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julie chroust: Think Positive to Win - 05/01/12 06:16 AM
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julie chroust: Keeping Your Word Will Keep You in Business - 04/26/12 05:58 AM
Keeping Your Word Will Keep You in Business
After Best Buy informed some online customers in December 2011 that it couldn't deliver the heavily discounted products they ordered as part of the company's Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) promotion, the big-box retailer's reputation for trust and reliability suffered.
By not honoring its obligations — by not keeping its word — Best Buy saw some of its customers run to Amazon and other competitors that could meet their needs. Worse, some of those customers are likely never to shop again at Best Buy.
Here's how to keep this unfortunate scenario … (1 comments)
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julie chroust: New to Blogging? - 04/07/12 07:45 AM
Blogging 101
A great way to stay in contact with your existing customers and attract new ones is through a blog.
What is a blog? A blog is a publishing vehicle that allows you to create an entry consisting of text, audio, photos and/or video, and publish it online. Blog entries typically appear in reverse chronological order so people see your latest entry first.
Blogs can be published as stand-alone websites or on a page within an established website. Most often, your blog will be part of your company's website. This allows "stickiness," or the ability to … (2 comments)
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julie chroust: Embrace Change and Win - 04/03/12 07:27 AM
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julie chroust: FHA Streamline Refinancing Fees Reduced - 03/30/12 11:10 AM
FHA Streamline Refinancing Fees Reduced
The White House recently announced significant changes that will reduce the fees charged for the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) Streamline Refinance Program.
Beginning June 11, 2012, the Streamline Refinance upfront fee of 1% will be reduced to 0.01% of the total loan amount. And the annual fee will be lowered from 1.15% to 0.55% of the total loan amount.
By refinancing through this streamlined process, the average qualified FHA-insured borrower will save approximately $3,000 a year or $250 per month, on top of any savings from refinancing to a lower mortgage rate.
The … (3 comments)
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julie chroust: Live Webinar about Mastering the Fundamentals of Client Acquisition! - 03/27/12 10:25 AM
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julie chroust: I'm working this weekend - 03/23/12 09:18 PM
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julie chroust: Protect Your Home Electronic Equipment - 03/23/12 09:13 PM
Protect Your Home Electronic Equipment
Lightning damage to home electronic equipment results in losses exceeding $26 billion annually in North America, according to the Lightning Protection Institute.
Protection from lightning is challenging because it can enter the home in many ways: through the ground, water, plumbing pipes, phone, cable and electrical lines. And the electrical surge can travel as far as a mile, which means one nearby lightning strike — on average the width of a quarter, packing 100 million volts, and hotter than the surface of the sun — could potentially fry unprotected equipment throughout an entire neighborhood.
Surge … (3 comments)
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julie chroust: Embrace Change to Avoid Irrelevance - 03/15/12 06:39 AM
Embrace Change to Avoid Irrelevance
After World War II, Sam Walton became a millionaire by running 15 Ben Franklin variety stores, selling merchandise with 25% markups. When he told his partners that he wanted to open discount centers that would have broader mass appeal but smaller markups, they thought he was crazy. So, acting alone, he opened his first Walmart store in 1962, and later became a billionaire.
"To succeed in this world, you have to change all the time," said Walton, who was following a rich tradition of American entrepreneurs quick to embrace change.
When soap salesman William Wrigley Jr. … (5 comments)
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julie chroust: Your Greatest Network Is the One You Already Have - 03/13/12 09:20 PM
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julie chroust: Small Businesses Go Big with Email Marketing - 03/09/12 07:53 PM
Small Businesses Go Big with Email Marketing
Today's inexpensive web-based email marketing tools provide the ability to easily upload and manage your customer database, design professional-looking email campaigns, select different database lists for different emails, and measure responses. In essence, they give small businesses a Fortune 500 facade.
Add the ability to email value-added content that your recipients can easily share via social media, and your reach and ability to capture new customers can grow exponentially. There are many email marketing services available. Here is a look at three that are inexpensive, full of features and popular with small businesses.
Constant … (2 comments)
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julie chroust: FHA Insurance Premiums Will Increase Soon - 03/06/12 07:25 AM
FHA Insurance Premiums Will Increase Soon
If your clients are considering buying or refinancing a home, you should let them know that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will soon increase mortgage insurance premiums on FHA home loans.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it would increase the annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) by 0.10% for FHA loans under $625,500. This would raise the fee from 1.15% to 1.25% of the total loan amount. This annual premium increase — which is broken down into monthly payments — takes effect April 1, 2012.
In addition, HUD announced it … (0 comments)
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julie chroust: Economic Update in Plain English ~ 3/5/2012 - 03/05/12 05:42 AM
Last Week in the News
Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, rose 2% in January after a revised 1.9% decrease in December. It was the highest reading since April 2010. On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales are up 8%.
Orders for durable goods — items expected to last three or more years — fell $8.6 billion or 4% to $206.1 billion in January. Economists had anticipated a 0.7% decrease. This follows a 3.2% increase in December. Excluding volatile transportation-related goods, orders posted a monthly decrease of 3.2%.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index — … (1 comments)
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julie chroust: Powerful Education for Real Estate Agents - 01/12/12 11:16 AM
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julie chroust: Economic Update in Plain English ~ 1/9/2011 - 01/11/12 04:42 PM
LAST WEEK IN THE NEWS
Factory orders rose 1.8% in November to a seasonally adjusted $459.2 billion, following a revised 0.2% decrease in October. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, orders rose 0.3% in November.
Retail sales rose 1.2% for the week ending December 31, according to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index. On a year-over-year basis, retailers saw sales increase 5.3%.
The Institute for Supply Management reported that the monthly composite index of manufacturing activity rose to 53.9 in December after a reading of 52.7 in November. A reading above 50 signals expansion. It was the 29th straight month of expansion. … (0 comments)
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julie chroust: Growing Demand for Renovation Loans - 12/15/11 10:55 PM
As the Nation's Second Largest 203K Lender, Prospect Sees Demand Growing for Renovation Loans
Currently, foreclosures account for about 30% of all home sales in the U.S. Many of these homes have been neglected and are in need of repair. These market conditions have made renovation loans a hot item.
Renovation loans are very attractive for a number of reasons. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 203K renovation loan provides the money to both purchase the home and finance the home's renovation. The down payment required on a renovation loan can be as low as 3.5%. … (2 comments)
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julie chroust: Make Your Advertising Click with AdWords - 12/09/11 09:16 AM
Make Your Advertising Click with AdWords
In 2010, Google generated a whopping $28 billion in advertising revenues, with the lion's share coming from AdWords — those brief ads or "sponsored links" appearing above or beside Google search results.
As a sales professional, you'll like AdWords for two main reasons: You're advertising to an audience already interested in some aspect of your business, and you pay only when someone clicks on your ad.
When pay-per-click (PPC) advertising began, ad rankings were based on how much you were willing to pay or "bid" for certain keywords. While Google maintained this auction-type system, it … (0 comments)
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julie chroust: Make Accountability a Core Value - 12/08/11 09:55 AM
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julie chroust: Economic Update In Plain English - 12/5/2011 - 12/05/11 10:27 AM
Last Week in the News
New home sales rose 1.3% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000 units from a revised rate of 303,000 units in September. Compared to a year ago, new home sales were up 8.9%.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index — on a non-seasonally adjusted basis — fell 0.6% in September after a 0.1% increase in August. On a year-over-year basis, prices fell 3.6% compared with September 2010.
The consumer confidence index rose to 56 in November from 40.9 in October, the largest gain since April 2003. The index was benchmarked … (0 comments)
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julie chroust: Invest in Your Business Culture to Trigger Your Next Growth Cycle - 11/30/11 10:01 AM
For so many companies, culture is just a word, but for those that create something tangibly positive and live up to their culture, it's an outstanding advantage for higher productivity, better customer service, improved employee loyalty and top-level recruiting opportunities.
Written by Prospect Mortgage
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Julie Chroust, NMLS# 249458, Direct Lender & Mortgage Banker
Walnut Creek,
CA
More about me…
Julie Chroust, Prospect Mortgage, Walnut Creek, CA
Address: 1910 Olympic Blvd,, Suite 120, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596
Office Phone: (925) 516-5809
Cell Phone: (925) 381-1481
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