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Jose M. Castaneda (RE/MAX Praecelsus) Real Estate Agent

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Jose M. Castaneda
location_on Chula Vista, CA — RE/MAX Praecelsus
RE/MAX International Inc.
Get to Know Jose M. Castaneda

I have been a full time agent for over 14 years and have honed my skills to better serve you and not waste anybody’s time. How do I back this up…with testimonials and experience! I have been a resale agent, new homes sale agent, project developer and negotiator. I have sold detached homes, condos, town homes, multi-unit apartment buildings, luxury estates, beach property, land lots, short sales, bank owned properties and new homes. Also, I have negotiated restaurant and residential leases for my clients. This is of great benefit to those who wish to ride out the market until it improves. I have even helped my clients put their package together for a loan modification! I live and breathe real estate so you don’t have to!!! Let me show you how I can help you. My goal is to be your real estate advocate for life by giving you the best information and excellent results.

I started in real estate back in 1998 just after I had left a job managing a Minuteman Press print shop which was very demanding and taught me the very important lesson that details are most important and to never leave a job until it is complete because once you print there is no changing the mistakes and money is lost! This attention to detail became deep rooted in me. I chose real estate because I always loved the detail in architecture. I wanted to learn more about buildings and the relationship with the land they rested on. Why not make a living dealing with all the ins and outs of real estate? I probably spent many sleepless nights just thinking about how amazing it was that man could make such structures like Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Falling Water”.

The first company I worked for was Prudential California Realty and basically did everything that a new agent could possibly do (knocking on doors, cold calling, calling my sphere, open houses, buyer seminars, sending out direct mail, talking to for sale by owners, calling expired listings, etc.) for the first year earning myself the Rookie of the Year Award. This was no easy feat and can honestly say that I did not have a life. Luckily, a veteran realtor in my office took notice and asked me if I surfed. I said of course! I’ve been surfing since I was 12 but haven’t surfed since I started real estate. He then just told me “Jose, do you know what the secret to selling more houses is?” I said no. “It’s surfing! The more you surf, the more homes you sell!” This was the start of a long friendship and thanks to him I got my sanity back in real estate. I had almost forgotten about the insane early hours one would get up to catch a wave all up and down the coast from Mexico to Orange County. This was perfect because we both had the same mindset about making sure we made it back to work early as well. I stayed on with Prudential until 2007 and accumulated several awards such as Top Producer, Top Lister, Million Dollar Club Member and Relocation Specialist. I also earned the Fine Homes Specialist designation for working with the upper tier properties in my market. During those years I can honestly say that I learned and sold a home in just about every city in San Diego County and even a few in Riverside County. I also learned how to help my clients buy lots and how to prepare them for building a spec home.

After the long stint with Prudential California Realty I decided to work for a new home builder by the name of Centex Homes. At the time they were the largest new home builder in the world and even had a commercial development arm that did projects in and out of the country. This experience helped me tremendously understand the process of building a home and what time frames can be expected. I can honestly say it was a very rewarding experience. Supervision was key to making sure everybody got what they ordered and was also the fun part in getting to see firsthand on how a house is built from grading the lot to end product. I finally understood how communities were made! 

After the 1 year+ job assignment with Centex Homes I decided to get back into re-sale with RE/MAX Associates in Downtown San Diego. The downtown condominium building was exploding and I fell in love with the urban revival of the finest city by the water I know. I got involved with everything there was to know about Downtown San Diego and the urban redevelopment going on. I went to the CCDC meetings (CCDC - Centre City Development Corporation is the public, non-profit corporation created by the City of San Diego to staff and implement Downtown redevelopment projects and programs) took the CCDC bus tours to look at just built and upcoming projects, visited all the new buildings and started selling downtown like crazy! I also negotiated my first restaurant space lease, helped my client get approval from the neighbors including a school I helped him interview with and even helped him get his first beer and wine license! By the end of my first year with RE/MAX Associates in Downtown San Diego I met with an old friend of mine, Steve Mumy, and he told me that he wanted to build a 6 million dollar project on the beach and wanted me to sell the project. I of course agreed and began this journey that was going to be much more involved that it seemed.

The beach project’s name was called Villa Volcania and it was my friend’s first project. Even though he did not have a developer’s background he did have an interior designer’s background and had worked on many high end projects in La Costa, Fairbanks Ranch and Rancho Santa Fe. He even worked under the tutelage of Andrew Gerhard and John Winans of Gerhard Design which were at the forefront of design since 1962. The project took us on a journey to Asia. I came along as an observer and turned into managing partner by day 2 of the trip. Our first stop was Hong Kong so we could first get a plan together. Upon arrival Steve and I headed off to see how we could get people to build the interior doors cabinetry, Pullmans, entertainment sets, etc. for his project on the beach. We started by getting a translator and then headed off to mainland China to see several factories that might meet our needs. After several visits to distinct factories we settled on one mainly because the working conditions seemed adequate and there was no child labor. After several talks, walking out 3 times and getting our translator to stop negotiating for us we came to an agreement on price and terms. I naturally arranged all of the logistics and import proceedings because I had experience from exporting used cars and auto parts to Costa Rica in my teen years. 

Back upon our arrival in San Diego, there were new challenges and deadlines to meet. The project took over 2 years to build and the level of detail was uncompromising. There were many ups and downs during stages of construction and permit approvals but we always managed to make things work even though it might have seemed impossible at times.  After several more trips to Asia for other materials we had the last leg of construction and final re-finance of the loan. This was finally it! To boot, I managed to renegotiate profit and overhead percentages with our last contractor saving Steve $39,000 dollars in costs! I have to say that it was definitely the hardest thing I ever did but I knew that if I finished no matter what the outcome I would be a better man and have the satisfaction of not letting this beat me! It was the hardest lesson I ever learned about the importance of finishing what you start! I also felt I aged 4 years in the span of 2.

The beach project came out beautifully and is the most custom beach project in South Mission Beach. The only item not custom about it is the appliances. You can see the project and judge for yourself at the following website address: www.villavolcania.com

After finishing the project, I switched to Keller Williams and started to learn the ins and outs of the REO business with an agent that specialized in that market. I even went to several REO seminars and training for several months. I currently am studying for my Broker’s License Exam. My current focus is on bank owned homes, short sales and luxury homes. Still much to learn and even looking forward to the commercial aspect of real estate in the near future. 

Hobbies: Helping people, surfing, snorkeling, swimming, running, snowboarding, traveling, concerts, and movies.

 

 

Certifications

 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

·         First time home buyers                                                                                

·         New home purchase

·         Residential lot purchases

·         Custom home construction and development

·         Bank owned homes

·         Short sales

·         Luxury homes sales & purchases

·         Beach property sales & purchases

·         Multi unit sales & purchases

·         Leasing property & vacation rentals

·         Loan modifications

·         Deed in lieu

·         Auction purchases

 

Affiliations (prior or current)

 

·         National Association of Realtors

·         California Association of Realtors

·         San Diego Association of Realtors

·         La Jolla Real Estate Brokers Association

·         Mission Beach Real Estate Association

·         Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors

·         Southwest Riverside Association of Realtors

·         Mission Beach Town Council

Designations

 

 

·         SFR – Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource

·         Fine Homes Specialist

·         Relocations Specialist

·         E Certified

 

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14 years in real estate and lovin' it. I live and breath real estate so my client's don't have to!!