The other day I received an email from the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace that they were going to begin charging for contact from borrowers that have submitted loan inquiries.  My initial thought was "Man, are they going to catch some heat for this!"  Not because they were finally doing what any prudent business person would do being attempting to monetize an apparently successful idea, but because the thousands of Mortgage Brokers and Loan Officers were going to feel like Zillow had just stolen their lunch money.

Just for a bit of context, when I was in the mortgage industry, I set my company up as one of the first lenders on the marketplace.  I have personally met Drew Myers and David Gibbons.  I have spoken to Mary Miller who manages the marketplace, and followed Spencer Rascoff via his blog and twitter.  These are good folks who have taken an enormous amount of risk to deliver cutting edge products.  For example how many millions of dollars have they poured into Zestimates so that you can get a ball park guess at the value of of a home, and to what extent has this been replicated in the marketplace?  How much time and money has this saved Loan Officers for which they have never given Zillow a dime.  Anyway, I digress.

So eighteen months ago the leads (a.ka. contacts) were free, in the near future they will be charging for them.  Since this announcement many mortgage professionals that have TAKEN leads from Zillow began some very child-like name calling as well as ridiculous statements and completely irrelevant comparisons.   Mortgage Brokers and Bankers have been so beat up over the past year, I guess now it's their turn to kick sand in someone elses face. Unfortunately it's Zillow.

Here is the primary issue, in my mind, regarding what a Loan Officer should asking about Zillows proposed strategy.  How many leads will I receive, and what will it cost?

The only answer I can find to this question was posted by my former boss Owen Raun with RMC Vanguard on his blog.  On his blog he states "Of the 7 actual customer contacts I received we closed 2."  According to Owens calculation, that's a close rate of 28.6%

So let's do a little math.  If seven "contacts" cost an average of $50 each that's a total spend of $350.  If you close two loans, that's a cost per closed loan of $175.00. 

Here's a bit more math using the Mortgage Bankers Association average profit calculation from September 2009 press release.  If you close two loans and your net profit is $1,088 each your total net profit is $2,176.  The ROI Calculation in (2176-350)/350=5.22.  Any ROI north of 4:1 in my book is a decent risk.  If you read the entire MBA Press Release, you will understand that $1,088 is their net profit calculation.

The next phase of Zillow's plan will actually be the most interesting to watch, that being who hangs around to play along.  For the Lenders that play along and get it, my expectation is that they will be well rewarded.

Doesn't look like the pace of foreclosures in Harris County is slowing down.  There are 15 days left until the auction (6 days left to file notices).  Numbers are from realdata.net

One of my Real Estate Agents contacts in California through a linkedin group said she had a client with a high end property here in Texas to sell and needed a referral to an Agent to list the property.

One of the Agents I referred her to I know from my old life in the technology business. They don't have an active rain profile. 

The other does have an active rain profile, posts regularly, and has over 200,000 points.  Tells me that she is probably tech savvy, personable, and capable.  Don't know for sure as all I've ever done is read her blog and troll her AR profile. 

Maybe I'm an anamoly, but it's certainly interesting the exposure an Agent can get with a little social media presense.

Anyone else think I might be slightly crazy for making a referral to an Agent solely based on a review of their Active Rain profile?

And it looks like the foreclosure filings aren't slowing down much.  Here are the most recent foreclosure numbers for Harris County as published on realdata.net

Given the complexity of the problem Mr. Liddy is tasked with resolving, I feel like all other things being equal he is doing a good job.  He's kept the company out of Bankruptcy, avoided massive lay off's and a further meltdown. 

Evidently Wall Street feels that he's doing a good job as well. After his testimony yesterday the stock was up 42%.  In pre-market trading this morning it is up another 1/2, or 38%.

Here is what I feel like Congress and the media doesn't understand or has otherwise chosen to overlook for the benefit of sensational media bites.

AIG has 116,000 employees.  Congress seems to want him to gut the company down to a skeleton crew.  While this would be a great PR move, many of these people are mission critical to the daily operation and long term success of AIG.

Congress does not seem to understand the complexity of "winding down" AIG FP.  What they seem to appear to want Mr. Libby to do is gut the operation thereby leaving 1.6 trillion dollars worth of derivative securities to unwind and manage themselves.  Ha!

Barney Frank wants the names of everyone that received a bonus?  For what purpose?  Is he going to personally go after everyone on the list and tell them to repay the bonus money?  Is he or the Committee going to sue these people?  I appreciate Mr. Liddys concern for his employees welfare, his concern alone on this issue tells me he's a stand up guy.

Since we're on the bonus band wagon, I agree that to some people the bonus they received was excessive.  To others they probably weren't.  What I don't think is coming to light are the bonus's to the troops.  What about the customer service person that got a bonus, the Executive Assistant that got a bonus, or the Actuary that got a bonus?  Of the $165 million, how much of that went to non "C" level Exec's?

Congress seems to want Mr. Liddy to do what "looks good" as opposed to making smart business decisions.

The other thing that Congress seems to want to over look is the correct amount of "tax payer money" that has been injected into AIG.  My understanding is that they have loans from the Fed in the amount of $78 billion.  Isn't the Federal Reserve a Bank essentially?  If they are lending their money, at what point do we as taxpayers get to say that a loan they made is our money?

The other thing that I think is completely outrageous is that Congress is making such an issue out of the fact they weren't informed in advance, ahead of the other shareholders, of the impending bonus.  While I agree that making public the bonus on Saturday afternoon is a BAD PR move, I don't see how Congress in entitled to receive notice of substantial Corporate events than normal share holders.

 My suggestion to AIG would be, should they want Congress to be more involved in the process is to add one of their members to the Board of Directors and burden them with keeping Congress involved.  Making the Fed the messenger to all other Government Agencies I don't see as being their job.  They're the bank right?

The Fed/Treasury have purchased $100 million in derivative securities at 30-40 cents on the dollar. Thereby making the "Par value" of these securities $300-$400 billion.  That could be quite a windfall for the US government should they pay off not to mention the interest earned on the securities.

Give Mr. Liddy some time and credit for walking into what he probably knew in advance was going to be a hornets nest. The man probably doesn't need the drama or aggravation of this mess not to mention the personal threats that have been made to him and his family.  Give him some credit for avoiding a complete implosion of this company.  And last but not least, give him some credit for having a sincere concern for the people that run AIG on a daily basis.

 Anyone else think he deserves some credit?

When I started REO Field Services, the focus was on providing services such as re-keying locks, debris removal, and lawn maintenance to Real Estate Agents that specialize in listing foreclosed properties. I also "thought" that large Field Service Companies might contract business through us but it appears that the assignment of work from these companies is more of an inside game than I initially imagined.  The bulk of our work is still referred by Real Estate Agents but we are also beginning to be approached more frequently by investors needing services for their properties. 

As an example, we were recently referred by a local Real Estate Agent to paint the interior of a rental property.  Before and after pictures of our work are on my website.

Ken Brand, Sales Manager with Prudential Gary Greene in The Woodlands, Texas wrote on agentgenius.com "Our metaphoric streets are littered with free opportunities for the open eyed, eared and minded."  In my case, being open minded has gotten me away from an opportunity that was not going to yield results and focused on something else that will.

The best way to find these opportunities is by getting out and meeting new people.  Whether it's through social media, old school networking or "Kissing more babies and making more speeches."  Anything any of us can do to create a new conversation begins a new relationship.

So let's create more conversations and find more opportunities together! Step one in that process is to leave a comment below! :)

I ran into an unusual situation the other day with someone that is the tenant of a foreclosed home here in Houston that desperately needs to contact either the WAMU or JP Morgan Chase REO department.  The home was foreclosed on at Tuesdays auction. 

We both attended the auction and spoke to the trustee to see if anything could be worked out to avoid the situation but it was to late.  The trustee gave us his phone number and asked to call him later so that he could give us a contact int he WAMU REO department but has yet to return our call.

My understanding is that all of the WAMU REO portfolio is being transfered to JP Morgan Chase this week so a contact at either or both REO departments will be a big help.

They would like to purchase the home, but the tenant, his brother who is a Real Estate Agent, nor myself can figure out who to contact to work something out.

I'd really appreciate any help or suggestions anyone can provide.  This man is a mechanic, has five kids, and was making his payments to his landlord in a timely fashion but evidently the landlord was making the payments to the bank.

Does anyone have a recommendation for REO Accounting packages for a Real Estate Agency of mine they might pass along?

Basically what they are looking for is a way to track invoices, accounts recieveable & payable, and other activities specific to each property.

Thanks!

***Update!!!!!  3-17-2009...Cheryl started a new job yesterday!  Way to go Cheryl, Best of luck to you!!!!!

So what single, red blooded man wouldn't stop and pay attention to an attractive, smartly dressed blonde women standing on a street corner with a sign during rush hour in downtown Houston?  I certainly wouldn't, and in fact didn't.  As fate would have it, I met a talented and charming women that way who has recently become unemployed.

To Cheryl Wasek, an Executive Assistant laid off in January 2009, the idea to stand on the corner with a sign and look for work as a supplement to using online job boards was driven by her observation of homeless people and thought  "I'm going to get a sign and get a job!"  Little did she realize that people would stop, inquire, and help her out.  

My initial reaction when I saw her standing on the corner was "Wow, that takes a lot of courage!"  It did as it was chilly and windy this morning in downtown Houston.  The fact that she got up, got dressed, stood on a corner and literally froze to death tells me there is something unique about her drive and determination to be successful. 

Through this albeit unconventional approach to finding a job, she has realized that in today's job market it takes more than just sending out random emails via the job boards to get a job.  You must truly differentiate yourself from others, be driven, but most importantly not give up. 

I had a second opportunity to visit with Cheryl this afternoon and while I can't profess to have known her since kindergarten, I will share that she is a smart, level headed women with an incredible sense of responsibility and transparency.  If I was a hiring Manager today I would tell you that she nailed the initial interview.

My twenty years experience in business tells me Cheryl will make any organization look good.  She thrives on hard work, being a team player and most of all be a good company steward.

Get the rest of the story and qualifications from her, you'll be glad you did.  Her email address is Cheryl.wasek@att.net.

What began as a chance encounter and five minute conversation with a random women has resulted in a pleasant reminder for me.  That reminder is that no matter how busy our lives become, we always have time to help someone.  For that we all become better versions of ourselves and maybe, make a new friend.

***Update...here's the story about Cheryl and umemployment in Houston down by KHOU Channel 11 in Houston!!!

Doesn't look like the number of properties to be auctioned off at tomorrows auction has changed from the last time I checked the numbers on realdata.net

I'll be curious to see what happens tomorrow at the auction given the moratorium on foreclosures until March 6th.

The auction starts shortly after 10:00am outside the Family Courthouse.  I would expect that once again there will be media present as well as many of the local investors.