Kristen Supports Ben Comen's Foundation, Living Without Limits

At just 18 years old, Ben Comen's life is an inspiration to us all. A driven cross country runner, Ben has refused to be stopped by his cerebral palsy and his determination is one we should all aspire to. Though Ben's condition affects his balance, and though he typically finishes last in his races, Ben has never been one to stand on the sidelines or give up on the course he's chosen. Through all his efforts, he has been surrounded by teammates, family and friends alike who have cheered him on and supported him in every ambition.
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Ben's way of "giving back" was to, along with his family, establish the Ben Comen, Living Without Limits Fund of the Foothills Community Foundation. This Fund seeks to provide information, resources and support to challenged athletes, and to recognize their accomplishments along with the accomplishments of those who support them.

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At an annual real estate conference Kristen attended last month in Palm Desert, she got an intimate look at the truly irrepressible human spirit behind Living Without Limits. Ben's short documentary about his cross country experiences was shown the second day of the conference, followed by a surprise personal appearance by Ben himself. Within less than an hour, Kristen shared in raising over $12,000 for Living Without Limits and joined 300 other inspired agents in a 5:45am run the following morning with Ben leading the way!!

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"I returned home with a fresh perspective on life, excited about the future and the opportunities I have each and every day so many of us take for granted. I know for me, it's not merely about successfully selling Orange County homes, but having the chance to make a positive impact in my community each and every day by serving others! I learned alot from meeting Ben Comen and am proud I donated to his foundation, Living Without Limits. The best part of the whole experience for me was running with him and cheering him on to the finish!"

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For information on Ben's charity, visit his website at:http://www.livingwithoutlimits.org/lwl.htm

VIEW BEN COMEN'S DOCUMENTARY HERE

See 110 Almador on TV!!

As your favorite Las Palmas Realtor®, I will proudly market your home where the competition isn't-on TV! Be sure to catch your neighbor's very own commercial running from July 30th-August 6th on TBS and USA networks from 6am -4pm!!

I love what I do and I can sell your home too!!! Call me today for a free evaluation of your home and take advantage of my very progressive and customized marketing system to bring your home maximum exposure for maximum results.

View TV commercial now!

2007 Fourth of July Event in Irvine

Good Vibrations-A Fourth of July Celebration

Grammy-nominated surf band Papa Doo Run Run joins the Pacific Symphony with Beach Boys favorite tunes followed by an awesome patiotic fireworks finale!

Date: Wednesday, July 4, 2007 Beginning at 8:00 p.m.

LOCATION: The Verizon Wireless Amphitheater 8808 Irvine Center Drive Irvine, CA 92618

Tickets start at $21.00.

Reserve your seat on line. and enjoy the festivities!

List With Me and Be On TV!!

How exciting to have your very own commercial showcasing your home to thousands of viewers on the most watched TV networks in Irvine!!!

According to the A.C. Nielsen Company the average American watches 3 hours and 46 minutes of TV every day (that's over 52 days of nonstop TV watching each year). By age 65 the average American will have spent nearly 9 years glued to the tube; astonishing numbers!! -And television has proven to be our number one resource for news and media marketing products and awareness.

List with me and we will triple your property exposure (maximizing your financial return possibilities) by featuring your home on prime time television as part of my extremely successful marketing system, carefully individualized to make your property prevail and glow amongst the mass competition in the Orange County market today.

As your community Realtor, I'm committed to taking my services to the next level. Call me direct now for a no obligation market evaluation of your home.

You deserve the best in professional real estate representation and you will find that progressive edge with me.

7 Costly Mistakes Sellers Make

There are many inappropriate steps sellers can take when it comes time to put their house on the market. These are the 7 most common mistakes and how to avoid them.

1: Putting the home on the market before it's properly staged. Usually this happens because the seller gets impatient or is a procrastinator and has pushed him or herself up against a moving deadline failing to get any of the pre-sale work done. So then, it comes on the market with the horrible carpet (that gets replaced during the marketing of the home); or the painting is taking place after it is listing and being shown. Remember you only get one chance to make a first impression, so get the work done before marketing the property.

2: Over remodeling the home for the neighborhood. This happens with additions, bump outs, and upgrades that make the home stand out amongst the other homes in the community- so much so that it's an oddity as opposed to a sleek addition to the community. The buyer will most likely only pay so much extra for upgrades, the rest will come out of the seller's pocket.

3: Pricing the home based on what the seller wants to see him or herself net. This pricing strategy always ends in nonsuccess. Remember, though the seller can control the "asking" price, they cannot control the "sales" price. It's the black and white, matter of fact reality of the market place that determines this.

4: Hiring an agent based on personal reasons. It might seem nice to hand over your largest asset to your nephew who is a state licensee, but be sure you understand the consequences and risks involved if your deal starts going south.

5: Getting emotionally tied into the sale of the home. This is one of the biggest challenges sellers face when putting their house on the market. Once you decide to sell your home, it's no longer a house, but a commodity. It should be prepared as a commodity, marketed as a commodity, and priced as a commodity. It makes no difference what you "want," only what the market can bear on pricing. Buyers and agents are going to come in to kick the tires and so you cannot get over emotional about how they may or may not appreciate the nuances of your home of six years.

6: Trying to cover up problems or avoid disclosing them. Most states have a property disclosure form; hire an agent like myself who will help you use it wisely-but remember that just because you disclaim does not mean you cannot be later sued for the leaky basement, or dilapidated heating/air system the buyers discover 30 days after taking possession. Remember, it's surprises that drive buyers to sue, and less so problems that were already adequately disclosed.

7: Putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. This would involve the mortgage financing and reading the fine print to ensure no pre-payment penalties, not listening to the particulars of your local market and so on. If your area market is dictating lower home prices, then lower it early and not later, It WILL cost you if you don't. If the local market dictates selling your home first and then buying, do it in that order or vice versa.

Avoiding these mistakes is not that difficult when you have experienced and professional representation. As your Las Palmas REALTOR®, I am here to help you step over the pitfalls.

Ask The Expert

Simply click on "comments" below to post your real estate related question and check back shortly for the answer directly from your Las Palmas Realtor®, Kristen Jason.

Feel free to bookmark this link and check back for more real estate Q & A as the activity on this blog continues to grow.

Thank you!

Easter Seals And Century 21

Century 21 Real Estate LLC is the largest corporate sponsor for Easter Seals and has been for over 25 years. At Century 21 Professionals we're proud of the support we've provided locally for over 20 years. We know that Easter Seals provides services that promote equality, dignity, and independence for children and adults with disabilities. The money raised stays in the local community and 88% of it goes to direct client services. Year after year Easter Seals has been ranked #1 by the National Health Council for the high percentage of dollars spent directly on program services. Throughout the year we raise money through a variety of Century 21 Professionals' meetings, parties, and events to solicit contributions. In 2006, Century 21 Professionals contributed over $10,000! Century 21 Professionals is a continuing proud supporter of Easter Seals annual "Walk With Me" event which in our area is held at Knotts Berry Farm. April 28, 2007 we joined others and walked and raised money so that Easter Seals received from "Walk With Me" contributors in our Southern California area of over $72,000.00. This was $12,000 more than in 2006! Century 21 Professionals agents, staff, friends, and family walk because generosity never goes out of style...because we feel good about giving...and because we help change the lives of people living with autism and other disabilities. We'll do it again in 2008!

by Maureen J. Bauer

Gary Watts-2007 Real Estate Forecast

Who can predict real estate? Who has it pegged? Email me for a current 2007 Mr. Watts real estate forcast. His educated guess is as good as it gets and has been for decades!!

Irvine schools

A little bit interesting and perhaps somewhat of a sensitive subject. Irvine is renowned for it's nationally recognized schools. But today with the overwhelming rise and issue of over crowded class rooms, even Irvine parents are taking a second look at enrolling their children in private schools no matter the additional expense and transportation challenges.

Write your comments please. We all need feedback and support!!

Thank you!

Irvine Private Schools Link

Free Gift Certificate To The Claim Jumper

A Little Trivia:

Ok, you are preparing to sell your home... You'd like to make improvements, but you've heard that you may not get the best returns on your investments. What two areas of improvements in your home, will typically bring the greatest return?

The first to email me with the correct answer will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to the Claim Jumper. The correct answer must be received by 12:00 am June 12th. All that is required of you to claim your reward is to include your full name and correct phone number where you can be reached. You will not be bombared with unsolicited emails or phone calls, this I promise. Email your answer to: kristen.jason@century21.com Good luck!!!

If you miss the deadline, come back and visit. More trivia give aways to follow.

Brand New Luxury Homes. Unbelieveable Prices!!

With the slow of the market, many of the residential home builders are offering broad options on new, highly upgraded homes at outrageously competitive prices. The catch? Prime OC or optimal location and availability are limited. But as your highly active community Realtor®, my broad network and contacts in the industry lead me access to the most desirable locations as well as first dibs on feature options, the best tract locations, optimal time frame negotiations, financial options and much much more all at no cost to you.

Call me for details -
Mobile and direct: 949-241-7403

Where's 2007 Headed?

Though we witnessed substantial changes in the real estate market in 2006, Orange County real estate stays strong. Our community to this day remains one of the most highly desirable places in the world to live. And when you consider that the city of Irvine alone has drawn over 91,750 new residents just since the year 1990, (an overwhelming average of 5,397 new residents each year) that's pretty mind boggling, wouldn't you agree? And we are essentially out of land, I'm not sure how that would give any of us indication of the market's potential to fall flat. We're even on the fast tract building high rise condominium communities, just to keep up with the community population growth and high demand of the beautiful area living.

*Source: 1990, 2000 Census. 2006 Calif. Dept. of Finance

The facts and figures will show there is an exceedingly and ever increasing demand for housing in Orange County, one that continues to grow at a pace that might be difficult to truly grasp. Would it be fair to say that for those who are waiting for the real estate bubble to burst, will most likely really be waiting for a very very long time? Yes, the number of Orange County home sales are down, this is a fact and the other one is that the housing prices (even in this market) are continuing to rise; YES that's right, rise!

We are growing as a community and the real estate market pattern must and will continue to follow. Dating back to the earliest years of housing developments in Southern California, we are moving in only one direction!

If you have been thinking about moving up into a larger home, or perhaps purchasing a single detached home in the area, now has never been a better time to buy. The real estate market will always fluctuate and have pockets of changes, but over all it is still the best darn investment you can make. And today we are seeing a very rare and unique window of opportunity-the housing prices are down and the rates are at an all time low- who knows how long we can expect this to last?

Call me for a no obligation consultation, deal with the real numbers, not false promises and make an informed decision for yourself that will improve the quality of your life-capitalizing on the unbelievable financial opportunities our real estate market has to offer today. Improve your Orange County lifestyle, the one you have so learned to live and love.

I hope it's o.k. with you-I strive to deliver first class, top notch customer service. You are the boss! I do not operate high volume and I work diligently to provide you all the personalized attention you deserve. You can count on me consistantly for my loyalty, honesty, attention to detail and of course unmatched upstanding professional service from start to finish. You will be excited with our results and most of all you will be proud to recommend me to your friends and family!

See your smiling faces around.

Warm Regards,
Kristen Jason

First Class Service!

Our Very Own On-line Community!

Hello dear neighbor and friend, thanks for stopping by and for joining our new Las Palmas blog. I'm sure you may have grown quite familiar with me by now and have seen me around the way working diligently; I have a deep passion for real estate and the West Park-Irvine area. And as your very own Las Palmas Realtor®, I have created this blog just for you to enjoy!

Again, I'm so glad you are here! Feel free to browse around as you will find up to date real estate news, along with general information, community activities and more- concentrated not only on the Irvine area, but specifically our Las Palmas community.

Posting Comments

I highly encourage your comment posts; this is a wonderful way for you, a very special Las Palmas homeowner and or resident to bring out areas of interest or concern, commentary and so on to others in our community. I truly hope to see this blog continue to grow, just as the equity here has continued to do so over the years for those of us who are fortunate enough to own property in the Orange County area.

Please feel free to bookmark this website and come back to visit as often as you please for continued updates and additions. Again, your comment-posts are encouraged and greatly appreciated. Please send your feedback to kristen.jason@century21.com.

Warm regards,
Kristen Jason