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Southern California Real Estate Buyers and Sellers Get Ready to Jingle All The Way with First Team Real Estate’s Extreme Holiday Makeover Contest

Saturday, January 4th, 2014


Irvine, CA (PRWEB) November 20, 2013

With stores quickly hanging holiday decorations and Southern California radio adding Christmas songs to their playlists, the Extreme Holiday Makeover by First Team Real Estate is starting to pick up hundreds of contest entries.

“Everybody wants to get in on the fun this season,” said Rick Brotherton, Vice President, Marketing for First Team. “As the chill hits the air, people are entering our contest to have ‘the’ house this holiday season.”

The winning entry for the Extreme Holiday Makeover will receive $ 5,000 in professional holiday decorating along with clean up at the end of the holidays and a $ 500 voucher for power expenses. Runners up will receive American Express gift cards to help make their holiday season bright, although not as bright as $ 5,000 in lights!

“This holiday, the winning family will definitely have the brightest house on the block,” explained Rick Brotherton. “Our hope is that all the lights and decorations will be a trigger for some of the best neighborhood parties and family memories in Southern California history!”

Designed to help Southern California home buyers and sellers celebrate one of the brightest years in local real estate in memory, the Makeover contest will cap one of the biggest years in First Team Real Estate’s history.

“The Southern California real estate market has been up by double digits for over 20 months and in key markets like luxury homes above $ 1 million, our market share has been increasing by over 30% faster than our nearest competitor,” said Chris Pollinger, Senior Vice President, Sales for First Team Real Estate. “These achievements are all a great reason to celebrate, and the Extreme Holiday Makeover is the perfect way to do it!”

For more information or to enter the Extreme Holiday Makeover contest, go to http://ow.ly/qVZb5.

ABOUT FIRST TEAM REAL ESTATE

Growing from a single office in Huntington Beach, CA in 1976, First Team Real Estate is now Southern California’s largest and most trusted private real estate agency with offices across California. In 2011, 2012, and 2013 First Team was recognized as Best Real Estate Company by the annual Orange County Register survey of 100,000 Southern California households. We can be reached at (888) 236-1943.

ABOUT FIRSTTEAM.COM

Firstteam.com is the official website of First Team Real Estate, and is used daily by thousands of unique users who trust its property and market analysis data which is updated four times daily on average. According to independent rating organizations of Internet usage and reach, firstteam.com is the most used brokerage property web site serving Southern California. For more information go to http://ow.ly/lZH0G.







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Jamie McCourt Announces Purchase of 22-acre Property and Vineyard in Napa County, California

Thursday, December 19th, 2013

(PRWEB) November 18, 2013

Investor Jamie McCourt, owner of venture capital firm Jamie Enterprises, has purchased a 22-acre vineyard and estate in the town of Rutherford in Napa County, California.

The main house on the luxury property was designed by award-winning architect Scott Johnson of Johnson Fain, who was also principal designer of the nearby and highly praised Opus One winery for Robert Mondavi and the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild. The property features a garden of sculpted, mature trees and a dramatic 75-foot lap pool, which runs perpendicular to the main house. The estates guest house, which won an AIA award, was designed by noted architect Stanley Saitowitz.

Sothebys International Realty Wine Country agent Ginger Martin represented McCourt in the transaction.

I was drawn to the property by the promise of its remarkable vines, but my decision to buy was strengthened by the stunning contemporary architecture, which beautifully blends into its natural setting, and by the propertys spectacular, expansive views of the surrounding Napa countryside, Jamie said. The vineyard, which was carefully planted and nurtured by its previous owners, is one of the most precious and one of the best in the Napa Valley. Robert Parkers 93-point score for the vineyards 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon and his 92+ score for the 2007 vintage made the wine world stand up and take notice of what was being grown at this elegant address in the Napa Valley. I intend to continue and expand that reputation for excellence, and Im thrilled that David Abreu will be my vineyard manager.

The hillside property, which overlooks the world-famous Auberge du Soleil resort, will be operated as a commercial venture. Wines from the property have appeared on the prestigious lists of many elite restaurants, the Mandarin Oriental and Ritz Carlton Hotels in San Francisco, the Four Seasons Hotel in Santa Barbara, and the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Jamie McCourt is a respected food and wine connoisseur. She trained in the South of France with the legendary and visionary Madeleine Kamman. She is also an investor in a variety of culinary ventures including Bouchon of Beverly Hills, founded by her friend, the celebrated Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame.

About Jamie Enterprises

Investment firm Jamie Enterprises principally invests in high-value real estate, biotechnology ventures, and early-stage technology start-ups. Jamie was an early stage investor in ZipCar, now the nations largest peer-to-peer car sharing service, and is the owner of Jamie M Vineyards in the Napa Valley of California.

Jamie McCourt is the former co-owner, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers and an attorney who has practiced law in the States of New York and Massachusetts. She graduated with a degree in French from Georgetown University and has studied language and French literature at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Jamie is an MBA graduate of MITs Sloan School of Management and serves on the Sloan Schools North America Executive Board.

As an active philanthropist, Jamie serves on the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, as well as its Finance Committee. She is a member of the Centre Pompidou Foundation and is on the National Board of Directors of the American Friends of The Hebrew University. She was a visiting professor for four years at the graduate level in the UCLA Anderson School of Management and currently serves on the Executive Board of the Anderson School. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees at the University of Southern California.

The Jamie M Foundation focuses its giving on promoting the role of women in senior management, business education, contemporary art and support for the worldwide Jewish community.







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This Week’s Hot Home News: New Florida Condo Where Owners Can Take Their Car to the Penthouse Under Construction – Jack Klugman’s California Horse Ranch Auction July 27

Friday, July 26th, 2013


Pompano Beach, FL (PRWEB) July 22, 2013

This week, TopTenRealEstateDeals.com takes a look at a new Florida condo building where owners will be able to take their car up to their living room – even the penthouse. Also, the July 27th auction of the California estate that TV’s “The Odd Couple” star Jack Klugman built to be near his horses.

Take Your Car to the Penthouse

Gil Dezer loves his collection of eight silver Porsches. So much, in fact, that he is probably the only person in the world with a full-sized Porsche hanging on a wall in his home as art. As a developer during the housing lull, he had time to do some creative thinking about future projects for the recovery of the market. The end result is the Porsche Design Tower now under construction on the ocean in Sunny Isles, Florida, near Miami Beach.

Porsche Design Group, originally catering to people with a love of high tech engineering, began designing cars in 1931 that provided the world with the ultimate form-function equation. With that success, it ventured into luxury fashion, luggage, accessories and more, attracting buyers from Porsche car owners, wannabe owners and people looking for innovative design. Now Porsche Design Group, in collaboration with Mr. Dezer, has created a high rise oceanfront condo that will take their owner’s cars to the front door. Even the penthouse!

Construction recently began on the 57-story, 132 unit condo tower on Collins Avenue, just north of Miami Beach. This is no ordinary highrise with great views, since one of the views – regardless of which floor owners might live on – will be of their car parked outside the front door. Going home to these condos doesnt require getting out of the car until it’s at the owner’s living room door. Arrival is via a glass elevator rising at 600 per minute above terra firma. The Porsche Condos range in size between 4,300 square feet to over 10,000 square feet and a penthouse over 14,000 square feet, and prices ranging from $ 4.7 to $ 13 million.

According to Robert Walsh, project director at TopTenRealEstateDeals.com, luxury condo construction and sales are booming in Sunny Isles and much of South Florida. Many of the new buildings are experiencing presales as early as two and three years before the completion date. In addition to the Porsche Design Tower, the Mansions at Acqualina is also under construction with 79 units and prices starting at $ 8 million and penthouses from $ 20 million to $ 55 million. Chateau Beach Residences will include 84 homes starting at $ 1.4 million and a two-story penthouse with a private swimming pool for $ 25 million. According to Walsh, all three projects are already over 50% sold out with estimated completion dates between 2014 and 2016.

Jack Klugman’s California Auction

Award winning star of stage, film and television, Jack Klugman is best known for his role in The Odd Couple, one of the 1970s most popular TV shows. Klugman was also a big fan of thoroughbred racing, engaging in breeding and racing his own horses. During this time he built a horse training facility on 40 acres in the wine country of Temecula, California, to train his own horses. When his horse, Jaklin Klugman, came in third in the 1980 Kentucky Derby, he said it was the biggest thrill in his life.

Jack’s Temecula horse breeding and training facility took up most of Klugmans free time so he built an 8,920 square foot Spanish-style home there in the grand old Hollywood tradition. The home has 5 bedrooms and 8 full baths with large spaces for entertaining both indoors and out. The main living area has vaulted beamed ceilings and a large curved staircase to the open second floor. Also on the property are four guest homes, a five hole golf course, pool and cabana, a koi pond, a vet clinic as well as barns, two riding arenas and multiple stalls.

Jack Klugmans thoroughbred ranch was previously listed at $ 12 million. The opening auction bid on July 27th will start at $ 2.99 million.

Real estate is never boring at TopTenRealEstateDeals. Check out today’s most entertaining and unusual real estate news stories of the week. News such as America’s top ten bargain mansions, government lighthouses for sale and JFK’s home collection.

Top 10 lists are available to media outlets for publication. TopTenRealEstateDeals free celebrity & famous home photos available at: http://bit.ly/toptenmedia.







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Peak 1031 Exchange Inc.s First Quarter Analysis of Southern California Real Estate Activity Reveals Spike in Small Investor and Single Family Rental Transactions

Tuesday, May 28th, 2013


Woodland Hills, CA (PRWEB) May 23, 2013

First quarter analysis of regional trends in the industry indicates a significant increase in small investors favoring the 1031 exchange process as a means to defer capital gains taxes, states Kevin M. Levine, Executive Vice President of Peak 1031 Exchange Inc. (http://www.peakexchange.com). As Bush-era tax cuts ended at the beginning of 2013, we had anticipated a slowdown in activity as a result of heavy investor transactions at the end of 2012 to beat the deadline. To the contrary, our first quarter transaction volume shows a significant spike in 1031 exchange activity, especially among investors with strong positions in single-family residential income property.

Recent data affirms strong small investor activity in Peak 1031 Exchange Inc.s core Southern California market, with all-cash buyers in February alone accounting for 31.4 percent of the Southland homes sold, and 30.6 percent in March of this year. Despite strong acquisitions from REITs, institutional investors, and larger asset management firms in single-family properties for rental purposes, Levine comments, investors with much smaller portfolios found room to successfully participate in the market as well. Weve observed that many of the smaller investor shops utilized the Delayed Exchange in 2013 to quickly capture opportunities in an extremely competitive environment. The Delayed Exchange allows for the sale of an existing property, in which the funds are placed in a binding trust for up to 180 days while the seller identifies a similar property for acquisition and is allowed to defer capital gains taxes on the transaction. While analysts projected a slowdown in activity, Levine continues, our client base was extremely active in identifying single-family rental opportunities and leveraging their existing properties to seize on opportunities that would not be available later in the year.

Tight inventories in single family housing are causing a spike in values felt across the housing industry that could limit small investor participation, and Levine believes that those investors chose to act quickly on opportunities in light of the dwindling supply. We work with a savvy, nimble investor clientele that understood that the 1031 Exchange process could assist in mitigating severe tax liabilities as a result of the sunset of Bush era tax cuts, but concedes it could be a more difficult time ahead given the lack of single-family product available right now. However, Levines team has been working closely with investors and exploring the Reverse Exchange option. When the right investment opportunity does present itself to investors with access to available capital, states Levine, the assistance of a qualified intermediary can help them acquire the property immediately with 180 days to sell a similar property already a part of their portfolio. We anticipate being able to benefit this sector of the market with tax deferment strategies, regardless of the limitations of inventory.

Peak 1031 Exchange, Inc. is a leading national provider of tax-deferred 1031 exchange services, specializing in all like-kind transactions including Simultaneous, Delayed, Reverse, Improvement and Personal Property exchanges. It is part of the Peak Corporate Network (http://www.peakcorp.com), a brand representing a group of entities providing a comprehensive array of commercial and retail real estate services nationwide including mortgage lending, loan servicing, short sale services, foreclosure services, insurance, real estate brokerage and escrow services.







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GCA Equity Partners, LLC Announces First Quarter Results for its GCA California Real Estate Fund

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013


Campbell, California (PRWEB) May 14, 2013

GCA Equity Partners, LLC, today announced that the GCA California Real Estate Fund, LLC provided its investors with a net annualized return of 14.27% for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. Investors who have participated since inception have realized a net annualized return of 12.77%. The fund provides short-term financing for the purchase and rehabilitation of distressed properties as well as for new construction.

Strong real estate market conditions are driving the funds performance. According to the California Association of Realtors, The March price {for single family homes} was up 28.2 percent from a revised $ 295,630 recorded in March 2012, marking the 13th consecutive month of annual price increases and the ninth consecutive month of double-digit annual gains. The structure of the GCA California Real Estate Fund enables its investors to benefit from market appreciation, as well as earn regular interest income.

Its very gratifying to know that our investors are so pleased with the funds performance, said Charles Tralka, fund manager for GCA Equity Partners. We attribute its consistent double digit results to-date not only to strong market conditions but also to our unique deal evaluation, structuring, and management processes, which are designed to reduce risk and increase returns.

Wondering what else GCA Equity Partners is up to? Stay up to date on Facebook and Twitter.

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About GCA Equity Partners

The Fund, a California State registered offering, offers investors an 8% annual preferred rate, but targets total annualized investor returns in the low double digit range through its combined interest and shared appreciation (contingent interest) lending model. Investors must be California residents, meet certain income and/or net worth requirements, and limit their investment in the Fund to no more than 10% of their net worth as defined by the State of California. More information about GCA Equity Partners and the GCA California Real Estate Fund is available at http://www.gcaequitypartners.com.

About the Fund Managers

The managers of the GCA California Real Estate Fund, Thomas Braegelmann and Charles Tralka, have a combined total of more than 50 years of real estate investment experience. They strategically identify properties to be funded by looking for strong profit potential, and then structure deals that are closely aligned with investor interests.







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