tech savvy lender: What’s the Difference Between an FHA and a USDA Mortgage
- 07/31/11 07:11 AM
What’s the Difference Between an FHA and a USDA Mortgage The vast majority of first time home buyers purchase their first home with using either an FHA or a USDA home loan for their financing. These two options offer some great advantages as well as some negatives. Let’s take a look at the differences.
Hopefully after watching that video you have a bit better understanding of the difference between an FHA and a USDA home loan. FHA Loans FHA loans are by far the most popular of all loan options for first time home owners. The unique combination of low … (0 comments)
I get it! Everyone is looking to save money when possible on the purchase of a home. But friends, the argument that since the lender will be appraising the house you can go ahead and skip the home inspection. NOT a good idea! Here are the major differences, as I see them, between a home appraisal and a home inspection. The Home Appraisal First, let’s take a look at the home appraisal. The purpose of the home appraisal is to get an independent opinion of value. It will … (2 comments)
I hate to say it but it’s true: Real estate offices (with a few outstanding exceptions) are just pretty darned impersonal, functional places. Heck, let’s just say it: They’re BORING! But NOT Duane Miller’s out at the Coventry office of Coldwell Banker Roth Wehrly Graber!
DIFFERENT IS GOOD – Just ask Duane. He’s taken the Fort Wayne real estate market by storm, finding himself in the top 10% of Indiana Realtors within his first 12 months in business – a task absolutely unheard of in such a short period of time. … (2 comments)
tech savvy lender: Fort Wayne Showcase Day 8 - Happy Mothers' Day
- 05/08/11 04:03 AM
Fort Wayne Showcase Day 8 - Happy Mothers' Day Special feature today for my jammin', slammin' Mom! She moved from Fort Wayne, IN down to Sarasota FL a few years back so I'm sure missing her today... :-(
Pretty sure this was 1999. Daughter wishing a Happy Mothers Day!
Sycamore Hills Country Club brought in live bunnies for the kids... :-)
Mom with my sis Jill and her adorable daughter Camilla...
Mysterious as usual...
I love you, Mom! … (0 comments)
tech savvy lender: What's Stopping You? Throwing Down a Challenge!
- 05/07/11 02:13 PM
What's Stopping You? Throwing Down a Challenge! In "How To Win Friends & Influence People," Dale Carnegie so if you wanted people to excel you should consider "throwing down a challenge." Well, my friends, I DO WANT you to succeed, so I AM throwing down a challenge!
So, what do you think? What is stopping you from moving in the direction of your dreams? Why don't we go ahead and kick the block out, starting today?
Let me know what you will do starting today, that although difficult, will set in motion the momentum that will carry you to … (4 comments)
tech savvy lender: Fort Wayne Showcase Day 7 - Bartholomew Fish and Baker Street
- 05/07/11 02:17 AM
Fort Wayne Showcase Day 7 - Bartholomew Fish and Baker Street Dropped in on my friend Bartholomew Fish, Marketing Director for Baker Street. Sorry for the poor video quality. Doesn't do the place justice AT ALL! Hopefully you can still get a feel for this fantastic Fort Wayne treasure!
My personal favorite is the coconut shrimp, house salad and (of course) the mouth-watering pretzel bread! It was still about 10 degrees shy of being able to have our lunch out on the patio, but I highly recommend it when the temp gets over 70.
Best salads EVER!
… (3 comments)
tech savvy lender: Fort Wayne Showcase Day 6 - Hope Starts With A Meal
- 05/06/11 12:25 AM
Fort Wayne Showcase Day 6 - Hope Starts With A Meal Speechless. Flabbergasted. Stunned. That's how I felt when the sheer volume hit me. 190,000 meals, rattled off Pastor Donovan Coley, CEO of the Fort Wayne Rescue Mission.. Hold it a second! "Is that even possible?" I asked myself... Quick mental math told me that was 500 meals A DAY. Up 40% since the recession began!
What if you woke up without hope that tomorrow would be better than today? What would it do to your self esteem to sleep under a bridge and nearly freeze to death... literally. What if the only smile, … (1 comments)
tech savvy lender: Fort Wayne Showcase Day 5 - Lauren Sanderson as Chuckie Finster
- 05/05/11 12:03 AM
Fort Wayne Showcase Day 5 - Lauren Sanderson as Chuckie Finster A Fort Wayne Showcase just wouldn't be complete without hi-lighting my uber-talented kid, Lauren Sanderson! Want to get a feel for where I get my energy? Check out what I've got to keep up with every day!!!
For the first 10 years of her life I told her every day, "I love you. I'm proud of you. And I think you're very special." Then it became a little uncool somewhere around 12... Now I generally just get an exaggerrated eye roll if I try it now. Nonetheless, Lauren, I've started saying it … (3 comments)
tech savvy lender: Parents - Read On If You Dare
- 05/04/11 02:25 PM
Hey Active Rain friends. I'd like to share something VERY special with you. This is dedicated to my soon-to-be-grown up daughter, Lauren.
I first read Father Forgets as part of reading "How To Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie. It doesn't require much in the way of pre-amble. Just grab you Kleenex and read on, if you dare. "Father Forgets" by W. Livingston LarnedOriginally published in the 1930s in the Readers' Digest (at least that's my understanding) Listen, son: I am saying this as you lie asleep, one little paw crumpled under your cheek and the blond curls … (4 comments)
tech savvy lender: Fort Wayne Showcase Day 4 - Craig "Idea Volcano" Crook and TEDx Fort Wayne
- 05/04/11 03:07 AM
Fort Wayne Showcase Day 4 - Craig "Idea Volcano" Crook and TEDx Fort Wayne Thanks to Craig Crook, May 14th will be an exciting and inspiring day for fans of technology, thought leadership, innovation, and design right here in little ‘ol Fort Wayne, Indiana! Check it out!
That's right, TEDx is coming to Fort Wayne!
To see the speaker line-up, the schedule, and learn how to get one of the few remaining tickets (TEDx limits our first event to 100 audience members!) head on over to TEDx Fort Wayne right about now! As if Craig's never-ending flow of ideas … (1 comments)
tech savvy lender: Showcasing Fort Wayne Day 3 - Kevin Bontrager of NMFN
- 05/02/11 11:27 PM
Showcasing Fort Wayne Day 3 - Kevin Bontrager of NMFN Caught Kevin on camera and after clearing every word with compliance and his normal modeling agent team, he agreed for me to post this quick video of him in action!
Although he's tremendously successful in his career as a financial planner, I love the way Kevin and his team at Northwestern Mutual Financial Network maintain such a humble, service-oriented attitude. He took time out of his busy day to school me on the differences in life insurance types for me in terms of renting versus owning. Heck, even I could understand that! … (2 comments)
tech savvy lender: Showcasing Fort Wayne - Day 2 - Julia Fiechter and JFLendingAHand.com
- 05/01/11 11:58 PM
Showcasing Fort Wayne - Day 2 - Julia Fiechter and JFLendingAHand.com On a dreary Sunday Laurie and I drove on out to see Julia Fiechter, a creative Fort Wayne Realtor who has come up with a brilliant new way to help the Fort Wayne community - its retailers, its consumers, and yes, its charities! Check out what we learned in between open house "lookers..."
I was a bit confused at first, but now I get it! Think Groupon meets Salvation Army! The program is designed to give back by working with local businesses, consumers and charities. Each participating retailer comes up … (1 comments)
Who knew? Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of TV, set up shop right here in Fort Wayne. Want to see where he lived? Just go east on E. State Blvd a few blocks to the corner of St. Joseph Blvd & E. State. There you'll find the beautiful historic home of Philo himself! According to Wikipedia (which of course, is absolutely accurate!): "In 1938, Farnsworth established the Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with E. A. Nicholas as president and himself as director of research.[26] In September … (0 comments)
Here's how you can FEATURE your referral partners' fan pages on your own fan page. And maybe they'd do the same in return (wink-wink). Simple, straighforward. Make sure you let them know that you've featured them. If they would like to feature you in return, just forward them this blog post so they'll know how! … (4 comments)
tech savvy lender: Real Estate Agent Review Sites - Congrats Son Huynh, #1 Agent in Indiana!
- 04/22/11 01:08 AM
Real Estate Agent Review Sites - Congrats Son Huynh, #1 Agent in Indiana "Hey, I recognize you.... Help me with your name again, please," says Blake from Top Producer. "Son Huynh, Realtor in Fort Wayne, Indiana," replies Son. **Big smile from Blake** "Sure, I know you, you're the #1 recommended agent in Indiana! I use you as an example in all my presentations to real estate offices around the Midwest." That's when the reality of social proof and real estate agent review sites hit me... HARD. First off I was very happy for and proud of my friend Son. Next, I … (6 comments)
What a great video. See the complete post right here!
You'll love this: They're both natives of Bern. Christine, Berne, Indiana. Ed, Bern, Switzerland! Thanks, you two, for making this great post! … (0 comments)
tech savvy lender: Top Secret Mortgage Payment Calculator
- 04/16/11 04:57 AM
Top Secret Mortgage Payment Calculator After many years as a mortgage loan originator here in Fort Wayne, IN, I was continually frustrated by how difficult it was to quickly give a Realtor or a home buyer an accurate estimate of the money they would need for closing. Sure, we all have access to mortgage payment calculators, but that won't tell you how much you'll need for closing, the difference between lender-paid closing costs, interest rates, etc. Furthermore, I could not easily email or print out samples from a mortgage payment calculator. Soooooooo, I came up with a fabulous idea, if I … (0 comments)
tech savvy lender: Zero Down Mortgage? Yes, With The USDA Home Loan
- 04/15/11 11:17 AM
Zero Down Mortgage? Yes, With The USDA Home Loan As a loan originator, I get lots of questions from home buyers and Realtors about 100% financing. After the recent home mortgage meltdown crisis, nearly all 100% financing options went bye-bye. USDA, however, did not! In fact, with the USDA home loan you can actually borrow 103.5% to cover the one-time 3.5% reservation fee. Maybe the best part of all is that even though you are putting no money down, unlike an FHA loan, with a USDA home loan at 100% financing there is currently NO PMI (private mortgage insurance). Here's a quick video I did with … (0 comments)
tech savvy lender: First Blockbuster, then Borders... Don't YOU Be Next!
- 04/13/11 06:28 AM
First Blockbuster, then Borders... Don't YOU be next! Here's the deal, my Realtor and real estate friends... Video is not going away. Ignore it at your own peril. No joke. You don't want to go the way of Borders and Blockbuster! The shocking facts: Over 75% of your listing prospects (that's home sellers!) would prefer to list their home with an agent who is using video marketing! But less than 25% of Realtors actually do use video! Heck, I'm a LENDER and I'm using video. Here's one of the ways:
Yes, you were right on that one: Beanie Babies were a … (1 comments)
tech savvy lender: How to Give Your Realtor AND Your Parents Ulcers When Buying Your First Home
- 04/10/11 05:11 AM
How to Give Your Realtor AND Your Parents Ulcers When Buying Your First Home As a home mortgage specialist I get a lot of requests for home-buying advice. One thing that still haunts me from my pre-mortgage days as a full time Realtor was first time home buyers bringing their parents to look at "The ONE!" Here's what I mean...
A young couple would get pre-approved, decide what their dream home would be like, pick out from the available homes for sale. Into the car we'd jump! 2 days, 4 hours, 16 minutes and 42 houses later we would find THE … (40 comments)
What’s the Difference Between an FHA and a USDA Mortgage The vast majority of first time home buyers purchase their first home with using either an FHA or a USDA home loan for their financing. These two options offer some great advantages as well as some negatives. Let’s take a look at the differences.
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