Press Releases

Real Estate Committee Offers Market Report & Town Hall Meeting

Worried about saving your home, selling it, or getting a loan? The answers to those and other real estate questions are going to be offered as a free community service to the public through the ACRES committee of the Alpine & Mountain Empire Chamber of Commerce.

Cory Kill, ACRES chairman and owner of CK Appraisal Services in Alpine, said the committee of local real estate professionals is putting together a new East County market report that will be presented quarterly at open public forums. “We’re going to have a panel of real estate experts from the local area that will be able to briefly present the report and answer any questions that the public might have,” Kill said. “We welcome anybody with real estate questions and concerns.” That includes first-time buyers, people in hardship, investors, and people interested in perhaps being able to reduce their property taxes, he said.

The ACRES committee consists of trusted and knowledgeable real estate professionals who know East County and the best ways to help people interested in real estate. The newsletter style ACRES Quarterly Market Report will contain real estate market trends and forecasts, said the committee chairman. “We’ll briefly explain that (at the forums) and what interest rates are doing, that kind of thing,” Kill said. “Nobody is selling anything. This is just an opportunity for the public.

People who attend the meetings will then have an opportunity to ask the panel of real estate professionals about the report and any other real estate concerns, he said. Questions may be asked anonymously at the forums, said Kill. The first ACRES Quarterly Town Hall Meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 10, will be at the Alpine Community Center at 1830 Alpine Blvd. In addition to the panelists at each forum, Kill said, other real estate professionals also will be there, such as realtors; appraisers; mortgaging consultants; title and escrow representatives; insurance agents; accountants; contractors, and home inspectors.

As part of the effort to get the word out to the community, the ACRES committee will be placing flyers about the new marketing report and meetings at local businesses. The committee also is asking people to submit forum questions now. To submit questions or to get more information call Kill at (619) 920-1063 or Kelly Weiss at the Chamber at (619) 445-2722; visit ACRES@AlpineChamber.com, or mail the Alpine & Mountain Empire Chamber of Commerce at 2707 Alpine Blvd., Alpine, CA 91901.

ACRES Members Spreading the Word

If youre trying to buy or sell real estate in the Alpine region, members of the Alpine Chamber Real Estate Services committee are ready to help. The group, known as ACRES, has been getting the word out around East County that they are promoting real estate services in Alpine through professional and public events.

In addition to their monthly Poker Runs, open houses and networking mixers, ACRES members are talking about their committee and what it offers at community events throughout the region. We try to talk to people about the benefits of using local people for real estate purposes, ACRES Chairman Cory Kill, owner of CK Appraisal Services, said this month. They should join to generate business for themselves. The benefit to the home buyers is that they can get their needs met by the best professionals in the area.

Committee members attended the Community Fair that Albertsons held on Feb. 23 at its new Alpine supermarket.Kill said ACRES members also will be at the Third Annual Homebuyers Fair on Saturday, April 26 in El Cajon. It will be from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Community Center, 195 E. Douglas Ave.

Local professionals hold the key to country living, is the ACRES slogan. A major strength of the committee is that it has representatives from all real estate-related businesses, including lenders, appraisers, title and escrow personnel, design and construction, as well as real estate professionals. People in related professions that become involved in real estate transactions can help the community and help themselves by using the ACRES, Kill said.

He said real estate buyers who dont use ACRES members can lose out, because they dont know the Alpine and Mountain Empire region as well as the committee members do. Theres a lot of things they can look for up here that are unique to Alpine, said Kill. According to local realtors, 40 to 60 percent of homes for sale in Alpine are listed with out of area realtors. Even in this market, that could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars which dont stay in Alpine every month, said Kill.

The next Poker Run will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 11. The event is called a Poker Run because participants draw a card at each display home visited. The best poker hand wins. After the Poker Run, agents will gather a half hour later at 1:30 p.m. at the Alpine Womans Club at 2156 Alpine Blvd. for a networking mixer. On Saturday, April 12, there will be an ACRES Open House Tour from 1 to 4 p.m.

ACRES membership is open to all Chamber members who are real estate professionals or in related fields. Committee members are asked to attend 70 percent of the meetings in order to get full participation. The ACRES committee, about a dozen strong and more than a year old, is one of 10 Chamber groups that work to benefit local businesses and residents. Anyone interested in joining the ACRES committee, participating in one of its events or joining another Chamber committee can contact the Alpine Chamber of Commerce at (619) 445-2722.