Rebuilding Neighborhoods one House at a Time

I was privileged to take part in the awards ceremony, on April 14, 2016, and thank all the law enforcement professionals that responded to the terrorist attack in San Bernardino back in December 2, 2015. To the left, officer Jose Loera To the right, managing member RMore, Raul Moreno.

Today, April 14, 2016, we recognized some American heroes. San Bernardino's finest officers that showed true courage and responded to the terrorist attack on December 2, 2015.

Winning in business takes much more than a great product or marketing. It starts with your team. When everyone knows the game plan and is passionate about what they do, there's nearly nothing you can't do or goal you can't reach. I do my best to create it each and every day. One key ingredient of creating a team of all-stars who love their job is purpose. When people feel like what they do matters, there's a significant shift towards a winning environment. I'd like to hear from you: How do you think you can transfer to a team the feeling that they're doing something important? And how can you get people on board and connect their individual goals with your overall strategy?

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy...

Recently, I heard someone talking about personality tests. Their focus was Myers Briggs, but a couple of times they talked about personality tests in general. I'd like to point out that they are not tests. Why? Because you can fail a test. You can fail a math test, or a history test. You can’t fail a personality assessment. No matter how much we joke about it, everyone has a personality. The personalities we have - our traits, abilities and preferences - are not good or bad. They may be better suited to one situation or another, but they’re not good or bad. They’re just different. My ‘let’s think about this’ preference is not helpful in some situations, and my associates 'let’s just start’ preference usually works better in others. Perfection is necessary if you’re putting the NASA logo on the space shuttle, but not when you’re putting a stamp on an envelope. The really critical thing is to know your preferences. If you know you’re not a perfectionist and the job needs one, find one to partner with. If, on the other hand, you need a fast and dirty prototype, as a non-perfectionist, you’ll be fine. Finding the right person for a task is as much about the way they work as it is about whether they have the skills to do the work. If your interested in more information about personality assessment or want to know where to take yours, contact at (559) 351-7683 Raul Moreno

There are several aspects that are important when it comes to purchasing an investment property. One that is very important is the neighborhood. Don't just consider the home, think about the community that's going to help build your wealth. When you find the right investment property, here are four things to consider about the community it's in: 1) local statistics; how do the schools rank out? What is the crime rate like? 2) traffic and community; is the traffic high or low? Is access to the freeways easy? 3) local amenities; what resturaunt are near by? Where is the nearest grocery store? Are there running/biking trails, swimming pools, local parks near by? 4) New development; are there plans for new businesses to be constructed that will affect the value of the property? If you would like help with understanding other accepts to consider, give me a call. Raul Moreno (559) 351-7683

Are you on the hunt for your next home, if so, you’ve likely hit a few obstacles. Maybe every home you like is already under contract. Or you keep running into bidding wars and losing. Whatever your trouble, one thing’s for sure: The prices keep going up. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price for existing homes is up nearly 8% year over year. Yep. It’s a hard-knock life for home buyers these days. Get a Financial Leg Up In a seller’s market, cash is definitely king. This may give you an advantage over other buyers. Of course, an all-cash offer may not be an option for you. If that’s the case, then do the next best thing: Get pre-approved with a lender that offers legitimate, credit-underwritten pre-approvals. Mortgage pre-approval goes further than prequalification because you submit all the required paperwork up front. The bank then verifies the amount you can afford to pay for your next home. It takes the guesswork out of your home search and shows sellers you can back your offer up with real money. That puts you in a much more competitive position as a buyer. You can close faster, with less loan-oriented stress. Don’t Let Impatience Wreck Your Budget If one pain point topped the list, it was this: Find exactly what you wanted in your price range. You may find yourself wrestling with the temptation to bite off a bigger chunk of mortgage debt just to land a home. If your offer doesn't stick; on to the next house. Sometimes it just isn't meant to be. Patience can be hard to come by when you feel pressure to beat buyers to the punch. But try not to get so carried away you forget the financial goals you’re working towards. Some finance advisors recommends keeping your mortgage payment to no more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. It's okay to shake things up a bit. If existing homes aren’t working out for you, give new construction a try! If you still kept running into roadblocks, adjust your expectations. You may run into the right place by accident by broadening your search. Take my friend Meredith for example, she realized she would have to offer over asking price to get a home in her area. Sound familiar? Then limit your search to homes with a healthy margin between list price and your max budget. That way you can up the ante without breaking the bank. I've been blessed to get a good deal on foreclosures. Selling a Home? Prepare a Backup Plan In many markets today, buyers with a home to sell are running into an interesting problem. My first experience was, I closed on a sale Monday. However, i didnt have a place to call my own yet. Yikes! I've learned that it's smart to research temporary living options before listing your home. That way, if your home goes quickly, you’re not stuck with no place to land. Here are a few ideas to consider: Rent your home back from your buyers until you find a new place. Move into an apartment or other short-term rental. Crash with family (and save extra money in the process!). Moving twice may be no fun. But it’s better than rushing into a home purchase you (and your budget) will regret down the road. Keep Calm and Carry On. Buying a home is stressful in any market. But a seller’s market cranks up the pressure on all sides. I knows this anxiety all too well. I bought and sold a home this past year and found contract negotiations especially trying on my nerves. That was overcome by having a great real estate agent. You need someone who will be honest with you, is wise in the ways of negotiations, and can help you navigate the process. A good agent is more than a tour guide. They counsel you through every twist and turn of your home purchase, inspiring confidence along the way. Look for an agent who brings lots of expertise to the table. You can trust a seasoned expert to apply out-of-the-box techniques to help you find—and get a great deal on—the home that’s right for you. If you like what your reading, leave me a comment and please repost it.

Every real estate pro has worked with clients who are wary or who have had bad experiences. Don't waist your time with a rookie. Take these steps to check your pros reputation. As a consumer, before even considering working with a real estate agent, check their references. You want to be sure your working with a true pro and not just a new entrants to the industry that trying to build credibility fast. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Things to consider asking are, does this agent participate in periodic real estate seminars and other continuing education opportunities. The one that really do take continued learning seriously will know about the latest trends in the real estate and financing industries and then passing that information onto you, the client. Ask, how many deals they closed on last year? A real pro that is on fire, will be closing on more than three deals each month. Another essential check is to search for the real estate pros that publish articles, both on your website and as handouts for your review. Now, if you are already working with an agent but this person isn't follow through on promises; don't be afraid to let that person go (Fire him/her!!! And fast). I'm here to tell you it's okay. They are working for you and It’s counterproductive if they fail to deliver on their promises. Me personally, I prefer the brutal truth over the fluffy wild claims about what the agent can do for me just to get my business. If you like this post, help others and forward it on...

I've seen an increase in CA$H offers being made in real estate. I'd like to share why I think this this is occurring. One, some buyers think that it's difficult to get approved for a mortgage. So they save up to buy a property on a CA$H basis. I've heard investors claiming that they have surplus CA$H, so they pay CA$H for property. I've had discussions with others who pay CA$H for a home thinking that they can get a discount for paying CA$H. I've come to the conclusion that CA$H Offers In Real Estate may not always be a great idea for the following reasons: A) You may not have enough CA$H to cover emergency expenses, holding costs, home repairs and living expenses. Usually, property owners have to pay property tax, property insurance and utilities. For this reason, a mortgage can help free up some CA$H to comfortably meet these expenses. Investors know this as "Depletion of Cash Reserves Paying cash for a property depletes your cash reserves", unless you have very deep pockets. B) Many investors forget to add a mortgage contingency in the contract with the goal of attracting a huge discount, even when they need financing. The truth is, sellers rarely offer discounts to CA$H buyers. Secondly, lenders can reject a mortgage application if the offer does not include a mortgage contingency and this can delay the approval. This is known as "Lack of Contingency When making cash offers". C) Returns on Investment (ROI) Compared to buying property using leverage, paying CA$H may offer lower returns. After all, you may be getting the same returns after paying CA$H, while a mortgage requires a very low downpayment. When buying a house, investors should consider putting their money to better use instead of spending all of it on the property. If you can get a mortgage with convenient terms and conditions, it may not make sense to pay CA$H.

The only consistent thing in the real estate market is change. For example, Los Angeles and New York areas; they are coming out of virtually decade-long real estate depressions and experiencing long-awaited resurgences. In many parts of the country we are experiencing massive relocation cycles. Companies and employees are migrating from more expensive, established metropolitan areas to outer-lying areas. Why? Because they can find good real estate buys. So, what kind of market is your area experiencing. A buyer's market, seller's market, investor's market...? Here's some tips on finding the answer: 1. What what is happening in certain neighborhoods. Are new families and/or businesses moving in or moving out? 2. What is the policy of the local government? Is slow-growth popular, or perhaps no-growth; or, on the other hand, new development can be a major goal of the political machine of an area. 3. Always watch infrastructure. Where are the new roads going in? What is the 30 year transportation plan of the city or county? Paying attention to the forces at play in your area will help you determine what kind of real estate market exists. For more information on market statistics, please give me a call. (559) 351-7683 Raul Moreno

A good man is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth; Better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feast, for that is the end of all men; and the living will take it to the heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:1-5

I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking lately about the importance of grace in our lives. We are all imperfect, flawed beings. None of us is perfect - not me, not you, not your boss, not your ... That means we’re all going to need some grace from the people around us. I know I make A LOT of mistakes every day. Just ask my friends, associates, or better yet, my wife! :-) I hope my teammates understand that I certainly don't intend to make the mistakes I do. I hope they remember the good things I did today, yesterday, last week. I hope they give me a little grace for the mistakes. The thing I’ve learned about grace is it’s a two-way street. You've got to give to get. I can’t expect understanding and grace when I make mistakes and then withhold it when they do the same. So lately I've been making more of an effort to respond with a smile first instead of irritation when someone does something I don't like. To take a breath and think about something helpful that they’ve done recently. To remember that they are just like me: imperfect, flawed, and sincerely trying to get better. Best regards, Raul Moreno Jr.

Nothing is impossible! We sent a man to the moon.

Recently, I came across an interesting article on CNN that spoke about about the strange effect Starbucks has on home values across the country. I totally respect your time, so I've summarized this article for you below, but you can click on the link to read the entire piece. Research conducted by Zillow found that if you lived within a quarter mile of Starbucks, your home value would've appreciated by 96% from 1997 to 2014. This is compared to a 65% appreciation rate if your home wasn't located near a Starbucks. Starbucks chooses to put new locations into promising areas where they can expect future growth, and this may explain this strange correlation. However, developers also see a new Starbucks as a sign of promise, so this really could be a chicken and egg situation. Other studies have confirmed that the presence of Dunkin' Donuts can have a similar effect, but not to the extent that Starbucks does. I just thought this was an interesting tidbit that I'd share with you. However, if you have any questions related to real estate investing, please don't hesitate to contact me Raul Moreno (559) 351-7683 [email protected]

If you are the Sellers, you have the option to use an “open listing” contract. This opens the commission up to several brokers. The broker who secures an acceptable offer receives the commission. An open listing essentially prevents an owner and a buyer from negotiating on the side. In open listing situations, a real estate agent will not market the home because there is no guarantee of reimbursement for marketing costs. An open listing can be used when there is no MLS in an area. If you find a buyer on your own, then you will not have to pay a commission. As long as an open listing is in force, you are restricted from signing an exclusive listing agreement. For more information , please give me a call. Raul Moreno (559) 351-7683 [email protected]