Random Thoughts on My Blackberry #2

Gee, I must be getting desperate. I starting to post about my Blackberry now rather than Commercial RE.

I'm starting to appreciate my Blackberry more and more and I am actually fitting it into my business. There is some value to being able to access my emails and response to them within minutes, especially now that I figured out that my filters have to set up on my carrier (T-Mobile).

I've also figure out how to move my Outlook Calendar onto it using Google Sync (except I only pushing one way from the Outlook on my laptop to the Blackberry) and this helps a lot and keeps me somewhat organized. Now if I could figure out how to "push" my Tasks and just some of my contacts (instead of all of them) onto the Blackberry, I would be a happy camper. I guess I'll have to spend some more time going through the "Crackberry" forums.

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Random Thoughts on Notice of Trustee's Sale

Have you ever noticed how after you buy something, you start to see them all over the place? You buy (or lease) a new car in that special color and all of the sudden, you start seeing the same car in the same color all over the place.

Well, I had that type of moment this morning while looking through the San Jose Mercury this morning. I was discussing a Notice of Trustee's Sale (NTS) with a client yesterday and today, it seemed that in every section I looked at there was a NTS notice.

Was today an extremely heavy NTS day or have I just not been seeing them?

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Random Thoughts on My Blackberry

Well, I finally succumbed to my kids and have entered the "Blackberry Age". They bought me a Blackberry Curve 8320 (it's nice when both your kids are working) as an early Father's Day present.

Both my son and son-in-law are "Crackberrys", so they've loaded it up with apps and have been trying to explain to me how to use it. (Actually, it hasn't been that difficult since I have grown up through the computer age from a Burroughs mainframe computer to a Blackberry. )

I had a little bit of problem figuring out how to set up the email filters. I finally figure it out and it was a good thing too, considering how many emails I get from all of the commercial brokerages.

So, I'm starting to use it and we'll see where it goes. Hey, at least, it will give me things to post about as I integrate it into my Commercial Real Estate practice. I may even start posting to the blog from it.

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Update - Sunnyvale Town Center

I was listening to KLIV 1590 this morning (one of my favorite news radio stations, especially for the South Bay) and I heard that work has stopped at the Sunnyvale Town Center (click here to see the complete article).

Apparently, the developers have run out of money and are looking for new investors. They expect to start work again in 2 to 3 months. The developers said that since they have spent approximately 250 million dollars on the project so far, they are committed to the project.

I wish them luck. I would love to see the project completed.

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Professional Brokers Forum & The Process of Foreclosure

I attended the Professional Brokers Forum yesterday (I got there late and missed out on most of the lunch). It was very well attended, so either it was the topic, the speaker or a lot of brokers wanted to have lunch. (As you can see below, I think it was because of the speaker.)

If you didn't attend because you thought that topic "The Process of Foreclosure" would be terribly boring, then you missed a great presentation by Michael Yesk, Esq.

I've heard Michael speak before (back in the day when Title Companies use to be able to sponsor everything) and he was great. He made this potentially boring topic really interesting with his examples and interaction with the audience.

So, if you get a chance to attend a presentation by Michael Yesk, Esq., you should take it.

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Professional Brokers' Forum - April 9, 2009

Wow, it's finally back. It been a while since we had a Professional Brokers' Forum (I actually thought that it was gone), but it's back from the dead. This Forum has an interesting mix of brokers and affiliates (it was the first forum that I started attending and lunch is provided by the sponsors).

Professional Brokers' Forum

Date: April 9. 2009
Time: 11:30 - 1:30 PM
Place: 777 North First Street, Mezzanine Room, San Jose, CA
Guest Speaker: Michael Yesk, Esq.
Topic: Process of Commercial Foreclosures
Sponsors: Ron Ricard, IPX 1031 and Peter Kline, Esq., Miller, Morton, Caillat & Nevis

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Random Thoughts on Virtual Office 3

Well, it's been over 3 months since I've been in my "virtual office" and it's been working fairly well (and you can't beat the commute).

The combination of my landline and my cell phone is working really well. I'm in the process of switching my landline from AT&T to Comcast Home Phone. I'll let everyone know how things work out? Anyone have any experience, good or bad, with the Comcast Home Phone?

I'm still getting out to various marketing meeting and commercial forums, just to get out and see "real" people, instead of contact by phone and email. However, it does appear that attendance seems lighter than they use to be.

The one thing I really miss is the color laser printer that I use to have access to in the office. I'm using a color inkjet printer and it's just not cutting it (especially considering the cost of the cartridges).

BTW did anyone catch the Kodak inkjet printer commercial? I remember reading about how Kodak was going to get into the inkjet market by cutting the price of the cartridges to get you to buy their printers.

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Bay Area Apartment Brokers Forum - April 8, 2009

If you've read my blog before, you know that I always recommend attending this forum, even if you're not doing any multi-family deals just because the depth of knowledge. If you are doing multi-family deals, you need to go to this forum on a regular basis. (I will admit since I don't do a lot of multi-family deals, I tend to be sporadic in my attendance.)

Group: Bay Area Apartment Brokers Forum
Guest Speaker: Ric Russell -Managing Partner, NAIBT Commercial
Topic: The Future of Multi-Housing Brokerage in the Bay Area
Date: Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - 8:00 AM
Place: First American Exchange Company, 1737 North First St., San Jose - 4th Floor
Breakfast: Continental Breakfast - no charge - First American Exchange
Chairman: Richard Domich - CB Richard Ellis, Inc.
Vice Chairman: Keith Suddjian - Cornish & Carey Commercial
Membership: Kari Noomen - WaMu - J. P. Morgan Chase
Sponsor: Mary Kay Kennedy - First American Exchange
Adjournment: 9:30 AM

Note: All present will have an opportunity to present their listings, buyer requirements, as well as their analysis of current events and market trends that directly effect the multi-housing (apartment) industry in Silicon Valley and greater Bay Area. (IMHO, sometimes this is the most valuable part of the forum.)

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.