George's Blog

Please help! this member must be removed from our community!

2008-04-12T10:32:17Z

Ladies and Gentleman,

I would normally never flame a person on the net. I would typically pick up the phone and give them a piece of my mind personally, but this particular member (Eric Hope) username erichope, really needs to be excused from our community.

His business regardless of disclaimer, serves only one purpose, and that is to commit fraud. I am asking all members of this great community to email our admin here and respectfully request that this member be removed from active rain. this member is gaining a tremendous amount of net presence via active rain and in the interest of self policing and good ethics, we should not allow this to continue!

please post and give bumps to keep this blog at the top and make members aware of what kind of company we keep here in the Active Rain community.

respectfully,

george

The sweet, sweet taste of revenge, or is it justice?

2008-02-20T20:34:04Z

Good evening Rainer! I have to say I have had an interesting month in Real Estate.

I'm far too excited to keep my thoughts in so I thought I would share them with the site and maybe get some insight if I made the right decisions here.

I was recently partnered with a fellow activerainer down South that turned out to be the con man of all con men. As any new relationship, it started with roses and kisses and dreams of grandeur. Then after time went by things started to unfold and lies became difficult to keep up, then finally it all came unraveled.

I want to share this experience with you all so you can learn a lesson without having the pains of going through it yourself. This "gentleman" I was associated with sounded like an honest, hard-working guy who anyone would want to do business with. He sang me a sad song of how his home burned down that he and his son designed especially for them, he told me of how he lost his two dogs and his classic cars in the garage he cherished so much. I really felt bad and genuinely wanted to help the man out. I agreed to work with him and became President of his company.

I shared sources and clients and information with him and we made plans to continue our success into the very distant future together. Then .... things started to unfold. Little inconsistencies, suspicious behavior, constant hounding for funding sources and client contact info...... Some thing was rotten in the State of Denmark. I decided to finally do some searching and made some phone calls.

Turns out the Police and Fire Department had no record of this supposed fire, nor any fire on his road whatsoever or in the area. Turns out a deeper search found he and his wife committed some serious mortgage fraud in the past, then of course, once you find something you just start digging deeper and deeper and deeper. I (used) to consider myself a pretty good judge of character, but I have to admit I was totally taken for a ride with this fellow.

After he got wind of my inquiries, this guy disabled my company email account, then proceeded to email every single client and source of mine in my address book and advise them I was never a part of this company and that I was terminated.

There is thank goodness, a silver lining. All my clients and sources called me or emailed me immediately and essentially asked who this clown was. I guess it goes to show establishing real realationships and doing business ethically pay off in the long run.

So as my story winds down, since there was theft involved of some money I decided to contact my local FBI office they are looking into the embezzlement and the scam he was running. It's gonna be a long long road this guy is gonna travel, but I guess we all reap what we sow.

Create the appearance.

2007-10-11T07:50:00Z

Lately I have seen alot of frustrated mortgage folks and Realtors having a bad time with buyers and sellers. Here's the problem i see.....

You are not placing a value on your service and time. Many are seeing a drop in business and their survival mode comes into play and they accept any client that walks in the door... WHY!? this is more of a time to be selective than any other.

Buyer walks in and wants you to show them some homes, "Sure Mr. Buyer, do you have a pre-approval letter?" Buyer replies, "No, because we don't know what houses we want to look at."

You reply, "Well Mr. Buyer, I certainly value your time and would never want to waste it looking at properties you are not qualified for, so it would be a good idea for you to see what your threshold is, would you like the name of a trusted banker?, they could get you prequalified quickly while you review this buyer's agency agreement."

If you are not doing this, you are wasting your time! Place a value on your serices and don't become a tour guide or allow a client to become a tire-kicker. Remember you don't sell your fees, rate or commission, you sell a service. Cost is irrelevant if you have the best product!

All for nothing.........

2007-09-21T08:38:46Z

I have had a plethora of interesting transactions come across my desk over the past few weeks that pretty much sum up the current market for me.

Please follow along this typical phone interview.

Me - So Mr. Businessman, you need $20M for this energy project?

Businessman - Yes.

Me - Mr. Businessman, how much have you invested into the project to date?

Mr. Businessman - Well I have spent many hours accumulating all the information for this project and put it together into this business plan which I'm sure you will find very profitable.

Me- Ok.... How much have you spent so far, Mr. Businessman?

Mr. Businessman - Well, I haven't spent anything yet. That's why I'm calling you.

Me - Ok, Mr. Businessman, how much money do you have to put towards the project?

Mr. Businessman - Well George, I don't have any money, I thought you could bring partners in for me.

Me- Ok Mr. businessman, yes I can bring partners but you must understand you will be giving up a considerable portion of equity in your project.

Mr. Businessman - Ok, that's fine.

Two weeks go by....

Me- Mr. Businessman, i have an investor interested in your project, please review the letter of intent I have emailed you. (100% equity/debt financing taking 39% ownership) (truely a great deal)

Mr. Businessman - What's this 25k you are asking for?

Me- Well Mr. Businessman, I'm bringing you 100% of $20M to your project, we need to hire a geologist to review the ore reserve report and have a test well drilled with updated samples.

Mr. Businessman- Well, what if the ore survey isn't to your satisfaction? I'm out the 25K then right?

Me- Yes Mr. Businessman, you're out the 25K.

Me- Would you like to be out the 25K or out the 20M when a well turns up dry?

Mr. Businessman - I thought I could roll all this up in the back-end.

Me - No, Mr. businessman, you can't. As of today, you are asking me to give you 20M based on some writing on a piece of paper. You are asking me to loan you money on an idea, I'm sorry, I don't loan on ideas unless you have created the cure for cancer or perpetual energy.

Mr. businessman - Ok I'll get back to you.

Later that week........

The businessman turned down the one and only offer he could get and now has a fabulously written business plan worth $0.00

It goes to show you the mentality of borrowers today that think there is some kind of entitlement they are owed for their good looks and charm. I can't figure out for the life of me why people in need take the attitude that they are blessing you with their business.

I have learned a valueable lesson in all of this. Nothing is free, and the quicker you put someones feet to the fire, the quicker you find out if you are spinning your wheels.

Have any of you Realtors asked a client to deposit funds into escrow before taking them on the guided tour of houses they have no intention of buying? Would it be totally out of line to send a client a bill that doesn't buy when presented with everything they wanted and they don't buy? I am now placving a dollar amount to my time and I am contemplating the idea of charging tire kickers for my time.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

George

An incredible slap in the face.

2007-09-21T08:21:33Z

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070921/ap_on_re_us/ahmadinejad_columbia_1

Again, American's are faced with the overwhelming voice of the minority. Now we are again asked to show the world our tolerance for even the most vile human beings on the planet. For a nation of sinners and infidels, I think we show tremendous tolerance for the intolerable.

I don't know about anyone else, but I sit here stunned at times trying to make sense of it all. I thought commercial mortgages were confusing, but now commercial finance is turning into a steady game of go-fish compared to the politics of today.

The home office

2007-08-28T07:56:37Z

I know many of us work out of a home office. I had some great advice from a collegue (sp) of mine I wanted to share and get some feedback on. "When you're at work, you are at work."

Easier said than done I think. I got my wife hip to the idea and she essentially ignores me during the day, although I don't know if she's honoring the home office philosophy or another reason. =)

At any rate, to what extremes do you go to establish your home office principles? I personally get up around 5:30 every morning, shave, shower have a cup of coffee get dressed in slacks and a collared shirt and head downstairs to my office where I don't come back up until lunch time.

I know of some people that linger downstairs sometime in the morning in their jammies and answer a few emails, watch the view, work a little more and after lunch put some clothes on and go hog wild on the rest of the day.

I'd love to hear about your home office ideas.

Mortgage Forum abuzz with talk of ActiveRain

2007-08-28T05:49:16Z

I wanted to share what other forums are saying about our ActiveRain. Some others are definately catching on. This forum post came from Broker Outpost, LLC. The site is a great place for Loan Officers to place their difficult deals. The forum is run by Darrin Ferarro who is a stand up moderator and keeps everyone in line. Please visit his site if you get a chance.

www.brokeroutpost.com

Here is the post:

I'm sorry guys I had to delete the copied html, it was causing havoc!

Bank of America To the Rescue!

2007-08-23T07:55:32Z

AP
Stock Futures Point to Higher Open
Thursday August 23, 8:23 am ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer

Wall Street Appears Headed to Higher Open As Credit Worries Ease at Countrywide

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock futures pointed to a higher opening Thursday, with some investors relieved that troubled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. will receive a $2 billion capital infusion to help contain its problems.

Bank of America Corp. announced late Wednesday it will invest the money in the nation's largest mortgage lender to help it better weather problems in the global credit markets. The investment was seen as a way to not only prop up Countrywide, but also prevent any further losses at the mortgage lender from hurting the underlying economy.

The move may reassure investors that the mortgage and credit crisis is easing, although a number of major banks and home lenders continue to face difficulties. On Wednesday, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said it would close its BNC Mortgage unit and slash 1,200 jobs; HSBC Holdings PLC and Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. also said they would eliminate jobs.

U.S. stocks rose Wednesday, lifting the Dow Jones industrials 145 points after Bank of America, Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG, and Wachovia Corp. said they borrowed money from the Federal Reserve to help reassure markets. Borrowing money from the central bank is usually seen as a negative action by banks, but the move was designed to bolster the financial system after the Fed cut its discount rate last week.

Mortgage Job Losses Surpass 40k

2007-08-23T07:52:38Z

AP
Mortgage Job Losses Surpass 40,000
Wednesday August 22, 9:18 pm ET
By Ieva M. Augstums, AP Business Writer

As Mortgage Industry Retrenches, Industry Job Cuts Surpass 40,000

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- At the North Carolina offices of mortgage lender HomeBanc Corp., Archie Clark is the only employee left. But in a few days, he'll be gone, too. When Clark finishes helping movers from the company's Atlanta headquarters collect computers and other property, he'll join the more than 25,000 workers nationwide who have lost jobs in the financial services industry since the beginning of the month -- with more than half coming since last Friday.

With few exceptions, the cuts are the direct result of woes in the nation's housing market.

More layoffs are announced daily. On Wednesday, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. closed its "subprime" mortgage business, laying off 1,200 workers at 23 offices; Scottsdale, Ariz.-based 1st National Bank Holding Co. closed its wholesale mortgage unit and cut 541 jobs, and Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. added 1,600 positions to the heap. The night before, banking giant HSBC said it would close a main financing office and cut 600 jobs.

Since the start of the year, more than 40,000 workers have lost their jobs at mortgage lending institutions, according to recent company layoff announcements and data complied by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Meanwhile, construction companies have announced nearly 20,000 job cuts this year, while the National Association of Realtors expects membership rolls to decline this year for the first time in a decade.

It's an employment collapse that threatens to rival the massive layoffs in the airline industry that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when some 100,000 employees lost their jobs.

"It's far from over," said Bart Narter, a senior analyst with Celent, a Boston-based financial research and consulting firm. "The subprime lending collapse will continue to ripple through the financial sector."

For five years, the nation's housing market was booming and mortgage companies grew quickly, at times offering lucrative jobs to people with little experience. But as home values declined and interest rates rose in the past year, rising delinquencies and defaults -- especially in subprime mortgages targeted at borrowers with risky credit -- have pounded lenders who couldn't keep pace.

"These kind of mortgage lenders just sprung up like mushrooms and grew like men," said John A. Challenger, chief executive at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "They staffed up and now you have a bust."

America's largest mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp., began an undisclosed number of layoffs this week. Last week, Arizona mortgage lender First Magnus Financial Corp. shut down its operations and laid off nearly 6,000 workers. On Monday, Capital One Financial Corp. said it would shutter Greenpoint Mortgage, its wholesale mortgage banking business, and lay off 1,900 employees.

"It's only been weeks," Challenger said. "These companies are acting remarkably quickly, stopping on a dime."

Andy Roach didn't foresee the turmoil when he joined Greenpoint in March. As late as June, the 25-year industry veteran thought the business of making "Alternative A" mortgage loans -- geared for those with slightly better credit than subprime borrowers -- was on a solid track.

But in July, he said, spooked investors stopped buying the securities the company sold by repackaging the loans. A little more than a month later, Capital One announced that Roach and about 1,900 of his colleagues across the country were out of a job.

"It was evident that it was serious," said Roach, 46, a regional manager in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. "When you can't sell the loans, when there's no market for those loans, it put us in a bad, bad situation."

Clark, 33, headed information technology operations for three HomeBanc offices in the Raleigh area. He had a feeling earlier this month that trouble was lurking, as the company began cutting back on perks and made some initial layoffs. On Aug. 9, HomeBanc filed for bankruptcy protection. They kept him on through the end of the month to collect equipment and "just go in and check on things."

"It was pretty much a free for all in the office, people taking paper, stuff HomeBanc wouldn't need," he said. "I don't feel like HomeBanc did anything. It was a perfect storm of a bad housing market."

Two of Clark's friends have already landed jobs with Countrywide. Another found work with an affiliate of First Magnus, and was almost immediately laid off again. Roach plans to open his own lending business, focusing on commercial business loans and originating home loans himself.

"The mortgage business isn't dead -- there's just going to be less people in it," Roach said.

Associated Press writers Mike Baker and Margaret Lillard in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

And people thought real estate people were bad......

2007-08-21T07:38:31Z

Bed maker Craftmatic agrees to pay $130,000 in restitution on complaints

By Jon Burstein | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

August 21, 2007

The Craftmatic Organization - known for its electric adjustable beds - must now adjust its sales practices, the state Attorney General's Office said Monday.

The company will have to pay up to $130,000 in consumer restitution as part of an agreement to end a three-year state investigation into customer complaints, primarily from retirees. Buyers reported that sales people pressured them into purchasing beds they didn't want or couldn't afford.

The settlement also outlines "much-needed business reform" by the Pennsylvania-based company, Attorney General Bill McCollum said.

"Salespeople should never be permitted to harass elderly Floridians, especially when consumers are made to feel as though the only way to evict the salespersons from their homes would be to purchase these beds," McCollum said.

Craftmatic did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the agreement. A Craftmatic spokesman said the company treats its customers fairly, agreeing to settle with the state only to avoid costly litigation.

The approximately 60 complaints gathered by the Attorney General's Office represent a small fraction of sales in the state, said Charles Greenman, the company's attorney. He estimated that Craftmatic sells about 15,000 beds in Florida annually. The company's Florida office is in Pompano Beach.

Among customers who complained was Evelyn Adams, 80, of Bradenton. She said she contacted Craftmatic after receiving a postcard offering her a chance to win a free bed. She said Craftmatic called her in January to set up an in-home appointment and she agreed, thinking it was about the free bed.

The salesman ended up spending five hours in Adams' home, pressing her to buy a bed, she said.

"I told him more than once I could not afford it," Adams said. "He didn't stop. He went on two or three more hours after that. He wore me down until I could hardly realize what I was doing."

Adams said she felt so beaten down that she relented and agreed to a $2,898 charge on her credit card. She said she called the next day to cancel the contract, but the company delivered the bed, anyway.

She said she hired an attorney. The company eventually took away the bed and the charge was wiped from her credit card.

Adams' story is echoed by Florence Miller, 94, of Naples. She said she, too, responded to a postcard in April 2006 offering her a chance to wina free bed.

Miller said a salesman arrived at her home unannounced and "browbeat, bullied and berated" her for the next three hours until she gave him a $2,112 check for a bed. At one point, she said, she went into another room and cried.

"I didn't know what to do," Miller said. "I was afraid and I was alone. ... I couldn't stand it any longer."

After Miller complained to the Attorney General's Office, Craftmatic refunded her money, took away the bed and bought her a new one. In a letter responding to Miller's complaint, Craftmatic denied any fault.

Charles Chernofsky, a spokesman for Craftmatic, said that salespeople never show up unannounced and always confirm appointments a day in advance.

Sales people also are trained that when a customer asks them to leave, they leave, Chernofsky said.

"These senior citizens are not exploited," Chernofsky said. "Everything is explained to them at length."

The settlement with the state bans the company from representing that the beds provide any specific therapeutic benefit.

In addition, Craftmatic must notify potential customers how long their sales presentations will be and all sweepstakes entry forms must make clear that Craftmatic may contact the person about purchasing a bed.

Craftmatic must pay out up to $130,000 to consumers as well as $53,540 to the Attorney General's Office for costs and $20,000 to the Seniors vs. Crime program, a nonprofit organization focused on stopping the victimization of the elderly.

The settlement follows a July 2005 agreement reached by Craftmatic and a distributor with the Ohio Attorney General's Office following allegations of false advertising, high-pressure sales tactics and making false and misleading statements. Craftmatic and the distributor agreed to pay a combined $425,000 in restitution, civil penalties and attorneys' fees.

The company did not admit wrongdoing as part of the Ohio settlement.

Jon Burstein can be reached at jburstein@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4491.

If you send a newsletter to clients, try this.

2007-08-21T07:26:13Z

Intelligence Report

By Lyric Wallwork Winik
Published: August 19, 2007
[In the News]

Foreclosure Crisis

Experts fear that a million homes will face foreclosure this year-30% more than in 2006-and scams are making the crisis worse. Some tips:

1. Contact your lender as soon as you have a problem paying. Most want to help you keep your house.

2. Respond to all mail from your lender. Early letters often include options that let you avoid foreclosure; later ones are legal notices. "I didn't open my mail" isn't a valid excuse in foreclosure court.

3. Know your rights. Read your loan papers and find out about foreclosure laws in your state.

4. Prioritize your spending. After health care, keeping your home should be your top priority-even before paying off other debt.

5. Avoid foreclosure-prevention companies and scams. You don't have to pay fees for foreclosure help. Don't sign a document from someone claiming to stop a foreclosure. In a scam called "equity skimming," a "buyer" offers to repay the mortgage if you sign over your deed and move out. You're left with the debt and no house.

6. Get help from HUD. The Department of Housing and Urban Development offers free or low-cost counselors (call 1-800-569-4287 to find one) and information on avoiding foreclosure at http://www.fha.gov/.

Sign of the times.....

2007-08-20T07:49:01Z

Being in commercial finance has its ups and downs to say the least. Overall business is fine for me and I have a steady flow of referral business and some good size deals.

With that being said, I have had an unusually high influx of dead horses come across my desk over the past two weeks. Many of these beaten horses are year old deals that some broker found and "wants to take a stab at it" and others are just ridiculous scenarios from mega developers overseas. A Waterpark in Ghanna comes to mind.

What these poor brokers don't realize is that the commercial lending streams are so small that we all talk to each other about these deals. We see the same deals, over and over again. It's actually gotten to the point, today I am creating a forum just for my core group of friends to post useless, time consuming, fraudulent, and total BS deals.

I found out a friend of mine who is also a commercial guy was working on a particular commercial purchase for 61 mil in Southern California. I had to tell him to kill it immediately because it was a scam. He called the referring broker up and asked him one simple question which proved my claim. "Can I speak with your principle?" Needless to say the broker balked.

It's unfortunate that times have come to this and we have to create a blacklist. I guess the same can be said for some buyers that are more interested in wasting your time, than purchasing a home. The one important message out of all of this is, "Do you have a deal?" Prequal them before you waste your time.

The cream always rises.

2007-08-13T11:00:00Z

Our industry is taking a severe beating, mostly from the media in my humble opinion, but many, many factors can be included in the responsibility for the current market.

Please forgive my candor but I wanted to say a few things about this market correction we are all undergoing. First and foremost, I do not want to see the Fed stepping in on our industry to quell a niche that accounts for maybe 3% of the total market. Although this correction in the subprime industry is painful at times and inventories are going up, we need this to take place.

There needs to be a natural correction in our market and a "thinning of the herd" needs to take place naturally. Any time you get the federal government involved in a capitalist driven industry, nothing good will come of it. Many, many people got in on this industry in early 2000 and slaughtered the cow so to speak when they should have milked it. Now that they have made their money they are on the way out. Good riddance I say! The only problem is that we, the professionals, are the ones left to re-establish the trust and dignity to the profession.

I think if the rate cut comes from the fed, those people that caused this market will jump back in and just continue their normal business of rate selling and we will be back to square one in a short amount of time, except when it happens again, it will be truely devestating.

I would appreciate any insight you veterans have and please don't be afraid to tell me I'm way off base. I appreciate your replys.

George

The Trickle down effect

2007-08-08T08:49:09Z

Unfortunately with the past week's market volatility I have suffered my first lost. I had a nice package set for a new high end development in the SW United States and the Private Equity partners on the deal yanked their cash out from under us. Good for us we prepared the client for this uncertainty in their deal and we are going to repackage it in a month and resell it to another group.

It is the nature of the beast and I have grown custom to not counting the deal until the check has been cashed, but none-the-less, it still stings a little when we feel the crunch. With this in mind, I have never the less since day one, always always always kept generating new business.

I keep the mindset that I have an empty pipeline so I make sure that every minute of every day is doing a money making activity. We all need to keep this focus no matter how many listing we have or how much volume we have in our pipeline. Mostly because as I'm sure many of you have known and experienced, it can all fall off the charts with great ease.

Hunger is a great motivator!

An interesting view of our current crisis.

2007-08-05T11:11:48Z

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18119.htm

Some extremely candid views are pointed out in this research piece. It gives a fairly bleak outlook on the market, namely real estate. I guess my youthful optimism keeps me from accepting that this will affect my business. I have always tried to work harder than the next guy. The business is out there, yes, getting it is the key.

I consider this a thinning of the herd so to speak, and long overdue in my humble opinion. I believe alot of people got into real estate at the turn of the Century and made their big bucks shooting the fish in the barrel. Now that the barrel is empty, they are leaving by the droves. I'm frankly glad to see it.

I know I will survive this new market because I work harder and stronger than the guy next to me. We all have the same opportunity in this new market, are you ready for the new challenge?

The extra mile.....

2007-07-31T09:49:48Z

I think I have blogged about this before but I thought it would be a nice pick me up for a Tuesday morning.

When we get our deals, we of course work dilligently to close them and provide our client great service and a product they will be happy with in the hopes we get the referral. What extras do you do for your clients that went the extra mile?

I for one have gone to extents to buy movie tickets so parents could take the kids out for the afternoon while I showed their open house.

I have rolled up my sleeves and helped a mom pack her house because her husband was overseas and had no one to help her.

I have ordered pizza for the family moving into their first home because I got their miracle loan closed for them.

I came to my listing and showed the homeowner how to patch a hole in the drywall.

Please share you stories!

George

"Just Walk Away..." He says

2007-07-31T09:03:59Z

Why oh why do the masses think we are in a slump?

People like this joker scare the crap out of our clientele and ruin what was a very good market. Where does this clown get his information? The actual housing numbers are far better than all these "experts" are claiming. What is the actual national default rate? Less than 5% if I'm not mistaken. How does that constitute a crisis?

The media is ruining our business to sell their slime and generate ratings and coverage. The market has always corrected itself and didn't require big brother to stick their all knowing hands into a complex field of variables like Real Estate.

Here is the link of the all knowing ear to the tracks, finger on the pulse of the housing market Jim Cramer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7e9H4zTqk4

What can we do to educate these entertainers in "expert's" clothes?

A problem on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.

2007-07-30T09:22:22Z

I know we have all come across these types of borrowers, buyers, sellers in our day, but I felt a need to share one with you.

I had a loan officer call me at about 7:00pm last night and asked if we work fast. Of course I replied, we are in the business of making money, not staring at deals! She gives me the scenario as follows: Seller is facing foreclosure and needs to close within 2 days. Buyer is semi strong with 20% down and needs quick hard money to purchase.

"Do you have a full package?", I ask.

"Yes, I can email it to you within the hour."

An hour goes by and I recieve a 9 page e-fax which I have to convert so i can forward it along to my bosses. It consists of a partially filled out 1003 and some inoccuous pages of frivolous information. I wait in baited breath for the Tri-merge, appraisal, net operating income statements, borrower resume, etc etc etc which I explained is a full package. Nothing.

Ring, ring.... 10:00 am this morning. "I just wanted to know how everything is coming along?"

I reply, " Ok I guess, when were you going to send the rest of the documentation?"

The LO goes on and on about the necessity of getting this done in 2 days and I come to find out, we don't have preceedings in 2 days, we have the Auction in 2 days. Well needless to say, I advised this nice LO that sorry for hard money we need 30-35% down, not to mention that illustious full package, and two days isn't gonna happen period.

The LO goes on to try and bait me into admitting I could do it in two days, which I plainly said, I will look at it and get it done faster than most, but only a fool would agree to a two day closing. Those deals only happen with a 780 score HELOC FULL Doc, National City Loan submitted at 8:00 am when the Rep is sitting in your office.

I was considering asking her why she sat on the deal until two days before the Auction, but I chose to just let it lie and advised her I would try to assist if I could but these are the terms we are offering and the time frame involved.

Please share some of your memorable problems with us. I consider them a great morning workout for my neck as I tend to shake my head alot when i read them.

Have a great day!

George

Business Ethics, Changing Times

2007-07-24T08:07:26Z

Good morning Active Rainers! I wanted to touch on a subject regarding the current market and the subsequent change of ethics when conducting business.

When Rosser Reeves published his classic book, Reality in Advertising in 1961, he introduced the notion of USP - Unique Selling Proposition. The distinguishing factor that makes you stand out from many others in your business in the same line of work.

Quite a challenge I would say when there are a plethora of Realtors, Title Agents and Lenders on every street corner across the US. Maybe since the book is out of print or other reasons, I have noticed more in my market, the use of gimmicks and enticements versus honest to god USP. Occassionaly I have had the unfortunate experience to find that the USP the business people are using is illegal according to RESPA.

With a saturated market full of inventory and competitors clinging on, how are you guaranteeing your place in the market without sacrificing your ethics? How are you standing out above the crowd to show your potential clients that YOU are thier one and only choice? I know in the Commercial Lending side of things, we are saturated with promises, promises and more promises. Many lenders claim to have access to resources that they don't such as hedge fund managers, investment groups, so on and so forth. It's difficult at times for me to compete with these folks because they sell their way into a deal and then sit on it for months to eventually turn it down and the deal has a bad stigma attached to it by then.

My particular USP is to immediately create a dialogue of trust and mutual respect when dealing with Realtors and Residential Loan officers that have a nice deal fall into their lap. I explain to them my company's experience in the market place and then my own. I assure them we will give them a straight answer and then I matter of factly advise them we are professionals and do not wish to be shopped.

Some of you may think this is a dream request, but let me elaborate as to why we make such a demand. Firstly, we believe in milking the cow, not slaughtering it for a feast. We want our clients to come back to us, so we offer them a great rate and a reasonable fee arrangement. Secondly, we don't charge them a fee like many Commercial Lenders to look at their package. I have heard horror stories about deals gone awry and the lender pocketing 15k just to work it for 3 months and turn it down. In my humble opinion, if a Commercial Lender asks you for upfront money, get an LOI (letter of intent) first. Give them a snapshot of the deal, they will have a good idea if they can work it or not after a 5 minute conversation.

Now, as to why I ask them not to shop their deal. Believe it or not, there are a limited amount of resources that have and are willing to toss out 100+ million for a project. Depending on how the deal is structured and the ROI and Profit margins a deal can die out quickly. Lets say Lender A took an 80 million dollar shopping plaza in CA to his Hedge sources and that Hedge turned it down. Now the LO takes it to Commercial guy B and we restructure that deal to make it more appealing to the investors and happen to present it to the same investor. We look like idiots. Our reputation is tarnished, we could possibly lose our resource to future monies from that group. All because the deal was seen and turned down on their desk 2 weeks earlier.

As a commercial Realtor, I would advise you find a successful commercial lender and stick with them. If they can't make your deal go through, chances are, the deal is a dog. I find too many impatient Realtors, Loan Officers shopping a large deal out on the net and sending out packages left and right. Not good business, for you or your client that has entrusted you with their business.

So back to the USP, I chose to take a more affirmative stance on my business instead of a get it any way I can. Perhaps more folks believe my approach to be counter productive, I see it rather as the deals I get are more solid and I'm wasting less time on deals that will never see the light of day. As a Realtor, are you relaxing your standards just to get more business? I think the truely strong professionals are going to believe in themselves and take the deals that are smart.

I would love to hear some of your stories on how you are prepared to weather the storm over the next year or two.

Warmest Regards,

George

Residential Cooling

2007-07-20T09:30:14Z

The market is taking a step back from some of the more riskier paper now. I would like to hear what kind of preparations and changes some of you are making in your business plans.

The market is facing a different, but by no means novel atmosphere. As many of the veterans here on the network can attest, this is a shift and will pass with time. Hopefully we can say after this adjustment that lessons were learned.

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

George Bernard Shaw

Riding the storm out

2006-10-04T05:35:47Z

How are you all riding the real estate rollercoaster right now? As I see some of my competitors shutting their doors, we are looking at offering new products and expanding our services.

How are you all adapting to our market changes?

George

Noticeable Industry Shift

2006-10-02T15:53:35Z

I have noticed in the past couple weeks the shift into Manufactured Housing Sales, Foreclosure Bailouts, and Hard money transactions.

Perhaphs the A.R.M. craze is catching up? If you can imagine, there are still mortgage products out there that offer 125% of the value of the home as a second mortgage BEHIND a negative ammortization first mortgage. I'm trying hard to find the market that this would most benefit and only one or two come to mind that can build that type of appreciation.

What are your individual areas like and where do you all see them headed?

George

O.S.U. Finally looking like #1

2006-10-01T06:56:06Z

I hope everyone got a chance to see the Buckeyes manhandle Iowa Saturday night. So far I'm 2 for 2 on my Buckeye betting, covering spead and then some. I gave 14.5 points this last game and the Buckeyes came through handily. I gave 7.5 on the Texas game when Vegas was only giving 2.5

God I love college ball! How has your alama-mater fared this year?

George

George's Book Club

2006-09-28T09:02:46Z

I'm positive someone in the network has already done this but I am going to be starting my own book club.

If you have a particular book real estate or sales related I would love to hear about it and hopefully get some insight before purchasing. Please use the following format. Title, author and a good description of why you like it.

My favorite book by far right now is:

Business Lunchatations ( Bo Dietl with Bob Bly)

A great hard nosed book from NYPD's "Top Cop" turned super networker and successful businessman. Bo Dietl has little hesitation about speaking his mind and covers everything from dressing for first impressions to networking fundamentals.

Tour guides, Rate shoppers and Looky-loos

2006-09-28T08:26:03Z

Good morning everyone!

I wanted to throw a couple words up about a part of the business we all have suffered through at one time or another. The indecisive client.

How many Realtors here have played tour guide to that one client that just couldn't make that final step? As a Realtor my first buyer was perfect. He had a nice down payment, great job history, my LO said he was more than qualified and she gave me a range to go out and find him a home. The problem was... the gentleman was kind of into books. I mean really into books. Ok he was obsessed with books and had two bedrooms of his parents house full of books. So needless to say, he wanted a bone dry basement. After playing tour guide the entire summer for the client I started sending him out on his own. Unfortunately he went to an open house and the listing agent snagged him and said he didn't need me to represent him. She ended up getting both sides and I was out on a 200k purchase. Moral? I wasn't servicing my client. If I had been, he would have had complete loyalty.

As a L.O. I know every loan officer in here has had their fair share of rate shoppers. I have had people up until five minute of closing call me and tell me they closed with another company the day before. After my first year of being an L.O. I hired a growth coach, and he made me dollarize my time. I have to tell you it was the best business lesson I have every learned in my life. My time was worth $1.44 per minute and I didn't have time to give quotes anymore. I stopped selling rates and started selling savings. It's a hard thing to get used to with our "educated" borrowers now. They are so rate conscious it's debilitating sometimes. I had a saying when I first started and it evolved; "It's not a deal until it's closed"..... then, "it's not a deal until it's funded"....then, "it's not a deal until my check cleared."

Now as a Title agent back in the warmth of the family business where I am comfortable and think I have a firm grasp on the world and....... a client send 3 properties in for 1.5 mil each. I happily start the title work on them. About 2 weeks go buy and no lender, then three weeks, then four weeks. Deals are dead. Oh boy, I still had to pay for the exams and the surveys. I'm out about a couple thousand dollars. So this same client throws a 3 mil dollar purchase at me 2 weeks ago. I sit on it. I don't order title, I don't order a survey, and wouldn't ya know it? He asks Thursday if he can close on Monday. Sheesh, somedays I think I have a firm grasp, then it all goes out the window.

Since I am relatively young and only have a limited number of years in the business I look forward to the future where I can hopefully be able to forsee these types of scenarios before they slap me in the face. until then I will remain cautiously optimistic to every client so that I don't get caught with my pants down.

I would love to hear from the network about their trials and tribulations with the reluctant client and how they overcame the hurdles.

George