The National Association of Realtors (also known in the industry as NAR) has a great Frequent Asked Questions communique for the consumer. Things are so different from the current version of the bill that consumers need to be aware of what this bill encompasses.
YOUR CONTRACT NEEDS TO BE SIGNED BY APRIL 30th and Closing by June 30th.
Question: Existing homeowner credit: Must the new house cost more than the old house?
Answer: No. Thus, for example, individuals who move from a high cost area to a lower cost area who meet all eligibility requirements will qualify for the $6500 credit.
Question: I am an existing homeowner. On October 25, 2009, I signed a contract to purchase a new home. I have lived in my current home for more than 5 consecutive years and am within the new income limits. I will go to settlement on November 20. If President Obama has signed the bill by the time I go to settlement, will I qualify for the new $6500 tax credit?
Answer: Yes. The existing homeowner credit goes into effect for purchases after the date of enactment (when the bill is signed). There is no reference to the date of contract for the new credit. The provision looks solely to the date of purchase, which is generally the date of settlement.
Question: I am a firsttime homebuyer but was not within the prior income limits at the time I entered into my contract to purchase on October 30, 2009. I will be covered, however, by the new income limits. If the new rules have been signed into law by the time I go to settlement, will I be eligible for a credit?
Answer: Yes. The new income limitations go into effect as soon as the President has signed the bill. The income limit and other eligibility rules will look to your status as of the date of purchase, which is the settlement date. So if the new rules have been signed when you go to settlement, you should be eligible for the credit (or a portion of the credit if you're within the phaseout range).
Question: I am an eligible existing homeowner. I have a fair amount of equity in my home. I have found a home with a nonnegotiable price of $825,000. Will I be able to use any of the $6500 tax credit?
Answer: No. The $800,000 cap on the cost of the purchased home is firm at $800,000. Any amount above $800,000 makes the home ineligible for any portion of the credit. The $800,000 is an absolute ceiling.
Question: I owned my home for 10 years, but sold it two years ago year and have been renting since. If I purchase a home, will I be eligible for the $6500 tax credit if I meet all the other eligibility tests?
Answer: Yes. Because you lived in the home for more than 5 consecutive years of the previous 8, you will qualify for the $6500 credit. For example, Say John and his wife bought a home in 2000 and lived there until 2008 when he got a divorce. Whether John has been renting or bought in the interim, he WOULD INDEED be eligible for the credit because he owned a home and occupied it as his principal residence for 5 consecutive years out of the last 8 years. The keyword here is "consecutive." As long as he lived in that house for 5 years straight what he did since 3 years doesn't impact eligibility.
Question: I am an eligible firsttime homebuyer. I entered into a contract to purchase on November 1, 2009. Do I have to go to closing before December 1? How does the extension date affect me?
Answer: You do not have to close before December 1. Once the legislation has been signed, it will be as if the Nov 30 date had never existed. Therefore, so long as the contract settles before April 30 (or July 1, worst case), the purchaser will be eligible for the credit.
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
I don't care if your Democrat or Republican or whatever or whoever. This stuff scares the crap out of me. Let's be honest....the health care system is broken. It just is. It's broken and needs to be fixed. But the government?????? The track record stinks and they can't run this business.
I come from a family of doctors. My grandfather was a thoracic lung surgeon. Dad? Anesthesiologist. 3 brothers? Hematologist oncologist, podiatrist and an Ear Nose and Throat doc. I worked at an out patient surgical center for a number of years prior to going to law school.
The system's broken, but the new system will drive all the good docs out of the business. Early retirements. No incentives by a doc to provide excellent health care. Territories will come in for doctors instead of healthy competition. Needless to say.....
The government should govern....and not ruin run healthcare. They've bankrupted everything else. Everything!!!!! Not this too! Just my .02 cents.
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
My Niece came over for Halloween this past weekend. She decided to go as Lady Gaga, but had a lot of fun dressing up my littlle ones. While doing the work for my little ones, she, herself decided to get in on the action through a practice round. Anyway, here she is putting on makeup. She didn't know what she was, but all I saw was Marilyn Manson. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and she called an audible and went as someone a little more upbeat....she doesn't even like Marilyn Manson....just liked putting on the make up. She kinda looks like a racoon.
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
Before law school, I went and got a Master's Degree in Clinical Pscychology. Why? Long story, but I wanted to work with teens. Two years out and just working with marriage issues and really wierd co-workers, I said screw this and went to law school. Now daddy's a lender. I've been a lender for 15 years, a branch manager and a regional vice-president of a world class company.
Looking back at the path that I was lead down, it became apparent
That a successful real estate professional is a counselor or therapist to some degree!
If you really think about it, in order to climb the ladder of success you really need to Hear & Understand people. Those are both two completely different actions. Yes...they are actions.
1- Hearing is not thinking about what you're saying next. It's not about your next pitch. It for sure "ain't about the sale, the listing, or the close." No hearing means an undivided, and uninterrupted focus on what your client is trying to pitch to you. This is pretty extreme for me. Today, I fully know why God sent me to graduate school for clinical psychology. I paid a lot of money for people to train me for two years to SHUT UP AND LISTEN! I could never let a pregnant pause occur. Ever....I hated silence. Two seconds of silence and I'm filling the gap. I realized over the past 15 years that:
The Power Remains to those who Keep their mouth's shut!
Now...I'm like bring it on. 2, 3, 5, 10 seconds of total silence....no problem. You'll get uncomfortable before I will and the client needs to know the my agenda is investing in them. That's it plain and simple. Hard to do, but well worth the practices.
2- Understanding! This is just as difficult.....really, it is! You might intake the words, but you need to process what's being communicated. My wife rips me for "not listening." I'll say yes I did, you said X, Y and Z. She say's I know your brain is a machine that can spit back whatever, but I don't know that you're undertanding me." Wow....ouch....Mr. Therapist gets slapped in the face by his wife. Guess what...clients are the same. We are so scripted in this industry that it often is rough for us to convey what a client wants us to convey. Sure we're giving the the answer that they ultimately want, but they want us to walk through the process with them.
If we don't we'll lose them and we can ultimately not be successful with the client. I've seen the best of the best master these skills. Everyone else flounders. Success is relational and not transactional.
Rates, programs, visions and problems all come across in a relationship with a client. Often times a divorce leads to a refinance or a home sale. Having the ability to meet your client where they are in life is critical to success of your business.
1st Reverse Mortgage USA, a division of Cherry Creek Mortgage Co., Inc. had another record month in October. The division closed 46 loans for just under 13 million dollars ($12,786,520). Year to date, the division has originated 365 units, totaling more than $94,000,000 in reverse mortgage loans; this represents a 58% increase in growth over last year's volume. This ranks the division as one of the top 40 lenders in the country that originate and insure reverse mortgages.
THE HECM for home purchase program was introduced to the reverse mortgage industry in January of this year. It presents a great opportunity to expand the reverse mortgage product to real estate agents as another alternative for senior home buyers. As one of our growth initiatives, the division introduced the HECM for home purchase program to our client base (CCMC branches and banks) this summer. We are excited that 15% of our closings last month were HECM for home purchase, putting us on the road towards becoming one of the industry's leaders for the purchase product. The home purchase program presents a tremendous opportunity for CCMC branches to expand their full service mortgage banking value proposition to their real estate agents by educating and cross-selling the HECM for home purchase program.
While we're pleased with our growth, the community as a whole needs to take advantage of the opportunities that exist for homebuying with Reverse Mortgages.
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
Halloween was brutal. My son got a pumpkin that was well over 45 pounds. He had to get the biggest one on the farm. We bought it in Fredonia, Wisconsin and saved it until it came time to carving for Halloween. He was so happy that when he cut it open the hole was big enough to put his head inside. Mind you....dad had to lift the pumpkin onto his head and set it on.....I was actually afraid that he was going to fall over from the weight of it...but boys will be boys and he really wanted to do it. No trick photos here. This photograph ain't doctored in any way.
HOWEVER......
However, my son, Brett, did get revenge on the pumpkin. He took out a knife and went to work. At the end of the day he felt that he had won the pumpkin battle and gave the little pumpkin a few drinks, but quickly realized that this dude needed to drink outside. Needless to say, Old Mr. Peter Pumpkinhead can't hold his liquor as evidenced by this picture.
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
Well...it's almost here. According to Bloomberg, it appears likely that Obama will have the bill on his desk next week to extend the first time home buyer tax credit. Needless to say, this bill, in it's current form extends the tax credit to:
Non-First Time Homebuyers can get a $6,500 tax credit as well!!!!
Lawmakers voted 85-2 to move closer to a final vote on the bill, which would extend until April 30 the $8,000 homebuyer credit that otherwise would expire at the end of this month. Homebuyers who have lived in their prior residence for at least five years could receive a credit of $6,500. Couples earning as much as $225,000 a year and individuals earning up to $125,000 would qualify. That's up from the current $75,000 limit for individuals and $150,000 for couples.
It'll be interesting to see how the final version of this bill looks when it's finally signed into law.
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
Brian Buffini is all about human contact. Oral will rule with your clients. Yes Oral Communication, that is! Sure, he talks about this thing called the cocooning of your clients, but the truth of the matter is that your clients want to hear from you. Not from an e-mail or a direct mail piece, but from you. I try to make an attempt at calling my qualified database, but the reality is...that there is only so much time in the day, week and month. Unless I get to touch them....I really end up losing them and actually could end up loosing the folks in my database as well. Check out www.buffiniandcompany.com.
Tom Ward, however, reiterates that there is so much money out there in your database. There are so many people out there trying to establish new relationships instead of leveraging the relationships that they have. Most people neglect their database, and as a result, they miss out on a lot of money that's sitting right before their eyes, fingertips and phone. Think about it....how much time perday, or week do you have call those who are important to you? I didn't create a database for my first 5 years in the business. Let's just say I figured that it cost me about $300,000 dollars. As Tom Ward of Majestic Consulting says, people need to hear from you. Check out www.majesticconsulting.com.
Finally, Todd Duncan, also tells people that they need to reach out to people who already value them. In other words, the relationships that you have....keep them. Nurture them and invest in them. The most important piece of this equation is that, as Todd says is the client's for life program. As Todd says, If you have a "Client for Life Program," then you need to call the client at some point during their life.www.toddduncanonline.com.
The common theme????? Use the telephone. If you're not using the telephone, I guarantee you that someone else is. Your clients are now talking to someone else. 2010 looks to be a year of higher rates. Low rates exist right now. The reality is that if Oral is the key, then the phone is the most important element.
This begs the question....how can you make 200 or 500 calls a month to your entire database?
BUT YOU SHOULD!
Really this is quite easy. I found a company called Call-Em-All. Check out www.call-em-all.com. I have a friend of mine who uses it quite often....like...EVERY MONTH. He says it's so darn easy. What it does is this. You record your message and you hang up. It calls everyone in your database and leaves a message. Think about it. If you have breaking news or just need to keep in contact with your A list people better, this allows it to be done quickly. The best part is that it's so stinking easy and it's so cheap. I looked at the pricing plan and it only costs me $32 to make 250 calls. I think it's reasonable as to price.
I'm reaching out to my database. I call quite a bit, but in reality this is the perfect assistant for me. Plus I don't pay for insurance and I don't have any talk back either. Can't beat that with a stick!
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
Not too often I can go ahead and brag about looking worse than the kids who dress up for Halloween. However, this Halloween consisted of a lot of fun for the entire family. On Friday we had the first annual Chili Cook Off. It was awesome. We had 10 different types of Chili. I've never made chili before, but I did make it this night. Let's say that I didn't make the top 3.
The next day was Halloween. It was awesome. Here I am with my oldest son. He looks really old here. I'm really not sure who looks worse, but my wife almost peed in her pants laughing so hard. It was a lot of fun and my kids said that it was the best Halloween they'd ever had. Sure, this is a day after speechless sundays, but I really had a lot of fun to share!
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
· For all LTV > 65%, 360 months of payment reserves now required. · Borrower's must have no previous bankruptcies in their family history going back three generations.
· A minimum of 25 years self-employment history now required for all NIV Programs (at same location).
· Minimum Credit Score for Subprime Loans raised to 720.
· All non-arm's length transaction borrowers (mortgage, real estate professionals, family members) will be required to provide full-documentation, subject to criminal background checks, wire tapping, strip-searches, and a minimum of 12 hours of interrogation by the Department of Homeland Security.
Please note that these changes will go into effect within the next five minutes. So please lock you existing loan immediately. All existing loans in your pipeline must fund by noon tomorrow.
We apologize for the inconvenience. We realize these are tough times in the mortgage industry for all of us. Be assured that we have a commitment to remaining strong and weathering out the storm. We ask for your understanding and cooperation.
Larry Bettag - Regional Vice President, Midwest Region
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.
saying next. It's not about your next pitch. It for sure "ain't about the sale, the listing, or the close." No hearing means an undivided, and uninterrupted focus on what your client is trying to pitch to you. This is pretty extreme for me. Today, I fully know why God sent me to graduate school for clinical psychology. I paid a lot of money for people to train me for two years to SHUT UP AND LISTEN! I could never let a pregnant pause occur. Ever....I hated silence. Two seconds of silence and I'm filling the gap. I realized over the past 15 years that:
2- Understanding! This is just as difficult.....really, it is! You might intake the words, but you need to process what's being communicated. My wife rips me for "not listening." I'll say yes I did, you said X, Y and Z. She say's I know your brain is a machine that can spit back whatever, but I don't know that you're undertanding me." Wow....ouch....Mr. Therapist gets slapped in the face by his wife. Guess what...clients are the same. We are so scripted in this industry that it often is rough for us to convey what a client wants us to convey. Sure we're giving the the answer that they ultimately want, but they want us to walk through the process with them. 
Halloween was brutal. My son got a pumpkin that was well over 45 pounds. He had to get the biggest one on the farm. We bought it in Fredonia, Wisconsin and saved it until it came time to carving for Halloween. He was so happy that when he cut it open the hole was big enough to put his head inside. Mind you....dad had to lift the pumpkin onto his head and set it on.....I was actually afraid that he was going to fall over from the weight of it...but boys will be boys and he really wanted to do it. No trick photos here. This photograph ain't doctored in any way.
Brian Buffini is all about human contact. Oral will rule with your clients. Yes Oral Communication, that is! Sure, he talks about this thing called the cocooning of your clients, but the truth of the matter is that your clients want to hear from you. Not from an e-mail or a direct mail piece, but from you. I try to make an attempt at calling my qualified database, but the reality is...that there is only so much time in the day, week and month. Unless I get to touch them....I really end up losing them and actually could end up loosing the folks in my database as well. Check out 
ut to people who already value them. In other words, the relationships that you have....keep them. Nurture them and invest in them. The most important piece of this equation is that, as Todd says is the client's for life program. As Todd says, If you have a "Client for Life Program," then you need to call the client at some point 
If you're not using the telephone, I guarantee you that someone else is. Your clients are now talking to someone else. 2010 looks to be a year of higher rates. Low rates exist right now. The reality is that if Oral is the key, then the phone is the most important element. 
;)
;)
