At the time I was terribly frustrated with what I was hearing from those seeking assistance and getting no where. I wonder if there have been any significant changes to the system that is supposed to help people who desperately want to remain in their homes. I say, don't give up.
Whatever your situation may be, don't just walk away. The first place I would visit is:
If they are unable to help you, the second thing I would consider is a short sale. At least with a short sale there are some benefits that are better than the alternative, which is foreclosure and all the pitfalls that go along with it. You can still do a short sale if you are current on your mortgage payments.
I have an excellent resource for information about short sales. Here in the greater Sacramento area we have a short sale guru. Her name is Elizabeth Weintraub. I don't know Elizabeth personally but I have had some interactions with her on the Active Rain Real Estate Network. We often read and comment on the same blogs. She is also a writer at About.com and specializes on short sale information.
People who live in the greater Sacramento area often contact me asking for mortgage help. When they owe more on their home than it is worth, all I can do is offer them resources. I wish I could do more.
So, now you have two things you can consider before foreclosure.
Here is a good video that explains HOW to go about getting a home loan modification.
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Too many buyers....there are just too many. Too many short sales....they just don't really care. Too many bank-owneds...they are waiting for multiple offers to come in. Listing agents can afford to be picky, and they are. I remember when an offer would be greeted with excitement and great care...now? Sometimes they aren't even acknowledged for days, let alone responded to. All this is making it very difficult on the buyer's agent to keep their clients happy.
The media is bombarding the public with bad press about the housing market. They are not discussing the multiple offers, the bombardment of buyers, nor the artificially low listing prices. Buyers have the wrong expectations going into the process. The challenge then becomes how to educate our new buyers without looking like a "pushy salesperson" who is trying to get buyers to increase their offer price. Then when they do write an offer....they wait and wait and wait. The buyer's agent is forced to say things like:
"I've left a message for the listing agent, but I'll try them again" "They are going to collect offers and then present them all at once" "I'm not sure what's going on, the listing agent said we'd hear something today"
The problem is that one buyer....is not valuable in this market. The difference is that normally the media provides reports which set the proper stage for home buying. Seller's Market or Buyer's Market! But now the information in news stories is on the plight of sellers....foreclosures, short sales, home loss. This is absolutely true. They mention the great drop of home values and prices. This is absolutely true.
It's true....but not a complete story! We need to complete the story so that buyers better understand what is happening, that they are not going to be able to go into a short sale and offer 20% under asking price. That a home which has been on the market for 200+ days is not "desperate" for a buyer. Likely there have been many buyers over that time frame and they are merely waiting for approval and will then find out which buyers wish to compete for the house later.
The main problem buyers have right now is it's a seller's market....and the seller is "just not that into you."
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
I just learned how to add my articles to my fan page on Facebook from my Active Rain Outside Blog. Here are the instructions, you can add any blog url address to import your articles.
It's great, but here is something I noticed. The format is different. The way you place your photos to the left or right or center of your article is going to be different on the Facebook fan page. The size may vary as well.
Some of us add a great deal of info and links in our signature lines. When published outside of the AR blog, it will not necessarily look the same and it doesn't always show up well.
Sometimes I re-blog an article if I feel it is worth sharing but then I have to go back and remove it because the person's signature line is so full of stuff that it detracts from the article itself. For example the face book and twitter icons may be small on the signature line (when it is on my blog) it will look like this:
When they are transferred to my Facebook fan wall from my blog, the format looks different and the icons are double or triple in size so that you have to scan down about 10 inches to get through it. It take up a lot of room.
See what I mean. Now think about scrolling down the screen to fit all of these images in. I only added three but think of the space all 8 of them would have taken.
Are you murdering your blog content with too many icons in your signature line?
I know it looks nice to have all of the bells and whistles and cute icons. So many places to follow ME! But I am beginning to think that it is a bit of overkill. I think I would rather have something short for my signature line. My name, link to my website, short disclosure... rather than too many icons and pictures. There is no way to tell how they will show up in different places on the Internet and I certainly don't want to discourage others from re-blogging my articles because my name and icons are too large.
When others decide to re-blog our articles, it is a great form of syndication, getting our name out there, and when someone wants to track back to get more information on the author, the link in the original blog is there for them to click on. If they are interested, they will look for that. Too many icons, pictures and a long signature line will distract from the original intent of the article. That's my opinion.
With this in mind, I am going to take some of the "stuff" off of my own signature line. It may look good on my AR blog but it doesn't show up well in all formats. When the icons get out of control, it distracts the reader from the point of view I want to convey in my articles. Instead it seems like a billboard ad with places to "follow" me and while I want to get my name out there and bring in clients who want to get a home loan in California, I would like my article to be the main focus and my name and link to be easy to click on but I don't think I need all of these icons. I think it may be better to put them on the side of my blog somewhere instead of my signature line.
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
It takes patience and tenacity and wishing on a star.
Buying a new home is a source of anxiety, frustration -- and a huge sense of accomplishment. You may have to put in several offers and get rejected a few times but your house is out there waiting for you and you will get an accepted offer if you keep moving forward. The first step is to get pre-approved for your mortgage.
I like to quote Walt Disney. He said, "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."
Anytime I find myself frustrated and feeling like I've hit the wall, I think about Walt. He failed many times before he was successful. He had more failed ideas than successful ones. He too was human and got depressed and disappointed. He had a vision and he didn't give up. He made us all believe that we could wish upon a star and our dreams would come true. Thoughts do become things. If we maintain focus on what we desire most, we can arrive at that destination.
We are living in tough economic times. This generation is growing up with a different set of values and strengths. We are no longer living in a "me" society. Remember your great grandparents saying, "Patience is a virtue?" It's true today. The economy has forced many of us to re-think our values, embracing an appreciation of basic comforts, friends, family, life and food on the table. A gorgeous blue sky! Enjoying the little things in everyday moments makes living our life magical.
What's YOUR vision? Are you ready to own your home?
The painting is my great-grandparents and is copyrighted.
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
We all know by now that as long as you are in a binding contract by April 30th and closed by June 30th you will meet the dates specified to qualify for the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Here in Central Florida that tax credit easily represents 5-10% of the average purchase prices we are seeing, for first time as well as repeat buyers. It's a great incentive to buy, and one you need to plan for.
You better plan well because yesterday the IRS verbally clarified their definition of a binding contract (we are awaiting written confirmation) and if you are buying a short sale or even a foreclosure you need to plan WELL ahead. The IRS told us that a binding contract must be signed by all parties that need to authorize the sale. When buying a short sale, that will include any lender or lenders that need to approve the deal. When purchasing a foreclosure the selling bank obviously must sign before the cutoff as well.
Since we all know that short sale approvals can take months, it would seem likely that many being negotiated right now may not even make the April 30th cutoff, since we have only 91 calendar days left. If you haven't started house shopping or have not submitted any offers, you are probably best served overlooking short sales completely. The bottom line is now more than ever you need to be working with a knowledgeable realtor and you need to seriously heed their advice!
Since I am a lender, not a tax professional or Attorney, please do not construe this as tax or legal advice but remember, knowing is half the battle!
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
"There but for the grace of God, go I"- attributed to John Bradford, 16th Century
In any given night in America, 700,000 to 2 million people have no home to go to. Staggering statistic? Yes. And these numbers were from 1996.
In Colorado Springs, Fountain Creek runs parallel to Interstate 25.It has become 'home' to many of the city's considerable homeless population. It is estimated that Colorado Spring's chronic homeless number about 350 persons, and about 750 more have joined the homeless population due to job loss.That puts the number of people living on the streets, or along the creek bed, at approximately 1100.
Local Shelters are filled to capacity, and while the city struggles to find a solution, the homeless camps remain.Some cities around the country are providing basic services to their 'tent cities' on public land, such as portable toilets, (which I saw today at a few of the camps I photographed), trash pick up, firewood, and mobile medical vans.
A few of the homeless are there because they want to be. Most are not.
Why not designate an area, provide the needed services, and give these people a place to live with some dignity while we all await better times?
Proudly, in just 24 hours, we as Americans donated 10 million dollars to the relief effort in Haiti.
Granted, it's not on the same scale, but are the fast growing tent cities across America not also a crisis?
Statistics show that most homeless are men. But more and more women and children are joining them as families lose their jobs, and with them, the ability to pay rent. This is a cold, and dangerous way to live.
While I took these photos in Colorado Springs, I'm sure they are indiscernible from any other city in the country.
Blog Update:
While researching statistics for this post, (very little current data exists), I ran across an online book by Kenneth Churchill, called the American Homeless Land Model. On the very first page, I read something that I had never considered before. I emailed Mr. Churchill asking permission to use it in this post. I wrote this post before hearing back from him. I am printing this shocking truth now, with his permission:
"The law forbids the common lands as a place of abode for the accruement of resources and the protection of life and property. There is not one square foot of land in the United States where a homeless person can stand, for a moment in time, legally. It does not exist. Homelessness is unlawful. A Homeless person's existence is unlawful. Their homelessness status is a condition of perpetual criminality. They are continually on someone else's land; inevitably asked to move on to some illusory lawful destination, presumed to exist, but never found."
I would also like to add that I emailed our local Pikes Peak Association of Realtors today, and received a swift reply of support for a call to action among our 3,000 members.
Position yourself above your competition - Utilize a "Real Estate Showcase" Slideshow as a listing tool. Post it on your own website - Realtor Showcase Members can upload it to Realtor.com - Post it on your blog to showcase your listings.
"Real Estate Showcase" Slideshow and Web Presentations, more captivating than a virtual tour!
Photos taken by Debi Boucher, DBoucher Photography, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced without express written permission.
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
I just finished reading an insightful article on the CNBC blog about Big Banks Accused of Short Sale Fraud. You can read about it by following the link.
The article is discussing how second lien holders have been taking cash on the side from the real estate agents or the buyers outside of the escrow so that the first lien holder would not know that they were getting paid in order to drop the lien.
That is not legal.
Disclosure, disclosure, disclosure! Everything is to be disclosed. No secrets, no surprises.
Under no circumstances is there to be any compensation from any party that is not listed on the HUD statement.
(RESPA is the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the 2008 law requiring that consumers receive disclosures at various times in the transaction. It outlaws kickbacks that increase the cost of settlement services. RESPA is a HUD consumer protection statute designed to help homebuyers be better shoppers in the home buying process, and is enforced by HUD. Read more about it here.).
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Built in 1873, the building is squeezed between 75 and 77 Bedford Street. The space between the buildings was used as a carriage passage. The address is 75 1/2 Bedford St. It has been home to a few famous people including, Cary Grant, John Barrymore, Margaret Mead, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Clark Gable.
Want to live in the skinniest house in New York City? The rent on this 990 square foot townhouse will cost you $10,000 per month. Yes! That's right! $10,000!
The skinniest house in New York City was purchased in 1994 for $270,000 and $200,000 was invested in fixing it up. In 2000, it was sold for 1.6 million. It was on the market for $2.75 million but recently sold for $2.1 million.
Looks like the bad economy hasn't had an effect on the value of this baby.
I'm afriad my claustrophobia would prevent me from living there. I would love to see the inside though. The inside is 8 1/2 wide by 42 feet long.
It is said to have an airy feel about it with the french doors on the first floor. A trap door in the kitchen that leads to a finished basement and a nice garden (that is shared) in the back.
I've been inside some skinny buildings in Amsterdam. Tall narrow stairs and small rooms. For some, this may be ideal. It would be fun to see how much IKEA I could add to make stuff fit.
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
One of the things I missed when I moved to Sacramento from the bay area was the ability to walk to most of my shopping centers or to easily take public transportation wherever I wanted to go. Being more densely populated, the bay area was built to accommodate walking, riding a bike or taking the bus. There are more restaurants and stores mixed within the housing communities so it's more convenient to walk or take the bus than to drive a car and try to find parking. Foot traffic brings business to local merchants and walking, riding bikes or taking the bus is much less expensive than driving a car. Safer too.
Sacramento was built around farms and orchards. It is more spread out. People have more room, but tend to be less inclined to using public transportation or walking to their destinations. Instead we drive everywhere. We drive to big shopping centers, we drive to eat and drive through to pick it up too. Makes me think of the people in the movie, Wall-E, where everything was automated and everyone sat in chairs that floated around to take them to their destinations.
My grandmother used to travel all over the place to do her shopping and run errands well into her 80's after she stopped driving. She lived in Carmichael, CA, which is connected to Sacramento and has neighborhoods that are close to shops and cafes and other services. So she got out and walked and took the bus for years. It IS possible. Hopefully now that "green living" is the in thing, our city planners will make changes that will enhance the public transportation and development of communities that are more suited to foot traffic and better health.
There are communities in Sacramento that are more walkable than others. Not only is walking good for the heart, it's good for the environment. It's nice to get out and greet people. Know your community.
A study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood.1 Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15–45.
Want to get an idea of how walkable your Sacramento neighborhood is? Check out this site: WalkScore.ccom
Is your neighborhood making you fat? Definitely something to consider when deciding where you want to live.Before you purchase your next home, check out the neighborhood to see how walkable it is. What shops are close by? How often can you get to shops, local cafes or coffee shops and interesting places, without using your car. It will not only benefit your health but will also be good for the environment.
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
This was my favorite entry to the essays for converting leads into clients on the Active Rain community. If I know anybody moving to Austin, Texas, Jason Crouch would be the person I would recommend to help them find a new home. I read his blog regularly because his articles are usually featured (they are good) and he is somebody I look at as a role model for the way I like to do business. He isn't stuffy at all. He's down to earth and fun.
If I can be half as good with my clients as he seems to be, then I am doing something worthwhile.
After Bob Stewart announced his latest challenge/contest about how to convert internet leads, I wanted to take a few minutes to share what has worked for us to this point. This may not seem overly organized, since I never seem to take the time to outline anything before it spills out onto the screen, but that's okay, right?
Either way, I hope you find it to be helpful.
I remember when my business partner and I started our real estate website, AustinTexasHomes.com, back in 1998, and I also remember the types of questions we heard from our colleagues:
Who's going to see it?
Why would you want to spend your time on that?
Do you think it will actually result in any sales?
You get the picture. Looking back, these questions seem foolish to the extreme now, but at the time, as I was finishing up my first year of real estate, I had my own doubts. Thankfully, I didn't let that stop me from learning about how to get my site to show up in the search engines. Back then, we were mostly concerned about Yahoo, Altavista, Excite, GoTo, and Lycos. Clearly, times have changed. You don't hear anyone talking about how to get more "Lycos juice".
I've been blessed to have had a number of multimillion dollar sales in my career, almost all of which came from the site I mentioned above. Of course, it has undergone numerous updates (and maybe we'll have another in 2010), but it remains the cornerstone of our agency, which provides leads for most of the 16 agents on our roster.
We've all heard the same statistic: somewhere over 80% of home buyers begin their home search online these days. With that in mind, it's important to be the first agent (or at least among the first agents) that these buyers have contact with in your market. Once you have secured contact information of some sort, ideally name, email address, and a phone number (at a minimum), what's next?
BE PERSISTENT
This may run counter to your notion of what constitutes proper etiquette, but I assure you that it works. I sold a $1 million+ home on a golf course near Lake Travis to a buyer that my assistant called SEVENTEEN times before she reached anyone. By "assistant", I mean "wife". :) Was the buyer upset? Nope. He was grateful that we finally made contact and provided the information that he wanted. He ended up buying a downtown area condo for his daughter from me later, too.
If you think about how busy you are during an average week, you might appreciate this approach more. I'm not recommending that you leave sixteen messages. I'm suggesting that you earnestly try to reach each buyer at different times of the day for the first 48 hours or so after you have the lead in hand.
Will this work for every buyer? No, it won't. Will you increase your conversion rate if you manage to get more buyers on the phone? I would like to say an immediate "yes", but it probably depends on your phone skills, frankly. Which leads to my next point...
BE ENGAGING
This is a very difficult skill set to teach. Trust me on this - I've trained dozens and dozens of agents. Some people have the ability to be likeable within seconds; others struggle to keep the conversation afloat. If you can find a point of commonality with the prospective client early in your conversation (kids, movies, news, etc.), you'll find that they will warm up to you a lot faster. However, don't force it. Most people can sense insincerity very quickly.
Don't be afraid to make them laugh. Do share something about yourself. Actually, many of the best tips about blogging apply during your initial phone call with buyers and sellers. Engage, and they will be much more likely to remember you.
AUTOMATE SOME OF THE PROCESS
Having used many "back end" systems (including a period when we had none at all), I can certainly attest to the importance of having a solid drip email campaign coupled with listings that meet your client's criteria. We use Automated Homefinder for this - it was actually developed by a friend of mine who is right here on ActiveRain: Joel McDonald. I have found the features therein to be robust and helpful for our agents. There's an interesting newer tool which allows us to look up the buyer on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn before calling. Hopefully, I don't have to go into great detail about how helpful this information can be when you make the first phone call or send the first email.
Automated Homefinder or any good CRM system does a good chunk of the work for the agent, but don't kid yourself into believing that automation can supplant the personal touch. Select a tool that works well for your needs, but keep in mind that it's meant to enhance your relationship, not replace it. As a side note, I was not paid for my endorsement of AHF, but if you sign up with Joel, let him know I sent you and he might compensate me. Who knows? :)
BE AVAILABLE
Four years ago this month, I answered a phone call from our website from someone who was interested in buying a home on Lake Austin. 22 days later, I closed this buyer on a $3.4 million home. Yes, really. It was one of the top 10 sales for 2006 in Austin. What's the lesson here? Answer the phone! If someone calls or emails you, and it takes days to get a response, do you think they will wait patiently for you and only you to get back in touch? You already know the answer to this question, I hope.
BE PREPARED TO FOLLOW UP FOR AWHILE
You've probably also heard this axiom at some point, or maybe many, many times: Internet buyers have a longer sales cycle. While this can be true, I think the anecdote I shared just above this section refutes this, and I have plenty of others. That being said, I will share another story with you in the interest of bragging teaching. In 2005, my business partner made contact with a couple who were very interested in relocating to the Austin area from out of state. Their budget wasn't unlimited, but it made my pulse race a bit. He met with them during two or three visits, months apart. After roughly 13 months of staying in touch with this couple, he sold them an luxury acreage property for almost $4.1 million.
DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF IN SOME FASHION
This is one area that I probably need to work on a little bit in order to achieve it consistently, but I can give you a couple of quick examples from my experiences that might help:
Consider sending them something via "snail mail" - most agents won't go out of their way to send any tangible package
If the opportunity presents itself, take a video of a specific property, attraction, or area that you think they might find interesting, then personalize it and email it to them - I know this would make an impact on me. Make sure you appear in the video!
If they express interest in a particular home, take a bunch of pictures, put them on a CD, write their name on it, and send it in your package - I got this idea from my friend Bruce Brockmeier of HouseHunt (good stuff!)
I recognize that you probably can't do this last part for every lead you encounter, but it might help to solidify a burgeoning business relationship with the important ones.
I hope these tips come in handy. Feel free to contact me with any questions you might have. Thanks for reading!
For other methods of converting internet leads, be sure to check out giftofshift.com/activerain where you can purchase a limited edition hardcover of Gary Keller's book SHIFT, which comes with a free version of the eBook Soci@l: Attract Friends, Followers and Connections to Your Business, written by Ben Kinney and Jay Papasan (in which Ben shares his 'ten days of pain' lead conversion method) as well as free audio versions of Millionaire Real Estate Agent and Millionaire Real Estate Investor all for $19.99.
Please note that all information is time and date sensitive. The real estate and mortgage industry changes daily. All thoughts and opinions expressed on my blogs are not necessarily those of my past or present brokers or employers. All information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Equal Housing Lender, CA license #DOCML-813G820. This is not a commitment to lend. Prices and guidelines are subject to change without notice. Restrictions apply.
See what I mean. Now think about scrolling down the screen to fit all of these images in. I only added three but think of the space all 8 of them would have taken. 
We all know by now that as long as you are in a binding contract by April 30th and closed by June 30th you will meet the dates specified to qualify for the Homebuyer Tax Credit. Here in Central Florida that tax credit easily represents 5-10% of the average purchase prices we are seeing, for first time as well as repeat buyers. It's a great incentive to buy, and one you need to plan for.
;)
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