2013 Next Generation Brokerage by Better Homes & Garden Real Estate and 1000 Watt Consulting

We are honored to be selected as the 2013 Next Generation Brokerage by Better Homes & Garden Real Estate and 1000 Watt Consulting.  The Boutique Real Estate Group is a new breed of real estate brokerage.  We are attracting and engaging new customers. Empowering our agents and clients with the latest, most flexible technology and building meaningful brand.

 

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The story of the real estate agent turned broker is a familiar one. A natural progression in the industry.

Raj Qsar is that broker. After working for 12 years in the business as an agent, in 2013 he opened The Boutique Real Estate Group in Orange County, Calif.

His vision? Build a brokerage that is outstanding at visual marketing.

Design is the rule, not the exception

The first rule of real estate has always been location. But Raj and his team are proving that today it’s just as much about design. Design in web and print marketing, video, and the homes themselves.

This is why Raj’s company team page contains nearly as many professional designers and creative roles as it does agents.

Bypassing a typical brokerage organizational chart, Raj’s team includes a creative director, interior designer and cinematographer. From day one, Raj has made quality design a key part of Boutique Real Estate’s unique value proposition.

“We’re a sales and marketing team, but we happen to focus on real estate,” Raj said.

Boutique’s approach to design in digital marketing really shines in their single-property websitesHDR photographyHD virtual tours and high-definition videos.

Every home is staged and professionally photographed for inclusion in custom designed print and digital marketing materials. They shoot a video of nearly every listing, and own all of the necessary equipment from cameras to lenses to lighting and sound.

“We’re a sales and marketing team, but we happen to focus on real estate.”

This treatment is engrained in the Boutique Real Estate customer experience. Raj and his team are uncompromising on this. From the full-time stager they’ve hired to the in-house videographer and graphic designer, clearly this is where the brokerage breaks the mold.

Video is the rising star

In 2010, Raj and his team started experimenting with video, realizing quickly that it paid off in terms of return on investment. “People were showing up at our open houses knowing it was us because of the videos and photography they’d seen in marketing materials,” Raj said.

“I figured out quickly, though, that hiring third-party vendors was a losing investment,” he said. That’s why he purchased all of the necessary audio and visual equipment and brought on a professional videographer to focus solely on videos.

While plenty of brokerage companies and agent teams create video in their marketing, Boutique Real Estate’s take is different. They use high production value without going over the top, subtle humor, contemporary music and an imaginative and fun approach to the typical home tour.

Check out a few of their recent property videos here, and you’ll see it feels more like you’re getting a taste of the lifestyle associated with homes than just a straight walkthrough on camera. And that’s the goal.

Natural selection

In keeping with a focus on high-quality marketing and building a unique brand around that value, Raj’s approach to recruiting is to be highly selective. “We say no to more people wanting to join us than we say yes to,” he said.

Part of this is because the whole notion behind the “boutique” brokerage is working with a highly focused small team. Also, the allure is customized marketing, which becomes challenging at a larger scale.

In general, Raj looks for sales associates who are passionate, relatable and people-oriented, and who are active participants in their community.

What lies ahead

When thinking about the future, Raj and his team remain open-minded. He likes to make sure they’re always thinking ahead to what consumers will want and need five years from now – how they’ll want to do business, how they’ll want to view properties and how agents will work best.

One goal is to open Boutique offices in select California markets, including Corona Del Mar, Napa, Palm Springs and North San Diego.

Of course, no one can predict the future, but Boutique Real Estate will continue to keep an eye on design trends and lead its real estate marketing in these same trajectories.

See more at: http://nextgenbrokerage.com/company/the-boutique-real-estate-group/#sthash.z57bEFuL.dpuf

 

Getting Business Done. Everywhere.

Customer Story: Jeremy Lehman

Jeremy-Lehman
You always hear about how technology can solve this problem or that problem, or help you do something better or more efficiently. While it might seem like there are endless possibilities – sometimes knowing how to leverage technology or “use it” can be more of a challenge than finding the right solutions.

Meet Jeremy Lehman – he really “gets it.”

Jeremy is a technology enthusiast turned real estate agent in Orange County, California who is always on the go. I gave Jeremy a call the other day as he was in-between a quick stop at the Apple store and picking up his kids from school. “I would say that I am on my mobile devices ninety plus percent of the time,” Jeremy told me.

 

Having his phone on him 15 hours a day  is not uncommon for Jeremy. “I am rarely on a computer and it’s not that my mobile devices have completely replaced my computer because it is necessary, but it’s because I am on the go so much it makes sense to use my mobile devices to get things done rather than waiting until I get back home or wherever,” Jeremy said, adding with a chuckle “I spend almost no time in the office, almost to the dismay of my team.”

The Boutique Real Estate Group

Jeremy is a Realtor and CTO of The Boutique Real Estate Group in Orange County, California.

However, just because Jeremy’s not in the office doesn’t mean he isn’t working, in fact he sees it as just the opposite. “I don’t believe that someone who’s always in the office is doing incredibly well, because the reality is business gets done everywhere but the office these days,” Jeremy said. He still prefers doing business “belly to belly” with his clients because after all real estate is a service-based business. Being mobile allows him to be more efficient with his time and proactive with his clients. “If I am driving my car and I get a call from my assistant, client or another agent who needs a specific document for a deal, I need to be able to access any document from the road at any given time,” Jeremy said. He added that it doesn’t matter if he is on vacation or on the golf course – he never has to tell a client he is too busy doing personal things to get back to them. “I don’t think those sort of answers are acceptable these days,” Jeremy said, adding it’s okay if he’s using his time for personal reasons because he can still get the job done and is not delaying transactions.

Boutique-Property

I asked Jeremy what sort of mobile tools he uses while on the go and he said he uses an iPhone, iPad and a stable of core apps that included Cartavi and DocuSign. He also said his group, The Boutique Real Estate Group, uses mobile forms that are tablet compatible and that he uses DocuSign Ink as a signing solution for his iPhone and PDF Expert for his iPad. He said PDF Expert allows him to write on the contract through his iPad to add additional terminology. He also uses MLS Touch, which allows him to access MLS listing at all times. Jeremy’s suite of mobile solutions is pretty impressive and allows him to do everything on the go, which is what I meant when I said “he really gets it!”

Jeremy does not just use technology to stay on the road though; he also uses it to get more business. He maintains a significant web presence and uses social media to market his offerings. “I think it is important that we have profiles on any place that a client is going, so if clients are going to Zillow then you need a presence on Zillow, if they are going to Realtor.com – then you need a presence there.”

Jeremy said most of the people in his group also have personal websites and are very searchable. His personal website is http://about.me/jeremylehman and came up immediately when I searched his name on Google.

Boutique-Property

Jeremy also said he is doing mostly listings now even though his business used to be more 50/50 buyers and sellers. “We are in an extreme sellers market,” Jeremy said. He also added that shifting business models’ is difficult but he has used the internet to establish himself and develop a steady stream of listings. “I guess it is marketing the whole negotiating dynamic, using technology, but also offering a high personal level of customer service,” Jeremy said. I asked Jeremy how he got into real estate and he said was actually working with a title company but a Senate bill would have gotten rid of the services that he offered so in 2007 he decided to get his real estate license and become an agent, and as he puts it, “I always sort of ‘got’ real estate.”

Jeremy is also very involved in leadership and serves on the Board of Directors at the Pacific West Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors. He is also a technology trainer and mentor, and occasionally does real estate technology workshops for Apple. He will tell you though, for as savvy as he is with technology, “I’m not nearly as technical as people think I am. I just sort of understand technology and how to use it.” Even though Jeremy has figured out how to use leverage technology to his advantage, he still prides himself on providing “likable” customer service, fast response times and doing a very professional job.

If you are thinking about listing a property in Orange County, just look-up ‘Jeremy Lehman’ and you’ll find him at his Personal WebsiteFacebookTwitterLinkedinTrulia,YourSoCalAgentInstagram… the list goes on and on. He is not hard to find, trust me.

Half of All Homes Are Being Purchased With Cash

 

52 Ovation, Irvine, Ca 92620

52 Ovation, Irvine, Ca 92620

 

Story Via WSJ Real Estate News

August 15th, 2013

More than half of all homes sold last year and so far in 2013 have been financed without a mortgage, according to an analysis by economists at Goldman Sachs Group.

The analysis estimates that around 20% of all homes sold before the housing crash were “all-cash” sales (or around 30% of sales by dollar volume). But over the past seven years, the all-cash share of sales has more than doubled, increasing by more than 30 percentage points, according to economists Hui Shan, Marty Young and Charlie Himmelberg.

The Goldman study analyzed home sales figures from the Census Bureau and the National Association of Realtors and mortgage-origination data from the Mortgage Bankers Association and Lender Processing Services.

The surprisingly large cash-share of purchases helps to explain why home sales have jumped over the past two years despite more muted increases in broad measures of new mortgage activity, such as the MBA’s mortgage application index.

There’s no exact way to know who is responsible for all of these cash purchases, though they are likely to include some combination of investors, foreign buyers, and wealthy homeowners that don’t want to go through the hassle of getting a mortgage before closing on a sale. Mortgage lending standards have sharply tightened up since the housing bubble, with banks scrutinizing borrowers’ tax returns and bank statements to verify their incomes and the source of their down payment.

The Goldman analysis also estimates that around 44 cents of every $1 of homes sold currently is being financed, compared to 67 cents before the crisis.

Purchase-mortgage origination volumes have fallen from around $1.5 trillion in 2005, when the housing market peaked, to around $500 billion in each of the last two years.

While declines in the volume of homes being sold accounts for some of the decline, the Goldman economists estimate that around 40% of the decline is due to the drop-off in the amount of financing per home.

The Goldman analysis estimates that purchase-loan volumes will rise to around $750 billion next year and to $1.1 trillion by 2016.

Interior Design & Staging | The Boutique Real Estate Group | Orange County Real Estate

April 25th, 2013
By Kathy HoughtonThe Boutique Real Estate Group
Via Real Estate Staging Association

Real Estate Staging is the art of preparing and showcasing residential real estate for sale.

It is a systematic and coordinated method in which knowledge of hyper-local real estate, home renovations and creative design principles are applied to attract the vast majority of buyers to a prospective home.  It is part of our teams marketing strategy and an essential part of our teams philosophy in preparing a home for the market in Orange County.

Preparing a property properly involves cleaning, de-cluttering, updating, and repairing, while showcasing the true potential of the home through furniture placement, accessories, art, color and light to create visual appeal to the vast majority of buyers.  They way people live in a home is very different than the way we “sell” a home.

Staging shows buyers the true potential of the home. Buyers view professionally staged listings as “well maintained” and “model-like.”

Our team believes staged homes not only photograph better but also look better in person and will ultimately sell faster.

Thinking about selling?  Give us a call today and we would be happy to give you a staging consult on your home.

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Mortgage News | Orange County | FHA Loans

Via Rick Underwood, Broker | Owner, TNG Mortgage

Great news!  The housing market is showing clear signs of improvement.  And conventional lenders are hinting that they’re going to start to ease underwriting guidelines.  That being said, a very popular type of loan just became a little more expensive – and is about to become a little more restrictive.

One of the most attractive features of FHA mortgages is the low required down payment.  In fact, the majority of FHA loan programs require only 3.5% down.  The downside is mandatory upfront and monthly mortgage insurance (MI).  On April 1, 2013, the monthly mortgage insurance increased by 5-10% depending upon the loan scenario.  At this time, mortgage insurance on FHA loans remains in place for a finite period of time.  And in most cases, FHA will drop the monthly MI payment after five years, provided the homeowner has at least 22% equity.  However, on most FHA loans originated after June 2nd, the monthly MI will remain for the life of the loan.  So, the only way to eliminate the costly mortgage insurance is to refinance.

Our recommendation: If you have considered refinancing your home, or purchasing a new home, you can ensure this new FHA policy does not increase the lifetime cost of the transaction.  If you know the property you plan to purchase or refinance, we can “lock in” the current FHA pricing – even if you cannot complete your transaction for six months.  Call 714-203-8558 for additional information.

 

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Not Today The Movie | www.NotTodayTheMovie.com | In Theaters Nationwide April 12th

via Friends Church Yorba Linda, April 12th, 2013

Caden Welles has the world at his disposal. With the resources of his wealthy father, he’s living life as large as any 20-year-old could dream. But what happens when that dream becomes a nightmare halfway around the world?

Traveling with his friends to Hyderabad, India on a whim, Caden’s expectations of a never-ending party crash hard. But not as hard as his conscience when he refuses to help a starving man and his little girl. Haunted by the images of Kiran and Annika, Caden attempts to right his wrong—only to discover Kiran has been forced to sell his own daughter.

Caden’s eyes are now opened to a world few Americans know still exists: a thriving human-trafficking trade. Add the dehumanization of Kiran and hundreds of millions of other Dalits due to India’s caste system, and Caden could easily turn his back.

Yet spurred by a true purpose, an unlikely new friendship, and the prayers of his mother and girlfriend back home, Caden chooses to help in Kiran’s unlikely search to find his daughter.

Starring Cody Longo, Walid Amini, Shari Rigby, and John Schneider, NOT TODAY challenges moviegoers with a purpose that goes beyond its gripping story. The movie was produced by Friends Church Yorba Linda, a congregation committed to educating the Dalits and ending human trafficking in India.

NOT TODAY is a powerful reminder that change is possible if we’re willing to open our eyes … today.

 

not today

20010 Livorno Ln, Yorba Linda, Ca 92886 | Yorba Linda Home For Sale

HD V-Tour:  http://goo.gl/YKL78
Property Website:  www.20010Livorno.com
Please visit www.TheBoutiqueRE.com for additional information on this single story home in Yorba Linda.
Tucked Into The Hillside of Yorba Linda is Corte Bella at Amalfi Hills, a Community of Luxury Single Family Homes.  Located on a Cul-De-Sac This Single Story Home Boasts 2,405 sq ft of Living Space on an Expanded Approx. 11,000 sq ft Corner Lot Giving You Majestic Sunsets, City Light Views and Ultimate Privacy.  Features Include A Gourmet Chef’s Kitchen, Stainless Steel Professional Grade Appliances, Granite Slab Counters, Magnificent Center Island, Plantation Shutters Throughout & An Open Concept Floor Plan.  Three Bedrooms, 3 Bathrooms, 2 Car Attached Garage with Custom Built-Ins, Formal Dining Room, Formal Living Room & An Expansive Master Suite With French Doors Truly Highlight This Gorgeous Home.  The Master Bath Features A Walk-In Closet, Dual Vanities, Solid Surface Counters, Separate Shower & Elevated Jacuzzi Spa Tub.  Custom Landscaping Surrounds This Home with Flagstone Inserts, Colored Concrete, Perfectly Manicured Landscape, Lush Fruit Trees, Custom Putting Green and an Extra Long Driveway.  Home to Yorba Linda High School and Minutes Away From Black Gold Golf Course, Yorba Linda Country Club, The Nixon Library, World Class Shopping, Fabulous Entertainment & Easy Freeway Access.
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xPlode 2013 | Newport Beach | Technology for Real Estate

Don’t miss this power-packed, one day conference on real estate marketing & technology featuring 12 top speakers from all over the US.

Top sponsors include Realtor.com, Homes.com, Market Leader, Cartavi, Exit Realty, Alos Research, Broadview Mortgage and many others.

Here is the link to the conference  http://xplodethis.com/newport/

 

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Top 99 Realtors on Twitter | Does Your Agent Tweet?

By Raj Qsar via Websitebox-Team

Selling Real Estate 140 Characters at a time.
A look at the national list of the top 99 Realtors who are utilizing Twitter to gain regional & national influence in this social world of ours.  Information is based on the amount of followers, quality of tweets, clout and influence.

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Why video, why now?

Sunday Feb 10th, 2013
By Raj Qsar, Principal | Owner of Premier Orange County Real Estate
@rajqsar

Wikipedia gives us a history of the word emotion as it dates back to 1579, when it was adapted from the French word emouvoir, which means “to stir up.”  This truly puts a capsule around why we have made video a primary marketing footprint for our clients as we transition into 2013.  We are looking to “stir-up” those deep emotions of buyers looking for residential real estate in Orange County, Ca.

We want to showcase the emotion of what its like to live in this particular home, in this particular neighborhood, in this particular city within the curtains of Orange County, Ca.  We start by spending time with our sellers and asking them what they truly love the most about their home, neighborhood & city and what they will miss the most.  This allows us to begin storyboarding our video (we think of videos as mini-movies) around those particular aspects that they love so much and can include hot spots like restaurants, schools, parks, farmers markets or even the weather!

One of our favorite videos was “the pool party” video in a great little town in North Orange County called Brea.  What we showcase here is the true lifestyle of this community and what a buyer and to-be homeowner could expect from living in this family friendly neighborhood.  Video Link Here. One HUGE Vision, Two days of shooting, 1 night shoot, 3 luxury cars, 2 Cinematographers, lots of equipment, 12 “actors,” a ton of edits in post production truly brought to life the unique qualities of this FAB city!

Regardless of price point, the emotional aspect of video can really play a part in a home buyers quest of going from searching for a home to finding a home.  Another fabulous video we produced was for a lower priced Luxury Low Rise Condo in the City of Garden Grove in Orange County called Chapman Commons represented by our very own Jeremy Lehman (who made a cameo appearance in the video with his new puppy Max as well).  Video Link Here.   Listed for $319,000 this property sold for $22,000 more than an identical unit right next door and also closed for $48,000 over the appraised value.   How’s that for stirring up emotions!

Got a chopper?  Ray Fernandez sure does!  How else do we capture the lifestyle of La Habra Heights just on the Orange County & LA border?   This hillside community was built with Rural in mind.  Each property is typically set on at least 1 acre of land, which gives residents & homeowner’s privacy and luxury.  There are no sidewalks or street lights but plenty of wildlife and trails throughout this great city where you can enjoy the great outdoors.  Watch Video Here.  One of the best ways to really capture La Habra Heights and this property is from up above!

Video marketing truly starts with a vision.  What’s your vision for this home, in this neighborhood, in this city?  What do you know about this home, this neighborhood & this city that you want to share.  What makes your city so great?  Once the vision is set then it needs to be put it into motion.  C.S. Lewis says, “There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

Real Estate & Video marketing is nothing new in our industry and just like anything we do to market properties it first begins with an idea.  That idea needs to be captured, created and published for the road ahead.