Today at the weekly Realtors Marketing Association in San Ramon, Cathy Lee, well-known stager and owner of CLDesigns told me she feared for her life the other night when two very intimidating men walked in on her while she was staging a $2 million new construction home in Lafayette, CA.

The power had yet to be hooked up and the light was fading when the first man entered. The man was acting and talking strange. When the second man entered Cathy reached for her phone only to discover she had set it down across the room. As she moved toward her phone, one of the men blocked her path.

It was at that moment, that Kurt Waag, Cathy’s husband showed up and saved the day. After the men left and Cathy settled down a bit, she and Kurt checked the house and discovered that all of the doors had been unlocked by the two men leading them to think that maybe burglary was also in the works.

Cathy told me she is going to sign up for Pam Ellis’ women’s self-defense class – Staying Alive.

We continue to bring situations like this to the attention of local real estate agents and affiliates to help raise awareness of the need to “think safety” all the time when showing property or sitting open houses.

Related Posts:

• Sexual Predator Back on the Street
• Pam Ellis Kicks Some Real Estate Butt
• Self-Defense for Female Real Estate Agents
• New Case of Sexual Assault at Open House

Dan Green over at the Mortgage Report has two great posts on the continuing subprime loan saga. This post simply and elegantly explains why subprime and Alt-A loans are increasing in cost. This post continues to keep us informed of the unfolding subprime loan story and the implications for the industry and the consumer.

For those following the ramifications of the subprime meltdown, there were a couple of stories in the Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago on the developing issues facing the Collateralized Debt Obligation (CDO) market.

The subprime apocalypse, as Dan Green calls it, may soon be upon us. We are reaching the point where the big investment institutions will no longer be able to sweep the problems under the rug. The chickens may soon be coming home to roost as massive write offs from subprime losses have to be taken and acknowledged.

The end result, undoubtabley, will be a further tightening of credit for the consumer and thus a continued slowdown in the housing market. It makes me wonder if the NAR is actually following the subprime issues, as they continue to forecast an improving housing market, though they keep pushing the date out into the future as events continue to unfold.

The import of all of this for the consumer, especially first-time buyers - is lock in your loan now. Everyday, we hear more and more stories about buyers losing their financing at the last minute due to new, tighter credit standards being imposed or loan products being withdrawn from the market.

The parking lot was seemingly filled up with cars yet the plaza was overpopulated with a family of ducks. After a deliberate investigation, I deduced that most of the people who owned those vehicles were somewhere inside and busy trying to keep in shape at the fitness center. I wasn’t dressed for the gym, but I was, however, armed with a digital camera in my hand. The wading ducks near the fountains were in a photogenic mood and I decided to take advantage of this opportunity.

The Blackhawk Plaza has been under renovation as of late and will complete fix-ups by the Fall. Walking around the shops, the construction work being done was fairly noticeable. Looking through some of the lightly tinted windows revealed empty lots and evidence of work that still needs to be done before they will house high end boutiques.

The Blackhawk Museum, a popular attraction that I was looking forward to visiting, was unfortunately closed by the time I arrived in the late afternoon. Located right beside the Plaza, it shows off traveling exhibits from the Smithsonian Institute and is home to one of the best classic car collections in the country. I would’ve loved to take some pictures inside though I’m unsure they would allow that. That experience will have to wait for another day.

The Blackhawk Plaza is located at 3480 Blackhawk Plaza Circle in Danville. The Auto Museum is open during Wednesdays through Sundays from 10:00am to 5:00pm.

- Joseph Natividad

Last Friday, Jul 20th, I attended the Contra Costa County Women’s Council of Realtors breakfast at Crow Canyon Country Club. Jeff Davi, the Real Estate Commissioner for California was the guest speaker.

I managed to get a photo of Jeff with Angela Muetterties, 2008 WCR President. Angel is a fellow Keller Williams agent in our Danville Market Center. She is excited about growing the Women’s Council of Realtors and increasing community involvement and awareness of WCR.

Walking into the WCR event the first thing you saw was this. These three ladies are from Sugi Healing Arts. What better way to start a Friday??!!! Amy Erez, owner of Sugi, is on the left. I took advantage of the situation. The only drawback was they kicked me out of the chair so Karen Pinkston from Homeguard (on the left) could have a turn.

Jeff Davi spoke for about an hour. He gave us a quick overview of the changes taking place within the California Department of Real Estate and I, for one, think he is moving in the right direction. There is a big focus on brining as much technology as possible into interface between brokers/agents and the DRE.

Jeff covered a lot of subjects and answered many questions. Here is a clip of him addressing the housing affordability situation in California.

We are appreciative of the Women’s Council of Realtors for bringing the Commissioner to Danville and providing us the opportunity to hear what’s happening with the DRE and the housing industry in California.

I came across a post today on The Real Estate Tomato that grabbed me by the throat. Jim Cronin author of the Tomato has been invited to speak at Keller Williams’ MegaCamp 2007.

“Mega Camp 2007 is the exclusive event where top producers and Keller Williams Realty leaders converge for an extraordinary week of learning and networking. Here, you will discover the newest tools and answers to your business challenges presented by fast-moving mastermind panels, top guest speakers and real estate industry leaders, including Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman of the board of Keller Williams Realty International and a New York Times bestselling author.”

Jim’s going to be speaking on Blogging. I notice that Dustin Luther is also speaking. An there is Craig Proctor in the mix as well.

The fact that all three of these names appear in the speakers roster says one thing to me -LOOK OUT KW REAL ESTATE! And here is why—-

Jim Cronin is the FDR of real estate blogging. His “post in every pot” program has fed the hunger for real “nuts & bolts” blogging advice. Real estate agents around the country visit his garden everyday for something fresh to add to their blogging pot.

Dustin Luther is the Al Gore of the real etate blogosphere – he invented it. Well, not quite, we all know who really did. Dustin’s neck deep in stealth strategy and technology to become the most connected LinkedIn person on the planet. His RainyCityGuide set the early standard for what a local real estate blog should be.

And then there’s Craig Proctor. Craig Proctor is the Lee Iacocca of real estate marketing. Proctor’s system of direct response marketing for real estate has lifted many an agent from obscurity into the broad light of day in their local markets.

I’ve been reading the Tomato for about a year. I’ve been to one of Dustin’s presentations. We, the Harper Team, are part of the Proctor coaching system.

To see these three names together – well – September is going to be one hell of a month at Keller Williams Market Centers around the country. Don’t miss these three speakers. If you synergize what these three have to offer – your business will reward you beyond your wildest dreams.