Doom & Gloom.....Fact or Fiction?

We Must Get Ratings!!!!!!
That is the way I see our media outlets, we must get ratings at all costs. I would have to be a moron to say the economy is not down. We all have seen the latest unemployment rate over 8%, we know that in the last year over 4 million jobs have been lost....and we know ONE more VERY important thing.......THINGS WILL GET BETTER!!!!!! Whether you voted for our president or not, as an American, you must have blind faith and trust the people in charge of our country. We have to have faith that they have the country's best interests in mind with every decision they make. The media wants to shock us with sensationalism and big bold headlines that make us watch their channel just to be more depressed by the DOOM and GLOOM they spew. We don't need the media to tell us the economy has gone in the crapper, just talk to your friends that have lost their jobs. We just went through one of the most prosperous periods of gluttony and excess our country has ever seen. Should we not pay the price now? Yes, we are now paying the price for the excess of living off your homes equity, evil mortgage companies that cared only about "loan the money", and sell it to someone else.I am writing this post because in my company I just had 4 agents go up against multiple offers on homes in Union and Middlesex County New Jersey. So how bad is Real Estate? Yes, now banks are not just going to throw bad money out the window if you have a pulse.Yes, the prices of homes have fallen. Yes, you have to be worth the risk in order to be loaned money. When my parents were growing up, they knew only one way to buy a home..save 20% for a down payment and qualify for a conventional loan. You were made to care about your home because you WORKED to earn the RIGHT to purchase a piece of the AMERICAN DREAM. You appreciated your home because you earned it. The generation after the baby boomers only knows excess and should be called the "I must have it NOW!" generation...and I am a part of that generation. But I also have the courage to take responsibility for my actions and stand up for what I believe in. How is a generation of kids supposed to survive in this America, when all they see every day are sports stars, and actors, and rappers making more then teachers and our own President. A half a billion dollars to play baseball, are you kidding me? What does that say to our young people about what is important in this world? I know only Real Estate sales. It has been in my family for 40 years and it is the only thing I know. Accept for this...if you are given something for nothing it will mean NOTHING to you.Place the Blame for this economic crash in the right place. Who was president when the no money down loan came to be? Who was president when 3% down and 5% down loans came to be? Not George W Bush, that's for sure.All I am saying is as a country we got our selves into this mess and we WILL get ourselves out of it...TOGETHER. For all the Realtors out there struggling, just keep on making the contacts daily, meeting people daily, and working a little bit harder everyday. Remember, the contacts you make in these lean years will turn into $$$$ when things turn around. Don't listen to the news, tell people about the positives. Rates are low, there are more homes to choose from, you are able to buy a home cheaper then your neighbor did just a few years ago. Those 3 things sound like potential for a good market. The daily activities of a successful Realtor have not changed, make contacts everyday. That task does not change with the rise and fall of the economy. The only thing that changes is the value of homes and the time it may take for your listing to turn into money in your bank account. Listings will always and forever be the name of this game, and the amount of contacts you make everyday will determine the amount of listings you sign up.
For more information from JR Sangiuliano of CENTURY 21 JRS Realty feel free to E-mail him at c21jrs72@aol.com or visit his Company Blog at http://www.century21jrsrealty.blogspot.com/

How to get a Mortgage

The Loan Application
If you're like most people, you'll probably need to secure a mortgage loan for your new house. Application for a home loan can take as little as one week and up to a month, depending on the type of mortgage.
Your lender or mortgage broker will be able to give you a better idea of the actual time it will take from application to approval. However, in general, conventional loans are processed more quickly than FHA or VA home loans.
Read more about types of mortgage loans.
The following is a step-by-step outline of what to expect during the loan application process:
1. ApplicationBring all required documentation. (Also, see the Application Checklist.)Good Faith Estimate of Closing Costs Truth-in-Lending statement
2. ProcessingVerification of employmentVerification of depositsCredit report
3. Underwriting Clear conditions
4. Purchase Homeowner's Insurance
5. EscrowDetermine funds needed for closing Schedule appointment for closing Prepare deed and mortgage note Closing and Title Transfer
Application Checklist
To speed up the application process, bring the applicable following items to your loan application appointment.
Signed copy of Purchase Agreement plus all Addendums.
Tax and Legal description on subject property.
Residence addresses for the past two (2) years.
Past two years' W-2 statements or 1099’s.
Computer generated paycheck stubs for last 30 days.
Names, addresses and phone numbers of Employers for past two (2) years.
Past two (2) month’s statements for all Checking, Savings, IRAs, 401Ks, Money Markets, Profit Sharing and evidence of Stocks and Bonds. Document all recent large deposits.
In income received for commissions, bonuses, partnership(s), corporation(s), or if self-employed, requires two (2) year’s Personal Federal Tax Returns with all Schedules along with a current P&L Statement and Business Balance Sheets and past two (2) years’ Partnership and/or Corporate Returns, if applicable.
Cancelled checks from rent or mortgage for the last 12 months, and name and address of any landlord(s) within the last 12 months.
Names, addresses, account numbers, monthly payments and balances on all open loans and revolving credit accounts.
Copy of Bankruptcy Petition listing all creditors and copy of Bankruptcy Discharge Papers (if applicable). Please provide letter of explanation as to why the Bankruptcy occurred.
Copy of Driver’s License and Social Security Card (VA Loans Only).
Certificate of Eligibility and DD214 Discharge Paper (VA Loans Only).
Application fee (check or money order).
Copy of divorce decree and/or separation agreement.
A "Friend of the Court" letter stating the amount of any alimony/child support payments and notification that the account is current.
1040 tax forms (if you’re self-employed) for the past two years, 1120 Corporate Tax Returns (or Form 1065 for Partnerships) for the previous two years, year-to-date profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet signed by your accountant.
1040 tax forms for the past two years (including schedules) if you own income properties or if your income is based on commission or bonuses.
Fortunately, as you work one-on-one with your chosen home mortgage consultant, he/she should be able to offer valuable lending expertise and advice and answer all your questions while ensuring that your loan application process progresses as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Century 21 JRS Realty is affiliated with Century 21 Mortgage, LLC.

What service do I Deserve?

What to Expect from a Full-service Agent

What can you expect from your agent? Plenty! (Or at least you should.)No doubt about it. Buying or selling a home is right at the top of the list of major (and exciting) life changes. It's also one of the most important financial transactions of your life. From making initial buying or selling decisions to closing (and everything in between), you should definitely know how an agent will turn your dream into a reality.That's where full-service agents come in. You don't want to trust one of the most important decisions of your lifetime to an agent who's more focused on cutting corners than on making sure needs are being met – and exceeded.Here's a list of what you should expect from a full-service agent. This is just a general list – you should review it and determine what other important needs you have. Make sure that your prospective agent is willing to provide you with the full suite of services you deserve.
Buyers
We work to make the home buying process easier for you by providing the ultimate convenience with these services:
* Assistance with loan pre-approval
* Needs assessment
* Fast home-buying assistance
* Online tools to make the process easier and more convenient
* Expert negotiation
* Mortgage
* Title
* Warranty
* Relocation services Connect with a buyer's agent for more information.
Sellers
We've perfected the home-selling process, too, by providing full-fledged service including:
* Pricing your home to sell
* Innovative marketing
* Home preparation advice
* Showing your home
* Expert negotiation
* Real communication – on your terms
* Finding your next home fast With the best Web site in the real estate industry, and the best marketing tools in the business, our agents reach a wider audience of potential buyers, making it easier for them to find your home once it's been listed. And, when the time comes, we can help you find your next home, too.
Connect with a listing agent from CENTURY 21 JRS Realty for more information at www.C21JRS.com.

How to Choose your Listing Agent

Listing Agent Interview Questions
Choose Your Selling Agent with Care
If you're interviewing a listing agent at your home, pay attention to how s/he reacts to talk about your home during the discussion. Choose someone you feel comfortable with. Someone who genuinely believes in your home as much (or more!) than you do. Someone who sees its potential and will work hard to represent it. And, someone who has an innovative marketing plan that will make sure that all potential buyers are exposed to your home.All Century 21 JRS Realty agents are highly trained professionals with the skills, abilities and resources to sell your home. So, when you're choosing a Century 21 JRS Realty agent, all you need to do is find the one that fits your personality and preferences.Formulate a list of questions, and then set out to find your agent. Here are some questions to get you started:Q. If I list my house with an agent, can the same agent represent me in the purchase of my next home?A. Most likely, yes. Ask the agent to explain the agency concept and how it works in your state. The agent who lists your home can usually become your buying agent, too. Just be sure to ask what limitations, if any, your agent's representation will have.Q. If you're my agent, what happens when you're not available?A. Find out how each agent handles the time they're unavailable. Do they use an assistant? Do they have a partner? Whom should you call and when? Can you reach the agent by cell, pager or e-mail? Find out what the contingencies are for all what-if scenarios. Make sure to partner with an agent who will ensure that your needs can be met – all of the time.Q. When did you last sell your own residence? What did you like and dislike about that experience?A. Experience is a great teacher. Selling a home is an emotional experience, and empathy is one of the most powerful emotions. Does your agent understand first-hand what it's like to sell a home? Can s/he provide some lessons learned to help in your experience?Q. What advice would you give me to prepare my home for sale?A. Some agents will suggest that you neutralize your décor, while others may feel they know just the right buyer for your intense (or subdued, as the case may be) color scheme. Should you tear out old carpeting? What about major repairs? Be sure to choose an agent who can analyze your home's strengths and weaknesses – and who can help you know how to accentuate its best features when preparing to sell.Q. What would you tell a buyer who's considering my home?A. Real estate agents should be skilled in discerning the positive features and benefits of any home. Is your home especially appealing because of its floor plan? Because of it's location in a great neighborhood? Or because of a unique kitchen or master suite? Be sure you're comfortable with how s/he plans to represent your home – and that s/he can accurately describe and promote your home's best attributes.Q. What's your personal philosophy of what really sells a home? Is it direct mail marketing, Internet exposure, promotion to other real estate agents or something else?A. Your Century 21 JRS Realty listing agent will build a marketing plan based on his/her answer to this question, and your specific property. Make sure you understand and agree with the agent's perspective.Q. How will you or your company protect me from the general public in the areas of safety, convenience and eliminating unnecessary showings?A. Make sure your agent is willing to operate in a way that makes you feel comfortable and safe – and in a way that makes the selling process as convenient as possible. Discuss whether you would like potential buyers to be screened prior to scheduling showings, and whether you'd like your address to be kept private in marketing efforts. Have this discussion in advance to make sure your agent's philosophies are in line with your preferences.Q. What sold the last three properties you listed?A. Because the answer to this question can differ by market and by home, what's more important than the actual answer is that your agent is able to explain in simple, direct terms which factors contributed to his or her recent sales. If the agent hasn't already addressed it, ask him/her what strengths they see in your home that will help it sell.Q. What advice would you give to a buyer who's considering my home?A. You won't likely be present when your agent talks to potential buyers, so make sure you feel comfortable with how s/he talks about your home – whether the emphasis is on getting the best offer or selling the house quickly.Q. What distinguishes your real estate company from the competitor(s)?A. Is a company large because it reinvests in innovation? Does the agent's real estate firm promise to provide sellers with the best online exposure to sellers? Each organization should have a business philosophy that your agent can easily articulate to you.Q. What distinguishes your personal service from other real estate agents?A. Listen to how the agent describes his/her communication skills and willingness to be there for you – when you need them, in the way you need them. Think about how often you want to communicate, as well as when and how you'd like to receive updates on the sales process. Choose an agent who gives you a confident response to communicating on your terms.After each interview, ask yourself: * Do you feel like the agent is trustworthy and honest? * Does s/he seem realistic when talking about your home or your anticipated home purchase? * Do you communicate well with the agent and vice versa? * Do you feel that the agent sees things from the same point of view? * Would you describe him/her as committed, motivated and experienced? For more information visit our website at www.C21JRS.com

10 Steps for Marketing Success

10 STEPS FOR MARKETING SUCCESS
Reading all these stories of success may have you dreaming of your own future. Yet you may not be sure how to jump start your own production. Then may I give you my proven marketing methods discovered over my twenty eight years in the mortgage industry. These steps have taken me and my staff to top producer and top income earners in every management and sales position I’ve held.
You may notice, it doesn’t say the ’10 Easiest Steps for Marketing Success’. The mortgage industry is a fabulous industry, but like most things in life ‘it doesn’t come easy’. Yet with effort and focus the mortgage industry is one of the most rewarding careers. Just remember to save money in the busy years, to get you through the slow years.
Use these well worn steps as your road map to marketing success.
1. Define your client or target market?
There are many mortgage business sources, which require a loan originator to focus their efforts to improve their marketing response. That’s not to say you’re so focused you miss an opportunity. Marketing efforts often cost money, and having your marketing focused will improve your chances of attracting prospects. You should also focus on a source you have a passion for. When you have a true interest it will show in your presentation.
A loan originator should have one main marketing focus, or target market, with two or three side sources. The target market is your main focus for marketing material and advertising. This source will need to be developed into your main source of generating production.
The side sources are generally relationship based and generally are a good source for stable reliable business. These sources feed you referral business. The benefit for this source is your professional handling of their client or referral. No one wants to make a recommendation that will cause them to hear the person complain or worse yet lose that person’s business themselves.
2. Review the 32 opportunities?
When you are first entering this industry your sphere of influence starts with friends, family, and anyone you know enough to call and ask for business. These are also the best to make mistakes with while you learn the system and pitfalls of the mortgage business. People who already know you will be more patient with mistakes, and you can learn how to handle the issues without someone yelling at you (hopefully). You will need to be sensitive to the confidentiality of the information you will learn and gain their trust.
The other markets are your choice. Real estate agents are not suggested when first starting out as this group will be the least forgiving, as real estate agents have a tendency to not forget the botched closing that cost them their commission.
The list is not all inclusive, so don’t be afraid to look outside this list.
‘3’ FOOT RULE – Be sure to give everyone that comes within three foot of you your card. Give it to everyone you tip, or meet. Have your card in an easy to access clean place so you can get to them quickly. Do not pass out damaged or dirty cards as that would reflect poorly on your professionalism.
BANKS/CREDIT UNIONS – Many Banks and Credit Unions are limited in their home loan programs which allow for referrals. Reciprocate by referring people that need car loans or other types of loans you do not offer. A reciprocal agreement for services is great networking.
BUILDER ACCOUNTS – It may be hard to get the account of the big builders, but smaller custom builder accounts may be open to a professional mortgage person. Builders are special in that they will have specific demands, and the builder becomes your client over the borrower. Weekly status reports and constant availability and reliability are a must. This type of client is very demanding in that they expect perfection with little room for mistakes, and are very critical of the amount of income they will allow you to make on a loan. The benefit is the business is reliable and consistent, until the subdivision is sold out. It takes six to twelve months for the property to close, but when you are in the builder’s flow of business the closings are reliable which allows you to charge fewer fees. The builder is also doing your marketing as they are the ones recommending you for the loan on the new property.
CLUBS or ORGANIZATIONS – Join. People like to work with people they know even if indirectly through club affiliation. If they have a newsletter, get your business information in the newsletter some how or write an article. Sponsorship can also help you get your name out to the members. Don’t forget the ‘3’ foot rule. Chamber of Commerce may be effective if you can get on the committee to welcome newcomers to the area.
COLD CALLS – Practice makes perfect with cold calling. The more calls you make the more confident you will become. In your presentation, have a script that identifies the benefit points for your target market, and remember you are trying to qualify the prospect to determine if they will be worth bringing in for an appointment. The mind set is you have to hear ‘no’s’ to get the ‘yes’. When cold calling a real estate agent, have your benefit for real estate agent presentation ready and your response to ‘I have a lender I use already’. Make this response sincere with the true benefit to your potential new client.
COLLEGE STUDENTS - College students may be a good market as they may get an FHA loan when parents can qualify for their new home purchase. Parents can benefit by purchasing a home for their college student, instead of paying for dorm fees. After the student graduates they can sell the home. Possibly the equity growth can cover the cost of the student loans. Check FHA or other loan program guidelines for loans with this feature.
COMMUNITY COLLEGES – Try teaming up with an adult education instructor in Real Estate, Finance, etc… that would welcome a mortgage professional to do a short presentation on something applicable to their class or current market – great free advertising.
CONTRACTORS – Home repair specialist often need financing for the improvements or repairs they are proposing to the homeowner. When house prices are raising this is a good market as homeowners decide to improve their current home instead of moving up. Give the contractor flyers or brochure they can pass to their homeowners. The flyers will need to identify the benefits of 1st or 2ND mortgages for home improvements. Major improvements of ‘fair condition’ properties may need an FHA 203k rehabilitation loan or FNMA Renovation type programs.
CONVENTION or SEMINAR ATTENDEES – You can get lists of attendees to real estate home tours, home shows, garden shows, etc… You may need to pay and attend the seminar yourself to get access to the list. Do a mailer to solicit their business, as well as at the convention.
COURTHOUSE RECORDS, FEDERAL & STATE TAX LIENS – Go to the county Recorder’s Office, Federal Courthouse, or County tax collector and get the name of everyone with Federal, State, or County tax liens. County property taxes are best as generally this ensures they own property. Mail an offer to refinance their home to pay off the liens.
CUSTOM CONSTRUCTION/ARCHITECT – Team up with a builder to develop seminars that educate the consumer on ‘How to build their Dream Home’. Custom construction and architects have unique problems with the size of the loan amount. Limited lenders will do big jumbo loan amounts, so ensure you have a lending source.
DEAD LOAN FILE – Going through the cancelled loans “dead loan” files in your office can generate business. Guidelines and programs change, and new products become available. Get permission from your manager before attempting.
FACTORY or PLANT POSTER BOARD – Go to a large factory or assembly plant, and ask the human resource department if you can put a “Still Renting?” or “Need to Consolidate Your Bills?” poster on their bulletin board. Explain to them how you can help their employees. Your ‘angle’ with HR is that a homeowner makes a better employee and may be a more stable worker. Also an employee who is not worrying about paying their bills does a better job at work, and has no wage garnishments. Offer discount loan fees for employees. Placement near the time clock or in the break room works great. An insert in their pay envelope works well too. Make sure the action for the employee is clear and easy to follow, such as an easy phone number to remember or tear off sheets with the number to call.
FARM LEADS – Farm leads are a list of potential borrower that you telemarketer to or do mass mail marketing campaigns. If telemarketing, have a scripted approach. Most title companies will give you a qualified list free in exchange for you using their office services when doing a refinance loan. Farm leads will target an area specified by the parameters you set. Common parameters are loans closed two years ago (gets you the non-prime 2/28 programs, and possible equity built up in the home for cash out); home prices between $150,000 and $250,000 (or what ever range you prefer such as within FHA loan limits); and zip code parameters. Work with your title company rep for all the details available and try to get a list that will reach your chosen target market. Farm lists for renters may also be available. Always remember to ‘scrub’ the list, remove “Do Not Call’ registered numbers.

FLOOR DUTY – The Company you work for may do advertising. Floor duty is when the prospect calls are coming in to the company from their advertising. Floor duty allows you to handle the incoming sales calls. Luck of the draw on this one, but morning is usually the best as people will generally take care of important issues like buying a home first thing in the morning.
FOR SALE BY OWNERS – Teach them how to sell their own home. Sell how you can qualify the borrower, and get them their financing. Open house kits (explained later in this section) can also be used for this market.
HOME BUYER SEMINARS – develop a seminar to educate first-time home buyers on how the mortgage lending process works, and what to expect. Mortgage Trainers of North America has a Home Buyer Seminar already complete for your use. For more information and the cost, check the website http://www.mtgtna.com/. After the seminar, invite the attendees for a quick prequalification.
JUST CLOSED REAL ESTATE – Get a farm list or county recorders records of recently closed loans from a specific area or price range. Solicit these leads for 100% and 125% LTV second mortgage programs for home improvement. Many new buyers have improvement projects or yards to complete.
KIOSK – These stands in the Malls can be affective ways to meet people. Placement would depend on your target market and where they are likely to shop. If you have a wireless laptop computer, you could do quick pre-quals on the spot.
MARKET TRENDS – Catch the Wave – Look for trends in the market or new hot product offerings. Title companies may offer a newsletter service that can keep you informed of market trends along with information on local house sales prices statistics. Watch the trends of hot products with wholesale lender flyers or go to the lender’s web sites. Set your target market based on who will benefit from the new hot product offering. Here are some examples of trends.
When house prices soar, start a campaign to remodel their current home to make it what they want. Many homeowners will not be able to move as the price of a better house will be outside their budget. Therefore they will choose to do a ‘cash out’ refinance or Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to cover the costs of remodeling or room addition projects. Teaming up with a contractor (make sure they are licensed) can help reach these borrowers.
When the economy slows, farm your past clients for leads. Market for debt consolidation loans is very helpful for people with heavy debt burdens. January is always a good month for debt consolidation loans as people want to payoff last years and holiday debts. January through April is good for new home buyers with income tax refund money.
June is a big wedding month, so hook up with a bridal shop to offer free home buyer qualification. Set up a Kiosk in a mall during the spring outside a bridal shop, or set up a table inside a bridal shop. Many wedding couples get thousands for their new start. They in turn may want to purchase a home. Many will even close on the house before the wedding, so this marketing campaign for wedding planners can be offered all year long.
Sometimes the easiest approach to marketing can be to jump on the wave of business and ride it. Look to see what the hot new markets are, and focus your efforts on that business. Option Arm programs were the last market trend. What is the trend today? It’s important to pay attention to trends. When the market moves, if you’re not watching the industry indicators, reading the industry magazines, newsletters, etc… you could miss an opportunity.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, FIREMEN, POLICE OFFICERS, OR TEACHERS – There are special programs available for professionals in your community. FNMA and FHLMC both have high LTV programs. Get details of the loan programs on their websites. You can find links at www.mtgtna.com/links. These programs allow for less down payment or down payment assistance programs. When approaching this market, advertise in areas these professionals would read or circulate. Professionals are use to making referrals to their friends and collages, so be sure to ask for referrals.
MILITARY PERSONNEL – Present the benefits you can do for military people. Promote “free pre-qualifications” or “zero down financing” to compete with VA loans. When National Guardsmen are called to active duty, they will generally get eligibility for VA home loans. This is unique to war times, and a good niche to sale when VA loans are available to you.
OPEN HOUSE – Real estate agents may want for safety reasons to have someone sit with them during an open house. Beyond safety reasons, having the ability to qualify any potential buyers there on the spot is a plus. Here is an opportunity to meet a potential new client who is in the market to purchase a property. You could pull their credit and interview them on the spot. If they do not purchase the property, maybe they will purchase another property.
Open house kits can be prepared in advance. The kit gives the person two or three scenarios on payments, down payment requirements, qualifying income needs, house amenities or special features list. Open house kits can also include information on nearby amenities such as schools, popular stores, local highlights of interest, chamber information, and other information useful to a potential purchaser for the home.
You could drop-in to an Open House, and talk to the real estate agent. Open houses don’t have a ‘gate keeper’ like the real estate office. Treat as you would a cold call. If agent is not busy, it’s a good time to pitch your services.
PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS – Bankruptcy attorney, financial consultants, divorce attorney, CPA or Bookkeeper, and other professionals that work with clients that need the equity of their home or understand the value of home ownership. These professionals need a qualified mortgage professional to refer their clients. A financial planner may want a homeowner to refinance and use the equity for investments with higher rate of return. An accountant may advise a client they need to purchase a home for the tax write off. Bankruptcy attorney may advise a different path from bankruptcy. Such as a debt consolidation when a client has excessive home equity, or paying off the chapter 13 bankruptcy early with a home equity refinance.
PUBLIC INFORMATION SOURCES – There are public announcements for marriage licenses, job promotions, bankruptcy filings, divorce filings, or other filings that would give you a reason for approach.
REAL ESTATE AGENTS – The goal of having a steady stream of real estate agent business is the dream of most loan originators. The relationship between the real estate agent and loan originator is difficult to keep consistent. Often the relationship is only as good as the last loan transaction. Real estate agents have many loan originators contending for their business, all offering better products, better service, and who knows what. Keep in mind that it is illegal according to RESPA to pay a real estate agent for a lead.
So if you cannot buy the real estate agent’s loyalty how do you keep the relationship? Excellent customer service is the best way. Don’t miss a close of escrow date, EVER! Keep the real estate agent informed with weekly status reports. Communication is Key! Keep in mind the Privacy Laws governs your actions as to the amount of information you may share with the real estate agents involved in the transaction.
Listing Agents – When you have a purchase transaction, keep the listing agent well informed as this is an opportunity for a new source. By keeping them in the information loop, you may just earn their business. Introduce yourself when you get the purchase contract. Let them know when the appraisal is being ordered and ask how they want to give access to the property. Call and inform them when the appraisal is received and the appraised value, and when closing docs are ordered and at title. After you call the listing agent to let them know the transaction has funded, let them know you’d like to work with them. Give them your quick scripted presentation for new business, and ask for an appointment to discuss how you can help them close loans. Maybe show them the ‘Open House Kits’ you use for listing agents, and your willingness to sit at open houses.
Real estate agents can give referrals to other real estate agents and purchasers, but only if they trust you to get the loan closed. Best way to get past the ‘Gate Keeper’. Ask the agents for referrals to other agents in their office. Meet the real estate agent at their office so they can introduce you around to the other agents personally.
REAL ESTATE INVESTOR – Develop a seminar educating consumers on how to use the equity in their current properties to buy more properties. Some companies may even go further by lining up renters with a leasing agent for their investment property clients.
RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES – Get lists of all college graduates from your local colleges and vocational-tech schools. These people often have just gotten new jobs, received graduation money, and may be looking to purchase a home or condo.
REFERRALS – This is the key to success. This is the best source of business for any business. A warm lead to call, and repeat customers keep the commissions stable more than any other source of business. Just doing a good job may not generate a referral. Marketing follow up systems work well to stimulate referrals. If you feel you deserve the business, ASK FOR IT! Give the borrower many opportunities to give you referrals, ask often, and give them more than one card so they can pass them out. You don’t want to be pushy, but asking politely is expected. Some top producers operate on a “By Referral Only” basis. Once the flow of referrals start you may never have to worry about where your business is coming from, even in hard times.
RENTERS – This market can have different approaches, such as rent vs. purchase argument. Solicit the rental market and educate them on the cost of not purchasing a home. A large percentage of the current renters, do not believe they will qualify. They may not know how much money it takes, or whether they have good credit or not. They are afraid to purchase, as their parents were renters, and they truly feel homeownership is for someone else. How can you tap this market and let them know they may qualify? Target the renters with new home buying seminars, or mail campaign to apartment complexes telling them “Renting is Hazardous to Your Wealth”.
REVERSE MORTGAGE MARKET – Solicit retirees that have equity or free and clear properties. Reverse mortgages is a niche as not everyone will want this type of loan. But for those elderly homeowners, it can be a great relief of extra money for medical expenses. This may also be the next wave of business, as the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation turns 62 this year.
WEB SEARCH ENGINES – Once you have a website, you can purchase services from search engines to drive business to your site. Prices vary for this service and are called website optimization. There are ways to make your web site rank high in the search engines without paying for a service. You will need to do your homework to learn how to use key words in your home page that will give your site priority consideration with search engines.
3. IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET MARKET
Your first step is to identify who you want to have as a client or target market. What are your strong points or personal desires? If you like working with first time homebuyers and overcoming their challenges, then this can be your target market. Pick a target market that you understand their true needs and desires, or research to find out what they need. Maybe you remember your first experience in buying a home, and feel you could do better with communication to the buyer on the expectations of the process. Put your mind set in the new first-time homebuyers mind, and determine what issues and fears they may have. Make a list of first-time homebuyer concerns and possible issues. Then work on the loan features and benefits to assist with these issues.
Setting production goals are a great start in making a marketing plan. Preparing goals for your market approach saves time and frustration. If you don’t have goals sheets for planning your marketing approach, you may access free Sales Goal Sheet Templates at http://www.mtgtna.com/. Goals allow you to focus your efforts and budget.
4. REACHING YOUR MARKET
Your budget may determine your approach? Build into every client transaction a percentage of income for the marketing budget. Marketing does not have to be expensive or time consuming. Referrals are the cheapest as they generally just take an effort to ask for the referral, and then follow up with the lead. It is also courteous to send a thank you for the lead received. Due to privacy rights, you cannot disclose any details of the referrals business. Follow the laws required in your state and federal advertising regulations, and focus your presentation on your target market. Do not attempt the ‘shot gun’ approach that attempt to hit every prospective borrower. Your message will be lost in the maze of information. Also your advertising should not deter protected groups from accessing your services. Keep in mind that generally your first approach to any market is to get them to ‘call you’. So that is your focus.
BROCHURES – These can be nice for hand outs, and make the company look more professional with a brochure that outlines their services. Professional services and templates on the internet can help with development. When approaching professionals and human resource departments, a brochure works well to let them know the benefits of using you, your service, and your company. Benefits outlined in the brochure will need to be for your target market, and again not the shot gun approach of everything you have ever done.
E-MAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN – Although there are costs and work involved in setting up an e-mail marketing campaign, there are clear benefits. You can purchase a data base if you do not have one, but the norm is to be invited to use someone’s email. The point is that once you get started, you will find e-mailing to be cost-effective.
FLYERS – Do not make a flyer that will attract all possible prospects. Do not let the flyer become too busy or misleading. The flyers should have a message that will meet the marketing goal, generally to generate action by the targeted market. The flyer will need to hit on the estimated motivation of the target market. What specific services will the potential borrower want from you, the mortgage professional?
GIFTS – There are gift baskets, wine with customized company name labels, plants, seed packets, fruit baskets, new home welcome baskets, and many other ways to spend your marketing dollars. There are also regulations on gifts from people in the mortgage business, so keep gifts under $50. If you give a present to one client, you should give a present to all. Excessive or expected gifts may be considered an illegal inducement or referral fee.
MAILING CAMPAIGN – There are costs involved in this approach, and the return is estimated at 2-3% being a good response. There are marketing services for a fee that will handle the mailing for you. These services make mailing campaigns easy as long as your database is up-to-date and accurate. Data bases can be purchased, but may not be current or may be over-used by other loan originators. Farm lists from title companies can also be used for your data base. What type of mailer will you use?
POSTCARDS – An effective mailer as most people will read the postcard before they throw. Postcards also cost less to mail. You have a very brief area to get your target market to take action, so make sure the message is simple and action requesting is clear. Call me!
GREETING CARDS – Holiday cards, birthday cards, and thank you's are all great to keep in touch with past clients. It also gives you another chance to ask for referrals, keep your data base current, and just basically keep your name in the fore front of their mind.
INVITATION – Invite past and potential clients to special events, “Homebuyer Seminar”, open house at your office, or holiday party. Have a door prize (less than $50 in value). Your client will get one chance in the drawing for every person they bring. How about a welcome to the neighborhood party you throw for your new client and their neighbors.
NEWSLETTERS – Newsletters can maintain communication between you and your clients. Marketing service companies can develop a newsletter for you, or you can write them yourself. Keep in mind that most newsletters are informational and do not normally ask for the business like marketing material.
NEWSPAPER/MAGAZINE PRINT-ADS – These can be expensive, but if your target market reads the paper or magazine the cost may be off set by the amount of applications it generates. Ask for a Media Kit to determine circulation and demographics of their readers. Ads should not be too busy. Keep it simple as you are just trying to get the phone to ring. Sometimes doing the ad in black with white writing can help it stand out from the other newspaper print ads.
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS – Pens, calendars, pads, rulers, game schedule charts, magnets, key chains, go more for useful rather than unique although both are great. Recipe cards are unique and often kept. T-shirts, polo shirts, hats, and bags are nice, but can be expensive and are considered inducements which are illegal. Why are you giving them the promotional item? The answer may help you decide what to use, if anything.
RADIO ADVERTISEMENT – Radio advertising on your local station is not too expensive, especially sponsoring the weather or traffic reports. You’ll need to run the ad at least six months. What radio station will your target market listen too? What time?
FREE ADVERTISING – there are many sources of free advertising. The following is a small list.
Word of mouth, referrals is the best.
Newspaper article written about you, or a press release.
Speeches and programs for civic groups.
Teach a course on home financing at the community college.
Business card on bulletin boards at stores and community centers.
Write newspaper article or column
Speak at Real Estate meetings.
Speak at high school career day programs
Three foot rule, anyone within three feet gets your card and presentation.
What more can you think of?
5. COMPLIANCE WITH ADVERTISING
Make sure all your marketing materials meet state and federal requirements. Federal laws require advertisements to be clear and not misleading. Per the Truth In Lending Act (TILA), any rate quotes or implied payment amounts will require an annual percentage rate (APR) disclosure. When advertising, the posted APR cannot be any less conspicuous that the rate quoted.
Types of discrimination identified by the courts are:
· Overt evidence of discrimination, “When a lender blatantly discriminates on a prohibitive bases.”
· Disparate Treatment, “When a lender treats an applicant differently based on one of the prohibited factors.” This is the most concern in pricing. For example, you find your Hispanic clients harder to work with due to credit or employment issues, so you price their loans higher than your 800 credit score white clients. This is not a rate issue. This is a fees being charged to the borrower issue – pricing. It may not be directly intentional, but will your excuse hold up in court?
· Disparate Impact, “When a lender applies a practice uniformly to all applicants, but the practice has a discriminatory effect on a prohibited basis and is not justified by business necessity,” which hurts all parties involved with the lending transaction. For example, a company has all their advertising in Spanish with Spanish Magazines. This may be disparate impact to other protected groups such as some blacks that may not speak or read Spanish.
Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994
The Federal Reserve Board published its Truth-in-Lending Final Rule with Advertising standards that require additional information about rates, monthly payment, and other loan features. The final rule bans seven deceptive or misleading advertising practices and strengthens the clear and conspicious standards for advertising disclosures. The following is brief review of the prohibited factors:
1. Advertisements that state ‘fixed’ rates or payments for loans but rates can vary with only a limited fixed rate period.
2. Advertisements that compare an actual or hypothetical rate or payment obligation unless the advertisement states the rates or payments that apply over the full term of the loan.
3. Advertisements that characterize the products offered as ‘government loan programs’ even though the advertised products are not government-supported or sponsored loans.
4. Advertisements that display the name of the consumer’s current mortgage lender, unless prominently discloses that advertisement is from a mortgage lender not affiliated with the consumer’s current lender.
5. Advertisements that make claims of debt elimination if the product advertised would merely replace one debt obligation with another.
6. Advertisements that create a false impression that the mortgage broker or lender is a ‘counselor’ for the consumer.
7. Foreign-language advertisements, such as a low introductory ‘teaser’ rate, while the required disclosures are provided only in English.
These final rules will be phased in and took affect 10-1-09.
Fair lending laws require advertisements going to the public to disclose the equal opportunity housing symbol ( Equal Housing Lender.) Fair lending laws require you to not discriminate against any protected groups and comply with Fair Lending Laws. Be mindful of the image your advertising is taking. Most state laws require advertising disclose the complete name and address of the mortgage company and not just the loan originator. If the advertising is for ‘real estate professional’s only’ this statement must be on the advertisement or flyer. Supervisors should review all advertising to the public.
6. CHOOSING YOUR APPROACH
Next Step is to determine what form of advertising you will use to reach your market. What approach will give you the best possibility of reaching this target market? The first approach may not work initially. Repetitive advertising is ideal as people will normally need to see something three or more times before they act. Maybe do a repeating ad in the paper, or radio. Send a mailer more than once. The ad or mailer can vary each time, but keep the heading or company logo or slogan so they can recognize the advertisement. Plan out your marketing for the year or at least six months, then track your responses and fine tune your campaign as you go.
7. DEVELOP AFFECTIVE MATERIALS
Next step you will need to develop marketing to get the phone to ring. What ever approach you choose, you will need to make sure you identify how you will overcome the issues identified for your target market. Not so much loan program as much as solutions (benefits) adapted to those clients. Now communicate in the material that you are available, and what are your solutions.
Be creative but keep the focus on the target market. What will get them to pick up the phone and call you? Create effective direct response advertisements by including these key marketing tips.
Grabber – The ad needs to grab the readers’ attention. Ask yourself, “What is it I do that really benefits the borrower?”
Interest – Having the reader answer “Yes” to questions works well and makes it easy for them to say yes to your call to action or services.
Conviction – You must create a belief that you can help them achieve their goal. Testimonials and success stories work well.
Call-to-action – Somewhere in your ad you need to instruct the prospect what action to do next. Call, email, complete response card, or so on. Creating a fear of loss with limited time offer will also motivate action.
Easy – It should be easy to reach you. Use toll free phone number, website address, and email.
You have to believe in what you’re selling. You are selling yourself, your company, and your services. You need to believe you will give the best service for the borrower, and not just close the loan for commission. When the focus is on the borrower, the money in your pocket will follow.
Selling yourself should be easy. Wouldn’t you do business with you? If your answer is no, we offer an ethics and law course. If the answer is no because you’re new, then focus your sales efforts on selling your company. It’s OK to be new and learning the business. Just make sure you have a mentor to review the information you are telling the borrower.
SIX BUYING MOTIVATORS
What motivates a person to purchase? Their desire for gain, fear of loss, comfort and convenience, security and protection, pride of ownership, and satisfaction of emotion. The loan originator must peak the interest and inspire the prospect to proceed with the loan and make a decision to proceed with the loan triggering one of these motives in the prospect. What will motivate your target market?
TYPES OF ADS
There are two main types of advertising and a method to combine both ads.
Brand or Image marketing promotes name recognition, and gives you the opportunity to sell your reputation or your company’s mission. This type of ads goal is to build awareness and interest.
Call-to-action or product marketing promotes the reader to do something or act on the offer. The ads goal is to present an offer and prompt a person to act.
Whole or Total approach ad incorporates both goals. Uniformity of advertising will allow brand or name recognition. Ads may use the same layout, font, logo, and/or slogan, picture, or other repetitive feature to the ad which will allow the reader quick recognition of who is the advertiser. Beyond the repetitive advertising features the ad is designed to meet your advertising strategy goal.
An advertising strategy should include the answers to the following questions:
Who is your target market?
What do I want the target market to know about me, my services, and/or my company?
Present one clear idea. Clear single focused communication will be understood the best.
Convey benefits not features. When you think of feature, ask yourself – “which means” what?
Why am I better than the hundreds of other loan originators?
COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS
Stay in compliance with advertising and lending laws. I would suggest a law class if you do not know an advertisement implying a rate or payment requires an APR, or that Fair Lending Laws require no discrimination and the display of the ECOA house symbol. There are also laws that prohibit you from not taking an application for a borrower that wants to make application for a home loan. Always ensure all advertising meets the federal and state law requirements to avoid fines and un-professional approach to the market.
8. THE BUYING CYCLE
The phone rings. You’re in the buying cycle. Now is the time to sell. What are you selling? First you are selling yourself, then your services (money), and your company. Don’t over sell with this initial contact. Remember this is for building interest to come in for an appointment. If needed, have your script ready so you don’t stumble and sound incompetent on the phone. Give a short pitch, and then ask if you can ask them a few questions. Screen the calls to determine viable prospects, and set appointments to meet the prospects that are serious about purchasing or refinancing. Make the decision if they should be brought in for an appointment, set up in future follow-up for a call back, or cut loose.
STEPS IN THE BUYING CYCLE
1ST step-Awareness – Get the phone to ring. You’re not trying to close the sale, just get a call. Do not make your marketing so busy that the message to call you is lost in the information. The message to call will need to touch the motivation of the target market.
2nd Step–Peak Interest–Screen the call and get the appointment, build rapport.
3rd Step – Inspire action to use you for their loan. At the loan application, convey value.
4th Step-Decision to close the loan
Then the cycle starts back to awareness. You expect referrals, and for them to use you again in the future. Your clients will react to your advertising in steps. People do not work with you because you make them understand every step; they work with your because they feel understood and trust you. No one wants to be sold; they want to make an informed decision to buy.
9. MARKET TRACKING
All marketing material should be tracked. If you receive no calls from a flyer you’ll know to not use it again, or you may want to reuse one that was successful. There are many ways to track. Some use an extension, code word or name for prospects to ask for such as Fred, even though there is no one in the office named Fred. The code word will let you know which marketing material generated the lead. You can also just ask how they heard about you and note on feedback worksheets. Feedback worksheets work well, and make analyzing results easier. Having a 1-2% return on a mass mailing is average. After analyzing the results of a marketing campaign, evaluate and make adjustments for future marketing campaigns.
10. DEVELOP A PROSPECT INTO A CLIENT AND REFERRAL SOURCE
The last step in marketing is the appointment, make sure you listen. Listen to what their concerns and fears are and then focus your presentation based on their personal needs. You need to create desire to use you for their home purchase or refinance. If you convey value and instill trust, they may not shop you. Testimonials and other success stories may help if they relate to issues the borrower is also facing.
A problem with many sales people is they talk themselves out of the sale. They are too busy talking, and they forget to listen. Experts have proven the best communicator is a LISTENER! How do you show them you are listening? Meet or address their needs or concerns they have told you they have. Good luck with your 2008 marketing campaign.

Linda Williams is the VP of Marketing and Trainer for Mortgage Trainers of North America where ‘Knowledge is power, power to drive your business and your success’. She has been a Mortgage Professional for 30 years and a Trainer for 15 years. For more information on Linda or training opportunities, visit http://www.mtgtna.com/ or email linda@mtgtna.com.

Does the MArket Change what an agent must do to Succeed?

by JR Sangiuliano
YES, GET OFF YOUR ASS and work. Everyday in a good market, bad market, up market, down market, it does not matter you have to work 40 to 60 ours a week. If you want to make an above average income you must put in above average hours at you trade. Realtors think just being in the office they are working or better yet fooling their broker into thinking they are working. A realtor must spend his or her time meeting new people and calling on friends and family and family of friend and friends of family EVERYDAY. Add to that calls to past and present clients, some prospecting of businesses, calling strangers, attacking For Sale By Owners & Expired listings, and working with buyers for only 10% of your day and you have the make up of a successful real estate agent. But here is a news flash...IF THAT DOES NOT WORK DO SOMETHING ELSE TO MAKE IT WORK, hand out flyer's, blanket the parking lot of you local shop rite, DO SOMETHING. The most successful agents do as much of this prospecting face to face as possible because that is the most affecting method. This does not change with the changes in the market. The only thing that changes with the market is how hard you have to work, the time it takes for money to hit your pocket, and the prices of the homes you sell. But as for the daily activities of the full time agent in this career your duties and responsibilities to your fellow team members and your company do not change. Every agent that spend 80% of each working day prospecting, self promoting, and generating leads will not feel any drop off in production. The problem is that most agents fall pray to the crap they hear on the news and that affects their CONSISTENCY everyday. That is the key: to be consistent with your activities. Well that is my lesson and thoughts of the day

Who is responsible for your success?

Who is responsible for your success?

This isn’t a trick question.
Certainly you know the answer—the person who has been responsible for the life you live right now: YOU.
Everything about you is a result of your doing or not doing... Your income. Debt. Relationships. Health. Fitness level. Attitudes and behaviors.
I think everyone knows this in their hearts, but often times people convince themselves into thinking that external factors are the source of their failure, disappointment, and unhappiness.
External factors do not determine how you live. YOU are in complete control of the quality of your life.
When I hear people complain about the state of their life (be it their problems with personal finances, weight, their jobs, or general dissatisfaction) I like to help them see things differently.
If they feel “stuck” and unable to move forward for whatever reason, I ask them to scrutinize both what is working well and what isn’t working well in their life and see how they’ve arrived at where they currently are. For example, if a woman tells me she’s unhappy with her weight—she travels frequently, and has no to time to exercise or seek healthy foods—I point out that her weight is not a result of her travels and schedule. It’s an outcome of what she chooses to eat and how she chooses to move, regardless of her daily agenda. Why not make a conscious effort to pre-plan healthy meals and snacks, even if it’s on the go, and sneak in 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there to be physically active (hey, I know some frequent flyers who make it a habit of running through airports!).
If you’re frustrated with any area in your life, then it’s time to take a little inventory. Certainly there are wonderful things happening, whether it’s your job, your romantic relationship, your children, your friends, or your income level. Your accomplishments are just as important as your missteps.
First, congratulate yourself on your successes; and then take a look at what isn’t working out so well. What are you doing or not doing to create those experiences?
Watch out! If you find yourself beginning to complain about everything but the choices you’ve made, then you need to take a step back. See if you can stop blaming outside factors for your unhappiness.
When you realize that you—and only you—create your experiences, you’ll realize that you can un-create them and forge new experiences whenever you want.
How empowering is that!
You must take responsibility for your happiness and your unhappiness, your successes and your failures, your good times and your bad times.
All too often we choose to claim the successes and blame the failures on others or other circumstances. When you stop blaming, however, you can take that energy and redirect it to focus on shaping a better situation for yourself. Blaming only ties up your energy. Imagine roping all the energy into a positive effort.
Some ideas to make this happen:
Believe, Believe, Believe! Have unwavering faith in yourself, for good and bad. Make the decision to accept the fact that you create all your experiences. You will experience successes thanks to you, and you will experience pain, struggle, and strife thanks to you. Sounds a little strange, but accepting this level of responsibility is uniquely empowering. It means you can do, change, and be anything. Stumbling blocks become just that—little hills to hop over.
Take no less than 100% responsibility. Successful people take full responsibility for the thoughts they think, the images they visualize, and the actions they take. They don't waste their time and energy blaming and complaining. They evaluate their experiences and decide if they need to change them or not. They face the uncomfortable and take risks in order to create the life they want to live.
Stop complaining. Look at what you are complaining about. I’m fat. I’m tired. I can’t get out of debt. I won’t ever get a better job. I can’t stand the relationship I have with my sister. I’ll never find a soulmate in life. Really examine your complaints. More than likely you can do something about them. They are not about other people, other things, or other events. They are about YOU. Make an immediate change. Are you unhappy about something that is happening right now? Make requests that will make it more desirable to you, or take the steps to change it yourself. Making a change might be uncomfortable for you. It might mean you have to put in more time, money, and effort. It might mean that someone gets upset about it, or makes you feel bad about your decision. It might be difficult to change or leave a situation, but staying put is your choice so why continue to complain?
You can either do something about it or not. It is your choice and you have responsibility for your choices.
Pay attention. Looking to others for help and guidance is helpful, but don’t forget to stay tuned in to yourself—your behavior, attitude, and life experiences. Identify what’s working and what isn’t. If you need to, write it all down. Then…
Face the truth and take action for the long term . You have to be willing to change your behavior if you want a different outcome. You have to be willing to take the risks necessary to get what you want. If you’ve already taken an initial step in the right direction, now’s the time to plan additional steps to keep moving you forward, faster.
Isn’t it a great relief to know that you can make your life what you want it to be? Isn’t it wonderful that your successes do not depend on someone else?
So if you need just one thing to do different today than you did yesterday, make it this: Commit to taking 100% responsibility for every aspect of your life. Decide to make changes, one step at a time. Once you start the process you’ll discover it's much easier to get what you want by taking control of your thoughts, your visualizations, and your actions!

Marketing Tips for Realtors

Marketing Success in Any Market
1. Define your client or target market?
There are many mortgage business sources, which require a loan originator to focus their efforts to improve their marketing response. That’s not to say you’re so focused you miss an opportunity. Marketing efforts often cost money, and having your marketing focused will improve your chances of attracting prospects. You should also focus on a source you have a passion for. When you have a true interest, it will show in your presentation.
A loan originator should have one main marketing focus, or target market, with two or three side sources. The target market is your main focus for marketing material and advertising. This source will need to be developed into your main source of generating production.
The side sources are generally relationship based and generally are a good source for stable reliable business. These sources feed you referral business. The benefit for this source is your professional handling of their client or referral. No one wants to make a recommendation that will cause them to hear the person complain or worse yet lose that person’s business themselves.
2. Review the 32 opportunities?
When you are first entering this industry, your sphere of influence starts with friends, family, and anyone you know enough to call and ask for business. These are also the best to make mistakes with while you learn the system and pitfalls of the mortgage business. People who already know you will be more patient with mistakes, and you can learn how to handle the issues without someone yelling at you (hopefully). You will need to be sensitive to the confidentiality of the information you will learn and gain their trust.
The other markets are your choice. Real estate agents are not suggested when first starting out, as this group will be the least forgiving, as real estate agents have a tendency to not forget the botched closing that cost them their commission.
The list is not all-inclusive, so don’t be afraid to look outside this list.
‘3′ FOOT RULE - Be sure to give everyone that comes within three foot of you your card. Give it to everyone you tip, or meet. Have your card in an easy to access clean place so you can get to them quickly. Do not pass out damaged or dirty cards as that would reflect poorly on your professionalism.
BANKS/CREDIT UNIONS - Many Banks and Credit Unions are limited in their home loan programs, which allow for referrals. Reciprocate by referring people that need car loans or other types of loans you do not offer. A reciprocal agreement for services is great networking.
BUILDER ACCOUNTS - It may be hard to get the account of the big builders, but smaller custom builder accounts may be open to a professional mortgage person. Builders are special in that they will have specific demands, and the builder becomes your client over the borrower. Weekly status reports and constant availability and reliability are a must. This type of client is very demanding in that they expect perfection with little room for mistakes, and are very critical of the amount of income they will allow you to make on a loan. The benefit is the business is reliable and consistent, until the subdivision is sold out. It takes six to twelve months for the property to close, but when you are in the builder’s flow of business, the closings are reliable which allows you to charge fewer fees. The builder is also doing your marketing, as they are the ones recommending you for the loan on the new property.
CLUBS or ORGANIZATIONS - Join. People like to work with people they know even if indirectly through club affiliation. If they have a newsletter, get your business information in the newsletter some how or write an article. Sponsorship can also help you get your name out to the members. Don’t forget the ‘3′ foot rule. Chamber of Commerce may be effective if you can get on the committee to welcome newcomers to the area.
COLD CALLS - Practice makes perfect with cold calling. The more calls you make the more confident you will become. In your presentation, have a script that identifies the benefit points for your target market, and remember you are trying to qualify the prospect to determine if they will be worth bringing in for an appointment. The mind set is you have to hear ‘no’s’ to get the ‘yes’.
When cold calling a real estate agent, have your benefit for real estate agent presentation ready and your response to ‘I have a lender I use already’. Make this response sincere with the true benefit to your potential new client.
COLLEGE STUDENTS - College students may be a good market as they may get an FHA loan when parents can qualify for their new home purchase. Parents can benefit by purchasing a home for their college student, instead of paying for dorm fees. After the student graduates, they can sell the home. Possibly the equity growth can cover the cost of the student loans. Check FHA or other loan program guidelines for loans with this feature.
COMMUNITY COLLEGES - Try teaming up with an adult education instructor in Real Estate, Finance, etc… that would welcome a mortgage professional to do a short presentation on something applicable to their class or current market - great free advertising.
CONTRACTORS - Home repair specialist often need financing for the improvements or repairs they are proposing to the homeowner. When house prices are raising this is a good market as homeowners decide to improve their current home instead of moving up. Give the contractor flyers or brochure they can pass to their homeowners. The flyers will need to identify the
benefits of 1st or 2nd mortgages for home improvements. Major improvements of ‘fair condition’ properties may need an FHA 203k rehabilitation loan or FNMA Renovation type programs.
CONVENTION or SEMINAR ATTENDEES - You can get lists of attendees to real estate home tours, home shows, garden shows, etc… You may need to pay and attend the seminar yourself to get access to the list. Do a mailer to solicit their business, as well as at the convention.
COURTHOUSE RECORDS, FEDERAL & STATE TAX LIENS - Go to the county Recorder’s Office, Federal Courthouse, or County tax collector and get the name of everyone with Federal, State, or County tax liens. County property taxes are best as generally this ensures they own property. Mail an offer to refinance their home to pay off the liens.
CUSTOM CONSTRUCTION/ARCHITECT - Team up with a builder to develop seminars that educate the consumer on ‘How to build their Dream Home’. Custom construction and architects have unique problems with the size of the loan amount. Limited lenders will do big jumbo loan amounts, so ensure you have a lending source.
DEAD LOAN FILE - Going through the cancelled loans “dead loan” files in your office can generate business. Guidelines and programs change, and new products become available. Get permission from your manager before attempting.
FACTORY or PLANT POSTER BOARD - Go to a large factory or assembly plant, and ask the human resource department if you can put a “Still Renting?” or “Need to Consolidate Your Bills?” poster on their bulletin board. Explain to them how you can help their employees. Your ‘angle’ with HR is that a homeowner makes a better employee and may be a more stable worker. Also, an employee who is not worrying about paying their bills does a better job at work, and has no wage garnishments. Offer discount loan fees for employees. Placement near the time clock or in the break room works great. An insert in their pay envelope works well too. Make sure the action for the employee is clear and easy to follow, such as an easy phone number to remember or tear off sheets with the number to call.
FARM LEADS - Farm leads are a list of potential borrower that you telemarketer to or do mass mail marketing campaigns. If telemarketing, have a scripted approach. Most title companies will give you a qualified list free in exchange for you using their office services when doing a refinance loan. Farm leads will target an area specified by the parameters you set. common parameters are loans closed two years ago (gets you the non-prime 2/28 programs, and possible equity built up in the home for cash out); home prices between $150,000 and $250,000 (or whatever range you prefer such as within FHA loan limits); and zip code parameters. Work with your title company rep for all the details available and try to get a list that will reach your chosen target market. Farm lists for renters may also be available. Always remember to ‘scrub’ the list, remove “Do Not Call’ registered numbers.
FLOOR DUTY - The Company you work for may do advertising. Floor duty is when the prospect calls are coming in to the company from their advertising. Floor duty allows you to handle the incoming sales calls. Luck of the draw on this one, but morning is usually the best as people will generally take care of important issues like buying a home first thing in the morning.
FOR SALE BY OWNERS - Teach them how to sell their own home. Sell how you can qualify the borrower, and get them their financing. Open house kits (explained later in this section) can also be used for this market.
HOME BUYER SEMINARS - develop a seminar to educate first-time home buyers on how the mortgage lending process works, and what to expect. Mortgage Trainers of North America has a Home Buyer Seminar already complete for your use. For more information and the cost, check the website http://www.mtgtna.com/. After the seminar, invite the attendees for a quick prequalification.
JUST CLOSED REAL ESTATE - Get a farm list or county recorders records of recently closed loans from a specific area or price range. Solicit these leads for 100% and 125% LTV second mortgage programs for home improvement. Many new buyers have improvement projects or yards to complete.
KIOSK - These stands in the Malls can be effective ways to meet people. Placement would depend on your target market and where they are likely to shop. If you have a wireless laptop computer, you could do quick pre-quals on the spot.
MARKET TRENDS - Catch the Wave - Look for trends in the market or new hot product offerings. Title companies may offer a newsletter service that can keep you informed of market trends along with information on local house sales prices statistics. Watch the trends of hot products with wholesale lender flyers or go to the lender’s web sites. Set your target market based on who will benefit from the new hot product offering. Here are some examples of trends.
When house prices soar, start a campaign to remodel their current home to make it what they want. Many homeowners will not be able to move, as the price of a better house will be outside their budget. Therefore they will choose to do a ‘cash out’ refinance or Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to cover the costs of remodeling or room addition projects. Teaming up with a contractor (make sure they are licensed) can help reach these borrowers.
When the economy slows, farm your past clients for leads. Market for debt consolidation loans is very helpful for people with heavy debt burdens. January is always a good month for debt consolidation loans as people want to payoff last years and holiday debts. January through April is good for new home buyers with income tax refund money.
June is a big wedding month, so hook up with a bridal shop to offer free home buyer qualification. Set up a Kiosk in a mall during the spring outside a bridal shop, or set up a table inside a bridal shop. Many wedding couples get thousands for their new start. They in turn may want to purchase a home. Many will even close on the house before the wedding, so this marketing campaign for wedding planners can be offered all year long.
Sometimes the easiest approach to marketing can be to jump on the wave of business and ride it. Look to see what the hot new markets are, and focus your efforts on that business. Option Arm programs were the last market trend. What is the trend today? It’s important to pay attention to trends. When the market moves, if you’re not watching the industry indicators, reading the industry magazines, newsletters, etc… you could miss an opportunity.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, FIREMEN, POLICE OFFICERS, OR TEACHERS - There are special programs available for professionals in your community. FNMA and FHLMC both have high LTV programs. Get details of the loan programs on their websites. You can find links at www.mtgtna.com/links. These programs allow for less down payment or down payment assistance programs. When approaching this market, advertise in areas these professionals would read or circulate. Professionals are use to making referrals to their friends and collages, so be sure to ask for referrals.
MILITARY PERSONNEL - Present the benefits you can do for military people. Promote “free pre-qualifications” or “zero down financing” to compete with VA loans. When National Guardsmen are called to active duty, they will generally get eligibility for VA home loans. This is unique to war times, and a good niche to sale when VA loans are available to you.
OPEN HOUSE - Real estate agents may want for safety reasons, to have someone sit with them during an open house. Beyond safety reasons, having the ability to qualify any potential buyers there on the spot is a plus. Here is an opportunity to meet a potential new client who is in the market to purchase a property. You could pull their credit and interview them on the spot. If they do not purchase the property, maybe they will purchase another property.
Open house kits can be prepared in advance. The kit gives the person two or three scenarios on payments, down payment requirements, qualifying income needs, house amenities or special features list. Open house kits can also include information on nearby amenities such as schools, popular stores, local highlights of interest, chamber information, and other information useful to a potential purchaser for the home.
You could drop-in to an Open House, and talk to the real estate agent. Open houses don’t have a ‘gate keeper’ like the real estate office. Treat as you would a cold call. If agent is not busy, it’s a good time to pitch your services.
PROFESSIONAL CONTACTS - Bankruptcy attorney, financial consultants, divorce attorney, CPA or Bookkeeper, and other professionals that work with clients that need the equity of their home or understand the value of home ownership. These professionals need a qualified mortgage professional to refer their clients. A financial planner may want a homeowner to refinance and use the equity for investments with higher rate of return. An accountant may advise a client they need to purchase a home for the tax write off. Bankruptcy attorney may advise a different path from bankruptcy. Such as a debt consolidation when a client has excessive home equity, or paying off the chapter 13 bankruptcies early with a home equity refinance.
PUBLIC INFORMATION SOURCES - There are public announcements for marriage licenses, job promotions, bankruptcy filings, divorce filings, or other filings that would give you a reason for approach.
REAL ESTATE AGENTS - The goal of having a steady stream of real estate agent business is the dream of most loan originators. The relationship between the real estate agent and loan originator is difficult to keep consistent. Often the relationship is only as good as the last loan transaction. Real estate agents have many loan originators contending for their business, all offering better products, better service, and who knows what. Keep in mind that it is illegal according to RESPA to pay a real estate agent for a lead.
So if you cannot buy the real estate agent’s loyalty how do you keep the relationship? Excellent customer service is the best way. Don’t miss a close of escrow date, EVER! Keep the real estate agent informed with weekly status reports. Communication is Key! Keep in mind the Privacy Laws governs your actions as to the amount of information you may share with the real estate agents involved in the transaction.
Listing Agents - When you have a purchase transaction, keep the listing agent well informed, as this is an opportunity for a new source. By keeping them in the information loop, you may just earn their business. Introduce yourself when you get the purchase contract. Let them know when the appraisal is being ordered and ask how they want to give access to the property. Call and inform them when the appraisal is received and the appraised value, and when closing docs are ordered and at title. After you call the listing agent to let them know the transaction has funded, let them know you’d like to work with them. Give them your quick scripted presentation for new business, and ask for an appointment to discuss how you can help them close loans. Maybe show them the ‘Open House Kits’ you use for listing agents, and your willingness to sit at open houses.
Real estate agents can give referrals to other real estate agents and purchasers, but only if they trust you to get the loan closed. Best way to get past the ‘Gate Keeper’. Ask the agents for referrals to other agents in their office. Meet the real estate agent at their office so they can introduce you around to the other agents personally.
REAL ESTATE INVESTOR - Develop a seminar educating consumers on how to use the equity in their current properties to buy more properties. Some companies may even go further by lining up renters with a leasing agent for their investment property clients.
RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES - Get lists of all college graduates from your local colleges and vocational-tech schools. These people often have just gotten new jobs, received graduation money, and may be looking to purchase a home or condo.
REFERRALS - This is the key to success. This is the best source of business for any business. A warm lead to call, and repeat customers keep the commissions stable more than any other source of business. Just doing a good job may not generate a referral. Marketing follow up systems work well to stimulate referrals. If you feel you deserve the business, ASK FOR IT! Give the borrower many opportunities to give you referrals, ask often, and give them more than one card so they can pass them out. You don’t want to be pushy, but asking politely is expected. Some top producers operate on a “By Referral Only” basis. Once the flow of referrals start you may never have to worry about where your business is coming from, even in hard times.
RENTERS - This market can have different approaches, such as rent vs. purchase argument. Solicit the rental market and educate them on the cost of not purchasing a home. A large percentage of the current renters, do not believe they will qualify. They may not know how much money it takes, or whether they have good credit or not. They are afraid to purchase, as their parents were renters, and they truly feel home ownership is for someone else. How can you tap this market and let them know they may qualify? Target the renters with new home buying seminars, or mail campaign to apartment complexes telling them “Renting is Hazardous to Your Wealth”.
REVERSE MORTGAGE MARKET - Solicit retirees that have equity or free and clear properties. Reverse mortgages is a niche as not everyone will want this type of loan. But, for those elderly homeowners, it can be a great relief of extra money for medical expenses. This may also be the next wave of business, as the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation turns 62 this year.
WEB SEARCH ENGINES - Once you have a website, you can purchase services from search engines to drive business to your site. Prices vary for this service and are called website optimization. There are ways to make your web site rank high in the search engines without paying for a service. You will need to do your homework to learn how to use key words in your home page that will give your site priority consideration with search engines.
IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET MARKETYour first step is to identify who you want to have as a client or target market. What are your strong points or personal desires? If you like working with first time homebuyers and overcoming their challenges, then this can be your target market. Pick a target market that you understand their true needs and desires, or research to find out what they need. Maybe you remember your first experience in buying a home, and feel you could do better with communication to the buyer on the expectations of the process. Put your mind set in the new first-time homebuyers mind, and determine what issues and fears they may have. Make a list of first-time homebuyer concerns and possible issues. Then work on the loan features and benefits to assist with these issues.
Setting production goals are a great start in making a marketing plan. Preparing goals for your market approach saves time and frustration. If you don’t have goals sheets for planning your marketing approach, you may access free Sales Goal Sheet Templates at http://www.mtgtna.com/. Goals allow you to focus your efforts and budget.
4. REACHING YOUR MARKETYour budget may determine your approach? Build into every client transaction a percentage of income for the marketing budget. Marketing does not have to be expensive or time consuming. Referrals are the cheapest as they generally just take an effort to ask for the referral, and then follow up with the lead. It is also courteous to send a thank you for the lead received. Due to privacy rights, you cannot disclose any details of the referrals business. Follow the laws required in your state and federal advertising regulations, and focus your presentation on your target market. Do not attempt the ‘shot gun’ approach that attempt to hit every prospective borrower. Your message will be lost in the maze of information. Also your advertising should not deter protected groups from accessing your services. Keep in mind that generally your first approach to any market is to get them to ‘call you’. So that is your focus.
BROCHURES – These can be nice for hand outs, and make the company look more professional with a brochure that outlines their services. Professional services and templates on the internet can help with development. When approaching professionals and human resource departments, a brochure works well to let them know the benefits of using you, your service, and your company. Benefits outlined in the brochure will need to be for your target market, and again not the shot gun approach of everything you have ever done. E-MAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGN – Although there are costs and work involved in setting up an e-mail marketing campaign, there are clear benefits. You can purchase a data base if you do not have one, but the norm is to be invited to use someone’s email. The point is that once you get started, you will find e-mailing to be cost-effective.
FLYERS – Do not make a flyer that will attract all possible prospects. Do not let the flyer become too busy or misleading. The flyers should have a message that will meet the marketing goal, generally to generate action by the targeted market. The flyer will need to hit on the estimated motivation of the target market. What specific services will the potential borrower want from you, the mortgage professional?
GIFTS – There are gift baskets, wine with customized company name labels, plants, seed packets, fruit baskets, new home welcome baskets, and many other ways to spend your marketing dollars. There are also regulations on gifts from people in the mortgage business, so keep gifts under $50. If you give a present to one client, you should give a present to all. Excessive or expected gifts may be considered an illegal inducement or referral fee.
MAILING CAMPAIGN – There are costs involved in this approach, and the return is estimated at 2-3% being a good response. There are marketing services for a fee that will handle the mailing for you. These services make mailing campaigns easy as long as your database is up-to-date and accurate. Data bases can be purchased, but may not be current or may be over-used by other loan originators. Farm lists from title companies can also be used for your data base. What type of mailer will you use?
POSTCARDS – An effective mailer as most people will read the postcard before they throw. Postcards also cost less to mail. You have a very brief area to get your target market to take action, so make sure the message is simple and action requesting is clear. Call me!
GREETING CARDS – Holiday cards, birthday cards, and thank you's are all great to keep in touch with past clients. It also gives you another chance to ask for referrals, keep your data base current, and just basically keep your name in the fore front of their mind.
INVITATION – Invite past and potential clients to special events, “Homebuyer Seminar”, open house at your office, or holiday party. Have a door prize (less than $50 in value). Your client will get one chance in the drawing for every person they bring. How about a welcome to the neighborhood party you throw for your new client and their neighbors.
NEWSLETTERS – Newsletters can maintain communication between you and your clients. Marketing service companies can develop a newsletter for you, or you can write them yourself. Keep in mind that most newsletters are informational and do not normally ask for the business like marketing material.
NEWSPAPER/MAGAZINE PRINT-ADS – These can be expensive, but if your target market reads the paper or magazine the cost may be off set by the amount of applications it generates. Ask for a Media Kit to determine circulation and demographics of their readers. Ads should not be too busy. Keep it simple as you are just trying to get the phone to ring. Sometimes doing the ad in black with white writing can help it stand out from the other newspaper print ads.
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS – Pens, calendars, pads, rulers, game schedule charts, magnets, key chains, go more for useful rather than unique although both are great. Recipe cards are unique and often kept. T-shirts, polo shirts, hats, and bags are nice, but can be expensive and are considered inducements which are illegal. Why are you giving them the promotional item? The answer may help you decide what to use, if anything.
RADIO ADVERTISEMENT – Radio advertising on your local station is not too expensive, especially sponsoring the weather or traffic reports. You’ll need to run the ad at least six months. What radio station will your target market listen too? What time?
FREE ADVERTISING – there are many sources of free advertising. The following is a small list:
Word of mouth, referrals is the best.
Newspaper article written about you, or a press release.
Speeches and programs for civic groups.
Teach a course on home financing at the community college.
Business card on bulletin boards at stores and community centers.
Write newspaper article or column
Speak at Real Estate meetings.
Speak at high school career day programs
Three foot rule, anyone within three feet gets your card and presentation.
What more can you think of?
5. CHOOSING YOUR APPROACHNext Step is to determine what form of advertising you will use to reach your market. What approach will give you the best possibility of reaching this target market? The first approach may not work initially. Repetitive advertising is ideal as people will normally need to see something three or more times before they act. Maybe do a repeating ad in the paper, or radio. Send a mailer more than once. The ad or mailer can vary each time, but keep the heading or company logo or slogan so they can recognize the advertisement. Plan out your marketing for the year or at least six months, then track your responses and fine tune your campaign as you go.

Congrats to Punit Shah agent of the month 3 of the last 4 months

Punit Shah has done something amazing
In a company filled with great Realtor Punit Shah has found a way to stand out above the crowd. Punit is now the agent of the month for the second month in a row and 3rd time in 4 months. This is an amazing accomplishment in these market conditions. Punit is very had working and is setting the pace for all other agents to follow. Punit has spent much of his time prospecting for sellers that have a need to sell in this market. The mortgage company's has raised their standards for lending but that does not mean they are not lending money. Buyers just have to have a better track record then in recent years. If an agent does what they are supposed to do, when they are supposed to do it, and the way they are supposed to do it, any agent can have success in this or any market. Punit Shah is an outstanding agent that has been with CENTURY 21 JRS Realty for many years, and we are honored and privileged to have him as a member of our family.

Congrats to Team Clark & Team Rahway

Congrats to Team Rahway & Team Clark earning National Rankings in 2008
National Rankings
Century 21 Real Estate LLC December 2008 Team Producers by AGC . These rankings reflect 2008 transactions with a close date of 12/31/2008 and a paid date of 01/05/2009 . For production or spelling corrections, please contact Real Estate Operations at (800) 345-2972

1 Marty Rodriguez Team / CENTURY 21 Marty Rodriguez
2 The Smith Team / CENTURY 21 Smith and Associates
3 LOWE TEAM / CENTURY 21 Sussex & Reilly

44 Team Success / CENTURY 21 JRS Realty Rahway, NJ

45 Team Excel / CENTURY 21 JRS Realty Clark, NJ

CENTURY 21 JRS Realty has not one, but two teams ranked nationally. Team Rahway finished 2008 ranked number #44 in the U.S. Team Clark also finished 2008 nationally ranked, coming in at #45 in America. CENTURY 21 corporation only lists the top 100 teams in the nation, so to finish any place on the list is a great accomplishment. Finishing in the top 50 teams in the entire nation is absolutely amazing. Team Rahway and Team Clark each finished in the top 50, Rahway at #44 and Clark at #45. Everyone is aware what the Real Estate market and the economy were like in 2008, but CENTURY 21 JRS Realty and its agents have kept their service standards high, and these rankings prove we are doing things the right way. Congratulations to both teams, you deserve all the success in the world. For more information about our agents please feel free to visit our company web site and read some testimonials from real people about real good agents. www.C21JRS.com

Two Months in A Row

Congratulations to Punit for Agent of the Month two Months in a row
Punit Shah has become agent of the month for CENTURY 21 JRS Realty for the month of December 2008. Finishing the year off right with 3 listings in the month of December Punit is ready for an even better 2009. Listings and seller has and always will be the name of the Real Estate game. Listings are the most reliable clients, they get signs out and show market share, and listings are the source of your best buyer calls because they are calling on a house the listing agent already knows inside and out. Punit Shah has been with CENTURY 21 JRS Realty for many years and knows this to be true better then anyone. Punit is a hard worker and always keeps his clients best interest in mind. If you would like more information on Punit feel freet o call him at the office or visit him on the web at www.c21jrs.com

Agent of the Month for November 2008

Congratulations to Punit Shah, Agent of the Month for November 2008.

Ending the year with a BANG, Punit Shah of CENTURY 21 JRS REALTY was Agent of the Month once again. November is historically a month when agents start to slack off and making excuses about people not wanting to do business around the holidays. Well, someone has to be working in November and December because there are always people looking for home in our area no matter what time of year. Punit registered 4 listing in November, marking the 8th multi-listing month this year. Punit has set himself up for an outstanding 2009 because he puts his clients need ahead of his own needs. That is the main reason Punit has an 85% referral rate, meaning he has received a referral from 85% of his customers and clients. This is an outstanding number, and we are honored and privileged to have Punit as a member of our company. Keep up the Good Work!!!!