Meet your 2023-2025 Advisory Council

Norma Arguello

Realtor
Simple Real Estate Group

Nothing brings me more joy than having my clients feel empowered during emotional and complex moments of the home buying and/or selling journey.

With over 22+ years in real estate, my goal is to remain as a committed, credible, and determined Realtor. My primary focus will always be client satisfaction and surpassing my clients’ expectations.

Growing up, I would help my mom (also a Realtor) review contracts and disclosures at 16 since English was her second language. This experience marked the beginning of my fascination with real estate where I pursued with unbridled enthusiasm straight after high school.

At 18, I was processing loan applications for lenders. At 19, I was working in loans and real estate until I fully transitioned into real estate in 2006. My knowledge of loans allows me to give sound guidance on home financing.

When dealing with such a big milestone, it is important that you work with a professional that is well aligned with your real estate needs, and with the experience and zeal to match, I am that person.

Julia Feng

Broker/Owner
Evernest Realty

As the leader of The Julia Feng Group, Julia guides 4 real estate professionals in closing over 100 transactions a year, ranking Top 1% of Realtors in the Greater Los Angeles Area, Las Vegas, and Phoenix with surrounding areas in Arizona. When you combine Julia’s real estate experience with her extensive training, her clients always win. Her designations include the Accredited Buyer’s Representative (ABR), Certified Seller Representative Specialist (SRS), Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE), Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS), Certified Military & Veteran Housing Specialist (MVHC), Certified Short Sales and Foreclosures Specialist (SFR), among others.

Julia Feng has been nominated for Top Agent Magazine and as a featured agent for American Dream TV Show. Julia Feng is a Certified Divorce Real Estate Expert proficient in the sale of real property in Family Law cases. She has extensive experience, knowledge, skill, training, and education as a neutral third party in high-conflict situations. She specializes in handling sensitive and complex real estate transactions in divorce, including domestic violence, custody issues and uncooperative spouses. As a Certified Divorce Real Estate Expert, Julia Feng graduated from an exclusive in-person master training program from the Divorce Real Estate Institute, taught by family law attorneys, mediators, judges, divorce real estate experts and divorce lending experts.

As a Woman and Minority agent, Julia Feng is currently selling REO, short sales, and deed-in-lieu properties. She has an excellent understanding of the REO process including BPO, CFK and extensive marketing strategies to accelerate the disposition of investor-held assets in any real estate market. Julia hosts monthly workshops to advocate the Homes for Heroes home benefit program; delivers speeches to Nursing Association about home savings and programs for medical professionals and EMS; volunteers in VAREP to support our Military and Veteran Community; conducts workshops to educate the public about the home-buying process and common mistakes. She works closely with firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, military (active, reserves & veterans), healthcare professionals and teachers.

Her major in finance paved her way to work with commercial investors. As a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), Julia is leading Monroe Commercial Group closing over 100M+ a year. In addition to working with retail, office and industrial clients, Julia has represented a wide variety of investment clients ranging from sales and purchases of smaller multi-family properties to larger retail shopping centers and apartment complexes. Further enhancing Julia’s ability to provide expert representation to her clients is her own background of building a personal real estate investment portfolio.

Jim Hasting

President
Hastings Brokerage, Ltd.

Jim Hastings, is the current chairman of the FORCE. He is the Broker of Hastings Brokerage, Ltd., a Las Vegas real estate firm that specializes in helping mortgage servicers and residential real estate portfolio managers with their complete REO process since 1984.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in real estate from Arizona State University and has closed over $1B in residential REO. He holds real estate broker licenses held in Nevada, California, Arizona and formerly Ohio. He has had offices in each State and only operating in Nevada right now. Co-Founder of Broker Brain, an REO / property management, web-based system used throughout the US.

He has written many articles for the FORCE newsletters and has spoken many times at the Five Star Conferences. His passion is to make sure that FORCE members get value out of their membership in a concrete way that will better their life.

Jennifer Kuhn

Owner & Team Leader
JLK Sales Group Brokered by eXp Realty

Since 2006, Jennifer Kuhn has been involved in over 200 short sales. In April 2015, she was hired by an institutional investor to be the Team Leader of his Ocean County Sheriff Sale Auction team where she managed the entire process from identifying the asset, evaluating it, determining after repair value, and finalizing the purchase. Once awarded, she would visit the asset to determine if she needed to negotiate cash for keys or could gain access.

From there, she began evaluating ARV and completing a full BPO. Jennifer became proficient in perfecting the as-is value of an asset, the repair value and construction bids leading her to become a preferred Broker in New Jersey with this investor. She was then sought after by a large hedge fund to manage their entire New Jersey portfolio starting with only 2 counties in 2015 and is now their preferred realtor for the State of New Jersey.

Jennifer has also been designated as the preferred realtor for New Jersey by two other asset management companies. In 2018, Jennifer founded the JLK Sales Group closing $18.4 million during their first year and are on pace for over $100 million as they landed the biggest account in America as a Zillow Flex Premier team in 2022.

Tamika Marks

Managing Broker
Trademarks & Associates LLC

I would like to formally introduce myself. My name is Tamika Marks and I am the managing broker of Trademarks & Associates, LLC. We are a smaller personable office that prides itself on quick response times and hands on servicing of the asset from the date of the assignment to the date of the sale.

I personally have worked with bank-owned assets for over 15 years in the greater Chicagoland area. My goal is to educate buyers when it comes to the buying process, educate agents on the servicing the clients as well as selling assets in this industry, and to provide excellent customer service and partnerships while maintaining the integrity of the business.

Yours in real estate,
Tamika Marks, SRES
REALTOR®️
Trademarks & Associates, LLC

Kimberly McClinton

Managing Broker
Signature Realty Services

Kim McClinton serves the Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana region as a Managing Broker at Signature Realty Services. Kim also serves Illinois, Indiana and Georgia as a Mortgage Loan Originator at USA Mortgage, being licensed as an MLO for almost 20 years. She jumped into the REO world in 2019 and is happy to serve. Kim’s passion is to partner with constituents, lending institutions and asset managers to provide excellent service and communication to reach the ultimate mutual goal of success and integrity in real estate; as well as providing open doors of opportunity for all desiring to enter the industry.

Steven Pagano

Broker
Pagano Properties and First Hawaiian Realty

Hi it’s Steve, first, thanks to everyone for your support over the last seven years. I have some great initiatives to try to help agents get new business next year, I also think you have a really dynamic group of candidates also running, and each and any of them are here to help, so be sure to vote and aloha 🤙🏽

Steven Pagano is obsessed with exceeding client expectations. He is the Principal Broker of First Hawaiian Realty in Honolulu, as well as the Broker and Owner of Pagano Properties in New York, with both companies specializing in servicing the default market sector. Additionally, he has been a member of the Five Star FORCE Advisory Council since 2017 and was formerly the CFO for a New York-based mortgage company.

Sarah Richards

Principle Broker/Owner Spring Mountain Realty PLLC

With over 20+ years of experience in the real estate industry, I am a seasoned Broker, REO Broker and Short Sale Specialist who operates a fully-equipped and diversified full-service brokerage office. Providing efforts on reaching individuals who believe that homeownership is unattainable, with a goal of creating new homeowners wherever possible.

As a holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Sarah possess several certifications in REOs and Short Sales, including CDPE, HAFA, Equator, and RES NET CERTIFIED. Sarah Richards also holds several certifications in GRI, ePRO, PSA, C2EX, AHWD, SFS, and SRS. Sarah also is on the advisory board for FIVE STAR, past advisory board for THDA, currently on the board of rebi (Real Estate Business Institute).

Past Director for the Knoxville Association of Realtors, and is very involved with the MLS committees, Government Affairs, RPAC, etc.

Jeff Shumaker

Broker-Owner
RE/MAX Agility

Jeffery Shumaker is the Principal Broker-Owner of RE/MAX AGILITY located in Loudoun County Virginia. Licensed in Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland. He has managed the sale of over 1000 REO-Bank-owned properties since 2007 as well as hundreds of consumer sales and short sales. His experience includes working as a senior mortgage loan officer and locksmith. A background in residential real estate construction, property management, and hard money lending makes him the go-to broker for many asset Companies and GSE

Advisory Council 2023-2025