I SUCCESSFULLY negotiated a $5000 CREDIT but I did NOT even get it!! Negotiation is an art that when done right can put you on the pedestal. Recently, I was involved in a purchase transaction where I was assisting a first time homebuyer. We looked at many homes and after about 2 months of searching we landed an acceptance on our offer. Yahoo! or so it seemed. It was a nice Spanish Style home that was partially remodeled. Only the essentials were done like new laminate flooring, new paint albeit flat paint, a few new windows. From curbside appeal, it was not a bad looking house. A few more cosmetic touch ups and it be a great place to call home.A home inspection was set up a few days after our offer was accepted. There were a few things that the inspector pointed out but nothing major. E... 09/02/2011

Having a good wife is *key* to having a successful business With Labor Day fast approaching, we reflect on what we have done so far this year as the 3rd quarter comes to an end. I was having a conversation during lunch the other day with one of my colleagues Jeff. He mentioned that this year is going well so far and that he is out producing last year's figures. Many times this year when I speak or hear other agents talking, they moan and groan that things are not like they used to be in the good old days. This was the same mindset that Jeff had possessed earlier in the year. But something happened that caused this reversal of cycle.Well, zipping through is a light at the end of the tunnel. Jeff had a miserable start to the year and he was down like Eyor from Winnie the Pooh. Several tra... 09/02/2011

We staged this San Gabriel home and it sold in 1 day! This San Gabriel home had been on the market since December, and in June 2011, Moving Mountains Designwas hired to stage it. It had been on the market for 6 months and had not sold. The home was beautifully remodeled and updated, had a pool and was in a great San Gabriel neighborhood. Still, it hadn't sold until it was staged. The buyers had seen the home multiple times before it was staged, but didn't see fit to make an offer until they saw how much more beautiful the home was with staging furniture and accessories. The buyers realized they were about to have a whole lot more competition. They were compelled to make an offer because the perceived value of the home had increased after staging. From the listing agent: Stunning single ... 08/06/2011

MULTIPLE OFFERS AND PRICE REDUCTION .....BEWARE!!   I had a situation this past week where I had submitted an offer for my client on one of the Bank Owned REO listings. We had submitted an offer 2 weeks prior on this same listing but it went under contract as the bank selected another offer. So, given the state of how the property was priced, it was understandable that the Bank may have presumably accepted another higher priced offer. By the way, our offer that was submitted was 20k OVER asking price as we realized that it was agressively priced below market. We moved on and started looking at other properties. A week passed and I received notification via email from the lender that the previously accepted offer has been canceled, and the property is now open again for submission of new... 05/30/2011

OUT OF ORDER: IS IT DECEIT OR TACTICAL MARKETING?  Do you utilitize tactical marketing to get business? One of the primary examples are teaser rates implemented by lenders to get customers in the door. Another example is car dealership advertising a bargain deal in the paper only to say that it was sold when you get there but there are other available in their lot for sale...at a higher price. Yesterday, I went to get gas and noticed something rather interesting. In grade schools, we were taught the ABC and 123 to place things in order. However, this one gas station must have skipped grade school and decided to do something outside the box. The octane grading is normally placed in ascending order from left to right.  As you can see from the picture, the higher grade is placed in the mi... 02/15/2011

Getting de-cluttered is the first step towards success   Are you disorganized and your office, whether it be a physical or mobile one, appeared to have gone through a tornado or a rampant cyclonic hurricane? If you possessed one of these 'unwanted' habits, you are not alone. It seemed that I have been piling up things and next thing I know the pile has become a mountainous landscape. I am a pretty organized person per se but for some reason these 'mess' tends to discover me when least expected. Being disorganized does affect your business. I have gotten to a mode where I now file each clients in vanilla folders and label them for ease of finding. I then file these folders in alphabetical order in a box as a filing system which I take with me. Prior to doing this, it was extremely diffic... 01/10/2011

Ipad or Netbook: the best choice for realtors.... With the rapid advances in techonological development, it is impressive the lighting speed of which is taking place around us. Not keeping up can put us back in the Mesozoic Age faster than you can bat your eyelash. Darwinism theory come into place and yield substance to the adage of 'survival of the fitness'. Recently, I have been contemplating about obtaining an IPAd vs. Netbook. Both have their pros and cons. With the Ipad, it is extremely portable in terms of quick access to the internet. It is like between a phone and a laptop. Additionally, this great gadget is taking over the archaic notepad which we once used regularly. All the media of entertainment can be just a push of a button away. Organization of database is just a click of... 12/25/2010

Are you a 24/7 Agent or a Dawn to Dusk Agent? Lately, I have been receiving phone calls very early in the morning and sometimes very late at night. I had answered my calls to the effect to demonstrate that I am available for my clients. Howevever, there have been times where they have felt that calling very late is the norm and it becomes a custom. Answering calls is great as it showed your availability which has been lacking since many agents use the phone as a voice mail system. "Please leave a message and I will return your phone call" or "hello this is xxxx, can I help you (@ 10:30pm at night!!)? Which one are you? Do you answer your phone calls as though you are an On-Call Agent? Do you make yourself available every minute of your day for your client...as a form of illustrating you... 12/09/2010

OMG! Beware Office mates who STEAL your listings !!   Some agents don't know protocol or the meaning of ethics. I recently spoke with another agent, "Sarah", who works in the office. She has been working with another agent named "Patty" in the office. They have been prospecting together since December. During that time period they have worked together, they were doing ok. They picked up a couple listings and a buyer while prospecting. It appears the relationship was going well until in March when Sarah couldn't deal with Patty any longer. They broke up like a bad marriage. It piqued my curiosity so I inquired further as to what caused this catastrophic downturn when things had gone 'oh so well'. The relationship was growing bitter by the days. Sarah indicated that Patty constantly compl... 05/25/2010

  San Gabriel CA Home for Rent - $2000       Property Type:   Single Family Residence/  Bedrooms:   2  Bath(F,T,H,Q):  1,0,0,0  Sqft:   1,004/  Sqft Lot:   7,850 Year Built:        1950   Includes range and refrigerator Family room Central air conditioning 2-car garage   Wonderful single level home in desired San Gabriel neighborhood. Freshly painted and new carpet, with fireplace in living room. Large grassy backyard. Temple City School District     Call me for more information and showing for these great deals.   ********************************************************************************************* For FORECLOSURE Prevention & all your Real Estate Services, Contact:    DAVID DEE(626) 203-5676  "Client 1st. That's the David Dee Guarantee." Specializing in: (SAN GABRIEL VALLEY) S... 05/16/2010

SAN GABRIEL CA HOMES FOR SALE - $417,000 OR LESS - AS OF 4/25/10   Below is a list of homes for sale in SAN GABRIEL California that is less than $417,000. These range from 2 to 3 bedrooms, built between 1925 to 1962. Square feet range from 659 to 1239.  Two are Shortsales, one is Bank Owned REO, and three are Regular sales. Name City            Price Falling Leaf San Gabriel  $        343,000 Sunset San Gabriel  $        300,500 Arcadia San Gabriel  $        347,000 Muscatel San Gabriel  $        368,000 Twin San Gabriel  $        398,000 Fairview San Gabriel  $        399,000   Call me for more information and showing for these great deals.   ********************************************************************************************* For FORECLOSURE Prevention & all your Real Estate S... 04/25/2010

BAJA CALIFORNIA 7.2 EARTHQUAKE FELT IN THE SAN GABRIEL VALLEY- April 4 2010     It occurred today Sun 4/4/10 at approximately 3:40pm PST. This quake was unlike any others I had experienced. It was not a shake and bake kind of rumble quake but more of a softly swaying one. A good comparison to this would be the Z-force ride at Magic Mountain. It just slowly rocks and felt as though it went on for quite a while. This slow movements actually felt scarier because it seemed to go on for an eternity. At first, I didn't realized it was an earthquake and thought I was getting dizzy from looking at the computer monitor too long. I stopped and closed my eyes to make sure that it was just not my imagination. It was a strange sensation. As I stood up and walked around, I noticed that the house was ... 04/04/2010

San Gabriel CA Real Estate Market Report March 2010     There were 21 homes that closed within the month of March 2010 for San Gabriel California, compared to 25 homes closed in March 2009, a decrease of -4. Sales Volume for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for March 2009 was $13,063,650 Sales Volume for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for March 2010 was $10,567,388 Average list price for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for March 2009 was $536,368 Average list price for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for March 2010 was $501,552 Average SOLD price for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for March 2009 was $522,546 Average SOLD price for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for March 2010 was $503,209 Average Days on Market for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for March 2009 was 82 days. Average Days on M... 04/04/2010

FREE Loan Modifications Help - San Gabriel CA   Are you late on your mortgage payments? Are you getting countless telephone calls daily? Did you lose your job or going through divorce? Are strangers consistently knocking on your door?     Here is some info that may bring some light to your situation. 1. Lenders are making a push for loan modifications. We can help you through this process at NO COST to you. 2. You can do a loan mod on your first and 2nd lender (should you have 2 loans) to structure a lower monthly payment. 3. As long as you continue to pay you may stay in your home. We can help you analyze your financials. 4. You may minimize damage to your credit. Letting the home go into Foreclosure will put a big ding on your credit for 7 years. 5. Getting your payments lower will he... 03/31/2010

San Gabriel CA Homes for Rent - Rental Houses     As of 3/25/10, there are a total of 16 Homes for Rent in San Gabriel California. This range from 2 to 4 bedrooms and 1 to 3 bathrooms. These San Gabriel Rental Houses are built from 1929 to 1981. The majority of them require a one year lease. Square Feet of these rental homes range between 1000 to 2300. Of the 16 homes for lease, 5 have shown a recent price change. For the month of February 2009, there were a total of 12 homes that was LEASED. For the same period in February 2010, there were a total of 6 homes that went into contract, a decrease of -6.       Name City Lease Price Muscatel AV  San Gabriel $1,650 LEROY ST  San Gabriel $1,750 Milton DR  San Gabriel $1,950 Muscatel AV  San Gabriel $1,950 Del Mar Ave  San Gabriel $2,150 SOUTH... 03/25/2010

  SAN GABRIEL CA HOMES FOR SALE - $417,000 OR LESS   Below is a list of homes for sale in San Gabriel California that is less than 417,000. The square feet range from 659 to 3300 with a price range from 275k to 400k. With few inventory under this price limit, these homes should be moving quickly.   Street City Price Sqft LSqft SUNSET AV  San Gabriel $275,000 659 3,150 Walnut Grove AV  San Gabriel $290,000 893 5,500 ARCADIA AV  San Gabriel $299,000 1,440 5,314 Muscatel AV #1/2  San Gabriel $300,000 838 7,013 MAIN ST  San Gabriel $326,800 763 4,832 ARCADIA AV  San Gabriel $385,000 1,239 5,597 OAK AVE  San Gabriel $388,000 832 5,009 Norwood PL  San Gabriel $390,000 1,112 7,450 SAN MARINO AV  San Gabriel $400,000 3,300 7,420   ****************************************************************... 03/14/2010

San Gabriel CA Real Estate Market Report February 2010   There were 14 homes that closed within the month of February 2010 for San Gabriel California, compared to 25 homes closed in February 2009, a decrease of -11. Sales Volume for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for February 2009 was $14,287,700 Sales Volume for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for February 2010 was $7,646,900 Average list price for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for February 2009 was $580,076 Average list price for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for February 2010 was $546,243 Average SOLD price for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for February 2009 was $571,508 Average SOLD price for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for February 2010 was $546,207 Average Days on Market for homes closed in San Gabriel CA for February 2009 wa... 03/11/2010

Do you treat other AGENTS like your CLIENTS?? If NOT, you should Re-THINK.. Have you experienced where some listing agents are rude when you call on their listings? Are they rushed and kind of brush you off? It is as though it's a burden for them to even talk with you. I believe that whether or not an agent has 100's of listings it is best to respect one another. I had a situation yesterday where I called to inquire about a listing. No, I did not call to check if it was ACTIVE. LOL. That is actually one of my pet peeves so I don't do it to other agents. :) This property is a shortsale and has been on the market for over 90 days. The L/A stated that there is no offer yet. I inquire a little more about the shortsale status and I felt as though he does not really want to answer them. He wa... 02/19/2010

San Gabriel CA Real Estate - Homes SOLD Market Statistics - Jan 2010 For the month ending January 2010, there were a total of 18 Single Family Homes SOLD. Price range from $399,000 to $908,000 with an Average Days on Market of 79 days.   Average prices sold was $612,000 consisting of Average Sold/List price of 98.4%. Almost $11 Million was SOLD for the month for homes in San Gabriel. The absorption rate is currently at 5.8.   There are currently 70 Active Listings on the market with 35 Homes in Pending Status.     Status: Closed Sale (18)           List Price: $300,000 - $400,000 (1)             List Price  ADOM  Selling Price  Year Built  SqFt  Min  399,500 24 399,500.00 1952 724 Max  399,500 24 399,500.00 1952 724 Avg  399,500 24 399,500.00 1952 724 Sum  399,500   399,500.00     List ... 02/19/2010

Hang up FIRST or risk getting caught with your PANTS DOWN!! Sometimes the things you say can backfire on you if you don't follow this adage. I spoke with a colleague yesterday and he informed me of this experience. He was on a phone call last week regarding a transaction where he is the listing agent. Let's call him 'John' for anonymous sake. The buyer's agent called him to check on the status of her buyer's offer. She asked a few questions about the property which he answered. She was playing hard-ball indicating that her client cannot go up on the pricing any further. As is his common courtesy, John normally does not hang up the phone first until the other party does. Otherwise, they may think he may have abruptly hung up on them. For this one particular instance, he waited for the ag... 02/14/2010