Luxury Real Estate

By Jim Walberg of Caribbean Islands Realty

Jim Walberg and a small group of Rotarians in Danville, are promoting information, and support regarding this international tragedy.

It started about two years ago when the International Committee for the Danville/Sycamore Valley Rotary Club heard about the needs of a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Panzi Hospital. All our committee heard about was the need for equipment and supplies. We are unaware of main patients of the hospital - women who had been raped and mutilated by the Congolese soldiers in the on-going civil war.

As we learned more about the horrible situation in the Congo we got more involved in how we could better support, not only the Panzi Hospital needs, but also Heal Africa

Heal Africa is a small, grass-roots organization is lead local program directors and is training and equipping new leaders for the long-terms needs of Africa, rather than just solving short term issues. They are leading the way in addressing this ignored holocaust.

Two of the members of our Rotary’s International Committee took on the role of getting the word out regarding this issue that is not easily addressed because it is so horrific. Melanie Prole and Leslie Baxter spear headed the showing of documentary “The Greatest Silence - Rape In The Congo” in the Town of Danville last month. It is a very disturbing documentary. Anyone who watches it will be moved beyond belief to take action. It is easy to ignore issues because of ignorance, but it is impossible to ignore them when you become fully aware of them.

The next step that Melanie and Leslie took was organizing a simple Bowl-A-Thon at the Danville Bowl. The idea was to have teams of four sign up with the entrance fee being at least $500. Well, it was held yesterday and over $6,000 was raised. We are still looking for more community partners to participate in donations. 100% of them will be used to support the Panzi Hospital program. We were so delighted that some of our high school kids from Rotary’s Interact Club formed a team and raised money.

We now have a copy of this documentary and are looking for more venues to share it with; churches, schools, community service organizations, and more. If you have places you would like to have preview this documentary please contact me. Also, please review the links that are a part of this article and see if there is room in your budget for some type of financial support. Any will be appreciated. Contact me for details of how you can get involved.

Keeping doors open for women on the path to success

Medford, OR (March 2009) - Cynthia Naumes of RE/MAX Realty Group hopes to carry forward a maternal legacy of helping struggling women dress for success.

It was her mother, Bobbi Naumes, who came up with the idea for “My Sister’s Closet”- a clothing cooperative designed to provide professional attire to women entering the work force, said Cynthia Naumes. The function of the fledging nonprofit is to provide gently used clothing to women who have either graduated from college or are re-entering the work force. Women are able to pick up two business outfits which are appropriate for job interviews or work attire.
 

Raised in this passionate and dedicated family, Cynthia continues to build on a strong legacy of community involvement through her own volunteerism. Cynthia is in the beginning stages of creating a nonprofit – she’s collecting clothing of all sizes, and is still searching for a permanent home for My Sister’s Closet.

”We are looking for gently used business attire, shoes and accessories of all sizes,” she said.

Donated clothing can be dropped off at La Douce Vie Day Spa and Salon at 623 Central Ave. Clothing that needs to be dry cleaned prior to drop-off may be taken to Martinizing Dry Cleaning in the Blue Sky Plaza, Naumes said.

My Sister’s Closet is also having a logo contest – the logo that best depicts the spirit and style of the endeavor will be determined on May 20. The winner with the most creative and original design will receive a $50 gift certificate at La Douce Vie.

Those interested in attending a meeting, being a board member, volunteering, donating clothing or submitting a logo design, contact Naumes at 514-944-0900.

Jim Walberg of Caribbean Islands Realty.  The 2009 Women’s Council Of Realtors Top Producers panel was almost as standing room only event in the East Bay. It is their annual event when the state of the real estate market is discussed with some of the best minds in real estate. Jim Walberg was invited as one of the four panel members. The other three panelists were Georgia Butterfield - Legacy Real Estate, Jennifer Griessel - Prudential California Realty, and Chuck Edell - Realty Experts.

David Stark, from Bay East Board Of Realtors, was the moderator. WCR had presented the questions to the panel several days before the event in order for them to give some serious thought to their answers. Here are a few of the questions that were presented and Jim Walberg’s answers.

How do you motivate Buyers to take action given the current market conditions? And, how do address the Buyer mind-set that home prices may decline even more? A Buyer is going to take action for a home purchase because they need to Buy. There may be more price declines in 2009. And, whether one buys today or in six months the price reductions in the past two years have brought prices to mid-2004 levels. Again, if they need a home they will buy today. Homes are a real bargain today.

What are you doing differently this year to adjust to our current market which will increase production? The changes we have made in the last six months are regarding leading with revenue = return on investment of our marketing dollars. And, we have committed to be even more visible within our market areas since we have noticed so many Realtors have become invisible.

What is the single best piece of advice you can offer to another Realtor as they continue to grow their business? The business we are in is lead generation. There is no other activity or diversion that is acceptable if I do not have enough leads to serve, PERIOD!

Has there been a benefit to your real estate practice to be involved in Realtor and/or community networking groups? Absolutely! I facilitate a quarterly mastermind group that creates an invaluable accountability of our business plan versus our results. The Valley Marketing Association in Pleasanton, and Realtors Marketing Association in San Ramon are critical parts of our “positioning plan” in the minds eye of the real estate community. Plus, I am very active in my local Rotary Club.

Do you specialize in any specific facet of the real estate market? Our average sales price is $1.3 million. The challenge is that to identify this as the luxury market given our geographic markets is a bit confusing. We typically focus on executives and business owners in the East Bay, and equestrian properties. These have been our target markets for 25+ years and 100% of our real estate sales come from referrals and past clients within these markets. In addition, we continue to focus on listings no matter what the market conditions are. We have done two short sales in the past 12 months for past clients.

In the packed luncheon, Cathy Lee, from CL Designs, our staging partner, commented that it was one of the best WCR events in many months. The luncheon was another example of the commitment that WCR makes to non-stop learning within our industry. Until next time. Contact me for any of your real estate needs.