Antonio & Alexia Cardenas "The Realtors In Motion" Remax In Motion

As a professional Realtor with over 24 years of experience, I have never seen so many bad news about my business put together and shown all over the media day after day after day. You will think that there is a conspirancy to drive us out of our business. I certainly have noticed the drop of phone calls, the lack of transit during open houses, the dissapereance of good, reputable real estate companies and associated and supportive service companies like title insurance, pest control, roofing, mortgage and others that depend on a healthy real estate market. But is it really that bad for everybody? Just as when the market was in the upswing, we knew that it will have to stop one way or another, we clearly see that it did stop and that is going nowhere right now... Or is it?

Despite the obvious slowdown, there is a very active and profitable real estate market going on right now in certain areas. We presently are working with several first time buyers. These people are using FHA loans with downpayments as low as 3.5% and low FICO scores, they are asking sellers to pay closing costs and help with their downpayments, they are taking full advantage of first time buyers incentives, low interest rates and the newly approved $8,000 Tax credit.

Yet, some of them still cannot find a house to buy! Because there are multiple offers on properties that just come on the market, some of those offers in my area below the $300,000 mark are being bid with offers as high as $40-50,000 over asking price. Offers with all cash, no contingencies, "as is" with a fast close of escrow. Unless these people read the papers daily they will not believe there is a real estate meltdown. They simply don't believe the other side of the coin that tells them is a bad market.

Investors are buying at lender's auctions blocks of real estate at bargain prices and then turning around and selling them quickly, those who don't get greedy turn those profits fast. These people are having a ball! real estate is alive and well and triving... in February 2009! These real estate buyers are primed to reap the benefits when this market turn around because it will. In the last few weeks we have writen offers on REO's and Foreclosed homes, and on short sales listings. Banks have learned how to streamline their flow of short sales and REO's to the delight of those Realtors who embrace the new ways and methods of buying and selling real estate.

At current prices, buying real estate offer investors and homebuyers one of the single best long-term investments today. Every coin has two faces, you must look at both sides, if you are looking at the side of a depressed market, don't panic, just flip it over... and over again until you get to see the face that you like. Then focus on the bright side and take full advantage of the wonderful opportunities available right now.

Antonio & Alexia Cardenas, "The Realtors In Motion" San Leandro, CA. Open Servind the beautiful cities of San Leandro, Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Oakland and Hayward, Dublin & Pleasanton. Call us, we will come and TANGO with you. (510) 326-4263

The Tax Credit passed by congress have given home buyers a better incentive to go out and make a purchase of their first home. But are they stimulated enough to do that? I believe the problem we have is not simply the apathy of the home buyer but rather the confidence level of the average buyer, any buyer of any product.

What I encounter in my small town in San Leandro, California must be typical of the rest of the country. The people I talk to are average Jane's and Joe's who if not unemployed, at this time are simply glad to have a job. We need to seek help for other areas of the economy, so as to restore the confidence that the home buyer has to have in order to sign the dotted line that promises to make payments for the next 30 years. Nobody would even think of doing that not knowing weather they will have a job next week or not. Downsizing, cut backs, pay freezes and lay offs are some of the key words that put fear into the heart of the would be home buyer.

The Recovery Stimulus Package does have very specific time limits that I as a Realtor would like everyone to know... before is too late! The deadline for this credit is December 1, 2009 and you must stay in the house for a minimum of 3 years before selling it in order to avoid having to pay that money back. There are also income limitations to qualify for this tax break; a $75,000 for single tax payers and $150,000 for married couples.

There are other benefits associated with the new Rescue Package: The new FHA and Conforming loan limits gets restored to the $729,760 maximum they had in 2008. This will help finance higher cost homes particularly in areas where the market is higher than the national average. The side effect of this increase is the possibility of refinancing for troubled home owners facing foreclosure.

And lastly, there is also a proviso for increasing up to $625,500 for FHA backed Reverse Mortgages in the Stimulus Package. This will allow seniors to acquire a replacement property without having to sell their primary residence first. Putting it all together, there is help for first time buyers, increase in limits and availability of FHA loans for middle to higher price ranges plus help for seniors who qualify for a higher FHA Reverse Mortgages to downsize. I would strongly suggest anyone reading this post to check with your CPA or attorney to verify this information.

Antonio & Alexia Cardenas, "The Realtors In Motion" can be reached at (510) 326-4263 www.ListedbyAntonio.com Serving the County of Alameda in the heart of the San Francisco bay area, especially the cities of Castro Valley, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, Oakland, Pleasanton & Dublin

I presented an offer on a Short Sale listing, and quickly realized that the listing agent was not familiar with these types of sales. For my client to have a chance of getting his offer accepted I had to step in and diplomatically "guide the listing agent through the process of a short sale." This was his very first short sale listing.

I know that part of being active in AR is to contribute blog posts on subjects we are familiar with or situations in which we have been that will ideally help others either understand a new process or learn from our experiences. Reading posts in different blogs and following closely on their comments by other Professionals who give advice and who offer their 2 cents worth of experience in the matter serves as an important educational process. Short sales are still not my favorite sales, I know that most Realtors do not like them either. But short sales are here to stay and we must learn to deal with them especially since they are a large part of our inventory of homes for sale.

I recall reading with interest several posts regarding how to deal with short sales. In order to avoid being condescending or to give the impression that I was "teaching" my fellow Realtor how to deal with this type of listings, I decided to simply point him to several AR posts that dealt with this issue. A win-win cannot happen if the listing agent does not do his/her job properly, either because of inexperience or lack of proper education. I felt I owe to my client, the buyer to do my best to get his offer accepted even if it meant I had to do the other agent's job. I e-mail him several links to posts that have been published recently on AR including one that I wrote about the subject of short sales.

I was very pleased to see that this particular Realtor was eager to learn and took it to heart to read every piece I sent him. Between the two of us, we presented to the lender a very complete package and my buyer's offer was accepted, it appears that we will get this escrow closed. By pointing the listing agent to read what others have written in AR about the subject, I avoided having the impression of "telling him what to do..." This was the response that I received from a different Realtor when I offered my help in putting his short sale package together. I had an offer on his listing that did not go.

Bookmarking the blog posts as I read them allows me to find up to date critical information that helps me navigate through these trying times, and knowing how to use this information right away to pass along to a potential buyer or another Realtor can be the difference between a sale or no sale at all. At the end AR gained yet another member since I invited the listing agent to become a part of this group, which he readily accepted. And for me, one more confirmation that I am hanging out with some of the best darn Realtors out there! Thank You Bloggers!

Antonio & Alexia Cardenas, "The Realtors In Motion" (510) 326-4263

Specializing in San Leandro's Best Neighborhoods:

Bay-O-Vista, Estudillo
Estates and Assumption Parish

Serving the beautiful counties of Alameda and Contra Costa

in the East Bay side of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Accepting Referrals 24/7 call us, we'll come and TANGO WITH YOU!

By giving free dance lessons at their house in the middle of the week, these Realtors are looking for business to the tune of the cha-cha-cha and even tangoing with their potential home buyers.

A few minutes before 7 PM the door bell rings, a voice comes thru the video monitor and shouts "I'll be right there..." as the 2 visitors wait for the door to open they are joined by another couple that just arrived, then another, and another, some with children in tow, they all have made a commitment to be there every week exactly a 7:00 PM. As the group greets each other the door opens and the sound of music can be heard, hugs and kisses greet the visitors, someone brings a case of water but most bring a pair of extra shoes. The music playing in the background and the colorful Christmas strings of lights give the ambiance a party atmosphere, even though it is a late Wednesday evening at the beginning of February 2009.

As the guests arrive, the hosts instruct everybody to start warming up and stretching, class is about to begin, about 16 couples fill the 900+ square feet ballroom inside the house. The Pergo floors, mirrored walls and surround sound system with a computerized DJ transform this house into a dance studio, this is the private ballroom at the residence of Realtors Antonio & Alexia Cardenas in the Estudillo Estates neighborhood in San Leandro, California.

After everybody has signed the register, the group gets serious about the task at hand; they are learning how to dance. In the middle of the week, after work, they know that they only have 5 free dance classes and they want to learn as much as they can. The hosts give a demonstration of what the class will be about and then begin to explain every step. "Ladies behind Alexia, gentleman behind me", calls Antonio, one-two-three... four-five-six. Soon the group gets into the class paying attention to every detail.

These instructors are very well known around town for being "The Realtors In Motion" and ballroom dance competitors, they have incorporated their love for dance with their work as Realtors. Their over 200 free ballroom dance demonstrations performed around town have given them status of Stars. In the past when asked if they gave classes, they always said no. Their business after all is and has been for the last 24 years exclusively selling real estate, dancing was simply a hobby, a serious hobby nevertheless because they are active amateur dance competitors. Dancing gets them up every day of the week at 6:30 AM to practice, half an hour of stretching and then dancing from 7 to 8:30 AM Monday through Friday. They work mostly out of their home office.

Dancing is now more important than ever before. It all started when they realized that the real estate activity during their Sunday Open Houses had come to a complete stop. Sometimes in a period of 4 hours they'll be lucky to get 2 or 3 people. The newspaper advertising, the bus benches with their names and phone number on them plus several open listings around the neighborhood with for sale signs have not made the phone ring as often as it used to. Something needed to change. Dancing had to become a vehicle to sell real estate.

This is an up-close and personal approach unlike any other, the idea of holding the home buyer in their arms for a few minutes right after they meet him/her for the first time sounded very interesting to say the least. One of the ideas they had during a brain storming session was: If people do not come to the Open Houses on Sundays, let's bring them to our home during the week and teach them the Salsa, The Cha-cha-cha, even the Tango, the Night Club 2 Step and the Waltz. The local hair salon that Antonio visits regularly was the perfect place to start. He asked his hairdresser to put together a group of friends that will make a commitment to come learn how to dance for 5 Wednesdays in a row in the privacy of his private ballroom at home. He asked her to invite some of her clients too.

In order to be as transparent as possible, the first night they met their students they explain why they were giving these free classes, they not only asked for their help in finding people who wanted to buy or sell real estate but also asked everyone what they did, and by doing that encouraged everybody in the room to do some networking during these meetings, after all "We all need each other, we are always someone else's consumer or client no matter where we go or what we do, we all need help at this time, no matter what type of business we are in" Alexia explained. Conveniently they invited a local loan officer and her husband to join in and she was prominently introduced to the group.

The dancing classes are over now, and a "Graduation Party" has been scheduled for the following Sunday afternoon. The group is bringing their friends and relatives (with especial invitations on those who want to buy or sell a house) along with food and drinks, they are expected to show their newly acquired dancing skills to them. Before they leave, they will be given appointment calendars (with pictures of dancers of course), teddy bears with a bow that has Antonio & Alexia's phone # on it plus a few of their business cards. This group will be invited a couple of months down the road to take yet another set of 5 different classes. But for now they must practice at home... because there is a new group of beginners that is set to start the very next Wednesday night for another 5 weeks of dancing, and they too will have their own graduation party. These Realtors plan on dancing for as long as they can to increase their network of potential clients.

There is a proviso however: You will get access to these classes every single week and with every group if you help find a home buyer for them. What's the Grand Prize? Front Row Seats for 4 people to watch Antonio & Alexia in full flight at their next ballroom Dance Competition in San Francisco. The Cardenas seem to have found a new way to dance the Real Estate tunes in these trying times.

Antonio & Alexia Cardenas, "The Realtors In Motion" can be reached at (510) 326-4263 www.ListedbyAntonio.com Serving the County of Alameda in the heart of the San Francisco bay area, especially the cities of Castro Valley, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, Oakland, Pleasanton & Dublin

The Inauguration party in Washington D.C. is over. It appears to me that the new President is the kind of medicine that we need... right about now. "Change" & "Hope" were the tag lines for his run to the Presidency, I am optimistic about this change, I believe the infamous "economic stimulus package" will actually become reality very soon and that it will help my clients; the homeowners in distress. I am optimistic that we will see the housing market stop the slide and start the slow, long recovery.

I like this young president, a black man who grew up with no father figure, no silver spoon to speak of and from an economic background that could have never be expected to be worthy of a house like the one he will be living in for the next four years... The white house. He has done it! He has made history. I am pleased because I followed for the very first time a Presidential election very closely, I was rooting for him to win. His swearing in ceremony is not the end of my following, it is just the beginning. A long time ago, a black man dreamed a dream and today that dream is reality!

Barack Obama was able to take advantage of the very few opportunities he had. He become educated enough to reach for the stars, he understood that the success in his life would depend on his skills, determination and hard work. He represents an incredible change for many different reasons, but for a large minority of his peers he is an icon and he is clearly telling them, if I can do it... YOU can do it too! There are no barriers out there anymore. There are no more excuses, if you work hard, you can reach the highest possible job anyone can aspire to get. What is better than the job of President of the United States of America? African Americans are inspired to reach for the stars, when they do, we will all benefit from that change. I am optimistic that it will happen, we are looking at the making of history but we must not forget that we are a part of it.

The challenges are numerous and we should support his presidency and allow enough time for this economic recovery to take place, it will be done under enormous scrutiny and with great expectations. But he cannot do it alone, we have a part to play on this recovery. We must be on board because there is a place on it for each one of us. Our success as business people depends on the success of our government. There are a lot of reasons for us to be optimistic. But our optimism must be contagious enough to reach our clients, the sellers and buyers of real estate, because that is the first step to a full recovery. A small step forward from each of us will help all of us! Change is what he promised, change is what we need.

Antonio & Alexia Cardenas "The Realtors In Motion"

Serving the San Francisco Bay Area counties of Alameda and Contra Costa. Selling Real Estate since 1985. Visit us on line: www.ListedByAntonio.com