PMRB 2011 Planning and Team Building

Shortly after Atty. Nelson Arquiza was elected  2011 PMRB  President, he organized  a planning and team building workshop at Evercrest in Nusugbu,  Batangas  last October 22.

I felt privileged to be invited to the workshop, where I met  almost all of  the board's new officers:  Rene Castillo, Vice President; Atty. Diana Mamaril, Secretary; Sweet Gardiner-Manoz,  Joseph Aragon (who arranged for the venue), Carlos Pascasio and Roel Ramos-- Directors.

The trip to Evercrest started at 7:00 a.m. for me   I met up with Marlene Galeos, Balui Tort and Ashley Valera-- all committee volunteers-- at Starbucks Madrigal Avenue in Alabang.  We shared a ride going to Evercrest using Marlene's car. 

Upon reaching   Evercrest, we  had  our group pictorials.  We had fun and it showed.







Lady PMRB Officers & Committee Volunteers with President Nympha Bocaling (center)

  We had team building exercises conducted by Marlene. Later that day, we had our planning sessions. . We were divided into 3 groups:  Internal Com, Internal Com and Strategic Business Com, of which I was assigned to join.




 With the  Men of PMRB (Me 3rd from left)

     It was a highly stimulating discussion for all the three groups.   We broke up for dinner past 8 pm.  I think that would be an indication of the things-- the  work--  to come.

MY FIRST PAREB CONVENTION

PAREB stands for the Philippine Association of Reators Board. It  is an umbrella organization  of    government-licensed real estate brokers-- a number of which are  also licensed appraisers, real estate consultants, property developers, builders, and practitioners of other professions. 

As of 2007, PAREB is composed 42 boards from Luzon, Visayas  and Mindanao. 

Since its foundation,  PAREB enjoys the privilege of  being the only national association  accredited by the NAR (National Association of Realtors)- USA to use "Realtor" for its members.

Not every real estate agent or broker is a REALTOR^®. The  trademark REALTOR^® and the familiar block “R” logo are patented to the National Association of REALTORS^® of the USA. Only members in good standing of NAR-USA and its foreign affiliates are authorized to use them.

Source: http://www.realtor.org.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5&Itemid=6

This 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of PAREB. Maita and  I had  the opportunity to sign up for the national convention  with the theme "PAREB @ 50: Solid as Gold", which  was held at the Century Park Hotel  from October 7 to  9. 

The convention program was filled with  so many sessions on various topics relevant to real estate practice that participants who attended the 3-day  event were awarded 15  CPE units-- all creditable for  PRC registration.

Among  the speakers with whom I was able to approach and speak with was Larry Gamboa (in photo),  author of best-selling "Think Rich Pinoy" and  known proponent of foreclosure investments. 

Other popular figures who graced the convention were Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Chiz Escudero and Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim. 

There were also fellowship events,    the most memorable of which  were the board "talent" presentations during the "Broadway Night" on October  8 and  the search for the Most Popular Lady Realtor held on October 9.

Cebu Realtors Board won the judges nod during the talent night, while the Candidate from Quezon City Reators Board bagged the MPLR title.  This year's search, according to the organizers, raised a record  high of  Ps 3.2 million.

The PAREB elections were held on December 9, where  outgoing President  Manny Bocaling passed on the leadership to Atty. Ariel Martinez.

My colleagues and I from Pasay-Makati Realtors Board (PMRB) could not be any happier for Atty. Martinez.

HOW I GOT HERE

With my wife, Realtor® Maita Herce-Siquijor

I am not entirely new to real estate practice. For one, I am married to Maita who  has been  a real estate broker for more than  10 years now.

Actually,  I got my  real estate broker's license   in 1996,  Only my family knew  this story.  When I was courting Maita in 1994, she decided to take up the Comprehensive Real Estate Seminar or CRESAR-- an 8-weekend course that prepared a candidate for the licensing exam.

To be with Maita, I also enrolled in the same course. I sat through the lectures and  really studied the course materials.

 We both passed the licensing exams.  Eventually, we applied for our licenses.  She pursued her real estate practice while I went on to move up on the proverbial   corporate ladder in the pharmaceutical industry.

Since then, I have referred to Maita a number of  my office mates for  their real estate requirements.  I am glad that Maita was able to successfully close deals  for them.

Up until 2009, I did not see  the need for me to  renew  my real estate license.  I was just  happy to give Maita referrals.  But now that we have put up La Maisonette Manila, Inc. -- a general real estate brokerage-- there is that obvious benefit for me to get my license renewed.

With the enactment of the Real Estate Service Act in 2009,  the licensing authority for real estate brokers was shifted from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Philippine Regulation  Commission.  One of the requirements for me to  renew my license was to take up 24 units of Continuing Professional Education units or CPEs.

CPEs are offered by local realtor boards.  Maita belongs to the Muntinlupa Realtors Board or MUNREB.  Sometime  July 2009, she received an email  from  Pasay Makati Realtors Board or PMRB that  a course on CPE would be offered.  Maita forwarded the email to me and I looked up PMRB on the net. The course lecturer was Atty. Ariel Martinez,  whom I have met in one of the seminars on estate planning.   I wanted to sign up for the course but there was a conflict in my schedule.    I called up the PMRB secretariat and spoke to Tere Santana who advised me that  there was another CPE course to be offered by the Paranaque Las Pinas Realtors Board or PLAREB.   To cut the story short, I attended the course organized by PLAREB that was conducted by Mr. Cesar Santos, another prominent real estate lecturer.

In  August 2009, I decided to apply  for membership with  the Pasay Makati Realtors Board.   Maita and I agreed that it would be better for me to sign up with another board so that we could expand our business  network,  I chose PMRB because I knew Atty. Ariel Martinez and because I actually grew up in Pasay City.

Maita is very proficient in the use of the net  for her real estate practice.  She has a Masters Degree in E-learning from University of Sheffield in UK.   But instead of me taking her time away to teach me concepts on e-commence and blogging, I decided to sign up for  a blogging course at Ateneo de Manila   One Saturday in   October 2009, I went back to my alma mater and  found myself again in a classroom.  The program director was Janette Toral, one of the most influential names in  blogging and e-commerce in the country.

To comply with   one of our course requirements, I put up this blog.  And that's how I got here-- literally and figuratively speaking.

WHERE I HAVE BEEN

Since I graduated from college in 1984, I have practically spent all my working years  as a marketer.  I started out as a Product Associate, moving up to various positions in brand management  for  prescription, over-the-counter (OTC)  and consumer products across several pharmaceutical  companies. While working my way up  on  the proverbial corporate ladder, I met and   married  Maita-- my wife for  more than 15 years now.  She  is a veteran of more than 10 years in the  real estate  business.   While pursuing our professions, we have been raising two  precocious  children.

Prior to our  putting up  a real estate company named Architerra Manila Properties as a division of  La Maisonette Manila Inc  in  2010,  I was  Marketing Director in  a multinational  pharmaceutical company. 


I am optimistic that  my stint in  pharmaceutical marketing  can serve as a valuable platform from which Maita  and I can draw learnings, and the much needed contacts, to grow our company.    

My posts will not all be about Maita and myself.  Through this blog,  I  intend to  provide  interesting write-ups on  current issues and concerns in the industry,  and on fellow real  estate brokers whom we have personally met and dealt with.

I know that there are many fellow real estate brokers  out there   who have had colorful careers prior to shifting to  real estate.   They too will be featured here,  for their stories to serve as  inspiring examples of successful cross-overs. 

Our accounts  of  our cross-overs can benefit not only those who are new  in  the  profession-- but  also our  our prospective  and current clients,   who   can have a gleam  of  our backgrounds.  We hope that our clients, both now and in the future,  will  find  in all of  us the qualities that they expect from real estate professionals.