Much more importantly it should be noted that with a 20% down payment and an average growth year of nearly 8% in California, the increase in your equity or investment has climbed by 40%.  With a 10% down payment the gain realized would be 80%.  There are no other investments with less long-term risk and proven rewards.

Do the math for yourself and calculate how an increase in rates from 6.5% to 8% or even 12% would affect your monthly payments.  Consequently, the ability to purchase or invest in real estate would change quite a bit should those prevailing rates return.  Even during the double-digit rates of the 1980s that decade saw 168% and 231% increases in housing values in the United States and California respectively.

Pride of ownership is also key.  There is a big difference between how people treat and maintain their homes as compared to their apartments.  That´s just human nature.  It´s very nice to come home to a well manicured lawn, especially when you´ve put the work into your own yard and landscaping.

The negatives are easy enough to imagine: less privacy, little or no yard space, shared common areas including laundry and parking, etcetera.  Dealing with an HOA board can also leave much to be desired, but you cannot pick your neighbors when buying a house, so in many respects it´s the same boat.

Econ 101 - How would you expect prices and demand to be affected by
12,573,213 more people in California between 2000 and 2030?
Census 2000	Population	2030 Projections	2030 Projections	Change: 2000 to 2030	Population Increase
United States	281,421,906	United States	363,584,435	United States	82,162,529
California	33,871,648	California	46,444,861	California	12,573,213
Texas	20,851,820	Texas	33,317,744	Arizona	5,581,765
New York	18,976,457	Florida	28,685,769	Florida	12,703,391
Florida	15,982,378	New York	19,477,429	Texas	12,465,924
Illinois	12,419,293	Illinois	13,432,892	North Carolina	4,178,426
From the U.S. Census Bureau website
15.3% of the 30-year population growth in the U.S. is projected to take place in California.

Question 7 - Everyone in California seems to know someone (or many people) with a real estate license.  How many agents are there, and what are the differences?

Answer - With a population of 36 million in the state and about 548,000 people with a real estate license, that means 1 of every 65 Californians has a license.  This is an enormous increase from less than 300,000 just 10 years ago.  Those numbers are staggering, and the obvious disparity between members of this group is substantial, where both experience and level of success are concerned.

The average real estate agent represents 1 single transaction each year.  The universal 80-20 rule is clearly in effect for realtors; the top 20% of the field is responsible for 80% of the business.  This is true because so many agents are either very new and have limited experience, while the middle ground is relatively stagnant (working part-time or on the verge of retirement), and the top tiers of the field are constantly improving.  Some of those in the bottom 80% are renters, so all of these factors should be considered.  The main difference with any competitive profession is the level of success.  Should you choose someone in the middle of the pack or at the top of their field?  Interview 3 or 4 agents or go to open houses and meet a bunch of us.  You will notice the difference, especially if the right questions are asked about the market and their experience.

If your principals keep you from making rash decisions, you obviously wouldn´t buy a house in the course of a weekend, nor would you hire a realtor after a single conversation.  When I have sought out the counsel of fellow realtors in other states, my questions have focused on where they live in conjunction to my neighborhood of interest, how much time they´ve been selling homes, and where they rank among their colleagues.  I´ve also asked about their own portfolios, level of understanding of the local market conditions, and the admittedly weak spot(s) in their service.  Candor and humility is a disarming trait for me, but that´s just me.

Testimonials are a very good way to see the results of someone´s work and commitment to their clients.  If someone has been in the business for 10 years and they have merely 10 testimonials, that should raise a red flag.  If an agent is willing to give you the phone number for past clients and their manager (not to mention colleagues), those would be excellent sources.  As they say, the clearest window into future behavior is past behavior.

Well, in the case of Platinum Capital, they have three mortgage brokers who have not only done an outstanding job for our mutual clients, not only have they helped my wife and me with 10 different loans since 2000, but they have even referred us to a direct lender for two of those loans.  Brian Guth, Jason Vanderpoort, and Erin Murphy could not match the competitive financing product that we needed in those two cases, and they simply made a few phones calls to put us in the reliable hands of a colleague of theirs.  Their advice over the years has been nothing less than invaluable to us.  Much more can be read about their business and services on the 24hr Loan Approval page as well as the Testimonials page.

One of the most popular real estate coaches, Tom Ferry, says that realtors "solve problems for a living," and that is about as concise as it gets.  Most anyone can find a property and get to know the contractual end of things, but the experience of actually listening to clients needs and solving problems before, during, and after the escrow process is ultimately what you are paying your realtor to do for you.

Our ALC (agent leadership council) had an intimate lunch with The lieutenant of the company down in Austin in the spring of 2007.  Mo Anderson is a self-made firecracker of a woman from Oklahoma with a story for every set of circumstances under the sun.  She captivated her small audience of just the seven or eight of us (including our manager and the owner of our market center), and that was quite a treat.  It was a motivating experience that will stay with me for years to come.

On a more personal note, after years of separation from my public school teaching days, I have been able to return to the classroom and lead the education of all of the new agents who join our office.  That aspect alone has been a homecoming of sorts for me.  I´ve led discussions during our weekly office meetings every Monday morning and even filled in for our team leader/office manager during her absence.  Those are some big shoes to fill!  Many successful agents go on to open or purchase their own offices, and with a growing company, Keller Williams is new to some areas in the country.  The bottom line revolves around the opportunity that this company offers, and it is essentially limitless.

The Business Section of the Los Angeles has a great new interactive resource.  Take a look at this link to see how
SoCal median home prices have changed from 1988 to 2008 -  
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-medianhomesales-chart,0,3900278.htmlstory


The Reality Of Realty - http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3106407n
selling your own home, realtors can add 16% to the list price, sweat-equity