Team Chacon - West Covina Realty

Don't buy from Strangers!

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:18:50 -0600

I receive a phone call from a past client. She informs me that she is looking to buy a property, and that she is very excited (as she should be). She goes on to declare that she wants to work with me and my team (GREAT!), and that she is looking in San Diego.(not my territory)

Because it is very important to work with a Buyers agent that is familiar with and knowledgeable with the local community I go into my referral scripts. After having this conversation with her, and going through the benefits of working through a referral it hit me. Referrals really are a win-win-win for all parties, and so much so in today's market that any hesitant buyer should hire their agent through a third party referral.

I know that I'm out on a limb when I say this, but you should not hire an agent unless you either 1. have a previous established successful relationship with that agent or 2. you are referred to that agent. Even if you've seen the agent working around your area and you think they're qualified; you are better off going to a professional third party (even if out of the area) and have them refer you to that agent. I know it may sound crazy, but I honestly believe that this becomes a win-win-win situation for all parties.

By allowing a third-party professional to recommend you to a professional who knows your area, that they trust, and are willing to put their reputation on the line for will benefit everyone involved in the transaction.

First, the sole benefit that the referring agent receives is a referral fee upon the close of the transaction. This seems to be an industry standard of 25-30% of the representing agents commission. Now you might be asking yourself, "that's great they make some money, but why would I want them involved in the transaction?".

You'll want the third party professional involved because it will give you increased accountability and security throughout the transaction. Because a referral is a business-to-business partnership, referrals from other professionals tend to get better treatment and attention than even their own clients. Why would they give you this increased attention, you might ask? Because they want to keep that business relationship alive and well. They know that a referral is the highest compliment that you can pay a professional. So they’ll want to be sure to live up to this high standard of peer-to-peer expectation.

Second, it benefits the client by allowing the third party professional access to get updates on your transaction's progress and partake in the problem solving process should a challenge arise. This is very important because if for some reason the client feels uncertain, or is not 100% sure that the advice they’re receiving is the absolute best possible they have a third party organization that they can call on. Because they referred you over and they not only have a financial interest vested in the successful close of your transaction which gives them the right to ask for an update. Their reputation is on the line because they referred you to this agent if the client is not getting the best service possible the referring agent takes it personally and will follow-up.

Since the representing agent will gladly give the up-dates and the planned next steps on what’s going on to keep the business relationship alive and well. The third party professional can evaluate the decision making process, and even partake in the brain-storming sessions to help overcome any challenges that may arise. This is absolutely great for the client because it means that at all times they have access to a professional third party to hold the representing agent accountable, honest and the client can take comfort that the best possible decisions are being made on their behalf.

So by going through a third party referral the client benefits by having accountability of their agent from a third party, increased quality service, and peace of mind that the decisions being made are sound and to their benefit. The referring agent gets money for holding them accountable, so now you're left thinking "what could possibly be the benefit to the representing agent that they could possibly want to give up 25-30% of their commission?" And I'm glad you asked... :)

The representing agent also wins in the referral situation. There is a ton of negative statements going around about the real estate industry, and we all know that clients are getting advice from a lot of people who are not in the industry, nor privy to reliable information other than the panic reported by the news media. This creates an environment of unease in a buyers minds. If an agent comes along and tells a client that they have found a great buy for them, but they'll have to move fast because it wont last. Well, that is contradictory to what the media is saying, and probably what their family is saying so it makes them uneasy. Never mind the fact that it may be true. (See it takes a loss to get them off the fence)

Now if that same client does what a majority of buyers are doing now days, they'll turn to the internet to get their answers. As many of us know there are some agents out there that will tell a client anything they want to hear to get the deal. Unfortunately that reputation tends to precedes even the best professional agents. With that said there is something to be desired about knowing that your clients have a professional to turn to and ask questions without loosing their client.

I've had many phone calls from people who found me through my Active Rain blog, who are uneasy with their current agents progress. Now I'm not one to second guess another professionals work (especially with the contract still signed), but I always ask "Have you spoken to your agent about this?"

A resounding majority of them say they have not even tried to talk to their agent about it before seeking outside help!

As a Psychology major it makes sense to me that people want to avoid confrontation, and if they've attributed a simple miss-communication as being miss-representation; it is no wonder they're not in a hurry to make contact with that agent. The benefit of having another professional resource that is not competing with you (after-all they already referred it to you) that your clients can turn to for advice, assurance, and accountability. Having this referral support system in place truly makes this a win-win-win deal.

If you're looking to buy, sell or relocate we have professionals with integrity nationwide that we would be happy to put our reputation on the line for; while holding them accountable to our high quality assurance standards.

Click Here If you are looking to purchase or sell your home, but you have been on the fence because of what you are hearing from the media or from your family, coworkers, or friends. We would be happy to be your accountability partner through this exciting time.

If you are an agent that is already working with a client and you believe you could benefit from having an outside professional that your client could confide in, we would be happy to assist you and your client. Click Here to Contact Us! *Referral fee is negotiable depending on how far along in the process you are.

If you know someone who is relocating to the East San Gabriel Valley or the Inland Empire, we would love to service your client and have you as our accountability partner for the transaction.

Seth Miller | West Covina Real Estate Consultant

Associate Brokers Keller Williams West Covina

info@teamchacon.com

www.TeamChacon.com

Contact Team Chacon of Keller Williams Realty. Licensed REALTORs® in California to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Alhambra, Anaheim, Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Brea, Chino, Chino Hills, Claremont, Covina, Diamond Bar, Duarte, El Monte, Fullerton, Glendora, Hacienda Heights, La Habra, La Puente, La Verne, Monrovia, Montclair, Monterey Park, Ontario, Pasadena, Placentia, Pomona, Rosemead, Rowland Heights, San Dimas, San Gabriel, San Marino, Santa Fe Springs, Sierra Madre, South El Monte, South Pasadena, Temple City, Upland, Walnut, West Covina, Whittier. We Are Always Accepting Referrals!

Do we know as much as we think we do?

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:42:00 -0500

This is just for fun. Do we know as much as we think we do? Answer the following questions and then watch the video.

A little seed weighs next to nothing and a tree weighs quite a bit. From where does the tree get the stuff that makes up a wooden desk?
Can you light a little bulb with just a battery, a bulb, and one wire?
Why is it hotter in summer than in winter?
Can you draw a plan diagram of the solar system showing the shape of the planets orbits?

Write down your answer before watching the video for the answer.

Seems like reasonable questions. Remember to write down your answers before watching the video. Did you get them right?

I got a 50% on this one… What was your score?

And I almost missed it...

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:20:29 -0500

I belong to my local TEAM Referral Networking Group the West Covina Chapter (Together Everyone Achieves More), I'm actually the President Elect and will take office at the end of this month, but back to the story.

I did a quick search to find my chapter on-line to get an e-mail for one of our members. I typed in: TEAM West Covina referral networking group. to be sure that I find my chapter over the National web-site. In my haste to get there I almost missed seeing that my AR profile page out ranked the TEAM chapters page...

I find this really amusing because our District Representative is always so hyped up about how great their web-site is, how much they do to make sure it shows up high on the search engine results, and how our yearly membership doesn't even cover how much great web presence this web site will bring our business, and on and on. She gets so hyped about it she even starts making up her own "techie" words.

Now it seems like I've always ranked higher than them against my own target keywords, but I thought it really humorous that we out ranked them at their own keywords. I was tempted to bring it in with me on the 25th when our District representative will be visiting our club again, but I'll be good and just leave it here.

In their defense, if I switch the keywords around to: TEAM Referral Network West Covina Chapter they are the first four in the top ten, and my AR profile comes in at 6th place... but maybe I'll work on that, just for a fun side keyword...

Be Successful in this market...

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:20:27 -0500

As we are all learning, some harder than others, we have to be fully responsive to the market in order to keep our doors open, let alone have a thriving business in a quickly changing market. Many are missing the keys to success, and this is all to clear as I watch the number of active agents in our office dwindle and spiral further and further down. We have gone from a thriving 60+ active agent office to the point where I see 3 agents names on the sales board every month.

(Before people from my office go crazy on me yes there are other names that pop up every now and again, and there are always at least 5 names on the board, but they are not consistent, and that is merely the point I'm referencing. Consistency is key to success.)<

It is now to the point that the office seems virtually empty every day when I come in. If you haven't guessed it the secret of success for is that the first is one of the lucky few that scored an REO contract and does zero prospecting and can barely keep up with the work load even after taking on 4 additional team members.

As for the remaining two, it is fairly simple. We are not afraid of short-sales. Of the 5 current escrows my team has open; 3 of them are Short Sale listings we have.

So if you have no reason to show up to the office consider signing up for some local Short Sale classes with your local Board of Realtors, or sign-up and take the Short-Sale Specialist NAR certificate designation class.

Now it does take a considerable mind shift to make a business in Short Sales successful. One key sample of this is, we do not call them listing presentations if it is going to be a short-sale. Instead we refer to them as listing consultations, and when I go into them my goal is to "NOT take the listing".

Sound crazy? Good. The key to success according to Anthony Robbins is to look where everyone is going and then go the opposite direction.

Short sales require a lot of hard work, and time. Know if the Short Sale is even worth your time as a professional.

If you are having trouble making payments on your mortgage there are some pre-foreclosure options available to you. After receiving a NOD your options become limited. Don't wait until your only option is credit repair after a foreclosure. Click here to request your free no-hassle consultation of your pre-foreclosure options.

PS- If you are thinking of listing your home and you think it may be a short sale, please hire an agent that is confident and has experience with short sales. Team Chacon is currently putting together successful short sales.

Seth Miller | West Covina Real Estate Consultant

Associate Brokers Keller Williams West Covina

info@teamchacon.com

www.TeamChacon.com

Lunch, Live Theatre, while helping children in Need

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:19:10 -0500

What more could you ask for in a single afternoon? The West Covina Sunrise Rotary group will be hosting their 5th Annual "A Day at the Theatre" December 14th 2008. I've got my tickets already do you have yours?

Below is the flyer for this great event, and if you click on it you will be taken to the official Rotary Press release for this event. Which includes the contact info for the event Chair person who you can contact for more information about this event, to purchase tickets for this event, or to make a charitable donation to this event. Thank you for reading and I hope you can support this great cause.

Please help me Welcome to the Rain Bridges Alliance!

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:16:22 -0500

I wanted to wait until they started to get the ball rolling with their blog before I introduced them to you, and they certainly are off to a great start. Please be sure to stop by and check out their blog and please send them a quick hello and help me provide them with a welcome into the AR community.

When I first heard about a Bridges group meeting at the West Covina Chamber of Commerce I thought it was a card playing club. When I saw four people sitting across from each other at a small table while walking by the open conference door it confirmed my original suspicion. However, when they were walking out they had briefcases, lap tops, and pad-folios in their hands instead of cards. My embarrassing assumption motivated me to find out what this Bridges group was all about.

Their actual name is Bridges Alliance and they explained that they are an Alliance For Worry-Free Senior Transitions that helps mature adults with planning, preparing for, and transitioning from their family home to their new lifestyle.

Now when I heard this I was thinking, "okay here comes another band wagon group trying to take advantage of the aging boomers." Imagine my surprise when I learned that this group had been working together for two years (two and a half years now). Now being thoroughly embarrassed by my assumptions again thought I'd better take a better look at this organization.

I found that their internet presence was lacking. They had a build it and they will come web-site mentality. so I shared with them the personal success I've had with the Active Rain community and wouldn't you know it they signed up. I'm really excited that they are starting to get their name out into the digital world, and I am very excited about them joining the AR community.

As they are fairly new to the rain I'm certain they would appreciate any constructive suggestions or recommended reading you may have to offer them.

West Covina Sunrise Rotary Goes Digital

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:40:20 -0500

The West Covina Sunrise Rotary club has been converting their traditional web-page over to a new blog based web-site, and they have slowly been converting over their entire archive (which dates back to 2004). So they were already technically "digital", but they were not "searchable" or SEO compliant.

It will be interesting to see how this not-for-profit community focused service group establishes their blog.

By simultaneously browsing through their new blog and their old web-site it seems that they are only missing (or have not yet transffered) a few things: a membership log-in page(whatever that may be), an up-coming events calendar(that looks blank), their archived photo gallery, and a club roster. Now they more than likely have plans to incorporate these things at a later time, as the site still looks fairly new (less than a month old, and not indexed by Google; although that may not be saying much since even the ever so popular WCWatcher has not been indexed by google. Although that link will probably get him indexed). I've heard speculative rumors that a few members may be lobbying to drop their old flagship web-site. replacing it entirely with this Web2.0 blog.

RE-Oh My

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:21:42 -0500

I've seen quite a bit of things while previewing vacant homes that have gone through the foreclosure process. However I think this one stands out at the top...

We were going to preview a new mountain cabin that hit the market well below the market area. Of course there is always a reason for this, and we just wanted to know that reason in case our clients ask about it.

Upon arriving at the house there are about three meandering flights of stairs to actually get to the house. Half way up the first flight we were slightly shocked to find the following on a stake on the side of the path.

Sorry for the quality of the photo it was taken from Carolina's Trio cell phone. After much laughter about this I was husseled into leaning in for a photo op with the welcome sign.

I'd try to deny that it was me but my embrodered name on the shirt sort of gives it away. This was one of those days that I just have to say; "I have too much fun doing this to call it work."

With the tone set and on the way ack down the mountain road we had to stop and take another photo of a neighbors house that still had their Christmas lights up, and a stuffed animal moose mounted above their garage door. It was way too funny not to take a picture of.

Just another day at the office... Our team prides ourselves on previewing as many homes as possible in the week so that when one of our prospective buyers ask about a particular property we have likely already been to the property and can answer their questions intelligently. It also gives us some interesting stories to tell... This one is funny but most are just gross...

Seth Miller | West Covina Real Estate Consultant

Associate Brokers Keller Williams West Covina

info@teamchacon.com

www.TeamChacon.com

Pomona House for Rent! $750/month

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:17:27 -0500

354 Fowler Ave

Pomona, CA 91766

For Lease Per Month $750

Bedrooms:	3
Bathrooms:	1
Style:	Single Family Home
Square Footage:	1,845
Lot Size:	9339
Year Built:	1963

1 Bedroom with 1 Bathroom for lease $750/month

	Home
	Full Details
	Print Brochure
	Property Map
	Area Schools
	Schedule a Showing
	Email Property Info
	About Me
	Contact Me
	Census Information
	Area Amenities

Luis Chacon Associate Broker
Team Chacon | Keller Williams Realty

Office:	(909) 287-7200 ex2040
Mobile:	(626) 625-2831
Email:	Luis@TeamChacon.com
Website:	www.TeamChacon.com

Team Chacon- Your Home Run Real Estate Team!

West Covina Youth Soccer Club- Team Chacon

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:52:26 -0500

It all started at a West Covina Chamber of Commerce meeting. Ken Salzar mentioned that there was a need for Corporate Sponsors for the the local youth soccer club, and I mentioned I use to play. He assured me that was the only qualifications I would need to fill in for their coaching shortage. So I signed up to coach a Youth Soccer team.

Just for fun, What age group do you think of when you think of Youth Soccer?

My guess was going to be 12 or under.

Team Chacon is now sponsoring the team that I am coaching. Yesterday evening was the first practice that I was able to make (I was out of town for two weeks due to a sudden death in the family). It was like hearding cats, but I had fun.

I need to make the drills slightly shorter and remember to incorporate water breaks into the practice. There was several times that during the play four would stop and start talking, but what did I expect with 17-18 year olds. Oh, I forgot to mention that. I was given high school "youths".

Our first game is this Saturday, and I still haven't seen 5 of our players play so we'll cross our fingers and see how this week goes. Wish us luck, and don't forget to give me your feedback about what age you consider to be a "youth" (I know 18 and under is legally youths, but I'd like to think I'm not alone here).

Written by Seth Miller of Team Chacon | Keller Williams Realty

Pomona House for Lease: 1bd/1bath (back portion sealed off from main house, shared wall only)

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:48:20 -0500

354 Fowler Ave

Pomona, CA 91766

For Lease Per Month $1,500

Bedrooms:	3
Bathrooms:	1
Style:	Single Family Home
Square Footage:	1,845
Lot Size:	9339
Year Built:	1963

1 Bedroom with 1 Bathroom for lease $850/month

	Home
	Full Details
	Print Brochure
	Property Map
	Area Schools
	Schedule a Showing
	Email Property Info
	About Me
	Contact Me
	Census Information
	Area Amenities

Luis Chacon Associate Broker
Team Chacon | Keller Williams Realty

Office:	(909) 287-7200 ex2040
Mobile:	(626) 625-2831
Email:	Luis@TeamChacon.com
Website:	www.TeamChacon.com

Top Producer Newsletter Success!

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:36:53 -0500

Top Producer implemented our suggestions! And in a very timely manner too. To catch you up, if you've not been following.

Every time I contact Top Producer to make suggestions, or report a problem that I'm having I post it to the AR community for support. The idea is if you agree with my suggestion(s) you can submit a similar suggestion, with the idea that if they hear it enough they'll try to implement it.

At the beginning of August I posted one of my more harsh suggestions entitled The Farce of Top Producer's News: Tips and Tricks you can read the original post to understand why I was disgruntled, but the suggestion went as follows:

I would highly recommend that you take your newsletter away from your sales team, and put in touch with your customer service/tech support representatives. Put together a list of the FAQ of that month, or just pick one or two and offer the answer to a frequently asked question. Have the tech guys throw in an article when they fix a glitch that was happening for awhile, or when they make some system functionality improvements. This way I'd actually feel like I received a hint, tip and trick instead of another disappointing sales pitch for a product I sometimes already own.

I finally opened my latest Top Producer News: Hints and Tips last night and honestly believed I was going to get more of the same (I almost deleted it without opening it, but wanted to see if they listened). My interest was perked when the lead story was an actual tutorial video (not a sales pitch). I was thinking, alright finally a newsletter I don't immediately want to delete as solicitation.

The first two sentences of the second paragraph (3 sentences in length) there was an announcement of their newest product they just launched, with a brief reference to a current upgrade available that works well with this new product. Yes it is a solicitation, but acceptable because: it is new, they haven't duplicated this message (yet... let's hope we never do though), and the newsletter is designed to keep you informed of new products so I find it completely relevant.

The third and last sentence of the paragraph is when I jumped up screaming THEY READ IT, AND ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT, and was running around the office looking for someone to high-five... only to realize the disappointing fact that at 11pm on a quasi holiday I am alone at the office.

I'm going to quote the 3rd sentence in its entirety (I'll forward the entire newsletter to anyone who wants this one for reference):

"We’ve also added a monthly ‘Top 5’ series, with this month’s list featuring your Top 5 FAQs to our Technical Support department and quick fixes for each."

So there we have it. The first half of the suggestion was taken into account. Time will tell if they follow through with the second half. Thank you very much to every one who helped out by submitting similar suggestions. Keep up the good work, and remember to post your suggestions so I may reciprocate the support.

Written by Seth Miller of Team Chacon | Keller Williams West Covina Real Estate

Other Top Producer posts of mine you may have missed: First Impressions, Trouble Shooting 8i, Upgrades to come.

Going Green With Your Investments

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:08:50 -0500

Via Bridges Alliance:

With a major "green theme" happening in the news around us, it is only fitting to touch on it from an investment standpoint in this article. It was reported in the Wall Street Journal that between 2005 and 2007, socially responsible investing, or SRI, assets grew more than 18% to $2.71 trillion. About 11% of assets under professional management in the United States are now involved in SRI.

Regardless of your stance on whether the earth needs man's help, socially responsible investing has become a force to be reckoned with. The financial world appears to have a quickly spreading appetite for all things earth-friendly.

Investment screening involves looking for investments or companies that align with your values. Positive screening is searching for ventures that are active in creating solutions or products considered better or safer for the environment, communities, or individuals. Negative screening is excluding investments involved in practices or products that are contrary to your values.

Through community investing, it's possible to loan money to disadvantaged individuals, groups, or communities, both locally and internationally, to help them establish businesses, get an education, or make other advancements that would otherwise be out of reach without investor capital.

Throughout an investor's socially responsible investing and the emotional "return" they get, these investments should also have a monetary "return" that will allow them to continue investing. Like the rush for gold, the Green Rush is going to see some folks strike and some strike out. Socially responsible investing can be a smart move as long as you don't let your environmental sensitivity cause you to do something portfolio-insensitive. As you consider socially responsible options, it's critical to base your decisions on how they will influence your overall financial situation. Here are some questions to consider as you evaluate an SRI opportunity.

Does it fit with your investment goals? It's critical to define your objectives before you set out. Are you investing for retirement, college tuition, or other long-term objectives? Or are you more interested in what your investment will accomplish for society?

Does it fit with your risk tolerance? Understanding your personal risk tolerance, which is based on a combination of factors including your age, your comfort with risk, and your investing objectives, is a critical first step. If you find an SRI opportunity that appeals to your values but is too risky, or not risky enough, for your situation, the result could be missed goals, opportunity costs, or a disappointing return that could affect your future spending power and possibly your ability to make future values-based investments.

How will it affect your asset allocation? It's important not to be too aggressive in reallocating your portfolio to include socially responsible investments. Just because an investment appeals to your values, or seems to offer a chance to really make a difference, doesn't mean it is appropriate for you.

If you are interested in SRI, we can help you consider your options. By making informed decisions, you may be able to invest according to your values without compromising progress toward your financial goals.

Article provided by George Zoumberakis, Trilogy Financial Services (626) 918-5670 ext. 4104

Securities and advisory services offered through National Planning Corporation (NPC), member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor. Trilogy and NPC are separate and unrelated companies.

How is the West Covina Real Estate Market?

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:31:23 -0500

I generally believe that Real Estate has become one of the most highly sought after conversational topics within social settings. Everywhere I go different people seem to want to talk about the same things:

The up coming election/politics
What are the latest gas prices or predictions
The war on terror
The real estate market.

As highly sought out as the current market condition conversational piece is I figured I would host a mock conversation of how this conversation may go. Please excuse some specific keyword placement, but I'm also trying to keep it regionally specific.

Consumber: "How's the San Gabriel Real Estate Market doing?"

Realtor: "Thank you so much for asking. The market has definitely changed, but I'm really excited about this because I feel that their are some really great opportunities out there for both buyers or sellers."

C:"What is the best deal you've done in this market?"

R:"I personally am always excited when we're finding more and more immediate cash-flow investment opportunities for Los Angeles County Real Estate Investment clients, but finding buyer deals in a buyers market is generally easy because all it takes is diligence and follow through.

Since the market changed to a buyers market my Team has had to totally change how we market West Covina Real Estate listings."

C:"Oh really, what are you doing that's different?"

R:"I appreciate you asking, thank you. Every home is unique and as such our marketing programs are tailored to fit the custom needs of each listing, but for an example of one thing we offer is, have you ever heard of an i-pod?"

C:"of course, my kid has one of those."

R:"Have you ever heard of a podcast?"

C:"no" (if you have heard of it feel free to skip this next part)

R:"That's quite alright, a podcast is a video subscription for the i-pod that automatically downloads into their device every time they hook it up to the computer. If they are subscribed to our digital newsletters they will automatically receive the video we took of our listings." (by this point I usually have my phone out and am showing one of my listing videos first hand)."

C:"That's really neat, what else do you do?"

R:"Well, during the marketing plan evaluation we usually find that an enhanced listing on the number one real estate consumer web-site greatly helps with the exposure of the property, and if the home qualifies we offer a featured listing package with the number one real estate search engine on the web."

These are only a few marketing options we provide in our comprehensive marketing evaluation. Click Here if you would like to schedule a comprehensive marketing evaluation of your home because Team Chacon is dedicated to providing the highest quality customer service while attaining results we are continuously improving our marketing plan.

Click Here to request your home's current value: a free Comparative Market Analysis(CMA)

Seth Miller | West Covina Real Estate Consultant

Associate Brokers Keller Williams West Covina

info@teamchacon.com

www.TeamChacon.com

The Farce of Top Producer's News: Tips & Tricks

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:38:13 -0500

This is a disclaimer for those of you stumbling into my Top Producer posts. If you've read one of my Top Producer blogs before you can skip to the message. Every time I contact Top Producer to make suggestions, or report a problem I'm having I post it to the AR community for support. If you agree with my suggestion you can submit a similar suggestion, with the idea that if they hear it enough they'll try to implement it.

So you may reference what I'm talking about (Click Here) This is the lead story for this months Tips and Tricks. I submitted the following message to the "Do you have a thought on this article" box at the bottom of the reference page.

My thoughts on the article:

Happy Friday 8i Staff Members,

I'm writing you today to make a suggestion within your newsletters. Every month I receive an e-mail from Top producer (actually I usually receive it twice, this month 3 times) and every month I open it and for some reason hope to find relevant information.

I can only recall a few times (actually only one time, but I probably missed one or two others) that you included an article that wasn't designed to sell your product (Meaning it offered actual hints or tips instead of copy and paste of your sales letters). I'm not sure you guys grasped the purpose of a relevant newsletter, but the lead story in a newsletter to current members should not be the sales letter of your base package...

I can understand, and I EVEN encourage you to keep your sales pitches in the newsletters for the product upgrades, but to have your cover story be the base package... I mean really. What current member would find re-reading this sales letter and valuable hint, tip or trick for using 8i more productively? This would be like my monthly client newsletter continuing to be available properties in their area… They already bought the house… they don’t need to be sold on it again and again, but they may need some maintenance advice, tax benefit tips, design suggestions, etc.

I personally, will give you three months to incorporate some changes to your newsletter, and then I will be unsubscribing from your monthly newsletter if you are unable to provide relevant hints, tips, or tricks to using the base package of Top Producer as your main lead off story.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this concern. I really hope you will see the marketing relevance to this suggestion. You may be surprised how many people actually want to read your newsletter after implementing relevant content, and if you keep those small side stories for your up-sales campaigns I believe your sales will improve.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I’d be happy to be of assistance.

Choose to make it a great day,

Seth Miller
Associate Broker- Team Chacon

PS- Be sure to post your suggestions for improvements too, so that I may reciprocate the support.

Other Top Producer posts of mine you may have missed: First Impressions, Trouble Shooting 8i, Upgrades to come.

Recourse vs Non-Recourse Loans in California

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:55:37 -0500

Recourse vs. Non-Recourse Loans in California

An important subject in the short sale real estate industry is the difference between recourse and non-recourse loans; which is a completely different issue than tax liability… Below is a very brief breakdown of the qualifications and repercussions of both types of loans.

Non-Recourse Loans Definition
: the borrower is not personally liable for the loan. The lender’s only security is the property itself, not the borrower’s personal assets.

Loans secured by and used to purchase an owner-occupied, 1-4 unit residential property.

Primary residence

Original purchase loan

Any Seller carry back real estate loan secured by the property being sold.

Have you ever refinanced your loans since purchasing your house? If the answer is yes, your loan falls into what is called a recourse loan.

RECOURSE LOANS

Recourse Loan Definition:
the borrower is personally liable for the loan. The lender’s security is primarily the property BUT also the borrower’s personal assets. The lender may file a deficiency judgment if the property forecloses and the loan is not fully satisfied. Likewise, the lender may file a deficiency judgment against the borrower based on the lender’s total losses absorbed in a short sale transaction.

Examples of Recourse Loans = Refinances, H.E.L.O.C.’s not obtained to purchase the property.

As most people have refinanced their loans sometime after the purchase of their house this becomes a very disturbing point. Despite doing a short-sale and avoiding foreclosure you may still be liable for the “lender’s total losses absorbed” in the transaction. So now, you may be wondering why bother. This is where the separation between good and great agents comes into play. I say the difference between good and great because anything less than good will never run into this problem. Only good, confident agents can successfully close escrow on short-sales.

Satisfied vs. Released:

When recourse loans approve a short sale in writing it is very important to attempt to achieve the verbiage ‘satisfied’ or ‘satisfaction’. “Satisfied” is a legal term which restricts the lender from pursuing a deficiency judgment against the borrower. The words ‘release’ or re-convey simply mean that the lender agrees to allow escrow to close. They retain the right to pursue a deficiency judgment if the word ‘satisfied’ or ‘satisfaction’ is not used.

This challenge usually comes into play late in the process and there has already been so much time, energy, persistence and patience given by your agent, a good agent may now be so concerned with all of this being done in vain that they may feel inclined not to argue semantics such as “release” vs. “satisfied”. Why risk losing the deal? While a great agent will not allow fatigue to compromise their primary fiduciary responsibility to the seller. Even though most banks are verbally claiming they are not going to pursue these rights, it can't feel good to have it on the record.

I see too many agents discounting the seller as just a signature in the process, and they even seem to try and cut the seller out of the process almost completely. As a seller of a short sale you are still liable for many things, and an agent that looks at you as though you are not a significant part of the equation or looks at you like a discounted part of the equation is probably practicing fiduciary negligence, but this is hardly place to rant and rave on this issue. I will talk later about the fiduciary responsibilities to a short sale owner at a later post.

Seth Miller | West Covina Real Estate Consultant

Associate Brokers Keller Williams West Covina

info@teamchacon.com

www.TeamChacon.com

Contact Team Chacon of Keller Williams Realty. Licensed REALTORs® in California to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Alhambra, Anaheim, Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Brea, Chino, Chino Hills, Claremont, Covina, Diamond Bar, Duarte, El Monte, Fullerton, Glendora, Hacienda Heights, La Habra, La Puente, La Verne, Monrovia, Montclair, Monterey Park, Ontario, Pasadena, Placentia, Pomona, Rosemead, Rowland Heights, San Dimas, San Gabriel, San Marino, Santa Fe Springs, Sierra Madre, South El Monte, South Pasadena, Temple City, Upland, Walnut, West Covina, Whittier.
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Listing: 14366 Caryn Circle, Fontana, CA 92336: Pre-Approved Short Sale!

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:43:28 -0500

Pre-approved short sale in Fontana. Lowest price and best condition in the neighborhood.

14366 Caryn Circle

Fontana, CA 92336

For Sale $315,000

Bedrooms:	3
Bathrooms:	2½ 2 Full, 1 Half
Area:	264
Square Footage:	1,791
Lot Size:	4857
Year Built:	1990

Single Family Property, Area: (264) Fontana, County: San Bernardino, Lot is 4857 sq. ft., Year Built: 1990, View, Two story, Central air conditioning, Fireplace

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Luis Chacon Associate Broker
Team Chacon | Keller Williams Realty

Office:	(909) 287-7200 ex2040
Mobile:	(626) 625-2831
Email:	Luis@TeamChacon.com
Website:	www.TeamChacon.com

Carolina Chacon Associate Broker
Team Chacon | Keller Williams

Office:	909-628-9100ex.2040
Mobile:	626-625-2831
Fax:	909-628-9433
Email:	info@TeamChacon.com
Website:	www.TeamChacon.com

Seth Miller | West Covina Real Estate Consultant

Associate Brokers Keller Williams West Covina

info@teamchacon.com

www.TeamChacon.com

7 things that can make a short sale highly unlikely

Team Chacon - West Covina Real Estate (Team Chacon Realty) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:17:18 -0500

Short sales require patience, dedication, tenacity, some skill, and some luck to successfully complete. All these factors add up to partially explain that, according to National Association of Realtors (NAR), only 1 out of every 10 short sale listings successfully close. Another main reason, that I believe short sales have become a dirty word, is that inexperienced agents are taking short sale listings that do not have a high probability of closing, and then treat it like a traditional listing.

There are some things that will make a successful short sale highly unlikely, and darn near impossible to successfully complete. Unless you have experience, and/or a great relationship with the asset manager, if the potential listing fall into one or more of these categories I'd highly recommend you walk away from the transaction. Save yourself and the seller the headache, time and effort.

The seller has not experienced any type of hardship that resulted to the delinquency of the loan a.

Too often people think, why would I keep making payments at 500K when the house down the street just sold for 350K. It would be a nice idea if you could trade, but sadly that is not the case, and a short sale is not a financially responsible options.

If a seller is in a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Plan.

If a seller has completed a recent refinance with cash out and soon after decides they want to sell.

Many times a recently inflated appraisal for refinance can haunt a seller when trying to do a short sale. H.E.L.O.C.’s have the same effect.

When there is not enough value in a property to pay off the senior lenders and still give at least 10% to the most junior lender after all real estate costs/selling costs are paid. (There are some exceptions to this, but we'll leave this as the general rule).

The seller is unable to or unwilling to provide all information required for a complete Short sale package.

If their is a Cloud on Title

Outstanding liens or judgments

When there is not enough time to complete a short sale.
If the seller is less than 60 days from the trustee sale, it is very difficult to accomplish a short sale.

This may be a leading cause for short sale failure, as many homeowners seem to be in a state of denial even after receiving a Notice of Default (NOD). Too many times I don’t receive a phone call until they’ve received their Notice of Trustee Sale (NOT), and by then it is very unlikely that we can pull it off. However we have had a few instances where we did accomplish a successful short sale within this time frame, but please don't bank on it. That was very a very unique situation. Even if we can’t help them there are always credit building techniques we can provide.

Seth Miller | West Covina Real Estate Consultant

Associate Brokers Keller Williams West Covina

info@teamchacon.com

www.TeamChacon.com