Spring Changes For My Business. Sally Cheesman and the POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary Soul Group are sponsoring an ActiveRain Challenge/Contest "Spring - A Time for Change" Contest in which Sally asks us to address two components of our business:
- What you will change this Spring Season to benefit your business
- What will you change this Spring to help you improve your relationships with clients, leads, family and friends (all can become potential clients!)
1. What I will change this Spring Season to benefit My business:
Being on the Lending side of the Real Estate Industry much of the changes that I incorporate into my Marketing Plan are dictated by not only changes that are going on in the Market, but also Guideline Changes in Loan Products. This Spring is rolling in like a Lion with program changes and proposed program changes by FHA. For the last several years FHA has been the main loan product for me, with PMI Companies make PMI much harder to obtain, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, becoming much more Credit Score sensitive, as well as reducing the qualifying Debt-To-Income Ratios. However, the FHA changes and proposed changes, are once again creating a shift back to Conventional Loan Products, therefore Conventional Loan Products will start to play a larger roll in the Lending Industry over FHA Mortgages. This creates the need for me to adjust my business to incorporate this shift from FHA to Conventional Loan Products, so that my Borrowers can take advantage of what is becoming a much more advantageous loan product for them.
All this means that this Spring and for the foreseeable future, I will be concentrating more on Conventional Loan Products, and less on FHA. That will come with a challenge of finding ways to get First Time Buyers qualified for Conventional Loans. First Time Buyers tend to not have much money, and Conventional Mortgages require higher downpayments. FHA does not require that money for downpayment, and closing costs come from the Borrowers own funds. But Conventional Programs require at least 5% of the money to be the Borrowers own funds. Also as I stated before Conventional Loan Products are more credit score sensitive than FHA.
However Conventional Loan Products will have advantages over FHA. Conventional Loans with PMI will have a lower monthly payment that FHA Loans with MIP, which will make Debt-To-Income Ratio's lower, making monthly payments more affordable, and Buyers being able to afford higher price houses. So my thinking needs to adjust and become more focused on overcoming the challenges that come with Conventional Loans.
2. What will you change this Spring to help you improve your relationships with clients, leads, family and friends (all can become potential clients!).
This second component requires a much shorter explanation. My main Marketing Tool that I am using right now is Mortgage Returns. Mortgage Returns not only allows me to generate more prospects, butt to also stay in touch with all my Borrowers and current Prospect.
Recently Mortgage Returns has also added a new category to their program which will allow me to also track, and stay in touch with family, friends, and other valuable referral sources. I now will be able to also automatically send them
- Birthday Card
- Anniversary Cards
- Holiday Cards
- Quarterly Newsletter
Besides the automatic Mortgage Returns features, I will also be able to select from a host of informational pieces that will be of specific interest to my family, friends, and other referral sources. This will keep me more in front, and in touch with people that are close to me, but who right now are not getting any industry information that I know they would like to receive.
As a Loan Originator these are the Spring Changes For My Business that I plan to make to Benefit My Business, and to Help Me Improve My Relationships With Family, Friends, And Other Referral Sources. I am sure that as the year goes on I will continue to make further adjustments, but for now these will be made immediately.
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Info about the author:
George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
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