Sam's Blog

13500 Strickland Drive, Laurinburg, NC 28352 - $186,000.

Sam Thompson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:12:30 -0500

Check out this listing for your buyers!

More info at: http://www.samthompsonmortgage.com/13500stricklanddrive.html

Sam Thompson

Real Estate Broker

ERA Strother Real Estate

2931 Breezewood Ave, Ste 200

Fayetteville, NC 28303

Cell: 910-318-3583

Office: 910-864-2325

Fax: 910-323-1198

Email: sthompson@erastrother.com

Website: http://www.erastrother.com

Active Rain Blog Site: http://www.activerain.com/luckydog2

PPL - Pre-paid Legal - Great service and great way to supplement your income!

Sam Thompson — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:50:37 -0600

Pre-Paid Legal

If you have some time this week to look into this service and opportunity, call me! You can help your family, friends, clients while supplementing your income or just get it for yourself. With the many ways to have your ID stolen or to get sued, you need this protection too. If you are interested, I can email you a special promotion that I wrote that explains this in a lot of detail.

Sam Thompson

Carolina Mortgage Company

843-230-7929

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

First Time Home Buyer Prospecting

Sam Thompson — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:46:25 -0600

Timely Tip! First-Time Buyer Prospecting... Are you tired of prospects with little motivation and bad credit? Why not try some new innovative prospecting ideas to find some better quality buyers this year? Here's a quick tip I thought of to help you meet some apartment dwellers that are more likely thinking about buying a home in this market and that do not have a house to sell first!

Talk to someone that lives in a nice apartment complex about allowing you to host a "meet the neighbors social" in their apartment. Explain that it will be a great way for the neighbors to get to know each other in a social setting and you can provide the refreshments.

Don't know anybody living in an apartment? Read my email next week on some ideas on how to find them!

Then, use the opportunity meet new people and to explain about the low mortgage rates, the mortgage interest tax deduction, the great home values and the tax credit still available for 1st-time homebuyers until next July! You will meet several potential clients and they will be promoting you to their friends too! Also, there is a very good chance that they are unaware of these strong incentives. Besides the business benefits, you are going to make a bunch of new friends as well...

Many will have great credit and need a great Realtor like you!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

CMCF - Carolina Mortgage Company of Fayetteville

Sam Thompson — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:33:46 -0600

About Our Mortgage Co. Carolina Mortgage Company is a well-established mortgage company since 1986 that has relationships with just about everybody in the industry in and around the Fayetteville, NC area. After funding in our name, all loans are sold to lenders that we represent that also have long standing relationships with Carolina Mortgage Company. Carolina Mortgage Company is a leader in mortgages and specializes in VA and FHA processing. Our process:

Call me with your prospects or ask them to call me and I will start off by promoting you to them.
I will call them and take their application over the phone or I will meet them either in my office or in yours. If I cannot get them pre-approved, I will counsel them on what they need to do or advise them on other ways to get financing.
If pre-approved, I will immediately send you a commitment letter. If not pre-approved, I will let you know that as well.
For the pre-approved, then I will print off the application and meet them the following day and will collect verification documents.
The following day, Audrey will start processing their loan and ordering the appraisal and title work.
In a few days, not weeks, we will be done and ready for closing.
On the day of closing, we will wire the money from our line of credit to cover the mortgage so your checks are ready at closing.

Carolina Mortgage Company
6920 Cliffdale Road Fayetteville, North Carolina 28314

Office: 910-868-4300 Toll Free: 800-868-4689 Fax: 910-868-3324

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Our next 100 Days in our office!

Sam Thompson — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:31:32 -0600

What about our next 100 days in our office? Our Smart Goals

With every new President, the media and country are always watching and judging on their accomplishments in their 1st 100 days in office. And this year, we are all very hopeful that this new President can do a lot to help all of us. Just like our new President, we need to have some clear goals and expectations for ourselves for our next 100 days in our office and then our next and next, etc.

A great way to do this is to set some SMART goals and then get going on this and then do every thing you can to hit your smart goal targets! A smart goal is as follows:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

Here's a great SMART goal! Send ALL Buyers to Sam so he can get them pre-approved with Carolina Mortgage and closed fast and easy so I can focus on other things! Now that is a REAL SMART GOAL!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Let's help each other through this economy!

Sam Thompson — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:28:57 -0600

Quick Tip for 2009 Let's Help Each Other Since many service providers and retailers are looking for business and for ways to cut costs, why not spend more time working with them as a team? Here are some ways to do this:

Share office space by finding a service provider in a great location that has some space available to share.
Share some expenses that affect both businesses in the same location.
Share office personnel for answering the phone or in paying or collecting the bills.
Promote each other in each other's travels.
Advertise jointly in some print ads or other media.
Help each other by providing some work or service for each other.
Set up a new networking group with them to bring in others into your new network.

Networking is a great way to build your business and now is a great time to do this to help others too! Since you have many skills that many don't have, you can offer many skills to help others with their business. Share your knowledge and watch the referrals start coming in. While you are at it, don't forget me! I am a service provider too. Call me if you have some ideas that we can help each other with in 2009!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Manufacturing Home Pull-back

Sam Thompson — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 23:24:10 -0600

** B I G A N N O U N C E M E N T - For Manufactured Homes, I can now only finance with a VA Loan! ** So, unless your buyer is a veteran with a certificate of eligibility looking for a primary residence, I cannot help them right now. Hopefully, this is only a temporary set-back!

I hope you are getting some buyers with these low rates, tax credits and great home values! This year is starting out better with more realtors in our area seeing more buyers out and about. Are you getting your share? If not, keep reading. I have a couple of new ideas for your business.

Also, let me know if you know anybody that needs to refinance their home! With any VA or FHA borrowers that have at least 12 mos without a mortgage late, we have STREAMLINED processing that is fast and easy. These loans do not require an appraisal and they ignore credit card balances and history too. For a 5% interest rate on Govie loans, these can save people a lot of money on their monthly obligations. Call me or ask them to call me for a great rate and fast and easy processing.

We Love Refis!!

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Bring in the New Year right this year!

Sam Thompson — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:13:43 -0600

Bring in the New Year right this year!

Are you getting out and bringing in the New Year with your family and friends? Why not get out and bring in 2009 right this year and start your new year off right with some good networking. Also, in case you are planning on singing Auld Lang Syne this New Year's Eve, I thought you might want to learn the words this year..

Auld Lang Syne Lyrics

by Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
And auld lang syne?

Chorus:

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu'd the gowans fine,
But we've wander'd mony a weary fit
Sin auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidl't in the burn
Frae morning sun till dine,
But seas between us braid hae roar'd
Sin auld lang syne.

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o' thine,
And we'll tak a right guid willie-waught
For auld lang syne!

And surely ye'll be your pint' stowp,
And surely I'll be mine,
And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne!

Translation:

Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintances be forgotten,
And days of long ago !

Chorus:

For old long ago, my dear
For old long ago,
We will take a cup of kindness yet
For old long ago.

We two have run about the hillsides
And pulled the daisies fine,
But we have wandered many a weary foot
For old long ago.

We two have paddled (waded) in the stream
From noon until dinner time,
But seas between us broad have roared
Since old long ago.

And there is a hand, my trusty friend,
And give us a hand of yours,
And we will take a goodwill draught (of ale)
For old long ago!

And surely you will pay for your pint,
And surely I will pay for mine!
And we will take a cup of kindness yet
For old long ago!

Don't forget your designated driver if you are planning on drinking any champagne!

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

2008 is finally, almost over!

Sam Thompson — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:11:50 -0600

Happy New Year! & Finally it's here!!

2008 is almost over and it is about time. This year has been one of those years that will go down in history in a bad way that we'll be talking about for years. Besides the bad news, there was plenty of good news too so the year was not all bad, but overall, I am ready for 2009 to start.

I've been working on a business plan to help my situation next year that should improve my numbers and that will be a welcome change.

How about you? Are you ready for 2009 yet? Well, now's the time to start getting ready. When you do, put me in your business plans so I can help you make 2009 your best year ever!

_________________________________

The trend that I have noticed that has been happening across our nation and especially in our industry is that we are turning into a "bargain hunting" or "survival mode" economy. People are not interested in buying unless they can get a deal like 60% off or 0% interest rates before making a non-essential buy decision.

This is causing home buyers to look for the foreclosures and then offering 20% off of that thinking the bank will take it or they will leave it.

So, with this way of thinking, we have to work harder to "sell" value and "opportunity" so buyers get emotionally charged and excited to buy from us and now.

Notice that I included myself in this and if you call me, I will help you with this so you can close more homes in 2009!

________________________________

Quick note: This is a great week to call all of your prospects up north that are stuck indoors with cool weather and tons of nasty snow outside. Call them and brag about this gorgeous weather we are having. I spent some time out riding bikes in shorts and a T-shirt this weekend and I hope you were able to enjoy this weather too!

_________________________________

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Craigslist search engine for multiple cities is available!

Sam Thompson — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:17:17 -0600

Are you having problems finding that special gift for a bargain this year?

Try: http://www.craigshelper.com - This site allows you to search multiple cities within a 250 mile radius of a zipcode.

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Moms will help you if you ask them!

Sam Thompson — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:34:06 -0600

Merry Christmas!

We don't have to worry about Santa fitting down our chimney, these super low interest rates are our Christmas presents that are getting more people calling in and looking at your listings. Jim Cramer with "Mad Money" thinks mortgage rates could go below 4%. Wouldn't that be a great Christmas present?

What that would do is set off another refi frenzy for those with at least 25% equity that can get in a great rate without PMI with some money left over for paying the closing cost. This will also allow those with debt in credit cards with equity in their house to cashout some equity to pay off some debt.

Wait a minute. Isn't that how we got us in trouble in the first place? Aren't a lot of homeowners maxed out on their mortgage now because of the last refi boom? And isn't this a big reason why many sellers are underwater and can't afford to sell at the current market price? Well, yes this is a big factor but the declining market is another big part of this too and because of this, many won't be able to refinance any time soon.

Also, another big difference now is that we have gotten back to the basics and have the traditional underwriting guidelines that should keep this from happening again. Gone are the exotic no-doc loans and easier pre-approval guidelines. Anyway, these super low rates might not set off another refi boom but it should get us some great buyers that have been sitting on the sidelines waiting on the bottom to hit.

Quick note! We Love Refis!! Call me!

Conditions for buying are the best they have ever been. Focus on the first-time buyers that can get the tax credit and help them see how lucky they are to be able to buy a house in this market! When they finally realize this, they are going to love you for years to come.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

During your Christmas gatherings, make sure to hand out plenty of business cards to your family and friends. THEY WILL HELP YOU IF YOU ASK THEM! Here's a quick story. My mom ran into a cousin at a funeral and the following week, a distant cousin that I never knew called me about his insurance business... Our moms had been talking about us and were drumming up business for their kids!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Smile and Move - Spread the Word!

Sam Thompson — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 10:12:54 -0600

Checkout the website below after reading this.

In relationship sales, people do business with those they like. So here's some questions to think about for your business.

1. How many people "know of" you?

2. But how many really "know" you?

3. If they know you, how many "like" you?

Zig Ziglar says that... "A customer will never care how much you know until they know how much you care."

In pondering these questions, here are some additional relationship questions to think about.

1. How can you meet more people?

2. How can you get more people to really get to know you?

3. How can you get more people to like you?

Real Estate Sales is a numbers game and it really helps to get to know as many people as you can and also treat anyone you meet like they are your best friend... Ask them questions and get them to talk about themselves and they will really start to like you. This is why people spend money going to shrinks; to get someone to listen to them. Remember to pause and let them do most of the talking!

Some answers to the questions above are:

1. Network as much as you can with as many as you can.

2. Get involved in the community and open up to people more.

3. Be an approachable, warm, friendly, caring person all of the time. Smile and Move!!

Zig Ziglar also said... "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude." Take Zig's advice and you are going to see your business take off in 2009!!

Want some help with this? Click on the link below to go to this website and buy this little book for only $9.95 and let's start a movement. You may want to buy a cap and t-shirt too. If nothing else, at least click on the site and read about this concept.

For the BICs, why not buy a book for the whole office for only $7.95 so your sales start to really take off? These small books should be on everybody's desk in any kind of relationship sales. I've already ordered mine and I ordered one for my kids too for Christmas so they will be more successful at whatever they decide to do!

Click here now: Smile and Move

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Wheelchair Friendly Listings Will Sell Quicker!

Sam Thompson — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:11:24 -0600

Make it 'Wheelchair Friendly!'

More and more people are getting motorized wheelchairs like the "Jazzy Chair" in the picture above like my father-in-law recently purchased. Since more people are getting these, now's the time to promote your listings that are 'wheelchair friendly'. You can also offer to help them get a ramp built for access into the home, if needed from one of your service providers too.

For the homes that are not designed for a wheelchair to get around, now might be the time to do some remodeling to those to make it better for this. If this can be done practically, then your chances of selling the home will be much greater and this can usually work for one story ranch-style homes.

Click on the link below to see more about that.

http://www.adaptiveaccess.com/home_changes.php

For example, here is a floor plan that I found on the internet that I modified to show how this can be done for a typical ranch home in our area. In my revision (bottom view), I added a new wheelchair ramp and removed the tub and added a new flat floor walk-in handicap shower, moved the commode and sink and made the door bigger that now swings out into the hallway so it is not in the way inside the bathroom. Also, the sink was replaced with a wall-mounted, easy access sink.

Not shown are the hand rails in the bathroom mounted onto studs so that they can support a large adult.

To accomplish this, one walk-in closet in the master bedroom was eliminated and the hall closet was moved into the new bathroom. This home had an open floor plan which made this conversion practical in other areas and since the master bedroom already had a closet, eliminating this closet is not a problem. Keep in mind that appraisers cannot call a room a bedroom without an adjoining closet.

If you want to know how I did the drawing above, give me a call.

What I like about this plan is that the existing master bedroom with it's own master bath is perfect for a caregiver to use giving them their own privacy too. The key in picking the most convenient bathroom for making the changes is just that. The closer to the living area, the better for the one in the wheelchair.

Also, to make the remodeled bathroom more accessible to the bedroom with the larger door, I moved the bathroom door directly across the hall; another selling point for the buyer.

You can get a contractor to work up a quote for the work and then you can promote the home as "wheelchair friendly plans available and work can be done prior to close" or you can get it converted and then promote "recently remodeled for wheelchair use".

The cost for a conversion like this would cost around $2000 depending on the shower selection. My brother and I did something similar ourselves for my parents in around 4 weekends. Our project was only around $600 and was a lot of fun and a learning experience too.

Since most walls in a one story house are not load-bearing walls, it is usually not too expensive to move them like I showed above like they do on all of those remodeling TV shows!

Beyond the changes made above, kitchen changes might be needed too as mentioned on the linked website.

If you are working with an elderly buyer, you can help them see that a listing like this is going to come in handy if they ever need a wheelchair or a walker. This extra attention to detail is going to help them see that you are a true professional.

If you get a lead with this idea, give me a call and I'll help you close them!

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, N

Gas and Mortgage Rates coming down!

Sam Thompson — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:09:14 -0600

Come on down! Gas and mortgage rates now at or near a 5-year low!

Gas was only $1.36 a gallon in SC and $1.45 a gallon in NC last week and projected to drop even lower! And for us, mortgage rates are almost as low as the historic low we hit in June 03 that set the record then for interest rates at that time.

"..guys riding around on those little scooters have gone from being cost-effective and environmentalists to just looking like dorks again!" Joke about the gas prices by Jay Leno last week.

Now people can get out of their house again and look at great home values too. With the tax credit, super low rates and great values, the stars are all aligned for them!!

So, if you are working with a buyer that needs a new mortgage, let me know!

________________________________

Have you starting on your Christmas cards yet? This is a great way to let your past clients know that you haven't forgotten them and so they won't forget you too! Include a personal note to let them know that their card was special for you.

________________________________

Also, if you are sitting on a mortgage at or above 6.25% and want to refinance it, let me know. You can save around $70/month for every 1% drop in this range for every $100k of loan amount but you need to factor in the closing cost to make sure the breakeven point makes sense too.

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

FSBOs - Pick the Low Hanging Fruit First!

Sam Thompson — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:29:00 -0600

Pick the "Low Hanging Fruit" first!

Do you stop for FSBOs or do you avoid them because of a bad experience or because you are afraid of rejection? If you don't stop yet, keep reading...

A big reason FSBOs don't like realtors, in many cases, is because only the 'rookies' are calling them and many times, these agents might not know how to impress them and might be turning them off. These inexperienced realtors are causing these FSBOs to think that they can do a better job than they can.

So... if it's been a while for you, brush up on your listing prospecting presentation skills and stop the car the next time you see a FSBO. That FSBO could really use a good listing agent in this market and it might as well be you! Here are few reasons to prospect with FSBOs:

FSBOs are networking with buyers, other FSBOs, family, friends, co-workers, etc. Impress them with a nice friendly visit with some examples of your work with some reference letters and offer to help them and leave the door open for future follow-ups. By impressing the FSBOs, you might get another prospect besides the FSBO you called on...
They might have been with a realtor and things did not work out. Let them vent and then tell them how you do it! Impress them with your knowledge and your personality. These are the best sellers because now they have a better idea about the market and selling process so their expectations will be in a better alignment for you.
They might be frustrated with the inconveniences of showing their home to strangers with the worry that presents too. You can take that burden off of them!
They may have to move out and cannot continue to show effectively so you might be the one that they list with just by stopping by! You will never know unless you stop the car, get out and introduce yourself to them.
They may be in an area that gets no traffic. Show how you can promote them to the world with the MLS!
They could use some free advice! Who couldn't? Help them now with suggestions on staging, decluttering, advertising, promotions, open houses, neighborhood open houses, networking ideas, pre-approvals, etc. Win them over and see if they eventually call you to list them.
They could use somebody screening their prospects. They are frustrated with buyers that cannot get pre-approved or that have contingencies or want their house at a bargain price. Tell them that you can open them up to better number of quality relocation buyers or first-time buyers that usually seek realtors to help them first.

The main point here is that a FSBO is an open invitation to prospect and if you don't do this, you are missing some "low hanging fruit". Think of this as a challenge and yes, they may not welcome you at first, but, if you show your enthusiasm and warm personality, they might refer you to others and call you when the time is right.

If they want you to screen their buyers, give them my number and I will be happy to do that for you! This is one of the best things you can promote that they will love.

One last thing. Don't forget that most FSBOs are going to need a new home when their house sells and you can help them with that too!!! And if they are moving out of town, ask them if you can help them find a great realtor in that town like you for a referral fee too.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Tis the season to be jolly!

Sam Thompson — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:26:33 -0600

Bob Scheiffer ended his commentary on CBS Face the Nation this morning talking about happiness and how it spreads. He sited a recent study from BMJ that showed that if one person in a group is happy then it spreads and as much as 34% of the group will be happy too.

Click here for a study link.

Like Bob stated, this news could not have come at a better time. With all of the hustle and bustle with the Christmas shopping, now's a great time to meet some prospects in your favorite stores and spread some of your happiness and receive some of theirs too!

While you are out shopping for that perfect gift, don't forget to wear your badge and your smile! Just do your shopping during the early evenings hours during the weekdays or weekends when the"working people" are going to be doing their shopping too.

In your conversations, tell a story about a recent closing you had and how your buyers were so happy or about a new listing that you got that made you happy. People love quick happy stories. But before your leave the conversation, always mention that you are looking for some new buyers and ask them if they know any that you can call. This way you can be happier!

By mentioning the great home values, super low mortgage rates and the $7500 1st-time home buyer tax credit, you are sure to get some leads.

Tell them that a new house would be the perfect Christmas present this year to help them and so they can help the local economy!

Make sure that they know that despite the stuff they might have heard in the news, there is plenty of mortgage money to lend as long as the borrowers have a 580 FICO.

Oh, in case you haven't found that perfect gift for someone on your shopping list, here's a gift I have thoroughly enjoyed from a couple of Christmas's ago. I highly recommend them for people that need a little more volume or that watch TV while others are sleeping...

Click here for information: TV Ears

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Body Language is the key to effective communication.

Sam Thompson — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:04:55 -0600

Your body language is the key!

A study done at UCLA found that communication is mostly about your body language when talking face-to-face with people. The study found that effective communication is based on:

The words you speak: 7%
The tonality you use: 38%
Your body language: 55%

So, use this knowledge to communicate better and start off by making the hardest sale that you can. Sell yourself first! Sell yourself on your abilities and the market and then use this new passion to sell others. Use your hands to show expression, show enthusiasm, show interest in the person you are talking to and use their names too in your conversation. People love hearing their names and this will help them get excited about your conversation too.

Click here for: UCLA Study Link

Try some new enthusiasm in your conversations this week and see if you get some new prospects too.

Go ahead, get excited and show it!

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Price vs Value and Cost vs Value

Sam Thompson — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:13:04 -0600

Some deals are too good to pass up!

I heard a good comparison story that explains the concept of price vs. value pretty good and here it is...

Part 1. A bicycle salesman approaches a guy in his store and tells him about the great sale going on. The pitch is very convincing with the super lightweight titanium frame, with new tech super lightweight helium tires and a built-in XM radio and GPS system. The salesman said that due to the slow economy, they are cutting the price in half so he can get it for only $500. The prospect says that is an unbelievable great deal but said he is short on cash and will have to pass up on it despite the super sales pitch.

Part 2. As the guy with no money to buy the bike is leaving the store, he runs into a friend on his 2000 customized FXR Harley motorcycle that approaches him and says that his wife is going to leave him if he does not sell his motorcycle fast. He said the Harley was worth $18K. To save the marriage, he was willing to sell it for only $5000 but it had to go today. The same guy said, I don't have the money right now but if you will hold it for me for 1 hour, I'll get it!

Moral of the story... Even in a slow economy, people will find a way to buy a deal. Buys occur when the value exceeds the price in the buyer's mind and the greater the difference, the stronger the buy signal. This is why plenty of homes are selling across the country in every town. The value exceeds the price and there is usually a good realtor helping the buyers see this!

Moral of the story for a person thinking about selling in this market: Find the best listing agent you can and price it right with the market with a great marketing plan so it sells fast!

For homeowners and investors, it's good to know the Cost vs. Value too and here's the Realtor.com remodeling cost vs value report link... 2007 Cost vs. Value National Data

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Set a new weekly goal this week!

Sam Thompson — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:10:46 -0600

Set a weekly goal this week! The most successful people have written goals that they continuously monitor to make sure that they are on track. But, only 2% of us actually have written goals. Do you? Here are some ideas for some weekly goals that you can start today for your weekly goals:

Talk to 20 new people about real estate.
Attend 2 networking meetings or workshops.
Call 10 past clients to see how they are doing.
Talk to 5 service providers about their business and about setting up a new networking relationship.
Call 10 family and friends to see how they are doing.
Stop in on 3 FSBOs.
Call on 3 expired listings.
Send an email blast to your prospect list.
Get one new listing this week!
Get one new buyer this week!

Write down some weekly goals and see if it helps you stay focused on your ultimate goal of increasing your business. I hope you have a great week this Thanksgiving Week and please let me know if I can help you with any of your holiday home shoppers!

Thanks for your business.

Senior Mortgage Advisor

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Start a Newcomers Club to create a huge referral network!

Sam Thompson — 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

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Oldest cure for sore throat!

Sam Thompson — 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

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

Interest Rate Explanation - How they are determined.

Sam Thompson — 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

Carolina Mortgage Company - 843-230-7929

Senior Advisor - Helping you GROW your business!

www.activerain.com./luckydog1 - SC

www.activerain.com/luckydog2 - NC

www.samthompsonmortgage.com/

www.carolina-mortgage.com/

Checkout: http://www.activelaurinburg.com/ Active Adult Community Laurinburg, NC

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

Sam Thompson — 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!

Sam Thompson — 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!

Sam Thompson — 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!"