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Oktoberfest Hot Air Balloon Rides A Huge Success

It is always a thrill to watch Big Max rise above the Cambridge Common.  The weather was less than perfect, however the crew continued the rides despite the sprinkles and threat of heavier rain.

The thing I enjoy most is watching the children gaze in amazement at this seven story balloon as it floats up and down with the flames of the gas jets blasting away.

We raised nearly $500 dollars for Our Place Homeless Children’s Center and The Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund bring our total for the year from rides to around $800.

 

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Liz Bolton Joins RE/MAX Destiny

Welcome Liz Bolton!

We are very happy to announce that Elisabeth Bolton has joined RE/MAX Destiny. Liz was first licensed in 2000 and quickly became a highly valued member of the Cambridge Real Estate Community. She has a B.A. from Wellesley College and received her M.S. from Simmons College.

She has obtained a number of designations and specialized certifications including Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), Certification by the National Trust for Historic Preservation on Historic Property, Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) – a designation held by fewer than 1 in 20 real estate agents. Liz is also a Certified Negotiation Specialist, Certified E-Marketing Specialist and has obtained the Loss Mitigation Certification.

As a lifelong New Englander Liz combines local expertise and knowledge with the experience gained from several home renovations which means she has contacts and advice to share with clients contemplating improvements, renovations or additions. Liz quickly connects and establishes meaningful long lasting relationships with her clients. Her considerable success is no doubt due to her energetic and enthusiastic commitment to outstanding service.

We are  very excited to have her become a member of our team.

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Two Make The Top 25 Individual Agent List For July

We are very proud to announce that two of our members made the                                                                    RE/MAX of New England Top 25 List for July.

Sandrine Deschaux
David Shorey

Sandrine Deschaux receives high honers for being #4 out of close to 3,000 RE/MAX Agents in New England.

David Shorey came in at a very respectable #13.         David was the #1 producer at RE/MAX Destiny for all of 2011.

Great Work…Her’s To Your Continued Success!

 

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Cost Of Renting A Home On The Rise

Tim Schmidt, our rental manager was interviewed by WBZ-TV about the cost of rentals in the Boston area.


 

By Joe Shortsleeve, WBZ-TV Chief Correspondent

August 15, 2012 12:01 AM

BOSTON (CBS) – It’s a question that frustrates tenants across the state:  why are rents so high?

In fact, rents in the Greater Boston area are among the highest in the country.

By one estimate, it takes $1,700 to get a unit in the suburbs and $3,000 in downtown Boston.

“This season has been extraordinary.  Rents are super high.  I think the vacancy rate is 3-percent right now,” said Tim Schmidt of REMAX Destiny in Cambridge.

That vacancy rate is second only to San Francisco.

Schmidt believes one reason for the high rents is good news.  The region’s job market is stronger than most other cities.

“You see a lot of start- ups, a lot of bio-tech,” said Schmidt.  “There are people starting jobs in the $70,000-$100,000 range and moving to Boston.”

Although there have been new units added in unconventional areas like adjacent to Fenway Park, inventory cannot meet demand.

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RE/MAX Sees Strong Agent Growth in 2012

Housing Recovery Brings Agents Back
DENVER, July 30, 2012 – PRNewswire via COMTEX/
PR NewswireWith an improving housing market, real estate agents are returning to the industry. But they’re being very selective about where they’ll have the best chance of success. While other national real estate franchises are still experiencing agent losses, RE/MAX has seen an increase of over 1,300 agents year to date – the first such increase since 2010.

“RE/MAX has always attracted top-performing agents, and that’s especially true after everything we’ve been through in recent years,” said Margaret Kelly, RE/MAX CEO. “Because of the many innovations we’ve put in place, the best agents know that RE/MAX is where they want to be in this new market environment.”

RE/MAX is not just adding new agents, the company is attracting the industry’s top-performing agents. In 2012, the average years of experience a RE/MAX agent has is 15.1. That’s an increase of 23.8% from 2007, positioning the organization for even higher levels of success.

Two national surveys of the country’s best performing real estate brokerages demonstrate that RE/MAX agents outperform agents at the other national franchise organizations. In the REAL Trends 500, RE/MAX brokerages took 44 of the Top 50 positions when ranked according to agent productivity, and the RIS Media Power Broker Survey showed RE/MAX agents averaged 15.6 annual transaction sides, the highest average of any national franchise.

“The many resources and tools RE/MAX offers our agents are second to none, and the comprehensive education from RE/MAX University prepares our agents to provide the highest quality service to the consumer,” Kelly added.

Additionally, RE/MAX has experienced significant success in the sales of new franchises. In the first half of 2012, nearly 300 sales have been recorded. In the United States, Florida led all regions with franchise sales 30% higher than the first half of 2011. Internationally, South Africa saw an increase in sales of 75%, Canada was up by 21% and Europe was 13% higher. Increased franchise sales will lead to a greater number of offices and agents in the near future.

International growth has also continued at a strong pace, with the addition of three countries in the first half of 2012: Morocco, Thailand and the Philippines.

RE/MAX Broker/Owners will be gathering in Washington, D.C., from August 12-14 to mark the many achievements so far in 2012. And the global real estate franchisor will celebrate its 40th anniversary at the annual RE/MAX R4 convention to be held at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas next February.

For more information please visit Remax.com or JoinREmax.com.

About the RE/MAX Network: RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, real estate industry visionaries who still lead the Denver-based global franchisor today. RE/MAX is recognized as one of the leading real estate franchise companies with the most productive sales force in the industry and a global reach of more than 80 countries. With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $120 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and other charities. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX.

SOURCE RE/MAX International, Inc.
Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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MayFest 2012

We had so much fun at MayFest this year! We started out the afternoon at the booth, handing out balloons to the children. It was so much fun to see the turn out and talk to all the wonderful people. We even had great weather, so we were able to get the RE/MAX hot air balloon up this year. We had so much fun working as a team manning the balloon. Our agents got their hands dirty and helped out so much. The office raised $600 in rides, for a great charity (Our Place Homeless Children Center & Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund). We look forward to doing it again in October!

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Celebrating Success 2012

What a successful event.  We have indeed come a long way in the last couple of years.  After lunch at Bertucci’s, we got started by introducing our new members: Eithne Johnson who was returning after being away since 2008, Ann Sabbey, Tamela Roche, Tom Von Zabern, Lisa Santana, Anna Calderone, Simonida, Juan Murry and our first rental division manager, Tim Schmidt.  Wow! We have never added on so many new and talented people in such a short period of time. That is very exciting.  What a great way to start the year.

Following the introductions, we reviewed our overall success last year and set our goals for 2012 in residential sales, rentals, luxury sales,  and property management.  We discussed how measuring what you do is the first step in improving it and the upcoming launch of our shared assistant program, which will be starting mid March.

Dave Shorey took the #1 spot as our top producer for 2011, Tom Sheehan, rookie of the year, with Joe Kobialka once again taking our community service award.

I am so proud of every one.  Our staff continues to excel in providing the very best in service to our entire team.  Service for which I am very grateful.

After the program about a dozen of us went bowling where I continued to maintain my ranking as the company’s worst bowler.

 

 

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First Class In Series for Continuing Education Credits

Michael Krone of Kriss Law Presents Contract Law

Attorney Michael Krone from Kriss Law and Mortgage Master’s Jesse Stein presented the first class  in a series four continuing education credit courses to be held at our office.

A typically dry topic – “Contract Law”, was presented in entertaining fashion by Attorney Krone.  There were 15 Agents from our office and four visitors from the real estate community in attendance who received two credits toward the currently required 12 credits to maintain an active real estate license in Massachusetts.

There will be three other classes at our office this year.  The next one is on “Title” and is scheduled for June 6th.  All in all agents can earn eight out of the required twelve through this convenient class arrangement and better still at no cost!

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Tom Von Zabern Joins The Team

Tom Von Zabern has joined RE/MAX Destiny as the newest member of our team. Tom brings to the office over 31 years of experience in real estate and specializes in Historic Home Preservation. Tom is also a licensed builder with considerable experience working with local wood frame developers.

Tom is a native of Germany with a long interest and involvement in social activities, including years of volunteer AIDS work. He is the Founder and President of The African Great Youth Education Initiative, Inc. (AGYEI, Inc.). A charity dedicated to assisting young African males of promise who are too old to qualify for local assistance yet determined to overcome the grip of poverty once and for all.

A 21 year resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Tom divides his time equally between the charitable work of AGYEI Inc, and his real estate practice of sales, design and home renovations.

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Welcome Tamela Roche!

Tamela Roche

We are very excited to have Tamela join our team.  She has been, and is an outstanding leader in the Cambridge Real Estate Community.  She has high standards and it shined through as one of the best Presidents to lead The Community of Real Estate Professionals and in her top “Pie in The Sky” fundraising team.  Tamela is a dedicated and committed professional as well as a wonderful and positive person.

Welcome Tamela!

Tamela was first licensed in 2001 and quickly became a valued member of the Cambridge Real Estate Community. She has a B.S.B.A. from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania and designations that include CNS, Certified Negotiation Specialist and ABR, Accredited Buyer’s Representative.

Tamela is an active member of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, REBAC, The Real Estate Buyer Agency Council, The Greater Boston and Massachusetts Association of Realtors as well as the National Association of Realtors. Tamela is very active in the community. Her volunteer work includes: Our Place Center for Homeless Children, Community Servings “Pie in the Sky”, Everybody Wins! Boston, and Breakthrough Cambridge.

“What a gift it is for me every day to help Clients realize their dream of “finding home”; joining the RE/MAX Destiny team I finally feel “at home” too!”

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