How Not To Turn $20 Into A $75,000 Disaster!

This is What Happens When You Don't Use "Total Asset Optimization Principles"

 Anyone With A Job Can Build A Nest Egg On "Steroids"

Whether your financial status is considered lower income, middle income, upper income, or super rich you have the ability to grow a nest egg on "steroids". It's the system that you put in place that determines if you will be the "robbing Peter to pay Paul" person in life or the "everything seems to fall in your lap" person. The choice is yours.

Root of All Evil

To understand how "NOT" to turn $20 into a $75,000 disaster I have to first lay some ground work on this "thing" called "Total Asset Optimization". Let's begin this discussion by emphatically stating, I Believe the lack of "Total Asset Optimization" is one of the largest contributors to strife in American Society. I believe passionately that the lack of knowledge and ability to grow in our financial lives causes many "ills" for the American people. Gang Violence, hatred and intolerance, divorce and the subsequent breakup of the family unit, road rage, jealously and a host of problems stems from our inability to prosper not only financially, but in all areas of our lives, and is rooted in our self-worth or lack thereof.

"Get Your Financial House In Order And Save The World"

The Have's And The Have Not's

Because the prevailing barometer of human value in this country seems to be "who has the largest home, biggest boat, best designer clothes and accessories, etc, we are constantly setting ourselves up for failure. Heck, with this kind of barometer all you have to do is drive to work in the morning and after watching all of the people in traffic driving new expensive cars that they can't afford but bought anyway, you can feel pretty bad about yourself by the time you arrive. This constant between the "have's and the have not's" has been raging like an indiscriminate virus wreaking havoc upon the social economic layers of our society.

Total Asset Optimization Defined

Let's break the phrase apart. The word "Total" is easy, Webster defines it as:

Total - 1. "An entire quantity or amount". 2. "Complete".

Now let's look at the word "Asset". Webster has several definitions for this but focusing on our use of it we get:

Asset - "An item of value owned". And if we further define "Value" we get: Value - 1. "A fair return or equivalent in goods, services or money for something exchanged". 2. "The mandatory worth of something". 3. "Relative worth, utility or importance".

And lastly, let's look and the meaning of "Optimization":

Optimization - An act, process, or methodology of making something (i.e. a design, system, or decision) as fully perfect, functional, or effective as possible.

So we can say our definition of "Total Asset Optimization" is:

The process of taking every area of your life that has value, and designing and implementing a system whereby each of those areas operate as fully perfect and as effective as possible.

In Real Life

In real life Total Asset Optimization is akin to looking at the various parts of our lives like the parts of an automobile. Ask yourself the question, is the quality of your life like a 3-cylinder Yugo (lower income), where it gets you around but don't try to climb any steep grades of pavement? Is it a nice comfortable family car or van (middle income) that's great for getting a lot of people inside (kind of one size fits all), but not very exciting? Is it a nice luxury car with all the trimmings of apparent success (upper income)? Or is it a high performance vehicle that goes 0-60 in 5.2 seconds (super rich)? Whatever car it is they all have one thing in common, parts that work interchangeably.  Whichever type of car represents your life (lower income, middle income, upper income, super rich), unless all the parts of your life are working in unison and operating at optimum efficiency, your life as a whole will show it's inefficiencies and run as efficiently as the weakest part.

Remember, the weakest link in the chain will always determine the overall effectiveness of any strategy.

Getting Off My "ASS" ets

What is the first thing that comes to mind when I mention the word "ASSET"? Probably money, stocks, bonds, cash in savings, etc. If I asked 100 people that question I would probably get the same answer 100 times. If I ask those same 100 people, what the most important thing in their lives were you would not get those same answers. We spend the majority of our lives chasing things that are not the most important to us and we wonder why most of us never attain them. Answers you would get would be things like family, friends, relationships, spirituality, education, wisdom, learning, integrity, etc. This brings me to a particular point. We all have to take assessment of our life and come up with a plan on how we are going to attain meaningful balance. When I am speaking with my clients I will forward principles taught to me by Douglas Andrew, Author of the bestselling Missed Fortune books. Doug is on the board of Empowered Wealth LC. This is a company started by the man who taught Doug these principles, Lee Brower. I briefly want to mention that Empowered Wealth organizes life's "ASSETS" into four quadrants shown below.

Assets

 And as we said above, when I ask most people what their most important "ASSETS" are that they own? I have never had anyone say the lower left quadrant (financial assets). They will usually be in the upper left or right quadrants.

We always begin the conversation with our clients about all four quadrants so that when we are discussing their financial assets, we are doing so with the most important assets on their mind. How often do you see people with lots of financial assets but are still so miserable that you would consider them "poor and destitute". The one thing that I wish to impart here is everything you do financially is rooted with all four of these quadrants in mind. What you will see me teach you is primarily about growing the financial assets, however it is usually very difficult and unfulfilling unless you grow them in unison with the upper quadrants. When you "OPTIMZE" the upper quadrants the lower quadrants seem to grow on steroids.

Some of the Most Mundane Decisions Cost Us Dearly!

The average working taxpayer might look at the phrase, "Total Asset Optimization" and think that can't possibly apply to them. What I am about to share with you is the same principle whether I am talking about $200,000 home or a $2,000,000 home. I am here to tell you that some of the most mundane decisions we make in our lives can have rippling effects on our ability to save and grow money for emergencies, college, vacations, or retirement. A couple of years ago, I believe it was December 2006; we had an unbelievable cold spell in Sacramento. It was extremely difficult to keep your water pipes from freezing. I was driving through this neighborhood of working class homes and I saw three emergency sewer cleanup trucks parked at three different homes on the same block. Driving passed that scene I immediately envisioned an imaginary movie where I all but played out the chain of events that took place leading up to this incident.

The next day as I was driving past these homes again I decided to stop and inquire about the circumstances of those emergency sewer trucks parked outside the day before. My curiosity had gotten the better of me and I just had to know if the movie I had played in my head was correct. Well as it turned out, it was pretty much as I had envisioned. After speaking with the homeowners, I learned that all three homeowners did not have the optional sewage coverage in their homeowner's insurance policy that might have paid for the damage.

By The Way...

The optional insurance coverage which is rarely offered by the insurance agent because of the way people shop for insurance coverage, is usually only $20 - $40 extra per year if it's available by that particular carrier.

In fact, the way most people shop for insurance and just about every other financial service is "How much is your policy going to cost me". No thought is given to finding the professional who will assess your situation thoroughly and suggest proper coverage based on your particular set of circumstances. Most agents understand that most consumers don't want to hear that. They believe and rightly so, that most consumers just want to choose whoever is going to quote them the lowest premium. That is of course until they actually have to use the policy. By the way, all three homes were flooded with sewage causing at least $15,000 in damage based on my experience with other homeowners I know who were in similar situations. Now, imagine if we were talking about a $2,000,000 home. In any case, at least two of the homeowners did not have an Emergency Fund readily available and could not get a home equity loan as they had either purchased their home incorrectly (they did not use a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist) and had no equity or no safe side fund. And remember, the more expensive the home the higher the damage amount.

Who is To Blame?

All of the people in the transaction above, Realtor, Loan Officer, Title Agent, Appraiser, Insurance Agent, etc. in that home purchase transaction, all had different agendas. Including the homeowner, as all they were trying to do was find the cheapest insurance they could. Where was the person that was looking at the transaction and providing the consumer with information as to the correct size house to purchase, correct mortgage product that would fit in with their long term and short term payment, investment and cash flow decisions. Where was the insurance professional who would properly assess the client's needs and not just attempt to beat out the competition?

What Did The Mistake Really Cost?

In the example above it really was not a $15,000 mistake you see two of the homeowners had to take the funds necessary to repair the damage from sources meant for building retirement. Let's say that over the next 20 year period that $15,000 would have accumulated at 6% compounding yearly. In twenty years that would be $49,712.36. At 8% that would be a whopping $74,058.75 blunder! Wow. I never knew a $20 bill could be worth so much! The lesson was this, because the homeowner was only concerned about the individual pieces and the how those pieces worked together, the trivial $20 to $40 per year they would have spent turned into a $15,000 catastrophe then mushroomed into a $50,000 - $75,000 avalanche.

What Should You Take Away From This

Ok Leon, you've been spouting off at the mouth, what does all this really mean? Well it means;

1. Everything we do had lasting repercussions and reverberations throughout the universe.
2. It doesn't matter where you are in your financial life you can grow your assets by following time tested principles.
3. If you do not worry about the upper quadrants of your assets, even if you do manage to accumulate financial assets they will not last very long because your most important assets are lacking in substance.
4. Anytime you meet with a financial professional in any area; real estate, mortgage, financial services, insurance, taxes, listen to see what questions that professional asks you. If they are not at all concerned with how this particular decision you are making affects the other areas of your life, RUN!
5. The same as #4, but RUN REALLY FAR!!!

Leon C. Williams

Financial Strategists

Online Business Card - http://bizcard.leonwilliams.me

leon@lucafinancial.com

 Many real estate agents, loan officers, and other real estate industry professionals are all experiencing the same thing. They are working much harder for a lot less money, and this is tremendously affecting their ability to plan for retirement. The reason is simple: Commoditization. If you sell anything in today's world you understand that we are living in a commoditized world. In the real estate business, because of technology and the increased number of players in the marketplace over the last 10 years, it has become more and more commoditized. Consumers are looking for the cheapest way to sell their homes, buyers are looking for the loan officer who will charge the least, lenders understand that agents will take anything they can get so they will give them any commission they want on short sales and REO's. Agents who are having to work harder are demanding higher and higher commission splits from their brokers, which promotes nonrealistic business models that cannot be supported and is imploding the industry as we know it. The biggest problem is that a commodity based world favors big players who profit at reduced prices through economies of scale, expensive technologies, and massive marketing campaigns. Since these big players are a very small percentage of the number of agents that are out there, the real estate industry as a whole will suffer greatly. Agents who have been able to secure relationships with the REO departments of banks and financial institutions and loan officers who have been able to secure the relationships with the REO agents should not get comfortable. All you have done is buy yourself some time. In fact, by not doing what needs to be done, it is further perpetuating the inevitable. What is the inevitable? Well, remember the minimum wage job you had when you were 16 years old? Our industry will eventually be at a point where our commissions will have been so eroded that when it's all said and done, you might as well have just charged the client $8.25 per hour and dispensed with the notion that you are self employed with unlimited income possibilities.

 THE ANSWER

It is no secret that escaping commoditization is all about value creation. Value creation is clearly doing something that differentiates you from your competition while at the same time protecting the price you charge for your service. In a commoditized world uniqueness is paramount. Something that is unique can't be a commodity. By creating unique value for your client, you are able to charge what it is actually worth to them without worrying about what the rest of the industry is doing. But how do you create value? Click on the link below to listen to an invite by Douglas Andrew who will teach you and your clients in a free seminar/workshop the strategies that will help both you and your clients, thus providing value that very few agents and loan officers are providing.

Value is created by providing three things: leadership, relationship, and creativity. LEADERSHIP is providing direction. When you provide direction you eliminate dangers that another person face and focus them on the opportunities they most want to maximize. This means providing them with a plan and path to help navigate through what can often seem a confusing and overwhelming world. What this means to you as a professional in this industry is this, if you can help your client navigate through all of the turmoil that is happening in this industry, and show them a path by providing direction, then you will be their leader in their minds. There is no mistake about it, your clients are desperately seeking direction from you or anyone else. Wouldn't you like it to be from you?

 RELATIONSHIP is about providing confidence. Even though confidence is an emotion we feel as individuals, it really comes from others with whom we have relationships. Remember this, good relationships provide confidence. The people we can rely on and the people who support and protect us give us confidence, and confidence is vital to success in any endeavor. There is an old sales saying that goes, "your prospect does not care how much you know until they know how much you care". Simply put, when you show your client proactively that you care what the turmoil in this industry might be doing to their present and future they will choose you to work with and not the agent or loan officer on the corner who is advertising how little they will charge them. When other industry professionals provide agents and loan officers with unique value they do not have to beg for transactions each and every month. People pay for value and in the absence of value they will always go to price.

 CREATIVITY is about providing capabilities. Typically this is the only component people consider when they think about value creation. Skills, knowledge, tools, technologies, and systems all fit into the area of capability, because they enable us to do more, better. That means you need to learn techniques and strategies that will enable you to help your clients.  When you provide leadership, relationship, or creativity, you are creating value. When you provide all three, value is exponentially increased. Because value creation is always in the mind of the recipient, it is important as agents, loan officers, and industry professionals trying to create value, you understand from the other person's point of view what they will perceive as direction, confidence, and capability.

 Value creation is not just for agents and loan officers, but also title and escrow companies and other industry service providers. We are all looking for value and we will work with the people who are able to provide us with the most value. It is just not a consumer deciding which agent or loan officer to give their business, it could also be an agent or loan officer deciding which title rep and company to send their files, appraiser to send their business or insurance agent to refer clients. Lenders must also realize first, loan officers decide which lenders can close their files, second,   which lender relationship they value the most. The loan officers will send their limited files to the lender who is providing the most value.

 When you take on value creation for your clients your commissions and earnings have no other alternative but to increase. Remember, this is not just for you but for your clients who find themselves alone and confused in a market that is merciless to the uneducated and financially uniformed. This will help your clients who are desperately trying to accumulate enough wealth for retirement, and in turn create more and higher commissions to you. Come listen to the best selling author who wrote the books on the subject. Listen at:

 www.missedfortune.com/invite

REGISTER: www.missedfortuneevents.com/activerain

 As he invites you to learn strategies and concepts that are counter intuitive to conventional wisdom. Wisdom that has not only helped to create the largest housing market debacle ever, but has served to further emphasize that you must "teach an old dog new tricks".

 This seminar will separate you from the rest of the top producers in this area and will instantly allow you to become your clients Trusted Advisor. After you listen to a personal invitation from the man who wrote the books at www.missedfortune.com/invite, you can register for the event at www.missedfortuneevents.com/activerain. You can learn more about the Missed Fortune Movement and the Author at www.lucafinancial.com/Documents/About.pdf.

 I hope to see you at the event as it will be a turning point for your business and your personal life.

Many real estate agents, loan officers, and other real estate industry professionals are all experiencing the same thing. They are working much harder for a lot less money, and this is tremendously affecting their ability to plan for retirement. The reason is simple: Commoditization. If you sell anything in today's world you understand that we are living in a commoditized world. In the real estate business, because of technology and the increased number of players in the marketplace over the last 10 years, it has become more and more commoditized. Consumers are looking for the cheapest way to sell their homes, buyers are looking for the loan officer who will charge the least, lenders understand that agents will take anything they can get so they will give them any commission they want on short sales and REO's. Agents who are having to work harder are demanding higher and higher commission splits from their brokers, which promotes nonrealistic business models that cannot be supported and is imploding the industry as we know it. The biggest problem is that a commodity based world favors big players who profit at reduced prices through economies of scale, expensive technologies, and massive marketing campaigns. Since these big players are a very small percentage of the number of agents that are out there, the real estate industry as a whole will suffer greatly. Agents who have been able to secure relationships with the REO departments of banks and financial institutions and loan officers who have been able to secure the relationships with the REO agents should not get comfortable. All you have done is buy yourself some time. In fact, by not doing what needs to be done, it is further perpetuating the inevitable. What is the inevitable? Well, remember the minimum wage job you had when you were 16 years old? Our industry will eventually be at a point where our commissions will have been so eroded that when it's all said and done, you might as well have just charged the client $8.25 per hour and dispensed with the notion that you are self employed with unlimited income possibilities.

THE ANSWER

It is no secret that escaping commoditization is all about value creation. Value creation is clearly doing something that differentiates you from your competition while at the same time protecting the price you charge for your service. In a commoditized world uniqueness is paramount. Something that is unique can't be a commodity. By creating unique value for your client, you are able to charge what it is actually worth to them without worrying about what the rest of the industry is doing. But how do you create value? Click on the link below to listen to an invite by Douglas Andrew who will teach you and your clients in a free seminar/workshop the strategies that will help both you and your clients, thus providing value that very few agents and loan officers are providing.

Value is created by providing three things: leadership, relationship, and creativity. LEADERSHIP is providing direction. When you provide direction you eliminate dangers that another person face and focus them on the opportunities they most want to maximize. This means providing them with a plan and path to help navigate through what can often seem a confusing and overwhelming world. What this means to you as a professional in this industry is this, if you can help your client navigate through all of the turmoil that is happening in this industry, and show them a path by providing direction, then you will be their leader in their minds. There is no mistake about it, your clients are desperately seeking direction from you or anyone else. Wouldn't you like it to be from you?

 RELATIONSHIP is about providing confidence. Even though confidence is an emotion we feel as individuals, it really comes from others with whom we have relationships. Remember this, good relationships provide confidence. The people we can rely on and the people who support and protect us give us confidence, and confidence is vital to success in any endeavor. There is an old sales saying that goes, "your prospect does not care how much you know until they know how much you care". Simply put, when you show your client proactively that you care what the turmoil in this industry might be doing to their present and future they will choose you to work with and not the agent or loan officer on the corner who is advertising how little they will charge them. When other industry professionals provide agents and loan officers with unique value they do not have to beg for transactions each and every month. People pay for value and in the absence of value they will always go to price.

CREATIVITY is about providing capabilities. Typically this is the only component people consider when they think about value creation. Skills, knowledge, tools, technologies, and systems all fit into the area of capability, because they enable us to do more, better. That means you need to learn techniques and strategies that will enable you to help your clients. When you provide leadership, relationship, or creativity, you are creating value. When you provide all three, value is exponentially increased. Because value creation is always in the mind of the recipient, it is important as agents, loan officers, and industry professionals trying to create value, you understand from the other person's point of view what they will perceive as direction, confidence, and capability.

 Value creation is not just for agents and loan officers, but also title and escrow companies and other industry service providers. We are all looking for value and we will work with the people who are able to provide us with the most value. It is just not a consumer deciding which agent or loan officer to give their business, it could also be an agent or loan officer deciding which title rep and company to send their files, appraiser to send their business or insurance agent to refer clients. Lenders must also realize first, loan officers decide which lenders can close their files, second,   which lender relationship they value the most. The loan officers will send their limited files to the lender who is providing the most value.

 When you take on value creation for your clients your commissions and earnings have no other alternative but to increase. Remember, this is not just for you but for your clients who find themselves alone and confused in a market that is merciless to the uneducated and financially uniformed. This will help your clients who are desperately trying to accumulate enough wealth for retirement, and in turn create more and higher commissions to you. Come listen to the best selling author who wrote the books on the subject. Listen at:

www.missedfortune.com/invite

REGISTER: www.missedfortuneevents.com/activerain

As he invites you to learn strategies and concepts that are counter intuitive to conventional wisdom. Wisdom that has not only helped to create the largest housing market debacle ever, but has served to further emphasize that you must "teach an old dog new tricks".

 This seminar will separate you from the rest of the top producers in this area and will instantly allow you to become your clients Trusted Advisor. After you listen to a personal invitation from the man who wrote the books at www.missedfortune.com/invite, you can register for the event at www.missedfortuneevents.com/activerain. You can learn more about the Missed Fortune Movement and the Author at www.lucafinancial.com/Documents/About.pdf.

 I hope to see you at the event as it will be a turning point for your business and your personal life.

Subprime Mortgage Meltdown Leaves Borrowers Facing Crisis

With credit requirements tightening, borrowers have fewer choices in mortgage loans

Sacramento, CA, July 7, 2008-As record numbers of foreclosures pervade the subprime market, lenders are becoming more and more anxious, and as a result, they're tightening their mortgage loan guidelines.  These more stringent guidelines, many of which relate to credit scores, are making it difficult to impossible for individuals with less-than-perfect credit to secure the loans they need-whether to buy a new house or refinance a loan to keep their homes out of foreclosure. 

"Borrowers are facing a very difficult time these days," explains Leon Williams, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist and Asset Optimization Specialist, with NueStart Financial Services, a mortgage brokerage company based in Sacramento, CA.  "For instance, last year a borrower could get into a 30 year fixed with a 500 score, and now they need a 580 to qualify.  Lenders are much more cautious these days."

Traditionally, the subprime market has offered a less stringent standard of underwriting mortgage loans, providing borrowers with lower credit scores the opportunity for financing where traditional lenders may have turned them down.  Now that the subprime segment is not only losing players, but also subjecting borrowers to more scrutiny, fewer opportunities exist for certain borrowers to secure financing.  One of the primary difficulties that current borrowers of subprime products face is the inability to secure financing to replace adjustable rate mortgages that have adjusted to a higher interest rate, sending the monthly payment skyrocketing above the initial minimum payment amounts. 

Despite the fact that the industry is seeing much more stringent policies among lenders of subprime and nontraditional loan products, guidelines for underwriting standard loans have remained largely unaffected.  The Federal Reserve Board's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices released in May 2007, states that policy toward standard loans remains largely unchanged.  Over half of the banks that responded to the survey reported tightening standards on subprime loans, nearly half did the same for nontraditional loans, but only 15 percent said they changed requirements for prime residential mortgages.

It remains to be seen how the prime market will be affected by the subprime crisis in the future.  "The bottom line is that regardless of the market, there are always good people in need of mortgage financing," states Williams.  "The key is to get them into mortgage loans that can help them thrive.  For some, that takes credit repair or some form of analysis to help them improve their credit scores.  A person's credit score can be improved upon with some help."

Credit repair is increasingly becoming a necessity for borrowers with subprime credit scores.  "A whole segment of the lending industry is disappearing," explains Edward Jamison, president of Los Angeles-based Jamison Law Group, PC, a national credit repair and restoration company.  "Because lenders are tightening their requirements for credit scores, borrowers with less-than-perfect scores are finding that they have fewer and fewer options.  Credit repair can be their only recourse, or can be a means to getting into a better loan."

"Today's top mortgage professionals have the resources to assist their clients in a wide range of issues effecting their financial well being, whether that's recommending a financial planner or a credit repair specialist," states Steven Marshall, president of Strategic Equity, a Seattle, Washington-based company providing training to the mortgage industry.  "This business is no longer about simply saying yes or no to a loan request.  For today's top professionals, it's about being a knowledgeable and well-connected resource for the borrower to get the absolute best loan for their financial situation."

 Despite the slowing real estate market and subprime crisis, prime refinance activity is still strong.  According to Freddie Mac, refinances accounted for over 40 percent of the total number of loan applications for the first quarter of 2007.  Of those refinance loans, 82 percent resulted in a new loan balance at least 5 percent greater than the unpaid balance of the original loan.  In the first quarter of 2007, Americans completed an estimated $70.5 billion in cash out refinances nationwide, just slightly below the $77 billion that was cashed out in the fourth quarter of 2006. 

Subprime Mortgage Meltdown Leaves Borrowers Facing Crisis

With credit requirements tightening, borrowers have fewer choices in mortgage loans

Sacramento, CA, July 7, 2008-As record numbers of foreclosures pervade the subprime market, lenders are becoming more and more anxious, and as a result, they're tightening their mortgage loan guidelines.  These more stringent guidelines, many of which relate to credit scores, are making it difficult to impossible for individuals with less-than-perfect credit to secure the loans they need-whether to buy a new house or refinance a loan to keep their homes out of foreclosure. 

"Borrowers are facing a very difficult time these days," explains Leon Williams, Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist and Asset Optimization Specialist, with NueStart Financial Services, a mortgage brokerage company based in Sacramento, CA.  "For instance, last year a borrower could get into a 30 year fixed with a 500 score, and now they need a 580 to qualify.  Lenders are much more cautious these days."

Traditionally, the subprime market has offered a less stringent standard of underwriting mortgage loans, providing borrowers with lower credit scores the opportunity for financing where traditional lenders may have turned them down.  Now that the subprime segment is not only losing players, but also subjecting borrowers to more scrutiny, fewer opportunities exist for certain borrowers to secure financing.  One of the primary difficulties that current borrowers of subprime products face is the inability to secure financing to replace adjustable rate mortgages that have adjusted to a higher interest rate, sending the monthly payment skyrocketing above the initial minimum payment amounts. 

Despite the fact that the industry is seeing much more stringent policies among lenders of subprime and nontraditional loan products, guidelines for underwriting standard loans have remained largely unaffected.  The Federal Reserve Board's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices released in May 2007, states that policy toward standard loans remains largely unchanged.  Over half of the banks that responded to the survey reported tightening standards on subprime loans, nearly half did the same for nontraditional loans, but only 15 percent said they changed requirements for prime residential mortgages.

It remains to be seen how the prime market will be affected by the subprime crisis in the future.  "The bottom line is that regardless of the market, there are always good people in need of mortgage financing," states Williams.  "The key is to get them into mortgage loans that can help them thrive.  For some, that takes credit repair or some form of analysis to help them improve their credit scores.  A person's credit score can be improved upon with some help."

Credit repair is increasingly becoming a necessity for borrowers with subprime credit scores.  "A whole segment of the lending industry is disappearing," explains Edward Jamison, president of Los Angeles-based Jamison Law Group, PC, a national credit repair and restoration company.  "Because lenders are tightening their requirements for credit scores, borrowers with less-than-perfect scores are finding that they have fewer and fewer options.  Credit repair can be their only recourse, or can be a means to getting into a better loan."

"Today's top mortgage professionals have the resources to assist their clients in a wide range of issues effecting their financial well being, whether that's recommending a financial planner or a credit repair specialist," states Steven Marshall, president of Strategic Equity, a Seattle, Washington-based company providing training to the mortgage industry.  "This business is no longer about simply saying yes or no to a loan request.  For today's top professionals, it's about being a knowledgeable and well-connected resource for the borrower to get the absolute best loan for their financial situation."

 Despite the slowing real estate market and subprime crisis, prime refinance activity is still strong.  According to Freddie Mac, refinances accounted for over 40 percent of the total number of loan applications for the first quarter of 2007.  Of those refinance loans, 82 percent resulted in a new loan balance at least 5 percent greater than the unpaid balance of the original loan.  In the first quarter of 2007, Americans completed an estimated $70.5 billion in cash out refinances nationwide, just slightly below the $77 billion that was cashed out in the fourth quarter of 2006. 

Yearly reviews are a great way to keep on track with your financial goals. You're probably already meeting with your financial advisor and other asset manager for quarterly or annual reviews, and you should do the same with your Mortgage Planner as well. An annual mortgage check-up is an ideal way to make sure your mortgage is still having the maximum positive impact on your overall financial plan.

A lot can happen in one year.  The market can take turns that can open up new opportunities, such as reduced interest rates, new loan products or changes in home values.  Furthermore, your personal and financial situation could be mildly to radically different than it was just 12 months prior. Perhaps one or more of the income earners got a raise or lost a job. Maybe you received an inheritance. Even a minor, one-year change in one of your kids' college plans could impact your financial situation in a way that would benefit from an adjustment in your mortgage strategy.  

Periodic reviews serve several purposes.  First, they establish a consistent path toward achieving your financial goals. Secondly, they ensure that you stay on track with your goals. Sometimes plans need minor adjustments, but without the knowledge that comes from a thorough evaluation, those minor adjustments may go unnoticed.  Often, by the time an adjustment becomes apparent, you may have already lost valuable time and/or resources that could have been spared with a few minor modifications along the way. Finally, periodic reviews help to keep you accountable toward your commitment to achieve your objectives. Without accountability, it's very easy to let your savings and investment actions fall by the wayside, especially when unexpected expenses arise.  Knowing that you'll be discussing your action steps will help to keep you committed to your goals.  

Consider scheduling a periodic review with your Mortgage Planner in conjunction with your asset manager's review. In addition to saving time, you'll also gain the advantage of your own personal management team for your financial asset-building program. 

Remember that getting clarity on your financial situation is never a waste of time.  If you find that your current financing is more desirable than the financing that is available in today's market, you'll know that your Mortgage Planner did a great job advising you last time.  If you find that your changing circumstances have dictated that a new loan will better suit your new situation, your Mortgage Planner can bring you one step closer to achieving your financial goals.  

Annual Mortgage Reviews Bring Borrowers Closer to Achieving Financial Goals

Yearly reviews are a great way to keep on track with your financial goals. You're probably already meeting with your financial advisor and other asset manager for quarterly or annual reviews, and you should do the same with your Mortgage Planner as well. An annual mortgage check-up is an ideal way to make sure your mortgage is still having the maximum positive impact on your overall financial plan.

A lot can happen in one year.  The market can take turns that can open up new opportunities, such as reduced interest rates, new loan products or changes in home values.  Furthermore, your personal and financial situation could be mildly to radically different than it was just 12 months prior. Perhaps one or more of the income earners got a raise or lost a job. Maybe you received an inheritance. Even a minor, one-year change in one of your kids' college plans could impact your financial situation in a way that would benefit from an adjustment in your mortgage strategy.  

Periodic reviews serve several purposes.  First, they establish a consistent path toward achieving your financial goals. Secondly, they ensure that you stay on track with your goals. Sometimes plans need minor adjustments, but without the knowledge that comes from a thorough evaluation, those minor adjustments may go unnoticed.  Often, by the time an adjustment becomes apparent, you may have already lost valuable time and/or resources that could have been spared with a few minor modifications along the way. Finally, periodic reviews help to keep you accountable toward your commitment to achieve your objectives. Without accountability, it's very easy to let your savings and investment actions fall by the wayside, especially when unexpected expenses arise.  Knowing that you'll be discussing your action steps will help to keep you committed to your goals.  

Consider scheduling a periodic review with your Mortgage Planner in conjunction with your asset manager's review. In addition to saving time, you'll also gain the advantage of your own personal management team for your financial asset-building program. 

Remember that getting clarity on your financial situation is never a waste of time.  If you find that your current financing is more desirable than the financing that is available in today's market, you'll know that your Mortgage Planner did a great job advising you last time.  If you find that your changing circumstances have dictated that a new loan will better suit your new situation, your Mortgage Planner can bring you one step closer to achieving your financial goals.  

Option ARMs Can Be Helpful or Harmful, Depending on the Borrower

With the record number of defaults and foreclosures occurring in today's market, many homeowners have been led to believe that Option ARMs are bad loan products.  The truth is that Option ARMs are great choices for some borrowers, but very dangerous choices for others.  Whether they're helpful and harmful depends primarily on whether they're suitable for the borrower's individual situation. 

On the one hand, Option ARMs can be a great way to take further control of your finances.  They offer a flexibility of payment choices that enables the borrower to utilize funds in a way that suits his or her financial objectives.  On the other hand, when these loan programs are provided to borrowers who haven't been properly educated or borrowers who otherwise couldn't qualify for a mortgage, they can quickly lead to disaster.

If you're considering an Option ARM or if your Mortgage Planner suggests that you consider one, make sure you understand how they work.  Lack of education is one of the primary reasons that numerous homeowners have gotten into trouble with these loans.  Know that two payment options will not pay down the principal balance.  With the minimum payment option, the interest that's not covered by the monthly payment will actually be added on to the principal balance, which will recast (readjust to accommodate the growing principal balance) after a specified period of time, usually five years or sooner, unless the accumulated interest is paid.  The interest-only option will cover the interest payments, but not the principal. 

Reputable Mortgage Planners always take the time to determine whether these products are suitable and appropriate for their borrower's individual financial capacity and goals. Your Mortgage Planner should conduct an in-depth evaluation of your financial situation before recommending any loan product.  Especially with Option ARMs, your Mortgage Planner should provide a clear explanation of how the loan works. 

These products should never be used to put people into a higher priced house than they can truly afford. Instead, the borrower should be capable of making the fully-indexed (principal and interest) payment.  Positioned properly, Option ARMs can be an incredible wealth-building tool that can help set homeowners on a faster and safer path to achieving their financial goals.

Consult your Mortgage Planner today for more information on whether an Option ARM is the best or worst choice for achieving your financial goals.

Option ARMs Can Be Helpful or Harmful, Depending on the Borrower

With the record number of defaults and foreclosures occurring in today's market, many homeowners have been led to believe that Option ARMs are bad loan products.  The truth is that Option ARMs are great choices for some borrowers, but very dangerous choices for others.  Whether they're helpful and harmful depends primarily on whether they're suitable for the borrower's individual situation. 

On the one hand, Option ARMs can be a great way to take further control of your finances.  They offer a flexibility of payment choices that enables the borrower to utilize funds in a way that suits his or her financial objectives.  On the other hand, when these loan programs are provided to borrowers who haven't been properly educated or borrowers who otherwise couldn't qualify for a mortgage, they can quickly lead to disaster.

If you're considering an Option ARM or if your Mortgage Planner suggests that you consider one, make sure you understand how they work.  Lack of education is one of the primary reasons that numerous homeowners have gotten into trouble with these loans.  Know that two payment options will not pay down the principal balance.  With the minimum payment option, the interest that's not covered by the monthly payment will actually be added on to the principal balance, which will recast (readjust to accommodate the growing principal balance) after a specified period of time, usually five years or sooner, unless the accumulated interest is paid.  The interest-only option will cover the interest payments, but not the principal. 

Reputable Mortgage Planners always take the time to determine whether these products are suitable and appropriate for their borrower's individual financial capacity and goals. Your Mortgage Planner should conduct an in-depth evaluation of your financial situation before recommending any loan product.  Especially with Option ARMs, your Mortgage Planner should provide a clear explanation of how the loan works. 

These products should never be used to put people into a higher priced house than they can truly afford. Instead, the borrower should be capable of making the fully-indexed (principal and interest) payment.  Positioned properly, Option ARMs can be an incredible wealth-building tool that can help set homeowners on a faster and safer path to achieving their financial goals.

Consult your Mortgage Planner today for more information on whether an Option ARM is the best or worst choice for achieving your financial goals.

In slower markets, some loan officers may feel pressured to close deals that aren't in the homeowner's best interest.  In order to avoid getting into difficult and financially compromised positions with their mortgages, borrowers are well advised to be acutely aware of the signs of a responsible loan officer when selecting a mortgage professional.   

First, look for a Mortgage Planner whose values are focused on helping individuals to achieve their financial goals in both the fastest and the safest way possible.  A reputable Mortgage Planner will show you the numbers associated with the proposed loan and provide you with concrete information that backs up his or her claims. Review all of the numbers. If they don't add up, ask for clarification.  If your loan officer can't or won't answer your questions, move on--without the loan. 

Secondly, a responsible Mortgage Planner will present you with financial information that goes beyond the point of the transaction, and will illustrate the total cost of the loan over time.  If your loan officer is focusing only on rates and fees, you may be working with someone who's looking out for his or her own best interests, not yours. 

Responsible Mortgage Planners will also tailor their strategies to fit your unique situation. In other words, they always take your personal financial goals into account.  No one should try to place you into a loan without knowing the intricacies of your personal financial situation.

Finally, if your loan officer is advising you on issues other than mortgages, you could be working with someone who is compromising your best interests. Issues like investment rates of return and real estate appreciation aren't the areas of expertise for the vast majority of mortgage professionals and should be left to the professionals who have training and direct experience in those areas.

When seeking a loan officer, look for someone who specializes in mortgage planning, which is the process of evaluating a borrower's unique financial situation and advising the borrower on a loan that best suits his or her individual needs and goals. If your loan officer is trying to put you into a loan without evaluating how that loan will effect your entire financial situation--including debt management, tax benefits, investment goals and net worth--it's quite possible that you're only getting half of the picture.

The bottom line is that your mortgage representative should always be looking out for your best interests, regardless of market conditions.

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