adirondack mortgage specialist: Everyday is another opportunity to win... - 01/08/08 12:39 AM
I just thought that I'd come on here to mention that the closing went great yesterday and the client was so happy that he said that he and his wife are going to write me a letter of recommendation. that will make a great testimonial. I actually asked him to summarize my service in one sentence. I told him that I'd write it and send it to him for signature. He thought about it for a second but as overwhelmed as he was due to the fact that he had to leave my closing and go to another he declined and … (5 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Another Great Deal for 2008! - 01/06/08 04:54 AM
It's Sunday afternoon and all I can think about is getting back into the office tomorrow and going forward reaping the rewards and benefits of the hard work that I am sinking into the implementation of my marketing strategies.
I have a loan closing tomorrow morning at 10:30am. I am very happy that things went so smooth on this transaction as there were contingencies in the contract. The closing of this transaction was contingent upon the successful completion of 4 Mortgage transaction only one of which was in my hands.
My buyer client was selling his home and buying a new home from … (5 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Stop Posting Your Listings On Your Blog ...It Looks So Tacky... - 01/05/08 06:15 PM
 
 Or Does It?...
I have read a couple of other peoples posts that reflect on whether or not it is a good practise to post Property listings on a blog... I wasn't sure for a while and I posted several of the Listings that I have on the web which are part of a Co-Marketing campaign that I run to this blog.
I personally did not like the way my blog read. It seems tactless and spammy with a bunch of listings between my actual content. I was receiving a lot of phone calls on the properties that I have listed on the … (7 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Help Me... My Blog Keeps Evaporating! - 01/04/08 12:00 AM
I constantly find myself thinking in blog format. I guess that as blogging has become a way of life for me and I often think in terms of "Blog". I get a lot of good blogging ideas that hit me at the most inopportune times. Sometimes I'll get a great idea for a blog but if I can't make it to a computer in time the idea fades and when I finally do get in front of a computer the idea is gone.
Some of my best blogging ideas come when I am not thinking about it. I'll just be drifting off in … (8 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Win Win Win ... Hey what can I say? - 01/03/08 07:58 AM
I had a couple come into my office today terribly upset at the conduct of the seller. When these people came into my office they told me "Chris, do whatever it takes to get us approved for this mortgage". Their qualifications were lacking but I put the extra effort and got them approved.
I am not going to get into specifics here due to the delicate nature of what my clients were upset about but I will say that they are absolutely justified in being upset. I will also say that while they have upheld every bit of their obligations regarding the … (3 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Reighn in the New Year! - 01/02/08 06:12 AM
I just got another CTC. This is great, December was a slow month, but I closed a loan the very last day of December and I am closing one within the first full week of January. I have my eyes on the 10th or 11th as tentative closing dates for another deal in process right now.
I am waiting on a couple of contracts, I have a few appraisals out and things are generally looking up. I have somewhere around 85 single site property websites up and working for my partners and I. I am plastering information about what I am … (2 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: On a bright note... - 12/31/07 12:36 AM
I have had a decent month. I have had some frustration this month but that is to be expected in this industry, especially with the bottom still falling out and the holiday season being a normally slow time of the year. A couple of the loans that I have been working on for December will roll over for January which will make January a very good month for me.
Mid last week I did not expect to close any more of my loans. I thought by Thursday of next week that the month was over and I began preparing for January. I … (1 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Give me back my lunch! - 12/27/07 07:04 AM
Man-O-Man. I am working on a couple of deals hat are taking up a lot of my time. My clients are important to me so I will see them through. At times I just want to walk away from certain issues on files but I know that I can't. I can't start a project and not finish, that just wouldn't be right.
I wrote a previous post talking about how I am going to be more selective. I am certain now that that is the answer. I do not want to find myself in the position in where I am scraping just … (0 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Attack of the Killer Taxes! - 12/27/07 01:48 AM
I am working with a very nice couple. They are buying the home that they have been living in for quite a while. Currently they do not pay PMI, Homeowners, or taxes on the property. They only pay the rent which is pretty high.
They really want to own the home. Their goal when they came into my office was simply to see if they can get qualified for a purchase as they had been turned down several times before. I hate property taxes and recognize them as a necessary evil. Without them towns and cities across the nation would be … (6 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Fannie/Freddie going obsolete! - 12/27/07 01:27 AM
December has been a tough month. are any of you feeling the crunch? I have not focused on my web presence as much as I like to this month. I have not as actively marketed. I have had plenty of business to keep me busy and have not had as much time. The business that I have done this month has been very hard. I have had a couple of borrowers who used to be prime who are no longer. Not because their qualifications have changed but rather the system that we use to rate our borrowers qualifications has changed.
I personally … (2 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Merchant Circle anyone? - 12/20/07 12:40 AM
I did not realize until recently just how cool merchant circle is. I signed up yesterday and I have written a couple of blogs recently that can be viewed at http://www.merchantcircle.com/blogs/Christopher.Ohlsen.866-562-6930. Merchant circle is really geared toward local activity which for all of us is great. I have invited several companies to join my cirlce and I have had several accept so far.
Every time you write a blog or perform certain activities on the MC you ear ad dollars, not sure what they can be used for yet but I will figure it out. Any members here? Maybe some of you … (12 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: BNI, There can only be one! - 12/19/07 01:38 AM
And I hope that one is me. An appraiser whom I work with regularly (Kenny McDonald-518-566-6112) who I'd say is among the best appraiser's in the entire area invited me to a free breakfast yesterday. The breakfast is taking place at the Elks Club in Plattsburgh, NY. The breakfast is being hosted by the local chapter of BNI.
As I understand it there can only be one member of a given profession representing that profession in each chapter of BNI. Kenny Tells me that there is a "mortgage guy" who is in the group, but that he does not broker mortgages, he is … (5 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Let's Make it a Great 2008!Yes? - 12/18/07 08:11 AM
Is the closing statement in an email that I received from a Realtor partner of mine whom I am helping to advertise. It was just the closing statement, but in and of itself it is a wonderful statement that can be applied over and over again year after year.
I feel that for my own personal and professional growth this statement is more true than ever. I have had my ups and downs in this business and in general since I've been old enough to work. This is the work that has really captured my heart and I am poised for success … (2 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: My prequals not good enough for you? Part 2. - 12/11/07 01:18 AM
I wrote a blog a while back called My prequals not good enough for you?. It was the first and only featured post that I have written so far. There were around 75 comments or so and many of them had the same tone. Many of you responded with something to the effect that Prequals are worthless, not worth the paper that they are written on. Still I am asked for prequals all the time. Many Realtors complain that they do not like prequals and that a lender or broker's prequal is worthless to them, yet they still continue to ask … (4 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: The Power Of Links! - 12/06/07 08:28 AM
I know that Meta tags and Keywords are important for SEO. One thing that I did not realize until recently is the power of links. Someone told me in response to one of my posts that Google.com loves deep links. I have found this to be true for just about every search engine out there.
Before I was even on my companies website just the mention of my name in a search engine brought up my companies website. I linked http://www.lakecitymtg.com/ to so many sites, blogs, and forum posts that it began receiving better ranking than it had previously without making any … (4 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: When Realtor business is slow ...Any ideas? - 12/04/07 02:20 AM
I have not posted anything in a while on my marketing campaign. I got a lot of help from all of you during my implementation phase. I have not posted any updates because I have been busy implementing my strategies. I wrote on here about how I was working to team up with a few Realtors for a reciprocal referral networking solution. I got the idea to promote my Realtor counterparts properties.
A fellow Active Rainer who owns a marketing firm called me up and his platform happened to fit perfectly into my marketing approach. Now I create a website for every … (7 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: I'm on my company's website!! - 11/30/07 02:57 AM
I have written about my past experiences and progressions in this industry. I wrote about how I left Plattsburgh, Ny began my career in Saratoga, NY. I moved from there to Glens falls and worked for another mortgage company then moved back to my home town. I have written about how there were not any mortgage companies hiring when I came home and how I did not have the start up capital to start my own mortgage company.
I have been here for several months now and business up here in Plattsburgh, NY is thriving. Much of my business comes from the Realtor contacts … (2 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Seller's Remorse? - 11/28/07 01:58 AM
I wrote a blog yesterday (http://activerain.com/blogsview/287283/Do-you-want-to) about a loan that I've completed that the sellers will not close on. I spoke to the seller's attorney yesterday after I wrote the blog to find out what is going on.
He told me that he really doesn't know. He said that the seller came into his office in the morning and kept going around in circles about why he could not close on the deal. His attorney told me that he was not making any sense. He says that the guy is living in an upstairs apartment in the garage and cannot move his … (15 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: Do you want to sell your home or not!? - 11/27/07 05:42 AM
I wrote a blog a while back that can be found here http://activerain.com/blogsview/234185/Did-I-do-something. Well this person came back to me for financing after the deal fell through with the other lender who was dishonest with my client. My client came back to me and he said that "he should've never left me in the first place". He was crunched for time when he came back to me and he told me what his time constraints were. He was not sure whether or not I could do it for him and he wanted to know for sure before making a firm decision … (0 comments)

adirondack mortgage specialist: "We're Neighbors. We need to take care of each other up here." - 11/26/07 02:28 AM
I had a great Thanksgiving weekend. I spent my Thanksgiving in Mountain View, NY which is one of the coldest places in this country. Cold but very beautiful. I was planning on taking a bunch of pictures and uploading them to my blog, but I did not get that many. I will add the ones that I did get to another post.
The landscape is absolutely beautiful. There was about 2 feet of snow outside my mothers cabin and all of the trees in the back were coated in ice. There are quite a few properties for sale on the main dirt road. … (5 comments)