Kurt & Brenda Warner welcome a Couple Families into their New Homes!

The Dingman Group's mission is to support athletes with real estate and the relocation process following trades and drafts. How amazing is it to see Kurt and Brenda provide this once in a lifetime opportunity to such deserving woman (and their families)!

Janel Rocha is now the proud owner of a new home in Goodyear and thanks to several valley organizations and businesses, she and her boys, Victor and Leo, will have a very merry Christmas. (via DAN SPINDLE FOX 10 News)

Kurt and Brenda Warner Spread Holiday Cheer: MyFoxPHOENIX.com

Behind the Trade: Joe Smith (newest Laker) talks moving, renting and packing!

Factoids learned at Monday's practice about the newest Laker (via Andy Kamenetzky of ESPN):

* Smith is enjoying his 16th season in the NBA, long enough to have been included in a 1998 trade with Brian Shaw, now his assistant coach. (In a more recent development, he was also included in a three-way 2008 trade involving Shannon Brown.)

* He's a well traveled athlete. It's been 12 teams for Smith, six alone since 2006. He even managed to get traded to, from, and be reacquired by the Cleveland Cavaliers between February 2008 and March 2009. But incredibly, save half a season in Philly with Theo Ratliff, Smith has somehow managed to never have played with any of his current teammates. This feels mathematically impossible, between his tenure and the amount of times Ratliff, Steve Blake and Matt Barnes have also changed squads. Apparently not.

* A career as an NBA vagabond has made the big man a renter just like the rest of us. Save a place in Arizona, he has no permanent residence. Sensible man, that Joe Smith.
Because work has uprooted Smith so many times, he's a pro at the art of moving (view him talk about the art of the move here)The art of "making small spaces bigger than they appear," as he phrased it. However, constant relocation hasn't turned him into a bitter, bossy crab. He brought 12 suitcases (non-matching) with him for the road trip and eventual arrival in L.A., which turned problematic in Toronto where players have to lug their own bags. Um, hello! Wasn't he aware of Derrick Caracter and Devin Ebanks, who are on the team in large part to schlep his stuff around?"I know, but I'm new, so I didn't want to put them to work," smiled Smith.

* Smith was a huge Lakers fan growing up, and Magic Johnson was his "idol." Thus, even as a bona fide journeyman, landing here doesn't feel like just place to drop his luggage. "This is a little more special than all the other stops I've been," confirmed Smith. "I'm not saying those stops weren't special. This has just a little more edge to it."

You can follow Smith on twitter at @JoeBeast95. And prepare to get in line, because the dude's tweeps have multiplied like rabbits the second he was traded to the Lakers. 3,000 followers and counting, he noted proudly.

How Do Pro Athletes Handle Their Real Estate Needs?

How Do Pro Athletes Handle Their Real Estate Needs?

Did you ever wonder who handles real estate needs for a professional athlete when they get cut, traded or demoted? Sometimes they seek professional help and sometimes — in the case of Arizona Diamondbacks utilityman Ryan Roberts (pictured) — they take matters in their own hands and choose to live in the clubhouse. Seriously.

“You just couldn’t let anybody see you,” Roberts said. “After the game, I’d sit on the couch in my uni (uniform) until Bugsy (Reno manager Brett Butler) would leave, so everybody would think I was just hanging out. Then I’d shower up and hang out with the cleaning crew.”

Maybe Ryan was just trying to save a buck or two, but there really are people who handle real estate for professional athletes. One guy is Chris Dingman (The Dingman Group), whose business is a “…boutique powerhouse that buys, sells and leases real estate for professional athletes and coaches nationwide.”

Here’s a Q&A with Dingman about his niche real estate business:

How did you get into this business?
Since childhood, sports have defined my path in life. Along my path, I developed personal relationships with pro athletes and coaches. The nomadic lifestyle they live can only be rivaled by the military. I recognized a void and major lack of resources for athletes, coaches and families when faced with a move and created my company. Our mission is to ensure they maintain balance in their daily lives during the relocation process.

Who are some of some of the athletes that you handle?
Our client pool is every professional athlete and coach across every major professional sport (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS). A select few clients of ours are NFL Pro Bowler Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers, MLB All Star Bobby Abreu of the LA Angels, NHL All Star Chris Pronger of the Philadelphia Flyers and dozens of other athletes and coaches whose relocations have all been equally important.

When you hear of an athlete being traded, what’s the first thing you do? Do they call you or do you call their agents/lawyers?
Once word is received of their trade, they personally call us or their advisers call for education, support and next-step information. A trade can create all or one of the following needs: A home sale, house hold goods shipment, vehicle transport and home purchase or lease. Each athlete’s circumstances are unique.

How do you choose the neighborhoods where you search for homes for athletes?
Our nationwide network of pro sports realtors have been referred to us by athletes and coaches who’ve had a positive experience utilizing their expertise during a real estate transaction (i.e. home purchase or sale). This means, they have first-hand knowledge of the neighborhoods or areas where athletes are living or trending to live. Websites such as Zillow help our PSR’s and clients understand the real estate climate in every city throughout the nation.

If an athlete is traded to another team and he loses on his home sale, is he compensated for the loss?
In the NFL they can be. It would have to be discussed and agreed upon by player/agent and team at the time of contract. In baseball, the collective bargaining agreement states a team must sub-lease or take over the remaining terms of a lease if a player is traded or waived. A very specific process must be followed in order to get the team to do this. It’s real tricky sometimes.

The safe answer to the question is probably “it can be…if negotiated up front at contract.”

Once you handle a transaction for an athlete, do you usually handle repeat situations for that athlete?
100% of pro athletes within every major sport will need real estate and relocation services at one point or another during their career. Having a company that streamlines the process for athletes and their advisers is a fairly new niche. A lot of education, relationship-building and trust need to take place. In most every case, athletes use us multiple times per year or during their career. Whether it’s buying a home or packing up a house full of goods we pride ourselves on honest, long-lasting client relationships.

What skills and qualities would you say you need to do this type of job?
Pro athletes and their advisers communicate in very non-traditional ways. The sports world is a very closed-off-to-the-outside-world kind of place. It takes honesty, wit, fortitude, perseverance, and marketing savvy to break into this space and have a big impact. If you don’t have this stuff it’s going to be tough.

Is it glamorous, or not so much?
At first I wasn’t so sure my work would be best described by the word glamorous. So, I looked it up. The definition is: full of excitement, adventure, and unusual activity. It’s DEFINITELY glamorous!