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Intero Real Estate Services, Inc. sustains profitability through innovation in 2009

By Teressa Francis | March 4th, 2010 0 Comments

Leading U.S. brokerage announces 2009 profits, shares insights on successful model

CUPERTINO, SILICON VALLEY, USA  — Intero Real Estate Services (http://www.interorealestate.com), a leading U.S. real estate brokerage that has recently expanded its brand globally, as a franchisor, through Intero Franchise Services, Inc. and Intero International Franchise Services, LLC, announced today that its brokerage operation – based in California’s Silicon Valley – was profitable in 2009 despite persistent challenges in the housing sector. Intero was founded in 2002 and became one of the fastest growing companies in the history of U.S. real estate.

2009 was a challenging year in real estate. Intero executives attribute the company’s success in this environment to a long-term commitment to innovation that allowed Intero to realize efficiencies other companies were unprepared to leverage, seize opportunities before its competitors and retain productive agents and franchisees.

“Intero sprung from the cradle of innovation here in Silicon Valley, so doing things that are new, pursuing ideas that are different – it’s a spirit that is an integral part of our brand,” said Gino Blefari, Intero’s President and CEO. “While most in our industry remained static in old models which no longer worked, we decided to act – and that action is directly tied to our continued profitability.”

Bob Moles, Intero’s Chairman, added, “Increasing top line revenue growth in 2009 while at the same time growing our bottom line profit in this real estate environment, demonstrates convincingly that the Intero® brand, tools and systems are positioned to perform well even in down markets.”

Blefari offered several examples of initiatives driving Intero’s success, including:

Technology innovation: Intero aggressively pursued the mobile opportunity in 2009, resulting in greater consumer engagement and enhanced productivity for agents and franchisees. The 2009 Intero mobile initiative included a GPS-enabled listings service, a WAP (browser-based) mobile application, and a native iPhone application.

A pioneering new office model: While many real estate organizations continue to discuss a leaner, more attractive office model, the Intero Andare(sm) office concept experienced its third full year of operation. The Intero Andare office concept features a “cafe-style” workspace, a paperless work-flow and a high-tech, stylish appearance that permits brokerage operators to realize efficiencies while presenting a more compelling brand experience to consumers and agents.

An aggressive digital media strategy: Over the past three years Intero shifted 90% of its media spend from print to digital, increasing Web traffic and consumer and agent engagement. In 2009 the company accelerated this effort, launching a network of blogs, expanding its presence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and launching a highly successful series of email newsletters.
“The Intero® brand, with its proven formula for rapid growth and sustained profitability, has been received extremely well by entrepreneurs around the world looking for a compelling business opportunity,” said Javier Parraga, President of Intero International Franchise Services, LLC. “Because of the innovative spirit that drives the company, we’ve been able to present a compelling picture that other, more traditional brands cannot.”

Concludes Blefari, “2009 was a difficult year in many ways, but served to validate our vision for a different kind of real estate organization guided by an innovative sensibility that produces results.”

About the Intero® brand

Founded in 2002 Intero Real Estate Services, Inc. has quickly become one of the premier real estate brands in the U.S. Today, the Intero® brand  has over 1,800 agents and 40 company owned and franchise offices covering California, Colorado, Nevada and Texas. The company is private and headquartered in California’s Silicon Valley.

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Intero Insider: Selling Short? Keep Track of Everything

By Gino Blefari | February 17th, 2010 0 Comments

It’s that time of year again. The Winter Holidays are behind us, we’ve cheered a new Super Bowl champion and exchanged boxes of chocolates for Valentine’s Day. That can only mean one thing: Tax Season is upon us.

When it comes to your home, there is plenty of documentation of which you need to keep track when it comes time to file your annual return. For those of you filing “standard” income tax returns, this is all fairly clear and straightforward.

With the current real estate climate, however, there are scores situations, like having lost a home to foreclosure, or staring personal bankruptcy in the face, in which many never thought they’d find themselves. Situations like these can make filing taxes a bit trickier.

There’s one circumstance in particular on which I’d like to focus today:

Short sales.

If you’ve gone through the short sale process (where you can no longer afford the payments on your home, but your lender allows you to sell the home at loss, rather than go through with foreclosure), then you know it’s long, it’s arduous, and it’s one in which things have the potential to be very murky.

When completing the reams and reams of paperwork required by your lender to complete the short sale process, it’s likely that you signed a promissory note, or other like document, granting the lender the right to take action against you to collect the deficient amount. This is pretty standard. It’s possible, though, that you also got a copy of a document with the heading 1099-C, which the lender has filed with the IRS, indicating that the unpaid portion of the loan has been canceled. This is a trigger for the IRS to assess taxes against the forgiven debt.

Wait. What?

“How is that possible?” you might ask. Good question. It doesn’t stand to reason that a lender can pursue you for unpaid debt and that the IRS can assess taxes, as well. Logic would dictate that one or the other is reasonable, but not both.

Keep copies of everything having to do with anything related to the transaction.

If you signed paperwork indicating that the lender can take collection action against you, but you’ve also received a 1099-C for the uncollected debt, you’ll have plenty of documented proof to show the IRS that you don’t owe taxes on that amount. Similarly, if there is nothing in your sale paperwork that gives the bank the right to collect the debt, nor is there any other reference to it, the 1099-C will serve as evidence should the bank, at some point, decide to take action against you.

They can’t have it both ways.

I’m not a tax professional. I’m not certified to give that sort of advice. But I can advise you to seek the counsel of a tax professional, so that negotiating the maze of tax ramifications that come with a short sale is made somewhat easier.

For additional information you can also download IRS Publication 4681 from the IRS website at www.IRS.gov

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Mortgage That Matters: A MORTGAGE IS NOT A COMMODITY

By Rick Soukoulis | February 9th, 2010 0 Comments

From time to time I hear people saying that the mortgage loan officer is a dinosaur.  The reasoning is that a mortgage is commodity, that every mortgage has the same criteria, and that they are, therefore, mere commodities.

By extension, the argument goes, borrowers do not need humans involved in the process, and that they can benefit from reduced costs by eliminating the human element from the equation.

When I hear this argument, I wonder if the person ever got a mortgage.

If they had, they’d know that the “human element” is critically important and that many, if not most, borrowers would never be able to buy a house without assistance from the Realtor and the loan officer.

As an example, think about all the subtleties of various loan programs.  Let’s assume a borrower goes online and choose Program 1-A and gets turned down.  He then applies for Program 2-A, Program 3-A and Program 4-A, getting turned down at each of them.

At this point, does he get so discouraged that he simply gives up?

Had their been a loan officer and Realtor involved, he’d have known that of the ten programs offered, he only qualified for the tenth one.  A knowledgeable loan officer could have steered him right away to program 10-A and made certain he chose the right loan program to match his individual situation.

One argument for eliminating the human element also has to do with the reduced number of programs. The argument is that loan officers were needed 2-3 years ago when there were hundreds of programs, and the borrower needed help choosing among all these choices.  Now, they, say, it’s either a conventional 30 year fixed or an FHA 30 year fixed, and anyone can choose between these two.

Again, no one would say this if they’d tried getting a loan recently.  Awhile the number of programs has, indeed, shrunk, it’s a heckuva lot more than two.  And more importantly, while there maybe be fewer programs, they’re all much harder to qualify for.

A good loan officer can help borrowers choose the right program and help them qualify for that.

And no computer program can ever do that as well.

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Closing The Door on 2009

By Gino Blefari | December 29th, 2009 0 Comments

The Holiday Season is approaching its end. Hopefully, you’ve been able to relax a bit and spend time with family, friends and the people whom you love most. The end of this season signals the rapidly-approaching end to yet another year. A year that most of us are more than ready to put behind us. We’re all looking forward to the promises of the new year. A fresh start. New possibilities. To 2010.

But let’s take a moment to reflect on the year that was 2009, and how it shaped us and our industry.

2009 was a year of change. A change in the way people shop for homes. A change in the way real estate professionals do business. A change in the way we look at things.

Certainly, the economy and its woes played a major role. While there are glimmers of light and signs of improvement on the horizon, rising unemployment (that will likely worsen a bit more before it gets better) and more stringent lending standards continued their stranglehold on the real estate industry.

Mortgage rates found themselves at all-time lows in 2009, but with underwriting restrictions and tightening standards, including tougher rules from places FHA, typically thought more “understanding”, very few people were able to qualify. With the Federal Government’s loan modification program, short sales and a flood of foreclosures with which to deal, banks are not likely to loosen these standards anytime soon.

Of course, the news wasn’t all bad.

With those foreclosures and short sales came some incredible opportunities for those looking to buy a home. For those with open minds and who were willing to exercise a little bit of patience, deals, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in decades, were ripe for the picking.

For those who were really lucky, those deals could be combined with what was (and will likely continue to be) one of the biggest stories in real estate: the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Recently expanded to include a far broader pool of buyers, the HBTC, in 2009, gave first-time homebuyers a credit of up to $8000 when they purchased a new home. For many, this credit was just the boost necessary to get them toward their share of the American Dream.

While 2009 saw nowhere near the panic and angst that riddled Wall Street and the entire real estate industry in 2008, it was a year of sobering news. A year of goodbyes to the old way of doing business. It was a year for real estate professionals to reevaluate their priorities. To rethink how they did things. It was a year of separating the wheat from the chaff, as many Realtors left the profession altogether. Those who dug in their heels, who opened their minds to new practices, who opted to help, rather than hinder, will rise to the top. They will reap the fruits of their labor.

As you’re making your resolutions for the New Year, think about where we’ve been. About how far we’ve come. Think about how you’ll do things differently. Think about the possibilities before you.

Yes, 2009 was a hard year.  But remember our theme for 2009 – “Adversity is your asset. Things turn out BEST for those who make the BEST of how things turn out.”…AND WE DID! So rather than looking back at 2009 as just a “tough year” let’s make it a year in which we have learned. A year that strengthened our resolve, and our collective character. 2010 is OUR time, now let’s go out and TAKE IT!

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Intero Insider: Sweeping Changes Coming to the HVCC

By Gino Blefari | December 23rd, 2009 0 Comments

While we’ve all been focused on the Homebuyer Tax Credit and the effect that foreclosures have had on the real estate market, Congress has been hard at work, trying to right some unintended wrongs.

For some time now, the home buying process, already strained by the desperate straits of our nation’s economy, has been made more difficult than necessary as a result of unofficial “rules” put in place by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. These “rules”, known as the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, were put in place to reduce abuse by appraisers, who’d been under pressure from lenders, real estate professionals, sellers … you name it, to make sure that a particular house appraised for a certain amount (whether that amount had any basis in reality or not).

But while paved with good intentions, the HVCC’s road was littered with potholes.

The HVCC put the onus on lenders to order appraisals. It also required that lenders stay out of the process; that they not exert any influence over the appraisal. This has led to the use of appraisal management companies, which, for lack of a better description, are like brokers for individual appraisers. The AMC (appraisal management companies) gets an order for an appraiser, then assigns someone to take care of the job. The big problems here are that, more often than not, appraisers are being assigned to value homes in communities and neighborhoods with which they are wholly unfamiliar. Also, the use of the management companies requires the splitting of appraisal fees, causing appraisers to cut their rates and putting many experienced appraisers out of business.

Complaints about the HVCC have run the gamut from inaccuracy in valuation, “lowball” appraisals, to inexperienced appraisers (not to mention a host of other complaints). As a result, many sales have been adversely affected.

It looks like that may be about to change.

The US House of Representatives has been hard at work on its financial and mortgage industry reform bill. It has voted to terminate use of the HVCC, pending the initiation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The House’s bill, now on its way to the Senate, requires the director of this agency to implement national sales rules and standards that will cover all transactions.

Once the new standards are in place, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac will be barred from using their much-maligned rules.

How the Senate will handle the creation of this new agency (if it goes along with it at all) remains to be seen, but the House bill is a clear signal that the HVCC is all but dead in the water.

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Urban Legend Hits the Real Estate World

By Ed Gory | December 21st, 2009 0 Comments

Be forewarned — no, this is not about kidney harvesting, Nigerian Lottery winnings, or Bill Gates giving everyone lots of money for forwarding an email — there is an email making the rounds titled “HR 2454: CAP AND TRADE ENERGY BILL”, which purports that new legislation will require all homes to retroactively pass new energy standards before they are sold.

Some even say that all homes will now be required to get a “label” for your house every year, proving that your home meets new energy standards.

This is all patently and unequivocally FALSE. (and you can even check Snopes.com here to doublecheck)

Bottom line, our government is not going to do anything – ANYTHING – that will adversely affect the real estate market, which is absolutely one of the key elements in our ongoing, slow economic recovery. Why do you think they recently overwhelmingly voted to extend the first time buyer $8K tax credit bill, as well as extend the $729K conforming loan limit? They want to encourage people to have more confidence in home ownership.

I also consulted our National Association of Realtors (NAR) position on this, and below is what it said. The most revealing statement, which contradicts this email is that this bill  ”Does not create a federal energy audit requirement for real property”

“The U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act by Reps. Waxman (D-CA) and Markey (D-MA). Following NAR’s long-standing policy to only take a position on legislation, or provisions within legislation that have a direct affect on real estate, NAR worked with our Congressional allies to strip the Energy Bill of provisions that would have adversely affected our industry.

After multiple consultations with the NAR Climate Presidential Advisory Group, the NAR Land Use, Property Rights and Environment Committee, and state associations who had dealt with energy audit legislation at the state level, the Land Use, Property Rights and Environment Committee directed NAR staff to concentrate on the real estate provisions in the bill.  As a result, NAR issued calls for action and made this a talking point for Capitol Hill visits during its recent Midyear meeting.

Overall, REALTORS® succeeded in making a number of positive changes affecting the real estate provisions of the bill. The House-approved bill:

  • Does not create a federal energy audit requirement for real property;
  • Exempts existing homes and buildings from any federal guidelines for new construction energy efficiency information labels.
  • Prohibits the implementation of any labeling during a sales transaction.
  • Leaves the decision to states as to whether to require energy audits, disclosures, etc.
  • Provides property owners with significant financial incentives, matching grants and tools to make property improvements and reduce their energy bills;
  • Prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating residential and commercial buildings under the Clean Air Act;
  • Eliminated an early proposal to allow citizens to sue over minor climate risks under the Clean Air Act; and Establishes green building incentives for HUD housing, including a loan program for renewable energy, block grants and credit for upgrades in mortgage underwriting.”

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Intero Insider: Bringing the American Dream Home With 203k Loans

By Gino Blefari | December 16th, 2009 0 Comments

The American Dream. Own a home. Provide for your family. Be part of a community. These are things that each of us want. For many, however, achieving that dream has become harder over the past couple of years.

There are lots of homes for sale. There are lots of homes that are priced incredibly well. More and more of these homes, however, are in desperate need of repair and renovation. Whether the result of age and general neglect, or whether the homes have been gutted by previous owners, the result is the same: the cost of renovations almost immediately puts the reasonably-priced home suddenly out of reach.

But there is a solution: the FHA 203k mortgage loan.

The 203k mortgage offers all of the great benefits of FHA financing, but also covers the costs of renovation. Imagine! The possibilities have tremendous implications for homeowners and their sense of pride, not to mention the benefits to our nation’s economy.

Intero is committed to helping rebuild The American Dream. Intero is committed to rebuilding communities. We’re committed to helping create jobs. We’re committed to YOU.

The financial crisis with which our country is dealing has left many homes distressed. These homes often stand empty, causing neighborhoods and communities to degenerate. The 203k mortgage loan gives homebuyers the opportunity to buy these homes and take advantages of their remarkably low prices, and then pour into them the TLC that they so desperately need. Through this program, they’ll infuse new life into these neighborhoods. They’ll stimulate the economy. And they’ll achieve pride in ownership.

With RE-buildUSA, a program designed to raise consumer awareness and help Americans enjoy the benefits of this incredible opportunity and Lowe’s home improvement centers, we will be able to educate consumers about possibilities that are out there.

Each of our real estate professionals is going through training to become certified 203k mortgage specialists. We will be the experts. As is our goal in everything, we will be mounting the charge head-on to help RE-build our nation’s economy, one homeowner at a time.

The American Dream. It’s out there. With Intero & the 203k mortgage loan, you can achieve it.

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Ten Reasons To Love Mountain View

By Marcy Moyer | December 3rd, 2009 0 Comments

Schools, Schools, Schools! – Like Palo Alto, Mountain View has excellent schools. The Whisman School District is renowned for challenging academics that encourage students to reach their highest potential. Several magnet programs are offered throughout the district, including opportunities for dual language immersion. All schools are equipped with cutting-edge technology. Students consistently achieve some of the highest average test scores in the nation. Making the choice to raise your child in Mountain View guarantees a they’ll get a good education, and it also reinforces the property value of your home–houses in good school districts are always better investments.

Castro Street – This downtown Mountain View centerpiece was designed with leisure in mind–the street is clean and well-lit, with thriving trees everywhere and wide stone benches perfect for quick shopping breaks or enjoying an outdoor lunch. There are a number of bookstores and high-end clothing stores, but the essence of Castro Street is really in the food. Indian-Chinese Fusion, healthy (really!) pizza, Greek, Japanese, Mexican–nearly every cuisine imaginable is represented within six blocks. I had the best mulligatawny of my life at Godavri, a small Indian gem with intensely flavorful food and great service. Lovely small town feel that’s especially romantic at night, when the restaurants prop open their doors and the white lights strung through the trees turn on.

The Best Tennis Courts in Santa Clara County – Cuesta Park is a giant neighborhood park in Mountain View, with 16 tennis courts and great family bike trails. The courts stay open until 11PM and feature spectator areas and high judge’s seats. Everything in the park is well-maintained, and there are bocce ball courts and play areas for kids. Patrolling security guards ensure a family atmosphere, and catching a free concert here in the summertime is a must.

Center for the Performing Arts – The place to go for dance performances, TheatreWorks productions, children’s theatre, and other cultural events. The center is cleverly designed and features state of the art technology. Local artists display their works in the Center’s lobby.

Caltrain Station and Light Rail — Great for commuters and anyone looking to get to nearby San Jose, Palo Alto, or Sunnyvale in a flash. The station has tons of amenities–bicycle lockers and shelters, pay phones, station building with meeting room, and newspaper racks. It’s also right in the heart of downtown Mountain View.

San Antonio Shopping Center — Functional plaza with a variety of stores. Target, Craft, Sears, The Milk Pail, Albertson’s, Payless, WalMart, a 24 hour gym, and best of all–Trader Joe’s. It’s the only Trader Joe’s around and it’s a good-sized store, chocked full of reasonably priced food and wine and Trader Joe’s unique products. I love their cookie dough and blueberry museli. The pre-made wraps and sandwiches in the cooler are also a yummy lunchtime option.

Diverse Housing Styles and Options — Walking through the residential streets in Mountain View is a visual pleasure–the houses are stylistically interesting, and there are many new homes, cottages, and contemporary style homes. It’s also a nice area for buyers looking for alternative housing options. There are a lot of rentals, condos, and town homes in the area.

Bridge School Benefit and Other Concerts at Shoreline Ampitheatre – The annual Bridge School Benefit is organized by Neil Young and his wife Pegi. Every year I look forward to this one. All the proceeds from the concert go toward the Bridge School, which aids children with physical impairments. The line-ups of musician are always good and varied–last October I saw Tom Waits give a riveting performance with the Kronos Quartet, and there are always some fresh faces from the music scene kicking off the night. The Shoreline Ampitheatre is perfect for this event and other concerts–if you arrive early enough you can get close the stage, and if you come late the deal is almost better. Just spread out a blanket on the grass, uncork a bottle of wine, and enjoy the show.

Doggie Heaven at Shoreline Dog Park — Two areas–one for big dogs and one for small dogs, and shaded picnic tables for people too! Outside of each area you’ll find Purell hand sanitizer, paper towels, and poop bags. Water fountains for dogs and people, and close walking distance to downtown. This place is always crowded, so you and your dog will leave with a few new friends. The owners who take their dogs here are respectful, and if you go in the morning you’ll see rake marks in the sandy dog areas–they’re cleaned nightly.

Popcorn! Movies! Popcorn! Century Cinemas 16 is a big commercial movie theater that usually plays 13 or so movies at a time. They always run the latest blockbusters and keep some well-reviewed movies around for a while–handy if you miss the opening weekend rush. There’s a Starbucks stand inside and every theater has those comfy wide chairs that lean back. But my favorite thing about Century 16 is the popcorn. It comes from the same standard glass case with the popping thing inside, but it’s exceptionally good. Even if I’m full from dinner I always cave in to the popcorn when I catch a movie here.

Why do you love Mountain View? It doesn’t matter if you live here or just can’t stop visiting, I want your comments! Fill me on the neighborhood’s best and brightest. Post a comment!

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2010 market forecast: The long recovery continues

By Gino Blefari | November 24th, 2009 0 Comments

After three years of pain, the housing market appears to at last be on the mend.

The California Association of Realtors is projecting a median price increase of 3.3% in 2010. This would have looked anemic just a few years ago, but comes as welcome news to homeowners who have watched their finances – and, in many cases, their lives – turned upside down by collapsing values.

The National Association of Realtors predicts the number of home sales to increase by 13.6% percent in 2010 – fueled, in part, by a rosy forecast for interest rates, which the association sees remaining low through 2010.

At Intero, our view of the Northern California market is not much different. We expect to see continued vitality in the first-time homebuyer market, which accounts for nearly half of all volume. The expansion and extension of the homebuyer tax credit combined with an extremely favorable interest rate environment will see to that.

Vital signs improve in the move-up market

But the key to any housing recovery over my more than three decades in this business has been the “move-up market.” Until those who sell to all those first time buyers in turn move up, the market remains tepid. In 2009, we saw few signs of improvement here due to the huge number of bank owned properties. These properties are not owned by people who move up – they are owned by institutions purging bad assets. You see the problem.

While we do not see this changing dramatically in 2010, we do expect the move-up market (and, in time, the luxury market) to show signs of life for three reasons:

  1. The expansion of the home buyer tax credit beyond first-timers
  2. The middle and upper segments of the market offer prices that are still dramatically lower then their 2005 highs (as opposed to the entry-level market, where prices have already risen from their bottom and multiple-offer scenarios are now commonplace)
  3. The relative strength of the tech sector in Northern California will continue to increase as the economy recovers, fueling demand in the upper strata of the market

Are happy days here again?

Surely, things are looking better heading into 2010 than they have in a long time. While the twin specters of unemployment and foreclosure will continue to exact a toll, it will be less severe. We are moving to a normal market.

But here is my caveat: Normal is not what we experienced in the 2001-2005 bubble. Do not expect credit to become as easy to obtain as it was (and may some of the more “creative” loan products from those days rest in peace!) and do not expect home values to snowball at reality-defying rates.

Those days are gone, at least for now.

But if you want to find a place to live at a reasonable price, if you seek to sell into a market with a strengthening level of demand, and if you believe in the undeniable value of real estate as a long-term investment … well, 2010 may just be your year.

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Housing Market Forecast

By Intero Real Estate | October 14th, 2009 0 Comments

C.A.R. says 2010 will mark the “new normal” for California Housing Market

The California Association of Realtors says median home prices are expected to rise modestly next year as the housing market begins to experience its “new normal.”

“This new normal likely will feature a steady stream of sales driven by distressed properties in the low end of the market, coupled with moderate home-price appreciation,” says James Liptak.

Liptak made his comments as part of C.A.R’s 2010 California Housing Market Forecast.

C.A.R. Vice President Leslie Appleton-Young says distressed properties are expected to account for nearly one-third of sales next year. She also says inventory will be “relatively lean, under six months during the off-season months, and a roughly four-month supply during the peak season.”

“The wild cards for 2010 include foreclosures, loan resets, the labor market and the California budget crises as well as the actions of the federal government,” Appleton-Young said.

For the full report, click here.

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