S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

Welcome to the summer 2013 issue of the S.E.C. Observer. In this issue, Gary Vandenberg, 2013 President of the Society, outlines why you should “buy now.” Robert W. Steele, S.E.C., shares his memories of Jackie Robinson. Stephen R. England, S.E.C. revisits why young entrepreneurs are so important to our economy and why we must encourage […]

So why is this a good time to buy commercial real estate? Well, would you rather buy at the top of the market or at the bottom? Most places around the country are reporting that rents and sale prices have remained about the same for the last year. This follows large drops in rents and sale prices from 2009-2012. Most economists agree it is unlikely that prices will drop significantly more in the near future.

I have been asked by a few of my friends and members of my family about the movie #42, which refers to Jackie Robinson’s number when he played baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers which was owned at that time by Branch Rickie. The reason I have been asked is that I played with Jackie on the Montreal team during the spring training in 1947…

Spring is taking two steps forward and 1½ steps backwards, but if you live in Vermont, that is close enough. For the last couple of months I have been talking to our mortgage lender about refinancing one of our buildings. The building has been in service for +/- eight years and we expanded the building about 50% five years ago. Consequently we have 2 mortgages with one at 6.5% and another at 6.99%.

I wrote an article for the Observer in 2010 entitled “Where Have All of the Young Entrepreneurs Gone?” It identified my observation that it seemed the younger generation lacks interest in becoming entrepreneurs. Folks, this trend has not improved. Recent headlines like “Fewer US Entrepreneurs Willing to Create New Businesses” and “Three-Month Average of Job Creation Plummets” illustrate my worry because everyone knows that small businesses historically create the most jobs and build wealth for our nation.

The S.E.C. Education Foundation has been, and is very busy this year, with but a brief pause for the summer break for most of us. Coming off a very successful Wichita, Kansas marketing meeting in March, where Jim Brondino (Ontario, California) presented his renowned Moderator Training Course, we are off and running with the following…

The S.E.C. National Invitational Marketing Session will be held at the Hilton Providence, 21 Atwells Avenue, Providence, RI, 02903.

The S.E.C. Education Foundation & the Society of Exchange Counselors are pleased to announce that Ted Blank, S.E.C., CCIM, will present “High Touch Real Estate – AKA Counseling”…

The S.E.C. National Invitational Marketing Session will be held at the Marines’ Memorial Hotel & Club, 609 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA…

The S.E.C. Education Foundation & the Society of Exchange Counselors are pleased to announce that Dr. Mark Levine, BS, JD, PAP, Ph.D., LLM, will present “Real Estate Tax Update”…