Homeowners should recognize that the same trusted professional who helped them buy or sell their home can be a valuable resource while they own their home too. Think of your REALTOR® as an indispensable homeowner’s resource who can make recommendations about a variety of services that homeowners will use throughout the tenure in their home. This experience far exceeds personal experience because of the day-to-day activities working in the industry.… Read More »Resource Central
It seems fairly innocuous; a friend or family member wants you to co-sign on a loan because they don’t qualify. They assure that they’ll make the payments; they’re quite convincing and very appreciative. You don’t want to disappoint them and after all, it’s not like it’s going to cost you anything…is it? Think of it this way. They couldn’t get a loan unless you co-sign for them. If they don’t… Read More »The Cost of Co-Signing
As rates are inching up but still very affordable, buyers should remember that there is an alternative to a fixed rate mortgage that can provide the lowest cost of housing for the homeowners who understand the parameters. A $300,000 fixed-rate mortgage at 4% has a principal and interest payment of $1,432.25 per month for the entire 30 year term. A 5/1 adjustable mortgage at 3% has a $167.43 lower payment… Read More »Finding the Best Mortgage
Some people take their credit for granted and don’t start paying attention to it until they need it. The problem with this is that it could delay if not altogether cause the loan to be denied. The most common issue is not correcting items on your credit report. A large majority of credit reports have errors but not all of them are critical. Since it takes time to remove them,… Read More »Things That Kill Your Credit
One of the important things as a parent is to plan for their children’s education. Let’s look at two different approaches: a savings account or investing in rental real estate. Assuming your child is five years old and you start putting $250 a month in a savings account earning 2%, in 13 years you’d have $44,497.41 to pay for their college. Anticipating that isn’t going to be enough, you’d have… Read More »Get Ready for College
Mortgage rates below 5% since 2009, you’d think any homeowner who should refinance would have already. However, it is estimated, there are approximately 6.5 million borrowers who would benefit with significant monthly savings by refinancing. Rodney Anderson of Supreme Lending, on his weekly radio program, described a recent pipeline meeting where they reviewed every pending mortgage application his company was processing. They had seven refinancing applicants whose current mortgage was… Read More »It’s Hard to Imagine
A mindset is a mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person’s responses to and interpretations of situations. Some people believe that mindsets are fixed. I believe mindsets are capable of growth and change. The Listing Mindset, therefore, can be developed, It is not present at birth. So how do we get there? First (and foremost) you must THINK listings. It is said that what you think about expands, so think… Read More »Get the Listing Mindset
There are sites all over the web that offer to tell you what your home is worth. Simply plug in your address and email and you’ll get a value. It’s fast; it’s easy but is it accurate? The value is determined by what is called an Automated Valuation Model (AVM) that analyzes public record data with computer decision logic. Square footage, age, number of bedrooms and location are easily definable… Read More »Fast and Easy But is it Accurate?
Contrast. You know, contrast, like up/down, in/out, day/night/ black/white. Contrast gets our attention. In fact, contrast is what separates one salesperson from another. I’ve read two books recently that focus on the importance of contrast in sales (although neither were necessarily focusing on sales), Neuromarketing by Patrick Renvoise and Resonate by Nancy Duarte. In Neuromarketing, Renvoise discusses the brain and how people make decisions. He says that only six stimuli… Read More »Contrast: A Not So Hidden Secret
The headlines this morning were: Travel Bans Lifting, Big Storm Not As Big As Forecasted. Really? The biggest storm in the history of the universe did not come to fruition? Snowageddon didn’t actually occur? I am, in the words of Kramer’s ever poignant lawyer Jackie Chiles, “Shocked and Chagrined. Stupefied and Mortified!” Actually I am not. In a world where the media will do anything to capture the public’s attention, over… Read More »Is Attention Worth Dishonesty?