We all know that when you first start out in real estate that you should try going to the people you know who maybe looking for property or wanting to sell to get your feet wet.
Has anyone however had a bad experience with working with a friend in real estate?
We have had a lot of good experience with working with friends but it is harder to work with friends then it is to work with complete strangers.
You have more invested in a friend transaction. I mean you can end up not being friends in the end if it doesn't go as planned.
I was just curious if anyone has had a bad situation with working with friends. Any advice when working with friends or maybe the advice is not to work with friends?
Foreclosures are up and prices are down and even celebrities are being affected but local real estate broker Alfonso Milanese of Show4you Realty says not his clients. Milanese has several celebrity clients who have listed their homes but they are not dropping prices like you would think. "Not everyone who is selling is in over their head" says Milanese. Two of my celebrity's clients are waiting it out, they know the right buyer will come around and they can still afford the mortgage. I have been in this industry for many years and know what loan programs to offer and what home prices are realistic for my clients. I make sure they are thinking with their head and not just with their heart when they fall in love with a home"
Milanese is also becoming somewhat of a celebrity himself; he has been a featured real estate agent on Real Estate Confidential, a Fine Living Network show. "It was fun to shoot; it let me get a taste of what some of my clients go through. I wish the outcome was more in my favor, but I won't spoil it for anyone"
Show4you Realty was started by Milanese and his wife in the heyday of the real estate upswing. "What was lacking was customer service; whether you are buying a $200,000 home or a $20 million dollar mansion you deserve full service, that is what we do, we redefine full service" Show4you Realty has a custom limousine which brings clients around to see homes. The limo is fully equipped with navigation, computers, printing and faxing capabilities.
This is our thoughts on Celebrity foreclosures what do you think or do you even care?
I get asked a lot about painting vs. not painting rooms. A lot has to do with the situation of the sale: do you have time, money, resources? A lot goes into staging a home so if the home owner says yes and all systems are go, this is the general rule: The color of a room CAN actually make a room appear larger or smaller. A lighter color wall can make a room appear larger while a darker color appears cozier. I would not recommend a stark white but off-white or even a light yellow or tan. If you have a large room that just looks too large and there is not enough furniture to make it appear functional, a darker hue in the browns or greens. More importantly is the space itself. If there are too many items, furniture or even knick knacks, no matter what color the walls, the room will appear small.
We are seeing this jump in our business. The number of homes that we are buying has jumped for our company. The market is definitely making a turn. It is not happening overnight but it is turning. In a time when alot of of real estate companies have gone under Show4you Realty is standing strong with the help of its innovative ideas.
We just need to all be patient and the market will be back on its feet again soon!!!
The increase, which appears to be spurred by the ongoing decline in prices, is the first in nearly three years.
By Annette Haddad, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer 9:52 AM PDT, August 18, 2008
Southern California home sales rose last month for the first time in nearly three years, although prices continued their downward spiral, data released today showed.
In July, the region's median price fell 31% from a year ago to $348,000, the lowest since February 2004, when the local real estate market was in the throes of an extraordinary boom, according to La Jolla-based research firm MDA DataQuick.
The ongoing decline in prices appears to be spurring sales. The number of homes sold picked up in July for the first year-over-year expansion since October 2005. All counties, save Los Angeles County, posted at least a 10% increase from July 2007. The biggest gainer was the region's foreclosure nucleus -- Riverside County -- where sales jumped 48.6%.
Los Angeles County was the weak link for home sales. The region's biggest county posted an all-time July low of 6,592 sales, down 3.2% from a year ago. The median price, meanwhile, dropped 27% to $400,000.
Overall, 20,329 homes in the six-county region closed escrow last month, a 13.8% rise from a year ago.
"People are buying right now, buying at bargain prices. The price mechanism is working" said G.U. Krueger, an economist with Irvine-based real estate advisory firm IHP Capital Partners. "Higher sales are great, but foreclosures are still high and people need to appreciate that more discounts may be coming."
Indeed, the uptick in demand hasn't served to stabilize prices. Southern California home values persisted in their free fall in July, as the excesses of the boom years continue to come undone. Record numbers of Southern Californians continue to lose their homes to foreclosure each month, and a majority of these properties end up as bank-owned listings for sale at or below current market prices.
Every Southland county -- Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego -- posted significant declines in prices last month, DataQuick reported. San Bernardino County's median took the biggest cut, declining 35.2% to $230,000. Yet, sales there rose 25% year over year.
There's no question that it's the purchase of the foreclosures that are driving local sales. Foreclosure resales in July composed 43.6% of all transactions, DataQuick reported.
The question now is, whether rising demand can counter the ongoing price descent.
"Sales may have hit a bottom, but prices haven't," said Patrick Veling, president of research firm Real Data Strategies in Brea.
July's numbers show that, although still slow, the pace of Southern California home sales may have found a floor. Each calendar month from September 2007 through June was an all-time sales low, but last month's sales number, while still below the 20-year average, wasn't the worst showing for a July.
The median is the price at which half of all homes sold for more, and half for less. It differs from an average, which can be skewed by a few multimillion-dollar sales.
Don't know if you heard about it but there is a secret society in the real estate world right now that is hard to get into. That is the society of REOs (Bank Owned Properties).
How does one go about getting to represent the jewel that is REOs. With so many houses going back to the bank it seems like on every block there is at least 2 or 3 houses that are bank owned.
Ask any agent who gets to represent these REO properties and they will not tell you how they were able to get on the good list with the bank. It is like you have to have a secret hand shake or password to get in.
Most of the bank owned properties we have seen are just put on the MLS and no marketing done except maybe a sign in the yard . Then they stand by and watch the money roll in. Our company is willing to go above and beyond for these properties to get them sold fast.
We would love to break into this secret society. Any ideas how?
So we just found out today the air date for our feature on Realtor Confidential a show on Fine Living TV. You can catch our 30 minute episode August 2nd at 5pm (pst). We are so excited we worked really hard to get this taping done on time.
A little information about what the show is about:
Alfonso Milanese: Friends as Clients Alfonso and Ann Marie Milanese, a husband-and-wife real estate team, introduce us to the world of luxury real estate. The duo owns and operates Show4you Realty, a firm that is dedicated to going the extra mile for its clients. Some clients, however, are more difficult than others, and the couple is in a tough spot when they agree to sell a close friend's home.
Calling all New and Experienced Real Estate Agents. Come be a part of our growing team as we move our company to the prestigious La Canada-Flintridge area.
Show4you Realty is a company like no other. We offer a number of great services to our agents and their clients including:
Chauffeured driven limousine with GPS navigation & fully equipped mobile office when showing property, at no cost to you.
Complimentary staging consultations by an Accredited Staging ProfessionalTM available on all your listings.
Sell homes faster with our aggressive marketing strategy.
Go green with paperless transactions & save your own gas with our chauffeured limousine.
Moving soon to our new state of the art office with no desk fees or hidden costs.
Earn commissions on loans, real estate or both.
Affordable, high quality, in-house marketing (Custom flyers, sign making & a company DVD that can be customized for you.)
Receive the support you need be it lead generation, open houses or one on one training.
So call us today and find out how you can become a team member of an innovative company with cutting edge technology and a focus on your future.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
A little information about what the show is about:
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