Dear Friends and Clients of HausAngeles:
 
We hope this newsletter finds you and yours both happy and healthy. We are writing to share 2 exciting developments with you, both of which are a “big deal” for us at HausAngeles. We have launched 2 major initiatives in the last 30 days:

1. Website Launch:
We have launched our website at www.hausangeles.com after months of brainstorming, researching, designing, developing and testing. Please do check it out, tell us what you think, and share the website and link with anyone you think might benefit from it.

2.  Announcing the “Opportunity For All” Scholarship Program:
In keeping with our socially conscious mission (where we invest 10-20% of our commissions back into our community), we have launched a scholarship program entitled “Opportunity For All” which is focused on creating opportunities for residents of Los Angeles public housing developments. The program will be administered by the Housing Authority of LA, and is very near and dear to my heart.

Here’s more detailed information on the news above:

I am delighted to announce to you – our core group of clients, friends and current or former colleagues – that we have officially gone “live” with our website at www.hausangeles.com. We would love for you to check it out, tell your friends and colleagues about it when you are discussing real estate, and share any feedback you have on things you like/don’t like or would like to see on the website.
 
I would like to thank the incredibly talented (official and unofficial) HausAngeles team members who made this website happen:
 
Anuradha (Anu) Sachdev designed the overall structure and user interface for the website…all during her “free time” (i.e., evenings and weekends)

Jane Chung took Anu’s work-product and turned it into a warm and professional design which is evocative of HausAngeles’ culture and vibe

David Ugale helped us actually complete all of the technical programming and development (aka “wrote the code”)

 And last but definitely not least, our fearless co-leader AV managed the entire website project from start to finish including “filling in the gaps” on resources we don’t yet have available as a relatively young company (e.g., user testing).

While everything we do at HausAngeles will be in “continuous improvement mode”, we are pleased with the website….and I would like to thank Anu, Jane, David and AV from the bottom of my heart for their tireless efforts on behalf of HausAngeles.

Text from our press release announcing the program

Real Estate Company Creates “Opportunity for All” Scholarship Program for Public Housing Residents HausAngeles to Donate 10% to 20% of Commissions Via Housing Authority of L.A. HausAngeles, a Los Angeles, California-based real estate consulting and transaction services provider, today announced its creation of a scholarship program – entitled “Opportunity for All” -- for residents of Los Angeles public housing. The program will be funded by the donation of 10 to 20 percent of HausAngeles’ real estate commissions and will be administered by HACLA (the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles), which owns or administers approximately 50,000 units of Section 8 and Public Housing for the City of Los Angeles.

Rayman Mathoda, founder and CEO of HausAngeles and also a HACLA commissioner, said “After spending one-on-one time talking to both children and adults who live in public housing because of my role with HACLA, I realized that many of these residents – who live right in our ‘back yard’ – have access to very little opportunity in comparison to other L.A. residents. Since we conceived of HausAngeles as a socially conscious company, we decided that donating a percentage of our commissions in a manner that would create tangible impact in our own community would be a great way to give back.”

Adds Mathoda: “Real estate commissions grow proportional to the transaction size, so we have decided to donate 10% of our commission for transactions under $1 million, 15% for transactions between $1 and $2 million, and 20% for transactions above $2 million. We are hoping this program will appeal to buyers and sellers who will view this as a way of creating a real opportunity for those in need, without having to reach into their own pockets to do it.”

Any individual, family, or organization that sells or purchases property in Los Angeles can opt into the program. When the transaction closes, HausAngeles donates a portion of its commission towards the creation of the scholarships, the first round of which will be given in early 2010. Scholarships will be awarded after the completion of a competitive application and review and selection process, which will be jointly conducted by HausAngeles and HACLA. Any resident – child, youth or adult – of a City of Los Angeles public housing development managed by HACLA is eligible to apply.

“We are extremely pleased that HausAngeles is helping fill a considerable gap in available scholarships for residents of affordable housing in Los Angeles,” said Rudolf C. Montiel, President and CEO of HACLA. “While HACLA has provided scholarships to residents for the last twelve years, and assisted in providing youth programs through its non-profit, Kid’s Progress Inc., our ability to adequately support these valuable programs has been severely limited in the last two to three years due to lack of funding. HausAngeles’ efforts to make a difference in our residents’ lives via the Opportunity for All program could not be more timely or welcome.”

Ray Mathoda with Rudolph Montiel, HACLA’s CEO and President with a copy of the first “Opportunity for All” check in the amount of $3641. Thanks to Darren and Linda Edwards for being the first to fund a scholarship. Wish you both many, many years of happiness in your new home.