Archive for June, 2010


Orangewood Children’s Foundation June Extravaganza…Emergency Preparedness Kits

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Tags: , , ,      Categories: Communitiy

If you have been following along, you know that every month we at Seven Gables work with Orangewood Children’s Home.  Each month has its own theme and this month the theme is EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS…

Seven Gables will be contributing Submarine Sandwiches as well as supplies generously donated by our Community Minded Agents.

If you want to contribute a food item, we could always use side salads, fresh fruit, brownies and chips. We’d love to have them!

For the emergency kits, we are looking for the following items:

Bottled water,

Band-Aids

Ice packs

Medical adhesive tape

Cotton balls

Hydrogen Peroxide

Ointments

Masks

Flashlights

Batteries

Glow sticks

Gloves

Blankets

Back packs

Freeze dried food

Radios

Hand sanitizer

Maps

Garbage bags

Soap

Matches etc…

You can deliver your contribution on June 30th by 9 a.m. or sooner to any one of our three offices located at:

12651 Newport, Tustin CA 92780

5481 Santa Ana Canyon Road
Anaheim Hills, CA 92808

18210 Yorba Linda Boulevard Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Your generosity and contribution are truly appreciated!

Buying a House? Where do you begin? Part One

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Tags: , ,      Categories: Real Estate

Real Estate…it’s not as easy as some people would like to believe it is.  Sure, you will always have your Do-It-Yourself types, and for a weekend project that isn’t too complicated, it’s a great way to save some money though I’m going to suggest that there are some things you should never attempt to do yourself.  Brain surgery comes to mind, as does filling a cavity or doing a root canal, and even reroofing your home or replacing all of the electrical wiring.

When you’re a buyer looking to purchase your home, there’s something you should know about the buying process.  One thing is that you need to hire a local Realtor with a good reputation that will help you navigate the murky waters of purchasing your home.

A good Realtor will have a vast list of contractor’s, lenders and home inspector’s that will make your life easier: a team of professionals that he or she is happy to recommend over and over again.

A buyers agent will sit down with you and have a “Buyer’s Consultation” and help you determine what your time frame is, if a short sale is a good investment for you, explain the contract to you so that you know and understand what you are signing, give you time frames for inspections, loan contingency removals, your final walk through, etc.

A professional Buyer’s Agent will have you sit with a reputable lender to discuss how much house you can comfortably afford.  This seems to be the scariest part of the transaction for some.  You have to have your credit “pulled” and find out what your FICO score is.  This will determine what your loan rate will be, which will in turn determine how much home you can purchase.

The lower your credit score, the higher the rate, the lower the price of the home you will be able to buy.  Make sense so far?

Next comes the fun part: getting in the car and actually looking at homes that fit your needs!  This can take some time so be sure that you are clear with what you need and want.  It will make it a little easier at the end of the day when what you want, matches what you need.

Stay tuned for part two!

Cafe Rio now open in Tustin!

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Tags: ,      Categories: Dining

Last Friday was the Grand Opening of Cafe Rio Mexican Grill in Tustin.

Cafe Rio now open in Tustin

Why am I so excited about this?  Read the reviews for yourself!

I was unable to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony, but was lucky to have one of our own, Aakash “Kash” Master, Seven Gables Agent and Chamber of Commerce member attend! I threw my camera at him as he was walking out the door and asked him to take lots of pictures and give me feedback about the food and the mood of the place. Thankfully he did! :-)

I asked Kash what the atmosphere was like there and the word he used to describe it was “FESTIVE”.

I had to see for myself!

Proud Tustin “Ambassadors”

Take a look at their tasty and extensive menu:

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!
This could serve as my breakfast, lunch AND dinner!

I stopped in later that evening and there was a line out the door, which is as it should be!  People were smiling and it seemed as if everyone was really enjoying not just the ambiance, but the delicious food and each other’s company!

Kash had mentioned that Cafe Rio will be donating a certain percentage of it’s proceeds to local schools and there would be a Student and Teacher of the month voted for at every school!  I will stop in again and confirm or deny (or elaborate on this further) when they are not so busy….hmmm…that may not happen any time soon so now sounds like a good time for me to go there, taste their food, and if I’m lucky, slip in an actual interview!

Community Conscious

Did you attend?  What did you think? Would you go back and most importantly, would you tell a friend?

I’d love to know!

Please welcome our newest Addition…Dan Shusterman!

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Tags: , ,      Categories: Communitiy, Newsletter, Real Estate
One of my primary responsibilities as President of Seven Gables Real Estate is to seek out the best and brightest talents in the industry—people with the right moral and professional compass— and invite them to join the Seven Gables family. It’s a task I relish, one I take very seriously.
It’s my belief that when we bring someone who is the right fit into our firm, we all benefit……and our market share statistics increase.
After several weeks of meetings, I am proud to announce that Dan Shusterman, a top producing Orange County Realtor for the past 12 years, has decided to leave the Coldwell Banker Tustin office and join Seven Gables.

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His track record speaks for itself. At Coldwell Banker, Dan ranked among the top two percent of sales agents nationwide and was also recognized as the number one agent in both sales and unit volume for the inland offices.
Dan’s remarkable real estate career began in the automotive-related industry. Focusing on customer relations and service, he built a strong client base and quickly became one of his company’s top sales professionals. That experience laid the foundation for the highly lauded national and international real estate career that followed.
His extensive market share that will now benefit each and every one of us, blankets North Tustin, Tustin Ranch, Orange and vicinity.
What drew Dan to Seven Gables? As a top producer who has been working on building his own personal brand, Dan wanted to align himself with a company that stood for the same ideals he does. One that has built a local reputation based on the work of its roster of superstar agents—people whose sales and service records, negotiation skills and personal reputations are well known and respected. In other words: all of you.
As Dan explained it, for his own personal and professional growth, he needed to join a firm that has a vision he can assimilate with. He needed to be surrounded by other like-minded agents who are part of—and contribute to—that vision. Brand was also important to Dan as well as customer service.
You are going to like Dan. He not only upholds a level of professionalism that distinguishes him as a Realtor, he maintains standards and core values that clearly mirror those upon which we as a company operate. It’s as certain as the sunrise that his reputation and industry leadership will make him an outstanding addition to the Seven Gables organization.
Dan Shusterman will be working out of our flagship office here in North Tustin. When you see him, join me in extending him a very warm Seven Gables welcome. His direct line is 714.665.7194; his email is dans@sevengables.com.
–Mike