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How to achieve what you really want? What would Albert Einstein say?
There have been many Motivation Guru’s who have suggested different ways of achieving your goals. Tony Robbins has called it the Pain/Pleasure and Mental State. Then again Zig Ziglar had the answer of “Seeing you at the top” I personally always believed it is the Journey that matters. Not the destination but the long and winding road. How you treat people and how you react to adversity. I know this might differ from the Tom Hopkins and Tom Ferry’s of this world, never the less it has worked for me. Interestingly I just ran across a few quotes from Albert Einstein thought I share with you: 1. Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character 2. I never think of the future. It comes soon enough. 3. Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new!!! Hope this will give you fuel for the comming week. It has given me fuel to face Verizon tomorrow!! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreWhat can you do in five to six hours if you have phone & email issues?
What can you do in five to six hours if you have smart phone and email issues? You can make a rational and calculated decision! Clearly we have been inundated with the fact ‘that time is money’. Well let me share what I did on this past Friday. I have been without internet on my Blackberry since Wednesday into Thursday….evidently GoDaddy my email host was having server issues. This in turn escalated to my BlackBerry Bold not getting any emails. Not wanting to bore you with all the details after not getting things resolved on Thursday rather making things worse by calls to Verizon & GoDaddy I decided Friday was the day of reckoning. It had to get fixed. So from 11:30 am until 5:20pm I started with Verizon talked with Tech Support in Maine then was transferred to Tech Support in Georgia higher level, then transferred to BlackBerry in Asia who in turn conference me in with GoDaddy in Arizona. My BlackBerry Bold was whipped clean and data reloaded. Once finished I was confident I had email and things were back to normal…. Well not so fast…Saturday I was out with clients and wanted to email a picture I just took with the BlackBerry….good thing I took a whole bunch of pictures with my camera as well, because I was unable to email the pictures from my smart phone…. Well here we are Sunday I am out showing properties and my other clients are emailing me and want answers…I make a quick attempt at sending emails and amazingly enough the smart phone cannot send emails either. So since Wednesday I have been Smartphone challenged, hence after 96 hours of not having the right service and hampering my business I have decided that this t the Loyal BlackBerry client needs to move on for the sake of my clients and my own sanity. I do not know if there is a Samsung Galaxy S5 or an I- phone or who knows what in my picture tomorrow but I know it will not be the BlackBerry Bold. This is very hard for a loyal BB person of over ten plus years to do but my client service comes first. OK any ideas which phone I should get within the next day or two? If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations. ...
read moreWhat makes me different from my competition in the Greater Los Angeles
What makes me different from my competition in the Greater Los Angeles are…seems like I just answered this the other day. Now let me give more details, besides eating and sleeping real estate from the moment I wake up until I close my eyes, there are other things I do which makes me a success. Often times we are just on auto pilot and we wonder are we doing something different that could put us ahead of all of our fellow Realtors as we try to win the coveted “just listed” scenario. Bob from Active Rain decided to challenge us and share what we do to make us be in front of the rest of the pack. I have actually been thinking about this and must admit I do not do anything extraordinary, rather I do the mundane little things consistently. Hence I am confident it puts me ahead of the pack. Just to be specific: 1. When I get a listing I publish it on all my internet portals including Facebook, Active Rain, Trulia, Zillow, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Loopnet, Twitter, Berkshire Hathaway to name a few. 2. Then I send out an email blast to all my contacts including all those who are on my monthly newsletter. 3. Then I send out Post Cards to the nearest 500 neighbors. 4. All this is followed by all the Realtors in the Greater Los Angeles area. Not everyone does all this. Then on top I have my yard sign on the property and of course it is also in the Multiple Listing Service. They in turn syndicate the listing to about a couple hundred other websites which I do not want to bore you with. The bottom line is I might not have anything Flashy like Sheldon Neal, the bottom line is I do everything, including Virtual Tours with Floor Plans and Professional Photography. The best part is I answer all my texts, emails and voice mails within a reasonable amount of time not the next day, not in three to four hours but as soon as I have the opportunity. As far as I am concerned that is the reason I am recognized by Berkshire Hathaway as an Honor Society Recipient. I might not make the most money, but every one of my clients gets 100 per cent individualized attention from me. Clearly I do not have a partner nor an assistant, but I manage to live in Marina Del Rey and provide a very comfortable lifestyle for me and the caregiver of our three cats DianeJ! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreWhy work with me? Every Realtor has an answer to this question!
Why work with me? Every Realtor has an answer to this question! If you want to know why work with me then please read belowJ! What makes me more unique from the 10,000 plus agents in the Greater Los Angeles area? To me the answer is simple and clear. I eat and sleep real estate. Most people have their routine when conducting business. Mine is you might consider obsessive, compulsive but all my clients love it. I communicate with m clients via email or text as soon as I have the opportunity. This might not be considered a big deal to most people, but when you have clients in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America to name a few: that means my BlackBerry is next to my bed and outside of the bathroom the BlackBerry goes everywhere with me. Vacations, casual drives, no matter what the event consist of, I am available to answer my client’s questions and concerns, because I understand that when they ask it is very important to them. There has been a few times when I was on the plane or in major internet outage zones and my clients understood that if they did not hear from me within a reasonable amount of time there was a legitimate reason. On a side note this instant availability is coupled with being a trusted advisor. My clients know when they ask a question it will be straight forward, not double talk or sales scripts memorized. The result is they get real and honest answers based on my knowledge and experience. Hence the benefit for me, I have happy clients who look forward to dealing with me and passing my name out to their friends and social circles, because they know I am different from the 10,000 other agents in my market place. So how did I develop this attitude and approach? The answer is easy I treat every client as I would like to be treated: respond to my question quickly with straight forward honest advice. This makes me unique, I work from the moment I open my eyes until I close my eyes I am working in Real Estate. Some people might not agree to my style well that is OK you can work with someone else. On the other hand if you like getting straight, honest and not sugar coated answers and you want them relatively fast, and then please reach out to me. We will be a great fit, whether you are buying or selling a property in the Greater Los Angeles area! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organiz ...
read moreThe San Fernando Valley: Awkward Moments during a Real Estate Showing
The San Fernando Valley: Awkward Moments during a Real Estate Showing! Many people who do not know what Realtors do all day have a misconception and if I might say a false perception of what we do all day. In some respects it reminds me of what people think of Covert Agents for the government. It is humorous in a weird way. ( Photo to follow ) http://freedigitalphotos.net/ The parallels are uncanny: people think being a Realtor is a glamorous job, looking at homes all day, just as they think that being Spies is a glamorous job. The reality is far from this perception. On a side note the Covert Operator does not want to be recognized and wants to blend in and there are humorous moments when they almost get noticed; the Realtor on the other hand most Realtors want to be seen and noticed but they do not get notice no matter what they do…. so how could they be similar? In my perception both are professional and are very focused they both research, spend a great deal of time investigating trying to figure out what the best solution is to the various challenges. A Realtor clearly wants to find the best property for the buyer at the best price. Internet research, knowledge of the neighborhood, schools, market places, libraries, post offices and I could go on and on. They want to be able to communicate to the buyer if they are not familiar with the neighborhoods as if they lived here all their lives and blend in. Just like Spies want to blend in and not be noticed. So up to this point there is clearly a parallel between both professions. They both have boring research skillsJ! The average person thinks of both professions as glamorous. Well let me continue to dispel this false perception from my perspective. I am up late researching listings and communicating with my buyers and potential buyers on the internet. I get up early and read, respond and delete a hundred and plus emails and communicate with my buyers and sellers as well as potential buyers and seller. I set up appointments to see properties. In my spare time I review existing listings and want to know my inventory. In a fast market that is not always the case…. So I am even on Google trying to learn trivia that I was not aware of. Now with that said if you Google ‘The Porn Capital of the World’ you might be surprised that the San Fernando Valley of California pops up! (and feel free to test me on thisJ). So you can imagine where these mundane post leads to! I was out with a relatively shy and conservative male buyer. We were looking at one bedroom Condominiums and Townhomes since that is what the budget allowed. I took my electronic lock box opener (Supra) and opened this particular unit in Sherman Oaks. We walked past the powder room, then the galley kitchen to this high ceilinged living room with a great balcony. My buyer loved it we were making buying sounds of uhs and ahs …clearly a well maintained unit. Now we decided to go up to the open second level which housed...
read moreBreaking News: Warren Buffet is bullish about Solar & Wind Energy…
Breaking News: Warren Buffet is bullish about Solar & Wind Energy Companies! In case you missed it at the Edison Electric Institute’s Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Warren Buffet spoke about increasing his holdings and he also mentioned that he was intending on spending more Billions of Dollars of his Berkshire Hathaway funds to buy Solar and Wind Energy Companies. When asked, he indicated that this is the future and is a stable investment, unlike some of the more turbulent opportunities out there today. This made me think, Warren Buffet is very cautious, smart and has a good investment strategy, so the “Why is he doing this”? So I did a little research and discovered that the EPA (The Environmental Protection Agency) issued some new regulations last week (June 2nd, 2014) under the authority of Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The directive is for all Coal Burning Power Plants to cut carbon dioxide emission by 30%. Clearly if this regulation holds up, it most certainly will mean that in the years to come the older power plants will be shut down and become obsolete. Image courtesy of worradmu / FreeDigitalPhotos.net So let’s translate this to simple English: electricity will skyrocket and Warren Buffet will make a lot of money againJ! As you can see this was not on the News and the Media is either covering up this directive from the EPA or they are sleeping at the wheel again. So my advice is start considering alternative sources of energy or at the minimum start investing in companies Warren Buffet is investing in. Also if you have real estate near these Coal Burning Power Plants you need to be prepared for the adverse consequences this will bring down the road. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations. ...
read moreWhat is the West Hollywood Real Estate Condominium Market like today?
What is the West Hollywood Real Estate CondominiumMarket like today? One of my out of country clients who owns a Condominium was inquiring what the Real Estate Market was like today in West Hollywood. My answer was along this line: Before I focus on what I think would be a good starting point to market your condominium, let me mention that the Los Angeles Real Estate Market is on fire. Very similar to the 2004 when the market was at the top. There are a few differences, buyers now have to be totally preapproved, and the lenders do not give money away just with a signature. They check funds, work history, income and they do real appraisals. In addition a few days before closing they double check if the buyer is still working. Now with that said, the consumer confidence came back because prices have increased 15-60% depending which pocket of Los Angeles we are looking over last year’s prices. This is all thanks to the all cash investors who were buying up everything last year for flipping and renting. Interest rates are at an all-time low and this is allowing buyers to step into the market because they are afraid that they will be priced out of the market with price increases and interest rate increases. This is further fueled by having little inventory and the buyers are fighting to get the few good properties. My observation is that this is not sustainable, once interest rates climb due to the close monitoring of incomes by lenders we will lose a large buyer segment. Then in order to attract the buyers the prices will have to dip since the lenders will not drop the interest rates, since the government is artificially keep interests low to get the buyers into the game. The government has already mentioned that they will be raising the rates and they will be getting out of the mortgage backed securities. How long will this take I have no idea, your guess is as good as mine. Now with that said I would recommend you sell sooner than later, as you know the Real Estate is a herd mentality when they buy they all buy. When they do not than only the investors and bargain hunters buy. On a side note the employment situation is also a wildcard if it can sustain the housing improvements. So with that said this is what the West Hollywood Condominium Market is like, so I was wondering how your market is doing. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read morePride as a Motivator, Coach John Wooden said it best!
Pride as a Motivator! Coach John Wooden said it best! Pride is a better motivator than fear. He never thought through fear, punishment or intimidation! He preferred working with individuals who had great personal pride. He also cautioned us: “Remember, pride comes when you give respect” This made me think that when we are representing buyers and sellers in a Real Estate Transaction we need to respect the Agents who represent the other party. Not only should we respect the other agent but treat them with courtesy that the way we would want to be treated as and then just maybe the transaction will be going a bit smoother. Just thinking outloud! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreAre you familiar with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013?
Are you familiar with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013? Just in case you are not familiar, this Act authorizes the Secretaries the Army as well as the other Branches of military to transfer back the Military Working Dogs (MWD) who are to be retired and for whom no suitable adoption is available at the military facility where the dog is located. Basically this Act protects our four legged Soldiers who keep us and our two legged soldier out of harm’s way. Now they are not just considered “equipment”. Previously adopting families had to face hundreds of thousands of dollars in veterinary care for problems related to their dogs’ military service. Now our four legged are not considered as Equipment rather they are reclassified as “Canine members of the armed forces”! In case you are not aware one of the members of the elite Seal Team on the Raid that eliminated Osama bin Laden was a four legged CommandoJ! Thanks to this National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 these heroes are now “true members of the military”! Some people know this as the H.R. 4103 and S 2134 which is also known as the Canine Members of the Armed Forces Act! I salute Representative Walter B Jones of NC & Sen. Richard Blumenthal of CT for not only introducing this Bill but getting it signed by the President of the United States! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreWordless Wednesdays: The Joker is on Board!
Wordless Wednesdays: The Joker is on Board! In case you are not familiar this is the bus which takes gamblers specifically seniors from Malden MA to Foxwoods Casino! Real Estate is not a Gamble it is a long term investment! Ask me about it! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttps://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations....
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