Randy McKinney

Randy McKinney, one of our Regional Developers in the Gulf Shores region, is heading a task force against BP in an effort to help REALTORS in the area receive compensation for their losses resulting from the oil spill.

In an already turbulent real estate market, the Gulf oil spill has had even more severe repercussions for the Southeastern states of the country. Areas that were showing signs of stabilization are now seeing even bigger losses than this time last year. The effects are spanning the scope of the industry – from agents losing compensation and homeowners losing money on rentals to murmurs of insurance companies increasing rates and the threat of oil damaging beachfront properties.

Recently, Randy and the task force met with Ken Feinberg, the man placed in charge of administering the $20 billion oil spill  fund, to those who have placed claims with BP. At that time, Feinberg did not deem REALTORS losses as significant enough to reimburse, among all other claims. Nonetheless, the task force is undeterred and continues to pursue success in helping those impacted in our industry receive adequate reimbursement. The task force will again meet with Feinberg later this month, in hopes of furthering the conversation. In the meantime, the task force continues to encourage real estate professionals in impacted areas to file claims against BP, with the hope that they will soon be fulfilled.

The CRS is the highest designation awarded to residential sales associates and recognizes professional accomplishments in both experience and education. The Florida chapter is comprised of dedicated real estate professionals who are either designees (those who have received the prestigious designation) or general members (those who are working on their requirements).

Former Prudential Office Now Converted to Realty Executives Nevada's Choice

Chick James, Broker/Owner of Realty Executives Nevada’s Choice wanted to grow his office. Instead of doing it the “usual” way of recruiting one agent at a time, he considered a different approach. Chick had heard from his Executives that a local Prudential office was rumored to be closing its doors. He contemplated the possibilities.

After hearing of Chick’s interest and reputation in the industry, the Prudential Broker contacted Chick and mutually, they explored their options together. Chick was interviewed by all 22 Prudential agents who were also interviewing Re/Max and an independent brokerage in the area. The agents made the decision to join Realty Executives and the existing Broker agreed it was the best offering available to them. From a cost perspective, it was a win-win. Chick was able to grow his operations and the existing Broker did not have to close his doors. Today, Chick has 2 office locations and 65 Executives.

Jennifer Dollar wins '30 Under 30'

Realty Executives International, Inc. is honored to announce REALTOR® Jennifer Dollar, co-owner of Realty Executives Seminole and Realty Executives Central Florida, has been named to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) esteemed “30 Under 30.” Dollar was one of 30 REALTORS® of more than 700 applicants from around the United States selected by NAR. NAR is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

“During a time when real estate brokerages are shrinking, we are growing by investing in programs to elevate our real estate agents’ business through education, powerful lead generation programs, networking and new technology training,” says Dollar. “We operate our business in an entrepreneurial environment which affords our team of productive REALTORS® to do the same.”
Dollar and her business partner, Jeffrey D. Ostlie, acquired one small unaffiliated brokerage and a mid-size Realty Executives office in the past two years and grew them from 18 Executives (real estate agents) to more than 60 total agents within a year. Dollar is the director of operations for both offices, Realty Executives Seminole and Realty Executives Central Florida, both of which continue to significantly grow in market share in the Central Florida area.

“While most real estate companies got their start in boom times, Jennifer found great opportunities to leverage in the down market,” states Glenn Melton, chief executive officer of Realty Executives International. “Her fresh entrepreneurial perspectives coupled with her business savvy are attributes that serve to advance the future of real estate.”

Dollar earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida and began her career in residential and commercial sales in Central Florida. She is a leader of her local Young Professionals Network chapter and is actively involved with the Women’s Council of REALTORS®. Dollar’s complete “30 Under 30” profile is online in the REALTOR® magazine section of www.realtor.org.

For more information on Jennifer Dollar, Realty Executives Seminole and/or Realty Executives Central Florida, visit www.RealtyExecutivesSeminole.com and www.RealtyExecutivesCentralFlorida.com.

Chris Coy

Chris Coy, Principal of Realty Executives Cape Cod, was recently honored as the 2010 Realtor of the Year by the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors. Each year this honor is awarded to a Realtor who contributes outstanding leadership, fresh thinking and invaluable contributions toward achieving the goals of the Realtor organization. The Realtor of the Year award is one of the most prestigious and nationally recognized honors a Realtor can earn.

Chris, who is Past President of the Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors, has also served as its Treasurer and was nominated by his peers to receive this honor.

According to Henry J. DiGiacomo, Chief Executive Officer of Cape Cod & Islands Association of Realtors, “Chris Coy is highly respected and recognized for his independent thinking, business acumen and his motivation to do what is in the best interest for the Realtor membership, participants and subscribers.”

Chris and his partners opened Realty Executives Cape Cod 15 years ago and their Executives consistently rank among the top sales producers on Cape Cod, year after year. Their commitment to service is reflected in the statistics. Realty Executives Cape Cod is one of the top selling companies on Cape Cod for over fifteen years; named one of the top 10 real estate companies in sales in Massachusetts by Boston Business Journal, and Realty Executives Cape Cod is listed among the top 400 real estate companies in the U.S. by Real Trends.

Congratulations Chris and the entire team at Realty Executives Cape Cod!

The company has further established its leadership with the highest average sales production per executive last year, over the other local major competitors. Also in 2009,
the company was the top home seller in East Troy, the sales leader of properties $500,000 or more in Waukesha County, and has been the sales leader in the Lake
Country market for the past decade.

Schaechterle has recently been recognized as Owner of the Year by Realty Executives International, Inc., the international franchise company based in Phoenix, for his achievements with Realty Executives Integrity, despite current economic conditions. Additionally, he has been included in the Realty Executives International, Inc. Regional Developer and Broker/Owners Circles of Excellence.

“Dale embodies the perseverance and drive necessary for a real estate professional in this economy,” states Glenn Melton, chief executive officer of Realty Executives International. “His ability to identify areas of opportunity and success have helped poise him as an industry leader coming out of the down market.”

For more information on Dale Schaechterle and/or Realty Executives Integrity, visit www.realtyexecutivesintegrity.com.

Jim Berns

Jim Berns, Broker/Owner of Realty Executives Advantage in San Diego, California, was recently awarded the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers designation (www.CRB.com).

Jim moved to San Diego in 1978 from Boston as a newspaper reporter. He wanted to learn how to buy a house and decided to get involved in the real estate industry. He managed for Coldwell Banker and spent 13 years as an agent for RE/MAX (where he worked side-by-side with Brian Buffini) before buying a Realty Executives International franchise in 1997.

Jim has served as Chairman for the Grievance Committee for the San Diego Association of Realtors (SDAR) & was awarded “Broker of the Year” by SDAR in 2006. In addition, Jim also has education & designations in; CRS, E-Pro and a Master’s Degree in Communications. Jim’s brokerage currently has 25 Executives and is fully staffed with an in-house mortgage & escrow partnership.

Jim Browning

Jim Browning of Realty Executives Mainstream in Florida began his real estate career with Realty Executives over 10 years ago when he was awarded franchise rights in June 2006. His first year, Jim had 3 Executives. Over time, Jim’s office has grown gradually to 10 Executives because he is focused on recruiting top producing, highly motivated and positive individuals.

His selectivity of agents has caused Jim’s brokerage to reach #1 in Florida for most transactions per Executive, most commissions per Executive and the highest production for dollar amount.  This year they are currently closing 40 to 50 houses a month.

In addition to his selectivity of agents, Jim also contributes his brokerage success to his open door policy.  He is a full time Broker and in the office everyday to assist his Executives. The office environment operates as a family and keeps each other positive and motivated. “No one is allowed to sit around and complain about the market. We now have 3 offices, 2 franchises, and are looking to buy another franchise and/or open at least one more office soon. Who says it’s a bad market when things are this great!” says Jim Browning.

Realty Executives Expands International Network

Realty Executives International, Inc. announces franchising rights to six countries of the Middle East’s Gulf Region: United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. The agreement was fully executed on January 21, 2010. “The natural resources and destination status of the Gulf Region has positioned it as a major global leader in business and tourism,” says Glenn Melton, chief executive officer of Realty Executives International.
“And being able to tap into that network adds great value to our system of Realtors.”

In a three year, phased growth plan, Franchise Owners Ahmed Alshaer and Eissa Alhateri plan to open 12 brokerage offices with approximately 100 Executives (real estate agents) by Q1 of 2013. The first office will open this quarter in Saudi Arabia followed by a second office in Qatar. Offices in the UAE, Muscat and Oman are slated for 2011; offices in Manama, Bahrain and Kuwait are planned for 2012.
“Ahmed and Eissa are entrepreneurs with strong vision and foresight,” states Scott Hurlock, vice president of franchise development for Realty Executives International. “I believe they will reinvent how people do real estate business in the Gulf Region.”

Alshaer, formerly with Realogy for Gulf Council Countries, is currently working in collaboration with the UAE governments to build a standardized Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in an effort to streamline inventory listings similarly to the United States’ MLS real estate model.

About Realty Executives International, Inc.
Realty Executives International, Inc. is one of the fastest growing real estate franchises in the United States, with nearly 11,000 sales associates and approximately 700 franchises. The Phoenix-based, privately held company has offices in 24 countries: United States, Africa, Australia, Bahrain, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Greece, Honduras, Israel, Kuwait, Mexico, Panama, Poland, Romania, Nicaragua, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. Publications like Entrepreneur, Success and Inc. magazines have recently ranked Realty Executives International as a leader in the real estate industry based on franchise growth, management stability and financial soundness.

Realty Executives of the Bluegrass Brings International Real Estate Network to Local Market

Realty Executives International, Inc. announces the launch of its first real estate franchise in Central Kentucky, Realty Executives of the Bluegrass. Owner/Realtor Kevin Payne converted to Realty Executives from a prominent real estate franchisee on November 2, 2009.

The Realty Executives of the Bluegrass brokerage office has 20 Executives (real estate agents) and was named No. 2 in the market for production last year. “It is exciting to bring a global network to our buyers and sellers to leverage,” says Payne. “Realty Executives is one of the fastest growing franchises in the U.S. because they encourage collaboration and lead sharing in their network which essentially makes our brokerage larger than our geographic region.”

Realty Executives International announced this year the addition of six new countries from the Gulf Region to their growing portfolio of nearly 11,000 sales associates in 24 countries.“The reason we are able to grow while other real estate franchises are struggling is because we attract the most productive real estate professionals, like Kevin Payne,” says Greg Traynor, president and regional developer of Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia for Realty Executives. “Kevin has a strong reputation of integrity and real estate expertise in his market and we value his contribution to our company.”  Payne has more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry as a Realtor, Land Developer, Home Builder and Farm Land Owner. He is an Apprentice Auctioneer and a member of the Madison County Board of REALTORS®. Payne was the former 2006 President of the Madison County Home Builders Association and served as its director for nine years. Payne has a Bachelor of Science Degree from the College of Business and Technology of Eastern Kentucky University.
Realty Executives of the Bluegrass is located at 138 N. Keeneland Drive, Richmond, KY 40475. For more information on the brokerage and Owner/Realtor Kevin Payne, visit www.ubuyky.com.