East and South County Realtor Groups OK Merger by Wide Margins

Updated at 8:55 a.m. March 5, 2012

After months of meetings on the proposed merger of East San Diego County Association of Realtors, the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors and the North San Diego County Association of Realtors, all three groups agreed to take the merger to their members for a vote. 

Voting took place online over two weeks.

In the end, East San Diego County and the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors agreed to merge—by votes of 273-14 and 221-33 by the respective groups.   

The proposed merger failed by a vote of 618-588 among members of the North County Association of Realtors.

In a statement posted Feb. 29 on the ESDCAR website, association President Peg Tischer-Keeley and CEO R. Alan Smith said:

A merger of ESDCAR and PSAR will proceed. Look for additional announcements over the next few months as the leaders of ESDCAR and PSAR complete the transition from two associations to one. The merger will accommodate new efficiencies and cost saving measures in an effort to keep membership dues low while potentially adding new services and expanding existing services.

We will continue to support your business as we always have. You will continue to receive services in the same place and you may continue to participate in the association in the same manner. You will receive additional information as services and programs are made available to you in additional locations.

 More Changes in Realty Office Management

Management changes continue at La Mesa real estate offices.  Besides the departure of Carey Guthrie last months from Pacific Sotheby’s Realty, Michael Marmion has been hired to be the branch manager of not only the La Mesa office but of all the Pacific Sotheby’s offices. 

Chuck Sackett will replace Marmion as manager of Prudential California Real Estate on Grossmont Boulevard.   

“In the last analysis, what we are communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do,” Steven Covey said many years ago, and they are still true today. 

As I have watched the madness of the changing fortunes of the local real estate community these past two weeks, I have been amused, saddened, reassured, annoyed and encouraged by the characters in this play. 

Attorney General Tells $18 Billion Bank Settlement

In early February, 49 state attorneys general and the federal government accepted a settlement in the suit brought against the major banks for flawed and fraudulent practices in the mortgage meltdown. 

Kamala Harris, our California attorney general, pulled out of talks with the banks last fall, stating that the amount being offered to California was “grossly insufficient.”

California had originally been offered about $2 billion. On Feb. 8, she held a press conference to announce that California will receive about $18 billion from the expected $40 billion in total benefits expected from the settlement.

This Week in La Mesa Real Estate Activity (91941 and 91942)

Some 25 properties were listed, 25 properties sold and 17 went into escrow.  My home of the week is 8794 Madison Ave.  Listed by Connie Umbarger of Century 21 Award, the asking price is $379,000.  A traditional sale, it is an upgraded 2 bedroom/2 bath home built in 1945.

Charlotte Reed is a Realtor with Windermere SoCal Real Estate in La Mesa.  She can be reached at CharlotteReed@Cox.net or 619-997-7333.