December 15, 2007 Edition

Top Franchisees Recognized At Annual Convention

Honoring the best of 2007

Mark Mattlage of Cal Mat Properties in Ft. Worth receives the UG Cup from John Hayes at the convention.

This year's Annual Convention included awards for more than 80 franchisees, the best of the franchise network. . . .

From Rookie of the Year to the newly introduced UG Cup, HVA honored its top franchisees at the Annual Convention last week. The evening's greatest honor belonged to Toni and Brownie Lott of Lott's Alamo City in San Antonio, TX. They received the Founder's Award, established in 2005 in memory of Ken D'Angelo and as a tribute to his character, reputation and entrepreneurial drive.

"I'm completely shocked," said Toni D'Angelo-Lott after she received the award. "I just want to say that everyone in this room has a wonderful and beautiful thing here. I know that this business isn't easy. But I know that we have each other. And we cherish each and every one of you."

The following offices were also recognized:

Rookie of the Year: These franchisees opened for business between April, 2006 and March, 2007 and reported the most activity per month in purchase closings, purchase contracts, and sales contracts, out-performing all other franchisees that opened in the same period.

1. RP Investments in Columbus, GA
2. Transition Properties in Phoenix, AZ
3. HomeTex of ATX in Austin, TX

Top 10 Closers: These franchisees closed on the most properties in the 2007 convention year. Of the 20 top closers, 13 different markets were represented. Nine of the franchisees were repeat winners, 11 franchisees were new winners, and 14 franchisees were also Top Sellers.

Jodi and Terry Turbyfill of Home Solutions of So. FL in Ft. Lauderdale receive the Most Improved Office award from John Hayes during the convention.

Top Closers in a Major Market:

1. Cal Mat Properties, Ft. Worth, TX, 117 properties closed
2. RMD Investments, St. Louis, MO, 113
3. WFI Properties, Houston, TX, 101
4. PSP Investment Group, Richmond, VA, 98
5. Advantage House Buyers, Houston, TX, 96
6. Jennifer Raney Investments, Dallas, TX, 88
7. C&C Residential Properties, Dallas, TX, 85
8. Meadow Wood Homes, Dallas, TX, 82
9. Stieferman Investments, Tulsa, OK, 70
10. The Real Advantage, Dallas, TX, 69

Top Closers in a Junior Market:

1. Illinois Property Development, East St. Louis, IL, 56 properties closed
2. RP Investment Group, Columbus, GA, 50
3. Capstone Real Estate, Montgomery, AL, 38

Top Sellers in a Major Market:

1. Cal Mat Properties, Ft. Worth, TX, 123 properties sold
2. RMD Investments, St. Louis, MO, 91
3. Jennifer Raney Investments, Dallas, TX, 89

Top Sellers in a Junior Market:

1. Old Southern Properties, Pensacola, FL, 33 properties sold
2. KAVA Properties, Charleston, SC, 30
3. RP Investment Group, Columbus, GA, 30

Top Buyers:

1. Dean Fridy of M & L Capital Investments, Houston, TX, 73 properties purchased
2. Mark Roscioli of Cifaldi Property Investments, Philadelphia, PA, 60
3. Ryan Rickard of Trinity Property Investments, Tampa, FL, 58

Best Customers: These franchisees best followed the HVA system and generated the most annual gross profit for HVA, including transaction fees, advertising commissions and finance fees.

1. PSP Investment Group, Richmond, VA
2. PeyMax Properties, Atlanta, GA
3. STW Holdings, Charlotte, NC

The UG Cup: Cal Mat Properties, Ft. Worth, TX
The UG Cup is presented to the franchisee who has maintained at least a 5 percent lead to closing ratio for three years, during which time the franchisee produced a minimum of 40 purchase acquisitions and executed at least 40 exit strategies annually.

Brand Maximizer: Columbus, GA, 21 percent market share

Market Share Accelerator:

1. Columbus, GA, 13.1 percent market share increase, 21 percent market penetration
2. Ft. Walton Beach, 12.4 percent market share increase, 17.9 percent market penetration
3. Dallas Ad Council, 1.8 percent market share increase, 16.5 percent market penetration

Most Improved Office (under five years old):

1. Alliance Realty Services, St. Louis, MO
2. Coastal Investment Group, Jacksonville, FL
3. Stieferman Investments, Tulsa, OK

Most Improved Office (over five years old):

1. Home Solutions of So. FL, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
2. M & L Capital Investments, Houston, TX
3. Advantage House Buyers, Houston, TX

America Votes Sarasota Home Ugliest House Of The Year

HomeVestors announces winner of The Ugliest House of the Year contest
By Monica Feid

Monica Feid

Greg Weinstein with Goldmine Properties, LLC in Sarasota, FL accepts first place in the Ugliest House of the Year contest

The minute Greg Weinstein of Gold Mine Properties saw the house at 1916 32nd Street in Sarasota, FL, he knew he had a winner.

"I told the person I was buying it from, 'You know, you're going to make me the winner of the Ugliest House of the Year contest.'"

He was right.

The house, a true eyesore, was the "Ugliest" of the "Ugly." At least that's what America thought when thousands of people voted online for HVA's Ugliest House of the Year.

Just hours after the announcement was made at the HVA convention in Orlando, the media also wanted the news.

But as Weinstein did his first interview with CBS Radio in Los Angeles, he was quick to point out that this was much more than an ugly house. It was one very ugly situation. And soon this contest had become another vehicle to educate people on how HVA really works to help communities.

The seller, a 27-year-old single mother, had inherited the property from her grandmother. But it came with more than $275,000 in condemnation fines that had compounded over the last five years. The condemned home also had drug addicts squatting on the property.

Weinstein had to enlist the help of local law enforcement to remove the tenants.

"This wasn't just an ugly house. It was a blight on the community," Weinstein said. "There were no windows. No copper piping. It was stripped of just about everything but the walls."

But it did have a bright future.

Weinstein worked his magic and went to the city to ask for permission to buy the house. The city reduced the fines to $375 and the home was on its way to a new life.

"I sold it in an hour," Weinstein said. And the real estate investor who bought it has already started rehabbing the place.

Like many houses in Florida, Weinstein pointed out that it was a concrete block home that could last forever.

"It costs more to tear down a concrete block home that it does to work with the existing structure," he explained. And soon the house will be a beautiful home for someone new.

"The end result is all positive," Weinstein says with a smile. "The seller got out of it with a check and no more burdens on her or her family."

Weinstein walked away with a check too. As the winner of the contest, HVA awarded him with a $100,000 interest-free loan with no closing costs towards the purchase of another home.

Wes English of Caliente Properties in Forth Worth, TX, came in second place and received a $50,000 interest-free loan with no closings costs towards the purchase of another home.

And Michael Ludlow of Home Again Properties of Phoenix, AZ came in third place and received a credit for four transaction fees.

All three of these franchisees also received $3,500 in additional prizes from HVA vendors.

America voted for houses in these cities in the following ugly order:

1. Sarasota, Fla.
2. Fort Worth, Texas
3. Phoenix, Ariz.
4. Salisbury, Md.
5. San Antonio, Texas
6. Dallas, Texas
7. Cincinnati, Ohio
8. Montgomery, Ala.
9. Detroit, Mich.
10. Philadelphia, Pa.

"We are confident that the Ugliest House of the Year contest will become an annual event for HomeVestors. It will pick up more momentum each year, and generate more and more publicity for HomeVestors," said Mark Hagen, vice president of marketing for HomeVestors.

… Monica Feid is vice president of BizCom Associates, HomeVestors' PR agency.

New Franchisees Join Team HVA

Referral program continues in 2008
By Jason Killough

Jason Killough

Since the last Franchise Development update in The Vestor's Voice®, we are pleased to announce we have welcomed the following new franchises into our system:

Dave and Brenda Evans in Phoenix, AZ
Philip Santo and John Crick in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Dennis Kerkado in Boston, MA
Chris Lane in El Paso, TX
Todd Murphy and John Phillips in Birmingham, AL
Chad Burgueno in Phoenix, AZ
Eleanor "Ellie" Melton in Philadelphia, PA

Franchisee Referral Program Continues
I am extremely pleased that most of the new franchisees are a result of referrals from our franchisees, who will receive a referral bonus as part of our continued referral bonus program. As part of the program, HVA will pay a bonus of $10,000 for each new franchise referral.

To be a qualified referral, the prospect must have heard about the HVA franchise opportunity from the referring franchisee, and must be registered with the Franchise Development Department. If a lead's name and contact information already exists in HVA's sales database, the lead does not qualify for this program.

The referral program does not include transfers of existing franchises. Franchise Development will continue to offer $2,500 in advertising credit for each transfer referred. For more information, or to register a referral, please contact Sherry Wallace at 972.619.0089.

Webinars Accessible Every Tuesday/Upcoming Franchise Events
Franchise prospects can learn even more about HomeVestors when they sign up for one of our live franchise development Webinars. During these phone and Internet presentations, prospects can learn about the franchise and interact with the Franchise Development team from the comfort of their homes or offices. They can ask questions via phone or email, enjoying the same opportunity to interact with the team as they would have at a live seminar.

Webinars are offered every Tuesday at 4 p.m. CST, and last 40 to 50 minutes. For registration information, visit the "Own a Franchise" section of HomeVestors.com, and click on "Upcoming Events/Webinars."

HomeVestors will be exhibiting at several franchise seminars in 2008. The confirmed shows are:

January 11-13, Franchise Expo South, Miami Beach, FL
March 1-2, Central Virginia Franchise Expo, Richmond, VA
March 28-29, The Entrepreneur Source Franchise Expo, Chicago, IL
April 11-13, International Franchise Expo, Washington, DC
November 7-9, West Coast Franchise Expo, Los Angeles, CA

. . . Jason Killough is director of franchise development.