| Mortgage Minute Newsletter From Sam Thompson, your mortgage advisor. July 2007- Vol 1, Issue 6
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Quick Links
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| Dear Sam, |
 Take the time to find your clients' hot buttons as early on in the
process as possible with a thorough interview and then your closings
are going to happen much more quickly!
And you are going to have many more happy clients that will refer
you to more and more of their family and friends! Until you find their
hot buttons that even they may not know they have, you are stabbing in
the dark and wasting a whole lot of time that you cannot afford to lose.
Sam Thompson
PHH Mortgage
Senior Mortgage Advisor
843-230-7929
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| Encourage 'pre-moving' to help stage your listings! |
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In some homes, 'pre-dumping' might be more appropriate!
 But if you ever find a house like this, contact an aluminum recycler and this will cover the cost to totally fix up the property!! I recently read an article in The Charlotte Observer
that explained that a great way to show a house is to get the sellers
to "declutter" it by selectively removing and pre-moving into storage,
the things that won't help it show well.
Explain this to your sellers during the listing presentation by having the process already laid out including the rates for temporary storage and show them how this can help them put their house in the best possible light for a quick showing. Here are some tips when you do!
Foyer: when entering the home, what do you see? Anything look out of place or like a sore thumb?
Walls, windows, floors:
Everything clean? Are the window treatments at a minimal? Are the
walls a neutral color? Is the carpet hiding hardwood floors?
The Great Room:
Have you pulled the furniture away from the walls and floated them
around a focal point like a fireplace? Does the furniture arrangement
make the room look spacious or cramped? Go with a classic sofa, 2
chairs and a few tables and lamps and take half the books and
knickknacks from the shelves.
The Dining Room: Set the table for company.
The Kitchen:
Remove about everything from the countertops. (Might leave a
coffeemaker and bin of utencils.) Remove any magnetic art from the
refrigerator.
Kitchen/Bathroom Fixtures:
Should sparkle. Replace any out of date or damaged knobs. For a
minimum expense, these are really important for a good showing.
Closets: Leave only a few items so the buyers can see the room they'll have.
Toy Control:
Corral the toys in a chest or armoire in the family room. Minimize and
tell the parents to get the kids involved in helping! Make them feel
important and make a game out it the next time of a showing by saying
"It's show time, hide all of the toys!"
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| Sometimes, you have to think outside the box... |
 Unless you are a cat!
In our market, a lot of times, we have to be creative to make many transactions work and if you have a prospect that needs a creative mind, call me! Here are a few examples of things that we might try: Bad Credit Buyer
No Cash to Close:
Income Issues:
Employment Issues:
Manufactured home foundation issues:
Believe me when I tell you that we love thinking outside the box and try not to leave any stones unturned in trying to get all of your prospects pre-approved and in a great program that meets their needs. We
want to make sure you are successful and once we get them pre-approved,
we'll stay in contact with them and help you try to get them in rate
protection to double your success rate.
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Weekly Tip - You don't
have to do it all by yourself, get some help! And don't
forget about the current clients too!!
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Most of you know that referrals makes it happen in the real estate
business and there are a lot of ways of getting referrals like
networking all the time and self-promotion in all that you do. But
there is another way that doesn't involve you or your money.
It involves getting others to promote you!
Just like when trying to find a new job, the best way is by
getting the word out to everyone you can that you are looking for a
job. If you are the only one bringing in the referrals you are
currently getting, think about how many more you could be getting with
some more people helping you! Think of them as your little army of
volunteers always working for you 24/7 even while you are on vacation.
Treat them right and they will love promoting you and helping you be
successful in real estate.
How can you do this? By getting out, always being nice and
friendly and by asking others to help you! It takes a little
initiative on your part but is just that simple. And my educating your
family, friends, past clients and current clients to help, you are
going to multiple your business!
That's
right, CURRENT CLIENTS can be a huge referral source for you because
they have seen you in action and know how good you are!
Think about how many people your current clients are in contact
with that know they are in the market on a daily basis. You know that
questions come up like: "How is your house hunting going? or " Have
you gotten any offers yet? AND "How do you like your realtor"? By giving them a stack of cards and by coaching them on what to say, you are going to see what I mean.
You can say, "If you meet or know anybody else looking for a
great realtor, give them my card and tell them to call me or let me
know and I will call them. I love referrals!"
And for the quiet ones that are very reserved, you need to 'give them permission' to refer you to their family and friends. As silly as that sounds, it is absolutely true.
Unless you ask the quiet ones to promote you AND give them permission, they won't do it.
I have had people ask me if they can give my name out to people and I am sure you have too.
So, stop trying to generate all of your own referrals and go out
and pass out your cards to everyone you can think of and ask for their
help. If you will start doing this today, your phone is going to start
ringing off the hook by the end of the week!!
And, if you will promote me, I'll do the same for
you. I love bragging on my realtors because I know how important this
is to you and your business! These third-party referrals are much
better than the ones you find on your own.
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| Weekly Mortgage Market Commentary |
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| Don't let the financial markets squash your clients and your transactions! Stay informed by reading my new "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 Jul. 8th
This week brings us the release of only three economic reports for the bond market to digest. It also is the beginning of corporate earnings season. Those quarterly earnings reports can lead to significant volatility in the stock market, which could influence bond trading and mortgage rates. The first piece of data is May's Goods and Services Trade Balance report early Thursday morning, which measures the size of the U.S. trade deficit. This data is not considered to be of high importance to the bond market and will not likely have an impact on mortgage rates. However, if it does vary greatly from analysts' forecasts of a $60 billion deficit, we may see some movement in bond prices and therefore possibly mortgage pricing. There are two reports due Friday that are likely to affect mortgage rates. The Retail Sales report is the first key piece of data for the markets this week. The Commerce Department is expected to say that sales at retail establishments rose 0.3% last month. This data is considered to be of high importance because it measures consumer spending. Consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy, so any related data is watched closely. A smaller than expected increase in sales could help fuel a bond rally and lead to lower mortgage rates. The University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment is released in a preliminary form each month and then followed up two weeks later with a final reading. The preliminary reading for July will be posted late Friday morning and is expected to rise from June's final reading of 85.3. This would indicate that consumers were more comfortable with their own financial situations this month than last month. It is believed that if consumers are confident in their own finances, they are more apt to make large purchases in the near future. And with consumer spending making up two-thirds of our economy, investors pay close attention to reports such as these. Overall, I am expecting to see a fairly calm week in mortgage rates. Friday will be the most important day with the two reports scheduled for release. If the corporate earnings reports that are scheduled for this week are a disappointment, we could see stocks move lower and investors seek safe-haven in bonds. This is especially true if the Retail Sales report shows weaker than expected results. This would likely help push bond prices higher and mortgage rates lower for the week. 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"
seminar with any agents interested in learning tons of things they can
do to help them succeed in Real Estate. Call me to schedule this. 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 the involvement!
If you attend my training and don't get at least 10 good ideas, I will buy you lunch and give you a few more!
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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 PHH Mortgage
Senior Mortgage Advisor
843-230-7929 |