Today's HOMEspun Wisdom

Top 10 Unique Places to Welcome the New Year

Top 10 Unique Places to Welcome the New Year

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006-When the holidays come around, finding something fun and memorable to do on New Year's Eve should be a top priority. One way to have a memorable New Year's is to spend it away from home; use your vacation time wisely and visit a top party destination. In fact, with these 10 hotspots, you'll be partying like it's 1999.

Number 10 Hawaii
Whether part of an all-inclusive package or on your own, there is a lot to do in Hawaii during New Year's. You can book a nightlong cruise from Waikiki as well, where a nightclub atmosphere and live band can be found on a luxury yacht. As midnight approaches, those onboard will have a great view of the New Year's Eve fireworks.
Must-do: Try to get tickets to a Hawaiian gala, where traditional New Year's practices are mixed with good old-fashioned fun.

Number 9 Vienna
In the capital of Austria, substitute nightlong dance raves with dignified balls, and loud club music with the world's best symphonies. The Old World city comes alive by offering the Kaiserball at the Hofburg Palace on New Year's Eve.
Must-see: On New Year's Eve, the Vienna Philharmonic puts on a concert at the great Musikverein hall.

Number 8 Madeira
On this Portuguese island you can rent out a villa and soak up the atmosphere and beaches, or join the populace in watching Madeira's famous fireworks and outdoor parties. Instead of, or along with, champagne, try the famous fortified wines, as well as the Poncha and Nikita cocktails.
Must-do: Prior to the festivities, eat out and try Madeira's local dishes, like black swordfish and espetada (meat brochettes).

Number 7 Goa
Aside from privacy, great beaches and idyllic scenery, the resorts and hotels in Goa will treat you like royalty. Holiday packages include complimentary tours of the state, planned New Year's events for those who want to mingle and several amenities to make you and your significant other more comfortable.
Must-see: Baga Beach and a drink at Tito's, Goa's most popular nightclub.

Number 6 Tokyo
For New Year's, two different but equally fun opportunities present themselves in Japan's greatest city. Traditionalists enjoy visiting Tokyo's Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples to celebrate in style and pray for good luck in the New Year. Amazing festivals are held in these shrines, replete with music and dancers dressed in ornate costumes.
Must-see: On January 2nd, the Imperial Palace is open to the public. You can tour the grounds and catch a glimpse of Japan's Emperor.

Number 5 Morocco
When the champagne-filled parties get old, it's time to consider something completely different. Certain Moroccan tour companies organize desert tours for New Year's, where travelers get to spend the memorable night in an incredible oasis. You can stay in the ancient city of Ouarzazate, then move out into the Sahara and experience a nomadic lifestyle with the natives.
Must-see: After midnight, catch the bonfire and nomadic dances, which help transform the desert into an outdoor dancehall.

Number 4 Sydney
Visit Sydney's most popular spot on New Year's-the Harbor Bridge, where people come in droves to watch an impressive display of fireworks that starts over the water at the stroke of midnight. If you can't get on the bridge, sit on the steps of the legendary Sydney Opera House. Better yet, book a private charter boat for the night and observe the action from the water.
Must-do: Prior to partying, grab a window seat in one of Sydney's high-rise restaurants to get a view of the city's activities while dining on great food.

Number 3 Las Vegas
Want to gamble your money away, live in luxury and see the stars? Then hit Sin City for the ultimate bash. The standard Vegas activities are revamped for New Year's Eve, as the strip is closed to traffic after 5 p.m. and is transformed into an enormous block party. As an added bonus, you're likely to spot as many street performers as you do celebrities.
Must-see: The fireworks at midnight, which are best seen in front of Caesars Palace's Forum Shops or on the observation deck of the Stratosphere.

Number 2 Cape Town
There's a lot to see and do in this diverse, vibrant South African metropolis. Cape Town holds a New Year's carnival, attracting 80,000 enthusiastic tourists and locals. This festival entertains in every aspect, offering great food, music and shows all night long.
Aside from the carnival, outdoor concerts, fireworks and a hospitable atmosphere in most restaurants mean you can find something to do in every corner.
Must-see: The V&A Waterfront is Cape Town's fine harbor area and a great place to grab a drink and watch traditional African song and dance in the many lounges nearby.

Number 1 Rio de Janeiro
Rio is a party city all year-round, so imagine the ruckus that occurs when it's time to ring in the New Year. Copacabana Beach serves as the setting for many of the outdoor parties, where in accordance with tradition, 2 million partiers are usually all dressed in white.
Must-do: At the stroke of midnight, celebrate by going for a dip in the ocean.

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Presents aren't All That Buyers Will Be Spending Money on This Holiday Season

Inventory and time-on-market remain stable, good for buyers

Inventory and time-on-market remain stable, good for buyers

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006-In spite of bleak forecasts on the part of some industry watchers, South Florida's real estate market is relatively stable, making this a good time to buy according to the latest survey released by the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale (RAGFL).

RAGFL's November sales figures reveal inventory remains at a healthy level, but the time homes spent on the market before selling kept pace with October's decline, making South Florida residential real estate competitive for both buyers and sellers alike. Time on market for both single family homes and condo-townhomes show no change from October to November in sales closed between 30 to 121+ days. Meanwhile, available single family home inventory remained constant - 10,794 last month compared with 10,783 in October (0% change). The total number of single family homes sold also reflected no change, with 668 sales last month and 670 the month prior.

Nationwide, home sales typically decline dramatically this time of year, but South Florida is not a typical market," says RAGFL President Dorine Longhini, CIPS, CRS, PMN. Along with the influx of seasonal residents and tourists, come many individuals and families who are shopping for homes while visiting the area, so our sales pace through December and January tends to be stronger than most other markets."

Categories exhibiting minor changes during November were new listings for all property types, which declined 2%, from 8,963 in October to 8,783 in November; available inventory for all property types showed a 2% increase, from 33,610 to 34,176; and available inventory for condo-townhomes increased from 13,997 to 14,408, or 3%.

Median sales prices for single family homes and condo-townhomes reflected 2% and 4% declines respectively. The median price of a single family home dropped to $352,500 from $359,950 in October. Median prices for condo-townhomes decreased 4% month-to-month, registering at $200,000 in November compared with $207,500 the previous month, however, the median price is up 4% from $193,000 one year ago.

New listings for condo-townhomes increased 5% from 3,140 in October to 3,306 in November, while new listings for single family homes dropped 9% from 2,757 to 2,512. Average sales prices and total dollar volume for single family homes both dropped 6% from October to November, with the average price declining $25,497 from $448,192 to $422, 695. Condo-townhomes revealed similar statistics, with closed sales down to 585 from 641 in October (-9%).

What it boils down to, is that there are plenty of homes being offered throughout South Florida across a wide variety of price ranges, making this a great time for buyers to purchase a spectacular home," adds Longhini. Purchasing real estate in South Florida is still an excellent investment, and a new home would be a great way to start the New Year."

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Business Development: An Education in Education

Coldwell Banker-Dallas/Fort Worth reinvents its sales associate training program to meet the needs of today's real estate professionals

Coldwell Banker-Dallas/Fort Worth reinvents its sales associate training program to meet the needs of today's real estate professionals

By Stephanie Andre

Most real estate brokerages believe their training programs for new agents are effective and successful. But how effectual are they, really? In this market of change-where newbies go sometimes two to three months before getting their first listing-new sales associates need a program that's designed for the market now, not two years ago. Here, Clark Toole, regional president and chief operating officer of NRT's Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage-Dallas/Fort Worth operation, talks about the decision to reinvent his company's training program and the impact it's made on newer-and more-seasoned-sales associates alike.

Real Estate magazine: Please explain the decision to redesign your training program.
Clark Toole: About 18 months ago, I discovered that only 30% of our new sales associates had a sale or listing in the first three months. This is a problem throughout the industry and we decided to do something about it. I brought the entire education department in and we basically threw out the old program. We want sales associates to come in and have a listing or sale within the first 30 days, and we redesigned our skill development efforts to make that happen.

RE: What is the most important lesson to convey in the new education program?
CT: We believe we're on the right track if we can focus in and say, who do you contact and what do you say?" It starts with the success cycle-have a great contact management system so when an associate has someone with even the start of a good relationship, they can develop and nurture it.

RE: What are some of the differences between the two programs?
CT: We have altered the original program to focus in on what it takes to get business in 30 days. The greatest thing that has made a difference is that we can now measure and track those in the training program. We are very specific when associates first come in-how many contacts do you have? Who are they? Did you pass out business cards? What about FSBOs? We get this information from them everyday and then post it in our training room.

RE: How is tracking/measuring making a difference in their training?
CT: We look at each person's training individually. If they're making a lot of contacts, but have no appointments, there is a problem with something they are saying. If they are going on multiple listing presentations, but not getting the customer, we need to review their presentation. This really allows us to evaluate our people-and our classes.

Overall, the measurement of education is lacking in this industry. A lot of companies say, we have great training," but what information do they have to validate that? The ability to track progress allows us to go back and adjust and tweak. It's a quantitative approach, really. By looking at the numbers, the beautiful thing is that we can see what's working and what's not. If we can monitor profits and losses, why can't we do that with training?

RE: What's the next step after they've completed the basic training program?
CT: Once sales associates complete the FastStart program, they immediately move into our coaching program. All of our managers are certified coaches through Ron Willingham's Integrity Coaching. We have tuned the program for our company, and included more prospecting.

We also have a written scripts book, which we implemented with our managers about 18 months ago. The managers hold script practices with our sales associates. I have always found it interesting that people will go out and practice their hobbies, but not their profession. They don't envision practicing for business as fun. Yet, at every script practice I've been to, everyone is laughing and having a good time.

We're building a new culture, where instead of coming to the office on Monday and saying, how was the movie?" people are asking, how did you handle this objection?" It's been tremendous.

We also hold educational workshops every week where we work with the sales associates to develop business plans and implement them. I think these workshops are going to work well as we move into 2007.

RE: What are your short-term as well as long-term goals for the training program?
CT: As we move ahead, we're looking to focus on and build powerful sales associates. If we have that, we will give truly remarkable service. Not only repeat business-but referrals as well. As we build this new culture in our company, our agents are getting better at their jobs. I've been in this business a long time. To have people in practice-and enjoying themselves doing it-is a beautiful thing.

RE: Thus far, how has the response been from your sales associates?
CT: New people are excited about the program and our experienced sales associates are very curious about it. Our associates are coming into our script practices and wanting to be coached.

You don't build a culture in a few weeks, but we're starting to see the start of some great things-and great business.

RE: Do you think this type of revised training will become more prevalent in the industry?
CT: We're seeing more listings, and more competition between listings in terms of more homes on the market. The question is, What do you need to get them sold?" You need knowledgeable sales professionals who can not only talk to customers, but are also convincing, great at marketing, and superior at negotiation. A skilled agent who knows what to say and how to say it is going to be in tremendous demand.

Overall, in real estate, so many Realtors-about 50%-fail in their first year. Shame on the industry. By having this program, tracking and working with our managers, we are minimizing loss and retaining valuable sales associates.

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source: isucceed.com

Best Practices: Five Strategies for Hiring the Right Loan Officer

Lack of quality people can be a company's greatest challenge

Lack of quality people can be a company's greatest challenge

By Jeff Mandel

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006-One of the biggest challenges we see in many underperforming in-house mortgage operations is a lack of quality people and/or overcompensated individuals who care more about their personal returns than the companies they support.

Without a great manager on board, the operation will always function with a severe handicap: recruiting quality loan officers will be difficult, leadership will be limited, integration with your office managers becomes more difficult, training and coaching are often ineffective, and the accountabilities noted above are unmanaged.

The following are some key best practices to implement within your operation:

1. Staff appropriately with experienced personnel who embrace your company's culture and objectives

2. Hire the loan officers that match the culture and needs of each of your respective offices

3. Align compensation to incent the correct behavior and ensure that the loan officer is not the only one making money

4. Continuously train your loan officers on captive lending and relationship building best practices

5. Ensure the accountabilities noted above are implemented at all levels of your organization.

Equally important is ensuring that you have a tremendous amount of cultural synergy between your organization and the company with which you form a partnership. It is just as important as establishing a good culture. A lack of synergy between companies is typically a red-flag for downstream challenges that lead to a partnership's challenges and demise.

It is essential that both companies' strategies, core objectives, operational methods, communication styles, etc., are aligned or when the inevitable challenges are faced, they become insurmountable.

The key to your loan officers consistently winning the referrals from your real estate professionals is not through bringing lunches to meetings, it is through building trusted partnerships with them, one at a time. Many of the best companies have begun to successfully grow their business by providing the real estate professionals and their customers' guarantees for closing costs and on-time closings that are backed with financial penalties paid directly to the customers. This strategy ties directly into the culture and related best practices noted above.

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Realogy To Be Acquired By Apollo Mgmt. in $9 Billion All-Cash Transaction

Realogy stockholders to receive $30 per share

RISMEDIA, December 18, 2006--Realogy Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement for the company to be acquired by an affiliate of Apollo Management, L.P., a leading private equity firm, in a transaction valued at approximately $9 billion, including the assumption or repayment of approximately $1.6 billion of net indebtedness and legacy contingent and other liabilities of approximately $750 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Realogy stockholders would receive $30.00 per share in cash at closing, representing a premium of 18 percent over Friday's market closing price of $25.50 and a premium of 26 percent over Realogy's average closing share price since its spin-off from Cendant Corporation on August 1, 2006. In addition, the total transaction value represents a multiple of approximately 11 times the mid-point of the Company's previously released 2006 EBITDA guidance before restructuring and spin-off-related costs, and approximately 12 times the consensus Wall Street estimate of 2007 Company EBITDA.

On the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of the Board of Directors comprised entirely of independent and disinterested directors, the Board of Directors of Realogy approved the agreement and recommended that Realogy's stockholders adopt the agreement.

After careful consideration, our board of directors has concluded that this transaction is in the best interests of Realogy and our stockholders," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Henry R. Silverman said. It will enable stockholders to realize the value of Realogy's fundamentally strong businesses. At the same time, the valuation takes into account the substantial pressures and uncertainties facing the residential real estate markets that may well continue for some time. Realogy will benefit from ownership by an investor committed to building further on the solid foundation provided by the Company's leading market positions and to developing long-term opportunities for growth."

Commenting on the transaction, Marc Becker, partner at Apollo, said, Realogy's powerful real estate brands and their long heritage of leadership in the industry serve as a strong platform for future growth and we are pleased to again have it as part of our investment portfolio. We are committed to working with Realogy's talented senior management team and dedicated employees to invest in the business and position it for long-term growth and success."

We are excited about the opportunity to grow our company in partnership with Apollo," said Vice Chairman and President Richard A. Smith. Apollo's interest in our company is a clear recognition of the attractiveness of Realogy, our businesses and the success we have achieved. Apollo has a strong track record of growing businesses. Under its ownership, Realogy's strong and highly competitive franchising, brokerage, relocation and title services businesses will be able to continue moving forward, executing our current business plans and developing new opportunities for growth."

Pursuant to existing contractual arrangements, it is expected that Silverman will continue to serve as Chairman and CEO until the expiration of his current employment agreement on December 31, 2007, at which time it is expected that he will be succeeded as CEO by Smith. Silverman and the Company have agreed that he will not be an equity participant with Apollo in the acquisition, and will receive the same per share consideration for his shares and in-the-money options as other stockholders and optionholders under the merger agreement. As with all other optionholders, all of Silverman's out-of-the-money options will be cancelled. No discussions have been held with other members of senior management regarding management participation in the transaction, but it is anticipated that the senior management team will remain with the company following the transaction's closing.

There is no financing condition to the obligations of Apollo to consummate the transaction, and Apollo has already secured commitments from JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Bear Stearns to provide the debt financing for this cash transaction. In addition, Apollo has committed to provide $2 billion of equity to complete the transaction.

The agreement is subject to the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Realogy, antitrust and insurance approvals, and other customary closing conditions. Realogy and Apollo currently anticipate consummating the transaction in the spring of 2007. Upon the closing of the transaction, shares of Realogy common stock would no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Under the terms of the agreement, Realogy may solicit alternative proposals from third parties until February 14, 2007 and intends to consider any such proposals through its special committee and with the assistance of its independent advisors. In addition, Realogy may, at any time, subject to the terms of the merger agreement, respond to unsolicited proposals. If the company accepts a superior proposal, a break-up fee would be payable by the Company to Apollo.

Realogy advises that there can be no assurance that the solicitation of superior proposals will result in an alternative transaction.

Substantially all of the Company's Floating Rate Senior Notes due 2009, 6.150% Senior Notes due 2011 and 6.500% Senior Notes due 2016 will be either assumed or repaid. The transaction, however, does not require the consent of any bondholders. In the event that Realogy's credit rating falls below investment grade and a change of control has occurred, the Company would be required to offer to repurchase these Notes at 100% of face value following the closing.

Realogy has received a written legal opinion that the transaction with Apollo will not impact the tax-free nature of the Company's spin-off from Cendant Corporation. Realogy became a publicly traded real estate services company listed on the NYSE and a member of the S&P 500 on August 1, 2006, after completing its spin-off from Cendant Corporation. Previously, Realogy's business units and brands operated as part of the Cendant Real Estate Services Division.

In connection with the transaction, Evercore Partners served as financial advisor to Realogy; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom served as its legal counsel. JPMorgan and Credit Suisse served as financial advisors to Apollo; and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as its legal counsel. JPMorgan, Credit Suisse and Bear Stearns are providing Apollo with debt financing.

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source: isucceed.com