Sam's Blog

Start a Newcomers Club to create a huge referral network!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:57:24 -0600

You can do this!

This idea could be the best thing you can do to build your real estate business and here's why:

1. It gives you something different to promote and advertise in the papers, real estate circulations, magazines, retail flyers, hotel flyers, restaurant flyers, etc. and many can be free as part of the community calendar. Newspapers will print these to help ad value to their readers. Think about how many new buyers moving to town you'll meet first!

2. It gives you a great thing that you can control in getting people together on a regular basis and since they are newcomers, they are great for helping you pick up new buyers when their friends move to town. This club can be fun and will help them feel great about living here and this will help them recruit others.

3. Think about how attractive this group will be to existing businesses! By being in charge of this group, you can go to existing businesses and collect coupons, giveaways, promotions, etc. since these businesses know how important a new resident can be in becoming a new 'repeat customer' for their business. By going to these businesses regularly with ideas, etc., you can use these relationships to help your businesses too for networking for referrals from them too.

4. Once you start this group, you can start a special website for it too for getting the group together and for promoting events and the town. This website can be another place for you to promote your business too and soon, other sites will link you to theirs.

5. Beyond the business side of this, this can be a lot of fun for you too in meeting new people and in introducing them to old friends and in planning all kinds of events.

6. If this idea is too big for you, get some others to do it with you or talk to your broker about getting the entire office to start one. This approach would be better for larger cities. Maybe the broker can start it for the entire office for the whole city and then the agents can all get involved with neighborhood subgroups or areas of town subgroups. This would allow for smaller groups and also larger get togethers.

Click here for: Oakville Newcomers Club Website

Go out and start your "Newcomers Club" and grow your business! And when you start getting new buyers with this idea, call me to help them get a great mortgage too!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Oldest cure for sore throat!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:54:37 -0600

Know the oldest cure for a sore throat? Gargle with ice water for 30 seconds! This may be the world's best kept secret too. This is what a doctor told my daughter to do and it's the first I have ever heard of it. But, you need to stop at 30 seconds because it will give you a 'brain freeze' or cold headaches if you don't.

Speaking of old ideas that still work, why not start a "Newcomer's Club?" This is an awesome idea that you do not see anymore that can be a huge way for Realtors to capture new buyers and build a huge referral network too.

Read my tip of the week below for more on this neat idea!

Are you working hard at selling?

Here's the quote of the week I heard this week:

"I can't tell you that you will be successful if you work hard everyday, but I can tell you that you won't if you don't."

Remember the following selling points:

1. $7500 first-time home buyer tax credit, - Agents are not doing this yet!

2. Low interest rates with programs down to a 580 FICO score.

3. Some of the best home values in this greatest buyer's market in history!

CALL ME FOR A QUICK CLOSING TOO! WE HAVE A NEW QUICK CLOSING CHECKLIST TO GET YOUR BUYERS CLOSED IN A HURRY! Keep reading for 2 good ideas that can really help you with this.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Interest Rate Explanation - How they are determined.

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:32:43 -0600

Interest Rates are Dropping Again!

Since interest rates are dropping again, I thought this might cause some folks to wonder what causes this. So, here's an overview of how mortgage companies set daily pricing. There is much disinformation that exists on the subject. In fact, daily price changes for FHA/VA and conventional loans are very simple to calculate.

1) Where pricing is concerned, a mortgage company must minimize risk without compromising production volume. When a company sets daily pricing, it is in effect taking a position against the market. In other words, the company is offering a rate to a borrower while market prices are still fluctuating. Loan Officers face the exact same dilemma. Interest rate quotes to consumers must be competitive in order to drive production, however the price can't be so low that the loan is originated at a loss. In addition, when a mortgage advisor quotes a price, there is always a danger that the market may move and a price change occurs.

2) There is an inverse relationship between the price of bonds and the movement of interest rates. As interest rates rise, the price of bonds falls and vice versa.

For example:

Bond Price        Discount points to consumer
     98                                        2.00
     99                                        1.00
     100                                      None
     101                                       1.00 rebate

As bond prices rise, the number of discount points the borrower must pay decrease. When the media speaks to a rally in bonds, they are indicating that bond prices have risen which pushes interest rates lower.

3) As loans are originated they are packaged and sold as mortgage bonds or mortgage-backed securities (MBS's). The amount of money that an investor will pay for a mortgage bond depends on the interest rate paid by the mortgagor and current market conditions. Ginnie Mae bonds are common, daily prices for different pools can be found in most newspapers. Whenever a borrower makes a mortgage payment, a portion of the payment is passed on to the holder of the Ginnie Mae security. It is the daily price fluctuations in the forward mortgage-backed security market that cause mortgage companies to change pricing daily.

4) Treasury bonds represent Government debt and not mortgage debt. Thus, mortgage interest rates are not determined by the price or yield of either the 10 or 30-year Treasury bond. Often there is a large disparity between the amount of movement of Treasury bonds when compared to mortgage-backed securities in any given trading day. Watching the Treasury market to determine daily changes in discount points is impossible. Period.

5) Most mortgage companies watch market activity for over an hour each day before setting daily pricing. Mortgage companies commonly set daily pricing based on the bond levels at 10:00 am eastern. Daily price changes are the difference between prices of the mortgage-backed securities from 10:00 a.m. ET. By subtracting the price of the mortgage backed security from the price at 10:00 a.m. ET the day before, you derive the net movement in discount points.

6) The Treasury market opens at 8:30 a.m. ET and the mortgage-backed securities begin to trade at approximately 8:40 a.m. ET each day. Many economic reports are released at 8:30 am eastern time, so wide price swings are not uncommon directly following the market open. It is imperative to know when important economic data is scheduled for release.

7) Mortgage bonds are priced in 32's. Each 1/32nd is equivalent to 3.125 basis points. It takes 4/32's to see pricing improve by 1/8th etc.32nds. Depending on how your company prices, you may see daily price adjustments for a movement as small as 1/32nd or 3 basis points.

8) Mortgage companies make money originating and servicing loans, not by "playing the market". Bond traders make a living trading bonds, but the secondary marketing personnel of mortgage companies trade bonds to displace risk. In fact, when regulators audit mortgage companies, large, consistent trading gains are viewed negatively.

9) Daily rate changes for loan programs other than standard fixed rate loans are more difficult to track. Often investors such as Banks and Savings and Loans will price adjustable rate products based on asset/liability needs, therefore the daily price changes do not necessarily track changes in bonds.

Hope this helps you understand mortgage pricing!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Gas Prices Dropping - There's something to get excited about!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:29:18 -0600

Gas prices below $2/gallon again!

I filled up with $1.95/gallon last week so there's some good news for our economy. Maybe this will get some people out riding around looking at properties again and calling you about buying!

Promote something like this: "Gas prices are dropping, mortgage interest rates are dropping, home prices are at a historic low, what are you waiting for? AND, if you are a 1st-time home buyer, the Gov't is giving you a tax credit up to $7500! Call me for the details!"

When they do, remember the following selling points:

1. $7500 first-time home buyer tax credit

2. Low interest rates with programs down to a 580 FICO score.

3. Some of the best home values in this greatest buyer's market in history!

Also, please make sure that your buyers and sellers know that WE HAVE MONEY TO LEND!! With all the negative mortgage news, many in the public do not know that we can lend money. Spread the news. Put this in your print ads too! CALL ME FOR A QUICK CLOSING TOO! WE HAVE A NEW QUICK CLOSING CHECKLIST TO GET YOUR BUYERS CLOSED IN A HURRY!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Inspirational Thoughts: Let your passion show!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:56:08 -0600

Hubble image 300 million light years away as seen through an area the size of the eye of a dime!

I recently met an engineer working on a new telescope that NASA is developing along with Canadian and European space agencies to replace the Hubble Space Telescope in a few years. This new NASA Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) will be positioned around 1 million miles from earth in a halo orbit at the L-2 libration point, a gravitational balance point far beyond the moon's orbit. This will allow the telescope to focus on very small points in space with open shutters for up to 5 days capturing the light and focusing on those images.

The engineer was very excited about his job and got me excited too with his passion in describing the new technology that will be employed. He told me about one image that Hubble collected that shows several galaxies that he liked that was seen from a point in space equivalent to looking through a hole in the eye of president Franklin D. Roosevelt on a dime held at arms length. I think the image above is what he was talking about known as the "Galaxy Cluster" that I found on the Internet.

The point of this is two fold: to educate you on this that I learned from this engineer AND to help all of us see that life is too short and we all need to be working in fields that can get us excited too. With this excitement, we too will show our passion and this will help others feel it too.

Are you excited about Real Estate Sales? If so, show it and use this passion to get others excited too. If not, get out and do something else for a living while you can before you have to retire. If you need help getting excited about your real estate career, call me and let me help you with some new motivational ideas!

Also, keep reading my emails and call me if you get a new prospect so I can help share my passion with your prospects too!

Description of the image above:

Coma Cluster, Abell 1656
Object Description: Galaxy Cluster
Position (J2000): R.A. 12h 59m 48s.70
Dec. +27° 58' 50".00
Constellation: Coma Berenices
Distance: 300 million light-years or 90 million parsecs
Dimensions: The image is approximately 9 arcminutes (1.7 million light-years or 500 kiloparsecs) wide.

About the Data Data Description: This image was created from HST data from proposal 10861: D. Carter (Liverpool John Moores University) and collaborators.
Instrument: ACS/WFC
Filters: F475W (SDSS g), F814W (I)
Exposure Date(s): November, 2006 - January, 2007
Exposure Time: 12 hours

About the Image Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Release Date: June 10, 2008

Get inspired and excited about your career and use your passion to get some new buyers this week!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Disclosures can bite you!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 21:55:38 -0600

I sat in on some CE today and heard some horror stories about realtors missing things like:

"There's hardwood under the carpet" - Don't be fooled! Builders sometimes only put hardwood around the perimeter of the room and not in the middle. If this is the case, you will not be able to tell by checking around the HVAC vents or pulling up the carpet in a corner.

"This house has granite countertops" - Now, many remodelers are putting in granite overlays for a savings.

"Brick Veneer and Hardieboard Plank Siding" - Without taking a closer look, you might miss that the bricks are actually a new product that looks like brick veneer but are really pretend bricks on a board and nailed to the floor joists.

Since your job as a Realtor is to discover and disclose, you are responsible for things that you say to promote so you must disclose them right or you could end up in a lawsuit. Scarey huh?

The best thing is to never ASSUME anything and get inspectors in to make the call on things you cannot tell and use this information to help your sellers and buyers understand the issues that could come up.

Sellers and buyers need professional realtors or it's "buyer beware!"

YouTube Yourself and your Listings!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:30:42 -0600

Are you using the internet to help your business?

Youtube yourself and your listings!

It's time to start using the internet in case you have not already starting doing so. Here are some examples of how others are doing it and some ideas of how you can promote your services too with youtube for FREE!

Click to view each one below:

Wilkesboro, NC Listing Video with realtor narrator You can hire someone or do it yourself.

Beaufort, SC Listing with realtor narrator This must be a service because this looks just like the first one...

Raleigh, NC Listing - soundtrack only The soundtrack option is okay but I personality like the other approach; just my taste.

Irmo, SC Listing - soundtrack only This one is like the other. Instead of this, why not do a walkthrough, pointing out the rooms and show the potential.

Listing Presentation Video - Do one of these and share the link to your prospects or FSBOs so they can see how you do it BEFORE they sign up with another realtor.

1st-time Buyer Presentation Video - Same as the listing presentation as a way to promote your service and personality on a video that can be embedded in your websites or blogs and emailed to your prospects too.

Funny Rent vs Buy Video - You can do something funny like this too!

One Wing Landing - You have got to watch this one! Nothing to do with real estate but certainly worth watching!

Open your mind and creative side in showing the world your personality and professional service online. It's free and easy with a little time and work.

Then, it's there to promote with any future promotions on realtor.com, craigslist, facebook, youtube, your website, your emails, etc.

Also, by putting all of your listings on video, your sellers are going to be sharing them to their family and friends too. What a impact this can have for your business! Send them an email link with the listing with your personal contact information and ask them to forward the email to all of their family, friends and anyone that asks about their home.

One more thing, you can also explore other youtube videos and facebook videos, etc. to see what others are doing and steal ideas and learn what you can do differently or better.

Use this slow time to get this going and you are going to turn slow time into fast time!!

MAKE SURE TO SEE THE PROMOTION ON JUST POSTED FOR A 360 VIRTUAL TOUR FOR ALL OF YOUR LISTINGS!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Moore County, NC Virtual Tour Service

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:26:50 -0600

Here's a service available in the Southern Pines area for realtors and FSBOs.

Save Time and $$

Great Local Service Promotion

Check out Shuttlespeed360 for a great way to put your listings on realtor.com, youtube, craigslist, facebook, your website, your emails, etc. Chris Keitofski does a fantastic job with professional photos to make your listings pop online! He will put your listing on Realtor.com and show you how to put on other sites like youtube a craig's list, etc. He covers our area and only charges $125 for Moore CO and will drive to anywhere in our area for a small driving charge and if you have more than one, he will cut a deal on that too.

Check out his website and see some of his work here. Or call Chris at 910-603-2026 today. Don't put this off for your business!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Govie Loan Checklist. Call us for a fast closing.

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:52:30 -0500

Think Michael Phelps was fast?

Here's what I need in order to make sure your FHA and VA loans are processed fast too!

1. Agreement of Sale contract and verification of property address making sure the individual unit numbers are accurate, if applicable.

2. All addendums and disclosures referenced in the Agreement of Sale are part of the contract and are fully executed by all parties.

3. The owner of record is confirmed and is listed as the "seller" indicated on the Agreement of Sale contract. If the property is bank owned, the power of attorney may be needed.

4. If there are any seller concessions, the seller can pay prepaid expenses, discount points and closing costs. Money for repairs, etc., cannot be included.

5. Only permanently affixed personal property is included in the Agreement of Sale (FHA Loans Only).

6. The real estate certification is signed by buyers, sellers, and selling agent (FHA Loans Only).

7. The FHA Amendatory Clause is signed and dated by both the buyer and seller (FHA Loans Only). The exact sales price must be indicated on the form.

8. VA Amendatory Clause must be signed and dated by both the buyer aqnd seller (VA Loans Only). It is acceptable to use the words "sales price" instead of listing the exact sales price.

9. VA Appraisals require a legal description of the property (VA Loans Only). The lot and block number are required to place an order for a VA appraisal.

10. For both FHA and VA loans, any changes must be initiated by both the buyer and seller. Addendums and disclosures referenced in the Agreement of Sale must be part of the contract and fully executed by all parties.

Call me for your quick Govie closings and once we get these items collected, we will be able to close them almost as fast as your conforming loans!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Once-in-a-century credit tsunami...

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 23:49:29 -0500

"We are in the midst of a once-in-a-century credit tsunami"... Quote of the week from former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan He says this crisis will pass and we will learn from our mistakes and we will have a better system when all is done. The question is how bad will things get and how long will it take and his best guess is several months.

So, what can we do about this? Sell harder! Our industry is the key to pulling this nation and the world out of this. Sell that we are probably seeing this best conditions for a new home purchase in our lifetimes past and future. When the going gets tough, the tough get going!

Remember the following selling points: 1. $7500 first-time home buyer tax credit, 2. low interest rates with programs down to a 580 FICO score and 3. some of the best home values in this greatest buyer's market in history!

CALL ME FOR A QUICK CLOSING TOO! WE HAVE A NEW QUICK CLOSING CHECKLIST TO GET YOUR BUYERS CLOSED IN A HURRY!

Try us for your JUMBO LOAN clients too! We have a new Jumbo pricing special that is kicking butt right now!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Danielle Kennedy's Reference Letter Advice - Oldie but a Goldie!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:22:47 -0500

Reference Letters Rule!

Danielle Kennedy Sold Me!

I heard the famous real estate author and coach talk about reference letters a couple of years ago and it really was very good advice. The way she explained it was to make this a part of your closing process and then use it to really build your business. Here's the process...

1. Immediately after the closing when you hand the keys to the house to the new buyers, ask a favor. Say, "I have a very important favor to ask of you!" They'll be anxious to help you since you just helped them get their house and they'll probably say, "Absolutely, whatever you want!"

2. Then say, "Can I get you to write a quick reference letter for me and can I pick it up no later than tomorrow afternoon around 4PM?" They'll probably say something like, "Sure, I would love to do that, why the urgency? What can I say?"

3. Then say, "I am out interviewing for new clients every day. How many interviews have you been on where you didn't have references? As for what you can write, just write how you feel I did and why you liked me"

4. Then, pick up the reference letter and add it to your file and the next time you get a prospect, always end your presentation with "Buying or Selling a home is a very important transaction. Always ask any agent you talk to if they have reference letters and by the way, here are 5 of mine..."

Also, if you get a client that says, can you write one and I'll just sign it? If they do, you can write one that is over the top, one that is very low in singing your praises and one in the middle of the road and then ask them to sign the one they think is about right and give them a self-addressed/stamped envelope to mail it back to you.

Start this practice today for your future business! These 3rd-party referrals are much better than anything else you can do.

CALL YOUR PAST CLIENTS TOO!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Time to Sell, Sell, Sell!!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:18:53 -0500

Let's get our prospects focused on real estate again...

People are scared to buy because they think the house is going to lose value or they are worried about their jobs and we are not helping because we are not selling like we should be. We have all gotten lazy and used to people calling us and we have all forgotten how to get out and sell real estate. Enough with the financial and political distractions, it's time for us to get out and sell, sell, sell!

With the stars aligned now, we have plenty of things we can talk about in order to get buyers and sellers excited about a real estate transaction right now. Warren Buffet is saying now's the time to buy and conditions are not going to stay this good much longer.

CALL ME FOR A QUICK CLOSING TOO! WE HAVE A NEW QUICK CLOSING CHECKLIST TO GET YOUR BUYERS CLOSED IN A HURRY! Keep reading for 2 good ideas that can really help you with this.

Good luck!

Try us for your JUMBO LOAN clients too! We have a new Jumbo pricing special that is kicking butt right now!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Passion Sells!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:20:32 -0500

Passion is what Sells!

I saw a sales presentation last week from a guy that was very passionate about his product and he really got everyone's attention. His enthusiasm and energy showed in his presentation with his personal belief that he could really help his clients with his product. After the meeting, he had 4 appointments for a product that cost $3500! What is really amazing is that the ones attending were all realtors and I am sure most could not afford to be spending that much money right now.

Here is a great article that explains this concept and how it can help your sales career! The article explains how this trait separates good sales professionals from the great ones like Steve Jobs, founder and CEO of Apple, above.

Click Here to read: Sales Passion Article

Are you passionate about your service and your market? My gut tells me that this financial melt-down has gotten you down as it has me. So, this article is for all of us! We all need to get some more "pep in our step" and heightened confidence in our service and our markets so we can help stimulate our economy and our personal pocketbooks.

To be passionate, we have to get excited and reel off statistics and tons of information about our market and our service by mentioning personal beliefs and "personal stories" in our presentations. Our eyes, body language, raised voice and facial expressions show our enthusiasm and this is the key to making sales happen. Mentioning some deals recently completed or currently in the works helps us too by letting our prospects know that we are successful and that others are using us for their transactions right now. This is the "herd behavior" that really helps in showing your passion.

Get your clients to call me and I will use my passion to help them understand how good you are to help them get to know you better! I'll also help them see that the time is right to buy. In fact, it has NEVER BEEN BETTER! I'll mention that in 5 years, they will kick themselves for not getting into this market when all conditions were perfect. The "stars were all aligned" - First-time tax credits, great rates and great home values.

Finally, despite what many ads and talking heads' are saying to the contrary, we can still get people approved with only a 580 FICO!! Spread the word!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Can the G7 shore up a plan?

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:17:11 -0500

After witnessing the worst week ever for the DOW and the most movement on any one day of 1000 points that happened last Friday, I am wondering if this G7 conference can do anything to help this economy right now. We have to get the banking system working right away and thank goodness we have the lessons of the Great Depression to help us figure this out.

The challenge this time is that now we are a global economy and it is going to take all of the world economies working together to help and this G7 summit could not have come at a better time. Our "credit card economy" has finally "maxed-out" and this is going to cause everybody to have to get a grip on our personal spending.

This is going to hurt the housing markets, retail markets, service markets and every other segment of our economy and will affect the whole world's economy. Our government is not setting a good example either with a 11.3 Trillion Dollar Deficit!

The positive news for us is that everyone is saying the housing industry has got to be the thing that gets our world economy going again and everyone is going to be doing everything they can to help us.

Let's do our part to help our economy by selling some houses this month! Think like Americans did when they chipped in to help the war effort during WWII and let's roll up our sleeves and get this housing industry going again! Call me if you need some new creative and fresh ideas!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Try us for your JUMBO LOAN clients too! We have a new Jumbo pricing special that is kicking butt right now!

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you still promoting the $7500 1st-time buyer tax credit! This will probably make the mortgage payment for the entire 1st year for most houses in our region! How's that for a great incentive!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

FSBO Prospecting - Buyer Screening Service!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:12:45 -0500

Just like these buzzards circling the scent of their next meal, many realtors are circling FSBOs too!

There is another way to work with "For Sale By Owners" that I promote from what my colleagues are doing in other markets too. Instead of asking for their listing, ask if you can help them by getting all of their prospects pre-approved before allowing prospects to see their house!

Mention to your FSBOs that your favorite Mortgage Advisor (me, I hope!) just did another study of his prospects and year-to-date, he had the following results. Out of 509 applications taken in this market Jan-Oct, 48% for the borrowers had a credit score lower than to 580 meaning they cannot get a loan right now. 15% were in the grey area between 580 and 619 meaning they might be able to get a loan if they have good compensating factors and if they can pay off their collections, charge-offs and judgments. But only 37% had a 620 credit score or higher meaning they have a shot at getting approved.

For this 37% of home shoppers in our market, less than half have any money for the down payment and closing costs and of those, many do not have an urgent need or strong desire to buy. Also, many have contingencies too.

Based on this, only around 1 out of 10 prospects are really a "qualified" buyer. In other words, the FSBO is going to be wasting a whole lot of time with people who will not be buying their home.

So, work up a flyer with your contact information and offer to give your FSBOs some suggestions on how to sell their home and ask them to tell anyone that contacts them to call you so you can screen them. When you start getting prospects, call me and I'll try to get them pre-approved and I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Then we can work together to try to get the borrower to use you if they decide they do not want their house!

And by staying in touch with these sellers, when they do decide to buy, YOU are the one getting your FSBOs' listing!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Transparency and Oversight needed in bailout plan.

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:09:15 -0500

The financial saga continues...

Buzz words that you heard from politicians and others over and over again last week was the need for more 'transparency' and 'oversight'.

In case you are curious as I was to the definitions that these entail in terms of the relevancy to the financial crisis, here goes...

Transparency - the full, accurate, and timely disclosure of information.

Oversight - Overseeing the performance or operation of a person or another group.

I am glad that these things are being put in the language of the bailout plan to help our industry and our economy as I am sure you are too.

These are extraordinary times and hopefully history will show that we got it right with swift and decisive action with controls and actions to help people on Main Street while helping and controlling Wall Street so this problem does not reoccur again.

The sooner the better so we can start selling a ton of houses!!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

The Doctor Analogy - Are you getting referred too?

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:06:25 -0500

Who do you call when looking

for a Doctor?

Think about it. How did you select your Doctor or Surgeon? How did you select your CPA or Attorney? What about your Plumber or Hairdresser? Usually from asking close friends who they use, right? You want to make sure that they are good from personal experiences and not from the ads you saw in the yellow pages, etc.

The same thing happens in Real Estate. I don't know the statistics on this but my guess is that it happens more than the others because, most people don't know much about these transactions because they only happen once or twice in a lifetime.

People probably call someone they know that recently bought or sold a house to find out what they thought about their Realtor or they ask someone they trust that may know like their CPA, Attorney, etc.

This is why the good agents that have been in the business the longest are doing so well. It's through direct referrals that they get from past clients and other service providers. The ones that are getting the most from this are the ones that stay in contact with their past clients and network with other service providers on a regular basis.

Here are a few ideas I think will really help you develop this marketing strategy.

Treat your clients with respect with professional and friendly service. Keep them well informed at all times.
Ask them for a reference letter after closing. This is very valuable in building a good presentation binder and in helping your clients think about how good you were throughout the transaction.
Stay in touch with them on a regular basis with holiday cards and birthday cards.
Stay in touch with other service providers that are likely to get asked if they know a good realtor too.
Finally, call your past clients at least annually to chat about THEM and not YOU. People love to talk about themselves if you will pause and let them do it and this really helps your rapport with them. But, always end the conversation with some good information about the market and ask if they know anybody that might be entering the market soon!

Then, your past clients will give you some referrals and they will remember you more and they will be out singing your praises.

Think of them as your little army of PR specialists!

Also, when your clients need a great mortgage guy, don't forget about me! If you refer them to me, I'll do everything I can to help them with professional and courteous service and I'll promote you too!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Yard Sale Open House Idea - Neat Idea!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:04:07 -0500

Here's a quick great tip for those of you with a lot of initiative. Why not offer to hold a "Yard Sale/Open House" with your sellers?

One realtor in my region does this and not only does she make some extra cash by selling some of her items in the sale, she develops better rapport with the sellers and shows the property too. This agent said I could share this with you to help stimulate your business and the market as a whole. With the slow economy, a yard sale is really a great idea to lure in some buyers!

She just made $61 a couple of weekends ago and got a buyer too!

Hey, if you are really ambitious, you can approach all of the neighbors to go in with you or get them to have a yard sale too to really bring in more people and prospective buyers into the neighborhood! This would be a great excuse to talk to the neighbors about your listing and about your service to your client.

Since people are attending yard sales more and more, this is a great way to prospect for buyers and sellers. With Christmas right around the corner, this is a great idea to unload some items and to make some extra Christmas cash too.

READ THIS PART!

Just include this additional service in your listing presentation that will help your potential sellers see that you offer more that the next guy. Say that "In order to help get the house in top showing condition, we can have a Yard Sale/Open House. This will allow us to de-clutter some things so the rooms look roomier and then we can stage it at the same time so they can see the potential. This yard sale will generate interest in the neighborhood and draw in prospects from all around town!"

Isn't this a neat idea!

__________________________

Are you still promoting the $7500 1st-time buyer tax credit! This will probably make the mortgage payment for the entire 1st year for most houses in our region! How's that for a great incentive!

__________________________

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

How to find Good Buyers - Part 2 of 2

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 23:31:07 -0500

Are you prospecting for better buyers?

The trend I am seeing over the last several weeks is that less and less buyers have any cash on hand in the bank and their credit scores are lower than ever.

Also, they are less informed than they used to be as well. For example, one young lady called to get pre-approved for a $279K house since she just got a new job making $36K like the garbage collector above. The mortgage on that alone would almost be her entire gross pay!

Anyway, I am sure that there are some good buyers out there looking for a great realtor to find them and tell them about the great values, tax credits and low interest rates to get them into the market.

Here are 10 ideal places and ways I thought of to find them!

Promote an incentive for higher than 620 credit scores! How about promoting with something that mostly higher quality buyers want like college football tickets or tickets to a wine tasting event or maybe a play? If you advertise for folks with bad credit, that's what you are going to get so why not do the opposite?
Put out some professional looking brochures in some higher-end automobile dealership service center waiting rooms, high-end retail stores, nicer beauty salons, pet salons, nicer hotels, nicer fine dining restaurants, etc. Promote your 'white glove' high-touch service and highlight the extra things you do.
Hold an open house in your better homes and if you do not have any higher priced homes, ask a realtor in your office that does if you can hold an open house there. Then, read the open house idea listed in my sample business plan again and see if you don't find some great buyers! Cover this strategy with the listing agent first and then go for it. It is a great promotional strategy for generating prospects.
Scan the papers for events that higher quality people might be attending that week and make sure you are there! Take a current client with you to increase your chances of running into people that you can talk to while building that rapport with your clients too.
Network with individuals that circulate in the right circles. Take a super networker to lunch and try to get included in their circles and things that they are attending.
Airports are great places to do some prospecting for higher-end business travelers that may be relocating to town soon so why not put out some good marketing material and attract them to you before they get serious about a new home?
Libraries and book stores are great places for some prospecting for good buyers with some good literature about the local market and about your business. And since these places are full of readers, think about some things like branded giveaway bookmarks.
Take a quick trip to the beach and meet with a realtor and partner with them for some referral fee promotions. Then promote some of their listings in your print ads with their help on the cost. Since most people are not familar with the values that are available at the coast right now, you are sure to draw some interest from some good buyers and then, who knows, you might get them interested in some local properties too!
Advertise on a cable channel that might be attractive to better buyers like the food channel, news channels and HGTV. Go in with some colleagues to promote your services and to share the expense.
Put on your best professional outfit and namebadge and start networking in higher-end businesses and networking meetings as much as you can with your business cards in your pocket. Some places that come to mind are: Chamber of Commerce meetings, concerts, fine dining restaurants, plays, tradeshows, etc.

The main thing is to think of yourself as a higher-end realtor and think this way in all that you do. Look your best, carry yourself with pride, wear a badge and a smile and be outgoing.

When you do, you'll start to attract better buyers. Believe me, these guys are a whole lot easier to close and with them, you are going to make a whole lot more money and have a whole lot more fun doing it!

Thank you for your referrals!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Where are the good buyers? Part 1 of 2

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 23:28:44 -0500

Are you finding any good buyers?

If you are, let me talk to them so I can help you close them fast! But if you aren't, keep reading for great ideas on how to find them.

Have you started working on that business plan I sent you yet? Let me know if I can help you with that. I am convinced you'll multiply your business if you will develop one and the one I sent you can really help you with that.

Also, here's a quick motivational observation. I took an application last week for a garbage collector in Laurinburg, NC that makes $36,000 a year. Does that get you motivated? The way we are going this year, I am not sure we are going to make that much. I am including myself in this since I am 100% commission just like you are and my business is suffering just like yours.

So, what are we going to do about it? Let's get a business plan fine-tuned and get some better quality buyers in and closed. I am still working on my plan! Here's the link to the sample plan I wrote for you again in case you deleted it. Copy it over to your PC and tweak it for your business and let's all make some crazy money!

Click here now!

And remember the $7500 1st-time buyer tax credit and push this as much as you can! Here's a link for more information.

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor
President's Club Member 2007

Mortgage Services

Click here to write your congressman to save the Down Payment Assistance program (DPA) program for FHA loans. I wrote to all the congressmen in my territory by changing the zip codes I work in.

DPA Groundswell Link

910-489-6918 or 843-230-7929

Thank you for your referrals!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Do you have a Business Plan? Here's one you can copy to be a Top Producer!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:10:08 -0500

A Good Business Plan is the Key!

We are our own worse enemy. Questions: Are we working towards our goals with a strategy that will ensure our success? NO! Do we have a plan to help us? I seriously doubt it!

If anybody ought to know this, it should be me because I used to sell business plan consulting services. I know how important this can be and I am working on mine right now.

Key elements for a good plan for you is to set your goals and metrics to measure yourself, define your target markets, devise some work ethics for your business, throw in a mission statement and a good sales philosophy and you have something that can help you manage your business.

Then if it doesn't work like you planned it, change it! It should be a working document that gets reviewed and tweaked and is constantly improving. But you have to start by sitting down and writing one.

Okay, I know that nobody is going to write one so I wrote one for you! Click below for the ultimate business plan that will make you a top producer. Just copy it over to your PC and modify it to suit your business. It is loaded with 28 target marketing ideas from my 200+ "Hit the Ground Running" ideas that you can use or just plug in your own.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE ULTIMATE BUSINESS PLAN

Go ahead, take your business to the next level with a good business plan and include me in your plan and I'll help you get there too!

Thank you for your referrals!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Promote the $7500 Tax Credit in all you do!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:07:36 -0500

Get your buyers attention now!

This new government incentive is huge IF we promote it! It worked when this was done in the early 1970s with a $2000 tax credit and will work now if we get the word out.

If you don't start promoting this now, other realtors will and you are going to miss good buyers.

So, call your advertising guru and put together a simple promotion to get your phones to ring! Put this in all of your print ads and flyers!

When they do, ask them to call me and I'll explain it to them and help them get excited about buying a house right now with YOU!!

Think $7500 1st-time buyer tax credit!

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor
President's Club Member 2007

Mortgage Services

Click here to write your congressman to save the Down Payment Assistance program (DPA) program for FHA loans. I wrote to all the congressmen in my territory by changing the zip codes I work in.

DPA Groundswell Link

910-489-6918 or

843-230-7929

__________________

Great News for my NC Realtors! I can now originate USDA approved loans for 100% financing in NC! SC will have to wait until November and by then, I'll be an expert on these.

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Make your buyers feel special with your "Preferred Buyers Program"

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 21:36:39 -0500

Make your buyers feel special!

The next time you get a buyer, why not put them into your special 'Preferred Buyers Program'?

Here are some things that you can offer them:

Commentary 'Home Buyers Guide' that you developed with tons of information about buying a home in our market and how you help them through the entire process.

Complementary home warranty for their purchase

Detailed analysis of all homes in their price range showing days on market, schools in their district, distances to shopping, pricing history, etc.

Complementary credit report with a quick scenario check for their home purchase options by your Senior Mortgage Advisor (me!). Make me a part of this neat service that you provide and I will be promoting your services too.

Coupons from many stores and restaurants in town.

Complementary map of the town

Complementary doctor and hospital guide

Email with any new listings that pop up on the MLS that meet their preferences.

Complementary retail and restaurant guide

Complementary listing of parks and events going on in town

Weekly updates on your home analysis

Complementary floor plan of the home they buy that you can do to help them with their furniture positioning.

Complementary quote from some of your preferred service providers for fixing or sprucing up the home or yard. Mention the discounts they give to your clients.

Complementary baby sitting while they are home shopping with you. This will help them and you relax more during the searching and while going through the paperwork, etc.

Complementary address labels with their new address.

Complementary tickets to a movie or local ballgame.

Commentary service that you provide with 'Just moved' cards mailed to all of their friends and family. These cards are great for promoting your services too.

Complementary 'House Warming Party' that you help sponsor once they move in so they can meet their new neighbors. This helps you meet their neighbors too!

Complementary framed and matted picture of their new home.

Complementary webpage that you set up for them of their new home that they can promote to their family and friends. Again, great way to promote your services. Make sure to include a link to your site!

The point is to make them feel special and they are more likely to stay with you if they are worthy on this special status! Make sure you tell them that they are in this program because you feel that they are a great buyer that you are planning on exceeding all of their expectations with great communications and service.

When you do, they'll pass this on to their family and friends that will want to be in your program too!

And remember that many things on this list are free or fairly inexpensive when you work with others in collecting them. When soliciting merchants and service providers to help, just mention that you are developing a preferred buyer program for new home buyers that may be a strong future customer for their business for years to come.

Thank you for your referrals!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/

www.myphhmortgageadvisor.com/

Nothing could be finer than moving to Carolina!

PHH Mortgage - President's Club Member — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:31:50 -0500

Retirees aren't going to Florida like they used to.

Here is some helpful information for your developers and for you in communicating with relocating retirees! Survey results of 1800 responders from Washington, DC, NY, Chicago, Philadelphia, Fairfield CO CT, Morris CO NJ, Detroit and Boston of people and their thoughts about retiring from a survey I recently saw.

Here's who made up the group and the states they ranked the highest.

Ages of Responders    <45 years old                       6%
                                   45-55 yrs old                      24%
                                   56-65  yrs old                     47%
                                   >65  yrs old                        23%

Their Marital Status        Married                              73%
                                    Single                                14%
                                    Divorced                              9%
                                    Widowed                             4%

Here's what they said about their retirement plans.

State Pref (Top 6):         1. NC                                 78%
                                    2. SC                                 63%
                                    3. FL                                  31%
                                    4. GA                                 30%
                                    5. TN                                 28%
                                   6. VA                                 27%

Thank you for your referrals!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

PHH Mortgage - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

http://samthompson.phhmortgage.com/