Wild Markets, The Fed, and Opportunities

Uncertainty in Financial Markets Could Cause Dramatic Rise in Existing ARMs at Next Adjustment
If you or anyone you know has an Adjustable Rate Mortgage, this is an important point to consider. Many ARM loans are tied to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). In fact, there are six million loans in the United States that use LIBOR to determine the interest rate and as the name suggests, many banks use this rate to lend money to each other.

But, today, banks lack confidence that the money they lend will be paid back. In light of what has happened with Lehman Brothers, IndyMac Bank and others, as well as AIG, banks are requiring much higher rates on LIBOR to offset the added risk.

The Federal Reserve Left Rates Unchanged but...
The Federal Reserve met yesterday leaving the target rate unchanged at 2.00% but just like LIBOR the actual rate being charged by banks to each other is closer to 6.00%. This again suggests that those with ARM loans should consider a refinance into historically low fixed rates.

What Happened?
Financial companies have been under attack. IndyMac was the largest bank to falter in twenty years. What brought IndyMac down was their exposure to defaulting loans. This sapped investor confidence and drove down the stock price until they filed for bankruptcy.

Following IndyMac, we saw Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch succumb and were either forced into conservatorship, to close their doors, or to sell themselves. AIG, the world's largest insurance company was also impacted, forced to make a deal with the U.S. government to stay in business.

To all of my friends. I am not able to communicate with you during the day. My company has found it necessary to block active rain on its main server for whatever reason. I am still available for you and your customers. I will be on the rain in the evenings so if you need me just drop me an email at d.moore@rmcninc.com. I am looking forward to hearing from each of you.

So I am talking with one of my mortgage offices yesterday. She has a client that needs my assistance but her credit was in the upper 600's on all three reports. I looked at the report and told the mortgage office that the customer really didnt need to get on the program. She had some minor problems that could be taken care of herself. I told the mortgage officer to have the customer call me and I would tell her what she could do to get her score's in the 700's within two to three months.

This lady refused to call me for a "free" consultation. She told her mortgage officer that it is just a scam so that I can try to talk her into getting on the program. She explained that there is no cost, no fee, and it would take about 10 to 15 minutes of her time. 

Why are people like this?

When did it become o.k. to charge a customer more because they make more money? I see this all the time. I had a friend call on a service and they asked him what he did for a living. He told them what he did and how much money he made a year. Then I went to check on the same product. I told him what I did and how much I make a year and he quoted me $400 more then my buddy. What the hell man? A service or a product cost what it cost. Some people are just jack a___! The more people I talk to the more I see this is going on in the business world. Charge a fair price and be consistent. I don't think that is asking too much is it?

Lets get a head count! Im in!

This is just a great story and I wanted to share.

A single mom with three kids called me last month as a mortgage referral. She was having some serious problems with her credit. She works two jobs and gets no help from her ex with child support. I checked her situation and told her that we could help her. She was able to put $50.00 down a week for 4 weeks and then paid off the rest with her IRS check she just received. This allowed us to start on day one with the first payment.

She called me yesterday crying. I asked her what was wrong. She said she received her first round of resluts and she had 31 deletions. She went to her mortgage officer and they pre approved her for $125,000 to buy a home. She was crying because everywhere she turned nobody would help her until she found us. She called 3 or 4 other companies and they told her she had to pay everything up front. She told me that we were a last ditch effort to help get her life back together.

This lady is why I do what I do. She will be able to get a small home with a back yard so her kids will have a place to play. That was her dream. For her young children to have a back yard. That was all.

I went home yesterday and made some coffee. I went and sat on my back porch and just looked around. We take for granted the things we have every day when there are people struggling to just have a safe place for the kids to play. I actually felt asshamed of myself for some of the things I have. I told a buddy about this lady last night and it was all I could do to keep from breaking down. He has a company and today is sending her $500 so she can buy a swing set for her kids to put in her back yard.

I guess my point is if you want it bad enough you will find a way. This lady did and I am so proud of her for doing it.

P.S. the mortgage officer that sent her to me found me on active rain.

I guess I just don't understand. I know that there are several of you clients that need our services. I know that if we could get their credit fixed that you would be able to get them into a home. I know that if you can't get them into a home you wont make any money and you wont be able to help someone that in most case you want to help. The loan officers that we are dealing with are closing more deals. The real estate professional's that use our services are getting more people in more homes. This is just a math problem that I feel is easy but possibly I am missing something.

Credit Repair + Good service from you = A happy customer in a home.

PLEASE help me understand why you would not send your client to me for a "FREE" consultation.

I guess I just don't understand. I know that there are several of you clients that need our services. I know that if we could get their credit fixed that you would be able to get them into a home. I know that if you can't get them into a home you wont make any money and you wont be able to help someone that in most case you want to help. The loan officers that we are dealing with are closing more deals. The real estate professional's that use our services are getting more people in more homes. This is just a math problem that I feel is easy but possibly I am missing something.

Credit Repair + Good service from you = A happy customer in a home.

PLEASE help me understand why you would not send your client to me for a "FREE" consultation.

Bet that got some attention!

Anyway I recently had a situation that I could use some advice from active rainers. (Is that a word?) I had a mortgage officer want to meet for lunch. I told him where we could meet and we would just find somewhere in the area to get a bite to eat. "MY Treat" Well this is a big time client. He sends 6 to 8 people to me a month and 90% of these clients actually sign up. We meet and he knows this great place just up the road. Perfect! He gets in my truck (Yes I live in Texas so I drive a Truck) and we head up the road to.......... The Mens Club. From the name you can guess what type of bar this is. Very nice, high class, and great ....... *view*........  but was this very professional? I mean I like looking as much as the next guy but I actually had business to discuss. This cost me about $150 for lunch which I dont mind because he brings me a ton of business. How would you handle this?

Would you leave it alone and make sure the rest of your meetings were not where you would get distracted?

Bet that got some attention!

Anyway I recently had a situation that I could use some advice from active rainers. (Is that a word?) I had a mortgage officer want to meet for lunch. I told him where we could meet and we would just find somewhere in the area to get a bite to eat. "MY Treat" Well this is a big time client. He sends 6 to 8 people to me a month and 90% of these clients actually sign up. We meet and he knows this great place just up the road. Perfect! He gets in my truck (Yes I live in Texas so I drive a Truck) and we head up the road to.......... The Mens Club. From the name you can guess what type of bar this is. Very nice, high class, and great ....... *view*........  but was this very professional? I mean I like looking as much as the next guy but I actually had business to discuss. This cost me about $150 for lunch which I dont mind because he brings me a ton of business. How would you handle this?

Would you leave it alone and make sure the rest of your meetings were not where you would get distracted?