Luxury Real Estate

Courtesy of: LuxuryRealEstate.com

Katrina S. Campins, Founder of The Campins Company, is among the most visible and successful real estate professionals in the country. Headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida, with offices in Chicago and Maryland as well as a proprietary network of brokers called The Campins Clique Nationwide, Katrina’s sales production ranks her among the top ½ percent of realtors’ nationwide. She has been featured in numerous publications including recognition as Realtor Magazine’s ‘Top 30 Under 30’ in 2004, Forbes, USA Today, NY Post, NY Times, Sports Illustrated, Ocean Drive, ESPN, Player Magazine, Variety Magazine, the covers of People Magazine, US Weekly, In Touch an d many more. Katrina continues to leverage her media exposure to further her real estate career and build The Campins brand, thus providing exposure to her properties and clients. Katrina has and continues to appear on NBC, VH1, E!, HGTV, SITV, Topps TV, Fox News, CNN, CNBC, ESPN, MTV, BBC and starred in Bravo’s docu-drama, Miami Social.

Licensed at the age of eighteen, Katrina garnered her first six-figure commission check while still a college student. Katrina launched the Campins Company in 2004 and has constructed an ‘A’ list roster of clientele consisting of celebrities, athletes and entrepreneurs. She formed the Sports & Entertainment division within her company in 2005 in order to better service her celebrity clients with their real estate needs throughout the entire United States. Since 2005, Katrina has personally represented over 160 athletes and/or entertainers in this capacity. The Campins Company’s Project Marketing & Management Division has also sold over $100 million in four exclusive listings (three office condominium projects and one condo-hotel project) since its inception. In total her sales production exceeds $520 million since the launch of her company. Katrina’s business development prowess, negotiation skills, market knowle dge and no-nonsense, results-driven approach make her the powerhouse she has become at a young age.

Katrina graduated from the University of Miami with general honors and a 4.0 grade point average, while majoring in International Finance & Marketing. Her career in real estate began when she ‘flipped’ her first investment property at age seventeen. Katrina believes strongly in giving back to her community and is involved in several charitable organizations. Katrina, a first-generation Cuban-American is fluent in English and Spanish.

To learn more about Katrina Campins, visit her website. For more information on the 8th Annual Luxury Real Estate Spring Retreat and other upcoming events, visit www.luxuryrealestate.com/conference.

By Robert Lockard

In the winter 2009 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine (this link will start working in December 2008 when the magazine is published) I wrote an article entitled “Seeing Green: Living eco-friendly without sacrificing luxury.” In that article I mentioned a number of links and resources awaiting readers online. As promised, here they are! Check out the following Web sites for valuable information on what you can do today to start enjoying the benefits of “green” homes. In addition, I included links to the personal blogs/sites of the five Luxury Real Estate members and Eco-Brokers who I interviewed for this article. They were very helpful in the writing process and I’m sure you’ll find them to be extremely helpful in the home buying and selling process:

“Green” Organizations and Resources
www.buildinggreen.com: An independent publishing company focused on “green” building materials and methods.

www.builditgreen.org: A nonprofit dedicated to promoting “green” building in California by providing education, professional directories and more.

www.builtgreen.net: The Built Green™ logo signifies a property meets rigorous “green” standards. Based in Western Washington.

www.earthcrafthouse.com: Founded in 1999, EarthCraft House™ certifies new homes in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia as “green” based upon high standards.

www.greenhomeguide.org: Sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council, this site offers a variety of resources for “greening” your home.

www.lowimpactliving.com: A tool for setting realistic goals based on your budget, location and other factors.

www.nahb.org: Formed in 1942, the National Association of Home Builders provides in-depth data on housing trends, including “green” homes.

www.southeastgreen.com: A user-friendly directory of businesses offering “green” products and services in the Southeast United States.

www.usgbc.org: Official site of the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit composed of leaders from every sector of the building industry, which provides LEED™ standards for homes, businesses and more.



Blogs/Personal “Green” Sites:
www.cottenalston.com (Cotten Alston’s personal site)

www.roseannblacher.com (Roseann Blacher’s personal site)

http://maringreenrealestate.blogspot.com (Jonathan Marks’ blog, the only “green” blog in Marin County)

www.thebuckheadblog.com (Carson Matthews’ blog)

http://welcomehomegreen.typepad.com (Hannah Tai’s blog)

By Las Villas de Mexico

Las Villas de Mexico, a newly announced collection of luxury resorts spread across Mexico’s top tourist locations, is sponsoring the 13th Annual Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference, which will be hosted in Philadelphia on October 11-14, 2008 at The Ritz-Carlton, Philadelphia.

Planners of Las Villas de Mexico are currently building 1,000 luxury properties in four locations: Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Subsequent phases are expected to include other Mexican destinations such as San Miguel de Allende. The first pre-construction purchase opportunities are scheduled to be offered in the first week of December 2008.

“We have created a whole-ownership concept that is altogether different from anything else on the marketplace,” said Brett Sawyer, director of international sales at Las Villas de Mexico. “By purchasing a Las Villas de Mexico home, owners become part of a greater community of multiple locations throughout Mexico, all of them dedicated to the very best luxury experience, from world-class golf and spas to stunning beaches.”

A twist on the traditional vacation home, Las Villas de Mexico allows buyers to stay at a number of homes in other popular locations while still maintaining ownership of their own property. Maintenance and security are also handled by the resort while the owners are away. Within five years, Las Villas de Mexico planners hope to complete construction on a total of 10,000 resort residences in other well-known vacation spots across the country.

“Every home we build is designed to be inspirational,” Sawyer said. “Perfectly wrapped in the history of each region, Las Villas de Mexico showcases an ideal blend of modern amenities. Behind every wall, inside every cabinet, we have filled every home with state-of-the-art convenience.”

Las Villas de Mexico will sponsor the Opening Night Reception at the Luxury Real Estate Fall Conference. More than 250 LuxuryRealEstate.com members from around the world are expected to attend the conference. Niurka, a highly sought-after keynote speaker, consultant and peak-performance coach, will speak at this event.


Editor’s Note:
Hmmm… this blog post sounds kind of familiar. I figured I’d give credit to Las Villas de Mexico for this blog post since they sent it to me. I hope you enjoyed it!

By Donna Sapolin
From her magazine article: Decorati Designer Feature: Robert Passal, Style Infusion

Welcome to a designer feature by Decorati, the online resource for high-end interior design. In this post, we are featuring New York-based interior designer Robert Passal, who has transformed this 2,200-square-foot apartment on Manhattan’s tony upper eastside. See below for some tips that you can use for staging your next home.

His mission: to diffuse the banality of new construction by administering a healthy dose of visual intrigue to heartily lived-in, white-box rooms devoid of interior architecture.

Designed for a couple with two infants, his furnishings plan shuns the sort of precious, hands-off quality that some elegant schemes engender and, instead, welcomes the thrills and spills of everyday life with wear-resistant surfaces and a few colors that politely refuse to show the (sometimes grubby) touch of human hands. Passal’s design concept focused on the creation of dimension and interest through geometry and texture.

LIVING ROOM:

“I use art lamps all over, even in unexpected places, like [in] a powder room over a toilet.”

Entrants to the living room are struck by a strong sense of interior architecture forged by the grid work frame of a Holly Hunt armchair, the x-shaped bottoms of two leather stools, the circular form of a brushed steel B & B Italia side table, and the rectangular shapes of a glass-topped copper Martha Sturdy coffee table and custom-designed cantilevered media cabinet.

DINING ROOM:

The geometric motifs extend to the dining room where a pair of Oly leather chairs and a custom banquette sidle up to an oak table supported by two trios of x-shaped legs. Passal painted the baseboards a deep chocolate tone and carried the color across the bottoms of the Belgian linen drapes, into the cotton velvet upholstery on the banquette and onto its stained base.

“Whenever I am short on surfaces in a room, I use the dining table for art – here, I placed a cast bronze sculpture under the fixture.”


Editor’s Note:
The full version of this article can be found in Decorati’s Access Magazine. Donna Sapolin has written a number of articles for this magazine, and they are definitely worth checking out. This looks like a great luxury property. Luxury Real Estate recently partnered with Decorati to share content between the two sites. You can find my “Hot Spots for Yachts” article from the spring 2008 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine published on Decorati here. Very exciting!

By Brian Langhorst

Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate, a worldwide membership organization, publishes LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine as an additional advertising opportunity for our invitation-only membership. This industry-leading magazine can be seen in over 40 countries around the world as well as in luxury service providers, storefronts, spas and boutiques throughout the United States. Our next issue will be for winter of 2009.

I highly recommend advertising in this dynamic marketing piece as an effective way to reach high-net-worth investors and buyers through both online and print advertising. We continue to see print advertising driving Web traffic!

The reservation deadline to advertise is: September 26th.

Materials are due by: October 1st.

Please contact me with any questions on how you can reach our high-net-worth audience through membership: BLanghorst (at) LuxuryRealEstate.com


Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. As the author of the “green” homes editorial and the City Spotlight on Nassau, Bahamas in the winter 2009 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine, I can vouch for the quality of this publication. We publish the magazine in print and online to reach a broad audience. Don’t miss out!

By Robert Lockard

I don’t have a whole lot of time today, but I just wanted to share an interesting CNN article entitled “The staycation effect: 5 reasons to travel now.” Because people have been very wise with their money this summer and have not gone on as many vacations, right now is a great time to take a vacation. Many hotels and luxury resorts are offering special discounts to entice people to get out of their homes and into a luxury community.

As soon as I saw this story I thought of Andrew Harper. They’re the experts on luxury hotels and travel, and they’ve posted some great blog entries in the Luxury Real Estate Blog on scoring free hotel upgrades and 10 places in the U.S. to see before you die. Plus, I just finished writing a City Spotlight on Nassau, Bahamas for the winter 2009 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine. That definitely seems like an excellent getaway in the Caribbean. I can’t wait until the magazine comes out so you can read my fun take on the islands.

I wish I had more time to talk about this topic, but I highly recommend reading the whole CNN article. It’s quite concise and informative. Enjoy!

Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with Luxury Real Estate. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. I had mixed feelings about writing this blog entry today. I just don't know if it's super appropriate to share on September 11, when feelings of melancholy and seriousness should prevail in my heart. I hope you don't mind.

By Yvonne Harvey

I was surprised to see a copy of US Airways Magazine on my desk this week with a sticky note on it saying “Info for Conference.” I was perplexed on what that would have to do with our conference in Philadelphia. Then I saw it. In the top right-hand corner in small letters are the words “Philly’s Best-Kept Secrets.” Well, hello!

I thought I would list them out for you, and maybe you can guess which one really jumped out at me.

1) Center City – It’s dynamic and diverse, but also compact and walkable – offering something for everyone.

2) America’s Most Historic Square Mile – The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, The National Constitution Center.

3) A Lively Arts Scene – Music, dance, theater – whatever calls to you, Philadelphia has it.

4) Tax-Free Shopping for Apparel and Shoes – Enough said.

5) Entertainment & Nightlife – With dozens of trendy nightclubs and other up-to-the-minute hot spots, you’ll be able to party ‘til the wee hours.

6) Great Eats – From cheese steaks to five-star dining, Philadelphia has culinary offerings to satisfy every palette.

7) Room to Roam – Even though Philadelphia is a big city, it also has some great outdoors. Run wild in one of America’s largest urban parks.

8) Easy Access – Philadelphia is a quick Amtrak train ride from Washington, D.C. and New York. The airport offers 1,600 daily departures and arrivals to 122 domestic and international destinations.

9) Rooms for Everyone – We have lots of hotel rooms, meeting spaces, and the Convention Center all in the heart of Center City.

10) Historic Service – The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau sales and service team is one of the most critically acclaimed in the industry.

So, did you guess which one jumped out at me? Wait for it …. TAX-FREE SHOPPING! Can we say Neiman Marcus, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors and Juicy Couture!

As it says above… enough said.

See you in Philly!


Editor’s Note:
Yvonne Harvey is the Events Coordinator for LuxuryRealEstate.com. So when you come and enjoy the wonderful presentations, discussions and networking opportunities at Luxury Real Estate conferences, you know who to thank. It looks like there are now 13 great reasons to attend the Fall Conference in Philadelphia – besides, of course, the networking opportunities, knowledge waiting to be shared, etc. The photo above is from www.flickr.com/photos/vic15/15082596 and it is the copyright of vic15.

By Courtney Jackson

The summer 2008 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine was just released. Be sure to pick up a copy or view it online.

Editor’s Note:
Courtney Jackson is the Print Director for LuxuryRealEstate.com. She works closely with The Wall Street Journal, Unique Homes and a variety of other publications to help luxury brokers gain domestic and international exposure for their properties. It’s funny, but I just read in another website, called Asiaing.com, that LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine came out today. Very cool!

By Brian Langhorst

The luxury real estate market place is filled with various companies with very strong branding messages for the corporation. What are you as an agent doing to stand out from the other competing agents in your own company?

Editor’s Note:
Brian Langhorst is LuxuryRealEstate.com’s Membership Manager. He meets members’ unique needs through the dynamic services LuxuryRealEstate.com provides. Short and sweet – just the way I like blog entries! LuxuryRealEstate.com can help you stand out with print and online advertisements in The Wall Street Journal, LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and more. The above picture is from www.flickr.com/photos/vieuxbandit/499540173 and is the copyright of vieux bandit.

By Robert Lockard

I have some fun news to share about John Brian Losh, Publisher/CEO of LuxuryRealEstate.com and Broker/CEO of Ewing & Clark, Inc., Seattle's oldest real-estate brokerage.

Mr. Losh will appear on Lakefront Radio, an Atlanta radio show on Friday, June 20, 2008. He will discuss the luxury real estate market and high-tech trends with hosts Mary Thompson, Chuck Thompson and Lee Kantor.

The radio show is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Pacific Time. You can listen to the show live by visiting the Lakefront Radio website. That will be great. I’m sure Mr. Losh will have some great insights to share.

In addition to this radio show, Mr. Losh also appeared in the April/May issue of Unique Homes magazine. He was the focus of Ken Weingartner’s “Unique Personalities” section. Nick Antonicello, Director of Sales at Unique Homes, gave Mr. Losh a copy of that magazine issue at the 13th Annual Luxury Real Estate Spring Retreat this past April.


Editor’s Note:
Robert Lockard is the Public Relations & Media Specialist with LuxuryRealEstate.com. I am Robert. I create all of Luxury Real Estate’s newsletters, write the editorials in LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine and much more. This is very exciting stuff. I can’t wait to listen to this radio show tomorrow.