If you haven't found a good lender who offers the FHA 203(k) Streamline loan, then you are missing out on a fantastic niche. You may have read a recent post I wrote about two FHA 203(k) Streamline closings I had last Friday. I closed one in 25 days and the other in 21 days. This is very fast for any loan but especially for the FHA 203(k) Streamline. More importantly is how excited both of the clients were. Most people are generally excited about closing on their home and moving in but these clients were so much more excited - I attend all of my closings and could tell a dramatic difference between the level of enthusiasm from the two couples who are getting ready to have their new house renovated and customized to their specifications as opposed to those clients who are just buying a house.
As a "for instance," would you rather sell you client this home which is functional:
Or do you think your clients would be just a bit more excited if you helped them get the same great house but remodeled to their tastes like:
I would venture to say that we will get more referrals from these clients than from the regular clients. Additionally, we plan to help these clients throw an open house for their friends when the homes are finished and what a great marketing tool to share the experience of helping the clients show off their new home; what lender and Realtor does that? We are going to also start pushing the Energy Efficient Mortgage which with some reasonable modifications will help clients save 20-40% on their energy bills. If the budget allows for photovoltaic cells on the roof, the client might be in a situation where they pay little to nothing for their energy. How cool (no pun intended) would that be to be able to call the client every month after they have received their energy bill to see how much it was - this will be a great reminder of what we did to help them and a great time to ask for referrals.
Any niche that allows you to stand out from your competition is a great thing. There aren't a whole lot of Realtors taking advantage of this as evidenced by the statistics from HUD's website below. Help rebuild your community one FHA 203(k) Streamline at a time and you will have happier clients, more referrals, and you will be helping to restore the value and pride of ownership in homes while being able to keep those in the building industry employed. It's a winning situation for everyone. Here are the statistics from HUD - find your city and see how many FHA 203(k) Streamlines were done in April and since the beginning of the fiscal year in October of 2010.
F17FVCY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
REPORT DATE: APR 30, 2011 203K ENDORSEMENT SUMMARY REPORT
APR 01,2011 TO APR 30,2011
ENDORSED FY ENDORSED
FIELD OFFICE 203K CASES 203K CASES
ALBANY 15 171
BALTIMORE 55 359
BANGOR 9 77
BOSTON 62 430
BUFFALO 6 98
BURLINGTON 1 11
CAMDEN 13 79
CHARLESTON 1 24
CINCINNATI 20 147
CLEVELAND 55 422
COLUMBUS 23 214
DETROIT 67 428
FLINT 8 88
GRAND RAPIDS 23 146
HARTFORD 31 254
MANCHESTER 10 104
NEW YORK 63 452
NEWARK 46 351
PHILADELPHIA 42 275
PITTSBURGH 8 99
PROVIDENCE 15 94
RICHMOND 38 284
WASH. D. C. 50 397
WILMINGTON 10 59
HOC: PHILADELPHIA 671 5,063
ATLANTA 61 415
BIRMINGHAM 16 114
CARIBBEAN 29 220
CHICAGO 73 471
COLUMBIA 23 131
GREENSBORO 26 197
INDIANAPOLIS 28 230
JACKSON 6 56
JACKSONVILLE 12 128
KNOXVILLE 2 44
LOUISVILLE 10 51
MEMPHIS 5 42
MIAMI 22 137
NASHVILLE 5 46
ORLANDO 21 139
SPRINGFIELD 8 39
TAMPA 22 145
HOC: ATLANTA 369 2,605
ALBUQUERQUE 3 27
CASPER 5 20
DALLAS 8 64
DENVER 40 269
DES MOINES 12 62
FARGO 0 13
FT. WORTH 8 58
HELENA 3 17
HOUSTON 6 51
KANSAS CITY 18 100
LITTLE ROCK 4 32
LUBBOCK 2 12
MILWAUKEE 12 110
MINN. ST. PAUL 46 319
NEW ORLEANS 21 129
OKLAHOMA CITY 4 37
OMAHA 2 46
SALT LAKE CITY 11 59
SAN ANTONIO 5 50
SHREVEPORT 1 9
SIOUX FALLS 0 10
ST. LOUIS 17 108
TOPEKA 5 38
TULSA 9 37
HOC: DENVER 242 1,677
ANCHORAGE 1 7
BOISE 4 25
FRESNO 17 135
HONOLULU 4 23
LAS VEGAS 3 43
LOS ANGELES 24 208
PHOENIX 25 151
PORTLAND 16 173
RENO 4 21
SACRAMENTO 23 157
SAN DIEGO 16 88
SAN FRANCISCO 32 173
SANTA ANA 21 132
SEATTLE 56 350
SPOKANE 4 29
TUCSON 2 19
HOC: SANTA ANA 252 1,734
NATIONAL 1,534 11,079
What are your thoughts on this niche? Many Realtors aren't taking advantage of it because they think it's too hard. It really isn't hard and it's made even easier if you have a dedicated contractor.
Please share your thoughts and ideas.
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