S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

Welcome to the winter 2012 issue of the S.E.C. Observer. In this issue, Gary Vandenberg, 2013 president of the Society, suggests that S.E.C. members should “let this little light shine” especially during these difficult economic times. Virgil Opfer, S.E.C., explains how his real estate career was changed by one sentence he learned in a course […]

Some of you may have grown up singing a little song, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” That song makes me think of the Society. We are going through a tempestuous economic and political storm. For investors, these are scary times. Out on the ocean of the world economy, the night is dark, the waves are big, and there is real danger all around. The Society is like a beacon with a strong light that can show the way to a safe haven, shelter from the storm. We Counselors are ships upon the water ready to bring passengers in to safety.

In the mid-1970s, it was early in my real estate career when I attended a six-day seminar presented by Jim Brondino and several other skilled instructors. That seminar changed my life and the way I thought about myself. Until that event, all my training related to real estate had been focused on salesmanship, with an emphasis on overcoming the buyer’s or seller’s objections.

Beginning in the early 1960s, commercial and investment real estate professionals began meeting in small groups to brainstorm solutions to the various problems of owning and operating commercial real estate. Out of those discussions, a prominent San Diego-based realtor named Richard Reno began to formalize the discussions, and the process he and his early associates developed has evolved into today’s highly organized marketing sessions.

Veteran commercial broker, Alex Ruggieri, interviews leading comercial agents from across the state.

Equity Marketers do not have the kind of tool box that a plumber or carpenter would but we do have a tool box just the same. I contend that some of the most important tools in our Equity Marketing tool box are FORMULAS. Their importance is going to be magnified during the current and immediate future real estate market conditions. In addition to the many formulas to help structure equity transfer transactions, there are formulas to help rent/lease vacant building space and solve financing and cash NEED problems. A few examples are cited below.

Of the many formulas for putting together transactions, the Running Exchange is one of the most powerful, yet least used, tools in the bag of the exchanger. The Running Exchange is a catalyst method to begin transactions, and may be utilized by an experienced moderator at your local marketing sessions. It may also be utilized by an individual broker to complete more transactions and gain tremendous control of their marketplace.

The S.E.C. Education Foundation has continued its outreach program to assist regional groups by sending educators and moderators to various regions in North America. Two S.E.C. members, Ted Blank and Lance Warner, are traveling to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the education and marketing session on December 10th and 11th. Ted will teach a counseling course, and Lance will assist with the moderating and marketing book preparation.

The S.E.C. National Invitational Marketing Session will be held at Carefree Resort & Villas, 37220 Mule Train Road, Carefree, AZ, 85377.

The S.E.C. Education Foundation is planning a golf tournament on Sunday, January 20, 2013. The proceeds raised will benefit the S.E.C. Education Foundation’s outreach program to send instructors and moderators to assist real estate groups in North America.