About Derrick Ruiz

Yes I am a rare creature--a native Angeleno! I was born in the small L.A. suburb of Montebello. I could not imagine living anywhere else but Southern California. Los Angeles is truly home for me. It’s my spiritual homeland. To me it’s a city like no other.

I am also a second generation American born Latino. Like so many other immigrants to Los Angeles, my grandparents came here from Mexico to give their children a better life. My grandparents were salt-of-the-earth people who worked hard to attain the American dream. My Grandfather Frank also served in World War II and I'm very proud of him. My parents continued their efforts in order to give my brother and I a better life and have succeeded wildly.

I have a deep local knowledge of L.A. and Southern California. I've been here for 39 years of my life (Ten years spent living in San Jose and Santa Cruz). Since many people are from somewhere else, being a native Californian really helps give perspective to my clients. You want information about LA? I'm a great resource to tap in to. Just ask!

I really love the outdoor L.A. lifestyle. I am an avid sports enthusiast. I love 'blading' and biking the Venice/Santa Monica bike path, mountain biking the Santa Monica Mountain trails, and skiing our local mountains. Now with a 7 year old I also coach and referee kids baseball, soccer, and basketball. I also grew up surfing and spent over thirty years enjoying that quintessential California sport. You can catch me at Malibu 1st point whenever the south swell is pumping!



I also enjoy the rich cultural and entertainment opportunities here. The Getty,, LACMA, MOCA, the spectacular Disney Concert Hall, and all the other fine institutions and art galleries make LA an exciting place for culture vultures. I also enjoy all the restaurants, hotels, and nightlife here on the Westside. Of course the music and entertainment industries add an excitement to our city. One of my passions is concerts. I seen shows at the Greek, Staples, Ford theater, Hollywood Bowl, Santa Monica Civic, the Coliseum, the Rose Bowl, and a ton of other L.A venues. From driving PCH to Malibu, barhopping on Washington Blvd Marina del Rey, shopping on Melrose, or catching waves at the beach, there is so much to do here that you'll never be bored. Do I have to mention the Lakers??

I've always been an avid reader. I absorb news sites, political blogs, business & real estate sites, and lots of social media and books on my laptop or Ipad. You could say that I'm an information junkie. This helps you because I'm plugged in to what's important in real estate and business and how events affect my clients.

One of the best things about selling real estate in Los Angeles is the incredible people I meet. Many of my clients become very close friends and I hope you will too. The people here are diverse and eclectic individuals with interesting worldviews. Many of my clients are in the entertainment industry, high tech, and the business world. I truly treasure my clients and I hope one day that you and I can work together too!

Education

In 1994 I went back to school to upgrade my skills and education. I completed my entire general ed requirements and subsequently went on to USC where I have completed one year of business coursework. I realized that upgrading my education and skill set would help me compete in the Wired Economy. This mid-career education and skills upgrade along with my 25 years of experience makes me ready for the Web 2.0 age of real estate. I have completed extensive residential and commercial real estate training. I was also fortunate to work with 2 incredible managers early in my career--Fran Flanagan and Peter Hernandez. I now work with another incredible manager, Collette Ching at Keller Williams Santa Monica. Working closely with them gave me incredible insights as to how real estate worked and how to represent clients properly. I am eternally grateful to them for contributing to my real estate education.

Real Estate Experience

I started in real estate in 1986 at the tender age of 24. Believe me, it was no cakewalk. I started out with no contacts and my friends weren't buying or selling real estate. But I stuck with it and learned the business. Real estate was really my first and only career choice. I'm fortunate to have found something I truly enjoy. I worked for the largest real estate company at the time, Jon Douglas Realtors. I am very proud to have started there, it was a classy organization and I learned a lot.

In 1993 I studied for and received my California Broker's license. Upgrading from a sales license to a broker's license has greatly improved my knowledge base and definitely helped my career. Over the entire course of my real estate career I have attended many seminars and retreats, listened to many training tapes, read many real estate, business, and marketing books, watched instructional videos, and networked with many top agents. This continual learning process helps me stay on top of the market.

Corporate Real Estate Experience

While I was in San Diego attending school in the mid-ninties, I landed a job in a corporate environment. The company, Homecomings Financial Network, was a subsidiary of GMAC Mortgage Corp, one of the nations top mortgage lenders. I was a foreclosure sales specialist. I sold foreclosed properties all over the state of California by phone, fax, and the web. This experience was very valuable since I learned the foreclosure market as well what it was like to work in an intense corporate environment.

Mortgage Experience

When the real estate market was soft in the early nineties I became a mortgage broker and worked for two years in the lending industry. The knowledge and experience I gained from my two years was extremely valuable. I truly believe that having a thorough understanding of mortgage lending really benefits my clients. I am able to help guide them through the difficult mortgage process and make sure they are getting a fair shake from their lender. I am also able to suggest different alternatives of financing real estate.

Perspectives on Real Estate

I've been through a lot of cycles in real estate. When I started out in 1986 the market was fairly good, but still rather calm. Computers were showing up as dumb MLS terminals. Fax machines were unheard of. The market exploded in late '88 and '89. Then in '90 things went south in a hurry and foreclosures and bankruptcies soared. We limped along until '96/'97 when the market finally started picking up. And of course in 1998 the market exploded again and market was white-hot until the peak of 2005 and the start of the decline in 2006. As of today in 2011 we have had a tough several years with falling prices, short sales, bankruptcies, and other turmoil.

With my knowledge of market cycles I am able to give a better perspective to my clients in regards to timing the market. Market trends change quickly and an agent must be plugged in to what is happening. One day it's a seller's market and the next week the buyers start to have the upper hand. An agent who has seen several different market cycles can give better counsel to clients.

Social Media and the Web

I bought my first computer in 1988, two years after I started in the business. This is my 23rd year of computing--something I'm really proud of. Especially since it's obvious that wired and tech savvy real estate professionals will rule the future. I first went online in 1994 with Prodigy. I knew back then that real estate on the Internet was going to be huge. Now in 2011 social media is crucial to marketing property, finding clients, and doing research. This video blog site is the culmination of a long search for the right company to help me create a functional video blog site that gets results. By the way, let’s follow each other Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Thank you!