Geraldine Barry, president of SJREI Association, the award-winning association for real estate investors, is the newest columnist in the Mercury news Real Estate section. Ms. Barry addresses news important to real estate.

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Geraldine Barry president of SJREI Association, the award-winning association for real estate investors, is the newest columnist in the Real Estate section of the Mercury News and bay Area News Group publications. Ms. Barry’s bi-monthly column addresses news and information important to real estate investors.

Over the past several years, Ms. Barry has proved to be a reliable source for solid, truthful real estate investment analysis without the hype. She connects investors of all experience levels and educates on local and national market conditions, determining where and when to invest and developing a comprehensive exit strategy for individual portfolios to minimize risk and maximize profit. Through her vast, nation-wide network of real estate experts, Ms. Barry taps into the brightest minds in real estate investing and brings that information into her thoughtful, highly relateable columns.

Ms. Barry’s goal is to bring current information, cutting edge market analysis, trend identification and opportunities to the Real Estate section so that the average investor is enabled to make wise decisions. Her focus on on education, due diligence, exit strategies, market timing and more.

Geraldine Barry is founder and president of SJREI Association, the premier educational and networking association for real estate investors in the Bay Area. Under Geraldine’s leadership, SJREI has grown from a half-dozen investors to a vibrant organization with over 400 investors attending monthly meetings. SJREI won the Award for Excellence from the National REIA (Real Estate Investors Association) in several categories. In addition to leading SJREI, Geraldine is the frequent host of the radio program, Going Beyond Real Estate, a regular guest on the nationally broadcasted NTDTV, and publisher of the award-winning publication REI Voice Magazine.

The Bay Area’s award-winning association for real estate investors, SJREI Association, provides the education and networking necessary to enable individuals to make wise, profitable real estate investments. Serving two geographic regions within the bay, SJREI Association offers its excellent programs and networking opportunities in Sunnyvale and in Foster City.

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Click here to read Geraldine’s column published in the Mercury News on Saturday, April 6!

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I have used habits all of my life to create results, and I understand the value of them. My experience is that people gain financial success, but that does not create happiness. What does? Healthy habits. Growing, challenging oneself, self control–these are keys to being happy in your heart and in your head. It has always been my intention to help the people I touch; to create lives of more meaning and significance. So I wanted to share this simple program that I am doing starting Monday, and I encourage your to consider joining me. It’s called Tiny Habits, and was developed by a Stanford professor.

We have discussed keystone habits. Making your bed in the morning, for example, is a keystone habit. Tiny Habits is about using keystone habits to develop new ones, and to start out you choose just three new “tiny habits”.  Each new habit should take a maximum of 30 seconds to do. For example, if you don’t floss your teeth and you want to start, you do it right after you brush your teeth–cos everyone brushes their teeth right?

Every morning when I get out of bed, I kneel by my bed and say a prayer of gratitude before I go out for my daily run. So following that habit would be a good time to implement a new habit. I like to do situps before I run, but I don’t do them consistently. So that is one of the tiny habits I’m implementing.  After my prayer of gratitude, I will do five situps.

Can you think of three little habits you would like to implement in your life? Never want to lose your keys again? Another example would include hanging your keys up or putting them in the same place every time you unlock the door.  So why three “tiny habits” and why 30 seconds? First of all it is easy to start with three. Once we begin to enjoy success, these newly implemented five-day rituals become eventual habits. A habit is like a muscle, and it becomes strong when you exercise it consistently. As a result, you feel good about yourself.  Then you build on that and voila! You have a recipe to change your life for the better, and in a relatively easy way.  Read the details and sign up at www.TinyHabits.com.

Meeting Recap: Real Estate Taking Off Once Again

What an exciting meeting this week! The real estate market is pulling us back in as we see things improving quite dramatically, and we want the information that will help us to understand the dynamics of the changing landscape. Hearing tales from the trenches of fellow investors is as interesting as it is instructive. I love to hear the personal experiences of investors who share why they invested, their expectations and how things transpired. This propels us forward.

Mercury News: My First Column Published!

Speaking of propelling forward, it’s official: my first real estate column has been published in Saturday’s edition (April 6, 2013) of the San Jose Mercury News! Make sure you’ve picked up your copy so that you can begin to follow my column. Leave a comment on my blog to share your thoughts!

It’s been a busy week–we are working on finalizing the content for the next edition of REI Voice. I am excited to be spotlighting Doug Duncan, Chief Economist for Fannie Mae! Not only will he give us his take on that organization, but on the national economy as well. Having hosted him at SJREI in the past, Mr. Duncan is very practical, well informed and interested in investors and their perspective. Anytime we can ask the hard questions and put the case forward for the investor is a good day.

San Jose, the heart of the Silicon Valley, is on fire. Kim Walesh, the Director of Economic Development for the City of San Jose, will also be featured in our upcoming issue of REI Voice. Kim is a dynamo with a ten-year track record with the city. She will share what is driving the growth of the Silicon Valley. The Samsung Semiconductor deal approved by the San Jose City Council this past Tuesday is a huge win for the city, especially when Austin, TX was competing heavily for this business. Kim will discuss the success of this deal as well as other exciting developments in San Jose. A thought to ponder: the population projections for San Jose in 2030 are to increase by a startling 40 percent! This kind of growth requires heavy advance planning, and Kim and her team are hard at work developing a plan to deal with the changes to come. Lastly, Kim will discuss three hot spots in the Valley that will be explored for investors to consider as they strategically plan for success.

Alex Villacorta, Director of Research & Analytics at Clear Capital will share the national “hot spots” for investors. Alex is another excellent voice who simplifies data, and makes it easily digestible.

Our upcoming edition of REI Voice will be available at the May meeting or mailed directly to SJREI members as soon as it hits the presses. Happy Easter to you and your families!

Trulia’s Chief Economist & Head of Analytics, Jed Kolko, shared his data driven perspective on the real estate market at the SJREI Mid-Peninsula meeting this past week. As a Harvard Ph.D., he simplified and shared data points in a way that was very compelling and charming at the same time. One of our members described his presentation in this way, “Jed was an amazingly good speaker. I’ve never heard an economist put such complex thoughts into such an easy to understand format. I think he was also being modest when he said he had a 6am East Coast conference call…. The next morning I turned on CNBC, and there he was talking about the housing market!”

So what did Mr.Kolko say? Here are a few of the highlights.

- The market hit bottom twelve months ago

- We are half way back to normal in terms of the housing recovery; we are at the mid-point from the worst point, so it should take a couple of years for a full recovery

- Keep in mind that each local market has its own dynamics and unique drivers

- Seasonal fluctuations need to be included when examining the underlying numbers

- What is the reason for the price gains? The markets with strong fundamentals are the ones that really thrive

- Job growth is a market fundamental

- Price gains are outpacing rent increases across region

- Increasing new building start to indicate builder confidence; foreclosure rates give us a pulse on consumer confidence

What about the Bay Area? Right now the Bay Area is enjoying strong job growth, high occupancy rates, low inventory levels, and construction at normal levels or above. What’s the problem? Affordability.  When CA does well, prices accelerate and this can potentially drive people out of CA to find more affordable housing.

click here to view Jed’s presentation…

This week, I had the pleasure of spending time with Santa Clara County Assessor, Larry Stone. As usual, he shared plenty of thoughtful analysis with me. We discussed the fact that the Bay area is experiencing another cycle. Jobs are being created at a fast clip, albeit highly skilled jobs that are well paid. Nevertheless, they are driving the economy forward. Northern CA accounted for 20% of the job growth nationally last year, and 40% of the job growth in California alone.

The residential market was driven largely by both national and international investors. This provides stability in the short-term, but can cause instability overt he long haul. We will be keeping our eye on that to see how things play out. On 1/1/2o12, the Assessor’s Office had 136,000 properties assessed below their purchase price which represents almost 29% of the total properties assessed. That number reflected 53% of condos and 20% of  SFH (single family homes) which were assessed below their purchase price. This past year saw significant improvement in in values as the market started showing signs of rebounding. Recovery is underway, housing prices are beginning to be restored, and the property tax assessments going out this year will reflect this improvement in values. As a matter of interest, this 136,000 properties represents $273 billion in value which translates to approximately $270,000,000 in tax revenue – not an insignificant sum. The Assessor’s office is not limited to the 2% or less increase when they are adjusting to current market value, so there could be a lot of surprises coming in the mail for home owners.

Our friends at Clear Capital came out with their report this week Highest Performing Major Metro Areas in the U.S.  Interesting to note that, of the 15 metros included, 6 were in CA,

Highest Performing Major Metro Areas in the U.S. (Top 5)

1. Atlanta, GA – Sandy Springs, GA – Marietta, GA

2. Las Vegas, NV – Paradise, NV

3. Phoenix, AZ – Mesa, AZ – Scottsdale, AZ

4. Sacramento, CA, Arden, CA – Roseville, CA

5. Houston, TX – Baytown, TX – Sugar Land, TX

Lowest Performing Major Metro’s Include: (Top 5)

1. Columbus, OH

2. Detroit, MI – Warren, MI – Livonia, MI

3. Charlotte, NC – Gastonia, NC – Concord, NC

4. St. Louis MO

5. Raleigh, NC – Cary, NC

My mother & father on their wedding day.

In life we sometimes experience things and don’t quite get the value of them in the moment, but in retrospect they are life defining. Mine was simply a Mom who was interested, and interesting. She pushed me to perform in ways that I never knew I could. How has this translated in my life? It has given me the gift of fearlessness; the ability to take risks, whereby I have created a life where I set goals for myself and push myself to achieve. It has enabled me to create a loving network of friends, and in the process, I have developed a life of meaning and substance.

One of eight children, I come from a traditional Irish Catholic family. I grew up in a small homogeneous town in the south of Ireland. My parents were hard working, family oriented people. My Dad was a civil engineer, and a champion bridge player. My Mom was an antique dealer, a soprano, and she had a wonderful sense of humor. They were a perfect combination – and on occasion told us, their dueling children, they were “leaving us together”.

I just returned from Ireland where I attended my Mom’s funeral. Her name was Nora, she was 78 years old. She had battled dementia for several years, and it was grueling to see her light extinguished as she descended, and finally succumbed to this cruel disease. It made me consider, as the passing of a parent often does, my relationship with her and the lessons I learned at her knee.

She was the matriarch of our family, and we loved her. She cooked, baked, sang, and made our home warm and fun. My niece described my Mom in this way: “One of my grandmothers is old and had grey hair. The other, wears silk pajamas and red lipstick.” That was my mom. She was a delightful person to be around. Truth be told, we all loved spending time with Mom. Her sense of humor and personality dazzled us and drew people to her wherever she went. A soprano, when we were young she sang to wake us up in the morning. Trust me, if you are a teenager and had been out half the night, a soprano is like a car alarm! It’s a very effective strategy to get your slumbering children out of bed. She did this with a smile on her face – we couldn’t hold it against her. Later when I was older, she visited me in here in the States, and she introduced me to my neighbors!

As an avid reader of non-fiction books, particularly on life strategies and productivity, I realize now how wise she was. She understood the benefit of systems and good habits that are written about extensively now. Mom incorporated those into our young lives. Her life strategies have stood and been continually effective for me, notably in times of stress over the years. In sum, I would like to share with you, the following:

Mom’s Lessons to Live By:

• Get your sleep! Life is more enjoyable when one is rested.
• Worrying does not change the outcome. And things tend to work out over the long term anyhow.
• Make your home a haven. Life can be tough, but having a warm and loving home is rejuvenating, and makes all the difference in facing what lays ahead tomorrow.
• The little things make life enjoyable: A conversation with your children. A warm fire. A cup of tea with a loved one. A home cooked meal. These seemingly small things are what make life special, and making time for these little pockets of joy on a daily basis makes all the difference.
• A day is not perfect without two good belly laughs. Do you remember the last time you laughed so hard at something your stomach hurt? How’d that make you feel? Pretty terrific, I bet. I do this with my children now; teaching them to laugh at themselves and with others creates strong bonds of affection between us.
• Life is as good as you make it. Work hard, have fun, embrace every day, and ultimately be grateful for the opportunity to live and be of value in the world.
• Dinner, in our house, was served at 1pm and tea at 6pm. No matter what was going on in the world, this was a constant. I loved the consistency and continuity of that. Routine is good.
• Embrace your femininity (or masculinity). My mother was the best dressed woman in town. It wasn’t about looks being the most important – it was about presenting your best self to the world. This was a requirement for my mother, and for us her children.

I will be forever grateful for my mother’s loving influence in my life. I hope that I can leave a legacy like she has. We were all born to change the world. Whether you live in a small town in the south of Ireland or in New York City, it is the small things that make a difference; a kind word or gesture, a loving act. If we embrace this and contribute in a positive way every day, then we have truly lived. Thank you, Mom, for being a light in my life!

Rest in peace, Ger xo

Stephan Piscano & Roger Noujeim of ListedBy.com

Stephan Piscano, CEO of ListedBy, initially built his real estate investment portfolio through buying and selling nearly 350 properties online using eBay. Based on his early experience using eBay to buy and sell property, he recognized a need in the market place and thus developed ListedBy. Roger Noujeim, VP of marketing for ListedBy, will be speaking in depth about ListedBy following an introduction by Stephan Piscano.

ListedBy.com is a new real estate auction website and social network for all individuals interested in any aspect of the real estate industry. ListedBy.com provides the unique opportunity not only to market real estate assets such as REO’s, Notes and NPN’s (non-performing notes), but provides the opportunity to market yourself as an individual to potential clients and business partners on a global level.

• Why should investors consider buying or selling by auction?
• How does it work? Who is your target market?
• How do you differ from eBay?
• What are the little known secrets of this method of selling?
• What kind of properties are suited for the auction method?
• What are you seeing in terms of the national market?
• What are investors doing to make money in your space?

Member Profile: Bill Toomey

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