Dingman Group featured by Forbes: Athletes on the Go.

Athletes on the Go.

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!

The Dingman Group Website Update is LIVE!

Website update is LIVE! Please let us know your thoughts. What's new?: 1. Get Started and Locker Room sections. 2. New client pictures and testimonials. 3. Forms and pay section for our clients. -Team DG

www.dingmangroup.com

Friday's Sports Transactions - USATODAY.com

Friday's Sports Transactions - USATODAY.com

Professional Snowboarder Danny Kass's Home: Hilarious

Mike Karney's Home

Athletes, family of Athletes or Anyone Who Has the Ear of an Athlete...Please, Please Read This!

As the saying goes, you can't believe everything you read. However, in the case of the essay "How (and Why) Athletes Go Broke", by Pablo S. Torre, you better believe it! Hopefully share it.

This article was forwarded to me by a friend and very successful NFL player agent, Derrick Fox. One of the many athletes he represents is Pro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers.

Plain and simply, you've got to read this essay. It's true and real. We've got to clean this industry up...

Thanks Derrick for the forward!

Original article/essay

Manny Pacquiao's Los Angeles Home

Manny and his wife take a quick tour of the new home they bought over the winter. This home will be a station for him and his wife when training for fights in L.A.

Backyard Training with Mike Karney

INSurfNews.com

FreddyP and Andrew launched a killer new site that gives unprecedented access into the lives of professional surfers. I spent about an hour on the site checking out all the videos, photos and blogs...all of which are posted personally by FreddyP and Andrew. The two go way back as friends from the North Shore and are really bringing a unique view to surfing fans around the world.

Perhaps my friends from the North Shore will take a video tour of their homes and toss the video my way to upload to our blog? I'm sure we'd all love to see what their digs look like.

Keep up the good work guys!

Pro Athletes put Homes up for Sale in the Same Community!

Four professional athletes that lived in the Dallas, Texas area have put their properties up for sale. These athletes live in the Vaquero, a 525-acre community northwest of downtown, and are eager to sell their homes to relocate to a new area.

The Athletes relocating include: former quarterback Drew Bledsoe, Atlanta Braves' Mark Teixeira, former Detroit Red Wings defenseman Steve Duchesne, and professional golfer Brian Watts.

Coldwell Banker agents Eleanor Mowery Sheets and Gianna Cerullo are handling all four of the listings.

Original article: http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/030108/bus_252628936.shtml

Pro Golfer, Fred Couples, has Relocated to the Arizona Desert

Ann Brennoff, a celebrated celebrity real estate columnist, recently tells us that Fred Couples has relocated to Arizona. Fred Couples, a professional golfer, is looking to sell his home in Montecito. In the pro sports world, relocation can sometimes be a mandatory transition that is difficult to handle. In this case, I think the transition to the greens of Arizona should be fairly (no pun intended) easy.

Real estate is a fantastic way to build wealth. Fred certainly built a little equity after years in this beautiful 11,000 square ft. home. It's on the market for 12 mil. Good luck to Fred with his new endeavors in the desert!

Ann Brennoff of the LA Times has recently announced that she will be leaving the LA Times. We wish her the best of luck!

Original article