I am not on Active Rain much in the last 10 months, mainly because I started a new project that has taken all of my time away from hanging around in the 'Rain'. So I might not know many of you, but I started on AR on October 3rd, 2006. I do know this, that AR has been like a second family to me and I have met some awesome people who are now my friends. And I know there has been a lot of tragedy in the last 6 months with AR members or of their family members.
I only know Sherri Wellborn by name, but a friend of mine told me earlier today that Sherri's daughter, Ashley Malone was in a serious car accident. Ashley is in a comma and fighting for her life.
I just wanted to pass this along so we can keep Ashley Malone and Sherri Wellborn in our thoughts and prayers. And for those that know her, but didn't know of this news, that you can reach out to her.
Hey all.... I first started on Active Rain on October 3rd 2006... I haven't been around in the last 10 months or so like I use to. Been very busy on my new project, MyPhillyAlive .... And from day one, AR has been like a 2nd family to me and still think of them as that, plus all the friendships that I have made over the years.
We have had a few members over the last several months experience some family member woes. Not sure how to put it in words, but my thoughts and prayers go out to their families, especially Missy Caulk and her family. But I like to think fo December as a joyous month, a rebirth, giving back to so many that are struggling. I am sure many of us have been struggling over the years, but there are less fortunate.
Anyhoo... I am rambling, as usual. I am just looking for some support for my nephew Johnny and his 6th grade class. They are now semi-finalists for B-101's Christmas Choir competition and voting ends tonight.B 101 is a local radio station in Philadelphia.
Johnny's class song is "Christmas List 2011" for St. Mary of the Lakes.
There are 3 classes competiting and even though Johnny is my nephew, family, I think their singing is the best out of the three classes.
A few important pieces of information :
Johnny's class song is original. The class with the help of the teacher, wrote their own song. If you listen to the part about legos, that was added by my nephew.
The other two songs are from other artists.
Yes, "Blitzen's Boogie" song has a beat to it, but... remember, you are picking the class that has the better voices. Yet, give credit to the class that actually wrote their own song. That is also talent. (just my opinion)
The class that sang "Blitzen's Boogie" has 275 more kids than my nephew's school. So more chances for more votes.
Lastly, I always try to be bias and I listened to all 3 songs twice. And I actually think my nephew's class did the best job. And to add in there again, that their song is an original.
Food for thought - Please 'like' and vote. You can only like the song once, but you can vote as many times as you want. Just remember, look for the song, because it changes in the rotation. "Christmas List 2011"
Anyhoo... just wanted to share this with you all. And to get into the holiday spirit. To also remember to thank those men and women that help protect our country. Thank them in person, buy them a cup of coffee or better yet, buy them a lunch. We had an AR member a few years ago buy 5 or so service people their lunch in the airport. A touching story. And believe me when I say they really just appreciate a thanks.
Well, I know I had updates at the bottom and had to post the 11:30 am update up top, since it was great news... not sure what to do with this update now... but this is an update from about 30 minutes ago...
11/19/11 12:10 am
From Christa... "I'd like to keep you all updated on Jamie Caulk. After the doctor's discovered blood flow to Jamie's brain, they also learned that the blood doesn't appear to be getting to the brain stem which is the part of his brain where the stroke occurred. Again, this is the part of our brain which control the heart, lungs and basic functions for life. The next 36 hours are critical for his recovery. We ple...aded for the doctor's to conduct a final apnea test which will determine if his brain is capable of forcing his body to breathe once he gets a certain level of carbon dioxide in his blood."
We really need to dig deeper than before, and pray like never before.... We witnessed one miracle this morning, needing another now...
Major Update !!!
Update : 10/18/11 @ 11:30 am - The test showed blood flow to Jaime's brain. A small step that buys him more time for God to continue working a miracle. Keep praying everyone. Need Jamie to now come out of his comma.
(Please play this as you read)
Not sure where to begin... I probably don't know many of you now, since I really haven't been on Active Rain in 2011 and because AR has grown tremendously with new faces.... and many of the older members are either gone or not on as much. So I am not sure what has been mentioned on AR. But for anyone that knows Missy Caulk, her son Jamie was in a serious car accident on Thursday. I don't know the details, except what has been mentioned on facebook. Missy has a special place in my heart, because I have gotten to know her over the years and she is just an incredible giving person that shares so much of herself. We haven't met in person, but have talked on several occasions, and I consider her like family, like an older sister. She was one of the first 20 people or so that I got to know when I first joined AR in October 2006. And because of AR and Facebook, I have gotten to know parts of her family throughout the years.
This was an update from Missy herself late Friday night.
"Please continue to pray for my son Jamie. He is in vanderbilt trauma unit. He is Intubated and needs to wake up. Bad car wreck. He has no movement at all now. When he arrived at trauma was awake. Then crashed. They brought him back and Intubated him. He has had no sedation since 2:00 but is not waking up. We are praying for a miracle."
Update from Matthew Caulk of about 24 hours ago - "The latest update is Jamie had a catastrophic stroke caused by a very rare chain of events including the way he was born. At this point we need a miracle or Jamie is going to progress and be brain dead rather quickly. Love everyone so much for all the prayer and support now. God can, has and will heal Jamie, my personal belief is Jamie and Jesus are working out those details this very moment in the Kingdom."
Matthew, Jamie's brother, had shared the song below on FB.... and about 30 minutes ago, I heard this song, the one that I mentioned above, on Pandora. And it kind of sounded like Jamie's song at first... so I ended up listeing to the whole song. Very touching.... as I listened to the song above, it reminded me on how we have many roads ahead of us, that are unknown. In this case, we want Jamie to come back on one of these roads, leading back to his family. And I just wanted to put this out there, asking for your thoughts and prayers for Jamie and the Caulk family... That Jamie comes back to us.... Please dig deep down, because I have always felt AR as a family in one way or another. Thanks
ps.. sorry if this might have been a litle jumpy, just lost for words. And for those that might not know, Christa Caulk Stewart here on AR is her daughter, who is married to our own Bob Stewart... who I have gotten to meet on several occasions. Just awesome people....
10/17/11 - 10:00 pm - I followed up with Bob and just got a text from Bob.... The doctors will be doing a test in the morning to determine if Jaime has any blood flowing to his brain. The doctors say he will need a miracle to survive... thanks
10/18/11 - 12:15 am - Matthew Caulk just gave me a quick e-mail update... Not wanting to give negative news, but apoparently the doctors are pushing them to make a decision.. the doctors will be meeting in the morning to see if Jamie is getting any blood to the brain. Matthew is just thankful for all the support that you all are showing, which has given them hope, more hope, in staying strong... thanks everyone....
Here is Jamie who is the anchor for the Univeristy's school news.
Halloween in Philadelphia - Spooky attractions & events in Philadelphia
Halloween in Philadelphia is fun, yet can be a frightening times. The history in Philadelphia is intriguing enough, but did you know all the spooky and scary stories that involve Philadelphia's history? I found it very interesting when researching that information.The Spirits of '76 Ghost Tour tells you such scary stories surrounding the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. You also have the Ghost Tour of Philadelphia that not only takes you on ghostly tours throughout the City of Philadelphia, but which explores several graveyards with some Philly history.
With so many different attractions and events surrounding Halloween in Philadelphia, it can be hard to choose from. So many attractions such as Terror Behind the Walls at the Eastern State Penitentiary, to the Fright Factory, or even the Bates Motel that has one of the scariest hayrides in America.
The History of Philadelphia can be so amazing and intriguing. Learning about the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania can be an eye opener, because stories can get twisted as they are passed through generations. As I have gotten older, I really enjoy learning about American History and anything to do with or surrounding World War II. Living near the city of Philadelphia, and able to go see such sites as the Liberty Bell, which has been the symbol for American Independence for centuries, can be exciting.
History of the Liberty Bell
The original Bell was founded by William Penn. The city’s bell was used to alert the public to proclamations or civic danger ever since Philadelphia was founded in 1682. As the bell tower was being built in 1751, civic authorities wanted a better bell of quality, so it could be heard from a further distance as the city of Philadelphia grew. So they had the bell built in England and it was delivered in Philadelphia by August of 1752. The bell needed to be tested so .............
Do you know the actual stories of how the bell was cracked? Take a guess. You can find your answers here with some quick facts.
Active Rain has changed so much since I first started in October of 2006. I remember the membership to be around 6,000 or so. Now it's up over 213,000 people. Many of you might not know who I am because my blogging has slowed down considerably in 2011 and so has my overall participation. Several reasons... I have been writing for 4 1/2 years. My first 2 years, I was writing like 30 blog posts a month. And as many of you know, it can be time consuming when writing, reading, and commenting. Also, I love mortgages, helping those with questions, and to educate them. But mortgages in general are just boring. I just hit my 19 year anniversary 3 weeks ago. I love comments like the next one, but I have to be on here like 24/7, paying it forward, writing good stuff, and so much more. I just got burnt out.
Just the other day, I had a consumer call me from California who found me online and said, "you write some very good stuff. I have been reading your posts on The FHA Expert and a few on Active Rain." He then asks me a question and told me that 3 other lenders said it can't be done. I said that they are wrong, that it's allowed by HUD/FHA. Hey, I just always prided myself in putting good quality content out there that is easy to understand. But I just haven't done as well in recent years for several reasons.
Good news though.... I can take what I have learned in blogging, thanks partially to Active Rain and several of its members, and put it too good use. I have been working on a project for myself, a web site all About Philadelphia.
The general description :
At MyPhillyAlive, I want to share the excitement that the City of Philadelphia resonates. Sharing the passion within, from the people of Philadelphia. At MyPhillyAlive, I'll be talking about restaurants, fun bars & the city night life, the history of Philadelphia, Philly attractions & events, the arts, sports, and much more. I want people to add their experiences regarding Philadelphia, even if they are from out of town.
On top of it all, I will also be doing social media. Teaching those the basics, about blogging, the major social media platforms, how to engage, some tools, and reviewing the business's or individual's social media plan. I will also be doing this for my current company regarding mortgages. And I will still help regarding mortgages, but I am excited about keeping my passion going in blog posts when it comes to Philadelphia, especially the history of Philadelphia.
So... this is where I have been, since I haven't been on Active Rain in the last 3 months or so. Here is a link to my facebook fan page : MyPhillyAlive - My web site will be live in about a week.You can also find me on Twitter @MyPhillyAlive .
Realtors should know basics about Mortgages in New Jersey– Especially FHA Mortgages
When it comes to realtors giving in depth advice about mortgages, it does crawl under my skin. Some of you know this, and some of you disagree with me. Some realtors think a realtor should go as far as to pre-qualify a buyer. One reason from a realtor was that he could do it better than many of the loan officers. Sure, there are bad loan officers and good loan officers. I can make the same statement in regards to realtors, and in most other professions. But lets put all of that aside, because that is not what this post is about.
So why do I bring this up then? I will say that a realtor needs to know the basics when it comes to mortgages. They are suppose to be knowledgeable when showing homes, right? How does one usually buy a home? Usually with a mortgage. And in today’s mortgage arena, there are really only four types of mortgages.
Conventional Loans – easiest of all appraisals and what is required.
FHA Loans – appraisal issues are not as strict as the rumors that say FHA is harsh. Maybe back in the day, prior to 2002. The VC sheet was even dropped from the appraisal almost a decade ago. Broken doors, cracked windows, cracks in the foundation, chipping and pealing paint, and mold are usually the biggies.
USDA Loans – people need to be aware that not only does the lender underwrite the appraisal, but that the USDA needs to review the appraisal.
VA Loans – in between conventional and FHA requirements.
Each mortgage is different, and some are more lenient than others when it comes to appraisals. But here is the part that a realtor should focus on. Many sellers and listing agents want at least a pre-qualification letter from the buyers mortgage company. It makes total sense and is not unreasonable. The pre-qual letter should state what kind of mortgage it is, right? Well, if my pre-qualification letter says that the buyer has been pre-qualified up to x,y,z; with a FHA mortgage, then that means that buyer is getting a FHA mortgage.
Here is the dilemma or issue at hand. I know of a buyer getting a home with a FHA mortgage and the sales agreement was written as an ”as is” purchase. Which means that the seller will do no repairs. Well, the house is not only a mess, but several things are wrong with it. The main issue is that it has mold, and they knew about this because there was a previous buyer, in which that transaction fell a part. Secondly, there are like eight electrical outlets that needs covering and an electrical box. Anyone with little experience regarding FHA mortgages would know that this would need to be addressed and fixed prior to settlement. Regarding the mold issue, the realtor said FHA doesn’t get worried about mold issues. The other issue is that the buyer is using a friend as their realtor who really only does commercial deals. So you can see why that realtor didn’t even pick up on these “red flags”, even though the house is being sold “as is”.
Here is a picture showing you one of the outlets. You tell me what you think.
As you can see, not only does the box have to be covered, but that the wires are exposed.
Conclusion : Realtors should know the basics about mortgages, especially FHA mortgages, since this is about 40% of all mortgages in today’s real estate transactions. In some areas, FHA mortgages are even 50% or higher in specific markets.
Let’s try to look at this another way. Would a buyer really want to buy the property if it has some major issues? Shouldn’t a realtor be focused on the condition of the property prior to listing it? If the realtor sees some potential “red flags”, and they aren’t sure, wouldn’t it be wise to call a few lenders to find out. As a sales person, shouldn’t that person know his or her product? If selling a home, not only knowing the condition of the home, but understanding the basic appraisal requirements for the basic mortgages? Just some food for thought. Because I have always said, “the stupid question is the question not asked if it has been thought about.”
So in my honest opinion, realtors should know the prime basics of mortgages in New Jersey. The primary focus should be on appraisal issues.
I thought Inna Hardison was spot on, regarding regarding Klout and what your number means, especially as a realtor. I see many people focusing on this, especially some realtors... and I share the same opinion as Inna. Besides, if you spend too much time online, socializing with Facebook & Twitter, this is just one main way of increasing your score. It still doesn't mean that you are an expert at real estate. And in my opinion, with most businesses out there. #justsayin
Todd Carpenter wrote an interesting post about Klout last week, with the gist of it being that paying attention to Klout score doesn’t necessarily measure anything worth measuring for a real estate professional. The way to get your Klout score up is basically to talk to and be +K’ed or mentioned by other influential people (influential based on their Klout score), so at the end of the day you might be Klout-worthy or influential, just in the wrong circles when it comes to selling real estate in your specific market. Again – my interpretation, read the post, it’s short and quite good.
This post was inspired by a comment to Todd’s blog from Michael J. Maher, a Realtor in Kansas and the author of “(7L) The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals”. He voiced a dissenting opinion, stating that Klout score is not only important to a real estate professional, but he uses Klout during his listing appointments. And I quote, from Michael’s example of how he uses his Klout score to get listings: “One of the questions I want you to ask the other professionals you interview is, what is your Klout score (and that is with a K, K-L-O-U-T dot com)? This is a beautiful question because 1) if they don’t know what it is, you can instantly eliminate them, 2) when they tell you, you can instantly compare influence, and 3) please write this down – mine is 78 and rising steadily. They say 20 means you are out there and over 50 is outstanding. What’s nice is that with one question, you will get a feel for their Internet savviness [sic.], which as you said before is important to selling your home.”
Outside of what I took to be a rather condescending tone of this particular sales pitch, it got me thinking that if I were say a Realtor in Michael’s market who happened to follow him to a listing appointment and a seller indeed asked me about my Klout score, I would quite possibly burst out laughing (after the initial shock and confusion wore off some). I would then have to point out to this seller just how misguided the question is and I would probably feel compelled to explain just how very meaningless Klout score is. I would have to tell them that having a high Klout score (or any, for that matter) would help me sell their house in the same way that being a Mayor of a particular Starbucks would.
But I don’t sell real estate for a living, and I do know what Klout is and what it does. So it made me wonder how many agents, asked that same question would blush, state that they’ve no idea what their score is (or, God forbid, what Klout is for that matter), and walk away feeling like they’d done something wrong. They’d run home and spend an inordinate amount of time getting a Klout score to compete with Michael’s, they’d light up twitter with requests for +K’s and such and do all the things they are now told matter, none of which pertain in any way to the business of helping people buy or sell real estate.
So here is my attempt at saving you some time, should you ever find yourself having to answer the Klout question: First, remember that If you are ever asked what your Kllout score is, chances are, there was an agent there before you who believes Klout score is a meaningful measure of online influence and he used it in his sales pitch. Now, feel free to explain to the seller that unless you are trying to score free movie tickets or lotion baskets, your Klout score is a pretty meaningless number as it pertains to your job. It does not measure your online marketing efforts’ success in selling a home any more than winning at Farmville measures your aptitude as a farmer. And then tell the seller how you will market their home online in all the places where buyers are looking for homes (and Klout isn’t one of those places), and explain the rest of your marketing strategy.
Lastly, feel free to tell the seller that there are two kinds of marketing, one that is all about agent self-promotion and one that is all about actually reaching a goal (in this case the goal of selling the home). In order for you to have a high Klout score you’d have to devote every minute of your time to promoting your own greatness, and that would leave very little time for staging and photographing the property, for writing phenomenal descriptions of it, and for syndicating that property every place meaningful on the Internet. In simple terms – you are a real estate professional and not a kid trying to get laid. Your job demands that you don’t waste your time on gimmicks in the hopes of getting a listing. Klout, Foursquare, Empire Avenue et. al. are games, designed to boost one’s ego, and occasionally engagements in these platforms give one a false sense of doing something important. So do what you do, and either engage in these little games or not, so long as you understand that they are just that, games and distractions, from which you might occasionally land a lead in much the same way you might land a lead from any other chance occurrence, - pleasant when it happens but statistically irrelevant.
For the record, my Klout score is 58, and it means absolutely nothing, I assure you.
Update: Michael and I have since had a surprisingly nice conversation on Twitter. I still disagree with the above, but I am glad to have met him:-)
Mortgage 101 in New Jersey – Getting to know the borrower’s wants and needs
In today’s delicate world of mortgages in New Jersey and any where else, getting a mortgage not only takes understanding, but patience. I am still finding many loan officers trying to fit that round peg into that square hole. Let me explain….
I currently have a client whose realtor got him to talk to her loan officer. This loan officer has my borrower pre-qualifed for about $35,000 more than I do. How can there be such a difference?
Before I get into the differences, let’s try and establish a pattern of questions that should be talked about, when a loan officer interviews a borrower.
What mortgage payment in New Jersey would you feel comfortable with, to include your property taxes and homeowners insurance. Please give me an honest and realistic amount that you would not want to exceed.
Secondly, what areas would you prefer to live in. This is very important, because it comes down to the different property tax amounts. Depending on why you would want to live in that town or neighborhood, would help determine your monthly mortgage payment because of the property taxes.
My next question would be the type of property that you would want to purchase. Whether it would be a single family dwelling, a townhouse, a condo, etc. This helps me determine your payment as well, because there could be association dues or PUD fees based on the type of property and location.
In my opinion, I consider these 3 questions to be the most important that should be asked in the beginning, besides their name, credit scores, credit history, and income information. I actually get to those sets of questions next.
So, with that addressed now, let’s get back to my story.
My borrower wants to live in one of two places, because one of his main focuses is to be in a good school system. Keep in mind, they have 1 child at 8, another at 1, and one on the way. How do I know all of this? I got to know my borrower.
Now, the areas that they are interested in, the property taxes run about $6,000 a year on $180,000 properties. This other loan officer has them pre-qualified at $200,000, but using property taxes of $5,200. To be realistic, if buying a $200,000 home, the property taxes average around $7,000 a year. As you can see, this could become a huge issue for the borrower when shopping for a home in their respective areas, to later find out that they don’t qualify based on higher taxes. But it gets better.
In my very first question, I asked what mortgage payment that he would feel comfortable with. If I used the $200,000 property, even at the unrealistic property taxes of $5,200, he would be about $117 over his comfort zone regarding the mortgage payment. With the correct property taxes, not only does he not qualify for a mortgage, but his monthly nut would now be about $267 more than what he would be comfortable with.
Conclusion : In my 18+ years in the mortgage business, even after the government tightening down on loan officers with their licensing requirements since the beginning of 2011, I keep seeing these basics get over-looked more than they should. It shouldn’t be about who can pass a test, even though the test itself is only about 30% mortgages directly. But about asking the proper questions and preparing the borrower.
I have a borrower right now who has a 617 credit score and that their current loan officer is telling them that they need a 620. Once they get that 620, they can close. Settlement was suppose to be June 30th and he keeps saying it will be soon. yet when I reviewed their current credit, it doesn’t mean the credit guidelines. I wrote about this example that happens more than it should. Please read - Your credit score is more than just a number -
Hey, it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. I know it’s easy to trust someone when they say such words as : “trust me”, “no problem”, I promise”, “I guarantee”, etc. Who do you trust? Get to know your loan officer, listen to how they talk, and how confident they sound. Not just the sales words that one might use. I call these words The Red Flags of mortgages. If you listen close enough, you can sometimes hear someone contradict themselves. Just food for thought.
Mortgage Closing Costs - The Importance of Estimating Closing Costs
Estimating mortgage closing costs in New Jersey should not be a difficult task for most, but for some loan officers, they can be way off the mark. I know this because I get about three e-mails a month from borrowers that had a bad experience. Now I am seeing a trend that is scaring me, and the consumer needs to be aware.
When first shopping for a mortgage in New Jersey, usually the first question that gets asked by the borrower is, “what is your interest rate.” Followed by, “what are your closing costs.”
In my opinion, both of these questions can be very dangerous if the person answering them doesn’t take the time to explain in depth. Any loan officer can give a rate, especially to entice that person, to get them in the door. I have already talked about interest rates and the best methods to shop for interest rates : Today’s interest rate - Please don’t hesitate to read this post and the others mentioned at the end. What I want to talk about today is the importance of understanding the term “closing costs.”
Understanding Closings Costs – I find that there are 4 major sections
Lender Closing Fees – This is a specific section to where all lender fees are listed. Best way to compare apples to apples, because these fees should be set in stone from day one and not change. All of the other fees outside of the lender fees can change, because they are purely just estimates until you are closer to your settlement date or the day of.
Prepaid Costs - This is the section to where your taxes, homeowners insurance, possibly mortgage insurance, and daily interest is listed. My biggest issue is that I have seen many loan officers mislead when it comes to the number of months escrowed for your property taxes. Each state is different and all don’t require the same number of months. Example : State of New Jersey taxes are paid every quarter, which would be 3 months. I always escrow 5 months on paper, because this could be the worst case, depending on when the last property taxes were paid. This could be a huge difference in your bottom line number, if you just shop total costs or cash-to-borrower.
3rd party charges : to include title insurance (and all title fees), recording fees, survey fee (if applicable), transfer fees (if applicable per state) – Title insurance is regulated, but some companies sometimes charge more than they should, because of kick backs to the lender.
Down Payment – I list this, because sometimes this is not discussed properly upfront or listed in the total cash required. The down payment should be listed in your total cash required or cash from borrower. Yes, it’s not considered closing costs, but can be confused when talking about total costs required.
Conclusion : Keep in mind, by law, a lender has 3 business days to give a good faith estimate in New Jersey from the time of application. But a real application doesn’t take place until 7 trigger points have been met. What should you receive when shopping for a mortgage or when speaking to a loan officer that you trust? The new term for most is ‘Itemized Fee Worksheet’, which is a duplicate of the ‘old’ good faith estimate. But just because you get this upfront, doesn’t mean that it’s ‘gold’. And one needs to review and compare each section, not just the total number at the bottom. Understand why one might be more than the other. And don’t shop by using the APR. There are a few reasons why and I don’t suggest shopping by APR. Please read : Understanding APR
Lastly, all of what I talked about is just not for New Jersey, but for every borrower in every state.
I just want to educate people about mortgages and the process.
In regards to lending, I am very creative, intuitive, honest, and one who communicates information, may it be good or bad. I am a loan officer that looks out for your best interest.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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