Marie Chung was honored to be chosen as one of the speakers for the NAHREP Event last Thursday. The event was hosted by Tom Ferry, NAHREP-LA, and Women's Council of Realtors at The Grand in Long Beach, CA. With an excellent turnout of over 800 people, Marie and her fellow speakers had plenty of questions to answer and advice to give. Here are some tips from the speakers that attended last week's event:

All of the speakers at the NAHREP Event emphasized one key concept when it came to building their business: Relationships and networking are very important

• One speaker pointed out that joining networks are great for your brand and your business. When you attend networking events, you are able to meet with people face-to-face and interact with them directly. Follow up with them via email.
• Don't wait for your clients to ask you to do something. Rather, be the first one to initiate it and do it right the first time. Be as efficient and accurate as possible.

Question for Marie: How do you get new accounts today and what are the mistakes you avoid?

Marie's Answer:

1) Maintain the relationships you build: Not just with asset managers, and banks, and companies, but also with with REO brokers across the nation.

2) Know what your client's needs are. Don't be afraid to ask them questions and clarify information.

3) Be a part of an organization. You will have the opportunity to attend their events. It's a great way to network and meet people in a light social setting. Asset Managers are there to network with you too.

4) Be consistent with your follow-ups and be considerate of their time. Avoid being too aggressive.

5) Most importantly: Be a consistent and considerate real estate professional.

A picture of the 800+ guests that attended the event

Here is a little picture collage from the GrowingGreat fundraiser, which we hope you will share with your friends:

Modern Realty + Estates organizes philanthropic events every so often as a way to positively impact the community that it serves.  GrowingGreat was selected for its great work in educating kids on how to eat healthy, and live healthy lives, by growing gardens in their schools.  Studies have also shown that outdoor school gardens are a successful way to teach kids discipline, and also math and science: a multi-decade study was conducted on 40 schools around the nation that have campus gardens. The study found an increase in standardized test scores and an improvement in the behavior of children that participated in the school gardens (source: UrbanHarvest.org).

As the use of mobile devices compared to computers are on the rise for consumers, many real estate companies are considering using mobile marketing to their advantage. Although most baby boomers (45+ years old) are more likely to use computers compared to their Gen Y (18-24 years old) counter-parts, the mobile marketing trend is growing rapidly as smart phones are becoming more dominant for both personal and business use.

Because real estate professionals think short-term as well as long-term, marketing to the next generation of real estate investors and buyers (in this case, Gen Yer), would be a great investment for today and for the future. Because mobile marketing is becoming known as the "the future," most expanding real estate businesses should cease the opportunity. By consumers being able to text/SMS and have mobile web browsing at the tips of their fingers, it is easy to advertise, sell, market, and inform your potential customers about your real estate company.

Mobile marketing is the future, and now is a great time to become a part of a rapidly growing industry-smart phones. These devices have changed the scene when it comes to finding and selling real estate. Although it takes extra work and money to hire a programmer to code your website to be more "mobile friendly," the transition from being strictly computer based to mobile will prove to be one of the greatest decisions for real estate businesses' marketing strategy.

More great information on mobile marketing and other tactics in this article:  http://bit.ly/vPNTrO

Infographic may make buyers think twice about down payment... a great Inman News article for our prospective buyers: http://bit.ly/sPGYd7

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) Monthly Magazine features Marie Chung in its September 2011 issue, subscribed to by thousands of brokers and agents all across the U.S.  The article featuring Marie, owner and director of Modern Realty and Modern Estates, is titled:  "How To Succeed By Really Trying," in which Chung shares how she uses specific tools and tactics to maintain a high-volume of real estate business.  After success in the luxury REO market, Chung recently announced the launch of the luxury division of her business, Modern Estates, which provides luxury real estate sales services in Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel-Air, West Hollywood and the Westside of Los Angeles.

Click Here to read "How to Succeed by Really Trying" (full-color PDF download).

If you would like a print copy of the CAR September 2011 issue, kindly email info@modernrealtyco.com with the subject line:  "CAR Sept 2011 Issue Request - 1 copy" with your name and address. 

About Marie Chung
Marie Chung, CCIM, is Owner and Director of Modern Realty and its Luxury Division Modern Estates, brokerage founded in 1982, specializing in short sales, luxury foreclosures/REOs, commercial and residential real estate in Southern California - reaching the regional #1 REO Sales Record for multiple years.  Among her many growth strategies for the firm, Marie boasts a significant roster of banks & lenders throughout the U.S., training their asset managers on the disposition of thousands of foreclosures, as well as implementing forward-thinking technology & marketing resource shifts towards greater profitability for Modern Realty.  She is an industry leader often referred to as "The REO Queen," inventing ways to garner exposure for her luxury REO properties featured on Today in LA on NBC, and by generously sharing her insights as featured speaker at the CAR Expo 2011 "Top Producers Panel," Five Star Conferences, Commercial REO Brokers Association, and is 2011 Secretary of the CCIM Los Angeles Chapter.  Visit Modern Realty's Website for more information.

National Luxury Real Estate Conference Features Speaker Marie Chung
Leading Broker Marie Chung to Present "Hitting the Big-Time:  Market-Leading Tips for Selling Luxe and Large-Volume REO" on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 from 10:45am - 12:15pm

Los Angeles, CA (September 7, 2011) - Marie Chung, CCIM, a leading luxury REO broker-director of Modern Realty and Modern Estates, will be featured as a speaker at the 2011 Five Star Conference.  She will deliver a presentation titled "Hitting the Big-Time:  Market-Leading Tips for Selling Luxe and Large-Volume REO" on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 from 10:45am - 12:15pm.

"Hitting the Big-Time" will educate brokers and agents from all across the U.S.  The Five Star Conference organizer describes Marie's presentation:  Stately homes touting untold amenities have definite appeal, but selling them is no small task. This module will teach you the attention-grabbing marketing moves that will stimulate showings and spur sales of your luxury and volume-heavy listings. To help you make sizeable gains in this niche market, we've gathered a group of premier panelists, who work with this price point on a daily basis and can show you how to upsize your strategies for maximum returns.

About Marie Chung
Marie Chung, CCIM, is Owner and Director of Modern Realty and its Luxury Division Modern Estates, a brokerage founded in 1982, specializing in short sales, luxury foreclosures/REOs, commercial and residential real estate in Southern California - reaching the regional #1 REO Sales Record for multiple years.  Among her many growth strategies for the firm, Marie boasts a significant roster of banks & lenders throughout the U.S., training their asset managers on the disposition of thousands of foreclosures, as well as implementing forward-thinking technology & marketing resource shifts towards greater profitability for Modern Realty.  She is an industry leader often referred to as "The REO Queen," inventing ways to garner exposure for her luxury REO properties featured on Today in LA on NBC, and by generously sharing her insights as featured speaker at the CAR Expo 2011 "Top Producers Panel," Five Star Conferences, Commercial REO Brokers Association, and is 2011 Secretary of the CCIM Los Angeles Chapter.  Visit Modern Realty's Website for more information.

The Inman article reveals a few points of concern we'd like to share with you about today's market, and it focuses around the fact that buyers believe they're going to get an incredible deal on a distressed property.  The truth is that these situations are few and far between.  We're just being honest.

That is, even if a homeowner short sells their property, it doesn't mean the buyer gets a "good deal."  Most of the time, it just means that if you need to sell your home in a hurry, and you bought it in 2006, you're probably going to take a loss because you have to sell at market value today. 

Real value derives from buying a home with enduring qualities - prestige of the community, location within the community, amenities of the community, schools, view from the home (of the ocean or golf course, perhaps), and many more.  These properties will always be in high demand, and thus their values will always be in tact.  But the "deal" comes from the opportunity cost that is negotiated for enjoying the quality of life provided by the home and its surroundings.

We'd love to chat about this topic more, but it's infinite and rather personal, and we like to save all our most delicious tidbits - like our Short List of "deals" around Los Angeles and Orange County.   You're most welcome to call one of our agents to continue the conversation.