The end of 2009 is right around the corner. Have you taken a few moments to look back at your year, your month or even your week. We all have gifts that we give and that we receive. I think the world has become more then ever one where people look for a reference or referral when they are looking to hire a professional or buy a product. Gone are the days of advertising being the way to get clients. The focus must be on relationships and bringing value.

The question is what will you do in 2010 to bring more value to others. How will you become the go to person that people want to call when they need something since they trust you and your opinions more then anyone else in their personal circle.

How will you ensure that the people that call you get the best service from the people you refer them to.

Again I think everyone should look at their plan and have a true passion for the client. In the end if you want Raving fans you must provide more value.

My hope is the above has gotten us all to think a bit and reflect on the year. That is the gift we can give to ourselves and others.

by Edward Moloney 9/10/09

The Home Buyer Tax Credit may help someone who wants to move back to Holliston meet the goal.

We have all been inundated with information as it relates to the government and their efforts in keeping the housing market moving ahead. Some of the information that I have heard on the radio and even read on the web is very far from clear. I am writing to provide the readers of the HollistonReporter.com some facts relating to the Tax Credit.

1. The credit is not only for people who have never owned a home before. The credit is for anyone who has not owned a principal residence in the last three years prior to the purchase date and is purchasing a primary residence.

2. The credit is phased out at different income ranges. For single borrowers the phase-out is for borrowers that have a modified adjusted gross income of 75k to 95k.  For married couples the income is from 150k to 170k.
    
3. To receive the credit, the borrower must close on the property by November 30th, 2009, the present deadline.

4. A person will not qualify for the credit if buying a home from a close relative. This includes a spouse, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild.

The above information is not intended to be tax advice. I always recommend that clients speak to their tax advisors before making any home buying decisions. They can also go to IRS.GOV and get additional information as it relates to the tax credit.

At this time there is no word from the government relating to any possible extension of the deadline date of November 30th.

I believe that this credit could help people who would like to move back to Holliston but never thought that they could afford to do so. The town of Holliston presently has fifteen single-family homes on the market that are listed below $385,000. Source of reference: Realtor.com.

This article was written by Edward Moloney a Holliston resident and local mortgage consultant with Zenith Mortgage Advisors. Cell phone 774-573-0329.

I have asked many prospects and past clients as well as people that I have not worked with that reside in states outside of MA the above question.
It is interesting that over the last 5 years the the things that were important to people has changed. It appears that more people now want to ensure that the professional that the are considering working with has integrity. They also want to check references and in many cases have at minimum one meeting to get to know each other before passing any information to that person.

I think all these trends are a great thing. It is time for the professionals to lead the way and the rest to get out of the business.

Your mortgage person and Realtor should always be doing continuing education as well as building relationships with other professionals. The reason is simple a great mortgage person or Realtor will do much more then just get you a loan of get your offer accepted on a home, or get an offer accepted on your listing.

They will be part of your day to day. What I mean by this is simple. They will make themselves available to you in off hours so that you the client can work with as Little interruptions as possible to your day. Today's world has many already worried about their own jobs they should with a good team be able to limit the amount of interaction that needs to take place at the work place.

The building relationships with other professionals is key. If you the client needs an electrician to quote some work your team should be able to provide you a great one. If your new to the area your team should be able to provide you with an excellent local tax accountant.

Again getting you a great rate and competitive closing costs is important but the key is to have that professional bring more to the table for you. You should at the end of the transaction want to go out of your way to refer the professional that you have used as long as they have brought you value.

I would love to hear others comments. Enjoy your day and in today's business market we should all be brining more to the table and expecting more when we are the consumer.

If you have any questions please call me at 774-573-0329. I would love to talk to all renters about the 8k tax credit and ways that a house can still be purchased with 100% financing.

Hello All:

I am finding more and more each day that first time buyers are not receiving the education that they deserve from their mortgage professionals. In the state of MA a loan officer that works for a Mortgage Broker office must be licensed with the state and has to completed continuing eduction. The fact is that a loan officer at a local bank or a big giant like BOA does not have to be licensed or do the educational training.

It is very very important with all the changing rules. New ones to change again August 1st. That buyers work with a professional.

I am also seeing to many people unhappy with the in-house mortgage firms. IE Coldwell Banker has NE moves and they are part of the same company. Buyers in many cases feel as though they are not being treated with the respect that they feel as though they should be. They often state that the mortgage person is more focused on the Realtors satisfaction then that of the client.

Sad Sad stuff.

I have been in the industry for 6+ years. I love what I do. My business is 100% referral. This is a great thing for clients since my only focus is their 100% satisfaction. Please see my linked in profile.

Again please call me with any questions as it relates to the mortgage process.

Enjoy the sun and have a happy day

Do you feel that kids are our future? If so then what do you think about mentoring, Have you ever considered becomming a mentor? One great organization that you should consider investigating is the Big Brother Big Sister Organization. I sit on the board for BBBS central MA. We will serve over 1000 kids in a 40 town area.

The impact you have on a child can put a smile on your face.

So please take a moment and review the below site. We are running a great ONLINE auction that all funds raised will help us serve these kids. Thanks for reading. Let me know how you will give back

http://www.cmarket.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?vhost=bbbscm

What did you do this week to ensure that you had survival in your business that then can lead to success and if you desire bring you all the way to significance.

I think it is important to have a VISION. This way if that vision is clear and defined it will allow you to develop a plan that will let you reach that vision.

2008 was a tough year for many. What did you learn from 2008 that you have used that knowledge in 2009?

So this is the time to do more then just business but to create RAVING FANS. To provide over the top service and focus on the individual clients satisfaction needs.

We all sometimes take our eye off the ball. This is a time to stand out from the majority of the others in the industry.

Here is to you building your vision, plan and reviewing last year.

Have fun

Over the last month we have seen more media coverage on the Mortgage industry than we have in a long time.

I wanted to share some facts

1, In MA loan officers that are Mortgage brokers are each individually licensed. To work for a direct lender there is no such requirement. Each mortgage broker must do continuing education each year.

2. Rates are at historical lows and government loans are a very attractive options for many potential buyers. Many local banks do not provide any government loans.

3. I think the key for a first time buyer is education, education, education. The issue is there is a TON of miss information being spread in the market place.

4. If your reading this and are a first time buyer I challange you to do a bit of investigation about me. Look me up on linked in. Call me and ask me questions as it relates to the industry or your own individual situation.

5. If you believe that you deserve the best service and care then you should call me to find out more.

6. I beleive the key is to provide focused service that ensure my clients are more than clients but instead RAVING FANS!!!

7. Bring the questions on and have a great night

Hello All,

I have taken a break again from Active Rain. The reason was simple. It was time to build a plan and have focus on the plan. In life it is not all about work. It is about family, friends, and so many other things. I am blessed to love what I do for a living. So the plan was simple make the best of each day. The focus is on enjoyment. If we all took a few more minutes to smile each day the better the world would be.

Each part of life has its own small plan. These small plans build into the overall life plan. So find your goal and focus on the plan to reach that goal. Enjoy.

Tell us more about what your biggest challange is being 3.5 months into the year.

We are all blessed with different skills and abilities which are our own personal gifts. It is easy for us all to allow our gifts to go unused or get a bit dusty. The reality is that 2008 was not a great year for many.  It felt like every time we turned on the cable there was something negative being reported. It is very easy to have the negative around you prevent you from focusing on the things that are good. Again back to gifts. Today I received a gift and that gift was a phone call from a close friend. That friend told me point blank that several times this year he was disappointed in me because I had appeared to let my gifts get dusty. He stated that I was given the gift of energy and optimism but that on several calls over the last year that he felt that the energy was gone. He reminded that this energy was something that I was known for. Also that often this energy that I am blessed with aided others to get moving and energized on their own goals after a phone call with me. So today I wanted to thank that friend for straightening me out and allowing me to see that I had a gift that was wonderful but was letting it be wasted.

I also thought that it was important to share this with others with the hope that they would take inventory of their own gifts and dust them off and put them back to use.  Enjoy the first month of the year and start off on the right foot.  Enjoy

Everyday people come up to me or my wife and say wow, it must be tough for anyone in real estate related industries these days since the banks are not lending money. I was puzzled why this theme seemed to be recurring time and time again

Then I took a few minutes and really started listening and watching the news. I found that often we would see in big letters on the news THE ECONOMY IN CRISIS. Then during many segments of the news we would hear how companies like CITI Corp or the small restaurants in Boston were having difficulty borrowing money. It is true that many commercial firms are having issues with accessing lines of credit for business.   The fact is that this has nothing to do with the availability of mortgages to individuals trying to buy owner occupied homes for their families or for families that are trying to refinance their loans to improve their overall financial picture.    Yes, the days of getting mortgages by people who did not have any income or assets are gone. The reality is that those people should never have been able to get loans. Also the days of people getting 100% financing in adjustable rate mortgages that were not in their best interest are gone. Many people know these loans as subprime mortgages.   Now let's bring us up to date to today's Real Estate Market. This is a great opportunity for home ownership for first time buyers. The prices of homes in Holliston and the surrounding area have come down greatly. There are options for families to buy a single family home in Holliston, Ashland, and Medway for less than $295,000. Turn the page four years ago and you could not find a home in any of these towns for less than $350,000. Now those same buyers have many more choices. The end result is that the buyer has a greater chance of finding a great home that will fit their family's needs.   So where is all the money? The fact is that many first time buyers do not have a great deal of funding for down payments. Those people are best served by government loans that allow, in some cases, for 100% financing with 30-year fixed interest rates. These loans are much safer then the subprime loans that were used in the past by many people purchasing a home.   The fact is that the government loans as well as conventional mortgages are available for people. There is NO SHORTGAGE of available mortgage funds. It is more important than ever to be working with a professional when considering the options of buying a home or refinancing a home. However not all mortgage firms or banks are the same. Many are not licensed to provide government loans.   In our world today so many are worried about the possibility of being laid off from their jobs and being out of work for many months before finding new employment. These people should have an overall mortgage review done before they become unemployed, since at that point in time, they will no longer be able to get a loan.   In today's world of negative information from the media outlets I thought it was time to show the positive. There is money for people that need it as it relates to real estate.  Let's spread the word and aid people in having the American dream and keeping that dream if they are concerned about job loss.    This article was written by Edward Moloney, a Holliston Resident and an expert in the mortgage industry specializing in FHA, VA and USDA loans for Holliston and the surrounding area. To find out more about Edward Moloney see the link to his site and feel free to contact him with any questions at edward@zenithadvisors.com Link:  http://www.zenithadvisors.com/StaffProfiles.aspx?ID=517151