Mortgage Minute Newsletter
From Sam Thompson,  Senior Mortgage Advisor.    August 2007- Vol 1, Issue 12
In This Issue
Now's the Time to Set Stronger Expectations.
KFC - A great American Motivational Story!
Weekly Tip - The Power of Legitimacy.
Weekly Market Mortgage Rate Lock Commentary
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Dear Sam,
 
Sam
Get All of Your Buyers Reapproved and Registered! 
 
Do yourself and your borrowers a favor before it' too late and ask them to touch base with their lender to re-score their loan to make sure they are STILL pre-approved.
 
With the unprecedented changes in what has been our guidelines for pre-approvals and closing loans for years, you cannot assume that they are still okay.
 
Call me to do a price check since rates have been very volatile too!  Especially on JUMBOS where we are kicking butt!
 
If you will ask them to call me or if I can call them, I would love to make sure that they are protected.  We are currently processing loans from the bankrupt American Home Mortgage and I would love to help your buyers before their loans get into this type of scenario with another lender...
 
And, for you selling agents, don't assume that your buyers are okay either.  Ask the buyers' agent to make sure the loan is in good shape and ask them to call me if they are in trouble so we can save your deals too.
 
Sam Thompson
Carolina Mortgage
Senior Mortgage Advisor
 
843-230-7929
 
Now's the time to set stronger expectations!
 

  

A little rocket scientist humor for you!

 

With the tightening of the mortgage industry and slow-down in the real estate market, now's the time to start implementing stronger communication skills, if you don't already do this!

 

How's the time to start setting strong expectations with every call instead of being vague or passive.  Otherwise, your requests are not getting your clients or prospects highest priority in their busy and hectic lives even if you are trying to help them find or sell their house!

You can BE AGGRESSIVE while being nice when communicating, it's all in setting expectations as shown below:

 These requests are not as effective:
  • Call me when you are ready to look at houses.
  • Get those papers back as soon as you can.
  • Call me next week sometime to go over the offer.
  • When do you want to get together to start looking at houses?
  • I have been trying to reach you.  Call me when you can!
    •

 

These give them pointed expectations and helps them set their priorities better:

  • Call me before 3PM so we can discuss our meeting.
  • The house you like is getting a lot of attention and we need to make an offer today if you are still interested.  Call me as soon as you get this message so I can help you. 
  • We need your papers back by 4PM today. 
  • What time do you get off work?  Okay, if you go to the bank as soon as you leave, you can get this signed and faxed back to me by 4:30 so we can clear this.  Can you do this?
  • We need to go over your offer ASAP.  Call me as soon as you get this message.  If I have not heard back from you by 12 noon, we might be lose this deal. 
  • I need for you to stop what you are doing and get the check stub to me before you leave this afternoon.  Unless we get this by 7PM, we are jeopardizing your closing.
    •

 

I hope that you can see how the more direct approach can really help you and us in getting your buyers closed.
KFC, a great motivational American story...
 


 
 

I recently saw one of those life-sized statues of Colonel Sanders in a KFC that reminded me of his tenacity and his successful business story.  In case you haven't heard it, read on and you will see why any motivational speaker knows it by heart.

 

When Colonel Harland Sanders retired at the age of 65, he had little to show for himself, except an old Caddie roadster, a $105 monthly pension check and a recipe for chicken.  Knowing he couldn't live on his pension, he took his chicken recipe in hand, got behind the wheel of his clunker, and set out to make his fortune.

His first plan was to sell his chicken recipe to restaurant owners, who would in turn give him a residual for every piece of chicken they sold--5 cents per chicken.  The first restaurateur he called on turned him down.

So did the second. So did the third. In fact, the first 1008 sales calls Colonel Sanders made ended in rejection.  Still, he continued to call on owners as he traveled across the USA, sleeping in his car to save money.  Prospect number 1009 gave him his first "yes."

After two years of making daily sales he had signed up a total of five restaurants.  Still the Colonel pressed on, knowing that he had a great chicken recipe and that someday the idea would catch on.

Of course, you know how the story ends.  The idea DID catch on. By 1963 the Colonel had 600 restaurants across the country selling his secret recipe of Kentucky Fried Chicken (with 11 herbs and spices).

In 1964 he was bought out by future Kentucky governor John Brown. Even though the sale made him a multi-millionaire, he continued to represent and promote KFC until his death in 1990.
Weekly Tip -  The Power of Legitimacy.
 


 

 

Dr. Chester L. Karrass, world-renowned authority on the negotiation, talks about the power of legitimacy that removes you from being the "bad guy".  This powerful technique can save you a lot of time and money in real estate too!

 

Here's how!

 

You get a call and the prospective buyer on the other end who wants to look at a property that is 25 miles away.  You have a great conversation and things are progressing nicely in getting to know them etc.  But, you are smart enough to know that they may not be pre-approvable and you are not interested in spending 1.5 hours showing them the property unless you know for sure.  But, you do not want to ask them if they will let you get them pre-approved first, so...

 

Using this technique is the answer!  Just ask:

 

Will you be paying cash or have you already been pre-approved for a mortgage?  If no to cash then:

 

"Okay, well my procedure requires that prospective buyers have to be pre-approved first before seeing any houses unless they are paying cash!" 

 

Then you can give me a call and I'll do that for you in 20 minutes so very little time is wasted and then everyone is better informed.  Just make this your personal guideline that you set for every house you show.  By doing this, you are not the bad guy, it's "that policy" that is the bad guy!!  Just don't tell them that it's your personal policy that you set for yourself because you have been burned many times!

 

The power of legitimacy is no different than the clerks at a retail store charging you $25 for a toy.  It's not them; it the established price for that item that takes them out of the negotiation for the sale.

 

USE THIS TECHNIQUE TO GET THEM PRE-APPROVED SO YOU WILL NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND GAS WITHOUT CHALLENGING THEIR FINANCIBILITY!

 

And remember that it's in your best interest AND theirs to get pre-approved first because if they see the house and find out later that they can get approved but the payments are twice what they are comfortable with, then they'll probably lose interest in continuing to look in their real price range!!  Yikes!! 

 

 

GET THEM PRE-APPROVED FIRST. 

I'LL HELP YOU DO THIS FAST!
Weekly Mortgage Market Commentary
 
Don't let the financial markets squash your clients and your transactions!  Stay informed by reading my new daily "Daily Rate Lock Commentary" or just call me to find out what is going on!  If you want to be included in this distribution, just call or email me.  Remember, knowledge is power and the more educated you are in your industry, the higher quality buyers you are going to attract and that means easier closings, bigger houses and more money in your "hip national bank!" And since rates are still climbing, call us to get your clients in our 90 day rate protection as soon as possible!
 
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Rate Lock Advisory - Sunday Aug. 19th


This week brings us the release of only three economic reports for the bond market to digest. The Conference Board will give us the first data late tomorrow morning when it releases its Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) for July. This index attempts to measure economic activity over the next three to six months. A higher than expected reading is bad news for the bond market because it indicates that the economy may be strengthening. However, a weaker than expected reading means that the economy may slow in the near future, making stocks less appealing to investors. This also eases inflation concerns in the bond market and could lead to slightly lower mortgage rates tomorrow if the stock markets remain calm.

There is no relevant economic data scheduled for release the middle part of the week. I am expecting to see the stock markets be the biggest factor in bond trading those days. If the major stock indexes rally, we may see bond prices fall and mortgage rates rise. However, stock weakness could lead to lower mortgage rates.

The Commerce Department will post July's Durable Goods Orders Friday morning, giving us an important measure of manufacturing sector strength. This data tracks orders at U.S. factories for big ticket items, or products that are expected to last three or more years. A smaller increase than the expected 1.0% rise would indicate that the manufacturing sector is not as strong as thought. This would be good news for bonds and should lead to lower mortgage rates.

Also scheduled for release Friday is July's New Home Sales data. This report is the least important release of the week. It will give us an indication of housing sector strength and mortgage credit demand, but usually doesn't have a major impact on bond prices or mortgage rates. If it indicates that the housing sector is still rapidly weakening, it may help push bond prices higher and mortgage rates slightly lower. But with the Durable Goods report being of much more significance to the markets, it will likely influence mortgage rates much more then the housing report will.

Overall, look for Friday to be the busiest day of the week. We may see profit taking in the bond market as investors look to capture the profits from the recent bond rally. This may lead to upward pressure in bonds that could push mortgage rates higher. Accordingly, I am maintaining the current lock recommendations.

If I were considering financing/refinancing a home, I would.... Lock if my closing was taking place within 7 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 8 and 20 days... Lock if my closing was taking place between 21 and 60 days... Lock if my closing was taking place over 60 days from now... This is only my opinion of what I would do if I were financing a home. It is only an opinion and cannot be guaranteed to be in the best interest of all/any other borrowers.

 

laptop demo

 
Let me know if I can take an application for you anytime!  And, please let me know if you like the format of this email service.  I hope you are reading these so you can stay up on your profession and so you can make more money too!
 
Also, I am available to do a "Hit the Ground Running Workshop" with any agents interested in learning tons of things they can do to help them succeed in Real Estate.  I need at least 5 agents, brand new or experienced, looking for some motivation to put this on for you that will take 2-3 hours, depending on your involvement!  These are designed to be interactive so you can learn more about yourself and so you will walk away with a stronger sense of self-confidence too.
 
If you don't get at least 10 great ideas that can really help your business, I'll take you to lunch and give you a few more!
 
What are you waiting for?  Gather support with 4 of your collegues and call me today!
 
I hope you have a great week this week in real estate.  Call me if I can help you with that!!

Sam Thompson - "The Jumbo Guy"
Carolina Mortgage
Senior Mortgage Advisor

 
 
843-230-7929