Real Estate Zealot

Seniors Real Estate Specialist

Mary Barela-Cordova is a Seniors Real Estate Specialist who specializes in downsizing. She is the managing broker of Metro Brokers Bear Creek office and handles all types of residential real estate and is an expert working with banks and bank-owned properties, relocations and first time home buyers.

Interviewer: Hi, I am Kathy Soltero with Metro Brokers TV and today we have in the studio with us Mary Barela Cordova and she is with BC Realty. Thank you so much for coming in Mary.

Mary: Hi Kathy.

Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your business.

Mary: Well I'm pretty excited because my husband Mike and I just opened up our own Metro Broker office. It's the most recent Metro Broker office opened in the state of Colorado, last July we opened it and we now have 23 agents.

Interviewer: Wow! That's awesome.

Mary: We are very excited, it's a fabulous location, we're in Lakewood and we are right next to Bear Creek, which is great because our name is Metro Brokers Bear Creek.

Interviewer: Very good.

Mary: And then my office is BC Realty because of my last name Barela Cordova but I grew up in the BC, in the Bear Creek area.

Interviewer: Okay, so a lot of identification there.

Mary: Yes, yes so we are very excited.

Interviewer: How long have you been in the business?

Mary: I have been in the business 10 years, and I've been with Metro Brokers for seven and at about year six, no I'm sorry at about year five, I started looking into opening my own office, so we took a little bit of time. And a lot of thought, and lot of planning and it was all set perfect last year.

Interviewer: What about your experience in real estate, what sort of designations do you have in the 10 years you have been in the business, I'm sure you have probably done a lot.

Mary: I have done a lot, I'm a certified residential specialist, I'm an REO certified, which means I work with banks and bank owned properties. And I'm also an SRES, which is a Seniors Real Estate Specialist working with people that are downsizing and that kind of thing. So I also have that designation and I'm a managing broker. So I have eight associates that I manage personally. And one of the big things when we were opening our office is we wanted to make sure that we had people that were positive, energetic, caring people come to our office and that's what I'm looking for with my new brokers and actually I'm looking for more brokers now. So I'm on my way.

Interviewer: That's excellent, you are involved in your community, tell me about some of the programs that you are involved with?

Mary: My husband and I have always been supporters of Colorado Cerebral Palsy. So that's an organization that's very dear to our heart because we have some personal experience there with Cerebral Palsy. And we've always supported them and then once a year, they have an annual car show at the Arapahoe Community College right there in campus. We have a booth there, and we get our name out there, and we get to meet a lot of nice people and it's just for great cause.

Interviewer: So for real estate how is anybody going to get a hold of you?

Mary: Oh wait! We missed one more thing, The Seniors' Resource Center, I am a big supporter there, as well, I'm so sorry.

Interviewer: We know with your designation that's important because you have that kind of connection there.

Mary: Absolutely and I am, have been very involved there, my mother was a social worker there for 20 years and worked with people that have Alzheimer's and stroke victims and I volunteer there and I also helped them, they're building a new building. So I helped to raise money and give money and that kind of thing as well.

Interviewer: How can clients get a hold of you?

Mary: You can always reach me on my cell phone at 303-931-5871. And of course if you Google me, because this is, you know I'm way up there, you are going to see all my information, but certainly you can e-mail me as well at mary.bcrealty@comcast.net. Just like my name of my business.

Interviewer: Okay, well thank you very much for coming in and sharing all that with us.

Mary: Well you're welcome and thank you for asking me to be here and I look forward to helping Metro Brokers grow and now it's a great time to join, it's a fabulous corporation and we're always looking for excited, energetic realtors that want to work with us.

Interviewer: Good, Mary thank you very much for coming in today. We really appreciate, you sharing all that with us.

Mary: You're welcome.

Interviewer: And for more real estate related videos like this be sure to tune in, online to Metro Brokers TV.

Maximize Profits with Mary Ellis

Starting a New Chapter in Life? Mary Ellis of the New Century Group can help smooth the way and meet your goals. Whether it's a new marriage, divorce, retirement or expanding your family, Mary can help you with all your real estate needs.

Interviewer: Hi I am Kathy Soltero with metrobrokerstv.com, and today we're in the studio with Mary Ellis, she is with the New Century Group. Mary, thank you so much for coming in today.

Mary: Thanks for having me.

Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about your business, how did you get started?

Mary: Well, you know I started doing property management when my children were babies as a more flexible career and then it was just kind of an organic transition into real estate sales.

Interviewer: What do you enjoy most about it?

Mary: Well you know real estate involves me and the most intimate details of people's lives, their homes, their money, their families and being involved with people while they are trying to make, meet some goals and make a new chapter their lives is very fulfilling.

Interviewer: Now you have told me about some recent transaction that you had or experience you've had...

Mary: Yeah.

Interviewer: How much that impacted you?

Mary: You know I really love to help people move on, for example I was just working with this lady and she was moving down to a smaller house, retiring after losing her husband and so she had told me her and her son's goal was to maximize profits while having an easy transaction. So they listened to my advice, they priced the home competitively, they cleaned it, they staged it, they went under contract in two weeks.

Interviewer: Wow!

Mary: It closed within six, without any issues.

Interviewer: It still can happen, can't it?

Mary: Right. Indeed.

Interviewer: What do you see are the trends in the business right now, what do you think is happening?

Mary: Well I really see that we're seeing problems in the higher-priced homes with short sales and foreclosures, so that has kind of moved up to a greater than $500,000 market. And also because of the issues with tight credit, we're not seeing as much new construction. So there is really is more resale business going on.

Interviewer: What are the types of customers that you kind of focus on in your business?

Mary: Well I like to say that I'm in the business of change. So typically I'm working with people who are starting a new chapter perhaps they're getting married or they're getting a divorce. They're having babies or their children are grown and moving out. Perhaps they have gotten a promotion or they are being transferred, they might be having financial difficulties or a windfall. So you know it's a fun time to work with people while they're in transition.

Interviewer: There are all kinds out there.

Mary: Yes.

Interviewer: And every reason to sell or buy a home.

Mary: That's right.

Interviewer: How can people contact you now Mary, most importantly?

Mary: Well my website is www.maryellis.com, that's M-A-R-Y-E-L-L-I-S or my phone number is 303-661-9999.

Interviewer: Mary, it's such a pleasure talking with you today, thank you so much for coming in.

Mary: You bet.

Interviewer: And for more real estate related videos like this one be sure to tune into Metro Brokers TV online.

Moving Ahead without the Tax Credit Incentives

Alison Brennan talks to us about how the tax credit effects home buying, as well as how the extensions affect sellers and buyers alike.  She also discusses opportunity that still exist and how to be creative without the government’s help.

 

 

Military Family Tax Credit Still in Effect

Doug DeWitt of Metro Brokers tells us the details of the $8,000 tax credit still in effect for active duty Military families.

Interviewer: Hi, I am Scott Shields, Director of Marketing for Metro Brokers and we are down here at the Broadmoor at the 2010 Colorado Association of Realtors State Convention. I am joined here today with Doug DeWitt. Doug, thank you for coming down.

Doug DeWitt: Thank you Scott for having me.

Interviewer: So Doug, tell us about you, you are an officer for Metro Brokers, but where exactly is your office located?

Doug DeWitt: Our office is downtown Colorado Springs. We are located at 325 North Tejon Street, right in between Platte and Boulder. Our office phone number is (719) 599-8070 and you can always catch us online at www.theproteamonline.com.

Interviewer: Thats a great location I hear. Especially being in Colorado Springs, I know there is a lot of military families down here. And I know that you have something that you have been working with down here as far as a tax credit for the military and families. Can you give us more information about that?

Doug DeWitt: Yeah Scott. I mean, what we are trying to do is make people aware of this $8,000 tax credit that was implemented back in 2009 by the federal government. It is a credit; it is not a deduction on your taxes, you really get $8,000 back. And the details are, if you are in active duty military and you have been deployed for more than 90 days, basically, anytime during 2009 all the way through May 1st of this year for 90 days or more, you are still eligible for that $8,000.

Interviewer: So the end date is the end of this year, or is it continuing to next year?

Doug DeWitt: So what you have to do, if you were deployed during that time, you have until June 30, 2011 to actually close on a home. So youve got, they still have plenty of time and what we have is several clients out there right now, where they have been deployed for this last year, hadnt had a chance to buy a home, so when they get back at the end of this year in December, we still have plenty of time to get them into a home by that June 30th deadline.

Interviewer: I think thats a great benefit for our armed services that are active and in duty right now. Tell us more about what you see in Colorado Springs as far as the market down here?

Doug DeWitt: Again the market down here is really being driven by the military. So, with an influx of approximately 20,000 active duty soldiers coming back from overseas over the next two years, thats really whats sparking our industry. We are doing quite well down here in Colorado Springs with an average medium price right now, right around $160,000.

Interviewer: Well Doug, thank you for taking this time to come by the Broadmoor and see us here, so that you can tell us more about that military tax credit. For more great stories, check out www.metrobrokerstv.com.

Great Opportunities For First Time Home Buyers

Mary Patzer of the Metro Brokers office in Lafayette, Colorado talks about the great opportunities for first time home buyers in the Boulder area real estate market.

Interviewer: Hi I am Kathy Soltero with Metro Brokers TV. Today in the studio I am joined by Mary Patzer and she is with our Metro Brokers office in Lafayette, Colorado. Welcome Mary, thank you so much for coming in and talking with us.

Mary Patzer: Thank you it's nice to be here.

Interviewer: Tell me about your company, where are you at and what is the name of your company?

Mary Patzer: I am Patzer Real Estate located out of Lafayette, Colorado, 107 South Public Road in Lafayette.

Interviewer: And how long have you been in the business, long time right?

Mary Patzer: I've been in the business since 1988.

Interviewer: Wow, so youve seen some of the ups and downs of our market?

Mary Patzer: Very many changes.

Interviewer: And how would you say things are going right now in Lafayette?

Mary Patzer: I think with the interest rates going as low as they are I think it is a great market for people. I think it is a great opportunity for first time home buyers to get their money out there and spend it on a home to buy rather than something to rent and just throwing the money away.

Interviewer: Well even in refi's or moving out from a home you know.

Mary Patzer: Absolutely.

Interviewer: Trying to sell a home might be a little bit more difficult but...

Mary Patzer: Absolutely.

Interviewer: ...you know it can be done even in this market?

Mary Patzer: Yes, even that.

Interviewer: How long have you been now with Metro Brokers and what brought you over to our, to Metro Brokers?

Mary Patzer: I've actually been in this same office building since 1988 and our company was becoming sort of stagnant and we decided as a group that we wanted to look for a different avenue to go down that would be more productive to the office and keep us all motivated and charged up and so in 1997 we all decided that Metro Brokers would be the place to go. So I haven't moved offices at all, not the buildings, just that we've changed and now we are Metro Brokers.

Interviewer: So, what sort of things do you like about the Metro Brokers family?

Mary Patzer: Most of all flexibility. I like being my own my real estate broker that I can do things on my terms and time and it enables me to have a relationship with my family, but I can still be with friends and people that want to purchase a home and I look out for the best for them.

Interviewer: Over the years were there any specific areas you specialized in?

Mary Patzer: I have been living in Boulder since 1955 and so I know Boulder very-very well and so I specialize a lot in the Boulder area rural, Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, Erie, those are the areas I like to cover.

Interviewer: Thats awesome. Well Mary we really appreciate you coming in today; be sure before you go you want to tell everybody how to get a hold of you?

Mary Patzer: I am Patzer Real Estate and I am located at 107 South Public Road, Lafayette, Colorado. My phone number is (303) 530-4721 and my e-mail is mpatzer@q.com

Interviewer: Alright. Mary, thank you so much...

Mary Patzer: Thank you for having me.

Interviewer: ...its been a pleasure talking with you. And thank you so much for watching Metro Brokers TV, for more real estate related videos be sure to turn your browser over to www.metrobrokerstv.com.

Bill Gaetano of Metro Brokers will help you find a great home

Bill Gaetano of Metro Brokers specializes in the Lafayette area and can help buyers find a great home at a good price

Interviewer: I am Kathy Soltero with Metro Brokers TV. Today we are joined in the studio by Bill Gaetano, and Bill thank you very much for joining us today. Tell us a little bit about your office. Where are you from?

Bill Gaetano: Nice to meet with you today Kathy. My office is located in Lafayette, Colorado. We have been there for over 30 years now in the downtown area.

Interviewer: How big is your office? Tell me about the people and that sort of thing.

Bill Gaetano: Currently weve got about 12 to 15 full time brokers and everyone has been in the business for a considerable amount of time. Weve got some very seasoned agents in our office.

Interviewer: And do you have a specific name for your company that our viewers can tune into.

Bill Gaetano: Absolutely. My company is Homestead Brokers, LLC and I have been in business since approximately 1988 and with the Metro Brokers office since 1997.

Interviewer: That kind of answered my next question, MetroBrokers. What brought you to Metro Brokers?

Bill Gaetano: I had been with other franchises and then was an independent broker for a number of years. Metro Brokers offered the vehicle to let me keep my independence, my autonomy, and still come under a well recognized name for marketing.

Interviewer: Do you have any specific areas that you work in?

Bill Gaetano: Absolutely, Lafayette of course is our primary market. Louisville, Broomfield, Erie are also close by markets that we do a lot of business in.

Interviewer: How are you finding the market up there?

Bill Gaetano: The market is moving, its challenging at times, but homes are getting sold and we are getting the prices close to the listing prices for the most part.

Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about yourself. Do you have any certifications or anything to tell us about?

Bill Gaetano: I do, I have my GRI Certification which I got early on when I started in the business and I am proud to have that.

Interviewer: Absolutely, thats great. Tell me about your business in a way, I mean how has it been so far this year up in Lafayette?

Bill Gaetano: This year has been great. The first half of the year we were extremely busy, probably no secret that its tapered off a little bit since the tax credit expired, but again homes are still coming on the market, buyers are out there, and we are working with them and getting these deals closed.

Interviewer: What are you finding to be the biggest challenges right now, lenders or...?

Bill Gaetano: Probably the lenders and the financing, that seems to be changing daily. We actually talked about that on the way over today and that seems to be our biggest obstacle.

Interviewer: Absolutely. Well tell us now how can any of the viewers out here get a hold of you?

Bill Gaetano: Again I am in the Lafayette office and my direct number is (303) 665-6929.

Interviewer: Alright. Bill Gaetano and he is with our Lafayette office in Metro Brokers. Thank you so much for coming in and talking with us today.

Bill Gaetano: Thank you very much Kathy, nice to be here.

Interviewer: Yes, and for more related real estate videos, be sure to tune into www.metrobrokerstv.com.

METRO BROKERS INC. PROUDLY ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH COLORADO EAGLES HOCKY TEAM

Contact: Courtney Lis Voca

PR 970.581.6231

Courtney@vocapr.com

 

METRO BROKERS INC. PROUDLY ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH COLORADO EAGLES HOCKY TEAM

Relationship will facilitate Metro Brokers expansion and commitment to Northern Colorado

(Loveland, Colo.) - July X, 2010 – Metro Brokers, Inc. www.metrobrokersonline.com is proud to announce a joint partnership with the Colorado Eagles, Northern Colorado’s beloved hockey team based in Loveland, CO. Metro Brokers will be involved in a variety of marketing and sponsorship opportunities during the upcoming 2010/2011 hockey season at the Budweiser Events Center. Metro Brokers is dedicated to growing its membership and client base in and around Fort Collins and this relationship will help foster brand awareness for the growing real estate company in Northern Colorado.

“The Colorado Eagles have established an amazing fan base in Northern Colorado,” said Bob Luna, president, Metro Brokers, Inc. “This is a perfect venue for Metro Brokers to establish itself among the people in the community in a creative and unique manner and establish a strong identity by getting involved with such a noteworthy organization.”

As president of Metro Brokers, Bob Luna has been committed to growing its membership base into outlying areas along the front-range and this relationship illustrates their commitment to the people of Northern Colorado. A total of 9 Metro Brokers offices and 50 agents currently reside in the area.

“Metro Brokers is the ideal business model for those agents interested in controlling their own destiny,” said Doug Lindstrom, broker owner of the Metro Brokers Loveland office. “As a result, we have experienced substantial growth and success during the down market. We hope this partnership with the Eagles will prove our commitment to Northern Colorado, help us grow our businesses and foster a long relationship within our community.”

Metro Brokers Inc. provides real estate agents an independent framework to succeed through innovative technologies, brand awareness, continuing education courses and extensive multi-media mix marketing. Unlike other real estate companies, Metro Brokers Inc. is actually owned and operated by its brokers and prides itself on its strong team of agents.

“Just like the Metro Brokers organization, the Colorado Eagles are a hard working, high producing, and successful team, making this partnership a perfect fit for both sides,” said Lindstrom.

About Metro Brokers, Inc.

Metro Brokers, Inc. has been Colorado's leader in real estate, technology and services, for more than 30 years, providing the framework, structure, brand and freedom for real estate brokers to work professionally, efficiently and profitably. Our network of nearly 2,000 highly experienced real estate professionals specialize in residential, commercial and investment properties and have access to ground breaking technologies, continuing education courses, and innovative marketing that help buyers and sellers make the most of their real estate transactions. Unlike most other real estate companies Metro Brokers, Inc. is actually owned and operated by its brokers.

A Conversation about the Luxury Home Market

Alison Brennan talks to us about how the local luxury real estate market compares to the national market, and what local markets are doing better than others.  She also discusses selling in today's market, are people able to sell their property today.

2010 Realtor Rally: Sarah Noel with the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline

In this BrokerIPTV video from the 2010 Realtor Rally in Denver, Kathy Soltero learns about the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline from Sarah Noel.

Interviewer: Hi, I am Kathy Soltero with BrokerIPTV.com. We are here at the 2010 Realtor Rally and we are talking with Sarah Noel, who is with Colorado Foreclosure Hotline, the very timely and a very important hotline that has been established over the last few years. Tell us a little bit about it.

Sarah Noel: The Colorado Foreclosure Hotline was established in October of 2006. What we do is, use an 800 number to network 26 different HUD-approved nonprofit housing counseling agencies. So when a borrower who is concerned about falling behind calls that 800 number, they enter in their five-digit zip code they are coding or route them to the agency that's nearest their property. We are really an advocate for face-to-face housing counseling sessions to take a look at homeowners' budgets, loan products, hardships and then help them find a sustainable solution for their situation.

Interviewer: There is a lot of frustration for a homeowner who is going through some of these because they may call a hotline and then get busy signals, the busy signals, what's going to happen when they call you guys?

Sarah Noel: Yeah the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline only services in Colorado. So the thing that makes us different is that we're local and they can meet face-to-face with someone after calling the hotline. We do ask the borrowers to call the hotline or allow about three to four business days for a counselor to get back to them and in some cases that may mean leaving a message, but we always follow up with any client who can't get through to their counseling agency to help them find someone that they can meet with us as soon as possible.

Interviewer: What kind of success rate would you say you had, you have been in three years so, which you can see some sort of return?

Sarah Noel: Ot the people who meet face-to-face with their housing counselor, 80% of them will find a positive resolution for their situation. It doesn't necessarily always mean staying in the property, but it does mean avoiding that foreclosure on their credit report. So it's about four out of five people are avoiding foreclosure when they meet with their HUD-approved housing counselor.

Interviewer: And what is the hotline number because I think that's probably one of the most important things that people are watching this or tuning into find out?

Sarah Noel: The number is 877-601-4673, which is HOPE.

Interviewer: Okay and it's the Colorado...

Sarah Noel: Foreclosure Hotline.

Interviewer: Sarah thank you very much for joining us.

Sarah Noel: Thank you.

Interviewer: And for more real estate-related topics, you can be sure to tune into BrokerIPTV.com.

Julie Bramer Discusses How CARHOF Gives Back, from the 2010 Realtor Rally

In this BrokerIPTV video from the 2010 Realtor Rally in Denver, Kathy Soltero talks with Julie Bramer of CARHOF about what CARHOF is and what they do to help the community.

Interviewer: Hi I am Kathy Soltero with BrokerIPTV.com, and we are here today with Julie Bramer from CARHOF and Julie, tell me first of all, what does CARHOF mean?

Julie Bramer: CARHOF is Colorado Association of Realtors Housing Opportunity Foundation.

Interviewer: And what exactly do you do?

Julie Bramer: We collect interest on earnest money deposits. So when a person is purchasing a home and they give the realtor an earnest money check that goes into a special interest bearing account, we collect the interest and turn around and donate the money for affordable housing.

Interviewer: And tell me, in the past, where has it gone and what kind of housing and that sort of thing has it accorded?

Julie Bramer: Homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity, down payment assistance programs, disaster relief, so like last year, the tornado in Windsor, Colorado, we donated $10,000 to help the victims with their temporary housing.

Interviewer: That's fabulous. How much money do you actually each year accumulate from that?

Julie Bramer: Well we are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year, and totally we have donated $6.8 million dollars and annually, we donate approximately $500,000.

Interviewer: That's amazing because interest on a certain amount of money for maybe 30 to 45 days hopefully flowing held that long can't be that much.

Julie Bramer: Well pulled together, it amounts to great deal.

Interviewer: That's fabulous. Well, Julie, we really appreciate you being with us today with CARHOF and what you are doing to help out the state and to help out some of the other needy people in the state too, that's awesome.

Julie Bramer: Thank you and thank you to all our CARHOF participants.

Interviewer: All right and if you want more real estate real estate-related videos, be sure to turn your browser over to BrokerIPTV.com.