Update

It's been awhile since I've posted, and a lot as happened! A few weeks ago, I attended the first Southern California YPN event, hosted locally in Anaheim. The event was a great success! We had a ton of great speakers, including Jared James (one of Realtor magazine's 30 Under 30), Tom Ferry, as well as a technology panel and economist panel. It was definitely an inspirational day of learning.

Also, I just opened escrow on a great house up in La Habra Heights. This is my client's DREAM house, and if all goes well, escrow will close in July and they will be two happy campers!

Keep in mind, June is National Homeownership Month, so all you homeowners out there...another reason to celebrate this warm weather!

New Purchase Agreement

Last week, the California Association of Realtors released a new purchase agreement. There were many changes, especially because the RPA hadn't been modified since 2002. One of the bigger changes is that the buyer is no longer required to provide a deposit check up front. They now have the option to deposit it straight into escrow within 3 days of acceptance. They also changed some of the financing terms and contingencies within the agreement. To see a copy of the new RPA and the changes that were made, visit: http://www.car.org/newsstand/news/newrpa/

USS Midway

Last week, our office took a little field trip down to San Diego to visit the USS Midway. This ship was one of America's longest serving aircraft carriers. It is HUGE and you can easily spend 3 or 4 hours just wandering around. It really is a city at sea, having once carried over 225,000 sailors. There are various levels, from the boiler room down on the bottom, to the flight deck up top where planes would often land and take off, sometimes every 45 seconds! There are hundreds of volunteers on this ship, many having spent time on it while it was active. It was amazing to hear their stories and experiences. I myself could NOT spend months on this ship, and I have tremendous respect for everyone who did. It truly takes a brave and amazing person to leave their homes and spend months and even years on a ship defending our country. Travelling down to San Diego to experience the USS Midway is an easy day trip, and I definitely recommend to anyone who is interested!

For more information: http://www.midway.org/visitors

Rent vs. Buy?

This is one of the most frequent questions we hear..."Should I keep renting, or should I buy?" Many people believe that renting is more affordable. However, they may be wrong! Usually, a mortgage payment can be as much as your monthly rent, or just a little more expensive. I urge you to take a look at the following link and play around with the numbers. It may open your eyes and convince you to go after that dream home!

http://www.phmtg.com/calc_rentvbuy.html

Soroptimist

"Soroptimist International is a worldwide volunteer service organization for business and professional women, working to improve the lives of women and girls in local communities and throughout the world." I went to my first official Soroptimist meeting today. I am so honored to be a part of this amazing group of women. I am excited to be inducted into this group in two weeks; the beginning of a lifetime commitment I cannot wait to make! The annual fashion show is coming up at the end of March. It is a great event I have attended many times, but never as a Soroptimist myself!

Young Professionals

Last week was our first Young Professionals meeting for the Pacific West Association of Realtors. As the chairperson, I was SUPER excited and anxious to get this group underway. We met at the Alcatraz Brewery at the Block of Orange. It was an amazing turnout and we had more people than expected. After a round of drinks and appetizers, we sat down and got the meeting started. We had a great speaker, Ricardo Bueno, who spoke about social media and our online presence. Everyone in the group really enjoyed what he had to say and picked up on a few key facts. This group is going to be an amazing addition to the real estate world, allowing young professionals to get together, network, and learn a few things along the way. After all, we are tomorrow's leaders!

Where do YOU live?

This morning I had the pleasure of attending a group meeting at Fullerton's Chamber of Commerce. Every week, people throughout Fullerton gather at 8am (a little early) for some coffee and discussion of different topics. This week, Joe Lins (Century 21 Discovery), Chris Smith (Professional Home Mortgage), and Nancy Mattaliano (Equity Escrow Group) came in and spoke about the real estate market. Since everyone there wasn't in real estate, a lot of it was about the basics of what we do. Still, it's always good to have a little refresher course. Chris Smith gave us the market snapshot for this week. The national average rate for 30 yr conforming loans is 5.010, and for 15 yr conforming loans 4.400. Basically, now is a great time to buy! Not only because of the first time home buyer tax credit, but interest rates are at an all-time low, and the prices of homes are starting to rise!

At the meeting this morning, I received a really cool book written about the street names in Fullerton. It has all the streets and their meanings listed. I figure it's an interesting little tidbit of information that clients may find interesting! For instance, our office is on Valencia Mesa Drive: "Rumor has it that this road was once (descriptively) called 'Gopher Gulch.' As years passed, the name was changed just as descriptively to indicate its topography and its product." The book is called "The Street Where You Live: Why Did They Name It...?" Interesting.