Real Estate Syndicate » Ramblings

Who Launches a Real Estate Business in This Economy?

Max Diez — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 06:28:09 +0000

CALPMG Launches Next-Gen Real Estate Model

PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 04, 2011 -

It’s a counter-intuitive move. In a down economy, with a depressed real estate market, Maximillian Diez and Ernesto Pineda—formerly with Redfin, ZipRealty and Century Homes and Investment Group—are doing what they do best: Launching a new real estate e-commerce brokerage called CALPMG.

As top producers at two real-estate start-ups, Diez and Pineda helped define how today’s online real estate transactions are managed and helped transition the industry from a broker/agent-centric model to the new online/client-centric model. Today CALPMG is building on that success by bringing back the personalized service—the irreplaceable human touch—that has been lost in the real estate industry’s race to embrace high volume, online sales.

“Real estate transactions are too emotional and complex to be managed as online-only transactions,” said Maximillian Diez, Founder and CEO of CALPMG. “While Google maps may improve the user experience and search engines will get faster, these technological advances will never replace the human factor that comes with working alongside a real estate professional who is passionate about their client’s needs. Personal attention PLUS Technology is what the next generation of real estate services must provide, and that’s what separates CALPMG from other online real estate services.”

Looking forward—to define what the future of real estate service should be—Diez and Pineda designed CALPMG to serve as the premier, one-stop source offering the most desirable real estate services, features and benefits: brokerage services to buy or sell property; discount pricing; rebates; online search and tour capabilities; property rental and leasing; and most importantly, personalized service with a licensed Realtor® or agent.

“While 89%* of all home buyers use the Internet in their search for a home, online searches, virtual tours and electronic signatures can’t replace the peace of mind that comes from working with a trusted source—an expert who can help navigate complexities associated with real estate transactions,” said Ernesto Pineda, CALPMG Managing Partner. “We learned from Redfin and ZipRealty, and from our work in traditional models. We know where those models fall short and we have corrected the issues.”

Making Real Estate Transactions Equitable for You, the Client!
One of the most popular transaction structures for clients is the “Transaction Rebate”—or CALPMG’s “Service First, Rebate Second” value model—which allows buyers to receive 52 percent of any commission that results from their transaction. Extending that into new markets, CALPMG also offers a similar option to renters, who can receive 25 percent of any commission that results from their transaction.

“Some of the larger online real estate outlets, that started with and realized great success with the rebate model—have dropped this option in an effort to bolster profits,” said Diez. “Information that used to be available only to real estate professionals is available online. Today, clients are Internet savvy and much more involved in their property transactions with research, pricing and more. They want to see their efforts rewarded and we agree. At CALPMG, we see this as a core offering and intend for it to be a permanent part of our business model.”

About CALPMG:
CALPMG is California’s first and only property management company to also provide personalized service with discount real estate brokerage services. Founded in 2009 as the California Property Management Group by childhood friends turned real estate colleagues—Maximillian Diez and Ernesto Pineda—CALPMG reunites market builders turned leaders from Redfin, ZipRealty and Century Homes and Investment Group. CALPMG was launched in San Diego with a mission to develop a better real estate service model grounded in honesty, transparency, expert interpretation and knowledge of local markets. Today—with offices in San Francisco and San Diego—CALPMG serves two markets in California, facilitating property transactions for buyers, sellers, prospective tenants and landlords and offers discount pricing, rebates, online search options and, most importantly, personalized service with a licensed Realtor or agent. http://CALPMG.com

For more information contact CALPMG Corporation: (877) 787-8525 or info@calpmg.com

Originally posted on:

http://www.prlog.org/11684078-who-launches-real-estate-business-in-this-economy.html

So long Sahara Hotel: Las Vegas, NV

Max Diez — Wed, 18 May 2011 19:16:13 +0000

I spent a couple of days in Las Vegas last week, it happened to coincide with SBE Entertainment and Stockbridge Real Estate’s decision to close the once Las Vegas landmark. According to SBE Entertainment CEO Sam Nazarian after buying the 1,720 hotel-casino(18 Acres) in 2007 and the real estate market collapse they quickly found out that the Sahara was “no longer economically viable” to operate.

Saraha Hotel Casino Las Vegas (entrance)

As other developments were moving south on the Strip, the Sahara was left behind. The halting of construction projects on the north end completely sealed the Sahara’s fate.

Opening in 1952, many of the Strip’s legendary performers in the 1960s and 1970s which included Johnny Carson, Don Rickles, Tina Turner and Dean Martin all performed there. The resort was the site of the annual Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon for many years and was the back drop to Ocean’s 11 the 1960s version. Even my mentor, who passed away in 2008 used to talk about his drinking and gamblinge trips at the Sahara.

So during a Vegas trip where I had plenty of extra and alone time to hang out, I asked Francis A. and his girlfriend Jenny to take me to this space. Curiously, when I told him that it was closing down he thought that this would be an opportunity to break the bank one more time.

Go figure.

Sahara Poker Room, the night before it was scheduled to close.

When we got there, we waited for a valet that never showed up, and for an elevator that was no longer working. Foreshadowing to what we would see in the actual casino. All of the restaurants were closed even the famed ‘House of Lords’ which Mr. Z used to talk about had shut down. Mr. Z told me that he had won a case involving a defective electric blanket and he convinced Mrs. Z to take their convertible to Vegas to celebrate.

Guess where he went? The Sahara. I would imagine when they got there it looked like this. This was the picture that one would see when they would sit in the sports book area. A window into an era of what was. I wish I could have seen it in its hey day.

1960s woman getting out of her car at the Sahara.

It was a somber event, a place that was once decorated with celebrities and mobsters was now just a tower of black and white pictures, empty $1 blackjack rooms, and silent slot machines.

According to Nazarian, they plan on coming back — in a final statement to a generation of patrons he hand wrote a letter on hotel stationery and posted it on the door saying,” “Be back soon! Thank you for 59 years.”

My guess for their new development being that they also own two parcels next to the Sahara, would be some type of TimeShare/Resort living experience. It seems that many of the new developments have gone in that direction. Only time will tell - Farewell Sahara, and thanks for filling in the memories.

Three – fourths of the year ramblings…2010.

Max Diez — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 05:34:55 +0000

The last few weeks has been interesting the SF Giants are on the verge of making the World Series, Bank of America has restarted foreclosing on homes, and of course 101010 occurred. I have learned quite a bit this year, I have see that while so much money was lost during the real estate collapse in 2007-08, there are still quite a bit of cash sitting on the sideline. I can say that while the boom, I did not get overly aggressive buying homes..

A good friend of mine who did his first real estate purchase with me in 2003 was recently indicted for allegedly hosting a ponzi scheme. He was a friend to me before we started doing business and likewise I think about those times rather than what is being said of him now. There are two frames of thought when this comes to mind:

1. When you lose other people’s money, people get mad and they find something to sue you over.

2. When you make other people’s money grow, people rarely ask questions.

I don’t have all the facts in front of me, but of what I know of my friend I do feel like he had their best interests at heart. I sometimes think to myself that I should have been more aggressive, we had a number of deals that we just did not have the guts for – the McAllister project (1.1m investment turned 1.2m profit) – the Bryant project (770k investment turned 200k profit) but for those I sat on the sideline while I watched others make money.

Keep in mind, I was involved and made some money as a result but I did not put all my chips in hoping that there would be a big payoff. Real estate was and is still good to me.

Selling in depreciating markets ~ South San Francisco Style

Max Diez — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 04:01:34 +0000

With a little more than 5 months since my last post, you probably have been wondering what the he** I have been doing. Quite a bit to tell you the truth, the Summer started with me taking on a new acquisition it was a home in Millbrae – all cash ~ got to love those. So here I am working with another client trying to determine how to sell a home of theirs while they are overseas. The problem is that with this depreciated market and so many other properties currently for sale, marketing this one for top dollar will make this a difficult sell. Tomorrow, I will be at the house looking at what I can do to make this home stand out above the rest. Keep in mind, that there is another home that is in the community that is selling for much less. Well not that much less, but $50-75k is a big difference. One could say to one self, could I just wait for the short sale to either expire or for the home to go to foreclosure. The home going to foreclosure does have some repercussions it will lower the price per square foot for the area and for this gated community. I will keep you posted.

When will the Real Estate Broker be needed again?

Max Diez — Fri, 28 May 2010 06:12:51 +0000

Housing construction and sales have always followed job growth. Looking around and seeing the number of layoffs from companies like Pfizer, Texas Instruments, GM, Boeing, Motorola, Sprint, Microsoft and Webcor one would think that times are grim. I personally think that when companies start to let go of employees, these were a lagging indicator of the current climate. Even amidst my mild optimism, I realize that many will not feel the same way. Take today’s news stating that more Americans than forecasted filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, indicating firing persists even as the economy rebounds and employment is picking up. My only argument is that many Americans are forced to work for less than what they were making and while they do have jobs ~ getting by is not living.

Cities like Las Vegas, Riverside. Calif., and Phoenix have seen median home prices fall 50%, 44% and 37% from their respective peaks. If you were to take a look at the jobs that are being posted on Craigslist, jobs are ~ dare I say it truly vanishing and companies are paying less for those once coveted services.

What should an overseas buyer expect to do when trying purchase a property in California?

Max Diez — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:33:51 +0000

Look for a local agent that is familiar with the area.

Find the home either through the use of the internet

Find a title company that is familiar with international wires.

If the buyer is looking to get a loan for the purchase the title company does not require anything specifically from the buyer.

However, the lender may have some additional requirements that it may need from the lender in order to finance the loan.

If certain deeds need to be signed and notarized, the buyers can make an appointment at the country’s U.S. Embassy and one their representatives can notarize the document.

Differences:

Change in time zones – alleviated by in depth emails from title and real estate broker
1. This can also be addressed by allowing your client to set up a special power of attorney. Thereby creating an attorney-in-fact to sign and act on their behalf.
2. This document must be notarized and approved by the title in order to be used in the transaction.

When representing the buyer, the buyer must be cognizant of the fluctuating currency exchange between the countries.

1. I generally would recommend to my clients to market time their wire, if the exchange was not in their favor to an established dollar account here in the US. Depending on how long the escrow is. When the duration of contract was longer than 6 months, I would dollar cost average their money into the U.S. where they would be getting the advantages of a lower exchange rate.
2. If they did not want to establish a dollar account, I would recommend wiring directly to the escrow company. Most of the escrow companies that I worked with would pay an interest rate while they had the money on deposit. However, it would not be very much.

Are mortgages an issue?

a. Most of my clients would purchase all cash. However, there are ways to establish a mortgage internationally. You will have to use a major lender (Citibank, Chase, or Banco Popular)

b. If your client has enough in deposit with an international bank they can procure a mortgage loan through a major lender.

c. If they don’t have the money in deposit, my last option would be to work with a mortgage banker. While I was in San Francisco, I had several contacts that would lend to foreign dignitaries. The application was different but the loan was possible with proper documentation and assets (land, businesses) abroad.

4. Time?

a. Truthfully, time has never been a factor in my transactions. The key is constant communication sometimes at odd times at night, or early in the AM.

b. Could take 5 extra days to receive international wires depending on the wire house and from the country that it is being sent from.

That all said, keep in mind other factors may conflict with a proper purchase, be aware of the currency exchange and work with someone you can trust.