A few weeks ago, we had some guy come to our regular office meeting to do a presentation about something. He trotted out a list of the top 10 surnames of new home buyers in California. One of my colleagues made a wry comment that that list of names probably looks a lot like the list of surnames of the folks who are presently losing their houses to foreclosure.I am getting ready to go to that "invitation only" REO seminar in Las Vegas next week (I didn't get invited, but I asked if I could go, and they said sure, no problem). I thought I'd prepare a little packet of info for any asset managers I might stumble upon while there, and for this packet, I thought it would be interesting to include the Top 10 Surnames on the NOD list of the primary counties where I work. I'll share them here with you:Top 10 Surnames - May 2008, Notices of DefaultSanta Cruz County----------------------------------------LopezRamirezJimenezGonzalezSantosSanchezRiveraMartinezHernandezGerbodeSan Benito County----------------------------------------GarciaRochaMartinezLopezTorresRamirezHernandezGonzalezGomezEspinozaMonterey County----------------------------------------RamirezGarciaSanchezMendozaHernandezRodriguezMartinezGonzalezRiosPerezNow why did I go through the trouble to compile this list? Because I'm fluent in Spanish. I think that in this market, in this particular market segment, the ability to speak the primary (and in many cases, sole) language of the people you're dealing with is an important skill to have. I hope the asset managers I come across will think so as well!
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