| Mortgage Minute Newsletter From Sam Thompson, Senior Mortgage Advisor Sept 2007- Vol 1, Issue 17
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| In This Issue |
| Teamwork - The best way to close mortgages! |
| The Lazy Agent - By Robert Bruss. |
| Weekly Tip - Networking for Referrals! |
| Weekly Market Mortgage Rate Lock Commentary |
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Quick Links
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| Who we are. |
 Our Corporate Campus in Mt. Laurel, NJ
PHH Mortgage is one of the top ten originators of retail residential mortgages in the United States. We offer you unsurpassed service, a full range of programs at competitive rates, and the smoothest mortgage experience in the industry. In 2006 alone, PHH Mortgage provided $41 billion in mortgage financing for American homes, and every day we help more people fulfill the dream of home ownership. PHH Mortgage operates out of two main facilities in Mount Laurel , NJ and Jacksonville, FL - employing a combined total of more than 5,200 team players.
We've received numerous awards, including
Best 100 Places to Work in IT (Computerworld), Top 25 Companies that
Care, Training Top 100, and more. And, we were recently ranked #1 by
Inside Banking for our reliable closings and accurate Good Faith
Estimates and we constantly recieve 98%-100% "I would recommend"
ratings from buyers AND realtors in post-closing surveys.
CALL US SO YOU CAN SEE HOW WE DO IT! "Did you hear about the problems that Osama Bin
Laden is having? Yeah, it turns out that he got caught up in the
subprime mortgage troubles and he might lose his cave..."
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| Dear Sam, | ||
We Answer the Phone!
It is very frustrating to have a closing coming up and you cannot reach anyone to get an update for your clients. Right?
We know how important your referrals are to you and that you need
information about your closings. We are a mortgage company that was
started by one of the largest real estate corportations in the world so
we built our company with you in mind.
In our system you have well-trained processors, great programs and
systems, underwriters working next to the processors, the Agent Help
Desk and me to answer your questions.
Anytime you need answers, call our Agent Help Desk for quick
answers or call your processor and if they are not instantly available,
just hit "0" and one of their highly qualified team mates will help
you. That's what I do! Or, just call me and I'll
get you an answer as soon as I can. My goal is to make sure that you
are very happy with your experience with us so you'll keep coming back!
CALL US! WE'LL ANSWER THE PHONE!
PHH Mortgage
Senior Mortgage Advisor 843-230-7929
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What to expect at closing.
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Teamwork - The best way to close mortgages!
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These friendly mortgage professionals are eagerly waiting to help you!
I've been in this business for several years and with
this company for 2 years and 3 months so far and have really been
impressed with the quality of people that we have working here. And,
with the new techology that we have been given with "Loanspan",
"iDesk", "iReports" and "PPHorce", we all can communicate very well
with each other.
Processing a mortgage, especially now with the tightening of guidelines with our typical buyers, is an orchestration of people and paper
and it really helps having sharp, well-trained, qualified people in
place to help keep the process flowing in the right direction.
Whenever you call me with a referral, I normally will
take the application but if I am not in a good place to get it done for
you quickly, I'll usually call one of these sales guys above or some of
their colleagues in Mt. Laurel. And, once the loan is registered,
normally Carol Kelly or Dee Armstrong will be assigned to process my
files but depending on their workload, some of the other processors may
help too. And, since they are located right beside the underwriters
and closers, our files are quickly processed and closed for you and
your buyers.
Don't forget the folks on our
Agent Help Desk!
Collectively, we are a strong team and if you ever
need help with a buyer, just give me a call so we can show you how we
do it. We strive to treat everyone like family!
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| The Lazy Agent - By RE Columnist, Robert Bruss |
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I'm sure there is a good explanation for this.
But it 'looks' like they are just plain lazy. Robert Bruss, Real Estate columnist for The Charlotte Observer,
recently had a reader send in a question asking for Robert's opinion
about their realtor. The question was about the Realtor that said they
don't do open houses because they don't work. The Realtor told the
seller that they have been in Real Estate for 20 years and they said
that other marketing tools such as ads also are worthless and that just
the MLS and several websites with the right price is the best marketing
you can do.
Robert
said that you are talking to a "lazy Realtor" and he was surprised he
has survived for 20 years in Real Estate with such a bad attitude. He
suggested that the seller interview 2 or 3 Realtors who sell homes in
the vicinity to compare their presentations. If the agent will not
hold an open house, he won't sell your listing or any others by meeting
prospective buyers. If he thinks that the MLS and a few websites are
enough then he isn't working in your best interest.
How do you feel about Robert's assessment of the Realtor? Do you agree or disagree?
It really doesn't matter what you think, it is what others think that really counts. Jim
Droz, who is now on the speaking tour that claims to have gotten every
listing he went after throughout his career except 4 out of well over
1500 figured this concept out a long time ago. Sellers want to know
that you are going to actively go after buyers for their home. Jim
even tells his sellers that if they sign up with him, he'll personally
knock on 15 doors in the neighborhood as soon as they sign up with him
before he goes home that day. He knows the right hot buttons to push
and because of his initiative and success, people sought him out for
their listings.
Open
houses are a great way to show your initiative and if you will take the
time to promote them the week before by knocking on doors in the
neighborhood, you are going to get to talk to many referral sources
that are going to see your initiative and when they are ready to list,
you are going to be the one that they call!
In
my opinion, open houses give you a reason to talk to neighbors and that
is the key. Think about it this way. If a house goes up for sale in
your neighborhood and if the realtor personally came by to tell you
about it before the sign went up telling you about it and about the
open house coming up, would you be impressed? And, if you knew of a
couple looking for such a nice house in their neighborhood, wouldn't
you tell them about it?
Just
say, "I am going to have an open house next Sunday from 2-5 PM with
light refreshments and a door prize and I would love for you to come
over. Or, if you would like to see it at another time, just give me a
call. Oh, and by the way, do you know of anyone that might by looking
for a nice home like this that I need to call?"
Try this with your next listing!
And, if you don't have a listings yet, ask a colleague with listings if you can do an open house with one of theirs.
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Weekly Tip - Networking for Referrals
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 There are 2 cardinal rules when it comes to networking according to Laura T. Leggett and James W. Hornyak from the book, 49 Marketing Secrets that Work to Grow Sales by Ron Finklestein.
1.
You must have the mindset of helping others. Zig Ziglar said it best:
"To get what you want, help others get what they want."
2.
You are not selling when you are networking. Instead of selling, you
are sorting to find contacts who are mutually beneficial.
Now that you know the cardinal rules, here's how to develop a quality network so you can "work the network".
You
have to get out and meet people who target similar markets in a
non-competitive manner so you can complement each other. In a business
meeting or any public setting, quickly determine if there is a good fit
with the person you are talking to and then schedule a follow-up
meeting or lunch with them. This process is called, in the words of
millionaire Mel Kaufmann, finding beneficial "links" in contacts. www.thelinksystem.com.
In real estate, the best people to network with are in my opinion:
Once
you meet someone in one of these categories just say, "Maybe we should
get together for lunch to see how we can help each other develop some
business. When would be the best time to call?" Then be sure to make the call! And when you have your lunch meeting, help them see that you get to know people relocating to town looking for recommendations for professionals, restaurants, etc. and by working together, you can refer people to each other. Notice
that I put my group first. And if you will include me into your
networking circle, I will do everything I can to help you excel in this
business! And, keep in mind that I know Realtors and meet Buyers in a
60 mile radius of Laurinburg from Florence to Fayetteville so I can put
you in touch with people too. Let's work together and help each other
so we can both be successful.
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| Weekly Mortgage Market Commentary | ||||||||
| Don't let the financial markets squash your clients and your transactions!
Stay informed by reading my new daily "Daily Rate Lock Commentary" or
just call me to find out what is going on! If you want to be included
in this distribution, just call or email me. Remember, knowledge is
power and the more educated you are in your industry, the higher quality buyers
you are going to attract and that means easier closings, bigger houses
and more money in your "hip national bank!" And since rates are still
climbing, call us to get your clients in our 90 day rate protection as
soon as possible!
 Rate Lock Advisory - Sunday Sep. 23rd
This week brings us the release of seven economic reports for the bond market to digest. Three of them are considered to be of low importance and likely will have little impact on mortgage rates. With data scheduled for release each day except tomorrow, we may see an active week in the bond and mortgage markets. The first important data of the week is Tuesday's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for September. This Conference Board index will be posted at 10:00 AM and gives us a measurement of consumer willingness to spend. It is expected to show a decline from last month's reading, indicating that consumers are less likely to make large purchases in the near future. This is good news for the bond market and mortgage rates. Analysts are calling for a reading of approximately 104.5, down from August's 105.0. If we see a larger than expected decline, we should see the bond market move higher and mortgage rates drop Tuesday. The second piece of data also comes Tuesday morning with the release of August's Existing Home Sales report. The National Association of Realtors posts this data, giving us an indication of housing sector strength by tracking home resales in the U.S. It is expected to show a decline from July's sales, however, this data is not considered to be of high importance to the bond market. August's Durable Goods Orders will be posted early Wednesday morning. This report gives us an indication of manufacturing sector strength by tracking orders for big-ticket items at U.S. factories. Current forecasts call for a drop in orders in the neighborhood of 2.5%. A larger decline could help bond prices and cause mortgage rates to drop Wednesday. However, a smaller than expected decrease would indicate a stronger than expected manufacturing sector that would likely help push mortgage rates higher Wednesday. The first of Thursday's data is the final revision to the 2nd Quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Since this data is aged now and the preliminary reading of the 3rd Quarter GDP will be released next month, I don't see this revision having much of an impact on the financial markets or mortgage pricing. It is expected to show a slight decline from the previous estimate of a 4.0% annual rate. Also Thursday morning will be the release of August's New Home Sales. It is expected to show that sales of new homes fell in August. As with Tuesday's Existing Home Sales data, this report will likely not have a significant impact on mortgage rates. There are two reports scheduled for release Friday morning. August's Personal Income and Outlays and the revised reading to the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index for September. The first will be released early morning and gives us an indication of consumer ability to spend and current spending habits. This is important to the markets because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy. Rising income generally indicates that consumers have more money to spend, making economic growth more of a possibility. This is bad news for the bond market and mortgage rates because it raises inflation concerns, making long-term securities such as mortgage related bonds less attractive to investors. It is expected to show a 0.4% rise in income and a 0.4% increase in spending. The Michigan index measures consumer confidence and is believed to indicate future consumer spending strength. The preliminary release earlier this month revealed an 83.8 reading. Analysts are expecting to see a small upward revision, bringing the index around the 84.0 level. A lower reading should help improve mortgage rates Friday morning, depending on the results of the income and spending data. Overall, this will likely be a fairly active week for mortgage rates. The most important day will either be Tuesday or Wednesday due to the importance of the date being posted those days. For the time being, I am holding the lock recommendations for the immediate, short-term and mid-term periods. If this week's data does indeed show weaker than expected results, I may shift to float across the board. Until we get those assurances, I am concerned that we may see pressure in bonds, possibly leading to higher mortgage rates in the immediate future. If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Float if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers. |
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Let me know if I can take an application for you anytime! And,
please let me know if you like the format of this email service. I
hope you are reading these so you can stay up on your profession and so
you can make more money too!
Also, I am available to do a "Hit the Ground Running Workshop" with
any agents interested in learning tons of things they can do to help
them succeed in Real Estate. I need at least 5 agents, brand new or experienced,
looking for some motivation to put this on for you that will take 2-3
hours, depending on your involvement! These are designed to be
interactive so you can learn more about yourself and so you will walk
away with a stronger sense of self-confidence too.
If you don't get at least 10 great ideas that can really help your business, I'll take you to lunch and give you a few more!
What are you waiting for? Gather support with 4 of your collegues and call me today!
We'll guarantee your closing date.
We're so confident that we will close when you say so, that if we
don't, we will reduce your interest rate by 1/8 of one percent for the
life of your loan.*
We offer FREE pre-approvals to qualifying homebuyers! With a mortgage pre-approval, you can shop for the home of your dreams with confidence. You'll know just how much you can afford and increase your negotiating power. **
We take pride in being a lender you can trust. As our mission states, "we promise to treat customers like family." We take this oath seriously, and our goal is to provide you with the superior service you deserve - guaranteed.
* Approved, conventional, purchase loans only. Closing date to be mutually agreed upon between customer and bank, and customer must provide all required documentation. Timely request for payment under guarantee is required. ¹Inside Mortgage Finance, Copyright 2006 |
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I hope you have a great week this week in real estate. Call me if I can help you with that!!
Sam Thompson - "The Jumbo Guy" 843-230-7929
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