Homosexuality: Does the New Testament Condemn It?

Homosexuality: Does the New Testament Condemn It?

Posted by Taylor Marshall 

St Paul speaks about homosexuality three times
Keep reading to learn what he says...

One afternoon while ministering to the homeless in downtown Fort Worth, Texas, I fell into a conversation with a stranger about religion, which eventually led to the subject of Christ. Without hesitating, he came right out and said, “I’m a gay Christian.” After he admitted to being an active homosexual, he added, “I have studied the whole Bible and nowhere does it teach that homosexuality is a sin.” 

I countered his claim, but the conversation became understandably awkward.

Since then, I’ve met others who believe that the Bible does not condemn homosexual acts as sinful. In fact, the Apostle Paul condemned homosexuality on three separate occasions. In his epistle to the Romans, Paul describes the origin of idolatry and associates it with the origins of homosexuality, among both men and women:

Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct (Rom 1:26-28).

Paul identifies homosexuality with the following terms: unnatural, shameless acts, error, base mind, and improper conduct.

Saint Paul also explains that practicing homosexuals “will not inherit the kingdom of God”:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminates {malakoi}, nor homosexuals {arsenokoitai}, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10).

The words translated as “effeminates” and “homosexuals” are often omitted in modern Bible translations and replaced with the single word “perverts,” even though two separate words appear in the Greek text of Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians.  One might understand why the man I met in Fort Worth believed that “homosexuality was not condemned in the Bible,” since many English versions actually hide the term under pretence of translation. The two Greek words used by Paul in this passage are malakoi and arsenokoitai. The word malakoi is sometimes translated effeminates and the word arsenokoitai is translated as homosexuals.

The Greek word arsenokoitai undoubtedly refers to male homosexuality. The very etymology of the word arsenokoitai reveals this. It is a compound of two words: arsen meaning “male” and koitai meaning “bed,” and specifically “marriage bed.”  Thus, arsenokoitai literally means “men in bed together.”

Lest there be any doubt about the identity of arsenokoitai with homosexuals, let us turn to the Greek Septuagint version of Leviticus 20:13, which reads, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death.”  While the Old Testament death penalty for homosexuality was abolished by Christ, this passage undoubtedly refers to homosexual practice and confirms that Paul’s use of the Greek word arsenokoitai prohibits the same behavior described in Leviticus 20:13—men having relations with men. 

The Greek Septuagint renders this passage as:kai hos an koimethe meta arsenos koiten gynaikos. We find within it the same two Greek words that compose the word arsenokoitai, which was used by Paul to condemn homosexuality. I have underlined the words above to make the connection more obvious. Here we see arsonos and koiten together describing homosexual activity in the clear language of Leviticus 20:13. Clearly, Paul’s use of the similar compound word arsenokoitai refers to homosexual men—men in bed with other men.

The word used by Saint Paul, malakoi, literally means “soft ones.” There are three interpretations as to what this term might mean. First, it may refer to those who are overly obsessed with luxury, an attribute that would have been identified with effeminacy in antiquity. 

The second interpretation is one given by the Jewish historian Josephus. Josephus identifies soft ones with men who dressed as women and sometimes even mutilated or removed their male genitals.  These men may have been the passive partners in homosexual acts in the context of pagan ritual festivals, i.e. cultic male prostitutes. However, we must grant that the term malakoi is not explicitly used in this regard. The third possible solution is the one given by Saint Thomas Aquinas, which states that the “sin of softness” is the sin of masturbation.  Incidentally, the Catholic Church considers masturbation as sin against chastity:

"Masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action. The deliberate use of the sexual faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose."

If Paul intended to refer to masturbation in his condemnation of “soft ones,” then he stands in agreement with the Church’s condemnation of masturbation. Whatever Paul meant by soft ones, it seems to have pertained to sexual sin, since in Paul’s list it falls between adultery and homosexuality.

The third passage in which Paul condemns homosexuality is found in his First Epistle to Timothy where he identifies homosexuals as lawless and disobedient:

"The law is not made for the just man, but for the unjust and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the wicked and defiled, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, fornicators, homosexuals {arsenokoitai}, kidnappers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine" (1 Tim 1:9-10).

Once again, the original Greek word used here by Paul for homosexuals is the same word that he used before: arsenokoitai. Clearly, Saint Paul was opposed to homosexual acts. The Catechism of the Catholic Church conforms to Paul in this regard:

"Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved."

Nevertheless, the Catechism of the Catholic Church recognizes that,

"The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity."

Persons with homosexual inclinations are called to chastity - not matrimony. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

When in Cebu City, please visit http://www.gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City at the low amount of only P 9,333.33 and House and Lot @ P 7,306.81/month only. Hurry while supply of units still last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown herein: (053)555-84-64/09164422611/09173373687.

The Most Dangerous Countries for Tourists, in Maps

The recent assaults in Brazil and India have raised questions about those countries' safety records. Here are the places where travelers should actually be wary.

OLGA KHAZANAPR 2 2013, 4:30 PM ET

More

(Reuters)

It's been an alarming past few weeks for fans of international travel.
In March, a Swiss woman was gang-raped while she was camped out in a forest with her husband after a day of biking around the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. And on Monday, an American tourist was raped by three men over the course of six hours while aboard a public van near the seaside resort town of Copacabana .
The incidents have already taken their public-relations toll. The Brazil rape is the latest evidence that the country has a growing sexual assault problem -- reports of rapes there have risen 150 percent since 2009 -- and raises questions about Brazil's readiness for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.
And in a new survey of 1,200 tour operations across India, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India found that the number of inbound tourists to the country has dropped 25 percent since December, while the influx of female travelers is down 35 percent.
That's not surprising, since research shows that violence and other upheavaltends to scare away tourists.
So, which countries should foreign travelers avoid, or at least be especially careful in?
Statistics for attacks on tourists are hard to come by, but one way to look at travel risks is through the travel warnings that governments issue for their citizens. Here's a map put together by the CBC, based on warnings from Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs (click here for the interactive version):

Brazil is flagged with an "exercise extreme caution" warning, while visitors to India are advised to avoid areas that tend to have conflicts flaring:

Avoid non-essential travel to the regions of Manipur and the Arunachal Pradesh border area with Burma. Avoid all travel to Jammu and Kashmir, with the exception of Ladakh via Manali or by air to Leh. Avoid all travel in border areas in Manipur (border with Burma) and Nagaland (border with Burma). Avoid all travel to the immediate vicinity of the border areas with Pakistan in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab states. Avoid the border area between Assam and Bangladesh due to insurgency, and districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri due to inter-communal violence.

A danger of rape isn't mentioned -- perhaps because sexual assault, though sadly common for local women (as highlighted by an earlier gang-rape of an Indian woman on a Delhi bus), is actually a rarity for tourists in India.
The U.S. State Department also puts out travel warnings when there's a long-term, protracted condition that makes a country too dangerous for Americans to visit.
Here is a map of all of the travel warnings that are in effect since September of last year. It likely doesn't come as a shock to anyone who reads foreign news, consisting largely of hotspots in North Africa, the Middle East, and a few outlying Asian countries such as North Korea:

Surprisingly, the U.S. list includes popular tourist destinations like Israel, where the U.S. government warns visitors to avoid the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and Mexico, where the State Department notes that, "the number of U.S. citizens...murdered under all circumstances in Mexico was 113 in 2011 and 32 in the first six months of 2012."
It's not entirely clear why Brazil isn't on the list. The country has one of thehighest homicide rates per capita in the world, according to UNODC statistics. The State Department has published plenty of other warnings about vacationing there, including scary descriptions of "quicknappings" around banks and ATMs.
It could be just that crimes against tourists in Brazil tend to be muggings and theft, as opposed to violent assaults such as rape, so the country gets swept into the broad category of "have fun, but watch your bag" destinations. But in light of recent events, it will be interesting to see if there's a report showing a drop in Brazilian tourism a few months from now. But on thing both the Canadian and U.S. maps show is that sometimes, terrible things happen to innocent tourists -- no matter where they are.

When in Cebu City, please visit http://www.gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City at the low amount of only P 9,333.33 and House and Lot @ P 7,306.81/month only. Hurry while supply of units still last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown herein: (053)555-84-64/09164422611/09173373687.

How the US oil, gas boom could shake up global order

As energy production in North America climbs, NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel explores what it will mean to oil-producing countries in the Middle East.

By Richard Engel and Robert Windrem, NBC News

Without fanfare, China passed the United States in December to become the world's leading importer of oil – the first time in nearly 40 years that the U.S. didn’t own that dubious distinction. That same month, North Dakota, Ohio and Pennsylvania together produced 1.5 million barrels of oil a day -- more than Iran exported.

America’s drive for energy independence

As those data points demonstrate, a dramatic shift is occurring in how energy is being produced and consumed around the world – one that could lead to far-reaching changes in the geopolitical order.

U.S. policy makers, intelligence analysts and other experts are beginning to grapple with the ramifications of such a change, which could bring with it both great benefits for the U.S. and potentially dangerous consequences, including the risk of upheaval in countries and regions heavily dependent on oil exports. 

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But many experts say the U.S. would be the big winner, in position to reshape its foreign policy and boost its global influence. 

"People already are looking at the U.S. differently, seeing the U.S. as much more competitive in the world,” said energy analyst and author Dan Yergin, saying that he first noticed the change in the world view of the U.S. at the World Economic Forum in January in Davos, Switzerland.

Slideshow: Drilling down and out in Texas

Jim Seida / NBC News

Watch a drilling crew at work near the small town of Garden City, Texas, as they drill an oil well that eventually will extend more than a mile deep and a mile sideways in the Permian Basin.

Launch slideshow

As detailed in the first two installments ofPower Shift, an NBC News/CNBC special report, the United States is reaping the benefits of an energy boom created by new drilling technologies that have unlocked vast domestic oil and natural gas reserves. Coupled with decreasing demand due to energy efficiency and continued cultivation of alternative energy sources, an increasing number of experts believe the U.S. could achieve energy independence by the end of the decade – realizing a dream born during the gas crisis of 1973.

But who would be the global winners and losers in such a scenario?

Most U.S. policy makers and experts agree that the U.S. and its allies – particularly its North American neighbors -- would be the biggest beneficiaries.

Boom helps Iran sanctions stick
In fact, they say, the West already has realized one major benefit: the success of international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

Carlos Pascual, the State Department’s coordinator for international energy affairs, noted last month at the CERAWEEK energy conference in Houston that increased U.S. oil production, coupled with a boost in exports from Iraq and Libya, has kept oil prices stable despite the loss, because of sanctions, of up to 1.5 million barrels a day in Iranian exports.

“What this has taught us, and helped underscore, is that within the world we live in today, hard security issues and energy policy issues have become fundamentally intertwined,” he said.

NBC News

Interactive map: Where the US produces its energy. Click to enlarge.

Yergin, who also is a CNBC energy consultant and author of the energy-focused nonfiction best-sellers "The Quest" and "The Prize," put it this way: "People talk of the future impact. The increase in U.S oil production has already had an impact: Sanctions wouldn't have been effective without U.S. oil production. …  We've added (within the last year) almost as much as Iran was exporting before sanctions.”

Hossein Moussavian, a former Iranian ambassador to Germany and nuclear negotiator who's now a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, said "the radicals" in Tehran failed to foresee the changing energy picture, believing that sanctions wouldn't be imposed and that, if they were, they wouldn't work because oil prices would surge.

"The Iranian mistake was to believe …  the threats of referring Iran to the United Nations Security Council, imposing sanctions, was just a bluff," he said.

In the longer term, observers say that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and many of its member nations are likely to be the biggest losers if the U.S. continues to cut oil imports, likely decreasing oil prices in the process.

"A dramatic expansion of U.S. production could … push global spare capacity to exceed 8 million barrels per day, at which point OPEC could lose price control and crude oil prices would drop, possibly sharply," the U.S. intelligence community's internal think tank, the National Intelligence Council, said in its “Global Trends 2030” report in December. "Such a drop would take a heavy toll on many energy producers who are increasingly dependent on relatively high energy prices to balance their budgets."

With some analysts predicting that oil prices could drop as low as $70 to $90 a barrel – down from the current price of nearly $110 per barrel of Brent crude oil – a “scramble” among OPEC members for market share could ensue, said Edward Morse, an energy analyst with Citigroup and co-author of a recent report on titled “Energy 2020: Independence Day.”

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An International Monetary Fund analysis indicates that many major oil-producing states need more than that lowest price level to meet their budgets and would be forced to increase output or reduce spending, which could trigger unrest. Among them, according to the report: Iran, Libya and Russia, at $117 a barrel; Iraq, $112; Yemen, $237; and the UAE, $84.

Iraq, which has had production from its rich oil fields curtailed by war or sanctions for half of the 53 years of OPEC’s existence, poses another challenge to the organization.

Now that it’s finally free of such interference, its production is increasing by between 500,000 and 900,000 barrels a year, making it the second fastest growing oil-producing country in the world after the U.S. 

“And, by God, no one’s going to impose any quota limitations on them,” said Morse, referring to Iraq’s OPEC partners. “So part of the challenge to OPEC is internal as well as external.”

Can Saudis maintain market-maker role?
Analysts say OPEC heavyweight Saudi Arabia, which controls vast reserves of oil and needs $71 a barrel to meet its budget, according to the IMF, will do everything it can to remain the market-maker. But in that role, it will face new challenges, they say.

“Over time, it should become increasingly challenging for Saudi Arabia to ‘overproduce’ and bring down prices to punish wayward OPEC members; without this disciplinary mechanism, it is unclear whether OPEC can remain cohesive,” according to the Citigroup report.

For its part, OPEC professes to be not unduly alarmed by the U.S. oil and natural gas boom. It highlights the "considerable uncertainties" surrounding wells drilled using hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” and associated technologies.

Yergin said he believes that the Saudis will be able to withstand the turbulence, and that they will provide a buffer for the organization’s lesser producers.

“It's too quick to write the obit for OPEC,” he said. “… The Saudis will figure it out. They are re-orientated to Asian markets, turning left instead of right.”

New technology is creating a boom in energy extraction in the Permian Basin. For most residents, it's a welcome boost to the economy.

But some members of the oil cartel -- particularly Nigeria and Angola -- already are feeling the impact of the U.S. production surge, according to the Citigroup report. U.S. imports from the two countries dropped to 700,000 barrels a day at the end of 2012, down from 1.6 million barrels in 2007. That’s because U.S. production of light, sweet crude -- the kind of oil the West African nations produce -- has burgeoned in recent years. Citigroup forecasts that by the end of 2013, the market for Nigerian oil at Gulf Coast refineries could entirely dry up.

Longer term, say by 2020, cheaper heavy oil from Canada, freed from the so-called oil sands by new recovery technologies, could push similar oil from Venezuela out of the U.S. Gulf Coast market,  (assuming the Obama administration approves construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to carry it), according to forecasts.

Mexico also is expected to increase production, offering the U.S. access to another convenient and friendly provider.

"The Eagle Ford formation in Texas extends into Mexico and if you look at the Gulf, you'll see thousands of black dots marking oil platforms on the U.S. side but nothing on the Mexican side,” said Yergin. “That's changing. There is a political consensus among the three major parties on energy. You will see less immigration from Mexico. Mexico could become more of a BRIC (the term used for fast-developing economies like Brazil, Russia, India and China) than Brazil."

Besides guaranteeing a stable domestic energy supply, those energy resources add tools to the U.S. diplomatic toolbox, said David L. Phillips, director of the Peace-building and Human Rights Program at Columbia University.

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"Why permit ourselves to be held hostage to regimes hostile to our national interests and who give safe harbor to those who would do us harm?" he asked. "… The glaring example is Venezuela. (Hugo) Chavez was so strongly anti-American and he was providing energy to our enemies. They should pay the price for non-cooperation."

Current and former diplomats note that the U.S. also could use its increased natural gas production to weaken rival Russia’s near monopoly on natural gas exports to Europe, via its state-controlled energy giant Gazprom. Already, declining prices fueled by the U.S. boom have benefited the European market.

"What has emerged is a competitive market that allowed the utilities of Western Europe to renegotiate their contract with Gazprom, affecting both prices and financing terms," said the State Department’s Pascual.

Adding to the pressure, the U.S. firm Cheniere Energy last month signed a 20-year deal to export enough liquefied natural gas to the British utility Centrica PLC to heat 1.8 million homes starting in 2018 – the first pact of its kind.

Growth slowing in China, India
As for China and India, both of which are expected to import increasing amounts of energy for years to come, analysts see indications that economic growth is slowing in both countries.

“In a pattern similar to the abrupt slowdown in demand growth seen in the Asian Tigers in the 1990s, Chinese demand growth has slowed to a more tepid 3 (percent) to 5 percent rate as compared to the double-digit growth seen in the early 2000s,” said a Citigroup report by analyst Seth Kleinman released last week.

That slowdown is in part due to the diminishing competitive edge that China enjoys over the U.S., Yergin said.

“Chinese wages are going up 20 percent a year. U.S. energy efficiency and increased production helps the U.S. in the mix on the global competitive landscape, he said, noting that Dow Chemical recently announced it will invest $4 billion in U.S. petrochemical production. “…That doesn’t happen without the U.S. advantage in energy.”

Citigroup's Morse and other analysts said the slowing Chinese economy and energy insecurity could prompt China to more militarization in the Far East -- a dangerous development in a region already beset by nationalist disputes and where the U.S. is expected to focus increasing attention. But none suggests that the Chinese are likely to challenge the United States as a global power, saying Beijing has neither the military assets nor the desire. Its strategy remains regional and attuned to "short-range engagements," Morse wrote.

The impact of the rebalancing of global energy production could be more severe in other nations.

Trevor Houser, a former energy analyst in the Obama administration State Department, worries about the prospect of failed states.

"If you look at the consequences of more U.S. production and reduced sales from OPEC, some would see that as a benefit," said Houser, now a partner with New York-based Rhodium Group, a global market analysis firm. "But starving those economies of oil revenue will surely have disruptive effects. It is not necessarily a good development for U.S. foreign policy and geopolitical stability in general."

AP file/Hassan Ammar

A U.S. F-18 fighter jet, left, lands on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln as a U.S. destroyer sails alongside during exercises in the Persian Gulf in 2012.

Houser also said that U.S. energy independence could lead to isolationist policies, but will not insulate Americans from global price disruptions.

"The price Americans pay at the pump will still be determined by events in the global oil market, yet falling U.S. oil imports (are) going to reduce political support for safeguarding those global markets, and no one is willing or able to step up to the plate to replace us,” he said. “... The U.S. economy will still be vulnerable if someone blows up a Saudi port."

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More from Power Shift, an NBC News/CNBC special report:

Part 1: Energy boom dawning in America

Part 2:  Oil, gas sector fuels US economy

That issue – specifically, “Do we leave the Middle East once our energy needs are secure?” – came up at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, said Yergin, recalling that “an oil minister came up to me and said, ‘Please don’t leave us.’”

Pascual, the State Department official, argues that such fears are overblown.

"These changes in no way change the U.S. commitment to global security, to peace and stability in the Middle East and to security in the transit lanes,” he said, referring to oil shipping routes. “Some people have asked is the United States going to become disinterested. The answer is no. It is absolutely in our self-interest to stay engaged.”

Richard Engel is NBC News' chief foreign correspondent; Robert Windrem is a senior investigative producer. 

When in Cebu City, please visit http://www.gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. Avail of the opportunity to own a condominium unit in Cebu City at the low amount of only P 9,333.33 and House and Lot @ P 7,306.81/month only. Hurry while supply of units still last. Just call the Tel. Nos. shown herein: (053)555-84-64/09164422611/09173373687.

5 Tips for New Real Estate Brokers

March 31, 2013 by Cherry Castillo 2 Comments

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I remember the time when I passed the real estate brokers’ exam. I was still working in Makati then, and I didn’t really know what to do next. I never had sales experience and didn’t know where to start. So I thought of making some tips which I hope would help the new real estate brokers, based on what I have learned along the way during the past two years.

1. Get your PRC License

The best proof of your being a licensed real estate broker is your Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) license, so get this as soon as possible. You need this when you apply for accreditation with the different real estate developers, when you pay for your Professional Tax Receipt (PTR), and when you update your registration with the BIR. Here is a link to my post about my experience when I got my license last 2011.

2. Update your BIR registration

Before you get your commission, the seller will usually ask for an official receipt. You cannot give an official receipt if you have not updated your Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) registration as a licensed real estate broker. So, better do this now.

Atty. Ernesto “Jojo” Perez II has written an excellent e-book on how to register with the BIR as a real estate broker. You may get a copy of his e-book if you subscribe to his website through this link.

Take note that when you update your BIR registration, you need to decide whether you will be VAT-registered or not. Some developers (like Ayala Land Premier) require their brokers to be VAT-registered, so check the requirements of the developers you are eyeing. As a general rule, if your income will not exceed P1,919,500.00 in a year, you are not required to be VAT-registered. You will be subject to the 3% percentage tax instead.

3. Start with Project Selling

I sought advice from experienced brokers at the association I belong to (REBAP-LMP, more on this later), and they suggested that new real estate brokers start with Project Selling (i.e., selling units of projects of developers). So, your next step would be to get accredited with reputable developers.

This advice is very practical because before you can sell anything, you need sales training and product knowledge training, which developers provide for free. Plus, you instantly have several inventories to sell, and in different locations to boot.

Moreover, unlike in General Brokerage (or even foreclosures) where a unit you are selling is usually unique (meaning if it’s sold you would usually not be able to offer another one immediately in place of it), in Project Selling, you would have many other units to offer to a hot buyer.

Lastly, if the reputation of the developer is solid, and the projects are really good and in great locations, some buyers have already made the decision to buy and your job as a broker is only to facilitate the purchase and provide after-sales service.

All these reasons make Project Selling a good practice ground for new real estate brokers.

By the way, if you would like to be accredited with SMDC, my friend, Ruffa Eugenio is a Broker Manager at Local Broker Network Division 2. We were seatmates at the Oath-taking as we were both No. 4 in the 2011 exams. She is likewise a UP BAA grad and CPA like me. You may contact her at 0906-279-6704 or e-mail her at ruffa_eugenio@yahoo.com if you want to be accredited with SMDC.

For those who would like to be accredited with DMCI, I suggest that you course your sales through our group at REBAP-LMP because of our Unified Accreditation Program. You don’t need to be a member of REBAP-LMP to be part of our DMCI group.

4. Join a reputable organization of real estate brokers

One of the best things that a new real estate broker can do to jumpstart his or her career is to join a reputable association of real estate brokers. You can learn from experienced and seasoned brokers and you can also tap their extensive network.

For newbies who know very little about life in the “real world,” advice from “elders” are invaluable. Really, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel when faced with situations you have not encountered before – chances are, someone in the group has already experienced it. Your learning will be accelerated if you have mentors to guide you.

In practice, too, it is very important to deal with reputable licensed co-brokers that are trustworthy. I have heard of many stories about commissions not being shared, “sulutan,” etc. (not a pretty sight, believe me). Deal only with reputable and licensed real estate brokers. Remember this because if you don’t, you will really regret it. This little piece of advice will save you a lot of heartache.

FYI, Jay and I are members of the LMP (Las Pinas, Muntinlupa, Paranaque) Chapter of the Real Estate Brokers of the Philippines (REBAP), and we are very happy to be part of this group. (By the way, Jay used to be with REBAP Marikina but he had to transfer to REBAP-LMP when we left Marikina because of our Ondoy experience).

If you are not yet decided which association to join, I would like to invite you to attend the 1st National General Membership Meeting (NGMM) of REBAP which will be held on April 4, 2013, Thursday, at Palacio de Maynila, Roxas Blvd., Malate, Manila. Registration starts at 1:00 pm. Please come in business attire. Check out REBAP and decide if you would like to join. Our home chapter, LMP, will be the host and the theme is “Cashing In On The Philippine Economic Boom”.

Our keynote speaker, Atty. Romell Antonio O. Cuenca, Director of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center, will be talking about PPP and real estate. Prof. Roland Angeles will discuss the Philippine Economic Outlook for 2013 and other matters which will help real estate brokers maximize their income during the current economic boom. Real estate brokers will have the opportunity to learn about the latest projects of, and get accredited with, several reputable developers.

The learning investment for non-REBAP members is a very reasonable P600.00 inclusive of a sumptuous dinner and CPE credits. Definitely, the learning, earning, and networking opportunities for real estate brokers far outweigh the cost.

Those interested to attend may pre-register with Ms. Michelle Almoguera of the REBAP National Secretariat at telephone number 373-2281 or 374-2496 by April 1, 2013. Those who will pay before the event will have reserved seats. We hope to see you there!

5. Invest in a cellular phone, internet connection, and a laptop

I have no background in sales so selling is really a challenge for me. Since I am a bookworm, I turned to books and online resources, aside from learning from mentors. I still have a lot to learn and I try to improve everyday.

One thing I noticed that a real estate broker needs in order to sell is to be easily contacted. It would be good to invest in a reliable cellular phone and internet connection. I have a Globe line with SuperDuo so I have a wireless landline with unlimited calls to Globe and landlines. Other brokers have lines with all major networks (Globe, Smart, and Sun), plus Magic Jack, Skype, Viber, etc.

Jay suggests using an Android phone because you can easily access and sync your g-mail account with your phone. Aside from syncing your emails for offline reading, you can also sync  all your contacts’ telephone numbers, which can easily be “restored” if needed (think of “accidentally” deleted contacts), or if your phone got lost. It would be a nightmare if you lost your phone or if it gets stolen, and all your clients’ contact details get lost with it forever. This is no longer a problem if you use an android phone with syncing to g-mail enabled.

For internet connection, we have a Sun Pocket WiFi. We can bring it anywhere we go, and we can use it when we use our cellphones and laptops to access our e-mails (you can tell we are heavily dependent on the internet). Any cellphone with internet connection can also be used as a wifi modem and as back-up when our Sun Pocket WiFi’s internet connection fails or is too slow. A good DSL connection is also highly recommended.

Lastly, a good laptop is very important for a real estate broker, so it would be good to invest in one. Some brokers use Ipads or tablets as they are easier to carry and are sufficient for purposes of presentations and accessing the internet and e-mails.

Speaking of the internet, you will definitely need a computer for internet marketing for real estate, that is assuming you already know how to do internet marketing. Anyway, I won’t discuss internet marketing as Jay should be the one discussing it as he is more experienced with it.

I hope this helps! Once again, congratulations to the new real estate brokers! Cheers!

~~~

Cherry Vi M. Saldua-Castillo

Real Estate Broker, Lawyer, and CPA
PRC Real Estate Broker License No. 3187
PRC CPA License No. 0102054
Roll of Attorneys No. 55239

2013 Internal Education Head, REBAP-LMP

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