This morning as I gazed out of our sunroom window looking at the pond in our back yard, I looked at our half green and half brown yard.  "Man I need to start Spring lawn care again," I thought.  Throw on some high nitrogen fertilizer and make this yard green quick!  Give it some food to make it happy, and throw on some more seed to thicken it up.

     The same goes for our pipelines.  Let do so Spring feeding to our business, feed our pipelines, make them greener, and thicken em up all at the same time.  I see alot of forever changing, good changes, that will allow everyone to do these few things to add to their pipeline!  Good luck to all and make your day the best day ever! 

   With prices down, real estate agents across the country report that more investors are interested in acquiring properties this way. But it isn't simple or quick. There is a lot to watch out for, such as many issues can slow your process.

    Short sales, which occur before a foreclosure is finished, can be daunting. They involve both lender and homeowner. Buyers expect a foreclosure sale, of property a lender's already repossessed, to be smoother. That's not always the case. Most lenders need an OK from any secondary-market owners for foreclosure sales that involve a loss. And if the loan carried private mortgage insurance, its guarantor may also need to sign off.

    There are many great deals on REO home out there to be made.  But is it really worth the wait or hastle for the offer or financing?  Many borrowers turn to other homes to purchase for the simple fact that they don't want to wait or play this time comsuming game. 

Friday!  Finally!  Hope everyone had a fantastic week.  Below is an update on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.    

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could have a ton more to finance purchases as of Wednesday on the amount of mortgages the government sponsored lenders and companies can hold on their books.

The restrictions were lifted despite Fannie Mae's huge quarterly loss nearly three and a hlaf billion as defaults and foreclosures sky rocketed. They also stated there could be a significant worsening in the real estate market.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have both regulated their restrictions on their combined nearly one and a half trillion portfolios to give them the ability to buy more purchase mortgages from lenders.

Fannie Mae's chief executive stated Wednesday that the company will be very conservative in using its capital to purchase mortgages as it wants to limit theri losses.

Make your day a great one!

     Referrals are the main key to success, income, and trust as you build your relationship and networking capabilities as a Loan Officer.  I find many new LO's asking me the key to generating so many great referrals.  Here are some very simple and easy tasks to do after closing a loan.  As you read on down you might think, DUH, but you won't beleive how many LO's don't actually do this and think these people will automatically come back to you the next time they need finanacing.  After you build your relationship and close the loan you need to:

 1.  Keep a log of every single borrower you close.  Date, type of loan, address, phone numbers, FICO's, Documentation, etc...

 2.  Ask after closing if they know of anyone whom your services could benefit.  If so make note.

3.  After closing send them a thank you card/note with some more business cards.

 4  On your email calendar, make a reminder and program it so every three months it will email you and remind you to give your client a call back.  Every three months that you call, become their friend.  Also ask if they have any questions on their loan.  Again ask if they know of anyone whom might need your service.

 5  Once you have built this relationship, take them out for coffee!  I mean, you probably did make between $1,000 and $5,000 from the closing of their loan.  $10 at Starbucks for the two or three of you to chat 30 minutes won't break you.

     Believe it or not just by maintaining these five steps you will generate referrals from those borrowers themselves, other referral clients that they will send your way, and referrals from those clients, and so on and so on!  I lately have been closing about 90% of my closing based totally on referrals.  I have only been in the business since 2005 and have only been keeping this log for the last 6 months.  Just in the last 6 months I can see a major difference. 

     Good luck and finish out the month strong!

     For those of you planning to buy a home, now is the time, or at least you should consider it before the middle of the year. Home sales numbers recently released by the National Association of Realtors are still showing a slowdown.  In most markets, this means that home sales could still be heading down, creating motivated sellers and mortgage consultants desperate to find qualified borrowers.

     For most of you this may be the best opportunity to buy a home.  Prices aren't going to go too much lower if you agree with the market analysts and mortgage interest rates are still really low. This means that you are likely to get a good deal on both a home and your mortgage financing.  So if your even thinking about possibly buying right now, you should seriously be looking into it.  And as for us brokers and agents, we need to be addressing this to previous and current clients who are just sitting on the band wagon waiting for the next day to come. 

     Make your day a great one!

   Hump day is here as it looks like we will approach yet another cold and chilly weekend here in Indianapolis.  As the weather continues to go up and down so does the mortgage market.  All the negativity, credit crisus, and etc... try to bog down the business, keep your head up people because it is time to make money!  So many Loan Officers, AE's, and Agents have left the business scared out of their witts to leave us strong producers more money to make!  Although every day loans are getting harder and harder to get approved, there are so many good borrowers out there who need our help.  You have to fend for yourself now days and go out there and get your referral business banging!  Everyone get ready to have an outstanding month and good luck to all! 

     Here we are Monday April, 4th of this up and down 2008 year.  DECLINING MARKET, DECLINING MARKET!!!  Thats all I've heard recently.  Seems like no matter where you want to buy the property is in a declining market.  Well I hope buyers in todays world and crazy upside down market understand its going to take lots of money if they want to own their own home.  Although its getting harder and harder to find great borrowers THEY ARE STILL OUT THERE AND THERE ARE MANY LOANS TO CLOSE SO LETS ALL KEEP POSITIVE AND GO CLOSE SOME LOANS!  GOOD LUCK.

     What an amazing Sunday and weekend it has been.  The first true Spring weekend weather Indianapolis has had this year!  Even got to play a round of gold this afternoon.   Didn't shoot so hot but hey, rather be on the golf course than at the house! 

     Active rain has produced many new interesting networking ideas and has given me so many different opportunities that I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!!  Make your day a great one!

    Hey good news everyone.  Its FRIDAY!  I hope you all have some fun and exciting plans for the weekend as it looks like the weather here in Indianapolis is going to be great!  Walk on the Canal, dinner out and a movie possibly, etc...  Many things on my to do list this weekend.  Hope you all make it your best weekend ever! 

Happy Thursday connected to Friday!

Mortgage rates jumped up a little this week as I'm sure you all have seen.  The 30 year fixed mortgage rose 17 basis points to 6.12 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders.  The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.4 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 6.25 percent; four weeks ago, it was 6.32 percent.

The 15 year mortgage also rose 17 basis points to 5.7 percent.  The 30-year jumbo rose 15 basis points to 7.52 percent.

Thats all I have for today.  Make your day a great one!