1. Art and Diseño

Vol.XXXIII, No.3
www.realestatenewsline.com.
February 1, 2015
February 14 Is Almost Here!
By Pat Farrell
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
San Antonio, Texas
Paid Permit #1957
As we are all aware February 14 is today
accepted as a time to celebrate and demonstrate
our love, fondness or whatever good things we
feel for others. Although most greeting cards will
identify the day only as “Valentine’s Day” it is
actually thought to be a commemoration of St.
Valentine’s life. The first questions to be answered
then include which St. Valentine is being remembered and how did he come to be associated with
romance?
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia,
there are at least three St. Valentines, all of whom
were martyred and each of their feast days fall on
February 14. Two of the men named Valentine
(Valentinius) were put to death in Rome in the
third century. In ancient times in Rome there was
an important pagan festival, “Lupercalia,” held in
honor of Romulus and Remus, the legendary
founders of the city. The festival was held from
February 13 to February 15 and is confirmed to
have been active from as early as 44 A.D. when
Marc Antony was Headmaster of the Lupercali
College of Priests. During this celebration the
food and festivities were ample, but most importantly the wine flowed freely. The highlight of the
event was that after sacrificing animals and fashioning whips from the hides, young men would
run naked around the walls of the city where
young women had lined up in anticipation of
receiving lashes from the whips. This activity was
deemed necessary to ward off sterility, promote
fertility and make childbirth easier. Additionally
there was a lottery of sorts where young men
would draw from a jar the name of a potential
female partner and once the names were
announced the “love fest” would begin! It was
expected that each couple would remain sexual
partners for one year.
Initially Lupercalia survived the rise of
Christianity but was eventually outlawed by the
end of the fifth century when Pope Gelasius substituted a much milder celebration on February 14
in honor of St. Valentine. The most popular legend
for this saint seems to be associated with a holy
priest who lived in Rome during the reign of
Roman Emperor Claudius II (268-270). Since
Claudius had the Roman Empire involved in a
number of military campaigns he was in need of
men to staff his armies, but given the unpopularity of these wars most men were able to avoid the
draft and remain home with their families. For this
reason Claudius preferred to use single men, so, to
improve his recruiting efforts he banned all further
engagements and marriages in Rome. Valentine
considered this ban unjust and, as the story goes,
defied the decree and secretly continued to perform marriage ceremonies in unusual, secluded
areas such as wineries. Unfortunately his actions
were found out by the officials and after an
extended imprisonment he was stoned to death
and beheaded on February 14.
There is quite a variety of stories associated with St. Valentine that attempt to legitimize the
love connection to the date of his church feast but
there seems to be no way to confirm or reject most
of these explanations. One such
story suggests that during his
imprisonment many of the townspeople came to visit Valentine since, in
addition to his conducting marriages for soldiers
he was known to minister to Christians faced with
persecution by Roman officials. Another story has
St. Valentine as a bishop known to wear an
amethyst stone ring with a cupid symbol
engraved on it so it was easily recognized by the
men in need of marriage. And, it is said that in
order to remind men of their marital vows he
would present them with a “heart shape” cut from
parchment paper. One story also suggests that
while in prison Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s daughter who visited him often and that when
he went to his death he had left a farewell letter
addressed to her and signed “With love, from your
Valentine.” Despite the circumstances surrounding it many consider this to be the first Valentine’s
Day “Greeting.”
Regardless of what is fact or just fancy, St
Valentine’s Day is celebrated around the world,
though in many countries it is not considered a
holiday. During the middle Ages, even though this
was a very turbulent time in history, Valentine celebrations occurred throughout Europe.
At spring festivals In Italy youths would
meet in gardens to exchange flowers, while in
France the troubadours would accompany young
lovers while playing their flutes or lutes. By the
1600s it was customary for an urn to be placed in
a public square wherein marriageable ladies
would place their names and young men would
later draw a name in hopes of finding his valentine. Later these “urn lotteries,” turned lighthearted and young and old would also participate
because it had become evident that the lottery outcome was being predetermined (fixed)!
Geoffrey Chaucer is credited with linking
St. Valentine’s Day with romance in the Middle
Ages when he composed a poem to honor the first
anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II
of England to Anne of Bohemia. By the 18th cen-
tury folks were expressing their
feelings for one another with candy
and flowers and were creating handmade “valentines” for their loved ones.
Soon blank, lace-bordered cards were being produced in Germany along with various symbols
like cupid with his bow & arrow, hearts, flowers,
etc. that could be pasted on the cards. And,
throughout Europe at that time many were also
presenting, as a romantic symbol, “St. Valentine’s
Keys” along with an invitation to “unlock my
heart.” Needless to say, these handmade items
were the forerunner to today’s mass produced
Valentine cards.
But, February 14 has not always produced
just love and roses for as you may recall it became
an established date to remember because a priest
was put to death in the year 270 A.D. In more
recent years several events like the “St. Valentine’s
Day massacre” in a Chicago garage in 1929 when
six mobster opponents of Al Capone were murdered and in 1991 there was an air raid shelter
bombing in Baghdad where 300 were killed. In
1990 an Indian Airlines jet crashed in southern
India killing 97 passengers and crew and in 1993
there were 79 people killed in a department fire in
China. Fortunately those happenings are much
less frequent than the celebrations with which we
have become more familiar.
You may be interested to know that in
2014 February 14 was also celebrated as National
Condom Awareness Day (hmmm!), National
Creme-Filled Chocolates Day (yum!), National
Donor Day (ouch!), National Ferris Wheel Day
(whee!), National Pet Theft Awareness Day (aw!)
and finally (and appropriately) Singles Awareness
Day (S.A.D.). In any event, here and now, St.
Valentine’s Day is a special time and there are
only a few days left for you to order the special
flowers, buy the candy and make the dinner reservations for that special someone. And don’t forget
the greeting cards for not only the loved one, but
also for Mom and Dad, Sisters and Brothers, coworkers, BFFs, etc. Time’s a wastin!
2
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
A PUBLICATION OF
CARVER COMMUNICATIONS, INC.©
Courtney Smith, Real
Estate Newsline shows
off the latest Newsline
addition.
Reading Real Estate Newsline
Real Estate Newsline is published semimonthly by
Carver Communications, Inc., as a nonsubscription
publication for the more than 7,500 members of
the San Antonio Board of REALTORS (SABOR).
Publisher/President .............Jeff Carver
Managing Editor..........Candace Carver
Assistant Editor ...........Courtney Smith
Sales & Marketing .............Candi Meyer
Cell - 557-8722
Contributing Writers: ......Cathey Meyer
..................................................Pat Farrell
Columnists.....................Susie Sheffield
......................................Mary Ann Jeffers
(210) 308-9334
Carver Communications, Inc., is a member of the San Antonio Board
of REALTORS®,
Real Estate Newsline is not responsible for opinions or facts
expressed by nonstaff writers or for errors and any byproducts in
advertising or editorial copy.
Elizabeth and Ray
Blankenberg, RE/MAX
Associates read Newsline
on their Mexican cruise.
REALTOR® is a registered trademark. The word REALTOR® sometimes appears in this paper without the registered trademark symbol (®), for the purpose of saving
space. Wherever the word REALTOR appears in this
paper, the registered trademark should be assumed.
We welcome submissions of photos, press
releases or articles.
Send to:
Real Estate Newsline
P.O. Box 33862
San Antonio, TX 78265-3862
FAX: 308-9229
E-MAIL: [email protected]
[email protected]
Please include a self-addressed
stamped envelope if material is to be returned.
February 1, 2015
www.realestatenewsline.com
By Mary Ann Jeffers
Chairman, San Antonio Board of REALTORS®
Participate in the Online Auction
for TREPAC on February 9 & 10
SABOR’s
Affiliate
Partner
Committee is hosting the first ever
Affiliates Online Auction for TREPAC,
and the Affiliates are already busy donating the items for the auction. The auction
will be online for SABOR members only
on February 9th and 10th - just in time for
Valentine’s Day! Just head to
SABOR.com to find all the details for the
auction and get ready to start bidding.
The Texas Association of REALTORS® Political Action Committee
(TREPAC) is a voluntary, nonprofit organization which receives voluntary investments that are used to support REALTORS® and issues that directly affect
property owners in Texas. TREPAC
directly impacts the political process to
help protect your private-property rights
and support the real estate industry. The
Affiliate Partner Committee knows how
important it is to invest in TREPAC and
wanted to participate in a fundraiser to
show their support. I would like to polite-
ly remind everyone that this is also a legislative year which makes it an even better
time to invest.
The items up for auction come at all
different price points. Some of the items
included are a bottle of wine, an overnight
getaway at the Westin Riverwalk, foursome at the renowned Hyatt Hill Country
Resort Golf Course, Spurs championship
season signed basketball and much, much
more. With Valentine’s Day coming up
this is a great opportunity to help support
TREPAC and also give to someone special
in your life. If you think the items are just
too good to give away, that’s fine too!
I want to thank the Affiliate Partner
Committee for all their hard work and
dedication to this online auction. I appreciate all the help and support of all of our
SABOR members and am looking forward
to the auction this month. If you have any
questions or concerns or would like more
information, please contact Tomme Hall at
[email protected].
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
3
4
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Craig Loeffler,
New Penn
Financial visits
with Mike Meyer,
Stewart Title at
the WCR
Luncheon at
Sonterra.
Sign at the
Chapa & Fuller
Open House.
Providence Title Holiday Party.
Enjoying the Legacy Mortgage Open House are Patrick Connolly,
Keller Williams City View,with Lane Rogers and Patricia Zars, both with
Zars and Rogers Realty.
Irene Morgan,
SWBC and Diane
Craig, RE/MAX
Associates at
the SABOR
Installation.
Steve Craig, Keller
Williams Legacy
and Rachael
Shields, Stewart Title
at the NAHREP
Meeting.
Keith Guideon,
SABOR and Bob
Jacobs, RE/MAX
Associates at the
GRI Breakfast at the
Petroleum Club.
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
5
6
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Dana Taylor and
Denice Brown,
both with
Independence
Title at the WCR
Luncheon at
Sonterra.
Ed Purvis, Insurance Professional, Brenda Allen, Phyllis Browning Company
and Lisa Bates, LK Texas Real Estate at the Legacy Mutual Mortgage
Open House.
Sandra Lemoine,
SVP of Marketing
for Sonora
Mortgage with her
Boerne Star award
as presented by
Frank Schubert,
Director of
Marketing for The
Boerne Star.
WHY SONORA MORTGAGE?... WE DO IT ALL.
Purchase, Refinance, Interim Construction
In-House Bank Portfolio Loans, 80/15/5. On time, too!
830-755-4635 • 877-696-2504
Visit us at SonoraMortgage.com
Member FDIC
NMLS# 403623
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
By Cathey Meyer
GPS Love
Years back when Stone Oak was
just a plat of hills and a few stop signs,
navigating around the hood was like figuring out the VIA bus routes. You knew
you would end up somewhere, but you
never knew how you got there. In frustration showing homes one morning, I threw
the map book to my buyer in the back seat
and said, “If you want to live here, you
need to know how to get there. So start
giving me directions.” That was my first
‘global positioning system.’ An actual
human telling me when to turn right, take
a left and congratulations, we have arrived
at our destination. I still have the map
book, but the GPS buyers have long left
my back seat and Stone Oak has since
exploded beyond the depths of my mapping.
My relationship with the updated
version of GPS has taken some time to
evolve. As you might assume, anything
technology related is not my first go-to in a
crisis. As I mature into the new millennium (a decade and one half late) I am start-
ing to
warm to the idea that phone books,
Polaroid cameras, dictionaries, handwriting and VCR’s are not as popular as
googling, instagramming, spell-checking,
texting and netflixing. (In a Grandma
Meyer moment, none of the previous listed five noun/verbs existed when I was in
high school.) Ironically, it was the passing
of my Godmother, Aunt Rosemary, which
snapped me up to the moment of the 21st
Century.
Aunt Rosemary was a force of
progress. At 85, she was a veteran at
googling, instagramming, spell-checking,
texting and netflixing. With children,
grandchildren, great-grandchildren and
other relatives sprinkled all over the
world, she was not about to miss a
moment of facebooking. In her last few
years, she was not healthy enough to travel, but she managed to see the world
through her computer. Uncle Will called
last June with sad news that Aunt
Rosemary had departed this Earth for her
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
cloud beyond the cloud if you get my
technical terminology. We got the details
of the arrangements and hit the road for
Lafayette, Louisiana.
This was the beginning of my new
appreciation for GPSing.
On the road race to Lafayette were
a collection of cousins from all over Texas
and beyond ultimately meeting at some
hotel. My carpool included myself, my
constant travelling companion and my
three Houston cousins. Add up our collective ages and we ranged from 20 to 68
and we averaged out at 52 years young,
heading east in a foreign SUV with little
sense of direction—and maybe little sense
of mind. We all had visited Lafayette
many times, but none of us could remember how to get around in the mini-metropolis. The start was slow as we sat in
Houston traffic for the first 45 minutes battling road construction and brute force
rain. That is where the conversation of “I
thought you knew how to get there” started. In an accidental stroke of genius,
Cousin Mark quit talking to us and started
talking to his phone. We did not pay
much attention until his phone started giving us clear, verbal directions.
Turns out, he figured out his ‘voice
activation feature’ and made friends with
the internal phone directions lady. Not to
be outdone, I figured out my ‘location’
button on my phone could send us anywhere and my travelling companion had
long ago figured out how to track our
stalled movement on the map on his
phone showing an ALERT HAZARD feature. Turns out the SUV had a mapping
7
system and we still had one hard core
believer in the traditional-you-can-neverfold-it-back-maps. The competition was
on: who could get us to our destination
best.
By the time we arrived in Lafayette,
we were experts in the race of locating systems and our carpool was always the first
to arrive at any remote destination in the
greater Lafayette Parish.
Aunt Rosemary would have been
proud to see us merging not only into traffic, but into the 21st Century. You got an
address, we got a mapped route.
Armed with new knowledge, my
travelling companion and I got brave on a
recent trip to the greater Dallas Metro-Plex.
We confidently assumed we could not get
lost because our GPS would always tell us
where we were—or so we thought. In
search of President Bush’s Library, we
were on our way to College Station before
we realized we wanted the Other Bush
Library. In our haste to GPS our route, the
system began yelling at us that we were
on Shumoo and needed to merge to a
major highway and head east for Aggie
Land. As a Longhorn and a Bobcat were
in search of a Mustang, shumooing was
not on our radar, but Ms. GPS was determined we were shumooed in the wrong
direction. We finally used the old fashion
roll-down-window-and-ask method. We
knew the other library was somewhere on
the SMU (shumoo) campus and to Ms.
GPS’s credit, it was human error that
caused her to implode. Turns out technology is only as effective as its users, but
mobile GPSing has won my heart.
8
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Highland Homes Celebrating 30 Years Party
Jim Kolodziej, Phyllis Browning, Dee Ann Jennings, Kuper Sotheby’s
International Realty, Jo Lewis, Phyllis Browning, Barbara Finch, Kuper
Sotheby’s International Realty, and Kevin Best, Phyllis Browning with (seated) Kimberly Bragman and Paula Gulley both of Phyllis Browning
Evelyn Jose, Keller Williams Heritage and husband Josh Jose
Brittany Hefferman with Highland
Homes and Emma Lopez of Realty
Executives Access
Megan Schauffele, Highland Homes, Nancy Du, Caldwell
Banker D’Ann Harper and Kevin Hale, Highland Homes
Arnold Rodriguez and Sandra Weisz both of Premier
Properties with Ken Flores of Highland Homes
Breanna Kulakewski, Dallas’ fiance; and Dallas Pipes of Keller Williams
Boerne with Karen Oliver, Thea Harrison and Cris Balderas all of Highland
Homes
Misty Wood, Keller Williams
City View
Pam Poitevent and Aurora Crawford both
with Caldwell Banker D’Ann Harper
Jennifer Tipton, Highland Homes, Susie Rice, Highland
Loan Source, Vicky Garcia and Gigi Gallegos with
Highland Homes.
Tom and Dana Phillips, Phillips &
Associates Realty.
Deb Alairno, Keller Williams Heritage with Kathy
Thomas and Vicki Russell, both with Highland
Homes
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
9
10
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Eddie Gammill,
Stewart Title
seems to be
having a good
time at the
SABOR
Installation.
Glenn Clarke,
Glenn Clarke
Realty and James
Rodgers, RE/MAX
North at the David
Weekley event at
Paesanos.
Around the Table Cecilia Sosa, North American Title, Jimmy Gutierrez, Prospect
Mortgage, Ruben Pena, TC Austin, Art Ramirez, Starkey Mortgage, Julio Rivera
and Stephanie Brown both with Oasis Company Realtors and Katy Morris,
Keller Williams Heritage at the VAREP Board meeting.
Melinda Hipp,
VanDyk Mortgage
and Victoria Subia,
Champions School
of Real Estate at
the TMBA Meeting.
Keith Fahey,
Ashton Woods,
congratulates Frank
Gomez on being
quarterly sales
winner.
Trisha Laffer picks up a gift for staff member’s baby.
Kathy Rubin, Gold
Financial and Larry
Palmer, Security
Service FCU are all
smiles at the
NAPMW luncheon.
February 1, 2015
www.realestatenewsline.com
By Cheri Bass
Say Hello to a Busy 2015!
New homes, resales, multi-family
— it almost doesn’t matter where you look,
2014 was a great year for residential real
estate in San Antonio!
According to the recent Greater San
Antonio Builders Association’s Housing
Forecast, builders started 9,281 homes in
San Antonio last year, an increase of about
10 percent from the previous year.
Closings increased, as well, with 8,531
contracts closed by the end of 2014.
The most popular price range in the
new-home market was in the $200,000$300,000 range, followed closely by
homes in the $150,000 to $200,000 price
range, a switch from 2013. Housing starts
also grew significantly in the upper range
of $300,000 to $500,000, with a year-overyear increase of about 25 percent.
In all, the $200,000-$300,000 market accounted for about 33 percent of the
annual new-home starts and the $300,000$500,000 price range captured about 24
percent of the market. The lower range of
$150,000 to $200,000 had about a 30 percent market share.
Closings in the resale market fin-
ished at an all-time high last year, at just
over 25,000. The most popular price range
in that market remained at those priced
under $250,000, but like the new-home
market, closings on more expensive homes
were on the rise. There were more homes
in the over $250,000 price range to close in
2014 than any year in the previous decade.
Multi-family performed just as
strongly last year, with rental and occupancy rates at all-time highs, right at $1 a
square foot and 92.8 percent, respectively.
Texas ranked No. 1 in the nation for the
number of multi-family permits issued last
year (65,827).
Fueling all of this activity? Jobs,
jobs and more jobs. The San Antonio-New
Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area
ranked No. 17 in the nation for job growth
in 2014, posting a gain of 3.2 percent, or
29,100 new jobs annually, in November.
Not surprisingly, Texas ranked No. 1 in the
nation for job growth, with a 3.9 percent
annual increase.
What do these numbers mean? We
were all busy last year and will most likely
be this year!
Christina
O’Connor, Legacy
Mutual Mortgage
lets Susie Sheffield,
CORIE Properties
write some kind
words for Christina.
Armando Olazabal,
Barton Carpet
checks the floor
measurements.
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
11
12
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Clifton Jansky and
Shannon Miller, both
with Coldwell Banker
D’Ann Harper, enjoy
the Capital Title Grand
Opening.
Mike Meyer, Debbie Keeland, Maria Alvarado and Jeff Arias, all with
Stewart at the NAPMW meeting.
Sherri Edwards
with Netco Title
At NAPMW.
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
13
14
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Jack Shull, Guild
Mortgage and
Gwen Derry,
Trinity Title.
Cathy Hickey, Bay
Equity and Laura
Golder, Sente
Mortgage.
TAMBA Meeting
Rae Saldana,
imortgage and
Victoria Subia,
Champions
School of Real
Estate.
Lance Bryce and Todd Weber, both with Sente Mortgage and John
Cortissoz, SWBC.
Happy Valentineʼs Day!
210.812.5500
1354 N. Loop 1604 E. #103
San Antonio, TX 78232
Corp NMLS# 24055
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
Bob Gardner,
Chairman and Paula
Grigsby, President
TAP FCU at the
SABOR Housing
Forecast.
Scott Jauregui, Keller Williams Heritage, Susie Sheffield, CORIE Properties
and Donna Fremin, Century 21 Scott Myers at the WCR Luncheon.
Stephanie Brown, Oasis Realty, Katy Morris, Ultimate Real Estate, Rhonda
Rowell, Icon Realty and Cecilia Sosa, North American Title discuss the
VAREP plans for helping veterans during 2015.
JB Goodwin Realtors
is proud to recognize
President/Broker
Reagan Greer as the
recently appointed
Federal Political
Coordinator for
Congressman Will
Hurd by National
Association of
Realtors and Elaine
Sevier as the Texas
CRS Chapter
President for 2015.
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
15
16
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Cris Baldaras and Debbie Germany, both with Highland Homes at their
Company Brunch at Stillwater Ranch.
Cecilia Sosa,
North American
Title and Paula
Grigsby, President,
TAP FCU at the
WCR Luncheon,.
Mary Ann Jeffers, Reliance Residential Realty and Angela
Sheilds, SABOR at the SABOR Housing Forecast.
Have a
Happy Valentine’s Day!
(210) 493-1688 • (800) 598-1688 • FAX (210) 493-1695
11818 WURZBACH • SAN ANTONIO, TX 78230
Apartment rental assistance for long and short term needs. Corporate apartments.
www.aptreloctr.com
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
Kathy Alexander
and Gloria
Byington, both
with RE/MAX
Preferred at the
SABOR Housing
Forecast.
Polly Keene and
Alyse Straus, both
with Chicago Title at
the RE/MAX
Northeast 30 year
Celebration.
Caroline Kessler,
Apartment &
Relocation Center
and Scott Jauregui,
Keller Williams
Heritage at the WCR
January meeting.
Jan Hicinbothom,
Coldwell Banker
D’Ann Harper
Realtors and Bonnie
Wilson, RE/MAX
Associates enjoy a
recent Real Estate
event.
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
17
18
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
KB Home Happy Hour at Stonewerks
Charles Valson
and Teri Lucas,
both with Atery
Realty.
Karen La Grange, Central Texas Real Estate and Cindy Myrick,
Promise Land Properties.
Lisa Stanley and
Rose Arredondo,
both with
Coldwell Banker
D’Ann Harper
Realtors.
Kim Compton, Reliance Residential Realty, Laci Padilla, KB Home
and Tori Vendola, Reliance Residential Realty.
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
NARPM
By Kerrick Hutchison
I Want Some NARPM®
San Antonio Spurs fans remember
in 2012, NBA Western Conference Finals
against the Oklahoma City Thunder,
Coach Gregg Popovich had a famous one
liner – “I want some nasty!”
Back in December, as I was inducted as President of the San Antonio
Metropolitan Area Chapter (SAMAC) of
NARPM® for 2015, I announced my
theme for the year – “I Want Some
NARPM®!”
No more fitting of an expression for
a Chapter who is making a run at winning
it’s fourth (4th) Chapter of the Year Award
out of all the National NARPM® Chapters
this October. An objective like this is only
possible because of each of our member’s
participation, volunteerism, and dedication to making the Chapter a better organization each and every day.
For example, James Alderson,
President in 2014, set the bar high and
reached it by getting the Chapter to
increase its membership by 35% (154 to
208). It was simply incredible! We are
lucky to have some of the most passionate
property managers in the country right
here in the San Antonio area.
SAMAC hosted it’s first Chapter
Meeting/Educational Event on January 21,
2015 at the new Norris Conference Center
location at Park North. We welcomed
Melissa Prandi, MPM® RMP®, from San
Rafael, CA and a Past NARPM® National
President who lead a workshop on
Mastering Excellence. She helped us
understand how we can be the best in our
industry.
The Chapter is hosting bi-monthly
Chapter Meetings/Educational Events at
the Norris Conference Center throughout
2015 and bringing in high-quality
National Speakers. Providing fantastic
education to our members is not only one
of our key principles, but a way we can
achieve Chapter of the Year again this
year!
All of our goals and objectives
sound great, but I believe it’s more important to know what fuels us each and every
day. Our Chapter has had for a few years
it’s own Mission and Vision Statements,
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
which have helped us stay on track.
Vision Statement – To be emulated
as the largest most influential Chapter of
NARPM®.
Mission Statement – To support and
grow professional innovative leaders in
the residential property management
industry who are consistently focused on
integrity, education, networking, and
goodwill.
During our 2015 Leadership
Training Session in December, we took
this a step further and established our Core
Values. We used our Chapter acronym
“SAMAC” as the acronym for the core
values.
S – Sharing Knowledge
A – Achieving Excellence
M – Motivation Through Mentoring
A – Ambition to Serve
C – Comradery
Each of these core values are traits
our members display day-in-day-out. We
enjoy helping each other and are more of a
family than we are competitors.
We are only able to achieve greatness because we work together for the
same goals. The foundation to get us there
are our Vision Statement, Mission
Statement, and Core Values. We all want
some NARPM®!
Adona Lowery, Landlord
Property Management and
Brian Birdy, Birdy Properties.
Wilson “Hoppie” Cantwell,
Home Locators &
Management and Kevin
Knight, Liberty
Management.
19
20
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Cleo Garza,
SWBC and Bob
Gardner, TAP FCU
at TMBA Meeting.
Emillio Arroyo, Landin Realtors, Tracy Tylman, Mortgage Professional and
Tomas Landin, Landin Realtors at the SABOR Housing Forecast.
Debbie Keeland
and Mike Meyer,
both with Stewart
Title at The
SABOR 2015
Housing Forecast.
Amy Karns,
Northwest Real
Estate with husband Lansing
Hobart at the
NARPM
Installation.
Want a Custom Design?
We Do That!!
Way To Go Chad!
Or choose one of our ready for move-in homes
Andalucia at The Dominion
Chad Emerson,
Investment Property Specialist, NMLS# 232133,
was Top Producer in the region for December.
• Few INVESTOR OVERLAYS on our serviced FHA & VA products
• In house underwriting and loan servicing
• Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae direct lender
210-348-8100
14100 San Pedro #210 • San Antonio, Texas 78232
For use by Real Estate Professionals only.
Not intended for public use or distribution.
Company NMLS# 3274
NEW MODEL HOME!
6314 Sevilla Circle
• 5 bedrooms
• 5 full baths
• 2 half baths
• game room
• theater room
• conditioned wine room
• 2 covered patios
plus balcony
Call Bill Dayson - 210-372-9207
Andalucia in The Dominion - New Model Now Open - 6314 Sevilla Circle
Gardens at Greystone - Only 2 lots left to custom build on
Hidden Canyon - In the heart of Stone Oak - Coming soon - from the upper $400's
Building Homes - Building Relationships
mcnaircustomhomes.com
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
21
Luxury Real Estate Summit Promises
Celebrities, Networking, and Education
The 2015 Luxury Real Estate
Summit is bringing a celebrity
keynote speaker to San Antonio and
the Tobin Center on February 9th
where real estate professionals will
have the opportunity to hear and be
heard from the best in the business.
Tomas Martinez will be the
first speaker of the day, discussing
his thoughts on the national,
regional, and San Antonio real
estate markets. A certified John
Maxwell speaker, Martinez’ talk is
guaranteed to be energizing, motivational, and beneficial to anyone
seeking to realize their true potential. “I really want to show real
estate brokers and agents how they
can use their individual talents to
be the best,” he says. “It’s important to me that people walk away
feeling empowered and ready to
tackle their biggest fears.”
Luis D. Ortiz, star of Bravo’s
hit show “Million Dollar Listing
New York” will be the keynote
speaker, taking the stage immediately after Martinez. Ortiz will
share valuable marketing and sales
strategies that have helped him sell
over $100 million in residential real
estate over the past three years. “I
cannot tell you how excited and
honored I feel to participate as a
keynote speaker in the Luxury Real
Estate Summit,” he says. “This is
something that you definitely do
not want to miss.”
The Summit will then conclude with a Meet and Greet opportunity for VIP ticket holders with
Ortiz, where guests can ask specific
questions and network with the top
real estate professionals in the city.
Sponsors for the event, including
Luxury Home Magazine and BBVA
Compass Bank, will be on hand to
discuss their superior products and
knowledge of the real estate industry in the region.
Now entering its second year,
the Luxury Real Estate Summit has
quickly earned a reputation for
excellence and a unique learning
experience. The brand-new Tobin
Center in downtown San Antonio
promises to be a spectacular backdrop for the event, and real estate
professionals from all over the
region will be making their way to
its doors for networking and inspiration. The event is expected to sell
out, so purchasing tickets in
advance is recommended. For
more information about the Luxury
Real Estate Summit, you can visit
the website at: http://luxuryrealestatesummit.com, however
tickets must be purchased directly
with the Tobin Center.
THE
B
ARTON CO., CARPETS
PROPERTY
MANAGEMENT
. . . . . . SOLUTIONS
..
100% NYLON CARPET STARTING AT 1.11 SF
FHA CARPET 1.33 SF / 11.94 SY
Carpet Specifically Engineered
For Property Managers.
Installed (VAC)
With Spillguard Pad
1.59 SF / 14.27 SY
SIX MONTH
FINANCING
Deferred interest with minimum monthy payments
Call Us For All Types Of Flooring
• Carpet • Hardwood • Ceramic Tile • Vinyl
655-8269
100% Nylon, FHA Grade Carpet in stock for very prompt installation
22
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
John Simmonds,
Simmonds Real
Estate and
Annette Brown,
Coldwell Banker
D’Ann Harper at
the David
Weekley event at
Paesanos.
February 1, 2015
Nancy and Tim
Brown, both with
RE/MAX Corridor
at the Capital
Title Grand
Opening.
Brenda Stewart,
Reaching Neighbors
and Amber Thomas,
Platinum Top 50 at
PT50 at Cresta Bella.
YOU WILL LOVE OUR LOANS!
www.realestatenewsline.com
Since it initially opened its
doors in 2000 Starkey Mortgage has
continued to grow and now has
multiple offices that service clients
throughout the states of Alabama,
Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas,
North Carolina, South Carolina,
Oklahoma, and Texas. Despite this
growth Starkey Mortgage, headquartered in Plano, Texas, is neither
the largest nor the smallest mortgage company in any of the areas it
serves and for their purposes that is
just the way they like it.
Starkey’s founding business
principles include ensuring that
clients receive compassionate and
caring service that utilizes mortgage
products customized for their particular needs and that each receives
individualized attention. They are
dedicated to using state of the art
technology to streamline the mort-
February 1, 2015
gage process and are strongly committed to giving back to the communities in which they serve.
Starkey is also intent on maintaining supportive and lasting relationships with the borrowers, builders
and REALTORS® with which they
work.
During the past 14 years
Starkey Mortgage has been recognized nationally for its excellence in
multiple categories including Top
Green Lender and Top Tech-Savvy
Lender, and Mortgage Executive
Magazine placed them among the
top 100 Mortgage Companies and
the Top 50 Best Companies to Work
For. In Dallas they have been
ranked #6 among mortgage lenders
as the fastest growing privately
held companies.
Debbie Villarreal, Branch
Manager for the San Antonio office
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
has probably identified best why
Starkey Mortgage is not only the
best company for taking care of the
individual client, but also the best
place for a loan officer to work.
Debbie came to Starkey with thirty
years experience in the business,
most of which was spent with a
very large company where the business was steady and the compensation great but the atmosphere somewhat impersonal, lacking the “feel
of family.” After spending some
time with a very small lending company with a very slow pace, she
went looking for a happy medium
and found it at Starkey Mortgage.
Debbie learned quickly that
the philosophy of the mortgage
business at Starkey Mortgage was
in sync with what she felt would be
best for clients and knew she had
found her niche. All borrowers are
important, as is building that trust
relationship with builders, REALTORS® and customers alike. The
high credit score, slam-dunk mortgage clients are certainly welcome
and easy to process; however, it can
be more satisfying to counsel those
with lower credit scores and guide
them through the steps essential for
success in achieving their dream of
home ownership. The key to success
for those borrowers in that category
is following the plan set forth for
them to follow and the Starkey
employee’s follow up to ensure they
are staying on track to improve
23
their credit score.
Starkey Mortgage is proud to
note that they are a different kind of
company where people truly come
first and the communities in which
they work are very important to
them. Last year their employees
willingly agreed to donate at least
five hours of their time to a charity
of their choice and all were able to
meet that goal, thus contributing
well above 2895 man-hours and
touching 195 different organizations. The next challenge for each
employee will be to continue their
charitable efforts on an ongoing
basis so they live up to the company mission and value statements.
Locally the Starkey Mortgage
employees agreed to donate $250
from each closing to a charity of the
client’s choice and were proud to
report that in 2014 they had contributed $114,000 to multiple charities throughout the community.
Starkey Mortgage is able to
offer most any mortgage product
your client would need and you can
be certain that when you send them
there, the current staff is committed
to ensuring they will receive the
personalized service they deserve
and that you will be kept up-to-date
in the process as well. The Starkey
Mortgage office is located at 12500
San Pedro Avenue, Suite 100 and
their phone contact is 210-545-9300.
Their website is
www.wrstarkey.com.
Talk About Experience!
Jose Martinez
Residential Mortgage Loan Officer, NMLS# 1047719
Cell: 210.389.2976
[email protected]
210-545-9300
WR Starkey Mortgage, LLP NMLSR #2146
12500 San Pedro #100
San Antonio, Texas 78216
www.starkeymortgage.com
Branch NMLSR #291670
24
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Justin “Kit”
Walker, Phyllis
Browning
Company with
Deborah Field.
Laura Lizcano and Sara Gerrish, both with RE/MAX Unlimited at the
RE/MAX Northeast 30 Year Celebration.
Susie Sheffield,
CORIE Properties
and Esther
Lemieux, Lifetime
Realty Partners at
the GRI Breakfast
Meeting at the
Petroleum Club.
Diane Lauer, Keller Williams City View and Robert Dunn, Legacy
Mutual Mortgage at the SABOR Housing Forecast.
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
25
Trudy Pape and
Debbie Forshey,
both with
Coldwell Banker
D’Ann Harper
Realtors at the
SABOR Housing
Forecast.
Todd Forbes, Cathy Hickey and Santiago Rodarte, all with Bay Equity at
the TMBA Meeting.
Sheila Moran,
RE/MAX
Associates with
Carolyn Rhodes,
BH&G Bradfield at
the WCR
Luncheon
Meeting.
George and Cheryl Julian with Ric Pierce, all RE/MAX Preferred at the
RE/MAX Northeast 30 Year Celebration.
“Realtor LLC vs. Sole Proprietor A Major Difference in Taxes”
New Event:
Tax Strategies for Realtors
KB Home meeting room
4800 Fredericksburg - 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Other Event:
508 W. Rhapsody
San Antonio, Texas 78216
1
SABOR Keeping Posted
February 1, 2015
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
SABOR Keeping Posted
2
3
SABOR Keeping Posted
February 1, 2015
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
SABOR Keeping Posted
4
30
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
Jan Hicinbothom,
Coldwell Banker
D’Ann Harper
Realtors with
Connie Ramirez,
BH&GRE Bradfield
Properties at First
Voice Meeting at
Bjorns.
Rae Saldana, imortgage and Art Saldana at the NAPMW Meeting.
Michele Ross,
Bunting Ross
Realty and Marty
Hutchison,
Boardwalk Real
Property
Management at
the SABOR
Housing Forecast.
Dahlia Garcia, Crockett National Bank with Diane Lauer, Keller
Williams City View at the WCR Luncheon Meeting.
Another Successful Reverse Mortgage
For Purchase Assists A Homeowner,
And VanDyk Mortgage Was Pleased To Help
Melinda Hipp, Branch Manager and Realtors,
Robert Sutcliffe and Eduardo Uribe, help
Zinnia Mendoza (seated) with her reverse mortgage.
Melinda Hipp, Branch Manager, NMLS# 219085
Office: 210-493-7332 • Fax 210-247-9413
17721 Rogers Ranch Pkwy., Ste. 215, San Antonio, TX. 78258
Branch NMLS# 866803
www.realestatenewsline.com
February 1, 2015
RE/MAX Associates in San Antonio Welcomes
another New Sales Associate
R E / M A X
Associates in San
Antonio has announced
the arrival of Ashlee
Droemer to its 70 plus
agents who will be working with area buyers and
sellers.
Although Ashlee
DROEMER
has been involved in the
real estate industry for 15 years, she has
recently joined RE/MAX Associates on the
David Geramita Team. Ashlee's experience
has been as a buyer's agent, and assisting both
buyers and sellers in the LaVernia area. She
has previously been an assistant for her
REALTOR mother, A. Faye Scoller as well.
RE/MAX Associates is happy to have
Ashlee's knowledge and experience as a
REALTOR member.
“We’re very excited to be adding
yet another sales professional of such high caliber to our office,” says RE/MAX Associates
Bob Jacobs, Broker/Owner, a 30-year industry
veteran. “They are all extremely customer-service oriented and have a track record of
accomplishment in their prior endeavors. For more information, visit them at
www.RMAsanantonio.com or call 210-3403000.
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
31
Coldwell Banker D’Ann Harper Welcomes
New Addiitions
Ultimate Realty Welcomes Shaffer
SHAFFER
After 29 years in
Operations,
Asset
Management
and
Business
development,
Jeff has begun a new
career in Real Estate.
T h e s k i l l s J e ff a c q u i r e d
throughout his career will
assist his clients in maxi mizing their real estate
interests and navigate the
home buying process. Jeff
can be reached at 210826-5300.
Thank You To The WCR Community Service
Thank you one and all for volunteering for the 2015 WCR Community
Service Committee.
I look forward to seeing the
positive impact we can have on our
community with the support of the
entire chapter as well as associates and
affiliates.
Tuesday 1/13 at Frontier Title
we met and got started with planning
the Baskets for Beauties for the
Battered Women’s Shelter. We will plan on “stuffing” the
baskets on 2/5, Thursday, at 3 pm also
at Frontier Title.
Finally, the delivery day is tentatively set for 2/10, Tuesday at 9 am.
If you were not able to join us last
year, it is really a heart-warming experience. The appreciation on the faces
of the women and children is priceless. We will be looking for monetary
donations to buy shampoo, cream
rinse, lotions, shower gels, body spray,
hair brushes, lotion, socks, gift cards,
and of course the baskets.
Please put your thinking caps
on for where, when, and what we can
do to make this year a success!
Newsline’s Ten Tips for Press Release Submissions
• Remember the classics: who,
what, when, where, how and why. If your
press release covers all those bases, chances
are you’ll get it published.
• Verify all facts & figures. Names
and titles should be spelled correctly and
double check phone numbers and e-mail
addresses.
• Be concise. Editors look for press
releases that can be published without too
much editing. Stick to the basic facts and
never submit more than 200 words.
• Do not include too many different
topics. Stay on point. The shorter, the better.
• Have someone review the copy
for typos, errors or repetition before you
submit it.
• Remember, we do not say where
people use to work in our press releases.
• Remember, the editor reserves the
right to edit copy for style and space available. If total control of the content is
required, it’s best to purchase an ad.
• Add your contact information
(name & phone number) at the top of the
page in case the editor needs to call to clarify any details.
• E-mail submissions are preferred.
Send your release to [email protected].
• Please remember, all approved
press releases will be published on a spaceavailable basis. If your press release is time
sensitive, be sure to send it in on time so
every effort can be made to publish it.
Please note time sensitivity at the top of any
submission.
We would like to welcome the
newest additions to Coldwell Banker
D’Ann Harper, REALTORS® for the
month of December!
Front row: Daron Durham (VP
Prof. Development), Staci Musick,
D’Ann Harper (Broker and Owner of
Coldwell Banker D'Ann Harper,
REALTORS®), and Stephanie O.
Connor.
Middle row: Cathy Hernandez
and Bizzy Darling
Back row: Roger Bippert, Raul
Sanchez-Azuara and Hernando Arce.
Reverse Mortgage (HECM) Financial
Assessment to Begin in March
Yes it is finally
coming soon, the
anticipated
HUD
Financial Assessment
for Reverse Mortgage
(HECM)
borrowers
HIPP
that was announced in
November by HUD at the annual
National Reverse Mortgage Lenders
Association’s conference in Florida. The
new guidelines will take effect March
2nd, 2015. This new “Financial
Assessment” will be implemented to
measure both the borrower’s capacity
and their willingness to meet their financial obligation (including the required
continued payment of taxes and insurance.)
HUD revealed long ago the
motive behind this new protocol. “In
conducting this financial assessment,
mortgagees must take into consideration
that some mortgagors seek a HECM due
to financial difficulties, which may be
reflected in the mortgagor’s credit report
and/or property charge history. The mortgagee must also consider to what extent
the proceeds of the HECM could provide
a solution to any such financial difficulties.” So, in other words, the agencies are
looking to distance the Reverse
Mortgage product away from those
might use a HECM as a stop gap measure
to possible lasting financial issues which
might appear in the future and possibly
lead to a default or removal from the
property.
After reviewing the 87 page HUD
document, but NOT yet hearing the final
lenders’ guidelines, in its basic form the
Financial Assessment will have three
phases: Documentation, Assessment and
Outcome. The basic goal is to make sure
the borrowers, once taking out the
Reverse, will be able to continue to pay
their taxes, insurance, HOA dues and
regular bills on time. The same calculations as VA Reserves will be used when
looking at their income and assets.
Credit scores, in and of itself, will not be
utilized but the borrower(s) MUST show
a sound payment history. The worst case
scenario will be the requirement of a
LESA, or Lifetime Expectancy Set Aside
account, to fund future property obligations (similar to an ESCROW account
but will utilize the borrower’s line of
credit).
These changes will seem severe to
many in our industry; however, we are
simply following the lead of the forward
mortgage world which is always ever
changing.
For more information you can
contact, Melinda Hipp, Certified Reverse
Mortgage Specialist with VanDyk
Mortgage at (210) 493-7332 or email at
[email protected] .
32
REAL ESTATE NEWSLINE
February 1, 2015
SABOR 2015 Housing Forecast
Marietta Alba,
Apartment &
Relocation
Center and
Elaine Sevier, JB
Goodwin
Realtors.
Andy Mushinski, Keller Williams Heritage and Angela Shields,
SABOR.
Judy Dalrymple
and Judy Dunlap,
both with Phyllis
Browning
Company, Art
Burdick, Burdick
Custom Homes
and Sue Trautner,
BHHS PenFed
Realty.
Christina
O’Connor,
Legacy Mutual
Mortgage, Haley
Catlett, Keller
Williams City
View.
Panel Members:
Bobby Crisp, Crisp
Appraisal Service,
Andi Rodriquez,
S.I.S.D., Kris
Hochart, Red
Wagon Realty,
Jack Dickson,
Denim Group and
Susie Wallace,
Keller Williams
Commercial
Group.
Speaker, Dr. Mark
Dotzour, Texas
A&M Real Estate
Center.
Missy Stagers,
Coldwell
Banker D’Ann
Harper realtors
and Diane
Craig, RE/MAX
Associates.
Sherri Reeves, RE/MAX Associates, Debbie Blackerby, American Home
Shield and Pamela Poitevent, Coldwelll Banker D’Ann Harper Realtors.