Washington Mortgage Planner-straight up mortgage advice and commentary

Hello all: It came to my attention that even though I spend time online, it doesn't take away from my  most productive activity; face-to-face, email, mail, or over the phone marketing to my database.

Don't get me wrong. I blog. I post. I believe it's important to be optimized and to be up-to-date with the latest trends. But I was having a conversation yesterday with our top producer this year. He's been in the business for 9 years and is having a phenomenal year so far. What he said I agree with. He built his database and markets to it. Whether it's a mailer, email, or personal phone call, he is doing something right. I haven't talked to him about his online presence and plan to. I would bet he doesn't have alot of time right now.

I joined Active Rain to connect with my smarter peers; I needed to learn. Then came Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. I take the time to post, usually once/day in the early morning or late evening. I'm curious what you think about being online. How has it benefitted you? I don't think I've done any business to date. I've had a few referrals and understand about branding. I still don't think an online presence replaces what else we can be doing. I welcome your feedback. Tell me your success stories! Thanks! Have a great day!

Good morning! I was thinking today that our goal as real estate professionals should always be to educate our clients. What brought this thought on? It could be that I'm on tap to teach the class "How to get a loan today" at Renton Technical College in a few hours. Wish me luck!

But even if I weren't teaching today, I think it's important to be educating our clients throughout. Let's face it. What we do is often mysterious to our customers. It's a huge decision for them and, oftentimes, they seem pretty frazzled by the whole experience. Think back for a moment when you purchased your first home. It wasn't enough that we were leading otherwise busy lives. Then we decided to buy and all of a sudden they're asking us for all of our blood!

That's why it's so important to educate our clients about our business. When I entered the mortgage business 3 years ago, my goal was to make people better understand what I did. Franky, I share everything. There should be no mystery about what we do. And in this day and age, I think the customer appreciates it.

What does educating your client do for you? It gives you credibility. Your customer looks to you as the real estate source. Today our customer is looking for reassurance. We can be their source of inspiration. So what are you doing to let your client know you care? Are you going the extra mile to educate and inform? I'm curious what you're doing that's working. I don't know about you but I'd rather have a client who knows what's going on. In fact, even if they choose not to use me, they're better informed about our occasionally murky world! Have a great day!

Hello all: Happy Wednesday to you! I just wanted to remind you that our next set of real estate classes at Renton Technical College will be underway this Saturday from 10 a.m.-12 noon. Cost is $10. Previously we taught "Should I Buy or Sell Now" and Rebecca Haas of Re/Max Metro. Realty did a great job. Thanks again Rebecca!

This Saturday I'll be teaching the class "How to Get a Loan Today". Expect an in-depth look at the market today complete with credit scoring information, underwriting guidelines and time frames, and how to shop for your best loan. Rebecca and I both believe in education so expect to leave with the knowledge necessary to secure your next home loan when it's right for you.

If you have further questions, contact either myself or Rebecca Haas at reba@teamreba.com. For class sign up, go to www.rtc.edu and look under classes or call the college directly at (425) 235-3453. Thanks again for reading. Wish us luck!

 

Good morning all: I'm going to shamelessly self-promote here. Today I expect to mail 200 copies of my brand new quarterly newsletter "McFadden's Mortgage Minute" to a select database. Let me know if you'd like an extra copy.

In "McFadden's Mortgage Minute" expect to find helpful information for you on the local real estate market. The current edition will cover not only up-to-date news on the mortgage market but also an announcement of our classes currently in session at Renton Technical College.

So, again, if you're interested, contact me and I'll get you your free copy! Thanks for reading. Have an incredible day!

Good afternoon all! You may have seen this trend already in your neck of the woods. Up here, I'm starting to see practically every appraisal submitted get questioned. Not necessarily are the lenders requiring new appraisals or reviews but it definitely throws a kink into things.

Today I got an email from my underwriter questioning an appraisal for one of my clients. This is after I checked value ahead of time. The bottom line is we need to order a second appraisal. Obviously the client isn't thrilled but needs to refinance. This follows another appraisal done recently where it was questioned because the adjustments on the comps. were too big!

I haven't been in this business that long (3 years) and have never had an appraisal questioned until recently. I think it's a sign of the times. Just when we think there's a little daylight there's another hurdle to get over. If you're an appraiser, understand these times too shall pass. I know you're working extremely hard to get your reports done in a timely manner and I appreciate it. Don't get too frustrated if your report is questioned or reviewed. I expect this trend to be commonplace in the neat year. Let me know what you're seeing out there and for everyone's sake check value ahead of time if possible! Have a great day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good afternoon. I just commented on Lewis Poretz's post about how it used to be so easy to figure out when mortgage interest rates were going to be lower. It was almost always when the stock market went down. Now, that's not always the case. It appears there are a number of variables at work these days.

The biggest one is our government's intervention in guaranteeing the buyback of mortgage backed securities and the toxic assets of banks. The numbers are staggering. To date, I believe it's at or near $1 trillion dollars in guarantees. Although all this has led to a nice uptick in our business, I still wonder if there's another shoe to drop.

Let's face it. I'm a free market guy. I know several smart financiers such as Warren Buffett were saying the government bailout had to be done. But if you look closer at why they were saying this, it appears they stand to profit hugely from this plan. Put another way, if this plan weren't put into effect, all these smart guys would lose their shirts! I'm not sure where I read this but I think it was by Paul Krugman, the columnist and noted economist for the New York Times. Not everyone is a fan of Paul but he stated that the government bailout probably wouldn't work and lifetimes of people would be paying for these follies.

What do you think? I think alot of us know there's still bad news out there that hasn't been disclosed. We also know that recovery isn't right around the corner. It begs the question what if we had just left everythign alone? Would we all have fallen off a cliff? Have a great day!

 

Good morning! I just wanted to remind all of you that starting tomorrow, April 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Renton Technical College, Rebecca Haas of Re/Max Metro. Realty and myself are co-teaching an 8 week series of real estate classes. Cost is $10. We hope to see you there!

The topic for tomorrow is "Should I buy or sell now?". We'll have all kinds of statistical evidence that will help you make up your mind.

Future offerings for April include "Getting a loan today" on Saturday April 18 from 10 a.m.-noon and "Real estate as part of a diversified portfolio"-a panel discussion with a group of financial advisers on Tuesday April 21 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. All classes are at Renton Technical College. We're excited to be able to bring these classes to you. Rebecca's and my goal is to educate. Wish us luck!

Hi all: I just wanted to remind you about the real estate classes we're teaching next week at Renton Technical College. Along with Rebecca Haas of Re/Max Metro. Realty we'll be presenting an 8 week series of classes designed to educate and inform about all matters real estate. For more information and sign-up. log onto www.rtc.edu and register under classes.

Our first class "Should I buy or sell now" starts at 6:30 p.m. next Tuesday April 7 at Renton Technical College. We will be presenting factual data and market reports that will help you decide if it's the right time to take the plunge or not.

Other classes to follow include "Getting a loan today-what is needed" on Saturday April 18 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. and "Real estate as part of a balanced portfolio"-a panel discussion with several financial advisors which is on Tuesday April 21 at 6:30 p.m. You can sign up for the series or one at a time. I'll keep you posted on our upcoming May offerings. Again, if you're interested go to www.rtc.edu or contact Rebecca Haas at reba@teamreba.com. Althought these classes are not continuing ed. credits expect to learn a ton. Rebecca and I are all about education. If you or your clients are interested, plan on attending. I guarantee you won't be disappointed! Have a great night!

Hello all: I hope you're enjoying your evening. Today I attended and helped Yuno Morioni of Coldwell Banker Bain with a Broker's Open House she was having in Bothell. It's a beautiful home and, if priced right, should sell.

It got me to thinking how important it is for all of us to work together as a team. Yuno's title rep. came by and we chatted. The closer our relationships with all parties, the better off we all are. I don't know about you but I feel good when I know I'm surrounded by top-notch, dedicated people I can trust. Case in point. I'm embarking on teaching an 8 week series of classes with Rebecca Haas of Re/Max Metro. Realty next week. Although we've never worked together before, I can tell we're excited about bringing value to our customers. Reba's team is  excellent and I'm glad we can collaborate on this.

My point is this. At times I've witnessed negative attitudes and finger-pointing between realtors, loan officers, appraisers, etc. Thank God most of the time I've seen everyone working together. Remember what this is ultimately about; it's about our customer. Let's never forget this. We're only as strong as each of our links.

I encourage all of you to continue building long-term relationships that further everyone's business. I'm a huge college basketball fan. The funny thing is the most talented players don't always win. This year, North Carolina is probably the favorite. They have great depth and talent. But watch out for Michigan State or someone else like Villanova who play together as a team. Ultimately, those are the teams that win it all. Have a nice night!