if you are listing a property that must be sold by Short Sale, you must protect yourself and the Seller by disclosing, at the earliest opportunity, that the matter is contingent upon the lender’s approval.

2. SHORT SALE DEFICIENCIES – JUNIOR LENDERS: We also recently

discussed Short Sale deficiency collections

by First Trust Deed holders. The law, which became effective on January 1, 2011, prevents First Trust Deed holders from attempting to collect any deficiency or amounts owed beyond the Short Sale amount after close of escrow.

A new law, which just became effective on July 15, 2011, now prevents the Junior Trust Deed holders from attempting to collect any deficiency against the borrower after a Short Sale. Of course, the Short Sale must first be approved by the Junior and Senior Trust Deed holders. And similar to the previous law, the borrower must be an individual, not a corporation, limited partnership, LLC or a political subdivision of the State.

Lastly, and importantly, the property must be a single family, no more than 4 residential units, and can be owner occupied or non-owner occupied. The loan can be a purchase money or a re-fi loan.

3. CASH-FOR-KEYS: This is an old, practical method that’s been used by wise, experienced landlords for decades. When

a tenant isn’t paying the rent, a landlord faces paying an attorney substantial money for an Unlawful Detainer action (eviction), perhaps months of unpaid rent and, frequently, damage to the apartment/house/ commercial rental. A much more practical, quicker and frequently cheaper manner of getting the tenant out of the premises with little or no damage to the structure is to offer the tenant money in exchange for their leaving the premises at an early date, and without damage to the premises.

The cash-for-keys method can be very effective in foreclosure situations as well. Once a foreclosure sale is completed, the notice period for starting to evict a tenant is rather lengthy. However, this method can be used to shorten the time, as well as to prevent the frequent destruction to the premises by an angry foreclosed owner or tenant of the foreclosed owner. It’s always a good idea to have an agreement in writing, signed by the tenant and you must make it clear that no money will be paid unless the premises are left in good condition and after an inspection, which follows the move-out by the tenant.

Take the World into Your Hands with CIPS! Last year, our Global Business Alliance Committee held the first ever CIPS (Certified International Property Specialist) courses in Mandarin Chinese. It was the first of its kind in the whole nation. Not only did we get great a response, we also received many inquiries for future CIPS courses in English. With that in consideration, our GBA Committee has brought back the CIPS courses once again this year in English!

This year, five full days of CIPS courses will be held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Arcadia from Monday, October 17th through Friday, October 21st. On the evening of Thursday, October 20th, there will be a complimentary networking reception with honorable guest Steve Goddard, C.A.R. Past President. This year, we are offering an Early Bird Discount if you sign up before Friday, September 16th! The discount is only $699 for all five days! If you register after September 16th, the total cost for all five days will be $750. If you would like to register or would like more information, visit www.theaar.com/CIPS.html or contact Stephanie at the AAR today to reserve your spot.

Certified International Property Specialist courses focus on educating real estate professionals in the transaction principles of international real estate. This includes specifics on real estate markets, investment trends, marketing strategies, currency issues, and financing in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Pacific Rim. A CIPS designation is recognized in approximately 40 countries, and it provides each designee with an influential global network of international real estate professionals in those countries. The completion of a CIPS allows designees not only have advanced knowledge of international real estate practice, a global perspective, and also distinct understanding on how to work with global buyers and investors; it also helps designees to take their business to an international level. According to a recent National Association of REALTORS® study, the CIPS designees on average, earn more than double that of a non-CIPS REALTOR® annually. Join us today to be a part of this exciting and elite group of REALTORS® and take the world into your hands!

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

5

Market

Matters

Market Statistics for the San Gabriel Valley Single Family Homes

City Alhambra

6

Zip Code 91801

Condominiums

$475

-6.9%

SFR Only

Price Median Median Price & Condo Chg from Home Price/ Sq.Ft. ($1,000) June 2010

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

July 2011

9

$369

-1.2%

$259

Alhambra

91803

9

$410

-3.8%

2

$455

5.4%

$350

Altadena

91001

24

$470

4.4%

2

$567

-38.9%

$293

Arcadia

91006

27

$709

-8.3%

4

$543

7.4%

$393

Arcadia

91007

15

$869

0.4%

12

$476

20.4%

$423

Azusa

91702

20

$272

-9.3%

11

$220

6.3%

$200

Duarte

91010

19

$300

-12.4%

5

$333

12.3%

$215

El Monte

91731

7

$335

6.3%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$264

El Monte

91732

17

$250

-15.3%

7

$260

-6.1%

$210

El Monte - South

91733

12

$224

-13.8%

3

$210

-12.5%

$217

Glendora

91740

8

$376

15.7%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$232

Glendora

91741

17

$460

-1.1%

3

$317

-9.4%

$269

La Ca単ada Flintridge

91011

39

$1,068

-8.8%

1

$830

n/a

$463

La Verne

91750

26

$410

-12.8%

5

$400

62.1%

$248

Monrovia

91016

20

$495

1.0%

6

$275

-23.0%

$322

Pasadena

91101

1

$680

n

8

$377

38.3%

$281

Pasadena

91103

13

$665

53.6%

4

$386

n/a

$357

Pasadena

91104

30

$501

-0.9%

1

$240

-7.0%

$373

Pasadena

91105

17

$900

-2.7%

5

$645

-20.5%

$400

Pasadena

91106

5

$1,460

80.2%

12

$395

-7.9%

$398

Pasadena

91107

21

$600

-11.3%

5

$350

-7.9%

$398

Rosemead

91770

12

$352

-8.7%

1

$372

14.5%

$306

San Gabriel

91775

13

$674

10.0%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$342

San Gabriel

91776

9

$418

-5.1%

3

$328

-13.7%

$320

San Marino

91108

19

$1,338

-11.4%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$583

Sierra Madre

91024

9

$633

-19.3%

2

$467

21.3%

$382

Temple City

91780

22

$559

1.5%

2

$498

-13.4%

$384

Source: DQNews.com

September 2011

Commercial Education Summit & Expo

The Arcadia Association of REALTORS® recently held its first annual Commercial Education Summit & Expo at the Doubletree Hotel in Monrovia. We were honored to have three fantastic speakers at this wonderful event.

The morning session covered real estate investing through syndication with speaker Gene Trowbridge, Esquire, Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). Gene discussed various concepts such as which entity to use for syndications, securities laws to be aware of, forming and operating your next syndication and big mistakes to avoid. Gene was widely received by attendees and we were extremely honored to have him speak.

While enjoying a fantastic luncheon, attendees enjoyed hearing from Gary Schlossberg, Economist Platinum Sponsor Julie from Wells Fargo. Gary provided a thoughtful and timely presentation on the state of our local Freedman, Wells Fargo economy and that of our Northern California counterparts and how it affects our industry in this area. with lunch speaker Gary Schlossberg, Economist.

The afternoon speaker for the event was Ralph Spencer, CCIM, Society of Industrial and Office REALTORS® (SIOR) and National Association of REALTORS® Signature Series speaker. The AAR was privileged to have Ralph because we are a National Association of REALTORS® Accredited Association. Ralph presented seven essential habits that are needed in order to be successful in today’s market. This included strategies to be proactive, how to continue and grow business relationships, planning, negotiations and much more. Attendees were given a free digital version of Ralph’s Priority Planner System and his Call Planner System.

The entire Summit provided great information and education for any real estate agents who are involved in the commercial aspect of real estate or anyone who wants to start acquiring investments for themselves and others. In addition to the beneficial information, there were great opportunities for networking with other commercial-minded agents and commercial companies.

We would like to offer a big thank you to our sponsors who so generously donated to the event.

Platinum sponsors include: Ed Young, Junk-King and Julie Freedman, Wells Fargo. Silver Sponsors include: Mary Kay, Advanced Group Property Inspection Co.; David Padilla, The CoStar Group; Chris Spivey, Seacoast Commerce Bank; Brendan Erickson, REI Wise; Annie Fan, First American Title Company; April Kass, LaRocca Inspections; Dino Champagne, Asset Preservation Incorporated and Maria Howard, First American Natural Hazard Disclosure.

Members of the Commercial Committee with the morning speaker are (L to R): Judy Tsao, Fred Madjar and Gene Trowbridge.

(Photo on front cover) Members of the Commercial Committee with the afternoon speaker are (L to R): AAR President, Paulina Lee; Roy Blume; David Hyun; Philip Hsu; Charles Gabriels; Suzie Koo; N.A.R. Signature Series Speaker, Ralph Spencer; Nick Zigic; Priscilla Yim; Careayre Rambeau; Tim Johnson; Committee Chairman, George Monte and Hubert King.

Silver Sponsors Annie Fan, First American Title Co. and Maria Howard, First American Natural Hazard Disclosure

Silver Sponsor Chris Spivey, Seacoast Commerce Bank

Silver Sponsors April Kass and Carrie Crest, LaRocca Inspection Co. and Dino Champagne, Asset Preservation Incorporated.

Silver Sponsors Lex Cisceros and Michael Kay, Advanced Group Property Inspection Co.

Platinum Sponsors Michael Holmes and Ed Young (R), Junk-King

Silver Sponsors David Padilla, The CoStar Group and Brendan Erickson, REI Wise Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

7

JOIN A COMMITTEE 2012

By Ryan Asao, President-Elect

It’s that time of year again to consider joining an Arcadia Association of REALTORS® Committee for 2012! As your 2011 President-Elect for our great Association, I look back and reflect on how I got to where I am today. What started it off for me was joining the Tech Committee back in 2003. My mentor, Kenny Watanabe, influenced me to get involved with the AAR and that was exactly what I did and I’ve never looked back. This is also where I made wonderful relationships with many of the brokers, managers, and top producers that serve the local San Gabriel Valley real estate markets. It is those relationships that have also contributed to my success as a REALTOR® because it is so much easier working with an agent that you know and trust.

This is also why I am so passionate about our Young Professionals Network (YPN) Committee. It gives the “Young and Young-at-Heart” agents a place to feel welcomed by our Association in a very fun, educational, and open way and network with all the industries within our local real estate community. A quick success story is Micah Adams (Events 4 Charity Chairman and YPN Vice Chairman) and Kelvin Chang (YPN Co-Chairman) who, since getting involved with the AAR, have not only closed transactions with other Committee members, but have also made a great name for themselves locally and nationally for their efforts. Kudos to a couple of the future rising stars of the AAR! Another great reason to join a committee is to make strategic partnerships with some of the amazing Affiliates that we have as members at our Association.

At the AAR, we offer a wide range of Committees to fit all possible interests. If you are passionate about Technology, we would love for you to come checkout our next Tech Committee meeting. If you are interested in education, international real estate, local government relations, marketing etc., we would love to invite you to our next meetings. Go to www.TheAAR.com today to view the schedule of our Committee meetings and times or call the office at (626) 446-2115 to speak to one of our wonderful staff members.

As your 2011 President-Elect of the Arcadia Association of REALTORS®, I am really looking to reach out to all the amazing offices in our Association to find new members to get involved with Committees in 2012! As a member, you will find out first-hand what makes Arcadia the best Association of REALTORS® in Southern California! Together we can make a difference to bring fresh and relevant information to our members in order to be more educated and make more sales in 2012. Furthermore, we have a lot of new faces on the Board of Directors this year and more offices represented than ever before, so I look forward to seeing you as a future leader of the Arcadia Association of REALTORS®! Please call me at (626) 253-4557 to find out more about how to apply for a Chairman or Vice-Chairman position of an AAR Committee for 2012 (or to reach out to any of our 2011 Committee Chairmen and/or members).

Take care and I look forward to seeing you on a committee next year.

Membership Survey Winners Steven Chang displays his $100 MasterCard gift card.

Jennifer Lipscomb displays her $100 MasterCard gift card.

8

September 2011

Recently the Arcadia Association launched an important member-wide survey asking for your feedback on all aspects of the Arcadia Association of REALTORS®. As an incentive for taking the survey, three fantastic prizes were offered to three lucky winners. The winners of the $100 MasterCard gift card are Jennifer Lipscomb, Keller Williams Pasadena and Steven Chang, Remax Premier Arcadia. The grand prize winner of the free MLS fees for the entire year of 2012 is Jagjit Singh Reen, Coldwell Banker Dynasty. Thank you again to everyone who participated in the survey. We had a total of 545 completed surveys which is the highest number we’ve ever had! Congratulations again to the winners!

AAR Executive VicePresident, Andrew Cooper (L) presents Jagjit Singh Reen (R) with a Certificate of Award for his 2012 free MLS quarterly dues.

Tech.Talk

Initial Thoughts on Google+

Source: David Shumaker, N.A.R. Info Central Blog

On Friday I received an invitation from a colleague to Google+, Google’s new social network. I signed up and wanted to share my initial thoughts. For those of you that haven’t heard, Google+ is the search powerhouse’s latest attempt at social networking. Google’s previous attempts have crashed and burned. Google+ so far seems to be better positioned to survive. The initial set-up was pretty easy. I created a profile, uploaded a picture, and sent off invitations to friends who requested them.

What’s New There are some new features in Google+. First of all, Google+ adds the ability to follow topics of interest to you through its Sparks application. Leveraging on its search and indexing power, Google will provide a continually updated stream of articles around your interest from the web. If you’ve ever subscribed to RSS feeds via Google Reader or My Yahoo!, these feeds will be familiar to you. It could also be considered similar to following hashtags(#) on Twitter, though with a bit more quality content. I added ‘Chicago’, ‘Cycling’, and a few others to test it out.

What’s the Same / What’s Different Google+ appears to be a combination of Facebook and Twitter in that you can do all the usual social media stuff (status updates, photos, likes, etc.) with your friends and colleagues, but you can also follow people or add them to any of your “circles” without having to ask permission. This is not only for the famous, like Mark Zuckerberg, but any hipster who’s bothered to sign up and create a profile. You can block unwanted followers, but that is an extra step. Another difference from Facebook is that you have much less control on the privacy of your information even though it may seem you have more. Sure, you can select which “circles” see your posts, photos or updates, but what is visible to the whole world is already pretty broad. Also, if you don’t remember to change your sharing setting after each post, things could get ugly. My motto is assume whatever I post is visible to everyone, including my grandmother. Right now I only have links to 23 people. As this grows, we will see how things will work.

Google+ also has a feature called the Hangouts where you and your friends can go to video chat together using Google’s video and phone service as its base.

Facebook and Skype are starting a similar service, though whether there is demand for either of these has yet to be seen.

Bottomline There’s lots more to explore and I’ll update as appropriate. For now though while it is promising, I’m not sure that Google+ offers enough to make me want to switch out of Facebook, or even take the time to update my status. While all my friends are on Facebook, only a few have made the jump to Google+. I can see maintaining two broad social networks for now, but at some point that could become burdensome. Add in the more specialized LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr and there just isn’t enough time for all of these.

This article has been edited to fit spacing constraints.

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

9

“Fun in the Sun”

Bingo Night Raises $5,000 for Charity Recently, the Arcadia Association of REALTORS® Events 4 Charity Auxiliary held the Annual Charity Bingo Night at the Arcadia Community Center. This years’ event was fantastic with great food, entertainment and tons of excitement. An In ‘N Out truck was present at the event to fill everyone up with tasty hamburgers, chips and a drink. In addition to all of the excitement, the event accomplished its goal of raising money for local charities. All in all, a total of $5,000 was raised to distribute to various charities that our Events 4 Charity Auxiliary supports.

Special thank you to the Events 4 Charity Auxiliary and all of their hard work. With the combined efforts of Chairman, Micah Adams, Century 21 Adams & Barnes; Margaret Gandy, Dilbeck Real Estate; Jill Nelson, Dilbeck Real Estate; Event Chairman, Nikki Felix, Bank of America and Stephanie LaPorte, Old Republic Home Protection, this event was a hit! Each put in many hours of hard work to ensure its success.

We also wish to thank Mary Kay, Advanced Group Property Inspection Co. for donating beer for the event and Micah Adams who donated cases of water bottles. Thank you to the all those who donated raffle prizes, especially the Rangel-Schaffer Group of Pacific Advisors who donated an iPad2; Intervalley Escrow who donated a week stay in Big Bear and Dan Bryant who donated a weekend stay at a golf resort in Palm Springs. Thank you also to those who donated bingo prizes and their time to help make this event a huge success. It is truly the volunteers who make it possible for events like this to occur. Sincere thanks from the Arcadia Association of REALTORS®!

10

September 2011

Affiliate Corner I Have Loaded Your “Magic Bullet” For You!

By Jordan Nedeff, W.J. Bradley

I have argued for years to my colleagues and clients against the notion of the “magic bullet” in that there is no particular entity that has cornered the market on a product to secure financing for a client. But after years of seeing REALTORS® perpetuate this myth by allowing their clients and their paychecks to be at the mercy of smoke and mirrors and traveling down that bumpy road of uncertainty with a third party (only to complain after the fact), I have to respectfully interject and inquire, “What was the level of communication and commitment to you and the client prior to the almighty quote?” There was not any?

Really? Shocking. (Please repeat in a voice of sarcasm).

This is why I decided to opine on this idea and give you a trusty weapon in today’s confusing lending and business environment that can be applied to any other facet of your universe! In my opinion, the breakdown of the sophisticated art known as communicating is aiding in the demise of the business world because of the whirlwind of fast technology and electronic stimulus that now exists. Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information.

Communication requires a sender, a message and an intended recipient. The communication process is complete once the receiver has understood the message of the sender.

To communicate to you the art of communicating, which sounds like redundancy coming from the department of redundancy; it would make sense to segment it into its simplest forms. Communication is the culmination of sending and receiving messages. I could go into each category for another year of Affiliate Corners, but to

summarize the pillars of the concept, we effectively communicate verbally by the words we choose, paraverbally by how we say the words, and then lastly nonverbally, which is our body language. But the greatest of all communicating skills is ironically the one not mentioned in the pillars. It is the ability to listen. Listening requires the desire to understand another human being, an attitude of respect and acceptance, and a willingness to open one’s mind to try and see things from another point of view. An unknown author once penned, “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t being said.”

To communicate effectively, one must also define the goal or problem, gather information pertinent to the issue, propose options based on the data, and decide on a solution and implement a course of action. Accompanying the effective communicator is a sound cornerstone of attributes such as consistency of being honest and authentic, and a commitment to their trade. Acclaimed author and real life philosopher Douglas Adams offers to us, “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured by money, and that is sincerity and integrity.”

With any major life event or important decision, one should evaluate all aspects, current and future that can have permanent effects on those individuals’ goals. Should we not then view all our business relationships this way and evaluate our prospective success on these merits and not on speculation? That was rhetorical of course. As a parting idea and a summation to the piece, I would like to listen to your feedback and hear what you think! Please contact me at jordan.nedeff@wjbradley.com or even better yet, grab a cup of joe, kick your heels back, and pick up the black plastic thing at the corner of your desk that no one uses anymore and call me at (626) 755-9291! Cheers friends and colleagues!

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

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