Arcadia REALTOR Magazine - November 2013

Arcadia

REALTOR®

The Official Publication of the Arcadia Association of REALTORS®

PROUDLY SERVING THE REALTORS® OF ARCADIA, BRADBURY, DUARTE, MONROVIA AND SIERRA MADRE

Nominations Now Open for REALTOR® and Affiliate of the Year Awards See page 5

AAR Hosts CIPS Designation Courses See page 9

“Commercial Real Estate Day at the Races” See page 8

NOVEMBER 2013

WWW.THEAAR.COM

VOL. 17, NO. 11

Arcadia

REALTOR®

REGULAR FEATURES 4 Events Calendar

4 From the CEO’s Desk Andrew Cooper, Chief Executive Officer

5 Attorney Comments Dave Freeman, AAR Legal Counsel

6 Market Matters

9 Affiliate Corner

“Credit Matters for Listing and Selling Agents” David Schram, 740 Plus

“How to Help Expedite the Closing of Escrow” Dave Barniak, Lotus Escrow

601 South First Avenue Arcadia, California 91006 626.446.2115 626.446.4072 FAX www.TheAAR.com

2013 ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

Andy Bencosme {President} Mike Vachani {President-Elect} Joe Pacilio {Vice-President} Jill Nelson {Secretary/Treasurer}

2013 ASSOCIATION DIRECTORS

Micah Adams Ryan Asao Roy Blume Kelvin Chang Margaret Garemore John Lee Paulina Lee Sylvia Ramos Irene Yamagata -Bermudez

2013 C.A.R. DIRECTORS

Ryan Asao Andy Bencosme Margaret Garemore George Monte Randall Traw Mike Vachani Kelvin Wong

ARCADIA ASSOCIATION STAFF

Arcadia Association of REALTORS®

10 Through the Lens

A Look at What’s Happening Around the AAR

Robin Allen Ext. 307 Director of Finance / Office Manager Robin@TheAAR.com Michael Beltran Ext. 302 IT Director / Webmaster Michael@TheAAR.com

11.13

{ Arcadia REALTOR® | November | Two Thousand and Thirteen | Volume Seventeen | Number Eleven}

2

November 2013

Brenda Faltes Ext. 304 Director of MLS Data Integrity, Supra & Social Media Brenda@TheAAR.com Jamie Hu Ext. 309 Administration Jamie.Hu@TheAAR.com Stephanie Maertens Ext. 303 Director of Education, Publications & MLS Caravan Stephanie@TheAAR.com Maria Roberts Ext. 305 Director of Membership & Professional Standards Maria@TheAAR.com Jane Shriver Ext. 301 Director of Association Services Jane@TheAAR.com Andrew Cooper Ext. 308 Chief Executive Officer Andrew@TheAAR.com

ON THE COVER 5

Nominations Now Open for REALTOR® and Affiliate of the Year Awards The AAR is now accepting nominations for these coveted awards. Nomination forms due no later than Friday, November 22, 2013.

8

“Commercial Real Estate Day at the Races” The Commercial / Investment Committee recently held its annual educational and networking event with a group of expert panelists and a fantastic keynote speaker.

9 AAR Hosts CIPS Designation Courses

The AAR recently offered a 5-Day CIPS Institute of courses. A

total of 19 attendees are now on their way to becoming CIPS designees!

ADDITIONAL CONTENT 3

“Social Media Marketing for Beginners” Please join us for our monthly Lunch & Learn Series!

3

“Dealing with Unpermitted Construction” Please join us for this popular course!

12

“How to Buy and Sell Hotels and Motels” Due to popluar demand, the AAR has scheduled this fantastic 3-hour seminar. Please join us!

lar opu

By P d! k c a n B a Dem

“dealing with unpermitted construction”

The AAR Education Committee presents

lunch & learn series A free educational series on the third thursday of every month bring your lunch and learn!

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2013 ARCADIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 601 SOUTH FIRST AVENUE ARCADIA, CA 91006 TIME: 1:00 P.M. TO 3:00 P.M. CHECK-IN BEGINS: 12:30 P.M. Course Cost: FREE* *If you register and do not attend or cancel beforehand, a $10 “No Show” charge will apply.

Refreshments will be provided by LaRocca Inspection Company.

Join us to learn: • When a permit is required • The steps needed to legalize unpermitted work • The three options for dealing with unpermitted construction • If construction work always has to conform to current building codes To register for this course, please visit www.TheAAR. com and click on the course title under “Upcoming Events”

“Social Media Marketing for Beginners”

Presented by: Richard Rocha, Marketing Representative, InterValley Escrow

Thursday, November 21, 2013 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Cost: FREE (with $10 refundable deposit) Arcadia Association of REALTORS® 601 S. First Ave. Arcadia, California 91006 Social media (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.) is a great way to expand your sphere of influence and market to a much larger audience. The best part about using Social Media for marketing is that it can be done for little to no coast at all! In this class, you will learn the basics of Social Media marketing: ■ Setting up a Facebook business page ■ Learning to use the Insights provided by Facebook in order to maximize the audience you reach.

■ Learn to create automated campaigns via Facebook and Twitter.

■ Get listings up faster using just your smartphone and few social media apps ■ Introduction to other Social Media sites like Instagram, YouTube and Google+

To register, please visit www.TheAAR.com and click under the event title under “Upcoming Events”

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

3

November Events F 1

12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Toastmasters

M 4

8:30 a.m. - New Member Orientation

T 5

10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. - Beginning Zipforms Training 10:00 a.m. - Global Real Estate Comittee Mtg.

W 6

8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan 9:30 a.m. - Events 4 Charity Auxiliary Mtg. N.A.R. in San Francisco (Nov. 6 - Nov. 9)

Th 7

9:30 a.m. - Commercial / Investment Committee Mtg. 11:00 a.m. - Commercial Education & Networking Session

F 8

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - CRMLS Training

M 11

AAR Closed in Observance of Veteran’s Day

T 12

11:00 a.m. - Tech Committee Mtg.

W 13

8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan 8:45 a.m. - Affiliate Committee Mtg. 9:30 - MLS Committee Mtg. 3:30 p.m. - Equal Opportunity / Housing Affordability Committee Mtg.

F 15

12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Toastmasters

M 18

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - “Legal & Tax Consequences of Short Sales vs. Foreclosures”

T 19 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Intermediate ZipForms6 Training

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. - “How to Buy and Sell Hotels and Motels”

1:30 p.m. - Budget and Finance Committee Mtg.

2:00 p.m. - Education Committee Mtg. W 20

8:30 a.m. - MLS Caravan 9:30 a.m. - Public Relations Committee Mtg. 1:30 p.m. - Local Governmental Relations Committee Mtg.

Th 21

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Lunch & Learn Series Class

F 22

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

W 27

Th 28

No MLS Caravan

F 29

AAR Closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday

AAR Closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday

FROM THE CEO’S DESK I Saw Santa Claus Before the Headless Horseman So there it was. The first Christmas television commercial of the season. And this was 10 days before my son dressed in his costume on Halloween. They say “Christmas comes earlier every year”. I used to argue that by stating that according to my calendar it’s still on December 25th . But after seeing Santa Claus on television touting cell phones right before an ad with the Headless Horseman selling bags of candy at Target - I now see their point.

I’m concerned that if we’re being forced to start thinking about the Holidays already in October we’re going to start rushing around now and we’ll lose sight of what’s important and not appreciate everything that we already have. As REALTORS®, Affiliates and ultimately, independent business owners, we are goal-oriented by nature and as such we tend to live in the future by constantly looking on the horizon for new business. This is perfectly natural because that’s what we’re supposed to do as entrepreneurs. However always looking to the future will oftentimes cause us to lose sight of where we are today including not being thankful for everything we already have, both in our personal lives and in our respective businesses.

The automatic response to that is “But business has slowed down” or “I don’t have an escrow, so what do I have to be thankful for?”. If you are reading this article the chances are you are still active in the real estate industry and by still being in business that right there is something to be thankful for. By still being in business, we have the ability TODAY to make positive business decisions that will lead to a profitable future and that will get you those escrows and listings. The decisions to be made are endless and bountiful. However let’s not focus on our level of success because success is relative. Instead, let’s be thankful we are still in business to be able to make smart decisions and let’s also be thankful for those in our lives who have supported us as REALTORS® and Affiliates.

I truly believe there is a direct correlation that when we become more thankful for what and who we already have in our lives we will automatically find ourselves having more to be thankful about.

I am truly thankful to all our members for your valued membership with the Arcadia Association of REALTORS® and on behalf of our office staff and Board of Directors we wish you all a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

Andrew Cooper Chief Executive Officer

4

November 2013

Attorney Comments November 2013

By Dave Freeman, Association Counsel 1. PROPERTY TAX TRANSFERS: Seniors – This is a provision often overlooked by our clients. As property values, and therefore property taxes, have sky-rocketed during the last decade or so, it is important to preserve the property tax base of seniors, based on Proposition 13. It is important to advise your clients that they must file the application with the county tax assessor upon purchase of the new residence in order to take advantage of Proposition 90.

Your clients should be reminded of three points: 1. Prop 13 keeps the property tax on particular residences stable, with no more than 2% per year increases, in most cases.

2. If anyone over the age of 55 sells their residence, and purchases another one, in the same county, for equal or less money, within two years of sale of the previous, Proposition 90 allows the seniors to retain their Proposition 13 property tax basis on the new residence. Only certain countries allow transfers of the Proposition 90 benefits to a new residence in a different county.

They include the local counties of: • Orange County

• • • •

San Diego County Los Angeles County Riverside County Ventura County

2. PROPERTY TAX REASSESSMENT: Upon change of ownership, the county tax assessors will reassess your property, almost always causing a large increase in property taxes. Until recently, this does not include partial transfers of the property, or addition of another person to the title, or changes in how the property is held. With the need for new money in Sacramento and locally, the county tax assessors have become more stringent on their rules regarding this subject.

A. Notably, if another party is added to the title, the property will be reassessed.

B. If joint tenancy is changed to tenants in common, even with the exact same parties on title, the county tax assessors will reassess, and the courts have upheld this. The actual case was in Marin County, but as the appellate court ruled in favor of the county tax assessor in that case, it is likely most county tax assessors in other countries will take advantage of this opportunity as well.

3. PRESERVING ELECTRONIC

DON’T MISS WHAT’S COMING! For more information on upcoming AAR classes and more, visit www.TheAAR.com and click “Upcoming Events”

COMMUNICATIONS: At the C.A.R. meetings in Long Beach recently, there was a great deal of discussion regarding the Bureau of Real Estate’s ruling that agents must retain all electronic communications involved during real estate transactions for a period of three years. This involves emails, texts, tweets, and Facebook communications, as well as other methods of electronic communication. You will be receiving more communications on this subject as they come down. C.A.R. had not yet researched this issue at the time of the meeting in Long Beach.

This brings up two obvious thoughts: 1. Do not communication any electronic message that you don’t want the BRE to see.

2. Each real estate brokerage should have an office policy, in writing and published to each member of that office concerning the subject.

4. NEW Q & A’S: There are new Q & A’s that are worth looking at on C.A.R.’s website: A. Short Sales B. Property Managers and the Contractors Licensing Laws C. Agency Disclosures and Confirmation and Agency Laws Summary Chart

Nominations Now Open for REALTOR® and Affiliate of the Year Awards The Arcadia Association of REALTORS® is now accepting nominations for the coveted REALTOR® and Affiliate of the Year Awards. Nomination forms are available at the AAR or on www.

TheAAR.com. Nominations are due no later than Friday, November 22, 2013. For questions, please contact the AAR at (626) 446-2115.

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

5

Market

Matters

Market Statistics for the San Gabriel Valley September 2013 Single Family Homes

City

6

Zip Code

Condominiums

Price % Sales of Chg from Sales Single Family Price Median September Count Homes SFR ($1,000) 2012 Condos

SFR Only

Price Price & Median Chg from Median Condo September Home Price/ ($1,000) 2012 Sq. Ft.

Alhambra

91801

10

$565

-5.9%

5

$405

15.2%

$449

Alhambra

91803

10

$580

45.0%

Altadena

91001

44

$550

29.4%

1

$577

37.4%

$368

4

$1,040

13.4%

$399

Arcadia

91006

34

$1,150

29.2%

6

$714

6.6%

$519

Arcadia

91007

13

$1,380

16.1%

12

$500

3.1%

$587

Azusa

91702

14

$355

35.2%

15

$317

85.1%

$252

Duarte

91010

8

$329

11.5%

4

$378

51.0%

$348

El Monte

91731

7

$395

51.9%

4

$335

5.3%

$339

El Monte

91732

8

$399

24.7%

9

$310

-37.4%

$345

El Monte - South

91733

7

$300

-7.4%

5

$392

54.3%

$294

Glendora

91740

27

$433

27.2%

5

$330

32.0%

$310

Glendora

91741

23

$568

24.7%

1

$345

-19.0%

$326

La Ca単ada Flintridge

91011

21

$1,180

21.0%

1

$770

13.6%

$536

La Verne

91750

23

$500

11.1%

5

$254

-26.4%

$278

Monrovia

91016

22

$597

31.4%

5

$350

-2.8%

$392

Pasadena

91101

n/a

n/a

n/a

22

$368

6.5%

n/a

Pasadena

91103

20

$435

-13.9%

8

$437

n/a

$354

Pasadena

91104

21

$650

44.6%

3

$485

53.1%

$441

Pasadena

91105

13

$1,311

51.7%

11

$650

2.8%

$510

Pasadena

91106

3

$1,070

41.9%

16

$525

49.1%

$617

Pasadena

91107

33

$718

21.1%

6

$473

30.5%

$460

Rosemead

91770

19

$453

31.2%

3

$340

11.5%

$429

San Gabriel

91775

24

$719

43.8%

1

$520

n/a

$419

San Gabriel

91776

11

$533

22.4%

4

$439

54.9%

$354

San Marino

91108

13

$2,033

59.6%

n/a

n/a

n/a

$710

Sierra Madre

91024

9

$890

20.3%

3

$483

22.3%

$486

Temple City

91780

16

$680

25.3%

6

$555

28.5%

$457

Source: DQNews.com

November 2013

Arcadia REALTOR速 Magazine

7

“Commercial Real Estate Day at the Races”

By Roy Blume, Commercial / Investment Committee Chairman

The Commercial /Investment Committee recently hosted a sold out Commercial Real Estate Day at the Races at the beautiful Santa Anita Racetrack. This was a new venue for the annual event. The event started off when a panel of commercial practitioners from the largest big-name commercial brokerages in the business. They included: Bill Ukropina – Coldwell Banker Commercial North County; Sheri McCanless – NAI Capital; Ron Heim – Cushman & Wakefield and Sam Foster – Jones Lang LaSalle. The panel members took questions regarding local commercial market trends, various types of commercial leases, transaction approach and how to market commercial properties. Their knowledge was extremely helpful to those who attended who were there to learn from some of the best. It was inspiring to listen to this line up of speakers.

We learned how to network and how to do business with these firms. You can’t gain this information from a webinar.

Our keynote speaker Patricia Lynn, CCIM and N.A.R Signature Series Speaker gave us a great presentation on “Getting Heard Above the Noise” - very important if you want to separate yourself from the rest.

I would like to take a moment to thank our event sponsors.

8

November 2013

Our Winner’s Circle sponsors were Laura Pozzi, Cutco Closing Gifts and David Padilla, CoStar Group. Our Finish Line sponsors include Armen Madatyan, CDC Loans; Julie Arballo, Wells Fargo; Mary Kay, Advanced Group Property Inspection Company; Ann Doherty, ODIC Environmental & Energy and Steve Micciche, WF Construction. Our Starting Gate sponsor was Dino Champagne, Asset Preservation Inc. If you didn’t make it to this year’s event, I encourage you to attend next years. It is sure to be another fantastic event! Also, if you are interested in Commercial real estate, remember that our Commercial / Investment Committee hosts a Commercial Education & Networking Session on the first Thursday of every month in the Arcadia Association building from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch is provided. The Committee has their monthly meeting at 9:30 a.m. prior to the session. The meeting is open to all AAR members. If you have an interest in the Committee, I welcome you to come by and visit one of our meetings.

For any questions regarding the Commercial / Investment Committee, contact Roy Blume at (626) 355-1451 or email him at roydblume@gmail.com.

Affiliate Corner

“Credit Matters for Listing and Selling Agents”

By David Schram, 740 Plus

Every year I encounter sellers who cannot obtain their next home loan and have to rent instead. The professional REALTOR® can suggest pulling consumer credit reports after the listing agreement is signed but before the home is marketed.

allow certain types of bad credit to have good resolutions without the illegal disputing process. These loopholes absolutely do not include BK or foreclosure per FCRA.

Bad credit items may be warning signs that a new loan is not in the clients’ immediate future. I advise against pulling mortgage credit.

That is a sign of motivation to debt collectors who do pull credit regularly and worse settlements are offered.

Collection accounts, certain judgments, certain tax liens, some late payments, many past-due amounts and over-due balances, some repossessions and certain other bad credit may or do fall within the legal loopholes for deletion from credit but most certainly not by disputing tactics if the bad credit is accurate and current.

As a flat statement, less than excellent credit scores can always be improved legally. It is just a question of how many points and how quickly.

Here is a list of suggestions regarding common credit problems:

Collection accounts: Do not pay them without a written promise to delete. The FICO scores never go up when collections are paid, contrary to logic. Verbal promises to delete are rarely kept.

Payment temporarily makes the credit report “inaccurate”.

Protect your license and do not recommend disputing-type of credit repair services; don’t you do it and do not advise your client to do it. The legal penalties are far too great.

Late mortgage payments within the past twelve months makes mortgage lending difficult. Home equity loans and lines of credit are mortgage loans and late payments cause lending the same problem.

It is illegal to dispute accurate bad credit contrary to the assertions of dispute-oriented credit repair companies. Its actually in three federal laws, the third of which assesses up to $1million penalties and up to 30 years in prison. This warning includes the consumer doing disputes too.

Tax liens: A paid and released six-year-old federal lien costs FICO scores about 25-40 points to otherwise perfect credit. Federal tax liens are different than other tax liens in terms of possible legal credit resolutions.

The reason accurate bankruptcy, foreclosure, short sale and certain other bad credit is illegal to dispute or otherwise have removed from credit lies in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA); the Consumer Credit Protection Act, Title IV, Section 406; and bank fraud law which is serious business.

A very careful reading of the federal laws regarding credit reporting and credit “repair” reveal certain legal loopholes which

After discharge of bankruptcy and with proper credit rebuilding the FICO scores should be around 700 within two years. Most consumers rebuild their credit incorrectly and even 3-5 years after BK with perfect payments commonly have scores only from upper500’s to mid-600’s.

For more information on this subject and more, contact Dave Schram at 818.813.8230 or email him at daveschram@sbcglobal.net.

“How to Help Expedite the Closing of Escrow”

By Dave Barniak, Lotus Escrow

The key to a successful transaction is communication. Avoid delays or costly mistakes by being aware of situations that can cause them.

Prepare – The more information, the better.

Always. During the opening process of an escrow don’t hesitate to furnish the escrow agent as much information regarding the transaction

as possible. These items should include but are not limited to: •

Title vesting choice

•

Correct spelling of client(s) name

•

Contact info for lender (or mortgage broker)

•

Fire insurance policy information HO6/HOA (Continued on page 11)

99

through the lens

A Look at What’s Happening Around the AAR

AAR Booth at the C.A.R. Expo

AAR Past President, Ryan Asao with Barbara Corcoran, ABC Network “Shark Tank” at the C.A.R. Expo

Monthly Commercial Networking & Education Session

10

November 2013

“Boomers to Zoomers” Event at Pepper’s Restaurant

Affiliate Corner Cont.

(Continued from page 9)

• Payoff mortgage loan account info; plus any other tax, mortgage, bond or lien information.

• Copies of Trust or Corporate documents • Statement of Information Estimated closing statement up-front – Although closing costs will vary from one transaction to the next, you should not wait to find out what a client will owe at the close of escrow. Even an estimate can serve as a ballpark of what fees could be and would curtail any surprises. Is your client out of country or state? Both the IRS and California Franchise tax board have requirements for the withholding of Capital Gains. Contact escrow regarding certain instances where a waiver could be granted.

Review preliminary title report – The magical “free and clear” title report is not magic at all. Basically between the collaboration of the escrow and title officer any clouds on title, liens, loans and judgments are reconveyed or cleared.

Expedite this process by supplying the escrow agent with a complete statement of information from the seller/borrower right from the get-go. There are many instances of old paid off loans, liens or substandards which simply have been recorded on properties in error or have been failed to be

reconveyed by lenders.

Communicate with lender – This would be the top reason of cancelled or delayed escrows. If a transaction is contingent on obtaining a loan, communicate with the broker/lender from the beginning. Read lender regulations before submitting – nothing would delay escrow more than a transaction submitted to a lender who does not finance a specific type of transaction.

Documents are time sensitive – Make sure to respond quickly to any correspondence related to the transaction. It is important that you do not hang on to and delay handling these documents. Instead, you need to review and have the client sign them as soon as possible. If your client is going to be out of town or country during the escrow process you may want to consider a power of attorney to avoid delays.

When in doubt – Ask, email or call your escrow. We are a service provider and a neutral party to the transaction. Remember to always advise escrow as soon as you are aware of any issue that could delay your transaction.

For more information on this topic, contact Dave Barniak at 626.262.4333 or email him at dave@lotusescrow.com.

AAR Hosts CIPS Designation Courses

The Arcadia Association of REALTORS® had the honor of recently offering Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) Courses. For a total of five days, instructor Fanny Chu, CIPS, SRES, TRC, SFR of San Francisco offered her expertise and knowledge to each of the attendees. This year, a total of nineteen students joined together in determination to gain their CIPS Designations and to learn all of the information required to conduct real estate business in various foreign countries.

CIPS Students with the course instructor are (Standing L to R): Kelly Tran, Michael Hui, Daphne Hu, Kartik Subramaniam, Selene Lum, Santiago Ogradon Cortes, Jeff Curtis, Eugene Solonin, Mei Zheng, Aaron van Kesteren, Jill Askren, Loni McVicar, Diane Kaefer and Amy Song.

(Seated L to R): Sharon Kao, Tina Lynne, Elwin Wang, Instructor, Fanny Chu; Eileen Ruan and Angela Chen.

Arcadia REALTOR® Magazine

11

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

“How to Buy and Sell Hotels and Motels” with Instructor, Bill Herrera, Palm Pacific Realty

Monday, November 18, 2013 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

AAR Building

Cost: $29 Visit www.TheAAR.com for more details and to register.

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 33 East Huntington Drive • Arcadia, CA 91006 romy@rahmanianlaw.com • www.RahmanianLaw.com

12

C. Anthony Phillips, CPA President

We Provide A Complete Service To Successfully Accomplish Tax Deferred Exchanges Pre-Exchange Tax Planning Accommodation of Tax Deferred Exchange Post Exchange Tax Planning

Call for your free Exchange Tax Analysis 909 East Green Street, Pasadena CA 91106-2930

Phone: (800) 743-1031 Fax: (626) 796-8222

www.DownstreamExchange.com