“If you follow us around any real estate trade show, we spend a lot of time talking to vendors about their products. We constantly research better tools and technology to help us better serve clients. Our favorite part is taking a new listing that’s a little ugly and making it look amazing. That’s something we do really well.” THE MARKET – Many of The Boutique’s Orange County clients fall into the luxury market, but every client deserves luxury service and marketing. THE CULTURE – The Boutique spurs collaboration through technology and culture. THE MAN – “I don’t know how many hours I put in. It doesn’t feel like work. That’s one of the elements I’ve always enjoyed.”
Tech-Enhanced Service
The Boutique invests heavily in telling the story of every home, believing beautiful design evokes a connection between client, agent, and the home-buying process. The Boutique focuses on providing best-in-class service through a combination of great habits, great marketing, and bleeding-edge technology. Incredible service and marketing are key ingredients in the success of The Boutique. And a large amount of credit belongs to technology and systems that support: Convenience – “If you give clients a choice—do the paperwork now at the house, or wait and I’ll come by tomorrow? One hundred percent of my clients say right now. And they’re not all 30 years old.” Service – “It makes your job, your agent’s job, and your client’s life easier. You’ll never hear me say to a client, I don’t have that right now. When I’m at my office again, I’ll get back to you.” The Customer Experience – “Emailing back and forth—that’s not a great way to send documents to my clients. DocuSign transaction sharing tools do a much better job.” ROI – “People often hire me—and I get recommended to people—because the technology that we use makes the experience a lot easier.”
68% OF AGENTS PREDICT TRANSACTIONS WILL BECOME ENTIRELY MOBILE (BUT ONLY 61% OF THEIR BROKERAGES PROVIDE MOBILE TRANSACTION MANAGEMENT).
“If you’re not willing to invest in your business there’s plenty of your competitors out there that will.”
Top 4 Reasons to LOVE DocuSign
1. LEVEL OF SERVICE: “We just believe clients want what they want when they ask for it. So, if I have the ability to answer the phone and take their question, I should probably have access to a tool that allows me to find their answer or expedite a document right there on the spot.”
2. THE CLIENT EXPERIENCE: “I do everything possible to be accommodating and make the transaction smooth for my clients. That’s really the role that DocuSign plays. The Transaction Rooms collaboration tools and transparency make it easy and convenient for clients.”
3. THE AGENT EXPERIENCE: “DocuSign makes it easy for agents to do their job from anywhere, at anytime. If a broker is not focused on providing agents with convenient tools that help them be more productive—that’s a great way to lose them.”
4. LIABILITY: “Because DocuSign lets the broker manage the transaction from the back end, you’ve got the compliance issue covered.”
The beautiful brand and unique core values of The Boutique Real Estate Group have brought the romance back into real estate for me. The brand is not only captivating and effective, but it’s also crisp and classy; it stands out amongst the competition. Coupling this aesthetic with an exceptionally high level of service and an absolute commitment to excellence has allowed me to connect emotionally to all elements of the transaction. This connection is what has brought the passion back into the business. Taking the time to bond with my clients naturally sets the stage for a wonderful story. Everyone has a story to tell (see recent story from Zillow.com); it’s just about putting the extra time and energy into discovering the perfect way to portray it and push it out to the world. And at The Boutique the world does see it.
The Boutique is unlike any other brokerage I have ever seen or been affiliated with. The entire process and concept is just different. From the moment a client or prospect comes in (web or walk-in), we speak human, not real estate. Once we digitally sign a listing agreement with a Seller or meet with a Buyer the first time, the next steps aren’t “in your face” aggressive, yet the process is still highly effective. It’s about having an emotional connection with the client and truly understanding their future goals, which allows us to better represent and negotiate on their behalf.
The incorporation of technology at The Boutique is truly world class and something brought in from outside the industry. The digital tools I am now incorporating allow me to be more productive in a fraction of the time. I’m able to operate on a completely virtual platform and support a paperless transaction. I used to print out a copy of everything for the clients, which was overwhelming and extremely wasteful. Now everything is accessible to the clients and everyone else involved in the transaction via the web or mobile. With technology, prospecting effectively has taken on an entirely new meaning. Having a highly efficient Team CRM with the ability to set up immediate responses to incoming leads, set up workflows for current prospects, and then track progress is extremely straightforward and almost effortless.
The exceptionally high touch, luxury service offered by The Boutique is perfect for the Pasadena marketplace and consumers who love this great city. Pasadena has such a rich and diverse history that is exquisitely expressed through the gorgeous architecture found throughout the entire city. People who live here appreciate unique and that’s exactly what The Boutique offers, and then some! The competition is everywhere, mostly consisting of large offices that focus on quantity, not quality. When consumers in Pasadena and surrounding areas see what The Boutique has to offer – amazing photography, video and film production, 360 high definition walk throughs, in-house interior design and staging, in-house custom graphics and design, in-house social media, and dominating search engine marketing & optimization – they will see the way marketing should be done.
This passion for the creative process is portrayed in everything we do. Just look at what Mashable said about one of recently shot in house videos, “PLAIN VIDEO HOUSE TOURS ARE ALL WELL AND GOOD, BUT WHAT IF INSTEAD OF A DRY, ROOM-BY-ROOM TOUR AROUND A PROPERTY, YOU USED THE video to tell a story and sell a lifestyle? THE BOUTIQUE REAL ESTATE GROUP IS VERY GOOD AT THIS, PRODUCING A SERIES OF GLOSSY ADS FOR HOUSES THAT engage you WITH A SIMPLE PLOT DEVICE, MAKING THEM MUCH more interesting THAN THE AVERAGE TOUR. IN THIS EXAMPLE, SEEING THE KIDS RUN THROUGH THE BEAUTIFUL ROOMS AS THEY FIND A SUITABLE CUBBYHOLE FOR A GAME OF HIDE-AND-SEEK IS JUST A genius way TO SHOW THE HOME’S FAMILY-FRIENDLY, ATTRACTIVE LIVING SPACES.”
The emotional connection, advanced technology, luxury service, and creative offerings are all tied together with amazing support from the entire team at The Boutique. From the Founder//Owner, to the broker, to our concierge team, to the agents who are a part of the team, EVERYONE is constantly connected and here to support each other. The feeling of family and warmth here is exactly the type of work environment I want to be in. I really love knowing that my voice is heard and my concerns are addressed whether it’s a hurdle in a transaction or an opinion on a marketing piece. Real estate is a very personal business and it helps me be more successful having The Boutique in my corner of the ring.
The Boutique Real Estate Group is excited to welcome Southern California Cadillac and The Lime Truck to our headquarters in Corona del Mar. Stop by for a test drive, good food and amazing people.
Thursday, May 7th from 12 pm to 2 pm.
3653 E. Coast Hwy. Corona del Mar, CA 92625
Here are a few innovative tips to garner engaging local content.
You can’t open a trade publication these days without seeing an article urging real estate professionals to generate content in order to build their brand and get more business. It makes sense — who buys and sells houses? People. What do people like? To be enlightened, informed and entertained. That’s what great content does.
Many real estate professionals ask whether content creation has any real tangible benefits in getting homes sold. Top producers tend to look at the bigger picture. Tim Smith of Smith Group Real Estate says, “High-quality marketing increases the perceived value of the property.” In other words, when you make a video about a house, you’re saying to the world, “This place is worth it.”
“When we show up at a property with a truck and equipment and actors and a tent, it causes curiosity within the neighborhood,” said Raj Qsar, principal and owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group. “It gives us a way to connect with the neighborhood on a hyperlocal level. Then they tell their friends and family about the house, and word gets out. It’s a long-tail plan.” Let’s face it: Nothing makes a seller happier than to see their home being given the star treatment.
“There’s a misconception across the industry as to why people do content marketing,” Qsar said. “Video is not just for the one listing — we make our video evergreen so it can live forever.”
And it sure doesn’t hurt to have an amazing video to show in your next listing presentation, either.
But for many Realtors, the thought of creating content tends to generate more guilt than inspiration. What kind of content should you be making? And how in the world are you expected to write a script or learn to edit video when there aren’t even enough hours in the day to generate leads and get deals done?
Good news: You don’t have to do it yourself. Here are four options to get great content.
1. Beef up your team.
Most brokerages that are serious about content creation begin by hiring in-house creative talent. “Content marketing needs to start with the leadership and culture of the brokerage,” Qsar said. “If the brokerage takes control and hires an in-house team, it only makes the agents and the brokerage more successful.”
Smith Group Real Estate has created a core in-house marketing team. They started out using outside production studios to generate their marketing materials but decided to bring production in-house in order to have more control over the creative product. “Outsiders don’t have direct communication with the sellers like we do,” Jade Schuck, public relations and marketing coordinator, said. “When the production is done in-house, we know the home, and we can do a lot more with the money.”
Pacific Union built an entire in-house journalism department to bring their clients the latest news via their blog. “We decided we had to become a journalism company,” CEO Mark McLaughlin said. And it worked. Back in January 2012 their blog had “zero traffic.” Now they have 5,800 unique users on their blog every month. McLaughlin puts this in context. “We sold about 5,700 homes last year. So, that means we have about as many people at our blog every single month as bought homes in a year … so we feel it’s a really relevant tool for our real estate professionals.”
2. Supplements are good for you.
Even with a strong in-house team, most brokerages bring in freelancers or even full production companies to round out their marketing team for larger listings.
“The content is all us, 100 percent,” said Qsar, who employs an in-house team that includes a social media manager, director of creative design, cinematographer and editors. They do bring in specialists as needed, such as drone operators and hyperlapse photographers, but they’re careful to set and maintain the creative tone and direction themselves.
The real estate team knows the home best, so it’s crucial that whenever you outsource, you communicate with the production company to convey the key selling points of the home and any details about the target demographics.
Schuck said when The Smith Group gets a listing, their process begins with a brainstorming session where they distill the essence of the home’s personality. Then they create different packages of marketing materials based on the sales price. They bring in freelancers with special skills as needed.
Schuck offers some advice for smaller real estate offices whose budgets might not allow an in-house production team: “Use your network to find good people to help.”
3. Be a patron of the arts.
If hiring a marketing team doesn’t work for you, there are other options. Any given neighborhood is packed with creators who just love to make content. They eat, sleep and breathe journalism, storytelling and photography. They’re constantly churning out videos and articles, blog posts and photographs. All you have to do is find them, and then work out a deal that works for both of you.
Try these sources:
Local bloggers: They know your neighborhood and what makes it significant. See if you can sponsor their work by making a small contribution. Being quoted in an article about the five best kid-friendly restaurants in town makes you an instant local expert.
School newspapers and videos: School newspapers can always use a few extra bucks to give their kids’ reporting a boost. Help them out and your name might be the one that shows up when prospective buyers search for their dream schools.
Filmmakers and videographers: In these days of YouTube, everyone from your babysitter to your mortgage broker has a script for a Web series somewhere on their hard drive. What they often lack is funding to get it made. Provide that and voila, you have yourself a grateful content creator who will mention your name, and maybe even give you a cameo role.
4. Ask your audience.
Another way to get great content is perhaps the most obvious: Just ask for it. User-generated content (UGC) is the buzzword, but what it means is getting your network to share their own photos, videos, articles and lists.
Consider holding a contest for the best photos of your local dog park, or give a shoutout to local bands to write a song in honor of your hometown. Then all you have to do is curate the best and put it online. People will come to your site to check out the latest and greatest — and they’re sure to notice your listings along the way.
At the time of this writing, Trails West Real Estate had just announced a competition asking students to create the best video about living in northwest Montana. They’re offering $12,000 to the winning school’s video and technology departments. This is a great way to get lots of content for your money, while becoming known as a local expert and supporter of the community. It’s likely we’ll see more and more content competition like this in which everyone comes out a winner.
Bottom line
The industry agrees that offering great content is the ideal way to engage your audience more deeply and for longer periods of time. That translates to leads, listings, sales and clients for life. Now you have some ways to get your hands on amazing content while keeping your focus on what you do best: selling real estate.
Now that the days of paper trenches are (nearly) long gone and you’re swimming in digital options galore, how do you know what works and what might not equal the ROI you had in mind?
Your schedule probably redefines busy, so why sleuth around for the answers? Just come to me for the digital dirt and I’ll set you up with the wisdom and guide you to the tools that actually ramp your business Cloud-bound (i.e. skyrocketing success in all matters ROI and keeping your clients and employees delighted).
For my team at The Boutique Real Estate Group, we’re OCD about providing world-class experiences for our clients; It’s our marching theme for Real Estate Connect NYC. We’re in the business of writing our client’s story. When they look at a property, they imagine and dream and wonder. When you set up your Real Estate business with the right tools, you’re able to kick off their story with a happy prologue.
Excited to get started? Wonderful! We’ve vetted the digital market for ideas that struck magic and tools that did wonders for our client base.
Check out the top five mantras and tools that help us set the bar sky high for client experiences:
Always Keep It Mobile and Tablet Friendly: Give us location independence and freedom to create, share & sign on the fly. We are all traveling 100 mph in a 55 mph world so this is essential to any business. If it’s not mobile it does not exist.
Apps Give you “Crystal Ball Powers” – Gmail apps integrated into your Chrome Browser give you Crystal Ball Powers that allow you to tailor messages, track responses and “big brother” inbound emails so you can work some magic with your clients.
The C in CRM Stands for (Client) Conversion: CRM integrations for your website (SMS notifications & auto-email responders) let you respond & convert clients quickly and track progress seamlessly.
Real Estate Apps –> MLS Touch + RPR Mobile + Property Radar App – Seriously – the entire Real Estate world in the palm of your hands. You are truly a real estate guru…
Invest in a Company Intranet – Creating specific channels to streamline communications to specific topics (Technology, Social Media, Contracts, Staging, Creative Design, CRM, Competition). And it has to be mobile.
We’re the pioneers behind Real Estate digital disruption. Now that I’ve shared my secrets, I pass the mobile phone (i.e. baton) to you to socialize your words of wisdom and tools of choice. Every winning tidbit leads to a massive win-win: inspired agents and brokers who’re empowered to make dreams come true.
Please share away in the comments below.
Get to know my team at The Boutique Real Estate Group:
On January 1, 2013, Raj Qsar launched his great experiment: a brokerage that eschews more traditional real estate methods in favor of a new and creative marketing approach. The Boutique Real Estate Group began its journey on that first day of 2013 with three agents, a creative director, a social media manager and an office manager — and it’s taking southern California real estate to a new level. The experiment worked.
Raj Qsar is the principal and owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group and a 10-year veteran of real estate sales and marketing. Raj shared his vision of the Boutique with me, and it’s a compelling story of the birth and growth of a real estate brokerage that tends to do things a little bit differently. It’s a story of success that provides insight into a free-thinking yet savvy group of professionals who, in Raj’s own words, have formed “a technology company that is super-passionate about creative design. And oh, by the way, sells real estate as well.”
I wanted to tell a story
Ask the people who know Raj and The Boutique to describe what sets them apart, and you are likely to hear “video.”
That seemed a good place to start my discussion with Raj, so I simply asked, “why video?”
Instead of the expected responses — “Video is the future!” or “Real estate is visual, it lends itself to video” — what I heard was, “I wanted to tell the homeowner’s story. A story not just about the home, but about the neighborhood and why they loved living there.”
Raj found a wedding videographer who took a narrative approach to his work: Instead of taking the standard pictures of bride, groom and wedding party, the videographer was telling the story of the couple. Believing that this style could translate to real estate, Raj contacted him and said, “I want you to tell a story. A story about a house.”
“What do you mean, a story about a house?”
This was in 2009, before video was a buzzword, before video was cool. Real estate “video” at that time typically consisted of a fancy slideshow: still images pieced together using zoom effects, with pleasant music playing in the background.
“That’s not video, that’s pictures stitched together to appear video-like. It’s fake video,” Raj told me.
Raj was at a listing presentation for an expired property. It had languished on the market for nine months with only five showings and no offers. Raj pitched the idea of a “real life” video to the sellers, one that would focus on why the sellers had lived in and loved this home for so many years. It would highlight not only the home, but also weave the community and local businesses into its story line. They loved the idea.
Raj walked away with the listing and a promise to create a new kind of video.
There was one problem: he had no idea how to do that. Passionate about creative design, Raj knew where to find the right people to pull this off. They storyboarded some ideas, professionally staged the home, took amazing photos, shot true video footage of the home and neighborhood, created an online marketing campaign, translated that campaign into multiple languages and set off to sell the property.
That was just the beginning.
“We are so OCD about every fine detail that we re-shot and re-edited the video several times, even going through multiple soundtracks and music choices before we went live.”
With the video complete, Raj delivered it to his sellers and asked them to share it with friends, family and neighbors. The home was in a small, tight-knit, gated neighborhood, and the owners shared the video with their Bunko group — which included about 70 of the neighborhood’s 100 homeowners.
Raj is proud of the fact that they took that listing and got an over-list price offer in two weeks.
But he’s prouder of the fact that the video was so well received that over the next three years, they listed 13 homes in that subdivision, setting price records almost every time.
The owners loved the video. They shared it with other homeowners who loved it. It was high quality, it was memorable, and it made the phone ring when people were looking to sell.
In case you think this reception of a property video was just dumb luck, there are other similar stories. A condo association played a video produced by Jeremy Lehman, The Boutique’s CTO, at their board meeting because it highlighted the neighborhood so well. A couple of the board members were considering selling their homes. Who do you think they called? The Boutique group has now listed 15 of those condos.
The video brokerage
Raj considers video a catapult to get in front of sellers. While a video may not sell a home directly, the quality and effort Raj’s brokerage puts into video sets them apart from the masses. It identifies them. They are now locally (and I would argue, nationally) thought of as “the video brokerage.”
As time marched on, Raj took video production in-house. He bought the equipment and brought in experts, lowering the production cost and allowing them to shoot videos on about half of their listings. If there is a story to tell, they will tell it in multiple formats, across multiple platforms, including video.
But Raj stresses that it’s not just video. When The Boutique takes a listing it usually spends about three weeks getting it ready before submitting it to the MLS.
At this point in the conversation, I stopped Raj and said, “Three weeks? Who takes three weeks to get a home in the MLS?”
“We do,” said Raj. They storyboard the property and neighborhood, professionally stage the home, hire select professional photographers, process and edit those photos, shoot and edit video, create a 90-day content calendar that maps out how the listing will be promoted on various social and listing syndication sites and discuss how will they share the home’s story. Then, and only then, is the property ready for the MLS and their marketing push.
The first hire
Ask most fledgling brokers or team leaders about their first hire and they will probably say they brought in a transaction coordinator, buyer’s agent or office manager. In fact, every person I’ve talked to who built their own team or brokerage started by hiring one of those people.
Until I talked to Raj, that is: His first hire was a creative director.
Their graphic designer on staff — on staff, not contracted out — is degreed. “It’s not like we are using the broker’s assistant’s cousin who just graduated from junior college to do our design work,” said Raj.
That attitude defines Raj and The Boutique. He wants the best, and only the best, for his brokerage, his agents and his clients.
This tenet is reflected in part by their technology standards: The Boutique is Apple-based, and all agents must be on Apple products. No agents design their own marketing material; it all goes through the in-house creative designer, and everything goes through the videographer. They have three preferred listing photographers, and those are the only three that agents can use. Before even going into the home, however, it is staged by their in-house stager. Why so much quality control? Raj said, “We make our agents do these things because we know they work, and they give our clients and agents the best chance of success.”
On lead generation
Pretty pictures are nice, but ultimately you need leads. I asked Raj about his strategies for lead generation and listing syndication.
Raj said they are on all of the major platforms: Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com and Homes.com. “By far and away we’ve seen the most benefit from Zillow. The quality of leads and amount of leads that come in from Zillow is superior to the rest. Our rep makes a big difference too. He’s a partner with us.”
One of the first things The Boutique does when they get a new agent is have them sign up for the “pro” level on all the major search sites. This ensures agent buy-in and facilitates lead management and consistency.
“Speed of response to Internet leads is critical,” Raj informs us. “We used to route leads to agents on a round-robin basis. As we got more sophisticated, and realized that if you don’t reply to a lead in two minutes that you’ve lost it, we brought in an in-house lead incubator whose job is to qualify and curate contacts.” The Boutique generated 3,600 inbound leads in 2014 though portal advertising and in-house lead generation efforts. Staffing a lead incubator position has freed up Raj’s agents and shifted them from receiving brokerage leads to receiving appointments.
There is no Plan B
Talk to Raj for two minutes about real estate and you will see that he is a very passionate man with a strong focus on creative design. This comes through not only in his listings, but in his philosophy on running a brokerage.
“It’s all about the consumer and their experience. We are hired to sell a property, but a property isn’t just bricks and mortar and walls. Every home has a story and if we tell that story well, we can create an emotional response — and when a buyer is emotionally involved in the story, they are more likely to purchase.”
How does that vision scale? Can it scale? What are Raj’s future plans for The Boutique Real Estate Group?
“I’d like to open another five offices in southern California in the next five years,” Raj told me.
“What about expanding outside of SoCal?” I asked.
“I get those calls about once a month. Some big-box brokerage or franchise will approach me about expanding. We love what we do. We hustle, we sell a home and we reinvest than back into the business. We add to our knowledge and technology. I have no Plan B. This is what we love, this is what we do.”
Video marketing in action
The Boutique Real Estate Group is known as “the video brokerage,” so we’d be remiss if we didn’t include some sample videos.
“It’s not all about the price point,” Raj tells us. “Yes, we are focusing on the luxury market by providing luxury services to our agents and clients. These services are what truly set us apart. We respect where our industry has been but we are pushing the envelope and going in a whole new direction — and we are just getting started.”
Visit The Boutique’s YouTube Channel to see how they market their listings — and their brokerage.
Here is a recent listing video that exemplifies The Boutique’s philosophy of storytelling.
And here is a video for a magnificent luxury estate in Hawaii. The Boutique Real Estate Group was brought on as a co-lister for this property due to their skill and expertise in social media, video and creative design.
Get to know Raj Qsar, Principal/Owner of The Boutique Real Estate Group, the exclusive representative for Leverage Global Partners in Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar, Balboa Island, Newport Coast, Huntington Beach, and Sunset Beach, CA, USA.
What was your vision in founding The Boutique Real Estate Group?
I reflect back on a quote that crossed my news feed some years ago. “Excellence is never an accident. It is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution, and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities.” The Boutique had our “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 luxury 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. Our vision was clear. We had to digitize the real estate experience. 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 in a hyper-local world, yet our listing content grabs worldwide attention.
We know we need to be where our clients are, so we can be at the forefront of their minds all the time whether it is on a smartphone in Newport Beach or on an iPad in China. You will never find our clients running to a fax machine and most likely our clients will 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 iPhones. 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 into our client experience. With this simple direction built on technology first, our brokerage concept came to life and then layered on in-house design, creative marketing strategies, world-class social media and internet optimization.
How has social media, creative marketing, and in-house design changed or impacted your approach to business?
Real Estate marketing has truly evolved over the last 10 years. The Boutique has developed a comprehensive in-house strategy which showcases our client’s home through real-life video (actual movies with creative storylines), Architectural Photography, 360 HD V-Tours (amazing technology), custom built individual property websites for each & every home, in-house 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 standard completely in-house. What that means to our agents & clients 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 ensure the story has been told on that particular home. Hours of storyboarding a listing video, post-production of each and every photograph, creating a content strategy for each social portal and custom in-house designed print brochures & booklets for each of our listings. This is all done with intention and skill to give our clients the upfront best chance of success when marketing their home on the open market.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I am an Orange County Native and growing up, my parents would always take us to the beach to play, surf, BBQ and just enjoy our time together. So this tradition has carried onto my family as we spend most of our free time on the beaches of Orange County. When we travel we look for resorts on the beach anywhere in the world. One of our fav spots is Nantucket Island off the coast of Boston. We have spent many summers on Nantucket and it truly has a piece of our hearts. Most recently, we have developed a true passion for wine and all the intricacies it brings to life. Most family gatherings as we break bread we are also opening a nice bottle of wine, which of course always has a story behind it.
Leverage Global Partners is proud to have Raj Qsar and the team at The Boutique Real Estate Group as our partners in the network.
Come visit The Boutique Real Estate Group Sunday Dec. 7th from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM for the 36 Annual Corona Del Mar Christmas Walk. Our door will be open and we will be serving yummy treat & playing Christmas music. This year the Christmas Walk will feature:
– 12 live bands
– Food tastings from our local restaurants
– Local Merchants promotions, samples and giveaways.
– Beer & Wine garden.
– Santa Claus, Bouncy houses, and a petting zoo.
– Drawing for over $15,000 in prizes.
The Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce is proud to present the community’s most popular event of the year! This is an absolute can’t miss special event filled with holiday festivities for family, friends, residents and visitors looking for a spectacular way to ring in the holiday season. Each year “The Walk” brings together thousands of fun-loving people into the Village of Corona del Mar for live entertainment, food, prizes and games in true holiday spirit!
Important Documents Your Lender Will Need From You. Yea. It’s a crazy list!
Using this list of key documents, gather all the materials into one online folder so that you’re never scrambling to find the right paperwork. We suggest dropbox or google drive.
Copy of your driver’s license or passport
Proof of regular rental or housing payments
Copies of your two most recent paycheck stubs
Copies of your W-2’s from the past two years
Copies of your federal tax returns with all schedules for the past two years – state not needed
Are you self-employed?
A statement of year-to-date profit-and-loss for the business
Copy of any corporate tax returns and K-1’s for the past 2 years
Proof of assets:
Copy of all current IRA statements, stock and bond accounts, or any other retirement or investment accounts for the past 2 years
Copy of current bank statements for each account for the past 2 months
Documents on the value of personal property like automobiles
Forms showing the face amount and value of life insurance policies
Copy of lease agreement for all rental properties
Copy of any student loan deferment letter or agreement reflecting the monthly payment
Additional documents you may need:
If you are divorced, a copy of the final divorce decree
If you have filed for bankruptcy, the complete bankruptcy paperwork including discharge paperwork
If you are an active veteran, a statement of service, DD-214, and Certificate of Eligibility
Shopping Your Loan? Here are some good questions to ask…
Print out the following list and keep it on-hand as you start shopping for your home loan. Meeting with loan officers can be overwhelming — this way you won’t forget to ask important questions.
Is the mortgage fixed or variable?
If the loan is fixed, what is the interest rate or annual percentage rate (APR) of the loan?
If the loan is variable, when does the rate change? And how is the rate change determined?
How long are quoted interest rates good for?
Is the Good Faith Estimate guaranteed?
What are the escrow requirements for taxes and insurance?
Is there a penalty for paying off the loan early?
Do you allow extra principal payments?
How long do funds, say for a down payment, need to be in my bank account before closing?
What are all the closing costs? Will you provide a written list?
Are any of the costs or fees negotiable, or capable of being waived?
Which financial firm will service the loan?
How long does the funding process usually take? Are on-time closings guaranteed?
What changes, such as employment changes, should I avoid before the loan closes?
For questions or comments please contact Allycyn Bennett with United American Mortgage Company at 949-717-7290 or Abennett@uamco.com
To find out the current value of your home please visit http://GetMyHomeWorth.com
The Boutique Real Estate Group
