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What I have learned hosting my first Active Rain Contest Endre Barath
What I have learned hosting my first Active Rain Contest by Endre Barath, Jr. In my opinion: The first and foremost priority should be that you pick a subject which intrigues the community, if you do not, then there will be little participation. Needless to say I was wondering how the turnout would be. Clearly I had no reason to worry we started out slow but ended up with 81 entries to the contest. Second, please work closely in the beginning with Kerrie, since she will know what you are forgetting to put in your original post and needless to say she determines how many points will be awarded. Plan in advance at least three to four months; the schedules will already be booked for the various Challenges. Then approach some great Active Rain members and ask them to be judges. Now all I can say is I am truly lucky to have had the support from Dick Greenberg, Lisa Friedman and Rene’ Fabre. They were so conscientious and caring to select the best posts it just made my life so much easier. Needless to say do not think that you are done. Well not really, keeping track of who submitted posts and try to read along as you get the posts is also important. Take some notes and try to put them in some initial draft order you will be glad you did from the beginning because that is also important. Then as the posts start rolling in you will discover that your orders might change. Needless to say all participants want to get the credit for their submission. This is also a critical aspect of the contest because you do not want to miss someone that would be a travesty. Do not wait too long and submit the list to Kerrie so all the participants can get their submission credits. Finally reevaluate the posts and wait for the judges to give you their submissions. Stay in touch with the judges and let them do their work. Do not micro manage them, after all they are all Realtors, Trainers, Title Gurus or Business Owners and they prefer working independently to create the best product : in this case the difficult task of choosing a winner. Finally be prepared that when you do end up hosting a contest you will get extremely busy with your own work just as if you were going on vacation. So not only are you going to be busy on Active Rain but all your own work will dramatically increase as well. Also if you are asked to be a judge the same effect will happen. No matter how slow things were when you committed to doing the job it will be the polar oppositeJ I have also learned that I will do my best not to submit my post in the last minute of the contest rather I will try to submit them a few days before the deadline. I do not want to overwhelm the judges and the host of the contest. In conclusion: this post should help you host an Active Rain Challenge! The best part of hosting a contest you really get to know your fellow Active Rain members, at least those who submit a Post to...
read moreA visual reflection on the Fourth of July, Fireworks in Marina Del Rey
A visual reflection on the Fourth of July, 2014 Fireworks in Marina Del Rey, CA Those of you who read my blog posts regularly know how much I love the Fireworks. This year the Marina Del Rey, CA Fireworks lasted about 20+minutes. The show was jam packed with lots of great firework displays. Clearly an indication of how the Real Estate Market, the Economy and the Consumer Confidence was being reflected by the strong showing of the fireworks displays. It was also evident by the number of boats in the Channel as well as by the massive crowd watching it from both sides of the channel. It was not that long ago when we even had the Fireworks Cancelled. Clearly I felt it was the wrong message to send. Now the message is clear the economy is rebounding at a fast pace in the greater Los Angeles and the Real Estate is hot just like the Fireworks. Hope you are enjoying your well deserved relaxing Fourth of July weekend! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreSpeechless Sundays: Douggy & Jill guarding the boxes!
Speechless Sundays: Douggy & Jill guarding the boxes If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations ...
read moreHappy Fourth of July, 2014 Best wishes from Beverly Hills!
Happy Fourth of July, 2014! Happy Independence Day wishes from Beverly Hills, CA! Most people consider on 4th of July, getting together with family and friends, barbequing enjoying a very rare commodity what we have very little of now days, that is Free Time. It is also a good time to step back and reflect on our Freedom which we enjoy in this country and others in different parts of the world dream about. It is also a good time to be grateful that our Forefathers had the Foresight to create a country where we can live Free. There is something else everyone loves on the Fourth of July that is Fireworks. I have been fascinated with watching and enjoying Fireworks on the 4th of July as well other times, hence I could never get enough of it. If you live in the Greater Los Angeles area or are visiting then let me give you some great places to watch the fireworks: The Hollywood Bowl has a fantastic Fireworks show now if you are on a budget and want to see this Fireworks show, but do not pay for parking then go to Mulholland Dr, and very close to the Tourist Lookout around 7038 Mulholland Dr you will get the perfect views of the fireworks. I suggest you get there early or you will have a long walk after everyone reads this postJ! Marina del Rey is another great alternative. There is nothing like a cool ocean breeze near the water watching the Fireworks and the sounds echoing from the water and the water reflecting back the show. Clearly a fun way to spend the evening, plan on parking in the Public parking spots all around the Marina. Less than $8.00 is a great way to enjoy the fireworks. The show starts around 9:00pm and it lasts for about 20 minutes. Alternatively if you know anyone who lives on or near the water call them up and see if you can watch the show from their homeJ! The Rose Bowl in Pasadena is another great place to watch the Fireworks the party starts at 2pm and needless to say the Fireworks start around 9:00pm lots of fun events very family friendly such as inflatable rides, games, arts and crafts and fun food. Adults pay $13 children and military get in free plus parking is around $20. Unless you know someone nearby where you can park for free, it is worth the money. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations ...
read moreViews of Thurston Avenue in Bel Air, CA 90077
Views of Thurston Ave in Bel Air, CA 90077 Bel Air is not just home to the $125million dollar listings. There are other parts of Bel Air, CA 90077 which are still coveted by many buyers. One particular street that comes to my mind is Thurston Avenue, of which half the side of the street is adjacent to the 405 Freeway with panoramic views of the Getty Center as well as some old landmarks like the historic Holyday Inn building. (That is now a Boutique Hotel by a different name) Needless to say the entry price point varies by how loud or how quite the 405 Freeway’s noise is where the home sits. The street is very stereo typical Southern California.(Well check it out for yourself) One of the benefits of living here is that you get to have your children go to the coveted Warner School System and your mailing address will have the 90077 zip code. These are all very beneficial from many perspectives. So what will the entry price be on Thurston Avenue? Well anywhere from a moderate fixer for $1,200,000.00 to about $2,900,000.00 for one that is in a quieter part of the street and in better condition. If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations ...
read moreWordless Wednesdays: Getty Center viewed from Bel Air, CA 90077
Wordless Wednesdays: Getty Center viewed from Bel Air, CA 90077 The Getty Center viewed from Bel Air, CA. 90077. One of the hottest Luxury pockets of the Greater Los Angeles area! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreSpeechess Sundays: Is the Gate closing or is it opening?
Speechless Sundays: Is the gate closing or is it opening? Look at these two pictures and tell me if the gate is opening or closing! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreBel Air- Holmby Hills, CA 90077 Market Update! Prices are skyrocketing
Bel Air -Holmby Hills, CA 90077 Market Update! Prices are skyrocketing or should I say are in stratospheric numbers. If you were to guess I am confident you would not get this question right. What do you think the month over month price increase was compared to last year in Bel Air, CA? OK I guessed around 55% per cent price increase. Clearly I was wrong. These numbers are a perfect example how hot the Greater Los Angeles Real Estate Market is… As you know I have written about other parts of Los Angeles, but have not focused on these prices. Now with this introduction let us look at the actual numbers: Here it is 94% Increase I said it now just look above!!! If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreBel Air- Holmby Hills, CA the coveted 90077 Zip Code
Bel Air – Holmby Hills, CA the coveted 90077 Zip code Most people consider Bel Air- Holmby Hills as one of the more affluent pocket’s of Los Angeles, CA. Clearly they get the idea with good reason, since Elizabeth Taylor, Ronald Reagan and the Frank Sinatra called Bel Air as their home for most of their lives, it is not a misconception. These are just a few names of the many affluent residents I am name- dropping, because I am trying to keep the rest private. Amazingly enough Bel Air consists of less than seven square miles of Real Estate. Just one of the many interesting facts that most people do not know about Bel Air is, that the average age of Bel Air residents over 50 years of age. This is much higher than any other part of the greater Los Angeles. Clearly there are a disproportionately higher number of older residents in Bel Air and younger residents of Los Angeles do not live in Bel AirJ! There are other benefits of living in Bel Air, such as being in the Warner School System. This just happens to be one of the benefits. Also being to close proximity to the Bel Air Country Club is another benefit. Keep in mind it is by invitation only as well as by residency. On top of that there is a large initiation fee tooJ. Lastly I would like to mention being close to the Bel Air Hotel is nice too. The hotel boasts of some great amenities and their Restaurant is nothing to be ashamed of eitherJ. There have been some high end listings as well as some high end sales in the previous six months; hence I will have to write another post about that soon. Just to tease you one sold not too long ago for over $88million and I have written a blog post about that a while backJ If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
read moreWestchester, CA Single Family Residence : Under Contract Statistics…
Westchester, CA Single Family Residencial Real Estate: “Under Contract Statistics” I have found that over time there is always a larger focus on Active listings that are on the market. People focus on the asking price, the number of them on the market. Although they are important numbers they do not tell the real story. Let’s be realistic: Sellers can ask all they want and will find agents that are willing to list it for them. Then of course the other number most people focus on is the Sold Statistics. Clearly valuable information the combination of the two you get a good idea how the market is doing. One of the least analyzed or viewed numbers are the “Under Contract Statistics”. These are the homes that are Pending or Accepting Backup Offers. To me these are the critical numbers that complete the whole picture how a particular market is doing. If you see a lot of properties under contract with fewer active listings and lots of sold listings, that lets you know that it is a fast moving sellers market. Then when you dig deeper you will discover that the “Listings on Market time” is clearly very short. Hence if you are a buyer you can plan and strategize how to proceed with submitting an offer. Anyway you get the idea. Now with that said let us look at the Westchester, CA Single Family Residences Statistics that are “Under Contract”: If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites at https://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue...
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