ny mortgage: Happy to be here! - 10/23/07 01:36 PM
I have been getting a ton of encouragement lately from all different sources. I reached out for help and it has rained on me since. I read a newsletter today that I subscribe to that compared loan officers marketing strategies to popcorn. It was an interesting newsletter and I understand it completely. It talked about if you do not let popcorn get to a high enough temperature the popcorn will not pop. He then went on to talk about how so many Mortgage professionals (and I guess this applies to Realtors too). Do not stick with a marketing strategy long enough to … (4 comments)

ny mortgage: Win/Win - 10/23/07 03:26 AM
I am off to a great start with my marketing campaign. So far I have signed up over 20 realtors whom are taking advantage of the free promotions that I am providing. Something that I've noticed recently is that refinance applications are up. So while I have been working very hard to get my foot in the door with regard to some great referral relationships a ton of refinance applications started pooring in. This is great!!!
One of the deals that was referred to me last week was a $55,000.00 6 unit (commercial) deal. Great credit but a DTI through the roof, … (3 comments)

ny mortgage: happy blogging - 10/22/07 03:09 PM
I've taken a few days off from blogging. I have been very busy. I implemented the market strategy that I was mentioning in earlier blogs. It is going well. With the permission of several realtor partners I will be advertising listed properties in my blog. If any of you are interested in any of the listings you see just give me a call and if my realtor partners want to source it out (as some have indicated they would). I would be more than happy to make a referral.
I am still critiquing the details of my overall marketing approach, but I … (4 comments)

ny mortgage: Free Leads!!!! Update - 10/18/07 07:55 AM
 This is my most recently updated revision of this letter promoting my advertising services that my realtor partners will benefit from.
 
Dear Friend,
 
        Did you know that you could be benefiting from some of the hottest leads available on the market today ABSOLUTELY FREE!! What if you didn't have to do anything different from what you're doing right now for the additional income? We at Lake City Mortgage are expanding our online and printed presence locally at a rapid rate. Our low operating expense allows us to expend the majority of our operating expense into local marketing.
        With your permission our marketing … (4 comments)

ny mortgage: C.O.D only please!!!!!!! - 10/17/07 04:30 AM
I wrote about a guy a little while ago who decided not to use my services but sent me a check for $50.00. He said that he did not want to complicate things by going with me instead of the first lender that qualified him but that he really appreciated my work and that he will send his friends and family to me. I wrote about this before. My appraiser showed up second in line and was turned away ... or at least that is what I was told.
I received a phone call from the appraiser telling me that he will … (7 comments)

ny mortgage: Free Leads!! - 10/17/07 02:53 AM
For listing agents in NY, RI, and MA. I am working on and implementing new marketing strategies and ideas every day.
Here's the letter that I wrote to promote this new service minus the header:
Dear Friend,
 
            Did you know that you could be benefiting from some of the hottest leads available on the market today ABSOLUTELY FREE!! What if you didn't have to do anything different from what you're doing right now for the additional income? We at Lake City Mortgage are expanding our online and printed presence locally at a rapid rate. Our low operating expense allows us to expend … (7 comments)

ny mortgage: "Free of Charge" Sounds so good! - 10/12/07 02:35 AM
I have recently posted a couple of posts about the new marketing campaigns that I am working on. I posted one the day before yesterday that was titled "do letters work?". I got a lot of great responses and tips on how to improve the content of my letter and my approach. I have made my first revision of the letter and I am going to post it here. I appreciate the valuable input that I have received so far and welcome criticism as it assists me in critiquing my marketing approach.
Here's the letter:
 
Dear Realtor,
 
            My name is Christopher S. Ohlsen; … (3 comments)

ny mortgage: Did I do something wrong?! - 10/11/07 07:59 AM
I just experienced something that is a first for me. I posted before about a guy I'd been working with who decided not to go with me.
He sent me an email with an explanation.
He explained to me that he did not want to complicate matters and that he was feeling a feeling of exaustion  in dealing with this for the past couple of weeks. He also let me know that he appreciated the fact that my offer was competitive and asked me for my permission to to come to me for future financing and to send his friends and family to … (3 comments)

ny mortgage: Do letters work? - 10/11/07 01:22 AM
I sent this letter out yesterday to several realtors (with there name after the dear of course.). I am not sure how effective it will be. I should note that about 4 of the realtors I sent this to I have done business with in the past that went very smoothly. 
 
 
Dear Realtor,
 
            My name is Christopher S. Ohlsen; I am a local mortgage advisor at Lake City Mortgage here in Plattsburgh, NY. I see that your firm regularly holds open houses. I would like to attend some of them with you. I can pre-qualify prospects on the spot and I can have … (15 comments)

ny mortgage: Just blogging - 10/11/07 01:08 AM
I am working on blogging a little bit every day. I feel that it really helps me to increase my industry knowledge by asking questions and receiving answers and answering the questions that I see and know the answer to. There really is not down side to blogging.
Blogging not only creates relationships, credibility, and gives me a place to keep a "professional journal" but it also increases my exposure on the web greatly.
This is my first post of the day. I usually post a couple times a day. I'm really trying to get my points up. I am nearly 10k points now. … (0 comments)

ny mortgage: Speculation ...Refi VS. Purchase Pipeline. - 10/10/07 06:22 AM
Today has been a great day so far. 4 people whom I thought had slipped through the cracks called me back today with accepted offers and contracts in hand. I locked all 4 loans. Since I began doing primarily purchase business as opposed to the refinance business that I previously focused on; I have noticed that the pipeline works much much different.
During the refi boom I did not have room for more than 30 prospects in my pipeline at once. Once I got to around 50 or 60 I would filter it back to to around 30 and try to keep … (2 comments)

ny mortgage: Marketing Lab? - 10/10/07 03:03 AM
Has anyone tried Chad Weber's "Marketing Lab"? My boss offered to spend $15,000.00 on leads for me today. Leads in todays market suck. Most of the leads that I have had coming in recently either are not qualified or deny ever inquiring about a mortgage.
I don't want canned leads. What I want is a way of securing relationships. That $15,000.00 that my boss offered to spend on me can be used much more effectively with regard to marketing than on purchasing leads. I am working on some in house marketing of my own. I wrote a letter this morning that I … (0 comments)

ny mortgage: Open Houses ....I want in!!! - 10/09/07 09:22 AM
I am very interested in attending open houses to increase my business flow. I have never attended an open house as a means of increasing business. My question to the Realtor community is; what is the protocol for a lender attending one of your open houses.
Is there a certain etiquette that I should keep in mind? Do I need to be invited or can I just show up?
My reason for wanting to attend open houses is 2 fold. The first is obvious in that I would like to be the mortgage advisor handling the financing for the property. The second is to … (15 comments)

ny mortgage: If you work for the recorders office ... PLEASE GET IT RIGHT!! - 10/09/07 04:24 AM
I have run into an issue on My mothers deal. The issue is that I have her approved for MyCommunity Fannie Mae mortgage loan program. One of the conditions to approval for MyCommunity is that the borrower cannot already own a home.
My mother does own a property but it is a 48 acre parcel of land with a double-wide that is not affixed to the property. It still has an axle and a tongue and groove. There is no foundation period. Now according to the lender that I am brokering this loan to their consumer reporting agency has indicated that a 1 story … (3 comments)

ny mortgage: First Time?! Beware of Taxes! - 10/09/07 03:43 AM
I am having some trouble on a loan file. I have been working with a woman for around 5 weeks now including the time that it took for her and her husband to find their ideal home. These people are first time home buyers. One thing that I should mention is that my area of most experience is not with first time home-buyers. The market has adjusted and changed rapidly and I have had to do the same. I am learning new niche's and most importantly I have made the transition from sub-prime lending to doing prime paper.
One of the major … (6 comments)

ny mortgage: AR ... The Horses Mouth ... - 10/07/07 04:53 PM
I have been absorbing information that I have been reading from AR like a sponge. The thing that I have enjoyed the most is asking specific questions of the Realtor community and recieving  answers to my questions. The thing that every good Mortgage professional needs in his/her corner are great Realtor associates who are willing to exchange clients and information.
1 good referral source is worth way more than any "qualified leads" that you may purchase on the Internet. One of the problems that I think most LO's/brokers/bankers have is knowing how to approach Realtors. For some reason there is a … (3 comments)

ny mortgage: My prequals not good enough for you? - 10/04/07 03:45 PM
I just submitted a prequalification letter to a broker. Pretty standard and simple. I worked to get an approval on the loan and then I issue a prequalification letter stating that the criteria fits and the loan is preapproved subject to verification of supporting documentation.
I recieved a call back from the agent indicating that they cannot accept my preapproval letter. Apparently they will not accept preapproval letters from brokers. They have a list of 8 guidelines that need to be met for an acceptable preapproval letter including a signature from a rep at whichever lender I broker it to. We have … (77 comments)

ny mortgage: Bye Bye FF - 10/04/07 08:21 AM
We just got news not five minutes ago from our rep that FF is ka-put. They just went out of business. I really thought that they may weather the storm. They seemed to be pretty strong in this market, just a couple of weeks ago they re-released their CORE product line.
I guess meryl had enough. Interestingly Decision one was shut down last friday. I was begining to think that we had already seen the bottom fall out of this subprime fiasco. I guess not.
I wonder who will go next, I wonder if there will be any remotely risky loans left when … (3 comments)

ny mortgage: Keeping busy - 10/03/07 09:32 AM
I have so many deals in the pipeline right now. I have read all over the web that the real estate market is tanking and that there isn't a whole lot of business anywhere. What I am finding to be true is that there is a ton of A paper to be written out there. One of the lenders that I broker loans through laid off a couple hundred UW's in anticipation of a slumping market. That lender is now on a 4 day turn time for conditions because they are an A lender and they are getting swamped with business.
Subprime is … (2 comments)

ny mortgage: Getting close to closing my mom! - 10/03/07 06:18 AM
I am getting close to closing my mothers deal. All stips on my end are clear now we are just waiting for title to come back and we can get this deal wrapped up. I am so excited about this deal despite the fact that it is my smallest deal of the month. I just really can't wait to go up there with my mother for the weekend. We are closing around the 9th of Oct. and I am going with her to stay for the weekend. The place is so nice for its size, there is so much to do … (0 comments)