Are you prepared for the big one?

Are you prepared for the big one?

By:  Melissa Sims | The Boutique Real Estate Group | @MelissaSimsOC

I am not a California native. I came to California in 1986 for my father’s career. We moved to Arcadia in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record. Coming from Wisconsin, we were not prepared for the heat. Nor, would I learn, were we prepared for earthquakes. I still remember very vividly where I was when the 1987 5.9 Whittier Narrows earthquake hit. I was getting ready for school… out of nowhere, dishes were flying out of cabinets and the floor was seemingly gone beneath my feet. My mother grabbed my sister and I and we all ran outside. I wish I could find words to appropriately explain what I saw…the earth was flipping, side-to-side. Earthquake, you say, mom? What’s that? I was only 7 at the time, and coming from the other side of the country, we never spoke of such things. Tornados? All the time. Needless to say, we were ill prepared – no extra water or canned food on hand, no extra clothing, batteries, blankets…nada. It was a very serious quake, with several deaths and many homes destroyed.

Fast forward 7 years, we are living near Northridge, CA. We must have had a knack to follow where the next big earthquake would be. My mother and I were living alone in a condo, on top of a subterranean parking garage. I was awoken at 4:31 am by being physically thrown out of my bed onto the floor. I looked up and saw a huge free-standing mirror about to crash over me…instinct told me to roll under my bed while the mirror shattered where I had just lain. The intense noise, not just the shaking, is what was so terrifying about this quake – I screamed the entire time, as did my mother, neither of us hearing anything from the other. As we got our bearings and cautiously went downstairs, we had no idea what had happened. How big was that? Is there power anywhere (not here, obviously)? As we scrambled in the dark, I am still thankful that my mom had just recently decided it was time for an ‘earthquake kit.’ We had water, food, blankets, a flashlight, radio and extra batteries. We sat in our doorway for probably close to 3 hours, listening to the battery-powered radio in the dark, trying to find out how bad the quake was, getting tossed over and over with aftershocks. We stayed in the house for over a week with no power or clean water, until the fire department finally made its way to us. To let us know that we couldn’t stay. While the Northridge quake was a 6.7, the ground acceleration of that quake was one of the highest ever recorded in an urban area, making it feel more like a quake in the 7.5 range.

Looking back on both quakes, I am so thankful that we were more prepared for the second quake. Nothing can prepare you, really, for the disorienting feeling of having the earth beneath you come to life, and rock your senses silly. After this most recent La Habra quake, we are reminded yet again that we live in ‘earthquake country’ and most of us are embarrassingly unprepared for the aftermath of a good shake.

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Here are some tips for an effective earthquake kit. Some things to remember: you may not have access to water, electricity or emergency services for a few days, if not more.

1. Water. The single most important item you’ll need. Another option: steri pen. Will sterilize water from any source. You’ll need at least one gallon per day per person in your house.

2. Food – canned food (don’t forget an opener), boxed food that has a long shelf life. Pastas, canned tuna, canned vegetables, etcetera. Camping food is another good option.

3. Camp stove and fuel, along with utensils.

4. Whistle, in case of need for rescuers.

5. Extra set of clothing & shoes.

6. Emergency cash, in small denominations

7. Tool kit (to turn off gas/water)

8. Copies of your vital documents.

9. Tarp, plastic bags – in case of rain. Or, if preferred, a tent.

10. Toiletries.

11. Toys – if you have kids

12. Lanterns, flashlights & batteries.

13. Portable radio – don’t think your cell phone will work. You need the good ol’ fashioned antenna radio.

14. Solar panel for charging any items that might still work.

15. Portable power generator. There are solar versions out there as well. Most generators run on gas, and if there is a main break at your local station, no-can-do. There are other personal preference items you can bring, of course, but try to make your kit as accessible as possible. It should be in a waterproof container, easily accessed OUTSIDE. Do not keep it in your garage – you’ll probably not be able to access it if the damage is severe.

Nothing, like I said, will prepare you for the moment a large earthquake hits. The fear and adrenaline are intense and the disorientation is dumbfounding. But, your preparedness for the moments right after a quake can make the comforts of home enough to get you through mother nature’s moody behavior.

To connect with Melissa Sims please email her at Melissa.Sims@TheBoutiqueRE.com

Our Story | The Boutique Real Estate Group | www.TheBoutiqueRE.com

http://TheBoutiqueRE.com 949-612-2535 #tbregourstory
The Boutique Real Estate Group is a boutique real estate brokerage headquartered in Orange County, CA, that focuses on brilliant design, beautiful marketing & luxury services and is set to open their 2nd office in the beach city of Corona Del Mar in Newport Beach. Raj Qsar, Principal & Owner has created a culture that spurs collaboration, technology and social media with a unique marketing approach.

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Our story goes a little something like this… Beautiful design evokes emotion. Emotion stirs the soul and creates a connection between client, agent and the home buying process. The Boutique Real Estate Group has invested heavily in bringing all aspects of the real estate experience completely in-house. From design, staging, photography, cinematography and social media to technology, internet optimization & cloud based transaction management. This not only provides them complete control of the design, marketing & technology of luxury real estate but also gives them the look & feel of a true boutique marketing agency. This design & tech-forward approach has earned The Boutique Real Estate Group accolades & awards worldwide.

Most recently The Boutique Real Estate Group has been recognized as the 2014 Next Generation Real Estate Brokerage by Better Homes & Garden Real Estate and 1000 Watt Consulting. Raj Qsar & Jeremy Lehman, The Boutique’s CTO have both been recognized as Inman News Top 100 Most influential Real Estate Leaders for their work & dedication to raising the bar in the Real Estate industry. And their #GoodbyeHello video was named Top 20 Real Estate Videos in the USA in 2013.

Look for their new office in the beach city of Corona Del Mar in Newport Beach as they launch into the Coastal Orange County Real Estate Market in 2014.

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#tbregourstory

Save The Date | Tuesday May 6th | Educational Dinner

Join industry experts as they talk shop about the way our economy is changing. Meet Morris Boladian from CML Wealth Management, Allycyn Bennett from United American Mortgage Company and Raj Qsar from The Boutique Real Estate Group. Tuesday Evening May 6th at The Summit House Restaurant in Fullerton.  Please RSVP to Lisa Ortega at 714.494.2460 or LisaO@CMLwealth.com

 

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What NOT to do when trying to qualify for a home loan | The Boutique Real Estate Group

We get so caught up in the moment!   Is there granite on the kitchen counters?  Is the master bedroom big enough?  Is there grass in the backyard for our dog?  And we have not even closed escrow yet and we are shopping for furniture, buying new cars and opening up new credit cards to fill the new house!  YIKES!!!

Here are some helpful tips on what NOT to do when buying a new home or when you are trying to qualify for that new mortgage…

1) Do not open, close, or extend credit lines/limits once you are formally in escrow.

2) Refrain from having any inquiries to your credit 90 days in advance of applying for a mortgage as all inquiries must be explained to the lender in writing and all inquiries reduce the borrower’s credit scores.

3) Since you must disclose all new accounts that are opened during the escrow period, it is important to not open any new trade lines during the entire escrow period. Only after the loan is recorded, is it “safe” to open a new account or extend the credit limit on an existing account.

4) To play it safe, discuss your debt ratios with the loan officer to see if making any type of a purchase will negatively impact your ability to qualify for the loan.

5) Most appliances, furniture, and decor purchases are larger than normal purchases so it is safer to refrain from doing this until the loan is recorded.

6) Please note that lenders typically run an additional credit report before the loan funds. The intent is to see if there is any new debt that now appears. All new debts must be re-evaluated and explained and this may have a negative impact on the borrower’s ability to qualify.

For more info on the right loan for you please call Allycyn Bennett at United American Mortgage Company at 949-717-7290 or email her at abennett@uamco.com

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Interview with Raj Qsar | The Boutique Real Estate Group | www.TheBoutiqueRE.com

“So in a sense our team has digitaized the real estate experience.” Raj Qsar

Q: As a full service Real Estate Brokerage What makes The Boutique Real Estate Group Different? 

A: We had out “ah-ha” moment back in 2008 as technology and social media found Real Estate. We knew there had to be a better way of not only marketing real estate but there also had to be a better way of managing the mountain of paperwork and people involved in a real estate transaction. So in a sense our team has digitized the real estate experience. You will never find our clients running to a fax machine and most likely never even pick up a pen to sign anything. We are a paperless office. Completely mobile and can run an entire real estate transaction from our iPads and phones. Our technology does not require our clients to be tech savvy – it only requires our agents to understand the benefits of technology and to implement that technology with our clients.

Q: Your marketing platform is truly amazing. Can you share with us a little bit of why your team has become globally recognized for your work in Real Estate Marketing?

A: Real Estate marketing has truly evolved over the last 10 years. We have developed a comprehensive strategy which showcases our client’s home through real life video (actual movies), HDR Photography, 360 HD V-Tours (amazing technology), individual property websites for each individual home, staging & interior design, custom graphics & design, and a social media content strategy that reaches people on a global scale. We have had the pleasure of being able to bring all aspects of our marketing completely in-house. What that means is that we have complete control over our designs, feel and strategy when marketing luxury real estate. When surfing the web for real estate, our listings stand out: they have a unique look & feel and buyers recognize our listings as being “boutique-ified.” Every part of the marketing strategy has been touched by our in-house team to unsure absolute perfection.

Q: The Boutique Real Estate Group has a massive social and web-presence. Why have you focused so much on this part of marketing?

A: The world is on the web – advances in technology are changing the way businesses interact with clients. People are on their smartphones, heads down and focused. We know we need to be where our clients are, so we can be at the forefront of their minds. Our clients are on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Linkedin, Pinterest, Twitter and Four Square. However, the Facebook user is different than the Linkedin user, who is totally different than the individual on Instagram. So when thinking about marketing, you will see that our strategy is different depending on the platform and who we are trying to reach.

Q: Why did you choose Corona Del Mar as your new home base for The Boutique Real Estate Group?

A: I am an Orange County Native and growing up, my family & I we always at the beach playing, surfing and just enjoying our time together. As a real estate professional it only makes sense that our marketing platform, our luxury services, and our attention to detail is needed in Coastal Orange County. Corona Del Mar was a natural choice – not only is it centrally located between Newport, Huntington, Laguna, and Dana Point, but it encompasses exactly what we stand for, laid-back luxury.

 

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The Boutique Real Estate Group to Open New Luxury Real Estate Office in Corona Del Mar

Brilliant design, luxury services & cutting edge technology are headed to the coast of Orange County, Ca with the launch of The Boutique Real Estate Groups second office in the beach city of Corona Del Mar in Newport Beach.

The Boutique Real Estate Group is a boutique real estate brokerage in Orange County, CA, that focuses on great design, beautiful marketing & luxury services and is set to open their 2nd office in the beach city of Corona Del Mar in Newport Beach. Raj Qsar, Principal & Owner has created a culture that spurs collaboration, technology and social media with a unique marketing approach.

Their story goes a little something like this… Beautiful design evokes emotion. Emotion stirs the soul and creates a connection between client, agent and the home buying process. The Boutique Real Estate Group has invested heavily in bringing all aspects of the real estate experience completely in-house. From design, staging, photography, cinematography and social media to technology, internet optimization & cloud based transaction management. This not only provides them complete control of the design, marketing & technology of luxury real estate but also gives them the look & feel of a true boutique marketing agency. This design & tech-forward approach has earned The Boutique Real Estate Group accolades & awards worldwide.

Most recently The Boutique Real Estate Group has been recognized as the 2014 Next Generation Real Estate Brokerage by Better Homes & Garden Real Estate and 1000 Watt Consulting. Raj Qsar & Jeremy Lehman, The Boutique’s CTO have both been recognized as Inman News Top 100 Most influential Real Estate Leaders for their work & dedication to raising the bar in the Real Estate industry. And their #GoodbyeHello video was named Top 20 Real Estate Videos in the USA in 2013.

Look for their new office in the beach city of Corona Del Mar in Newport Beach as they launch into the Coastal Orange County Real Estate Market in 2014.

The Boutique Real Estate Group

Home Energy Saving Tips

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SIMPLE WAYS YOU CAN REDUCE ENERGY IN YOUR HOME AND SAVE MONEY!!!

 

The Boutique Real Estate Group

These days we all can appreciate saving a buck or two, right? By living a little greener, you may see a little more green in your wallet! Reducing energy use in your home is a great way to save YOU money!. Also, by using less energy there will be less pollution and cleaner air to breath. Sounds like a win-win to me!

Here are helpful tips which may help you save energy and some money in the process too!

 

ROOFING

  • Save money and the environment by installing an ENERGY STAR roof.
  • Reflective coating on your roof will reduce the strain on your AC and lower the amount of heat coming into your home.

 

COOLING

  •  Switch your ceiling fans to reverse or a counter clockwise position in the summer and in the winter run it at low speeds in the clockwise position.
  • Use ceiling fans to cool off as they are cheaper than the A/C and use no more energy than a standard light bulb. HOWEVER, make sure that you turn them off when you leave as they do not cool down a room, only people!

 

HEATING

  •  When you want to heat up your home, do it slowly and it will keep your bills down. Quickly raising the heat pump’s temperature activates the heat strip and uses a lot of energy. Slow and steady wins the race here!
  • Keep the temperature inside your home as close to the outside temperature. It is cheaper to heat a home to 75 degrees when it is 60 degrees outside then when it is 45 degrees outside.

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Real Estate + Technology

Contributing Author: Raj Qsar – Principal | Owner The Boutique Real Estate Group

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Real Estate + Technology. Not really two words that go hand in hand. Two words that usually do not embrace each other. Two words that scare off the most seasoned real estate professional.

Our story goes a little something like this: We love tech. We love real estate. So why not marry the two? Why not have a “forever relationship” with these two words? Why not incorporate technology into every aspect of the real estate experience? Our clients do not need to be tech savvy to use these products, but our agents need to understand how this technology is a benefit.

We have embraced every aspect of technology at The Boutique Real Estate Group here in Orange County, California, and we feel we have successfully digitized the real estate experience for our clientele. Most of our clients are finding us online. Most of our clients are seeing our listings online. So, it only makes sense that we need technology for real estate to survive. If our clients have instant access to data on their mobile devices, so should our agents. Everyone is head down and focused on their phones and tablets. Everyone is in the moment, and we are now able to step into that moment and grab his or her attention.

You won’t find our clients running to a fax machine to fax something to us. We don’t ask our clients to print, fill out, scan, and then save and email anything to us. It’s not how we roll. We sign digitally with DocuSign. Got mobile? No problem. Got a tablet? No problem. DocuSign allows our clients to sign on the go with ease from any device they carry.

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Furthermore, our in-transaction platform of choice is Cartavi, which seamlessly has integrated the DocuSign platform for electronic signatures. Our agents have their own personal Transaction Concierge (TC) who is trained on DocuSign and Cartavi. It only makes sense to be able to store our clients’ documents digitally, have access to them on our mobile devices, and then share the documents with all parties involved in the transaction. Our agents and TCs not only communicate digitally via DocuSign and Caravi, but we are able to manage the most complicated of transactions with these two platforms. No more emailing huge files between escrow, lenders, title, buyers, sellers, and agents. We share our files through Cartavi.

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Several members of our team are heading to Inman Real Estate Connect NYC this week. This gathering is tech real estate heaven! If you’re looking for the best and the brightest in our industry, then Connect is where you should be.

Have a question for Raj and team? Contact them here: http//www.TheBoutiqueRE.com | @RajQsar | @TheBoutiqueRE

 

 

 

 

 

Inman News 2014 Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders Announced

Jeremy Lehman | The Boutique Real Estate Group
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Each year, Inman News recognizes real estate industry leaders whose ingenuity, strength, conviction, power and persistence are driving change.

The Inman 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders report seeks to include not only thought leaders, power brokers and deal makers, but entrepreneurs from outside the industry whose ideas are influencing the way homes are bought and sold.

Boutique Real Estate Group

Jeremy Lehman, a Realtor with The Boutique Real Estate Group in Orange County, Calif., draws on his background in real estate technology to train agents and brokers, and help develop new real estate programs and applications. A featured speaker at local and national events, Lehman is also an adviser to NuOffer, a technology startup creating an innovative way for real estate agents to submit purchase offers on behalf of clients, and to manage offers they have received. Lehman is president of the Pacific West Association of Realtors, and serves on the board of directors of the California Association of Realtors.

Twitter: @jeremylehman

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeremylehman
LinkedIn or other bio: Click here

The 12 Tips of Christmas from Top Real Estate Pros

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Christmas is just around the corner, and most Real Estate professionals have turned their attention to some last minute present-shopping, turkey-stuffing and snow-shredding.

So for this week’s Know It Now article we convinced 12 of the biggest names in Real Estate to spill the beans on what made them so successful.

Raj QsarChristophe ChooJoe SchuttPhil DuMoulinLeigh Brown, Cindy Banks and more have found their own unique way to separate themselves and generate a whack of business. So take notes!

The holiday spirit is upon us, and with such big names in the mood to share, this is a must-read occasion.

‘Tis the season.

So in no particular order, here are 12 Tips of Christmas from Top Real Estate Pros.

Enjoy!

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