The Harper Team, The Mees Team Join Forces; Go Global to Energize Home Buying, Selling

The weakening dollar, in addition to a slower real estate market in the U.S. has caused many problems for consumers, but a bold move by two enterprising East Bay, Calif., real estate firms is ready to make lemonade out of lemons. The sweetening is derived from the fact that one euro is now worth a bit more than $1.43 and the Europeans are anxious to invest.

They are doing it now and the trend is expected to increase dramatically. "European investment is likely to pick up," said Mark Vitner, chief economist for Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia Corp. "Now is the time to come over and take advantage."

That is exactly why two real estate firms in the East Bay area decided to do just that by making the bold move to merge their operations.

Craig Harper of The Harper Team, a member of the Keller Williams (KW) organization, recently announced a new joint venture between The Mees Team and the Harper Team who work out of the KW Danville, CA market center.

In pooling their resources to attract investors in the East Bay area, Harper said, "The principals of both teams will combine their skills and considerable resources under a new business to be known locally as H&M East-Bay Properties. The global firm will be known as H&M Worldwide Properties."

The merger makes a lot of sense, according to Paul Mees.  He said: "We have been very successful building our real estate business over the past eight years utilizing the marketing, sales and business skills that Ginny and I brought with us from our former corporate backgrounds."

"The Harper Team not only brings with it many of these same corporate skills, but has proven to be one of the most innovative realtor teams in the country while leveraging the Internet and new technologies to build its business."

" We see this as being critical to our long term plans of continuing to support and build on our client base here in California, as well as developing a new client base in Europe and for those relocating between the U.S. and Europe."

Model of Stability

The new firm is encouraged and its views bolstered by reports from leading economists.

While the U.S. real estate market has been struggling to recover, Europe has seen no serious problems. With property values falling in parts of the United States, Europe looks like a model of stability.  Economists agree that the rising cost of credit and tougher regulation might have prevented the Continent from reaching a crisis phase.

David Hutchings, head of research at Cushman & Wakefield EMEA said: "The flow of new money targeting real estate continues to escalate as investors are drawn to its relatively stable and recently very strong returns.  Despite most markets entering a period of potentially slower economic growth, current indicators point to continuing high investment volumes through this year, suggesting that yield compression may not yet have run its course - at least for the best property."

Those remarks dovetail with an earlier report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) which said, in part: "Foreign investment in U.S. assets has exerted downward pressure on interest rates. Historically low mortgage rates have benefited from this large pool of foreign funds for several years …  Low mortgage rates, in turn, have spurred record purchases of residential properties.

"…Our analysis of foreign investment in U.S. real estate markets shows that. Foreign investment helps to create jobs either through direct investment in a business or commercial real estate or by providing a cheap form of funding for domestic businesses to reinvest."

The Two Teams

Paul and Ginny Mees, have been making plans for the past few years to spend more time at their homes in Holland and in Italy, the new firm will enjoy the benefits of their wide experience in international marketing and sales. It will be well positioned in the international hub of The Hague to smooth transactions with their expertise on European documents, regulations and overall guidelines.

The Harper Team principals are Tracey, John and Craig Harper. All principals are long-time members of the National Association of Realtors. Both teams have enjoyed high-profile success in California.

 Although this new business entity will represent the merger of both teams, it will continue to build on the market awareness and branding that The Mees Team and The Harper Team names have achieved, according to Craig Harper.

The real estate highway is a two-way street for the new firm. Although Paul and Ginny Mees will be spending much of their time in Holland, they will still maintain an active role in the California interests of the company and will travel back and forth between the U.S. and Europe.

 The East Bay area, generally recognized as the prime place to live in the U.S., is one of the top areas tempting Europeans who want good investments and a desirable atmosphere for their homes. High salaries and low unemployment rates, the ambiance and beauty of East Bay are all factors leading to attraction for international buyers.

In addition to helping Europeans find the right home in East Bay the new firm can assist Californians who want the European living experience. Ideally positioned in the Netherlands, the Meeses are particularly well placed for global business. Not only is The Hague the world crossroads for peace, justice and security, but global business experts use the city to cement worldwide transactions.

Holland / The Netherlands, an environmentally conscious country with a pleasant atmosphere, is truly international in spirit and action. The main language is Dutch with German, French and English also widely spoken.

Capital gains tax is charged at normal income tax levels and can be deferred if sale proceeds are reinvested in another, similar Real Estate purchase. Property shareholding should not incur a chargeable gain. There are no restrictions on foreign ownership.

For an East Bay individual or developer trying to sell a home, the prospective buyer is just as likely to have a place in London, Paris, Dublin, Milan, Athens or Amsterdam as they are to be first-time buyers new to real estate.

The euro-to-dollar ratio has become the key to golden opportunities for such buyers and a theory held by many professionals is that overseas investors will more than replace the first-timers who have been squeezed during the recent turndown. These new investors in turn allow current homeowners to sell and trade up to more pricey homes.

According to the Associated Press, some mortgage brokers are already seeing a rise in inquiries about buying property from overseas. For example, the AP quotes Dan Green, a certified mortgage planning specialist and author of The Mortgage Reports, who said the number of inquiries he's received from outside the U.S. is probably five to 10 times larger than it was a year ago.

The dollar's dip to record lows compared to other currencies, such as the euro, translates into more spendable cash for the foreign investors in the U.S. For example, a foreign buyer would need only €34,100 euros to make a $50,000 down payment on a house. At the beginning of the year, the same buyer would have needed €37,920 to make the same down payment.

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