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Aug7

The Real Deal: Kofi Nartey of Compass on the “Sellebrity” business and contracts with paparazzi clauses

The Real Deal: Kofi Nartey of Compass on the “Sellebrity” business and contracts with paparazzi clauses

Read the original article here

From actor to real estate broker and now – writer? 

Kofi Nartey got his start as an actor, but the national director of Compass’ sports and entertainment division went on to sell houses to the likes of Golden State Warrior player Nick Young and NFL veteran Marcellus Wiley. Last week, he released his first book, “Sellebrity: How to build a successful sports and entertainment based business,” which offers advice to those looking to break into the industry.

The book, which he self-published, is based on his interactions with famous clients as a broker, but is intended for a wider audience — not just the real estate industry.

Nartey has been selling luxury properties for 13 years and celebrated his one year anniversary with Compass last month. The venture-backed brokerage poached him from the Agency’s sports and entertainment division.

While the startup continues to face sharp criticism from rival firms over its poaching strategies, finances and aggressive expansion tactics, Nartey seemed unfazed. He declined to chat about how Compass has been perceived, but said when it comes to its national sports and entertainment division, things are looking up.

The division has grown to 40 agents nationwide, operating in all of Compass’ existing markets, with seven brokers based in Los Angeles. As head of the operation, Nartey now manages veteran broker Steven Shane in Aspen, whose firm was acquired by Compass last year. He also manages Ben Moss, the division’s Miami-based east coast director, who left his post as the head of One Sotheby’s sports and entertainment division in January, bringing four of his team members with him to Compass.

The Real Deal sat down with Nartey to chat about the division’s progress, his book and more.

What inspired you to start writing?
I’ve always wanted to write a book. I was going to write a motivational book called focus and finish, which is based on my mantra. But the question I get asked the most — twice a week, every week — is ‘how do you get celebrity clients’? So, I figured, let me write a book about that. 

Did the process ever become overwhelming?
At a certain point, I just thought I’d never finish. It was more about finding the time. I’m still full-time in my business, and I have a wife and two kids. It’s not like I can go on a trip to an island somewhere and lock myself up and just write. I had to squeeze it in between escrows and buyers and training agents, so that’s probably why it took more than two years.

How is this book different?
There’s no real voice for best practices when it comes to servicing and selling to sports and entertainment clients, so I wanted to write a book that also gave advice that people can actually use, not a lot of fluff. 

What’s been happening within Compass’ sports and entertainment division since you launched it last year?
We have over $1 billion in listings within the division nationally, and we’re looking to grow within the markets we’re in and markets we’re not in yet.

What were the challenges of starting the division?
The first part was just getting organized. The challenge with a lot of sports and entertainment divisions at other companies and even other industries is it’s just a label. We wanted to have highly-skilled [agents]. There’s an on-boarding process, there’s an application and that way we know everyone in the division meets the criteria to handle these kinds of clients. 

What does that entail?
I got a call from a business manager who has a high-profile musician client and they’re in a lease that they’re ready to get out of because of paparazzi. Well, we would’ve written the lease in a way that protects against that [with] an out clause. There are things we can do to better protect our clients than the average agent because they may not be dealing in this space.

With Douglas Elliman acquiring Teles Properties, do you feel it will make the market more competitive? 
The merger will not impact the specialized market of luxury properties our sports and entertainment division services.

Do you think criticism directed at Compass has impacted your business?
I do not.

Did you always want to be a real estate agent?
Growing up, I always thought I was going to be an attorney, negotiating and arguing. I thought that would be my path. In real estate, you use a lot of similar skills attorneys have to use. I get to exercise that part of my brain [of] understanding contracts, writing contracts, using the law to protect your client and negotiating.

When can we expect your second book?
You know, I definitely will do another book at some point but I don’t know when. I will have to find the time.

Jun14

WSJ: Hollywood Screenwriter Lists in San Juan Capistrano for $9.995 Million

WSJ: Hollywood Screenwriter Lists in San Juan Capistrano for $9.995 Million

The property of Steve Oedekerk, a screenwriter, producer and director whose credits include the ‘Ace Ventura’ movies, includes a heated gazebo.

Steve Oedekerk, a screenwriter, producer and director whose credits include the “Ace Ventura” movies, “Evan Almighty” and the “Jimmy Neutron” film and television series, is asking $9.995 million for his 2-acre San Juan Capistrano, Calif. estate.

Mr. Oedekerk and his wife Tonie bought the Spanish-style property in 1997 for $2.53 million, according to public records. They spent between $5 million and $6 million in renovations, expanding the main house to 10,400 square feet and turning a large garage into a 3,200-square-foot “clubhouse,” Mr. Oedekerk said. The clubhouse was designed as an office where film and television collaborators could gather while his two daughters could play or do homework.

“I was trying to figure out how not to have my career be a family-crusher,” said Mr. Oedekerk, 56. The estate also has a heated gazebo, pool, tennis and basketball courts and a 680-square-foot guest house. In the clubhouse, two 25-foot-long desks and a custom-designed large coffee table on hydraulic lifts with a built-in lazy Susan are included in the sale, he said. San Juan Capistrano is about 55 miles south of Los Angeles.

The couple bought a lot nearby and is currently building a smaller home as they prepare for life as empty nesters, Mr. Oedekerk said. Kofi Nartey of Compass in Beverly Hills and Tracy Weintraub of Surterre Properties in Newport Beach are co-listing agents.

Read the full article on WSJ.com here.

Apr7

WSJ: Basketball Star Nick Young Lists Home for $3.595 Million

Lakers star Nick Young has just put his Los Angeles home on the market for $3.595 million.

According to property records, he bought the San Fernando Valley home for $3.45 million in 2013 through the 2 LEGIT 2 QUIT TRUST, for which Nick’s mother, Mae Young, is listed as a trustee.

Mr. Young previously lived there with his ex-fiancee, Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, but they split up in 2016, according to reports.

The NBA player is not the only celebrity to have owned the house, though. The previous owner was Selena Gomez, who purchased it through Warren Street Trust.

The 6,630-square-foot, six-bedroom house was built in 2012 and has been remodeled since, according to the listing. Features include a fountain in front of the house, a large chef’s kitchen that opens to a family room, a large game room, as well as a guest house. 

Outside there is a pool plus spa, basketball court (what else would you expect from an NBA player?) and outdoor kitchen and fire pit.

Kofi Nartey of Compass, the listing agent, told Mansion Global that the basketball court is about 60% the size of a full one and it was already there when Mr. Young purchased the home.

As for the guest house, he added that this is where Ms. Gomez lived, while the rest of her family occupied the main house.

“This particular house provides a lot of privacy which is why it has attracted Selena and her family and Nick,” he added.

MORE: Beverly Hills Mansion with Indoor Basketball Court Hits Market for $40M

Spokespeople for Ms. Azalea and Mr. Young did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

The sale was first reported by Trulia.

Read the full article at WSJ / Mansion Global here.

Apr7

Zillow: Iggy Azalea and Nick Young Are Unloading Their ‘Fancy’ LA Home

Iggy Azalea and Nick Young have been making a lot of headlines over the past year. This time it’s for listing the Los Angeles home they shared.

The “Black Widow” singer and the Lakers shooting guard bought the property from another high-wattage star, Selena Gomez, in 2014. With a listing price of $3.595 million, the couple is asking for just $100,000 more than they paid nearly three years ago.

The 6,630-square-foot pad is located in Los Angeles’ affluent Tarzana neighborhood.

The sprawling home boasts a rare single-level floor plan with 6 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms and a half dozen gathering spaces. In the master suite, a separate seating area with a fireplace and double doors that open out onto the back patio set the scene for relaxation.

In addition to lush landscaping, an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, and luxurious in-ground pool grace the dreamy backyard. There’s even a basketball court for Young to keep his skills sharp during the NBA off-season.

Kofi Nartey, MBA, of The Nartey Group/Compass holds the listing.

Real the full article here.

Apr7

L.A. Times: Lakers’ Nick Young, a.k.a. Swaggy P, puts his Tarzana crib on the block

Lakers wing Nick Young, who can opt out of his contract this off-season, has put his home court in Tarzana on the market for $3.595 million.

The traditional-style home has been reported to be owned by Young and his former love interest, rapper-model Iggy Azalea. However, listing agent Kofi Nartey of Compass confirmed to The Times that the Lakers guard is the sole owner.

Speaking of soles, Young, a devout sneakerhead, had the guesthouse on the property converted into a “shoe house” during his ownership. A pair of “shoe keepers” were hired to oversee the collection, which includes vintage LeBrons, Kobes and Air Jordans, according to Sports Illustrated.

Also on the acre of grounds is a lighted and fenced basketball court, an outdoor kitchen and a swimming pool with a spa. Lush landscaping surrounds a blue-stone courtyard with a fountain feature at the front of the home.

Inside, the two-story has 6,630 square feet of living space that includes an updated kitchen, formal living and dining rooms and a game room. The master suite has a fireplace and French doors that lead to the backyard.

Including the guest/shoe house, which has its own entrance and kitchen, there are six bedrooms and nine bathrooms.

Young, 31, has L.A. roots, having starred at Cleveland High School and USC.

The former first-round draft pick averaged 13.2 points a game for the Lakers this year, his fourth with the team. He holds a player option for next season as part of the four-year, $21-million contract he signed in 2014. 

He bought the property three years ago from singer-actress Selena Gomez for $3.45 million.

Read the full article on LATimes.com here.

Dec15

WELCOME TO KOFI’S NEW WEBSITE

Broker Associate, Kofi, is the Managing Director of the Compass Sports & Entertainment Division. Also a Certified Luxury Homes Marketing Specialist, Kofi joins Compass after successfully creating and managing the sports and entertainment division for his previous firm.

Dec13

Ex-Padre Matt Kemp loads his Poway base before listing the estate at $11.5 million

Read the original article here

Having been traded by the Padres to the Braves last season, Matt Kemp is ready to play ball for his home in San Diego County. The professional ballplayer has listed his mansion estate in Poway’s Heritage community for sale at $11.5 million.

ex padre matt kempKemp bought the property three years ago for $9.075 million and has spent another $3 million in renovations, according to Kofi Nartey of Compass, who shares the listing with Morgan Trent of Paramount Properties. Features of the 15,884-square-foot home include custom Travertine floors, a cigar lounge with a humidor and a 1,200-bottle wine cellar with a separate tasting room. Other living areas include a contemporary kitchen with an oversized island, a solarium, five bedrooms, five bathrooms and two powder rooms. The custom home theater sports tiered seating and a snack bar. Two walk-in closets, two showers and a secondary laundry room are highlights of the master suite, which takes in an unobstructed view of the golf course at the Maderas Country Club.

Outdoors, the manicured grounds include an infinity-edge swimming pool, a large pool deck and a tennis court. A separate pool/guest house, currently outfitted with a gym and a roman spa, has doors that open to an outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven. A five-car garage and a large motor court also lie within the gated grounds. The 32-year-old Kemp began his career with the Dodgers and spent his first nine seasons with the team, making two all-star teams. The outfielder hit .268 with 35 home runs and 108 RBIs in 156 games for the Padres and Braves last year.

Sep1

Kofi Nartey answers ‘Should an NFL Player ever buy a home on Realtor.com

Read the original article here

There are some amazing perks to making it big in the NFL: name recognition, fame, power—and don’t forget that killer $2 million average salary (even if it is the lowest among major pro sports). The league’s next superstars shouldn’t worry that guac is extra. Heck, fly first class all the time! And if the cash is really flowing in, why not pay off mom’s mortgage?

And while you’re at it, why not plunk down some cold, hard cash for your own place, too?  A really sweet one, maybe with a 12-acre lake like “Neon” Deion Sanders’, or a heated indoor-outdoor kennel like Peyton Manning’s, or even a private drive-in movie theater like the one installed by LaDainian Tomlinson.

Time out!

NFL players are renowned for their frequently used, not-so-secret housing playbook: Buy big and buy fast. But history shows this may be a very bad idea.

Rentals might not seem worthy of NFL superstars’ high-flying, Cristal-popping lifestyle, but unless you already are Tom Brady, real estate brokers agree it makes better sense to lease. After all, players move around. A lot. For every Drew Brees, soon to start his 11th season with the New Orleans Saints, there’s a Josh Johnson—who’s bounced among eight franchises in search of an ever-elusive backup quarterback job.

Hopefully, Johnson didn’t buy a house along the way.

Football players in foreclosure might as well be a meme. There’s JaMarcus Russell, who purchased a $2.4 million Oakland mansion after the Raiders picked him first in the 2007 draft. Four years later, the bank foreclosed. Or former Tennessee Titans running backEddie George, whose $1.67 million Brentwood, TN, home was listed for auction in 2012. The list goes on (and on): Adam “Pacman” JonesDameon ReillyDaunte Culpepper.DeAngelo HallJoey Porter. Matters aren’t helped much by the fact that these players often wind up buying high-priced homes in relative real estate backwaters like Buffalo, NY, or Baltimore.

So what do you do if you have a high-paying, high-profile gig that you could get booted from at a moment’s notice?

“Renting is simply better in most instances,” says Aaron Swerdlow, a Los Angeles sports lawyer who counsels coach and player relocations. And more often than not, players now dorent, he says. It’s a savvy decision for surviving the league, where contracts are short and players could be traded or released in a heartbeat.

Buy vs. rent: Let’s go to the videotape!

Even with the ever-present threat of joblessness, players still often insist on buying—and in those cases, Swerdlow breaks down the numbers.

“I would give player clients two statistics, which they never liked to hear,” he says.

Stat No. 1: Most players spend less than three years in the NFL. Bummer.

Stat No. 2: “Approximately 75% of retired NFL players are divorced or bankrupt within five years of their career ending,” he says. Even bigger bummer!

“Sometimes giving out those statistics worked. Sometimes they didn’t,” he adds.

Imminent financial collapse isn’t the only reason players should wait to buy, experts say. Just like us unathletically inclined folks, they should know what a city and its neighborhoods offer before committing to a mortgage.

“Most of them do want to rent so they can get a feel for the lay of the land,” says Kofi Nartey, a Los Angeles broker and director of the Global Sports and Entertainment Division at Compass.

Still, even the most conservative financial advisers concede that not every hotshot NFL player needs to rent. Especially if they really are a hotshot—think franchise players like Tom BradyRichard Sherman, or Aaron Rodgers.

“It’s mostly when they sign contracts of at least three to four years that I start to see players buy,” says Swerdlow.

Long-term contracts create some certainty, meaning—for the most part—players feel safe to lock themselves down in their team’s town.

But in today’s NFL, money isn’t guaranteed unless a player is on a team’s roster. Signing bonuses and long-term deals are nice, but fully guaranteed money is paramount.

“I tell players, ‘Make sure it’s locked in before committing yourself to a large mortgage,’” Nartey says. “But if you’re signing a two-year deal, you should just rent. You don’t know enough about that city to know if you’ll stay there.”

But what about those players with less guaranteed money, but with a burning desire to own their own (plush) piece of the American dream?

The determining factor in whether a big-money real estate investment winds up being a fourth-quarter touchdown or a game-losing fumble is whether or not an NFLer plans on sticking around his playing city—or eventually, moving back—regardless of whether he’s traded or injured. Family-oriented players looking to settle down might fall in love with Green Bay, WI (there’s the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary and the National Railroad Museum). With the off-season lasting half the year, there’s plenty of time to enjoy a new abode, even after a job transfer.

And while a party-hopping bro might not want to lock into a 30-year fixed mortgage in Wisconsin or Buffalo, he’ll surely study up on ARMs in Los Angeles or Miami.

“Is it a city where they’ll spend their off-season as well?” Nartey says. “Even those guys who play for the Baltimore Ravens or the Carolina Panthers generally spend time in L.A., for example. If you’re spending more and more time there, it can make sense to buy in that city.”

Behind the ‘Jock Tax’

Florida is another special case. Athletes love Florida—and not just because they’re really into fresh oranges and Miami’s club scene (but certainly partly because of those things). The real reason: The Sunshine State is lax on tax. Several states subject players to a “jock tax,” meaning they owe money if they play a single game in the state. But not Florida.

“If Tom Brady comes to California to play the Rams, he’s charged 13.3% of what the Patriots pay him for that game,” Swerdlow says.

Even the Tax Foundation finds this fee a little unfair. It states, “the tax hits many people who may not be able to easily absorb the substantial compliance costs associated with the tax.”

But in the short term, the rule won’t go away, making an NFL player’s tax bill excessively onerous. That’s why Swerdlow encourages professional athletes to invest in a state without state income tax—like Florida or Texas.

“Players might be attracted to purchasing a home by the mortgage payment deductions. When it starts to make fiscal sense to purchase, oftentimes they choose a state where there isn’t an income tax,” Swedlow says. “That’s one of the primary reasons why a lot of players live in Florida.”

But even in utopian Florida, the taxman—or the bank—cometh, and he also taketh away. From Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson. From Jevon Kearse. From Clinton Portis. And so we’re back to the line of scrimmage.

Maybe it’s just better to rent. Even for a baller.

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