Why a website about Pasadena real estate?

Because I love what I do - helping buyers and sellers achieve their real estate goals!

Real estate has always been a vehicle for building wealth. There is a lot of fear involved in buying or selling a home, condo or income property. A fear of the unknown. A fear of being represented by an unqualified or uneducated agent.

My goal is to provide a website with on-line tools and information which will give power to the consumers in Pasadena and surrounding areas. Knowledge is Power!

My promise to my readers is to provide you with:

~~~ A FREE Multiple Listing Search for Pasadena and the surrounding cities. This tool will allow you to create personalized home searches and/or track the real estate market at your own pace. You can create your own account, with individualized user name and password and access it at your convenience. The power of researching available properties is yours!

~~~ Weekly updated real estate market statistics for Pasadena, San Marino, San Gabriel, South Pasadena, Arcadia, Monterey Hills, and Alhambra. Check back each Monday for an updated graph of Median Home prices and Average Days on the Market for each city.

~~~ A Market Snapshot - a tool that you can register for at your own convenience to see what the
real estate market activity is around your home. You will receive regular emails (usually every four weeks, but you can set your own schedule) with all the active and sold properties around your residence. The market snapshot email will include comprehensive maps, sales data, descriptions, charts and graphs which you can peruse from the comfort of your home.

~~~ Neighborhood Profiles and activities as theyre happening. This neighborhood website will be updated daily. So¦ stay tuned! I will also highight interesting listings, homes for sale or activity within each area. I, also, welcome any suggestions and articles from my readers. Feel free to email me with your ideas at Irina@Irina4RealEstate.com.

~~~ Loan and Mortgage Updates as they are taking place. Its been a true roller coaster over the last five to seven years with creative financing programs and tons of different options that were available to the consumers. As you know, the lending industry is changing and quite frankly, its a good thing for everyone. My goal is to provide you the most up to date information as these changes are taking place.

~~~ My Personal Experience with Pasadena real estate. I will be posting many interesting articles about the buying and selling process. Secrets and strategies that sharp real estate agents are utilizing in the Pasadena area. Warnings, suggestions and educational posts.

About your Pasadena California Real Estate Agent: Irina Netchaev & Associates

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about me and my team. Before you select a Realtor to represent you, its important to understand the type of experience, tools, techniques and strategies, the real estate agent will use to your benefit.

Our team is focused on implementing the latest technology along with an "old fashioned" approach to selling real estate in helping you find your home or market your Pasadena home for sale. 91% of our buyers find us through our multi-media marketing and on-line presence. We utilize neighborhood websites, Featured Listings on Realtor.com, personal home websites, flash presentations and are members of numerous Multiple Listing Services allowing us to list your home on four different Multiple Listing platforms.

Your advocacy is our number one concern. We work for YOU and take our fiduciary responsibility as your Realtors very seriously. Whether my team helps you negotiate the price and terms for your first home or helps you get the best possible bottom line on the sale of your home, our objective is to be your advocate and implement all our experience and tools to reach YOUR goals.

Our team is Customer Service focused. We take the time to find out what is important to you and work towards reaching your goals. Since most of our business comes from referrals, we are not happy unless you are overwhelmingly satisfied with our services.

Important Statistics*:

~ 72% of Irina's sales are past clients or referrals.

~ Irina's Listings sell in an average of 33 days. That's 12% faster than the Pasadena Board of Realtor average of 37 days.

~ Irina's percentage of sale price to list price is 103.5%. The Pasadena Foothill Board average is 100.4%. That's an average of 3.1% more money in the seller's pocket when a home is listed with Irina Netchaev.

On a home priced at $500,000, Irina could potentially save you $500 in interest and taxes (due to faster sale of home) and get you $15,500 more on the purchase price. That's a difference of more than $16,000 on an average transaction!!!

My Goal is 'to make it easy and profitable for you to do business with me!'

My Mission Statement:

I will consistently and efficiently provide home sellers and buyers the most professional real estate service available in Pasadena.

My Background:

Awarded a Gold Medallion for Production & Service in 2006 and 2007 by Keller Williams International Realty

Presidents Circle (top 8% of agents nationwide), Prudential California Realty, John Aaroe Division - 2005 and 2004

Irina holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Pepperdine University, 1993

Irina holds a Real Estate Brokers license since 2006

Irina holds a Real Estate Salesperson license since 1984

Member of Pasadena Foothill Association of Realtors

Member of CRISNET Regional MLS serving the San Fernando Valley

Member of California Association of Realtors

Member of National Association of Realtors

Prior to Real Estate Experience:

o National Project Manager, AETNA

o Manager, Employer Services, Prudential HealthCare

Irina is married to Victor Netchaev, the first Russian Hockey Player to be signed with the National Hockey League. They have two beautiful children - Gregory who is 12 and Sasha who is almost 14.

* Statistics are based on 2005 and 2006 sales results.

TESTIMONALS:

"I met Irina during the purchase of our townhome in 2004 - after nearly a half dozen prior real estate transactions over the years. Without exception, she was well-researched, energetic, proactive, and a personal delight to work with. We have since completed a sale/purchase to a new home and the experience was exceptional. The many amazing stories of her efforts, service, and personality can't do her justice." September 8, 2007" - Thomas Dover

"Irina represented me, a home buyer, with purchasing our first home in California. She successfully fullfilled every need my husband and I demanded from the beginning to the end ... Irina is truly a professional, reliable, and trustworthy agent and always in our highest esteem. An agent should be someone you can trust. Irina works hard, she's smart and is truthful. I would not hesitate recommending her to handle future real estate sales or purchases on my behalf and perhaps yours, too..." - Cori Walworth

"Mathematicians have the unique ability to break complex equations down into their simplest form. Irina does just that for Real Estate! Her instinctive ability to collect data combined with her unique ability to market a home creatively makes her a dynamic resource in the Pasadena Real Estate market. With such intimate knowledge that Irina possesses over the real estate process, it's no wonder she's a "go to" resource to many buyers and sellers! Irina not only produces results, she does it with a certain charm and flair that makes you want to continue a relationship for years to come." - Ricardo Bueno

"We hired Irina to both help us with our first home purchase as well as the sale of that home when we moved to the Central Coast. I always felt completely comfortable with her, with her business judgment, and with the results. At no point did I think she had anything but our best interests at heart during either process. On top of that she's a great lady with high integrity and an excellent personality and level of professionalism. Would have continued to work with her had we stayed in the area." March 7,2008" - Robert and Melissa Hope

"Irina is amazing! Exceptional follow-through, accessible (day and night!), and knowledgeable. We bought our first home through Irina." -Krisianna Bock

"We had spoken to many agents and found most of the houses they suggested less than appealing. Here is where Irina's talent really showed and her expertise was most apparent. The homes she showed to us demonstrated a zeal for good taste and a diligence in work ethic." -Saul and Tina Correa

"Irina's patience in developing a strategy and creativeness in presenting an offer really proved to be the difference in the seller accepting the offer. Irina went way beyond the call of duty, kept us up to date on timelines, deadlines and documents to be completed while catering to our schedules. ...I have already referred her to family and friends and will continue to do so!" - Hugo and Lisa Correa

"Thank you so much for all your help. Your personal touch in preparing my townhouse for sale was greatly appreciated. Your encouragement and professional advice relieved my concerns... You are a valued agent." - Thomas Mike Griffin

"Throughout the process of searching for, making offers on, and finally securing a property, Ms. Netchaev proved herself to be a consummate professional. ...Despite the difficulties of working in an over-heated real estate market, Ms. Netchaev always presented a calm, collected demeanor and ensured that all of our transactions flowed smoothly. I commend you for having such a capable and caring professional on your team, and look forward to working with Ms. Netchaev again." - Anny Surmenian

The estimate of the property value helped us in keeping perspective about the sale and making our final decisions." - Ben & Hideko Furuta

"Within five days of the Open House, on my home, I received five great offers. My profit was far more than I had ever hoped for. Not only was Irina's professionalism apparent while selling my home, but she negotiated such a fantastic price for me on my new dwelling!" - Joyce Donato

"I chose Irina because of my personal knowledge of her work ethics. I knew I could trust her to do her best for me. I knew Irina would have good advice. Irina was terrific!!! She helped us get that extra money for the carpet - we really needed it!!!" - Lynn Mahlmeister

7 comments »

It's fun to be famous... if only for one day!

Joanna and I met last week when she contacted me about another article that she was doing about Pasadena short sales.

Last week, I shared with you an article by Joanna Beresford who writes a weekly real estate column for Pasadena Weekly.

Joanna and I met last week when she contacted me about another article that she was doing about Pasadena short sales. We took a couple of hours to go out and preview some of the homes for sale and had an opportunity to get to know one another.

So without further ado and with much fanfare, here's this week's Pasadena Weekly's articles on Pasadena Short sales with a few memorable mentions of me. How fun! Enjoy!!!

History in the making

Short sales make owning a home a reality for many

By Joanna Beresford 06/26/2008

Last week's CMA Report listed 20 single-family residences available as short pay properties in the city of Pasadena, more commonly referred to as short sales. Offered at prices ranging from $279,000 to $869,000, most of those homes have been on the market for about 100 days. The newest house on the list was built in 1984; most date from the first half of the last century, and the oldest place was constructed in 1886.

I visited the latter home recently, where I swear, when I put my hands on an original door frame and closed my eyes, I could almost hear the conversations and feel the vibrations of people who've passed through those rooms for the past 122 years. This was a slightly melancholy place. The previous owners have left behind neat piles of clothing, children's toys, even family photos. I studied a picture of a mother and her two handsome boys for a while. They looked very proud and confident. Maybe they're coming back for these belongings, or maybe they had to leave them behind.

Irina Netchaev, a broker with Keller Williams Realty, guided me through several short sale properties. She's great at making lists and she offered me, at the outset of our tour, an overview of the short sale process in list format:

1. Seller contacts a Realtor for help

2. Seller completes a hardship package

3. Short sale application along with hardship
package is submitted to the bank (or banks) for review

4. Bank reviews for completeness, orders valuation and assigns to a negotiator

5. Negotiator begins the initial review and contacts Realtor and homeowner

6. Property valuation performed according to investor guidelines

7. Mortgage insurer and investor approval gained and additional liens negotiated by Realtor

8. Application decision is made and a decision letter mailed.

This list applies to sellers, obviously. Potential buyers should consult a lender and determine what they are comfortable with paying for a home. Buyers can research the market to some extent on their own and then should contact a real estate professional who can help them find the perfect home.

Many agents don't want to bother with short sale properties because, ironically, the process can be LONG and arduous, compared to a more conventional transaction. Netchaev considers it an obligation to present buyers and sellers with all options, so she's become adept at negotiating the ins and outs of the short sale procedure.

"The first question I ask a potential seller is, 'what are you trying to accomplish with this sale?'" says Irina. "And what helps me as the Realtor is education. So many of us aren't trained properly, and I've found it invaluable to me and my clients that I'm familiar with trends, listings, timing, and aspects of the community."

Here's another list and this one I made up all by myself - Five Reasons Why I Admire
Irina Netchaev:

1. She's got the most delicious Russian accent

2. She has a spiffy GPS system in her car

3. She's smart, honest and funny

4. Her husband is a former Russian hockey player and mentor
to hundreds of other athletes (not relevant, maybe, but interesting!)

5. She's pretty and extremely graceful

In 1886 (by the way, the year the oldest short sale house was built), Pasadena incorporated as a city. I've been told that the main reason residents sought incorporation was so they could get rid of the local saloon. In the next decade sewers, paved streets, and electric lighting were installed.

http://www.pasadenacarealestatehomes.com/003C8C