Issue date: February 24, 1999
By BUD WENDELL
As the new president-elect of Peninsula West Valley Association of Realtors for 1999, David Barca, who also is manager of the Seville Properties office in Menlo Park, says that he will help advance the group's priorities with legislative issues, technology, and community activities.
Next year he will succeed Nina Yamaguchi of Coldwell Banker Cornish & Carey in Cupertino as president of PenWest.
The 2,800-member organization was formed in 1995 by consolidating eight local boards of Realtors. It is now made up of five districts -- Menlo Park (including Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside); Palo Alto; Los Altos and Mountain View; Cupertino and Sunnyvale; and Los Gatos and Saratoga.
PenWest provides members with a direct link to the California Association of Realtors in Los Angeles and the National Association of Realtors in Chicago.
In addition to Mr. Barca, PenWest's 18 directors include Dave Hobson and Susan Tilling of Coldwell Banker in Menlo Park, and Lovinda Beal and Ginny Kavanaugh of Coldwell Banker/Cornish & Carey in Portola Valley.
One of the current legislative issues being followed closely by Realtors is a bill introduced by Assemblyman Mike Honda, D-San Jose, that would provide financial protection for homeowners from double-payment claims in cases of disputes between contractors and subcontractors.
As a former management consultant, Mr. Barca is especially interested in the increased use and benefits of technology for Realtors and their clients.
"The whole industry is changing around technology," he says. "People we work with every day have a lot more access to information than they did four or five years ago. So, as Realtors, we must enter the 21st century with the idea that technology is our friend. The more the client knows, the better off we are in the relationship."
PenWest and individual Realtors are active in various community organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, Ecumenical Hunger and Toys for Tots, notes Mr. Barca. They also participate in the work of the Housing Industry Foundation, which, among other things, provides financial assistance to families that may become homeless because of the loss of a breadwinner, or some other disaster.
In addition, PenWest is developing a college scholarship program this year to provide awards of $1,000 to 20 local high-school students.
Underlying all of PenWest's activities is the California Association of Realtors' code of ethics, an eight-page, 17-standards process. With this, PenWest provides mediation and arbitration processes to resolve disputes involving listing and purchasing agreements.
Born in San Francisco, Mr. Barca graduated from Santa Clara University in 1969 with a degree in psychology. He became a management consultant in organizational development with several firms on the East Coast and in Great Britain. One of his last assignments was helping British Railways implement its privatization plan.
In 1990, he decided that it was time to give up an intensive foreign-travel schedule and try a new career. At that time, Elyse, his wife, had become an agent with Fox & Carskadon in Menlo Park, following a teaching career. She encouraged him to get into real estate.
"We teamed up at Fox for six years, and then I became manager of the Palo Alto office in 1996 when Coldwell Banker acquired Fox & Carskadon," he says.
Two years later, Mr. Barca joined Seville Properties, officially known as Fine Homes & Estates/Seville Properties. His wife joined Seville in January.
The Barcas, who live in Atherton, have two children. Dane is a senior at Bowdoin on the East Coast, and Whitney is a freshman at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.
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