Wow, is everybody as tired as I am of the volatility in the bond market? Every single day there is a new piece of information we need to track and follow in relation to whether or not the inflection or tone of someone on the television is positive or negative. Depending on the daily emotions of the market it has the ability to spin off into a total frenzy! How are we supposed to keep our clients informed of what is happening in our industry if it is changing on a daily basis? Granted, interest rates are experiencing historic lows, but whether you lock in a rate on any given Tuesday compared to Thursday of the same week can mean a difference between getting 5.125% or 5.500%! So, what are we to do…?
Here is my pledge to you; I am going to begin writing a short post on a daily basis with a quick summary of what happened in the market and the important information our clients need to know! Monday through Friday I will post this information between 4 pm and 6 pm so you have the opportunity to review this information as your day is winding down or the following morning in order to start your day off with a fresh perspective! If you want specific information or have specific questions this will be the forum for you to use in order to be part of a discussion group, all you need to do is participate in the comments section!
Along with simple updates about interest rates and the economy I will continue to update you on any major changes in the mortgage lending industry. I’ll keep you posted about changes in lending guidelines, new loan program opportunities, and other pertinent information we should be aware of in the real estate industry.
The last piece to this puzzle is one I am truly excited about. I have begun a weekly discussion group for real estate agents to participate in regarding different marketing ideas and strategies, specifically focusing on social media. If you feel you need a jolt in your marketing efforts I strongly suggest you stop by and see what we are doing! In addition to the weekly discussion groups I will be writing posts about different marketing ideas you can use to help increase the productivity of your business. I will simply be explaining what the product/application is and how it can be added to your arsenal of efforts. The great thing about this, basically each marketing tool I will be covering can be used and accessed for no charge whatsoever. It’s time to increase our productivity and efficiency in this challenging industry!
If you would like to receive any of this information directly via E-mail, all you need to do is subscribe here to this Blog! For those of you who have been tracking the information I send out up to this point I thank you for your viewership. For those of you who have not been following my information I look forward to the opportunity to earn a few minutes of your day in hopes to help you increase your business productivity.
Many prospective homeowners are currently looking to take advantage of the three “I’s” in our real estate market. There is a great deal of Inventory on the market right now, including homes with greatly reduced prices. We are experiencing historically low Interest Rates where buyers can lock in a 30 Year Fixed mortgage between 4.875% and 5.125%. Finally, there is a great Incentive for first time buyers with the government 
With the abundance of information and education available in today’s Information Era, why not make things a little easier for yourself and set up an RSS feed? I always do a double take when I am in the middle of a conversation with someone and we have a question about the topic we are discussing. Instead of wondering in amazement of what the answer to our question is, all we need to do is find the nearest place to access the Internet. Whether it be a desktop computer, laptop computer, a cell phone, or now even an iPod… access to information is all around us! Think how big this actually is! Information can be accessed 24 hours a day 7 days a week, there is nothing holding us back from finding out the answers to all our questions… well maybe not all of them, but pretty darn close!
Google has a great application called “Google Alerts” which allows you to be automatically updated of any requested information instantaneously as it hits the Internet. All you need to do is sign up for this information and whenever an article containing your designated word or phrase is found on the Web, an E-mail notifying you of this event is sent. This application is a great way for any real estate professional to stay on top of a variety of information that will make you a more effective professional. Here are the top 5 ways you can use this application to increase your efficiency.
As conventional loans are getting tougher to approve with less credit available in the market and stricter lending guidelines it is important you are aware of FHA lending and its capabilities. In order to get the best interest rate available for a conventional loan a borrower will need to put down 20%. With a 20% down payment any borrower will be avoiding adding an additional second mortgage at a higher interest rate as well as increasing the interest rate on their first mortgage by increasing their loan to value (purchase price). On the other hand, FHA financing requires only a 3% down payment and currently government loans are offering better interest rates than a conventional loan with a 20% down payment! This does not mean an FHA borrower is limited to a 3% down payment; they can put down a greater amount as long as they do not exceed 20% of the purchase price.
Have you ever been at a meeting and realized you forgot your business cards? Ever met someone during a random act throughout the day and wished you had a business card to share with them? After sheer panic races over you for fear of making a terrible and more importantly unprofessional first impression, take a deep breath and relax. Now, you have a service called Dropcard!
