HEATHER TAWES NELSON FEATURED IN ARTICLE BY NUWIRE INVESTOR Scottsdale Real Estate Feels Recession's Sting - August 3, 2009 HEATHER TAWES NELSON BECOMES ASSOCIATE BROKER April 17, 2009 - Heather Tawes Nelson has become an Associate Broker in the state of Arizona. She will continue to work under Arizona Realty One Group in Scottsdale. HEATHER TAWES NELSON COMPLETES BUYER SALES STRATEGY COURSE FOR RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE Heather Tawes Nelson has just completed a highly specialized course in residential real estate buyer sales strategies conducted by the Council of Residential Specialists of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. This course is one in a series of professional education sequences required to qualify for the coveted Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation. "The growing importance of negotiation as well as sales strategies in today's residential real estate market were addressed by the instructor in this course," said Tawes Nelson.  “The many and varied needs of the buyer, who is making what is probably the largest single purchase of a lifetime, is dealt with in this advanced course." The segments of the course included counseling techniques, understanding human behavior and professional knowledge of the required steps in the real estate sales sequence. The Council of Residential Specialists Courses are presented throughout the U.S. in affiliation with the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, as part of its on-going program of promoting the professionalism of the residential sales associate. October 28, 2008 RUSSIAN BILLIONAIRE'S PURCHASE OF FRENCH VILLA SETS NEW WORLD RECORD FOR MOST EXPENSIVE HOME -- $750 MILLION! Most expensive home on the market in Scottsdale -- $12 Million August 11, 2008 -- The market for the average priced U.S. residence may be soft, but the über rich (especially the Russians) continue to drive prices up at the very top of the world’s luxury market.  Case in point -- Villa Léopolda, one of the most historic estates on the French Côte d'Azur, is now under contract by an anonymous Russian billionaire for $750 million (€500m).  This three-quarters-of-a-billion dollar sales price sets a new record for the most expensive home sale in the world. The previous record was set earlier this year by Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, with the reported purchase of a London home for his son for an estimated $236 million.  “While the French Villa is a fabulous property, this sale does put into perspective the value U.S. properties represent,” said Heather Tawes Nelson, a luxury home expert with Realty Executives Mountain View who works primarily in Scottsdale, Arizona.  “The most expensive residence on the market locally is listed for just $12 million. This particular listing is a 7 bedroom, 8.5 bathroom estate on over 11 acres and is also a horse ranch." Villa Léopolda, a cream-colored, turreted mansion with two guest houses, is midway between Monaco and Nice overlooking Cap Ferrat, near Villefranche-sur-Mer.  The villa was originally built about 1902 by King Leopold II of Belgium. The grounds are regarded as among the most spectacular on the Côte d'Azur.  Fifty full-time gardeners look after 20 acres of gardens and terraces, planted with 1,200 olive, orange, lemon and cypress trees. The property’s new owner is said to be a Russian oil oligarch but not – despite initial rumors – Roman Abramovich, the highly visible owner of Chelsea Football Club, who already owns a €100m mansion near Antibes. According to the Nice-Matin newspaper, a contract was signed last week to transfer ownership of the villa from Lily Safra, the widow of Edmond Safra, a murdered banking billionaire.  Rumor has it that Mrs. Safra held out for months as the persistent mystery buyer kept raising his offering price.  The paper also reported that 60 villas or mansions on Cap Ferrat are now owned by wealthy Russians.   The property has a unique history.  In 1916, King Leopold’s nephew and heir, King Albert I, turned the villa into a hospital for officers wounded during the First World War. It later passed into the hands of the Agnelli family – Fiat automotive tycoons -- and became the scene in the 1960s for legendary jet-set parties attended by Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan (in his acting days) and other celebrities. “This sale raises the bar and makes the half dozen or so $100 million U.S. properties on the market seem like bargains,” said Laurie Moore-Moore, Founder of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, a US-based organization which trains real estate agents who work in the luxury market and awards the international Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation.  “Today’s affluent are citizens of the world and the successful luxury agent must know how to reach them and what lifestyles they are seeking. It’s an exciting and active market for agents at the top.” Tawes Nelson is a member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing and has earned the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation and has received special training in assisting upper-tier buyers and sellers.         HEATHER TAWES NELSON COMPLETES RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT COURSE Heather Tawes Nelson has completed the specialized real estate investment course entitled "Creating Wealth through Residential Real Estate Investments" conducted by the Council of Residential Specialists of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The course was conducted in Sun City and is one of the classes that could be taken by real estate agents and brokers who will eventually qualify for the coveted Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) designation. The course covered the fundamentals of investment, taxes affecting real estate investment, and investment strategies to create wealth. During the two-day course, students learned how to effectively analyze residential real estate investment opportunities and apply wealth-building strategies. "There are many opportunities for the small investor to invest successfully in real estate," said Tawes Nelson "and I have already begun to apply the procedures covered during this course in my work at  Realty Executives Mountain View." Certified Residential Specialist Courses are presented in various cities throughout the United States in conjunction with the COUNCIL OF RESIDENTIAL SPECIALISTS an affiliate of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® as part of its on-going program of promoting the professionalism of the residential sales associate.     HEATHER TAWES NELSON RECOGNIZED AS A CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR TO “REAL ESTATE IN 2008” BOOK OF TOP IDEAS FOR THE CHALLENGING MARKET OF 2008 - Heather Tawes Nelson, one of the premier Realtors in Scottsdale, recently joined hundreds of top agents as a contributing author to Real Estate in 2008. Heather Tawes Nelson, a top Realtor® in Scottsdale, joined hundreds of top real estate agents around the country to write “Real Estate in 2008” in less than a month. "Real Estate in 2008” helps buyers, sellers, and agents succeed in a challenging 2008 market by providing hundreds of ideas from top agents. Chapters include ideas on how to find motivated buyers, how to convince buyers to buy, how to help sellers price/position their homes correctly as well as many other creative ideas from around the country. These are ideas from top real estate agents who collaborated in an industry-wide effort which was launched during the National Association of Realtor’s (NAR) conference in November 2007. Tawes Nelson provided a number of ideas as to why buyers should buy in 2008 and how sellers can prepare, price and position their homes to be sure they get sold in 2008. “In this market, many buyers are not interested in a ‘project.’ There is so much inventory out there that buyers will continue looking until they find the ideal home. So, from a seller’s perspective, you want to make sure your home is priced right, looking good and is in move-in condition.” said Heather. “Heather contributed some great ideas to the book and shared her knowledge with other agents and consumers,” said Steve Kantor, President of Best Agent Business and author of Billion Dollar Agent – Lessons Learned. “Over 1,000 top agents around the country brainstormed and contributed ideas to write Real Estate in 2008 in record time. We wanted to help agents, buyers and sellers make the most of the 2008 real estate market.” Heather Tawes Nelson has been a Realtor for over 2.5 years and is with Realty Executives Mountain View. She has earned the Accredited Buyer Representative and Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designations and her website, www.scottsdaleagent.net, provides detailed information about the area, detailed market statistics and buying and selling tips for the area.   About Best Agent Business: Best Agent Business provides part-time real estate assistants to real estate agents. The virtual real estate assistants work from home offices around the country helping top agents grow their business using their unique talents. Best Agent Business is also the author of Billion Dollar Agent – Lessons Learned. February 2008       $175 MILLION SALE SETS NEW U.S. RESIDENTIAL SALES RECORD - Most expensive property for sale in the Valley: $20 million The U. S. housing market overall may be suffering from the doldrums, but wealthy home buyers continue to invest in homes at the very top of the market. Evidence of the strength of the luxury home segment was revealed in late November with the sale of the Trinchera Ranch in Colorado for a record-setting $175 million. This sale breaks the U.S. residential sales record of $103 million set earlier this year in New York’s Hamptons. By comparison, the most expensive property currently on the market in the Valley, in Paradise Valley, is $20 million, according to Heather Tawes Nelson, a real estate professional with Realty Executives Mountain View. “This property is certainly more affordable than the $165 million home in Los Angeles that is the priciest listing in America today,” said Tawes Nelson. Currently, there are 182 properties in the Valley on the market for $5 million or more. Of those homes, 75 of them are in Paradise Valley. The $20 million property has 6 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms and sits on multiple acres. Scottsdale has the most homes for sale in the $5 million plus range with 90, topping out at $16.4 million for a 7 bedroom, 9.5 bathroom estate. Other cities with $5 million and up listings include Phoenix, with six, Cave Creek, with three and Carefree, with one. Sellers of the Colorado property were the heirs of the late Malcolm Forbes, who acquired control of the historic Trinchera ranch in 1969. The buyer is billionaire hedge fund manager Louis Moore Bacon, who appears as number 286 on the Forbes list of the wealthiest Americans. Trinchera is the largest ranch in Colorado and its 171,400 acres contain five residences and a Western-style lodge with 16 bedrooms. Although the Colorado sale set a U.S. sales record, it fell short of the world record residential purchase, also set this year, with Sheikh Hamad of Qatar’s acquisition of a penthouse condominium in London for £100 million - equivalent to about $200 million at the time of the sale. “Although the vast Colorado ranch, the ocean front lot in the Hamptons, and the London penthouse condominium are not apples-to-apples comparisons, they are each indicative of the health of the very top of the world’s luxury home market,” said Laurie Moore-Moore, Founder of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, an international organization which tracks the luxury home market and trains luxury real estate agents. “These sales illustrate the fact that there are more rich households than ever before and the world’s wealthiest have shifted more of their investment dollars out of alternative investments like commodities and into multiple residences. Based on this year’s World Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch and CapGemini, the world’s über rich have invested 12% of their total portfolios in homes other than a primary residence,” said Moore-Moore. “In short, there is more money than ever competing for homes at the very top of the market. The luxury residential market is the good news story in real estate.” Tawes Nelson, a member of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, agrees. “In most markets across the country, the very top of the market remains healthy – luxury is the ‘sweet spot’ in real estate.” For current information on the upper-tier market, contact Heather Tawes Nelson at Realty Executives Mountain View (602) 751-1675 or e-mail heathertawesnelson@scottsdaleagent.net. December 2007   June 2008

HEATHER TAWES NELSON JOINS TOP AGENTS TO DISCUSS LUXURY REAL ESTATE MARKET - “Leaders in Luxury” Event Debuts New World-wide Research on Über-Rich DALLAS, Texas. (October 16, 2007) – From Hawaii to New York, and Canada to Florida, over 100 of the top real estate professionals working in the upscale residential market converged last week in Santa Fe (NM) at The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s annual Leaders in Luxury (LIL) conference where they heard predictions from an international luxury market futurist. According to Heather Tawes Nelson, an agent with Realty Executives Mountain View , the exclusive event was an invitation-only educational and networking opportunity for real estate agents who handle million and multi-million dollar homes and estates. “The event attracted top luxury home agents who, on the average, work with properties priced at $3 million and above, with many working with homes valued at $10 million to $100 million,” said Tawes Nelson. Highlights of the conference included a presentation on “Cultural Rebooting: The New, Emerging, Global Elite are Rewriting the Rules of Luxury” by Martin Raymond, Founder of Future Laboratories in London, England. Raymond shared new research findings-- the North American debut of the information -- on the new echelon of global wealthy and how they are reinventing luxury and changing the upper-tier housing market. Mrs. Mary Louise Starkey, Founder of Starkey International (also known as “Butler Boot Camp”) shared information on “Working for the High Net Worth Individual.” Other speakers and panelists for the event discussed a variety of topics, including tips for working with the international buyer and seller, how to use blogging to build business, tips for succeeding at the $10 million and above price point, and how to write real estate copy Madison Avenue style. “LIL registration was limited to only 115 top luxury agents,” said Laurie Moore-Moore, Founder of The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, “to give our attendees the opportunity to build an exclusive network of contacts focused on the upscale residential industry while sharing with the best in the business. Since competency is the key to working successfully with the luxury buyer and seller,” added Moore-Moore, “Leaders in Luxury is designed to provide attendees with important knowledge and insights giving them a competitive edge in meeting the needs of the affluent. Tawes Nelson considers attendance at Leaders in Luxury to be essential for success. “Attending the Leaders in Luxury event is an investment for my clients,” said Tawes Nelson. “With the current real estate market, I have to be proactive to stay on top of the industry. By networking with the best in the business, sharing ideas, and learning about the latest trends and outlooks, I can help my affluent clients find success where others are finding challenges.” The conference is an annual event. For information, visit www.LeadersinLuxury.com or contact The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing at 214-485-3000. For more information on the luxury market, please contact Heather Tawes Nelson at Realty Executives Mountain View (602) 751-1675 or HeatherTawesNelson@scottsdaleagent.net. About The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing The Institute has 5,000 members on four continents. Members who have completed special training and met performance standards may earn the prestigious Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation. Associates who demonstrate competence in the million dollar and above property arena are recognized with membership in The Institute’s Million Dollar Guild. Find training and membership information at www.LuxuryHomeMarketing.com or phone 214-485-3000. October 16, 2007

LOCAL REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL RECOGNIZED FOR MILLION-DOLLAR SUCCESSES Heather Tawes Nelson Earns Membership in Prestigious Million Dollar Guild Scottsdale, Arizona - Heather Tawes Nelson, of Realty Executives Mountain View, has been recognized by the prestigious Institute for Luxury Home Marketing for her recent performance in the million-dollar and above luxury home market within Scottsdale and Flagstaff. “Real Estate professionals who have earned admittance to The Institute’s Million Dollar Guild not only have specific upper-tier market knowledge, but they also understand the unique needs of affluent buyers and sellers and recognize the importance of being discreet,” said Institute President Laurie Moore-Moore. “Whether you’re buying or selling a multi-million dollar property, you can depend upon The Institute’s Million Dollar Guild members to have the competencies necessary to help you meet your objectives.” “To have this recognition of my accomplishments in serving Scottsdale and Flagstaff is an honor,” said Tawes Nelson. “It has strengthened my commitment to the community and its residents.” Members of the Million Dollar Guild are Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialists (CLHMS) who have documented their success in assisting affluent buyers and sellers with million-dollar properties. The recognition is awarded by the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing which trains real estate agents in the luxury home market and awards international designations to those who meet stringent performance standards. ### About The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing exists to help real estate professionals around the world provide high quality service to buyers and sellers of luxury properties. Institute members have completed special training to build expertise in the marketing of upscale homes and estates and those who meet performance standards may earn the prestigious Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation. Information and an international membership list can be found at www.CLHMS.org. Members are also listed on the Wall Street Journal’s RealEstateJournal.com website. September 17, 2007

SALES PROFESSIONAL EARNS INTERNATIONAL DESIGNATION FOR LUXURY HOME MARKETING EXPERTISE Scottsdale, Arizona - Heather Tawes Nelson with Realty Executives Mountain View has earned the prestigious Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation in recognition of her experience, knowledge and expertise in the luxury home market. “Heather Tawes Nelson is an example of a real estate professional who has worked to develop market knowledge and the special skills and competencies necessary to provide exceptional service in the fine homes and estates marketplace,” said Institute President Laurie Moore-Moore, upon announcing (LAST NAME’S) designation. “Affluent buyers and sellers can turn to sales professionals who have this designation and be confident that they have special expertise and experience in the luxury home marketplace.” “I am committed to providing outstanding service to my clients,” said Tawes Nelson “the Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist designation is evidence of my ability to meet the needs of affluent buyers and sellers. My membership in The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing also provides me with marketing tools and networking capabilities that benefit my clients.” Tawes Nelson is an award-winning real estate professional who has gone through special training and met performance standards in the upper tier market. She has been in real estate since 2005 and specializes in the Scottsdale, Carefree, Paradise Valley and Phoenix markets. For current information on the upper tier market, contact Heather Tawes Nelson at Realty Executives Mountain View (602) 751-1675 or e-mail heathertawesnelson@scottsdaleagent.net. September 17, 2007