Tom Cummings
 Founding Partner, Law Offices of Thomas B. Cummings, PLC

Thomas Cummings graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1964 with a Bachelor’s degree in history.  Thereafter, he attended UCLA School of Law, graduating with a J.D. degree in 1967.

Mr. Cummings has always specialized in the defense side of civil lawsuits that involve claims of money damages against his clients, including landlord – tenant issues, employment law, contracts, real estate, torts and claims of land movement or land subsidence.

Mr. Cummings has now tried approximately 130 civil jury trials to conclusion.  He currently holds the rank of Diplomate in the American Board of Trial Advocates, which is the highest rank conferred by that organization.  There are approximately 6,000 members in the American Board of Trial Advocates nationwide and as of 2006, approximately 200 members held the rank of Diplomate.

Mr. Cummings served on the Executive Committee of the American Board of Trial Advocates, Orange County Chapter, from 1982 to 1988, serving as President in 1987.  He has also served on the National Board of Directors of the American Board of Trial Advocates on two (2) separate occasions, from 1986 to 1988 and again from 2002 to the present.

Mr. Cummings has served as a Judge Pro Tem in the Orange County Superior Court from 1977 to the present time.  He has also served as an Arbitrator for the Orange County Superior Court during the same time frame.

He is admitted to the State Bar of California, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.
 

Stephen C. Duringer, Esq

Attorney at Law, The Duringer Law Group, PLC.

Mr. Duringer has been a friend and supporter of the rental housing industry for many years. His law firm, The Duringer Law Group, PLC. is one of the largest and most successful Landlord/Tenant firms in California, representing Landlords exclusively.

His firm has handled over 120,000 cases over the past 15 years, recovering over $18 million in unpaid rent for mom and pop investors, large and small management companies, institutional investors, financial institutions, cities, counties, and the Federal government.

Mr. Duringer is an owner of both residential and commercial property throughout Southern California, and has served as Judge Pro Tem in Orange, Los Angeles, and Riverside and San Bernardino courts. He is active at both the state and federal level by serving on several Legislative review and business advisory councils. Mr. Duringer has served on both the U.S. Trustee’s and Bankruptcy Court Advisory Councils working to eliminate Bankruptcy fraud.

He has been very active in a variety of leadership roles in the real estate industry. Mr. Duringer is past president of the Apartment Association of Orange County, and currently sits on the AAOC’s and several other Boards of Directors or Governors of local and state housing and business groups

Charles H. Hershson
President, Fidelity Mortgage Lenders, Inc.

Charles H. Hershson, President of Fidelity Mortgage Lenders, Inc., has been a licensed real estate broker since 1965.  In 1971, Mr. Hershson founded Fidelity Home Loan Company, Inc., a real estate lending firm specializing in residential equity loans.  During the 1990s, the firm’s services expanded to include commercial mortgages. That strategy proved extremely successful, prompting the firm to change its name to Fidelity Mortgage Lenders, Inc.   

A graduate of the University of Southern California (B.S. Real Estate and Finance), Mr. Hershson is a past President of the California Mortgage Association (CMA).  He has also served as president of the Mortgage Association of California (MAC), president of the California Independent Mortgage Brokers Association (CIMBA) and as a member of the Real Estate Finance Advisory Committee appointed by the Commissioner of the California Department of Real Estate.

Today Fidelity is a full-service real estate lending firm, which offers clients financing for properties which traditional lenders often do not fund. Funding commercial real estate has become Fidelity’s primary business. 

 

Z. Ben Jacob

Government Loans

Mr. Lampe graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting & Finance.  Upon graduation, he was recruited to the CPA firm of Price Waterhouse in Los Angeles where he was engaged in Auditing and Tax Consulting for a variety of industries including Real Estate, Financial Institutions and Investment firms.

Mr. Lampe has specialized in the sale of multi-residential investment properties in the greater Los Angeles area at a national brokerage company from 1993 to 2004. During his tenure with that company, he closed over $600 Million in sales transactions and was recognized numerous times for outstanding achievement:

Ranking in the Top 3 out of 45 Apartment Brokers in the Los Angeles Office in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004
 

Rich Lombardi
CEO/President

Rich has been an Investment/Commercial (I/C) Realtor for 25 plus years and has been involved in all phases of I/C Real Estate (Sales, Leasing, Property Management, Syndication, Financing, 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges, Software Development, Education and Investment/Commercial Property Listing Services). His current focus is on Investment/Commercial Real Estate Education, Software and Online Investment/Commercial Listing Services.
 

Gary has specialized in real estate financing for over 20 years serving commercial, industrial, multi-family clients and SBA properties.  Hard to place refinancing is his specialty. Gary Pepp and his team are established, respected and fully accredited professionals. 

The goal at Preferred Real Estate Finance, Inc. is to add value to your acquisition or refinance by offering a wide range of financing solutions and direct access to top national and local lenders. With over 20 years of experience in structuring real estate deals, Gary has a proven track record delivering exceptional results in the real estate arena.  In addition to permanent debt financing, he structures unique programs using high-leverage bridge loans, mezzanine debt, construction loans, straight equity and Stated Income/Assets.

Formerly, he held a General Manager position with Hughes Helicopter Federal Credit Union, analyzing and originating over $3.5 million dollar investment portfolio, budget planning and forecasting.

Jeff Spinelli

1^st Vice President, F & M Bank

Justin White

Regional Manager, Marcus & Millichap

Justin joined Marcus & Millichap in October of 1999 specializing in apartment properties in Long Beach, CA. Justin worked with Kevin King as his senior agent and Justin credits Kevin with teaching him the skills and techniques used by the firm’s finest brokers. Justin has focused on building relationships with all owners in Long Beach and as a result achieved NAA honors in 2002, 2003, and 2004 while completing over 100 transactions in the process.

Today, Justin is the Regional Manager in the Long Beach office. Justin leads a force of over 40 agents within the local market. These agents specialize in multi-family housing, retail, office, and industrial investment properties. Justin is very excited with the new challenges of the position and the future success of the entire branch and personally.
 

Dr. Donald W. Wise

President/CEO Resorts, Marinas and Vineyards, Inc

Dr. Donald W. Wise is President and CEO of Resorts, Marinas and Vineyards, Inc. having offices in Corona del Mar (Newport Beach) and the Napa Valley. The firm provides high touch investment advisory, investment banking, transactional (brokerage) services, and financing placement – both debt and equity – to the resort, lodging, high-end estate, yacht marina, vineyard and winery industries. He has closed transactions throughout coastal and inland California and in eight (8) of the Western states, including five (5) major oceanfront resorts and yacht marinas in Kauai, Maui (Hawaii) and Mexico.

Formerly with CB Richard Ellis, Inc. and Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate as a First Vice President for twenty (20) years, he has been providing investment banking and real estate investment advisory services for over twenty-nine (29) years to major corporations, developers, individual owners, and high-net worth individuals.

Dean Zarkos

President, Orange County Apartment Association
Owner/Broker of MCF Asset Management, Inc.

Dean is the broker & owner of MCF Asset Management, Inc. A property management and real estate company. He has been involved as a property owner and manager for over 20 years and understands
the needs and issues small owners have.

Dean has over 15 years experience working for fortune 50 companies doing business planning and development and mergers and acquisitions.  His latest assignment helped raise over 1 billion in cash.  Prior to that he developed a plan to grow department revenues from 6 million a year to 100 million
per year.

Dean holds a law degree and an MBA. He is very proud of having served on the boards of trustees for
two schools for handicapped children.  Dean has also helped the Los Alamitos school district prepare
its compliance plan for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Born and raised in the Long Beach /Seal Beach area, Dean attended the same schools his children
now attend. His favorite quote is “sometimes you are the seagull and sometimes you are the statue."

In a prior life, Dean used to race his classic car.  He loves to read and loves to participate in outdoor sports. Dean and his wife Sharon live in Seal Beach with his three children: Franco, Jennifer and Kathryn.
 

Bill Tan

President, Creative Investors Group San Diego
President, Bill Tan Investments

An investment property expert, Bill has 20 years experience helping people achieve their retirement dreams through real estate and mortgage investments.  His clients rely on his business insight and industry knowledge to buy and sell properties and identify secured investment opportunities which generate a substantial monthly income. 

Bill Tan succeeds by understanding his clients’ investment goals, thinking fast and creatively to develop effective strategies and deliver desired results. One of his crowning achievements was to help a senior who could barely feed herself (she was existing on cat food) to prosper and enjoy a better standard of living. 

Tenacious, consistent, and professional, Bill brings his unparalleled market knowledge together with an extensive network of local, regional and national contacts. He is president of the Creative Real Estate Investors group in San Diego, California and is a featured speaker in his industry and has appeared on various radio and TV programs.