Well, this week there were so many really great posts here in the rain by some of my fave bloggers as well as some really great newbie bloggers that I've recently come across.
There was The Coming Shortage of Loan Officers and Realtors Behaving Badly by Janet Guilbault, R Rated Photos by Valerie Zinger, Interest Rate is the Wrong Reason to Choose a Lender by J. Phillip Faranda and Should Buyer and Seller Agents BOTH Present an Offer to the Seller? by Sally Cheeseman for their gold star features that I was happy to "call the shot" on them. These were great posts with equaling engaging comment threads - check them out.
Then there were some other equally great posts that I suggested but that the AR Gods must have missed this week when they were bestowing those little gold stars.
First there was relatively newbie blogger Scott Hayes and his post Shaking Things Up In The Rain. Scott encourages us to play outside of our routine of just visiting our fans and subscribers. Every now and then, check out some people you've never read before. Don't get stuck in a rut, meet new people. Check it out and be bold, meet some new rainers.
Then there was newbie Elizabeth McDermott with her post The Same Mistake Over and Over!!!. Elizabeth illustrates the mistake that so many sellers make over and over again of pricing their homes too high and then blaming the Realtor or agent who took the overpriced listing for not being able to sell their overpriced home. We all know what needs to happen here in order to sell the home but more importantly, if this had been done from the get-go we wouldn't be having this conversation now.
I'm sure I'm going to be lambasted for writing this but perhaps if Realtors and agents stopped letting sellers control the transaction and stopped taking overpriced listings perhaps sellers would learn a lot quicker that the market has their own way of treating overpriced listings and it's not kind or pretty. Check Elizabeth out and welcome her to the community.
Then there was What to do when your TWO best friends are Realtors and you're ready to put your Tulsa home for sale on the market by Lori Cain. I really liked this post because Lori outlines the options that sellers have when trying to choose the best Realtor or agent to list and sell their home. As an MLO here in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, I talk to so many people who have felt forced to choose their MLO/lender because they were related to them or they had a relative whose best friend was an MLO/lender. So often these friends and relatives were not the best choice these borrowers could have made and now they've realized it and are calling me.
I know its tough when you have friends and relatives who are Realtors, real estate agents or MLO's - really I do. I also know that many people may feel pressured to use these particular Realtors/agents and MLO's for their own real estate and mortgage needs. However, sometimes those individuals may not be the best professional for them or their needs. I speak from experience when I say that. If they were, I wouldn't be getting so many calls from people who realized too late that they should have chosen more wisely in the beginning. Anyway, check out Lori's post to see how she encourages sellers to choose who is best for them.
Then there was Charita Cadenhead and her post Repeat: DO NOT PAY OFF All of Your Creditors. Charita offers some great advice to prospective buyers about their credit accounts. As an MLO for the past eight years, I have seen too many times how this can derail a loan transaction. I know it doesn't make sense that someone who is responsible enough to pay off all their debt should be penalized by having their fico scores drop.
I am constantly counseling prospective borrowers to not pay off or close any of their credit accounts, no matter how long it's been since they've used them. More so than ever before, lenders are really scrutinizing credit reports and credit histories. It is absolutely vital that borrowers have sufficient and active credit history. Check out Charita's post.
Lastly, there was What if ... FHA 203(k) buyers could compete with cold hard cash? by Cynthia Larsen. Cynthia laments the same thing I have been complaining about for years - FHA BUYERS GET NO LOVE!!! You would think that the sellers would be ecstatic to see an FHA 203k offers because then they would know that they can finally get rid of that rundown, dilapidated, dumpy property they have on the market.
For anyone who is or has worked with a FHA 203k buyer or even a regular 203b buyer, we already know that is simply not the case. We all know that sellers would much rather take a lower cash offer than a higher FHA offer, even higher FHA 203k offers. GOOD GRIEF!!! WTH!!!
Anyway, as Cynthia and many of her commenters indicate, it's not just sellers who are completely clueless about the advantages of this wonderful program but it's also the listing agents who make matters worse because they are simply too ignorant about the program to educate their sellers about what a great program this is.
As always, I love "calling the shots". I'm pretty picky and selective about whom I suggest. I intentionally highlight my fave bloggers and then I look for new bloggers or bloggers that aren't on the feature board every other day. Anyone can suggest all the popular bloggers but finding the hidden treasures and gems is so much better. I hope you check them out and enjoy them as much as I did.
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