Geoff Thomas's Blog

Do you think this is worth $25 a year????

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:19:15 -0700

So I've come across this powerful listing program that has a ton of really cool features. The agent's I've talked to about his are just loving it and with the cost of $25 a year it can't be beat!!! Some of the features include:

Unlimited numbers of high quality HD photos can be uploaded
Each listed property gets it own unique web site
Each property get's it's own FREE customizable virtual tour
Includes a FREE panoramic picture stitcher and you can upload several FREE panoramic pictures
Walk score shows what shops and entertainment are close by
Property map with google street view
What schools are in the area
City Demographics
water bottle lables with property listing and agent information for open houses
Syndication to several other sites such as Google, Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Realtor.com
Stunning Craigslist adds will fully operational links to the listing information
Business card stickers with listing information
Free mobile web site
Call capture system
Available sign riders
Listing presentation flip book showing clients all the work you're going to put into selling their house
Broadcasts to your buyer's friends showcasing their new home with your information on it
Your own free fully customizable web site
Widgets to post your listings to your blog, facebook page, etc.

You get all this and then some! And for only $25 a year!

To see a video showing just what this program can do check it out at www.agentsunfairadvantage.com

If you'd like more information about this program or would like to use it please contact me at gthomas@golfsavingsbank.com or give me a call anytime on my cell at 206-778-0525

Have you heard of Microsoft Tags? This is a great marketing tool with so many possibilities!!

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:51:03 -0700

What are Microsoft Tags? So I learned about Microsoft Tags a few weeks ago. These are an awesome idea and ever since I’ve seen them, ever where I go I see more applications for them! What is a Microsoft Tag you ask? Well it’s like a small square bar code that you scan with your smart phone’s camera. Where are Microsoft Tags? When I was introduced to them they were anywhere from magazine ads that you could get more information on the article you were reading to a Ford Taurus SHO brochure where when you scan the tag it brings up videos, pictures, and more info on the car. I also saw it on the inside of a pack of gum (I think it was Stride) where they would have promotional information. I even saw one on a business card where if you scan the tag it would actually download the persons V card info into your phone so you have all their contact information! They even showed places like on transit signs such as at the bus stop where you could scan the tag and it’s show you the bus schedule so that you would know how much longer until the bus showed up and where the bus would take you. Uses for tags. I can see these tag popping up everywhere! I was sitting at the local Mongolian Grill today thinking how cool it would be to have them on the menus. They could have something as simple as pictures pop up on your phone of the dishes, to something as cool as a short video of the cook preparing your favorite dish! If their recopies aren’t top secret they could even have that on there! On musicians promotional signs and flyers for upcoming events they could use a tag and put a short video that comes up when you can the tag showing you what they sound like and what to expect at a concert or even on album covers so you can sample some of their music. Grocery stores could use them in their adds so that you can store their add on your phone and view it as you walk through their store.You can even have it speed dial your phone as you can see in the video!!! For Real Estate? Man I can think of the ways to use this in Real Estate and Mortgages!! The first obvious thing is put them on your business cards! Maybe have one on the back if you don’t want it to clutter up the front of your card. Put your V-card info on it or have it be a speed dial. Put them on your yard signs in front of your listings. Have it show all the information about your listings. Put them on your flyers to show additional pictures or even a walk though video of the property! Call me and I’ll put together financing options for you and associate it with a tag to go on your open house flyers. Use it in your print adds in your local real estate magazines and have a list of all your listings pop up when the tag is scanned. I see more and more uses for these all over the place! Directories at building entrances, driving directions on a companies advertizing that automatically populate in your phones GPS, and the list goes on and on! Check them out at www.microsoft.com/tag. Download the app from your phones browser at http://gettag.mobi. Let me know what you think about these cool little tools! Have you used them yet? What are some more things you could think of for uses for these? If you have any thoughts or comments please leave them below. If you have any questions or would like to get a free mortgage consultation please don’t hesitate to give me a call at 206-778-0525, e-mail me at gthomas@golfsavingbank.com, or securely apply online at www.gtsmortgage.com. Thanks for reading and here is to wishing you a productive day from Snoqualmie Ridge Mortgage!

Out to lunch

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:59:40 -0700

Last Monday I decided to try something new for lunch so I jumped on my motorcycle and headed out. Initially I had looked up a place on Center Blvd on Snoqualmie ridge but I didn't see it there. Not sure if I just overlooked it or if it was closed down so I kept on motoring along. I remembered there was a Teriyaki place down the hill toward Railroad St so I pulled back out on Snoqulamie Parkway and headed headed down the hill. I came to the little strip mall across the street from the Snoqualmie fire dept. and turned in. There ws Happy at the Bay Teriyaki. I pulled into a parking spot, jumped off by bike, pulled off my helmet and gloves and walked on in. First impressions were great! The place is pretty new so it looked nice and modern and clean. The gal behind the register was very friendly and helpful. I ordered my usual teriyaki chicken and a fountain pop, paid for my meal, poured my drink and found me a table. By the time I got sat down the lady behind the register had a bowl of Miso soup and a fork and napkin there for me. This was a pleasant surprise! I've never been to a teriyaki place that served Miso soup as a free appitizer. I sipped away at my soup and just as I was finishing the last of it she was there with my teriyaki chicken. I have 3 things I look for in a teriyaki restaurant. The first is how good is the teriyaki sauce. Here it was great! It was a little thick like a glaze, just how I like it, it had great flavor and they didn't skimp. The 2nd thing I look for is a great dressing on the salad. This didn't dissapoint either. It was a nice creamy dressing and again the didn't skimp. I like having leftovers to pour over my rice which I did. The thrid thing is I look for a bottle of teriyaki sauce on the table. In the event they don't get enough on the chicken I like to be able to pour a little more onto the chicken. I also like pouring it on the portion of my rice that I don't put the salad dressing on. The service there was excellent and they were very friendly as well. They made sure I knew my fountain pop was refillable for free and they also offered me a free refill on my Miso soup. If you like Teriyaki and are on Snoqualmie Ridge I'd highly recomend checking out Happy at the Bay Teriyaki.

House values gone down? There is still hope!

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:24:46 -0800

Many people are in a situation where their house values have declined and they are in an ARM or just a higher rate mortgage. Because their values have come down to or below what they owe most lenders won't refinance their mortgages. This leaves them stuck in a situation where they can't get into the better rates and programs available today.

The government has a solution to this that they released last summer. It's called the Fannie Mae DU Refi Plus and Freddie Mac Relief Refinance. With these programs you can finance up to 105% of your homes value on your first mortgage and if you have a second if they will resubordinate combined loan to value is unlimited in some cases. This makes this loan program especially great for people who got into an 80/20 a couple years ago!

There are a couple restrictions to these great programs. Your current loan has to be with either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. That does not mean that you send your payments to either but that who ever you originally got your loan through has to have sold it to one of the two. Many times your current loan may be serviced by Wells Fargo, GMAC, Indy Mac, etc however the actual owners of the loan could be Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Servicing a loan simply means collecting the funds for the loan and passing them on to the actual owner of the loan.

To find out if your home is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac click on either of the two links below and and fill in the appropriate information and it will tell you if they do. Make sure to be accurate or it could say no when actually they could own your loan. Make sure you fill it in your address exactly as it shows on your statement.

http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate/

There are some restrictions to the types of loans you can do. The new loan has to show a benefit to the borrower. You can't go from a Fixed loan to an ARM but you can go from an ARM to a fixed loan. You also can not go to an interest only loan. Your new loan has to have lower payments unless you are going from interest only to fully amortized.

There is also a possability that you could do this loan without getting an appraisal!

If you find your loan is owned by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and would like to see if you could qualify to reduce your mortgage payments or if you have any questions on this loan program call me today! 206-778-0525

Use your rental to pay off your primary residence faster!

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:41:35 -0800

Doing a search on here I've come across a handful of blogs referring to the Home Ownership Accelerator from CMG Mortgage. There seem to be a lot of controversies about this loan program and rightfully so. However I haven't seen anyone take the perspective on it that I'm about to show you.

I've looked this program over on a number of occasions and while I feel it is a very good loan for the right people, there are many people who would be more beneficial to go with another type of financing. The program isn't nearly as great as many of those who are selling it make it out to be.

There is however one niche that I've found that this loan program can really shine. For those who have rental properties! This loan program is NOT available for the rental properties themselves but why not use your rental income to take full advantage of this type of loan program?

For those of you who are not familiar with this type of loan program the way it works is it is a 1^st position HELOC that has a checking account attached to it. You put all your monthly income into the account which lowers the principal balance. Then pay your bills and use the money just as you would out of your normal checking account. Toward the end of the month the interest is calculated off the AVERAGE DAILY BALANCE (this is important). So while your money is sitting idle in your checking account it is actually saving you the amount of interest that you would be paying that amount. This savings in interest each month adds up over time and compounds itself paying off your mortgage significantly quicker than a typical 30 year fixed mortgage.

Now how to take advantage of this program by using your rental property! Your renters' rents are due on the 1^st and are usually considered late on the 2^nd or 3^rd. Your mortgage payment is due on the 1^st of each month however it isn't late until the 15^th of each month. If you pay past the 15^th you get assessed a late fee of usually $35.00. So why not take advantage of this period? You don't want to be charged the $35.00 late fee as that would be counter productive. So take your rents that you receive on the 1^st or 2^nd of each month and put it all in your checking account that is attached to your Home Ownership Accelerator mortgage. You want to make sure your lender gets their payment in time for the 15^th so send in the mortgage payment for your rental property on the 12^th or 13^th of the month so as to give enough time for the mail to get it there. Or if you pay it online and it is instant wait until the 15^th! Still yet your payment usually takes an additional 2 to 3 days to actually clear your account so you could actually pay up to 16 or 17 days worth of interest less each month on the amount of your rentals because this is driving down your AVERAGE DAILY BALANCE saving you thousands over the term of your mortgage and paying off your primary residence much much quicker!

What are y'alls' thoughts on this? Have any of the loan officers on here who are currently selling this program thought of this approach?

Marketing???

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:41:17 -0700

This is more geared toward loan officers being that's what I am but I would like this to open up discussion for real estate agents as well as I think there could be a lot of good information shared on this subject.

So the question. If you had $1,000 to spend on bringing in leads what would you spend it on?

I've spent money on For Sale By Owner programs and internet leads and a few other things that cost a substantial amount of money but have not given much for returns. Being an honest and up front type and not the shisty, slick talking used car salesmen type the cold calling and phone sales haven't proven very profitable for me. I've been trying to keep in front of a couple different real estate agents. One of which is an entire office that my parent's know the broker very well and I know him somewhat and actually went to school with his son. I try to stop in as much as I can but due to the distance from where I am isn't as often as I'd like but I try to stay in their e-mail at least once a week. And I've been trying to keep in front of a friend of mine who I used to purchase my condo earlier this year. I have yet to get a single loan from any of them.

I've been purchasing Loan Web internet leads since about Feb. and am this month closing my 3rd loan from them so they are really not panning out either. They are supposed to be sending me 20 leads a month in which I've been getting more like 5-10 a month and sending over half of those back because of bad numbers, prank leads, or people who were "just messing round online to see what rates are."

I have a loan that I am working on that will give me some extra cash to use for marketing (if I can close it now that it went sideways due to the appraisal) and I'm trying to get ideas from other who have had success from marketing they've done. So far I had planned to join the local Chamber of Commerce to try to do some networking but other than that I'm open for suggestions. So what have y'all had luck with?

Thanks! Geoff

What are YOUR hot buttons?

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:07:40 -0700

I have a meeting with a real estate office on the 29th. I spoke with the broker on the phone to set up this meeting during their weekly sales meeting. I want to put together a presentation that is going to hit some hot buttons to get their attention and make them want to at least give me a try. I feel once they do they'll be thrilled with the service and continue to send me loans but I just need to get them to send me the first one to get my foot in the door.

From what I've gathered so far from being in the business Agents don't care much about rates and fees and stuff like that unless they are ridiculously high which mine aren't. But rather agents are more concerned that their deal is going to get done. My prompt service, attention to detail, and being proactive in getting over hurtles are going to get the deal done on time. However anyone and I'm sure every LO they've talked to has told them the same thing that they will get their loans done on time yadda yadda yadda. What are some key things that would make you agents actually listen to what a LO tells you when they are trying to solicit your referrals?

Thanks for you help!

loan Officers going into Real Estate offices

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:31:08 -0800

I'm looking to start going into some Real Estate offices to try to build some referral partners. I'd like to put together a flyer or news letter to bring into the offices with me with some current mortgage information. What I'd like to know is what information do you Real Estate agents find most useful. What information would you like to have to be able to either just know for yourself what the current trends are or to be able to pass along to your clients? I would really like to put something together that will have some value to give to the agents I make contact with and that won't just get tossed in the round file as soon as I hit the door. What have other loan officers done that cought your eye and made you want to refer your clients to them? Thanks in advance for all your ideas!

Geoff

Christmas Cards/new lo letter

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 14:52:07 -0800

I'm trying to put together some Christmas cards for my past clients along with sending cards to my friends, family, and other contacts I've made of the last year. I want to put a letter in with the cards (mainly the ones I send to my friends and family and people I already know) that says I'm doing mortgages now being I just started in this career earlier this year. I've called and told many of them I am doing this now but I wanted to have something that I can physically put in their hands and include some business cards with them. My question is what are your guys' opinions on how to go about doing this? Should I just hand write something in the card? That could take a lot of time to do. Or should I just make a small insert that goes in the card? Or just a full page letter to include with the card? Should I start it off saying Merry Christmas then get into the by the way I'm now doing loans and that rates are at the best they've been all year or should I cut right to the case and say I'm doing mortgages now and rates are really good then say the Merry Christmas later? Or should I just let the card say Marry Christmas and just have the letter say that I'm now doing loans? I figured with all the eyes on this site that I should hopefully get a fair amount of feedback from those who have done this kind of thing and who know what works. Thank you all for your help in advance!

Thanks

Geoff

How many of you use a Blackberry or similar device and what one do you prefer?

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 13:58:15 -0800

I've been looking into getting a blackberry or something similar to keep track of all my contact and be able to send and recieve e-mails while I'm on the go. I really don't know a whole lot about them and it seems when I go into the stores the salesmen really don't have much of a clue either and espeically when it comes to the features that we would use in our industry. So my question is what do you all use and what are the pros and cons to the different models? How much do the service plans cost and how much do the devices cost? What one seems to be the best bang for the buck and what are the features that you use most or wish you had on your device?

Hopefully this will help others in the same boat in looking for such a device as well!

Y'all have a great day and thanks for your help!

ARMs VS. FRMs

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 19:29:26 -0800

Many people seem to have the misconception that ARMs are a horrible loan program in most cases. While the idea of there being a possibility of your interest rate going up and be and is unnerving to many in a lot of cases they can actually be the best way to save money depending on your long term goals.

The only time a FRM (Fixed Rate Mortgage) is a good thing is if the borrowers are planning on staying in the home for long term AND have good credit. Almost always an ARM will have a lower start rate than a fixed rate mortgage will. So if a borrower doesn't plan on being in the home for more than 5 or 7 years there is no point in them paying the higher interest rate of the fixed rate mortgage. If they only plan on owning the home for 2 or 3 years then they can save even more on a 2 or 3 year ARM. This would a lot of times fall into the realm of most first time home buyers. They are usually just getting what ever they can afford at the time so that they can get into the market. Most likly with in 5 years they are going to be makeing more money and be more financially set and are going to be looking to move up into a nicer house or possibly into their dream house. So if the lender listens to their plans and realizes they will most likely be moving with in 5 years they will get into a 5 year ARM and they won't have to worry about the rates going up before they get out of the loan. Granted you never know 100% for sure what is going to happen in 5 years but most people have a good idea where they want to be and are working toward that goal so in most cases it's a pretty safe bet.

For someone with not so good credit their interest rates are going to be much higher to begin with. Sometimes the rates might actually raise their payments to the point that their DTI (Debt To Income) is to high to qualify them for the loan. So they need the lower rate of the ARM to qualify. Also there is no point in them paying that higher rate of the FRM over 30 years. If they make sure to get themselves back on an even keal and pay their payments on time their credit will improve within a couple years. So they will want to refinance at that time anyway once they qualify for a better rate. This will save them much more money over the long term. The tricky part here is typically poor spending habbits are a lifestyle. So you really need to stress to them to make some wiser decissions when it comes to their finances. Perhaps even send them to a good financial planner that you know to help get them on the right track. This is also where a lender or mortgage broker becomes more of a mortgage advisor or mortgage planner for their clients instead of just a lender or broker.

Yes there are some mortgage brokers AND lenders out there that are only trying to make a quick buck and will put their customers into what ever loan will make them the most money but there are many out there that truly do have their client's best interests in mind. The key is to find someone who will listen to what you tell them and will explain to you what all the ins and outs are of each product until you fully understand them.

Importance to getting a good agent

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 14:09:38 -0700

As you know when purchasing a new home it is very important to get a good agent especially if you are a first time home buyer. When I bought my first home with my ex-fiancé we got a horrible agent. Thankfully we got a really good loan officer.

We started off by getting preapproved then looking in the real estate magazines. We called on several homes but they seemed to be all sold by the time we saw them in the book. We left several messages but only one agent called us back so that is who we ended up going with.

He was somewhat helpful in finding homes for us and we went out to look at a few homes with him. We found the one we were looking for and against my better judgment we made a full price offer as that's what he recommended and that's what my ex was talked in to. So we go through the process and made the offer and then ordered the inspection. I went out with the inspector to check the house out. There wasn't anything major wrong with it but there were a few smaller things that came up. The sellers agreed to some of it but didn't want to service the furnace and didn't want to replace the rusted bathroom sinks. Our agent told us he didn't think those were big deals and that he wouldn't worry about it trying to get the deal to just go through as easily as possible with the least of work possible for him. I didn't want to purchase the house, then need to make the repairs so I wanted them fixed.

I spoke with my lender and she was AWSOME!! She explained to me a little better how things work and told us that we were like the golden buyers to them as we were already preapproved for the loan on the house. The house had only been on the market for a couple days and we had offered a full price offer on the house. She told me I needed to call my agent and tell him what I wanted done, to get it done and to call me when it's done. WOW what a difference! As soon as I put my foot down and did that the agent went from thinking this was going to be a easily pushed through deal due to us being first time buyers not knowing much to asking us what we wanted and actually trying to work with us. Turns out the sellers agent ended up paying for the sinks and the sellers finally agreed to service the furnace.

What a learning experience that whole ordeal was. It sure would have been better to learn that from a good agent rather than a good LO.

Inspection and followup

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Fri, 01 Sep 2006 13:14:55 -0700

When purchasing a house an inspection is obviously one of the important steps especially if the financing is going FHA or a similar program. However some people, especially inexperienced first time home buyers, will take the sellers for their word and forgo a follow up to make sure what was said to be done was actually done.

This happened to me when I purchased my first house. The inspector came and found very little actually wrong with the house. Just minor things like the bathroom sinks had rust on the over flow drains and the furnace needed to be serviced. Also the sellers had done some home improvements and had run wires for a water fountain along the side of the house but didn't put it in any kind of conduit to protect it. There was also a large pile of debris from the old carpet and other parts of the house they had done improvements on but didn't take the old stuff to the dump yet. In the contract we had it stated that all the garbage on the side of the house was to be removed and that the furnace was to be serviced along with the sewer pumped and the bathroom sinks replaced.

We took the people for their word that the things were fixed and preceded with purchasing the house without going back out to do a final inspection. BIG MISTAKE!!!

So the deal closes and we go to move in. The people weren't out when they were supposed to be so we showed up in the drive way with a truck and trailer full of stuff and couldn't start unloading yet. So we had to go burn a few hours until they were out. We finally got to start moving in and the garage still had a bunch of junk in it. The debris that was along the side of the house was only partially gone. They got rid of the rolls of carpet but left a bunch of other stuff there. The wires in the front of the house that were supposed to be put in conduit was put in conduit but the wires in the back of the house for the fountain were merely cut out rolled up and thrown on the ground leaving the fountain inoperable and they just put a receptacle box in it's place as well as the wires on the opposite side of the house for the other fountain were just cut and buried in the ground and they just caulked the hole where it came out of the side of the house.

I contacted my real estate agent (who was worthless from the start but that's for another blog) said we signed a paper releasing them from anything and they couldn't do anything. So we contacted the sellers agent and he gave us pretty much the same thing and said that they (mainly the wife) was one of the worst sellers he's worked with.

So the moral of the story always follow up on the inspection and MAKE SURE IT WAS DONE RIGHT BEFORE YOU MOVE ON!!!

Realtors break into the For Sale By Owner market!

Geoff Thomas (Golf Savings Bank) — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:22:03 -0700

I've just got ahold of this new FSBO marketing program and wanted to see what you realtors thought about it. Basicly I have a service that sends me all the new FSBO listings for a certin area. I work the north and east Seattle areas. Then I call the people to give them the pitch. Being I'm a loan officer and NOT a realtor trying to get a percentage of their sale I don't get the instant stone wall and they seem to listen to what I have to say. Basicly I have a plan set up that I have a web site (http://www.byowner247.com/) that I list their house on along with haveing a yard sign with an 800 number in which people can call 24 hours a day and get a verbal walk through of the house. I leave one pice of information out so that they have a reason to call the seller which gives them the chance to talke with the lead.

The web site is set up so that when someone looks at the house on it will send me their info.(they have to sign up and log on to get info on the houses) Also the 800 number is set up on a call capture system so that when someone calls it for the info I get their number to call them as well. And lastly I give the seller a call log so that when ever someone calls them I can get that info to call the prospective buyer back.

Now for the real estate agent's part in this whole thing. Obviously a real estate agent knows the best pictures to take of a house and how to put together an attractive description so I team up with a real estate agent to go out to the house to take the pictures and take a look at the property so they can put together a good description of the house to set up on the web listing. They also put together a script for the verbal walk through to go on the 800 number. At this time the real estate agents need to understand this is NOT for them to get the FSBO to list the house with them.

So what is in it for the real estate agent you ask? Well for starters by starting the relationship with the FSBO you are put directly in front of them if their house doesn't sell over some time and IF they do decide to list it then if you have treated them good and built that relationship in the begining then hopefully they will list with you. However the big pay off here is in the buyer leads generated. Statistics show that the buyer will come into contact with 20-50 buyer leads. While only one person is going to be able to purhcase this listing that leaves 19-49 buyer leads. These leads are sent directly to me to try to get those people preapproved for the house they are looking to buy. Then I in turn send those preapproved leads directly to you so that you can help those people find a house.

So what do you all think of this little marketing program? It's something I'm just now getting up and going here in the Seattle area but it has been working very well for others in different areas around the country. I've got a couple agents I'm working with in the east side seattle area but if there is anyone in the north seattle area that would be interested in such a plan please feel free to give me a call.

Geoff Thomas

First Star Financial Corp.

Office: 425-259-8080

Cell: 206-778-0525