Joseph Crespillo's Blog

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED....

Sellstate Realty First — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:01:58 -0800

A funny thing happened to me today. I received an email that said; Dear Joseph, Your production last year was impressive according to MLS data. It went on to say 100% commission minus one small flat fee. (negotiable), compensation on loans generated without a lot of extra work. and NOBODY WILL DO WHAT WE ARE DOING!

Well I just so happen to own a company that pays 100% commission and pays compensation on loans that meet RESPA guidelines. We have two programs the Advantage that is a per transaction fee or if you are a producer, the Maximizer that is a monthly program. With the maximizer if you close one transaction a month you pay $608 for that transaction, two in a month and you pay $353.50 per transaction and three per month you pay $268.67 per transaction. I could go on and on, but you see how we roll, the more you close the less it costs you.

Our company has been in existence for 12 years and we started the new compensation program 2 years ago. I guess maybe that is why the Sacramento Business Journal has listed us as the eighth fastest growing company and the only Real Estate office in the top 100 for the last 2 years. You can even go to our web site at www.gorealtyfirst.com click on meet our team and ask one of our members why they chose REALTY FIRST REAL ESTATE AND MORTGAGE SERVICES.

The other funny thing is I have been a lender for 32 years and my production is not listed in MLS. And no I won't be doing what they are doing, our program is better.

OCTOBERFEST OPEN HOUSE

Sellstate Realty First — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:46:21 -0700

If you are in the Rocklin California area or going to be on October 30th, please join us at our Octoberfest celebration. We want to thank everyone that helped us get to THE TOP 100 FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES in the Sacramento Business Journal. We will have prizes, appetizers and beverages. We are located at 535 Menlo Drive Ste A in Rocklin California, 95765. Our # is 916-784-7653 . Please join us and help us celebrate our new office and our achievement.

Broker Joe

TOP 100 FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES

Sellstate Realty First — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:31:42 -0700

As the Broker of Realty First Real Estate and Mortgage Services, I would like to thank everyone that has helped us to get to the Sacramento Business Journal's TOP 100 FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES. The survey was ranked by percentage of revenue growth from 2005-2007. I believe our unique program of 100% commissions paid, low fees, Tuesday Tune-Ups, no hidden fees, availability of doing Real Estae or loans(conventional) and letting the agent make their own decisions has catapulted us to # 8 on the list, and the only Real Estate Company in the top 100. As others are shrinking we are growing. We could not do it without the many wonderful agents that have joined us over the last 2 years. You have made us what we are today. THANK YOU

http://399flatfee.com

SENATE APPROVES STIMULUS PACKAGE with LOAN LIMIT INCREASE

Sellstate Realty First — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:22:18 -0800

The United States Senate voted today to approve a multi-billion-dollar economic stimulus bill which includes anincrease in the federal conforming loan limit. The loan limit increase means that federally guaranteed loans, which carry lower financing costs for home-buyers, will rise to $730,000 in California's high-cost housing markets providing needed mortgage capital and, hopefully, much-needed stimulus to dormant home sales. The stimulus package, approved by a vote of 81 to 16, must go back to the House of Representatives for a vote - expected to be a formality - before its expected arrival on the President's desk next week. The package approved by the Senate is about 20 billion dollars more than what the President sent to them, but he is expected to sign the package next week. I will update this blog as news comes out.

BANK REPO! ! SECLUDED MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY

Sellstate Realty First — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:52:13 -0800

You can own this secluded mountain hideaway for $324,900. The 1800+ sq foot home sits on 10.16 acres. It is a 4 br 2 ba home with a 3+ car detached garage and a barn with 6 stalls. You must see this listing to appreciate it. Miles from anywhere, you are trully on a secluded mountain hideaway.

Visit this listing and many more at http://www.bankrepohotlist.com/

CONTRACTORS DREAM-$78,000.00

Sellstate Realty First — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:30:03 -0800

This beautiful little house is located at 4631 Del Norte Blvd in South Sacramento. It was built in 1952, is approx. 707 sq ft on a .12 acre lot. It has a one car detached garage. It is to be sold as is and has had some fire damage to the back room. The asking price is $78,000 and is a bank REO. MLS# 70105259. You have to see this property to realize the potential. Contrator/Investors do not pass this one up. You can view this listing and many others like it at www.bankrepohotlist.com

TWO TRILLION LOCKED UP IN SENIOR'S REAL ESTATE

Sellstate Realty First — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:26:18 -0800

Sacramento, CA-People are living longer than ever. That's a good thing, right? Unfortunately, the cost of maintaining a healthy, quality lifestyle is also on the rise. This mixed blessing is especially hard on seniors whose pensions (if any) and Social Security simply can't keep pace. With limited options, seniors increasingly need to access the equity in their real estate to supplement their retirement.

"We kept thinking that there has to be a better way to help our clients who were over 65, make their largest asset, their home, work for them without spending down the equity they had worked so hard to build" said Jeff Nash, Managing Director of EquityKey.

However, the most popular method for turning this asset into dollars---the reverse mortgage-results in significant fees and new debt, forcing seniors to lose the equity they have in their homes. "So, Nash continued, we brought together the brightest minds in finance, law, tax and insurance and developed a product that offers an alternative: a no-fee solution that provides debt-free cash without accessing the homeowner's existing equity".

Equity Key gives debt-free cash to the homeowner based on the projected future appreciation of their home in exchange for the right to participate in that future appreciation. The program gives the Homeowner 12-15% of the appraised value of their home in exchange for 50% of any future appreciation until the home is sold. The client's current equity at the start of the agreement is not touched by EquityKey says Josep Crespillo, a California Broker, and "EquityKey believes that real estate is a safe long-term investment and that years from now, the home will most likely be worth more than it is today. The question is, does the senior homeowner want to leave all of that future appreciation to their estate and the government or use some of it today?

Many seniors have used the money to buy Long-Term Care Insurance or to help pay for prescription drugs. Some have even talked about freeing up their grandchildren's inheritance now, by paying for their college with funds received from EquityKey. It is your debt free cash, you make the decision on what to do with it, says Crespillo.

Call the EquityKey Hotline at 1-800-784-8124 ext 2921 for a free 24 hour recorded message.

For additional information,

Contact: Joseph Crespillo

(916) 784-7653

jmc11@jps.net

MOST EXPENSIVE HOMES

Sellstate Realty First — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:14:47 -0800

As home prices slide throughout the United States, I just read an article that puts it all into perspective. My wife and I are doing BPO's at $50 a pop to help make ends meet. WE are getting about 200 a month so the extra money is coming in handy but it is a lot of work and is very time consuming. Now I find out that all I have to do is move to Manhattan and sell Alex Rodriquez(no not sterroids) a new town house. The word in Manhattan real-estate circles is that a $39 million East 80th Street town house is in his future.

If Alex closes on the town house this year it will be the sixth most expensive house of 2007. All of the top five have been in Manhattan. Yes the Forbes priciest home sales of 2007 is finally out. You can go to www.Forbes.com to find out if your sale made the list.

SENATE BILL 2338

Sellstate Realty First — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:03:31 -0800

It looks like SB 2338 (FHA Reform) will possibly pass before the end of the year. The hold up has been Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn and he has agreed to release his hold on the housing bill. This is good news and our markets may get some relief because of the bill.

Coburn had expressed a number of concerns about the bill and objected to unanimous consent requests to pass the bill on Nov. 14 and Dec 6. As you know, the House passed their version of the bill (HR 1852) as far back as Sept. 18.

FHA reform will increase the size of mortgages the FHA could insure, reduce down payments and increase the penalties for fraud. It will not be the complete answer to the problems we are having in our industry, but it is a start.

Our next step is to get our Representatives to raise the loan amounts on the GSE's. If the high priced area's had the same loan amounts as Hawaii, we would take another step closer to pulling out of our down-spin. So contact your Representative today.

UPDATE-The Senate passed SB 2338 today(12/14). They expect the bill to be signed by the President sometime in January.

I NEED HELP!

Sellstate Realty First — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:59:38 -0800

Yesterday while driving home, I heard about a program that is a voice activated text messaging center. You set it up with your computer. Call a number and you can talk into your cell phone, tell it where you want it sent and it will send it for you. The best part is that it is free.

Has anyone heard of this system?

NAR ASKS FOR HELP

Sellstate Realty First — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 11:41:09 -0800

This morning I recieved an email from the National Association of Realtors - Realtor Action Center. They want our help on two items.

FHA Reform S.2338

Ask your Senator to support FHA reform legislation this year. This is not the cure all, but it does help. FHA is one of the few departments of the government that makes money. By passisng the FHA reform bill, we are not putting anymore risk on the FHA than they already take on. All we are asking for are higher loan amounts to help more borrowers. Yes we have Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, but FHA still fills a void that FNMA and FHLMC can not do.

Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae (GSE) Loan Limits

Ask your Senator to support legislation that allows regional increases to the Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae loan limits and stress the need for a quick Senate action on this vital reform. As you already know, the GSE loan limits will stay at $417,000, no increase or decrease. Anything above that is considered a Jumbo loan. This morning I have a 30 yr conforming price below 6% with no points. That same loan as a Jumbo would be in the high sevens. All we are saying by supporting this legislation, is we want more famileis in high cost areas to be able to afford to buy a home.

You can chose to do nothing and hope it changes or you can call, write or email your Senator (I suggest call or email, it is faster) and let them know how you feel. Tell your friends and family to do the same. The Active Rain Community is a big voice, lets use it to help ourselves and our clients. Lets make home ownership a dream for more families.

To quote a famous actor, "You can do it"

RAIDERS DO IT AGAIN!

Sellstate Realty First — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:13:30 -0800

What a great day. The Raiders have not only won 2 in a row, but two divisional games in a row. Jamarcus even got to get in and throw the ball and he did look good.

If you think about it, we have been in this market about 2 years. The Raiders have also been in a down market for 2 years. Maybe with the Raiders winning 2 in a row it means that we are also going to start Monday with a market that will go crazy. Thats it, as long as the Raiders win, we can not go wrong.

Oh well a man can dream can't he.

An Option to the Reverse Mortgage

Sellstate Realty First — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:11:07 -0800

Look out Reverse, there is another player on the horizon. The EquityKey program is for seniors between the ages of 65 to 85. The benefits of EquityKey are 1. Owner recieves debt free cash equal to 12-15% of initial home value(24-30% of initial home value is both homeowners qualify). 2. No closing costs-just a simple $300 application fee. 3, Property can go to your heirs. 4. Eligible properties: primary residence, rental, commercial, or second home. 5. You can do anything you want with the money you recieve from EquityKey 6. EquityKey does not affect any of the original equity in your property(unlike a reverse mortgage) and all you are doing is selling a 50% share(100% if two qualify) in the future appreciation of your properties.

The reverse mortgage is still a great product for seniors, but there are high origination costs and fees, creats new accelerating debt, erodes valuable equity, interest rate is variable(there is a fixed product now), must live in house full time and only applies to primary residences.

Who can participate in the EquityKey Program? Property owners that are 65-85 years old. Property owners need to be in good health with no smokers, no type 1 diabetes and no recent bouts with cancer. They can not owe more than 70% of the home's value. There is no credit check or minimum income requirement.

Don't look at a reverse without looking at the EquityKey product also. With EquityKey you can get debt-free cash from $60,000 to $1,000,000. You can email me or call me at 916-705-3580 to find out how much you can qualify for or if you have more questions.

Call me or email me if you are in the mortgage business and would like to make commissions offering the EquityKey program or if you are a Realtor, Financial Planner or Trust Attorney and would like to make referal income from the EquityKey program. 916-705-3580.

The EquityKey program is only available in California and New York. It is coming soon to Florida and then the rest of the US.

Has Your Favorite Lender Imploded?

Sellstate Realty First — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:53:50 -0700

Wow acording to www.ml-implode.com 161 lenders or divisions of the lender have imploded since 04/14/2006. That is almost 10 per month. I have been in the mortgage business since January of 1977 and if I go back, we have had a correction every decade. That is all we are experiencing, is a correction. The biggest damn correction I have ever been in. This market is not just closing down Mortgage Companies, but it is now affecting Thrifts. NetBank has been the latest casualty and the first Thrift shut down since 2001.

Now is not the time to sit and complain about what is happening in the market. What you talk about comes about. Now is the time to get back to basics and work your database the way you should have been working it all along. I am just as guilty as the next person, but it is never to late.

If you have been in the bussiness less than 5 years, don't worry, this will pass. It is just like a kidney stone, it may hurt as it passes, but it always does. (or you die)

Mortgage Fraud

Sellstate Realty First — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 14:36:35 -0800

What, in a nutshell, is mortgage fraud? Mortgage fraud generally involves material misrepresentations or omissions made to deceive a financial institution into funding, purchasing or insuring a mortgage loan. There are many different types of mortgage fraud that fall into two catagories, "fraud for housing" and "fraud for profit" Under the fraud for housing, this type typically involves a borrower that wants to buy but does not totally qualify. They are willing to make the payment, but may not make enough income or have enough assets to qualify. So numbers are changed on the application. The way people look at it is as long as they make the payment who is hurt? Well sometimes they feel they can make that payment and once they get in they are struggling. Lenders have guidlines for a reason and if we commit fraud we all get hurt. This accounts for about 20% of the fraud that is committed.

Fraud for profit on the other hand is intended to abuse the system for financial gain. Some examples of these schemes are, property flipping, inflated appraisals, straw buyers, equity skimming and price inflation schemes. The big one circulating the country now is price inflation schemes. This is where a buyer will offer more than the selling price, say $50,000 and the excess money will go back to the borrower or to a third party. You can tell something is not right when they put the excess money on an addendum that the lender will not see.

Ladies and Gentlemen that is mortgage fraud and is punishable by up to 30 years imprisonment, plus a $1 million fine (18 U.S.C. 1014). Also anyone that participates in a mortgage fraud scheme is exposed to possible civil liability and any real estate licensee who participates could also face license revocation or other disciplinary action taken by the Department of Real Estate. Is it really worth it?

I was at a fraud seminar the other day and the representative from FNMA said that even though FNMA allows closing costs to be paid by the seller, if they believe you have raised the price to cover closing costs, they are looking at this as fraud. Lets say you have the house listed for $400,000 and the borrower needs $10,000 in allowable closing costs paid by the seller so you sell the home for $410,000 and pay $10,000 of the buyers costs. They could consider this fraud. FNMA is not in the business of financing closing costs and with this scenario they are. If you sold the same home for $400,000 and paid the $10,000 you would be ok.

When we are in an up market, everything goes merrily along. When people are having problems making the payment and defaults are up. the investors are looking to others to pass the costs to and if it is fraud, trust me, you will pay.

Option Arm - Do you think it's bad for the Industry?

Sellstate Realty First — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 21:28:03 -0700

How long do you thing the Option Arm has been around? By the way, in case you don't know, the reason it is called an option arm is because you get 3 or 4 options on the payment coupon. 1. start rate, 2. interest only at fully indexed amount, 3. principle and interest at the fully indexed amount and 4. 15 year amortization. Actually anything over the interest only fully indexed is put towards principle. But I digress. I recieved an Option Arm from World Savings 25 years ago so I know they have been around for that long.

How can something that has been around for 25 years be bad for the industry? The loan serves a purpose. It helps keep your payments low. You may qualify for higher payments, but for some reason you want them lower. This program accomplishes that, lately as low as 1%. As long as you know the pitfalls and the benifits, what is wrong with this program?

Ok here is what is wrong. You have people in our industry that are driven by the mighty dollar. They put people into this product and don't fully disclose. Or they may have fully disclosed but all you really understand is the low payment. They can make up to a 4% rebate with an option arm. So they raise the margin as high as they can slap a 2 or 3 year pre-payment penalty on the loan, close it and get on to their next target. As long as the borrower signs all the disclosures the lender is safe. Whether the buyer gets it or not the lender is ok with it.

So when the discussions come around to the loan programs that hurt our industry, its like the gun quote (its not the guns that kill people, its the people that kill people), its not the loan program that is the problem, its the person pushing it on us that is the problem. Know the person you are doing business with. Ask for references if you need to. Ask for a second opinion. A home is the biggest item you will finance in your lifetime. Do not get stuck in financing you do not understand.

Nightmare Mortgages

Sellstate Realty First — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 11:43:05 -0700

Has anyone seen the Business Week with the picture of the house being strangled by a large snake? The title of the article is called "How Toxic Is Your Mortgage". A sales person used it on an email they sent me to get me to purchase their program to help me get people out of these types of loans. I am doing that right now. People who were put into negative amortizing loans with out really understanding what they were getting into. All they really understood is that their payment is 1%.

Now don't get me wrong, these types of loans do serve a purpose and I have one on my house, but the abuse of this product in order for the lender to make more money was rampant. In some cases I can fix the problem. In some cases I can't. No matter what happens though these people are having to pay more money for a loan they wanted in the first place because of a loan they closed on because they thought they were better off. Loan officers that that do this kind of services are transactional and are not long for the business. I say good-bye and please do not jump into the next refi boom.

Sorry about the rant. I was just asking if you know what date this issue was printed. I would like to read the article. THANKS

Scenario Discussion Forum

Sellstate Realty First — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 09:44:36 -0700

What I would like to do with the active rain forum is create a place that we can go and discuss scenarios that we have that we may be having some trouble with. Case in point. I have a borrower who is trying to buy a home wit zero down. His credit score is average (648) but my sticking point is he has been incarcerated for 4 years and has only been out for 9 months. Thus his score is based on 9 months of credit and so is his work history. When I find a lender that is ok with his work history, his credit is a problem or vis-a versa.

Has anyone out there come across a scenario like this. How did you solve it? I have been through 4 lenders now and have about six more that will look at the package. I am doing now what I love to call dialing for dollars. There are websites designed for this but with the amount of knowledge on this website, I think our resorces are limitless.

Thank you for reading this blog and I hope to hear from you.

PS I am a California Broker

Sell More Homes

Sellstate Realty First — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 15:50:46 -0700

On January 10, 2007 I will celebrate my 30th year in this business. I have done everything from originate to underwrite and everything in between. I have seen Rockin markets and I have seen the market we are in now. When times are rockin we sit by the phone and pick it up when it rings. Now when it rings it is probably another listing appt with a seller that still wants last years price for their home.

Before the seller gets angry about dropping price and still no action, why not try someting a little different. If you advertised your listing with a 2/1 buydown or how about no interest payments for the first 6 months, do you think you might get some action on it?

Most agents try to get the seller to drop his price. If you are a little different you may sell more properties. Which ad looks better? Price dropped $20,000 or Pay no Interest for the first 6 months. I hope you picked the second one because not only does it look better, but on a $500,000 loan it will only cost $15,000 at 6% not the $20,000 the seller was going to drop his listing by. Anyway if a buyer sees that a price was dropped by $20,000 he will realize the seller may need to sell and he will come in even lower.

Advertising a first year rate somewhere in the 4% range today (9/27/06) for the first year is a little cheaper and is another way to advertise your listing by using a 2/1 buydown.

This type of market brings out the creative juices in all of us. Lets get creative and sell more homes.