Mortgage Telemarketing

Mortgages 101 and More

2008-07-27T03:36:00.001-07:00

What are mortgages? These are loans that a person uses to purchase real estate. Basically, these are legal claims on the property or home of the person who is taking out the loan. It acts as a sort of security for the creditor that the debtor would pay the money he or she has loaned. This kind of loan has 2 basic components and those are the principal and interest. You can avail of a mortgage loan through banks, a company that specializes in these kinds of loans, credit unions as well sellers who buys or refinances homes.

But before you secure one for yourself you should understand enough about it to help you pick out the best possible rates available and what kind or mortgage you should pick. Knowing just how much you would be spending on paying this loan every month will be a great help when you start tabulating the amounts you can't and can afford. You don't have to be familiar with every type available in the market. All you need is an overview of the basic stuff and then do some follow up research through the internet or ask someone with expertise on the subject like your real estate agent, your loan officer or a friendly neighborhood mortgage broker. You might also want to talk with a local housing agent as this person's expert advice might be to your advantage.

Remember that taking on this kind of loan pretty much means that you're putting your liabilities in danger of getting foreclosed in the case that you can't pay off your loan. This would be a very heavy financial burden and you can't live a debt free life. But there are certain ways to prevent this; of course, one is that you should plan out a well-managed budget. It would help if you keep track of exactly how much money is going into your family account ad how much is being utilized. Calculate everything and if you find out that you would have to avail of a smaller and less appealing home to remain financially stable, listen to it. Don't go over what you can afford because having the great feeling of owning a beautiful home that eventually leads you to debt isn't exactly a great thing.

Of course there are those events that happen that are beyond your control. To help you get through these catastrophes and prevent yourself from landing in debt, you should give yourself a "cushion" to fall on. Not a real one, of course. You can do this by negotiating some very solid terms with your creditor by really understanding the complications, intricacies and everything else that comes with the loan before you actually sign anything. Note that any small errors on your mortgage application can lead to some serious repercussions down the road and can cost you thousands throughout the duration of your loan. Also, remember that your home equity is not a cash reserve. If you try to pay off your outstanding loans with an equity loan, you just put your house at risk of getting foreclosed. Instead, find ways to reduce liabilities and try to improve your returns to help offset your debts.

What if there was a legal, moral, ethical way you could pay off your 15 to 30 year mortgage in 5 year or less without using your own money to accelerate the loan payoff? Visit http://dreambizpro.com Contact me at mortgages@mingo2.ws

by Domingo_Reyes

What You Can Do to Secure a Mortgage With a Bad Credit Rating

2008-07-27T03:35:00.002-07:00

Almost everyone in America wants to buy a house. This means getting a mortgage. Bad credit ratings can keep many from realizing the American dream of owning their own home.

When you are applying for a mortgage, bad credit ratings can cause some serious problems with your application. The lender will have you fill out a credit application for the amount of the loan. He or she will then request a credit report on you. This report is used to generate a decision about the loan.

The interest rate on the mortgage is higher with a bad credit rating. You may find this puts your payment at a higher level than you thought. There are ways to buy down the interest rate, thus lowering your monthly payments. One of the ways is with the points. The more points you pay the less the interest rate. For every 8 points the interest rate will come down one percent. If you agree to pay four points and you can get the seller to pay four points, you can reduce your payment. That is quite a bit of money that you would save over the course of the home loan.

Many times the credit problems are because of circumstances beyond your control. Everyone has had a bad experience with finances at one time or another. Whether it is because of a divorce, loss of a job, or even a death in the family money can get tight. This can cause late payments or even missed ones. This reflects badly on your credit profile. In order to correct this situation you can do certain things.

The first thing you would have to do is get a copy of your credit report. You will want to review it to make sure the information is accurate. If it is not, write the credit reporting agency to dispute the claim. This will automatically start an investigation. While the investigation is proceeding, the issue must be removed from your history. Beware the sub prime lender who suggests you dispute every detrimental action on your credit report when filling out an application for a mortgage. Bad credit ratings do catch up to you, even if you thought you cheated the system.

You should stay clear of any lenders who ask you to falsify documentation. You should be as honest as possible on your credit application. You do not want the financial institution to find out you lied on the application, as this is an offense punishable under the law.

It is always best to apply to a conventional mortgage lender instead of the ones that cater to bad credit. You may actually get a better loan through the conventional lender. The sub prime lenders have been under the gun as of late for shady dealings with mortgages. Many people have since found that the loan they thought was perfect turned out to be more than they thought and now they are facing foreclosure.

Just because you want a mortgage and think a bad credit rating is stopping you, this may not be true. The conventional lender will actually walk you through the steps to get you approved. It may take as long as six months to accomplish, but it can be done.

Are you concerned about your credit rating? Author John White can help you learn what you must understand about this critical measure of your credit worthiness. Also, if you have bad credit, you can learn how no credit check auto loans can help you out.

by John_C._White

Switch Over to a Better Remortgage Interest Rate!

2008-07-27T03:35:00.001-07:00

Have you been paying higher interest on your mortgage loan, bought or built your home with a loan? Now however the loan market is offering a lower interest rate against your home and your home has accumulated greater equity ever since it was last mortgaged? Surely you should be saving big money this way. And this is remortgage all about; get rid of higher interest rate mortgage by replacing it with a remortgage of cheaper rate. In the Northern Ireland, number of mortgage borrower shift to remortgaging options.

You will be lent an amount that is required to pay off remaining mortgage and you can borrow even more depending on current value of your home. On taking remortgage option, you also would be availing larger repayment duration which again reduces monthly outgo towards installments. This way you reduce your remortgage interest rate each month.

Options open before you while you remortgage from a mortgage loan!

With the passage of time, bad debt remortgage is gaining popularity. Bad debt remortgage facilitates you with lower rate of interest, flexible repayment terms and many more advantages. Bad debt remortgage holds special significance for homeowners.

You have lot many choices available now in terms of interest rates. For instance you may be offered a fixed or variable rate of interest for remortgaging. You should make sure which is more suitable. Each remortgage lender in the Ireland has individual conditions placed before the borrower which has necessitated the help of remortgage calculator and experts of the field.

How much do you have to pay?

Pay lower rate of interest with a remortgage loan. You can save up to £100 to £ 200, on your monthly payment. Save a large amount by refinancing your existing mortgage and use that for various purposes such as home improvement, purchase of new vehicle and many more.

Easily dispose off your earlier debt. In addition to this, you can extend the term of repayment of your debt. For instance, if your mortgage term was 10 years, for a sum of £ 20,000 and in 5 years you have paid £ 10,000. With bad debt remortgage, you can manage to extend the term of repayment of the loan amount again to 10 years. This automatically simplifies the whole procedure of repayment of the loan amount.

Reach out to the experts to attain best remortgage advice and switch over to a better deal. Don't mourn over your existing mortgage debt, clever way to escape is to, consolidate them into a low remortgage interest rate loan.

Kirthy Shetty, expert author, Platinum status

by Kirthy_S

Getting the Best Mortgage Rates in the New Economy

2008-07-27T03:34:00.001-07:00

All home buyers want the lowest mortgage rate possible when applying for a home loan, because it directly translates to a smaller payment each month. And who doesn't want to shrink their monthly expenses?

But how does one obtain a low rate on a mortgage loan and, for that matter, why is it important in the first place? These are the subjects we will discuss in this tutorial for first-time home buyers.

How Your Credit Score Relates

When you apply for a home loan, you be sure that the lender will request your credit reports and scores from all three of the reporting companies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). Lenders also reserve the best rates for borrowers who fall into a certain credit category.

What score you need to qualify for this category will vary from one lender to another, but it's safe to say that the better (higher) your credit score, the lower the mortgage rate you'll receive. This in turn translates into a lower payment each month, which is the whole point to all of this.

Here's something not many home buyers realize. Over the last few years, the score needed to qualify for the best rates on a loan has risen. This is largely due to tougher restrictions on lending institutions (as a result of the subprime loan crisis of 2007 - 2008).

In fact, I saw Jean Chatzky (financial editor for the Today Show) on TV not long ago, talking about this very subject. She said that in May of 2008, borrowers needed a score of at least 620 to qualify for the best rates. By May 2008, however, that requirement had increased to 760 ... an increase of 140 points!

How You Can Improve Your Score

This is a good time to introduce you to another acronym related to home loans, a term you've probably heard before on television. The acronym if FICO (pronounced fie-coh). It stands for Fair Isaac Corporation. This is the company that created the scoring model that is used today. Basically, it's a computerized scoring model that turns your financial history into a numerical score between 300 and 850 (with higher being better).

So with all things being equal, a higher FICO number means that you'll be offered a better rate on your loan. That's because a higher number tells lenders you know how to manage your finances, and that you're responsible when it comes to paying bills.

You can maintain a good score by paying all of your bills on time. This includes credit card balances, car payments, rent, utilities, etc. It also helps to reduce your overall debt, starting with those credit cards. These are the keys to being a successful home buyer in the new economy.

Brandon Cornett is a real estate writer who educates Austin, Texas real estate shoppers on all aspects of the purchasing process. He also contributes to many consumer-oriented websites such as http://www.myagentsam.com

by Brandon_Cornett

North Carolina Mortgages - Mortgages in NC

2008-07-27T03:32:00.000-07:00

North Carolina's population has been growing steadily with an annual increase of 10.1% since the year of 2000. Every year thousands of homes are being purchased in the regions of Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Asheville, and many more! Average home appreciation in Charlotte & Raleigh has been over 8% per annum. Mortgage Refinancing applications have been skyrocketing due to the widespread home appreciation throughout North Carolina.

Every year the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks have been busy evaluating hundreds of new mortgage lender applications. Every major mortgage lender has been moving to North Carolina to experience the new housing boom. Purchase Money Mortgages are being written everyday facilitating the new homeowners that are moving from all over the United States.

Mortgage loan programs frequently used in North Carolina:

Carteret Mortgage is proud to be serving the homeowners of North Carolina with their mortgage refinancing, and purchase money mortgages.

FNMA MyCommunity Mortgages: Buy a home with Zero Down, and enjoy low mortgage insurance rates. Product highlights: up to 40yr terms, no cash reserves, gifted money allowed, extra flexibility on credit, and no minimum contribution.

FHLMC HomePossible Mortgages: this mortgage is exactly like the MyCommunity Mortgages, but is offered through Freddie Mac.

FHA Home Loans: This mortgage program has been helping many North Carolina homeowners with their first home purchase. Product highlights: 2.25% down payment, low monthly mortgage insurance payments, Refinance Cash Out up to 95% LTV, no credit score requirement, nontraditional credit accepted, and no reserve requirement. Fha Secure program is offered to those who have made timely payments prior to their ARM adjusting.

Reverse Mortgages: Reverse mortgages are becoming popular in the United States. HUD's Reverse Mortgages is a federally insured mortgage loan, and it's a safe plan than give older Americans greater financial security. Many seniors use it to supplement social security, pay for unexpected medical expenses, home improvements, and more. Since your home is probably your largest single investment, it's smart to know more about reverse mortgages, and decide if it's right for you!

VA mortgage loans can be made without any down payment at all, and frequently offer lower interest rates than other kinds of mortgage loans. Aside from the veteran's 'certificate of eligibility', and the VA assigned appraisal, the application process is not much different than other types of mortgage loans. If the mortgage lender is approved for automatic processing, as more and more mortgage lenders are now today, a buyer's mortgage loan can be processed, and closed by the mortgage lender without waiting for VA's approval of the credit application. The more you know about our VA mortgage loan programs, the more you will realize how little "red tape" there really is in getting a VA mortgage loan.

by Robert_Enriquez

Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loans - The Right Choice For Me?

2008-07-24T00:29:00.001-07:00

Adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) loans are loans that have an interest rate that will fluctuate periodically. Unlike fixed rate loans where the rate remains constant through the life of the loan, adjustable rate mortgages will fluctuate based on the several indices of loan forecasting. Approximately 80 percent of all adjustable rate mortgage loans are based on one of these three indexes:

1) Constant Maturity Treasury (CMT) Indexes,
2) 11th District Cost of Funds Index (COFI) and
3) London Inter Bank Offering Rates (LIBOR).

Adjustable rate mortgage loans, compared to fixed rate loans, have a lower initial interest rate. They are a good option to consider if you're only planning to own your home for a few years, you expect your future earnings to increase or the current interest for a fixed rate mortgage is too high. There is inherent risk with adjustable rate mortgages because often people are captivated by the low initial rate but never really budget for a period when the rates climb. Sometimes they get caught unable to meet the higher monthly payments when rates do rise and end up in default, losing everything.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans have four components to their structure:

1) an index,
2) a margin,
3) an interest rate cap structure, and
4) an initial interest rate period.

After the initial rate period has ended, a new calculated rate becomes effective by adding a margin to the index. Since margins vary among lenders, it's best to shop around for the lowest margin you can find. As the index moves up and down, as previously mentioned by the forecasting indices, your rate will rise or fall accordingly. Also, the rise and fall of your rate will be constrained by the rate cap structure of your loan.

The rate cap structure of your loan can provide you protection from wildly large interest swings. Adjustable rate mortgage loans have two types of caps: 1) annual, and 2) life-of-the-loan. The annual cap will restrict the rate change from going too far up or down in any given year. The life-of-the-loan cap will restrict the rate change from going too far up or down for as long as you have the mortgage.

As long as you are aware that adjustable rate mortgages can increase from their initial low rate they can be a good mortgage to have. However, if at the lowest rate you are paying as much as you can possibly ever pay for your mortgage, you are treading in dangerous waters. Many people are duped into this type of loan in predatory loan schemes where there is not full disclosure of the terms. When the initial low rate period has ended and rates increase the mortgage loan payments become out of reach for some folks and they end up in foreclosure. Don't let this happen to you.

Did you know that a recent survey found that 80% of all mortgage loan applicants are confused about the type of loans available? Visit http://www.Best-Mortgage-Lenders.com to learn more about Home Mortgage Loans and find out how you can become one of the 20% of informed consumers.

by Anthony_Pace

I Cannot Refinance My Adjustable Mortgage - What to Do When Your in Deep Trouble With Your Home Loan

2008-07-24T00:28:00.002-07:00

If you are a home owner who is currently struggling financially and emotionally because of an adjustable mortgage that you cannot refinance you are not alone. The country is currently experiencing a huge amount of borrowers who have said to themselves I cannot refinance my adjustable mortgage.

Once you say it out loud it seems like there is nowhere to turn for help, however nothing is further from the truth, you just have to know what to do and where to go for help!

Turning To Your Lender When Your ARM Is Broken

In most cases the lenders will send threatening letters and place harassing phone calls to your home when you are late with your mortgage. This is basically a scare tactic and in reality the last thing the lender wants it to get your home back through foreclosure because they will lose money on the deal.

Armed with this knowledge you should call your lender and let them know you have tried but cannot refinance your adjustable mortgage. Tell them why you are unable to refinance and be honest with them and in most cases they will offer you some sort of assistance to help save your home.

Lender Programs To Save Your Home

The two most popular solutions the lenders generally will offer is to either use a loan modification to switch your adjustable home loan over to a fixed rate. The other solution is to extend the fixed rate period of your ARM and re evaluate the situation when that time frame expires.

In both instances the lender is showing good faith so always make your payments on time and be completely honest with your lender after an arrangement has been made or it could jeopardize future assistance if you need it.

If you are struggling and cannot Refinance An Adjustable Mortgage and need more information then head over to http://www.adjustablemortgageinfo.com and get the answers you need.

by Darin_Sewell

Los Angeles Reverse Mortgages

2008-07-24T00:28:00.001-07:00

There have been 22,150 Los Angeles reverse mortgages that were funded between 2001 and 2007 according to statistic released by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for their HECM program. In 2007 alone, there were 4635 that were funded in Los Angeles County, California. This represents a decrease in total loan volume from the 2006 figure of 6123. Why was there a decrease in the number of these loans in Los Angeles? The answer may lie in the differences between the HECM and the jumbo programs.

The Federal Housing Authority's Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program (HECM) has been a tremendous help to seniors in the Los Angeles area over the past 8 years. With over 22,000 of them taking advantage of the program, it is clear that it fulfills a real need. But, the HECM in Los Angeles does have some significant limitations for senior homeowners that may have contributed to its decline in popularity between 2006 and 2007.

The biggest limitation is that the Federal Housing Authority will only use the first $362,790 in home value on a Los Angeles reverse mortgage. That means that if the home is worth more than that amount, then the FHA ignores the excess value in calculating how much money is available to the senior homeowner under the HECM program. The median home value in Los Angeles County in 2007 was $550,000. This means that the program offers the same amount of money to a senior in a median priced home, as a senior who is in a home worth one third less.

Where the loan amount disparity becomes a real problem, is when the senior homeowners have an existing loan on their Los Angeles property for 50% of its value. In the case of the lower home value, the HECM will provide enough money to pay off their loan. But this is not the case for the homeowner of the median priced home. They would need to come up with funds to pay down their existing mortgage to the same level as the homeowner with the lower value.

The jumbo reverse mortgage may not be of any help to the median-priced home's owner because it has an initial loan to value ratio that is usually less than 50% of the value of the property. The exception is when the younger of any two senior homeowners is over 81 years old. At that age, there are some jumbo programs that would offer enough money to pay off a 50% existing loan.

When the home's value significantly exceeds the median value for Los Angeles, the jumbo reverse mortgage begins to provide much more money than the HECM FHA program. Since fully one half of the homes in the county are worth more than the median value of 550,000, there probably tens of thousands of homes owned by seniors that would receive a greater benefit from it. Since the availability of these jumbo programs really took off in 2007, it may be that more seniors decided to take advantage of them rather than the HECM program, causing the number of HECM's to decrease in 2007.

Luke Helm is an expert on reverse mortgages. He recommends the following links for more information on Los Angeles reverse mortgages and the jumbo reverse mortgage.

by Luke_P_Helm

Home Loan and Mortgage Rate

2008-07-24T00:27:00.001-07:00

A home loan is usually obtained from a bank but can be received from any institution willing to loan the money. Lenders normally require an initial payment from the borrower, typically 20 percent of the purchase price of the house; this is called a down payment. If the house is selling for $200,000, for example, the borrower must make a down payment of $40,000 and can then take out a $160,000 loan to cover the rest. Lenders require a down payment as a way to ensure that they can recover the money they have loaned in case the borrower defaults on it (that is, fails to repay it). In the case of default, the lender has the right to repossess the property and sell it to pay off the loan. The process of a lender taking possession of a property as a result of a defaulted loan is called foreclosure.

Lenders evaluate potential borrowers to make sure they are reliable enough to pay back the loan. Among the factors they review are the borrower's income and ability to make the down payment. The U.S. government provides various forms of assistance to people who would not normally qualify for home loans. For instance, the Federal Housing Administration insures loans for low-income citizens in order to encourage banks to lend to them. It also runs programs that offer grants (money that does not have to be repaid) to cover down payments. One such program is the American Dream Down Payment Initiative. The Department of Veterans Affairs provides similar assistance for people who have served in the U.S. military.

The calculation banks use to determine monthly loan payments is complicated and often not understood by borrowers. Banks charge an annual percentage rate (APR) on the loan amount, or principal, in order to be compensated for the service of lending money (as well as to pay for their own expenses, such as hiring employees and maintaining buildings). Although the interest rate is quoted as an annual rate, in actuality the interest on a home loan is usually charged monthly. For example, if the APR were 8 percent, the monthly interest rate would be 0.6667 percent (8 percent divided by 12 months). The interest also compounds monthly, meaning that each month the interest fee is added to the original loan amount, and this sum is used as the basis for the next month's interest. The borrower ends up paying interest on the accumulated interest as well as on the original loan amount.

To understand how this works, imagine that you had to pay an 8 percent annual fee on $100. The first month you would pay an interest fee of roughly 0.6667 percent of $100, or a little more than 66 cents, raising the total amount due to just over $100.66. The second month you would pay 0.6667 percent on the new loan amount ($100.66), or 67 cents, bringing the total due to almost $101.34. After 12 months of applying a compounding monthly interest rate of 0.6667, the total amount owed would be $108.30, or 8 percent more than the original loan amount plus 30 cents, the amount of interest that accumulated through compounding.

Mortgage payments are even more complicated because two things happen each month: in the example of an 8 percent APR, a fee of 0.6667 percent is charged to the total amount of the loan, but the total amount of the loan is reduced because the borrower has made a payment. Because the payment by the borrower is more than the fee of the monthly interest rate, the total amount owed gradually goes down.

This method of calculation requires that borrowers pay more in interest each month at the beginning of the loan than at the end. This can be seen in the example of a $160,000 loan paid over a 30-year period with an APR of 8 percent. After the first month of the loan, the bank charges a monthly interest rate of 0.6667 percent (really two-thirds of a percent, which would be a 0 with an infinite number of 6s after the decimal point, but it is rounded up at the fourth decimal point) on the $160,000 loan amount, for a fee of $1,066.67. At the same time, the borrower sends the bank a mortgage payment of $1,174.02; of this amount, $1,066.67 goes toward paying off the interest charge, and the remainder, $107.35, is subtracted from the $160,000 loan, bring the total amount due down to $159,892.65. The next month the bank charges the same monthly interest rate of 0.6667 on this new amount, $159,892.65, resulting in an interest charge of $1,065.95, just slightly less than the month before. When the borrower sends in his $1,174.02 payment, $1,065.95 goes toward paying off the new interest charge and the rest, $108.07, is subtracted from the loan amount ($159,892.65 $108.07), with the resulting total amount due being $159,784.58.

Over the course of 30 years, three things happen: the total amount due on the loan gradually goes down; the interest charge also slowly reduces (because it is a fixed percent, 0.6667, of a gradually reducing loan amount); and an increasing amount of the payment begins to go to the loan amount, not the interest (because the interest charge gradually goes down while the borrower's payment, $1,174.02, remains the same). After 270 months, or three-fourths of the way through the loan, $532.72 of the monthly payment goes toward interest and $641.30 is subtracted from the loan amount. By the end of the loan, the borrower would have paid $160,000 in principal and $262,652.18 in interest.

Purchasing a home involves paying what are called "closing costs" to cover the various transactions that must occur. Fees are charged by the broker or agent who arranges the home loan, the people who inspect the property to make sure it is sound, the title insurance company (which researches the legal ownership of the property to make sure the seller is really the owner and insures that the transfer of ownership goes smoothly). Additionally, there are various local and state taxes and fees to be paid, and there may be a partial payment due at the time of the mortgage's inception. These charges are usually paid by the buyer at the very end of the lending process (hence the term closing costs ).

In order to protect themselves and the home buyer from financial loss, lenders require that the property be covered by a homeowner's insurance policy that insures the property against loss from fire (and in certain cases flood or earthquake) damage. To guarantee that the borrower makes his or her insurance payments, mortgage lenders set up what is called an escrow account and require that the borrower deposit a monthly payment into it to cover the cost of the insurance. When the annual insurance bill comes due, the mortgage company uses the money in the escrow account to pay it on behalf of the borrower.

Additionally, most real estate is subject to property tax, which is used to fund public schools and other local government programs. Because a failure to pay these taxes can lead to the seizure and sale of the property, the lender wants to make sure that these taxes are paid and hence requires the buyer to pay another monthly amount into the escrow account.

Despite the large amount of interest paid, there are many benefits to having a home loan. They allow people to buy homes that they would otherwise be unable to afford. In addition, once someone has a fixed-rate mortgage, the monthly payment never goes up. Rents, however, almost always rise over time. A homeowner also builds up equity in the house over the years. Equity is the difference between the current value of the property and the loans against it. In the above example of the $200,000 house, the owner immediately has $40,000 in equity because of the down payment; as the owner gradually pays back the loan, his or her equity increases. Furthermore, it is likely that 10 years later the house itself will have increased in value. If the house is, for example, worth $260,000 by then, the owner will have gained an additional $60,000 in equity. An owner can turn the equity in a house into cash by selling the house and pocketing the profits, possibly with the intention of buying another house, taking a long vacation, or having extra money for retirement. Finally, interest is usually deducted from a person's taxable income, meaning that person will owe less in taxes.

For more information on Home Loan and Mortgage Rate, visit my Home Loan and Mortgage Rate here.

by Kris_Lee

Behind the Scenes of a Mortgage Broker & Swimming With Loan Sharks

2008-07-24T00:21:00.000-07:00

Let's live out the American dream, the big white house with the white picket fence and the red painted door, with the smell of BBQ coming from the back yard. The quiet neighborhood with some of your best and closest friend's as your neighbors. Living on a popular street, and your sports car out front of your home. Living any other normal life, got a great job with the warehouse that is just minutes away from your home, making a descent income to provide for your family of your beautiful wife and two kids. Let's all face it, this is the life that we all want to live, some of us are living this dream and some of us are still dreaming of it. Seeing this neighborhood from the outside is a picture perfect scene. But let's look on the inside; let's see what goes on with the foundation of our "big white homes" and what the neighbors don't like to talk about.

I want to talk about how the foundation of our "big white homes" can be taken away from us in just a matter of months. This beautiful home that we cherish so much, can weigh us down with the Mortgage. I want to discuss what really is the behind the scenes of a mortgage broker/lender, and what it is like swimming with the Loan Sharks. These Loan Sharks are really good at what they do and can convince anybody in something that you don't need. I want to show you how they can take something that you really do need, and make it work to their advantage.

Our kids are all grown up and it is time for you to send them off to college, we all know that college does not come cheap. But you have it all planned out because you where telling your neighbor down the street that you where planning to take some money out of the equity of your home to pay for your kids tuition. You have not missed a payment in almost 10 years in this beautiful home that you built. Should not be a problem unless you encounter that Loan Shark that is seeing you come, waiting for the right time to attack.

He seems like a really nice guy and is making is sound almost easier to refinance then what you thought before. You agree with this statement and you gather up all of your personal information that he has asked for and you are gladly & willing to work with this young man. Once he has your information he takes it to processing, from that point you are almost left out of the whole process plus big picture because he is taking care of everything. Because you have entrusted this man, he knows the story and it is for your two kid's college tuition.

But what is happening with your paperwork, what is going on behind the closed doors? What he doesn't tell you is that the county taxes have gone up and your escrow account is in need of a higher amount then what you were paying before, also to get you that lower interest rate that he promised you is costing you 1-2 discount points. Then he needs to make a little money doing your loan so he charges 1-2 Origination points. According to the Good Faith Estimate, your closing cost is going to be costing you upwards to $18,000. Will he come out and tell you this? "No, of course not! You don't want to end your kid's college tuition."

Now we are taking out the equity of your home up to $30,000 to pay for tuition, he said that there are no closing cost because they are being "rolled", your escrow is going up, and you still have to pay off the old mortgage at a 7.5% interest rate. If you still owe about $400,000 dollars on your old mortgage, and you bought the house at $425,000 and you know that the appraisal will come in at least $450,000, there should be no problem with getting that money for tuition plus some extra equity to lean back on.

Well we where just boarder line comfortable with our mortgage payment that we are currently paying, the loan officer is now noticing that your DTI (Debt to Income ratio) is was too high and the underwriter will not approve of it being so high. So the loan officer does not want to miss this opportunity on making some money so he looks deeper into your personal information and sees that you have a retirement account and that you have a lot of savings. So it won't hurt to fib a little bit and tell the underwriter that you make more then what you really do, and that you can afford the new payment no problem. Plus if things do get tight with the homeowner they have those liquid assets to rely on.

Again during all of this process the loan officer really wants you to get your kids tuition paid for so he processed with this scam. Because he made you a promise that he will get that lower interest rate and he will get the process done as soon as possible. While this is all happening he asks you to not make your mortgage payment because he does not want it to mess up the pay-off amount. We do what he asked and follows through, and again entrusting him to come through on his part.

Two months down the road and it is time for closing, we go to sign the final paperwork and we notice that with him rolling in the closing cost, and taking out the $30,000 of equity for tuition, and the escrow it going up. Our new loan amount is just under $440,000. Oh, but wait he is going to roll in the closing cost, so know you are looking at pretty much $450,000 as the new loan amount. With you just comfortably making it by with the current mortgage payment, it looks like your new payment is actually going to be higher then what it once was.

Something is telling me that this is way off, and I do not feel right about this new loan. I decided to back out, when the loan officer is quickly to speak saying "if you back out, then you will be in huge trouble with your current mortgage company. You are already two months behind and it will cause for your credit score to plummet a good 100 to 150 points." In this case it is forcing me to sign the final documents. But with his rescue states, "it will be ok because you can just refinance in the next six months to get out of the high monthly payment". I am relived for a moment knowing that there is an exit strategy to all of this deceiving that has taken place.

I try to refinance a couple of months down the road because I just can't afford this new payment. But as I contact all of the lenders/brokers in the area, they tell me there is now way I could do a refinance because my DTI (Debt to Income ratio) is way to high. I am really feeling the pain of the loan officer lying about the DTI the first time. Now I am stuck in this mortgage and I have the new leader breathing down my throat because they are threatening to foreclose my home because I am just not able to make the new monthly payments.

Please be careful the next time you think about refinancing your home, because just like that, your American Dream foundation can all be taken away from you in just a matter of months. So if you do decide to refinance stay involved with what is going on with your paperwork, ask to see everything that is going on. Not all loan officers are this way but some that even have a nice tie and a big smile can walk you down a dark alley and mug you as if they were thugs, just for them to make a few extra dollars.

by Murray_Tucker

Mortgage 80 20 With Mortgage Brokers

2008-07-21T21:25:00.001-07:00

Mortgage 80 20 and mortgage servicing loans?
Mortgage 80 20 was a trend, an easy access mortgage loan, a lot of people would say that this mortgage is servicing the homeowners to qualify for a mortgage and get their dream home.

What is Mortgage 80 20?
First I'll tell you what it's not- it's not the mortgage financial plan you had in mind when you were thinking about buying a Home, that's for sure.

Mortgage 80 20 was a popular loan that everybody used because they didn't need to put any down payment, just come and take the keys to your dream house and it's yours. Dreams don't come easy we need to work for it, have you ever heard this saying: "what comes easy goes easy"?

That's exactly what I'm talking about, your mortgage financial plans are buying a home, pay the home and own it 100 percent- good so don't think that the mortgage 80 20 program is a good mortgage, that's why today you can't get a mortgage 80 20 loan anymore.

Consult your mortgage broker or loan officer, that's the first thing you need to do, if you know your mortgage broker or loan officer so listen to what they have to say, their mortgage financial plans for you are not a mortgage 80 20 loan, if they're good mortgage brokers and loan officers then they will recommend you on putting at least 10 percent down payment if not more to purchase a home, or in a refinance situation to not maximise the ltv(loan to value)of your Loan.

During the mortgage underwriting the underwriter normally will know if you will qualify for a loan and how much you can qualify for.

mortgage underwriting is the most important issue of all and if the underwriter will not think that the file is strong enough to qualify for a loan you will not have the money.

What underwriters want you to have, when applying for a loan?

1. High income, at least double then what you spend a month.
2. Money in the bank, so if you don't have enough money to make the payment from your salary next month at least you will have some money in the bank to make the payment.
3. That you're on title, because if you're not on title it's an occupancy issue, sometimes they will ask from you also some utility bills.
4. If you own another property they will have to know, another occupancy issue.
5. Your credit score, it's very important that your credit will be good, the underwriters want to make sure you will make the payments on time, so if you have any mortgage lates or credit cards lates you need to work on them.
6. That you had the same job for longer than 2 years, they want to know that you're stable in your life and stable job is important.

The underwriter makes the final call ,not your mortgage broker. but a good mortgage broker will know ahead what the underwiter will ask from his clients so it will save you time in the process.
Make sure you get the right mortgage broker to help you with your project so you will not waste your time and eventually not qualify because your mortgage broker has no knowledge.

1. Stay with your mortgage financial plans
2. Don't even think about mortgage 80 20 (I think it's not even exist anymore)
3. Your mortgage broker or loan officer is very important, he can kill the deal or make the deal.

Yanni Raz is a mentor for many in the Real Estate Mortgage industry, Yanni Raz is been tutoring many homeowners in California and help some also to save their homes.

http://www.fidelitymutualmortgage.com

by Yanni_A_Raz

Remortgage Deals - How to Get the Best Rates From Your Remortgage Lender

2008-07-21T21:24:00.002-07:00

Finding the best remortgage deals in the market can be a little like shopping for something that costs a lot: you don’t just jump at the first potential deal that comes along. You also need to shop around and compare prices. Where remortgage deals are concerned, “PRICE” is the interest rate.

Remortgaging is the act of negotiating a second mortgage on a home. A remortgage can be negotiated with the existing lender of the first loan, or it could be negotiated with another lender. In the latter case, the second lender buys out the existing loan and draws up a repayment system for the homeowner.

Why people negotiate remortgages is always financial. In some cases, the two-year fixed rate term of the old mortgage may have expired, and the owner would have to repay the mortgage at the costlier standard variable rate. Or the owner may have closed a bad deal and now have trouble keeping up with payments. Or a family has some cash flow problems and need to remortgage to raise extra cash.

If we go by the results that we find on the Internet for remortgage lenders, you can say that there are many, many remortgage lenders trying to get the attention of homeowners struggling to stay afloat on their first mortgage.

The best mortgage lenders thus far are those that offer charge interest rates that are lower than the first mortgage. Lower interest rates invariably mean lower monthly payments, and this means some money is freed to pay for other expenses.

Getting the best rate from your lender is dependent upon your credit history. The best interest rates are often reserved for people with good credit scores. Pay your recurring bills and debts on time. Check your credit report too for any errors that may adversely affect your credit rating.

Get more information regarding remortgage.

by Phillip_B_Evans

What to Observe When Dealing With First Time Buyer Mortgages

2008-07-21T21:24:00.001-07:00

If you are new on the property ladder, you will find that obtaining a first time buyer mortgage a complicated solution. To enable a first time buyer success you must compare quotes online, this can be the most fast and efficient way to take advantage of low interest rates. House prices always seem to escalate faster than salaries, if you are a first time buyer, make sure you understand the terms and agreements of contracts you may apply for.

Without first time buyers, the entire housing market would never have developed into a multi-million industry. If borrowers are treated fairly they are much less likely to shop around when looking for a loan right? Try not to take on the first deal which comes your way, it would be highly advised to speak to professional advisors.

If you are looking for a property to move in, please try taking some basic planning and calculations, which has been explained below, these can be the most essential aspects to consider. More than anything else, you need to know how much your budget stands, which almost always means how much you can afford to borrow.

Number one rule, contact a selection of mortgage providers by visiting their high street branches or telephone or the best way the Internet. A vast majority of online websites offer mortgage repayment calculators, this can get an idea of the size of mortgage that you will be able to afford. The amount a lender will let you borrow will mainly depend on your income and the size of the initial deposit you can provide.

If you would like to compare mortgages online, please visit our website. Or to obtain more information on first time buyer mortgages please visit the web link.

by R_Rama

Complex Mortgage Jargon Made Simple

2008-07-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

Arranging a mortgage is one of the biggest financial decisions you can make in your life and as such it pays to know exactly what all the terminology means. This will allow you to avoid any surprises further down the line which might arise from misconceptions or misunderstandings.

There are many terms which relate to the mortgage market, and while some are relatively self-explanatory, others might not be so simple to fathom. Some of the slightly more misunderstood terms include:

Arrangement Fee: This is simply the cost that the mortgage provider is charging you for reserving the mortgage and to cover their administration costs. In many cases, it's possible to add this fee onto the mortgage amount itself, so you don't have to pay it up front. The disadvantage of this is that you will be charge interest on it.

Bank of England Base Rate: The base rate is reviewed monthly by the Bank of England and financial services providers, such as Banks and Building Societies, use this as a guide when setting the rates of interest they charge on their borrowing. In terms of your mortgage, you can avoid fluctuations in this rate by opting for a fixed rate product which allows you to know the exact amount you will pay every month for a set period.

Loan to Value (LTV): With the downturn in the housing market, this term has been in the news a lot in recent times. Essentially, this is the amount you are borrowing as a percentage of the property value. For example, if you were buying a property valued at £100,000 and had a £20,000 deposit; you would need to borrow the remainder of the funds required to buy - £80,000, or 80% of the property's value.

Mortgage Term: In plain terms this is the length of time over which you will pay the mortgage back. Depending on how much you can afford each month it's possible to set this to different periods. One of the most common mortgage terms is twenty-five years.

Negative Equity: Again this particular phrase has come to prominence more in recent times, and relates to situations where the total amount outstanding on your mortgage is higher than the value of your property. With sudden falls in house prices this can be a real problem and means that if you were to sell your property, you would then have to find the shortfall from another source in order to repay your mortgage lender in full.

Stamp Duty: This is a government tax which is payable when you purchase a property over a certain value. The current stamp duty threshold in the UK starts at £125,001 and increases on a sliding scale from thereon up at set intervals. For example buying a house at £130,000 would invoke a 1% stamp duty charge of £1300. This is not strictly part of arranging mortgages but it's important to factor this into your purchase as it's easily overlooked.

A clear understanding of these and other mortgage terms, such as fixed-rate and tracker mortgages, will ensure that you can negotiate the best mortgage deal for yourself, regardless of your financial and personal situation.

Isla Campbell writes on a number of topics on behalf of a digital marketing agency and a variety of clients. As such, this article is to be considered a professional piece with business interests in mind.

by Isla_Campbell

Reverse Mortgages Are Not Part of the Mortgage Mess

2008-07-21T21:22:00.000-07:00

If you are a senior citizen considering a reverse mortgage at this time, it is natural if you are a bit fearful about moving forward with your decision, given the current conditions in the mortgage and credit markets. The loss of confidence in the financial markets these days is unprecedented.

However, your fear is not justified. Reverse mortgages and the lenders that provide them are not part of the sub-prime credit crises.

This segment of the market did not participate in originating the risky loans that have created the chaos on Wall Street and the unprecedented number of foreclosures on Main Street. Reverse mortgage lenders are not in danger of having to write down huge losses on their reverse mortgage loan portfolios. Therefore, if you are in need of a reverse mortgage at this time you should not be deterred by scary sound-bites on the nightly news.

The issue though, is that the general public, especially seniors, are not differentiating between these two market segments. Recently I have heard several senior homeowners say things like; "I would never think about getting a reverse mortgage now, with everything that is going on." Or "I can't get a reverse mortgage now and risk my home to foreclosure in todays' market."

Thinking this way is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. Reverse mortgages are completely different from traditional conventional "forward" mortgages. A reverse mortgage and a forward mortgage are not at all the same thing. You should not dismiss out of hand, the idea of getting a reverse mortgage at this time, just because the product name has the word "mortgage" in it.

Firstly, reverse mortgages require no monthly payments or repayment of any kind, as long as the senior lives in the home.

Consequently, you could never lose your home to foreclosure for lack of payment. The reality is that many seniors have actually saved their homes from foreclosure by getting a reverse mortgage to replace a traditional forward mortgage that they had a hard time making payments on. As long as you maintain your property and pay your property taxes, your home is virtually foreclosure proof if you take out a government insured reverse mortgage loan.

Secondly, if you get a HECM (Home Equity Conversion Mortgage) it is insured by FHA (Federal Housing Administration.) What that means for you, in light of the recent bank losses and hedge fund failures, is that if your lender were to go out of business for any reason, the FHA insurance fund steps in to make sure that you continue to receive the money and benefits from your reverse mortgage.

A third safety feature of reverse mortgages, is that anyone interested in applying for this type of loan must first complete HUD counseling. HUD counseling is provided by FHA/HUD approved non-profit credit counseling agencies that are not owned by or affiliated with lenders. The counseling covers the pros and cons of reverse mortgages and points out possible alternatives that seniors should consider instead of a reverse mortgage. HUD counseling is free of charge to the senior and can be conducted in person or by telephone. Seniors are encouraged to have adult children, trusted advisors or anyone that may help with their decision, attend the counseling session as well. After the senior completes the counseling, a certificate is issued which must be presented to the lender before an application for a reverse mortgage can be processed.

Even though it is understandable that the general public thinks that now is not a good time to consider any type of mortgage, it is definitely not true if the mortgage you are thinking about is a reverse mortgage. In fact, getting this type of loan sooner rather than later could actually be a benefit. The reason is that a key ingredient in determining how much money you can receive from a reverse mortgage hinges on the amount of equity you have in your home. If your home is declining in value due to the current housing and credit crises, you will realize a lower benefit amount from a if your home is worth less in the future than it is today.

The bottom line is, don't let fear or fear of the unknown prevent you from educating yourself about this unique financial planning tool if you think a reverse mortgage is something that can benefit you. Furthermore, do not let friends and neighbors influence your decision unless they are experts on the topic. Education and solid facts are how to make an informed decision. Do not listen to rumors or nay sayers if you think you might be able to improve your lifestyle by obtaining a reverse mortgage.

Nikoletta Sioris is the administrator for the reverse mortgage website Let Your Home Pay You It is a National resource for seniors and their families seeking complete information about the pros and cons of reverse mortgages. Let Your Home Pay You offers facts about how reverse mortgages work, how to qualify for a reverse mortgage, things to consider before applying and resources to industry professionals that specialize in originating reverse mortgage loans nationwide. She can be reached toll free at, 1-888-269-1098 or through the website

by N_Sioris

Offshore Mortgages - House Prices Trap Some in London

2008-07-20T04:52:00.001-07:00

There has been an expected mass departure of wealthy non-doms who live in London but this has not been seen as many have found that they would make a loss if they were to try and sell their property.

The main reason convincing the wealthy to remain in the UK is the slump that the housing market is experiencing at the moment. Another factor could be that a leading financial services company has advised that the UK's career opportunities and culture mean that the UK is still one of the most attractive systems.

Many non-doms are saying that they won't sell their property until they can get the best price for it. Income that isn't taxed can still be used for existing offshore mortgages, but this tax break will not be available for new mortgages.

The financial services company have said that this is meaning that non-domicile professionals are having to really consider where is best for them to be, but that most are deciding on the UK as the place for them.

After a campaign by the city, the Government decided to water down their idea for a new tax regime that was meant for non-doms. However, the £30,000 fee remains for foreigners who have lived in Britain for more than seven years and who want to keep their offshore earnings out of the UK tax net.

These changes prompted many of the 115, 000 non-doms registered by the treasury to seek offshore mortgage advice etc from their accountants and law firms. This was found by a consultancy that researched and recorded the views of people and companies concerned.

The consultancy also said that many other countries were attracting non-doms, such as; Switzerland and Dubai.

Income that isn't taxed can still be used for existing offshore mortgages, but this tax break will not be available for new mortgages.

Changes affecting non-doms have meant that many have sought offshore mortgage advice etc from their accountants and law firms.

Article Source: by Gill_Critchley

Finding the Mortgage Interest Rate That Suits You

2008-07-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

Mortgage interest rate plays an important part in deciding your home loan. You could consider a fixed rate or an adjustable one in this regard. It is important to know the disadvantages and advantages of both these types of interest rates, so as to decide on which of the two would offer the best option.

Types

Before you buy mortgage loan or pick up a calculator to find out whether your current rate needs a revision, you must know the difference between fixed and adjustable rate.

Fixed Rate:

This option is the most suitable for borrowers who do not like taking risks. In this option, the interest is steady throughout the life of the loan. You need to only make a steady payment every month towards your fixed mortgage rate. You can consider this option if your interest rate is lower than 8-10% marker. As this option suits your budget and plan, you will not face a sudden increase in payments if the charges go up.

Adjustable Rate:

Also known as ARM, adjustable mortgage rate fluctuates with the changes in the market. So, if you are considering this option, consult your financial adviser or broker to know more about it. As a first time home buyer, most people would not consider this option as they are not comfortable with a variable interest rate.

The ARM is tied down to a financial index on which the lender sets a margin for your loan. This index fluctuates with the rise and fall in economy and hence the ARM also fluctuates. Although the initial type is usually lower than the fixed rate, still over a long period of time, there is a high risk of losing more money than the fixed rate borrowers.

To explain this better, if there is inflation, the adjustable mortgage rate could rise higher than the fixed one. In comparison, the fixed one is more stable and predictable. You always know the amount of interest rate that you have to pay, come hail or sunshine. If you feel that you can manage to stay abreast of the ups and downs in the market and keep your adjustable rate in control, go for ARM.

Finally, consult your friends and family, who have taken the two types of mortgage interest rate to choose the right one for yourself.

Fixed mortgage rate and Adjustable mortgage rate are the two types of mortgage interest rate. If your current mortgage rate is not the best mortgage rate, use a mortgage rate calculator to seek a change. For more information visit mortgage refinance loan.

Article Source: by Albertin_Abelmont

Mortgage Approvals

2008-07-20T04:50:00.002-07:00

There are 4 main factors that are used today by underwriters to determine a mortgage approval. These factors help a mortgage underwriter understand the borrower's qualification level.

The first factor known to the American population is called the 'credit' criteria. Credit scores can help determine the risk level for interest rates, and private mortgage insurance (PMI). Credit scores over 720+ will help to receive the best interest rates, and credit scores of 620+ will help to avoid high PMI payments. FHA mortgage loans have no score requirement, but look towards the 'credit worthiness'. Credit worthiness consists of how long the credit tradelines have been open, the quantity of credit tradelines, bankruptcies, foreclosures, judgments, and mortgage lates. A lot of borrowers are obtaining 700+ credit scores after filing for bankruptcy two years ago! Every mortgage lender looks for 3-5 credit tradelines that have been opened for at least 24months. Superb credit consists of 5-7 tradelines that have been open for at least 4+years.

The second factor looked for is called 'capacity'. Capacity is how much a borrower makes in income compared to his monthly debt obligations. It also consists of employment history whether it is stable or will be continuous. Self employment income requires two years of business tax returns with all schedules. Any commissions, bonuses, and overtime will need to have been received for two years, and would need to be averaged by two years. If these guidelines aren't met, then it will not be included towards a borrower's income. Income earnings can be verified by last paystubs covering 30 days, last two years of w-2's, and last two years of full tax returns. Alimony, child support, social security, and disability would need to have been received for the last 3months, and have a continuance period of 3yrs.

The third factor used in a mortgage approval is called 'capital'. Capital is how much 'liquid assets' a borrower may have to cover the down payment, closing costs, and monthly reserves. Liquid assets consists of checking, savings, 401k, IRA's, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and certificates of deposits. The amount used for 401k's is 70% of the 'vested balance' minus any loans against it. Down payments can help lower the interest rate by lowering the loan-to-value (LTV). FHA mortgage loans required a down payment of 2.25%, and conforming loans are from 5, 10, and 20% down. MyCommunity mortgage & HomePossible mortgages are zero down programs, but will require a 620 credit score to avoid high PMI payments.

The last factor used in a mortgage approval process is called 'collateral'. The Collateral factor looks at the subject property of the mortgage loan. The mortgage rates can receive price hits due to the subject property being a high rise condo, co-op, Non-warrantable condo, second home, investment property, timeshare, rural area, log cabin, and if there aren't any comparable homes in the area. Most appraisals require at least three comparable homes to find the value of a subject property.

North Carolina Mortgages
FHA Cash out Mortgage

by Robert_Enriquez

National Mortgage Lenders Here to Help You Now

2008-07-20T04:50:00.001-07:00

Internet usage if one of the fastest and easiest ways to sort through the many lists of national mortgage lenders. Customer service reviews and service offerings, before and after you secure your loan, are usually listed on company websites. Most real estate professionals also blog about the different lenders, checking out their advice can be helpful.

Your primary concern will be to gather a list of companies that work directly with consumers. Reviewing website will help you with this. Real estate blogs and the variety of commercial ad sites will lead you to the lenders you wish to compare. Using key words to find these sites will be beneficial

Finding out how well the companies are viewed by industry standards will be your next step. Companies that are in chapter 11 or cannot collect from borrowers should not be top on your list of companies to work with. Press releases, commonly released when companies experience any type of major change are listed on the web and will fill you in on information that may not be available from any other source.

Lenders that offer different choices should be your main focus. If you won't have choice you will not find what you need. It can be easy to get overwhelmed by the many different types of loans, so you may want to consult a trustworthy broker.

National lenders also work through local mortgage brokers. Their experience with the lenders will help you find what is most beneficial for you. A trusted broker may be as close as your circle of family or friends. Even though you may just talk to the person, working with a dependable broker is sometimes better than searching by yourself.

While checking out national lenders, key points to look for are as follows:

Customer service or customer no-service
Will they allow you to pay your loan payment on line free
Customer service hours of operation

Lenders also require a certain amount of insurance on the money that you borrow.
With housing insurance you will also need to choose a deductible, if you have to have a low deductible, like $250.00, your insurance premiums may be quite expensive.

The exact services you need are offered by national mortgage lenders that deal with borrowers like you every day. A good website and above average customer service is what you should expect from the company you choose to give your business to. Internet service from their website should offer the time savings and cost savings. This same top quality service is to be expected before and after you sign the closing documents for your mortgage loan.

Let some of the top national mortgage lenders help you purchase the home you always wanted. http://www.MortgageLoans-101.com is fully devoted to giving you the best information on your mortgage loan needs and questions.

by Adam_Hefner

North Carolina Mortgages - FHA Secure Programs, FHA Loans & Charlotte Mortgages

2008-07-20T04:49:00.002-07:00

North Carolina's population has been growing steadily with an annual increase of 10.1% since the year of 2000. Every year thousands of homes are being purchased in the regions of Charlotte, Greensboro, Durham, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Asheville, and many more! Average home appreciation in Charlotte & Raleigh has been over 8% per annum. Mortgage Refinancing applications have been skyrocketing due to the widespread home appreciation throughout North Carolina.

Every year the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks have been busy evaluating hundreds of new mortgage lender applications. Every major mortgage lender has been moving to North Carolina to experience the new housing boom. Purchase Money Mortgages are being written everyday facilitating the new homeowners that are moving from all over the United States.

Carteret Mortgage is proud to be serving the homeowners of North Carolina with their mortgage refinancing, and purchase money mortgages.

Mortgage loan programs frequently used in North Carolina:

FNMA MyCommunity Mortgages: Buy a home with Zero Down, and enjoy low mortgage insurance rates. Product highlights: up to 40yr terms, no cash reserves, gifted money allowed, extra flexibility on credit, and no minimum contribution.

FHLMC HomePossible Mortgages: this mortgage is exactly like the MyCommunity Mortgages, but is offered through Freddie Mac.

FHA Home Loans: This mortgage program has been helping many North Carolina homeowners with their first home purchase. Product highlights: 2.25% down payment, low monthly mortgage insurance payments, Refinance Cash Out up to 95% LTV, no credit score requirement, nontraditional credit accepted, and no reserve requirement. Fha Secure program is offered to those who have made timely payments prior to their ARM adjusting.

Reverse Mortgages: Reverse mortgages are becoming popular in the United States. HUD's Reverse Mortgages is a federally insured mortgage loan, and it's a safe plan than give older Americans greater financial security. Many seniors use it to supplement social security, pay for unexpected medical expenses, home improvements, and more. Since your home is probably your largest single investment, it's smart to know more about reverse mortgages, and decide if it's right for you!

VA mortgage loans can be made without any down payment at all, and frequently offer lower interest rates than other kinds of mortgage loans. Aside from the veteran's 'certificate of eligibility', and the VA assigned appraisal, the application process is not much different than other types of mortgage loans. If the mortgage lender is approved for automatic processing, as more and more mortgage lenders are now today, a buyer's mortgage loan can be processed, and closed by the mortgage lender without waiting for VA's approval of the credit application. The more you know about our VA mortgage loan programs, the more you will realize how little "red tape" there really is in getting a VA mortgage loan.

Current Mortgage Rates

by Robert_Enriquez

Current FHA Mortgage Rates

2008-07-20T04:49:00.001-07:00

From the beginning in 1934, FHA has helped almost 35 million homeowners, making it the biggest insurer of mortgages in the world. The 109th Congress introduced the Expanding American Homeownership Act in June 2006 which would enable FHA mortgage loans to be a safe option for more underserved low-and moderate-income, and minority families so they can achieve the American Dream of homeownership. President Bush also urged Congress to quickly pass the Administration's FHA modernization proposal to help more families in need. The Current FHA mortgage rate has dropped to 5.500% - APR 5.830%. This is great news for those seeking a mortgage from FHA.

The FHA home loans have been helping many borrowers seeking a low down payment mortgage program, and also for those that need a bad credit mortgage. FHA mortgages can help a 1st time home buyer or 2nd time home buyer. You're able to use the FHA loan as many times as you move to a new home.

FHA home refinancing has also been helping those borrowers in 2/28 ARMs, and someone who is just looking for a low FHA mortgage rate. FHA cash out refinances may go up to 95% of the loan to value, and FHA rate/term refinances may go up to 97.75% of the loan to value.

The (HUD) Department of Housing & Urban Development is the federal agency responsible for national policy, and mortgage programs that address the housing needs of United States. The (FHA) Federal Housing Authority which is under HUD plays a major role in helping homeownership by evaluation homeownership for lower-and moderate-income homeowners. FHA helps first-time home buyers, and others who might not be able to meet down payment guidelines for conventional/conforming mortgage loans by providing mortgage insurance (MIP) to private mortgage lenders.

FHA New Risk Premium
FHA Home Mortgages

by Robert_Enriquez

Credit Crunch and Credit Impaired Mortgage Applications

2008-07-20T04:48:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of talk at the moment regarding the 'credit crunch' and how this affects mortgage borrowers, specifically borrowers with bad credit.

Borrowers with bad or adverse credit apply for what is publicly termed as an 'adverse' or 'bad credit' mortgage. Bad credit mortgages can seem a little confusing; indeed any mention of bad credit can send people running for the hills - but it shouldn't, from our experience the majority of clients who have impaired credit are in the situation they are in due to no fault of their own (death in the family, made redundant etc).

The process of applying for a mortgage with bad credit is pretty much the same as applying for any mortgage as far as the client is concerned, but the rate might be a little higher (representing the additional risk to the lender) and there may be more fees (due to the extra work from the broker and/or lender, most of which the borrower will never see!).

There are a multitude of lenders that specializes in bad credit mortgages, these lenders are known in the industry as 'sub prime' lenders (a prime lender being your local high street bank or building society), 'sub prime' lenders tend only to deal with mortgage brokers as there is so much to consider when arranging a mortgage for someone with bad credit and, although the terms 'sub prime' and 'bad credit' can sound a little off putting to some, there are some very good products available with competitive rates and terms - if you use a broker who knows what they're doing.

Specialist brokers tend to get the best results as they deal in this area all the time, there are a number of brokers who will say they deal in adverse credit but, from experience dealing in this industry, its better to use a broker who specializes in 'bad credit' rather than one that dabbles, the reason being there are literally thousands of products available, some with very subtle differences and getting the best deal is sometimes just a matter of broker experience in dealing in the 'sub prime' market. If you are applying for a mortgage with bad credit, the golden rule of thumb is - to be honest with the broker, the truth will out in the end!, remember, brokers are there to work for you not against you and a specialist broker should know which lenders to approach depending on your individual circumstances.

So, whilst there is a lot of talk about the credit crunch and mortgages for the credit impaired, if you need a mortgage or remortgage with bad credit there are a multitude of products available, but, use a broker with no upfront fees and specializes in bad credit - that way you will be getting specialist advice and, if the mortgage doesn't complete you won't be left out of pocket.

Carl Baker

Baker Financial specializes in helping clients with bad, poor and adverse credit obtain mortgages, remortages and secured loans throughout the UK. With years of experience and a wealth of knowledge in the sub prime market, we pride ourselves on having specialist knowledge and offering straight forward advice that works. We can be found at http://www.bakerfinancial.co.uk

by Carl_Baker

Fixed Rate Or No Rate at All

2008-07-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

Many folks across this great country are starting to realize why the interest rates on their home mortgage loans were lower if they took an ARM loan. The answer is simple. A loan that is fixed for a short period of time (ARM loan) has a much higher level of risk. This means a lower interest rate and lower monthly payments for those willing to take that risk. Many homeowners are now scrambling to find some way to keep their home as these low rates have now adjusted and are no longer low fixed interest rates. These consumers took an adjustable rate mortgage that may have been fixed for as short as one month and as long as 10 years. The risk is not simply related to what future interest rates will be; the risk is whether you will be able to refinance your mortgage at a future date. Many Americans are now starting to understand that risk, which they never even considered.

Self-employed homeowners are now finding out that a stated income loan is basically no longer available. Here is a quick example of a scenario for someone that is currently in a stated income ARM. A small business owner may have taken out an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and made all of their payments on time for the lower interest rate 7 year fixed period of their loan. This borrower now wants to refinance and can no longer get a loan without providing income documentation and/or qualifying under a full doc scenario. Ouch! This homeowner is now left to make payments on a loan that may have gone from 6.5% to 9.5% or higher. This loan may keep adjusting every 6 months or 1 year and may go as high as 12.5%. The change in payment is dramatic, thus affecting the entire economy for obvious reasons. Does this homeowner now sell their home? Do they ride it out? Do they change the way their income is documented and start paying themselves W-2's so that they can refinance in 2 years? These are tough questions and the answer will be different for everyone. These however are questions that could have been avoided.

Fixed rate mortgages are an ever stable and ever predictable product. It is a lesson that we can learn from our parents or even grandparents. The older generations were slow to act, fiscally conservative, and opted for things that they completely understood, things that did not have unknown future outcomes. The new generations of Americans dabbled in some slightly higher risk endeavors. I think and hope that we as a nation have grabbed the hot stove, and hopefully learned some tough financial lessons. The dot com bubble, Enron, the real estate bubble, all could have been avoided if we understood and listened to the lessons of history and the lessons of older generations.

There is plenty of blame to go around. The bottom line is very simple. Capitalist economies provide products that people will buy. If people do not like a product it goes away. The same applies to mortgages. There was a want for many mortgage products that held a high level of risk for both the consumer as well as the company providing them. Capitalism proves itself again as these loans become less available and guidelines get tougher. Products that prove themselves over time, have demand, and can make a company money will prevail. The fixed loan is the original mortgage in the United States for good reason. It has withstood recessions, booms, and it is still the safe, sensible, and I would argue "right" way to mortgage a loan. Fixed rate or no rate at all is the new calling for homeowners and new home buyers across the United States.

http://freehomerefi.com/loanTypes.php

by Adam_Ferguson

How to Get the Best Fixed Rate Mortgage

2008-07-20T04:45:00.000-07:00

How would you like to be able to qualify for a $55,000 larger fixed rate mortgage? I know it sounds too good to be true. But it's just simple math. How about we procrastinate. It can wait a few minutes while we have a little fun.

Tomorrow you're getting a raise. See, I told you we were gonna have some fun.

If you're anything like me you can really use that money. But first lunch. You buy. You did just get a raise after all.

Let's go to dinner. Do you like lobster? Me too.

Now the ball is rolling. You're spending that raise already.

Buy yourself some new clothes tomorrow, next week a new TV. Don't forget to save a little for a down payment on a new car.

You deserve it and can afford the monthly payments with your big fat raise.

Or can you?

Sure you can but can you live with $55k less house. WARNING: Here comes the math!

Let's suppose you earn $5,000 a month and your monthly car payment is $400. Using an interest rate of 8% you just qualified for about $55,000 less house because of that car payment!

Moral: Buy the house first and the car second.

Not only will you be able to afford more house but you may qualify for a lower interest rate.

Already have a car loan? Don't sweat it, but don't run out and pay off that loan either. Not even if you can afford to.

When you begin talking to a loan officer ask him what would be best for your situation. No two people have the same situation so me giving you some blanket statement piece of advice about your current loans would be a waste.

You might be better off putting that cash down on the house than paying off the car. Maybe paying off your bookie is a higher priority for you now anyway.

Let your loan officer give you specific advice. Advising you how to get the most house with the least risk is his job after all.

This article is written by Scott Jenkins of About Fixed Rate Mortgages. For more helpful advice visit his website to get the important facts about getting an accurate mortgage rate comparison and how to make mortgage rate predictions.

by Scott_Jenkins

California Reverse Mortgage Jumbo Loans Becoming Scarce

2008-07-20T04:37:00.002-07:00

At one point in 2007, there were over 10 California reverse mortgages that were available for "jumbo-sized" loan amounts. Due mainly to the decline in real estate values and the resultant banking industry problems, now the number has dropped to three programs.

A jumbo reverse mortgage in California is typically used when the loan amount exceeds $200,000 to $280,000. When the amount of money needed by the senior applying for the loan is above those amounts, a jumbo loan is required because the FHA program (non-jumbo) has low loan limits. For most densely populated counties in California, FHA only recognizes the first $362,790 of home value, and ignores the rest, in calculating the amount of money available to the senior homeowner.

There are hundreds of thousands of homes in California owned by seniors that could benefit from the jumbo program. Last year, those seniors had many options to choose from. But now most large banks have pulled back their California reverse mortgage programs or cut them entirely. The largest lender in the business, Financial Freedom, is on the ropes as its parent company, Indy Mac Bank has been taken over by Federal Regulators due to its poor financial condition. Many California seniors do not want their loan to be with a failing financial institution, and are looking for other alternatives.

Bank of America cut their California reverse mortgage program by suspending it as an offering through their broker network, allowing it only to be offered by their retail branches. Financial Freedom took this same step too, which indicates that Bank of America's decision is a possible a sign of poor financial health and an inability to continue to support their California programs. One reason for these developments is that these and other lenders have suffered huge losses due to the subprime mortgages that they offered in our state. With mounting losses, these lenders find it increasingly difficult to borrow money at low rates and lend it out to consumers. As a result, they do not have ample funding to continue to support the demand for home loans, and are forced to make difficult cuts in the programs that they offer.

Fortunately, there are still a couple jumbo California reverse mortgage programs that are offered by lenders who steered clear of the subprime mess. One of them offers a loan with competitive interest rates and a line of credit feature. This lender receives their funding from a European bank that is insulated from our domestic banking problems. Another California lender is providing a fixed rate jumbo program. Seniors will be able to sleep well at night with this product, knowing that their interest rate will not change and they will make no payments for as long as they live in their home. This bank also did not make risky home loans and as a result, will be in business for many years to come.

While the options for California seniors have diminished, there are still several viable lenders. Seniors can move forward confidently with these loans and enjoy a financially secure retirement.

Luke Helm is an expert on reverse mortgages. He recommends the following links for more information on California reverse mortgages and jumbo reverse mortgages.

by Luke_P_Helm

Canadian 40 Year and 100% Deposit Mortgages - A Thing of the Past?

2008-07-20T04:37:00.001-07:00

The Canadian mortgage market has been very resilient through the global economic slowdown when compared to the US and Europe. Some of this has been due to the fact that the Canadian government and lenders have been fairly conservative in the financing options available to homebuyers.

A step towards more innovation in the market occurred with the introduction of the 40 year and 0% deposit mortgages, however, this change has been reeled back with the July 9th, 2008 announcement of new rules for government-backed mortgages by the Department of Finance:
# Fixing the maximum amortization period for new government-backed mortgages to 35 years;

# Requiring a minimum down payment of five per cent for new government-backed mortgages;

These new rules come into effect on October 15, 2008 and a few banks have already removed their 40 year and 0% deposit mortgage products from the market.

The effect of this is that the government has decided to stop insuring lenders through the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) for these riskier loans, as they want to avoid a US style housing slump.

It will be interesting to see whether the private mortgage insurance companies decide to follow suit, or if they will keep insuring these high risk mortgages in order to take market share and have a possible advantage over the CMHC.

As a result of these changes, many people are predicting that potential home buyers who don't have a 5% deposit or need the longer amortization period in order to afford a house in high price areas such as Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver will be rushing into the market to make their purchase before the October deadline.

If this is the case, it should be an exciting three months for lenders, mortgage brokers and home shoppers buyers and interesting to see how the housing and mortgage markets react once the dust settles.

Kelvin Mangaroo is the founder of RateSupermarket.ca, Canada's mortgage rate comparison site, enabling you to compare the best mortgage rates in Canada from top lenders and brokers

by Kelvin_Mangaroo

Have a Risky Adjustable Mortgage - Discover How an Adjustable Mortgage Refinance Can Benefit You

2008-07-20T04:36:00.000-07:00

Do you have an adjustable rate mortgage and have increasing payments, are your credit card bills to high and to expensive? Or is there just not enough money in your pocket at the end of the week? If you answered yes to these questions you maybe the candidate for an adjustable mortgage refinance.

A refinance can help you in many ways and each borrower has different reasons to refinance an adjustable rate mortgage. Although there are very common reasons to refinance and they are listed below.

Reasons Most People Refinance An Adjustable Rate Mortgage

Get a lower Rate- By refinancing into a more stable fixed rate home loan your interest rate and payments will stabilize. In most cases a fixed rate loan will also offer a much lower interest rate the an adjustable mortgage that has reset. A fixed rate will also give you a stable payment every month that you can budget accurately around.

Consolidate Credit Card Debt- By consolidating your credit card debt into your home loan you will not only lower the interest rate you pay for those debts but you will also be able to claim the paid interest as a tax deduction. Most borrowers also experience a reduction in monthly payments when they consolidate. However you have to exercise restraint so you do not wind up back in debt once you pay it off.

Financial Stability- The one major drawback that adjustable mortgages have is the unpredictability of your interest rate once the fixed rate period is expired. Many people feel that refinancing into a fixed rate loan is a good financial move and brings relief not only to their finances but also to their minds.

Get Cash Out- If you have a remodeling project or other large expense you need to pay for a cash out refinance might be just what you are looking for. By pulling the cash out of your home you will have tax deductible interest and if you are refinancing out of an adjustable rate mortgage you may get a lower rate as well.

If you are going to Refinance An Adjustable Mortgage Then you need to need the detailed information available at http://www.adjustablemortgageinfo.com

by Darin_Sewell

Toronto Mortgage Rate and Housing Forecast 2008

2008-07-20T04:33:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has reported in their latest Great Toronto Housing Association Market Outlook that posted mortgage rates eased by about 50 basis points in the first four months of this year, although rates in late April were 30 to 35 basis points higher than they were 12 months prior. Mortgage rates are expected to trend marginally lower throughout 2008, but will be within 25-50 basis points of their current levels.

For 2009, posted mortgage rates will begin to drift up slightly as the year progresses. For 2008 and 2009, the one-year posted mortgage rate is forecast to be in the 6.50- 7.50 per cent range, while three and five-year posted mortgage rates are forecast to be in the 6.75-7.50 per cent range.

Interestingly, the CMHC also believes that after first time buyers saw a huge uplift in 2007, as almost 60% of home buyers were upgrading from rental accomdation, these buyers will drop throughout 2008 and in 2009. As first time buyers continue to find it tough to get on the property ladder, all the way through 2009, we will also see the continued trend in the Canadian mortgage market towards new products such as the 40 year amortization period and in some cases the 100% mortgage, coupled with less-expensive housing types such as the numerous new build condos in the downtown core.

CMHC Toronto housing market & Toronto mortgage rate forecast

City Year Total Housing MLS sales MLS average Mortgage rates Mortgage rates
Starts price (1 year) (5 year)

Toronto 2007 33,293 95,164 $377,029 7.35% 7.54%

2008 (F) 35,000 84,000 $394,000 6.95% 7.01%

2009(F) 33,600 77,000 $404,000 6.83% 6.97%

Source = CMHC

MLS = Multiple Listings Service

The mortgage rate forecasts are particularly interesting as current Canadian mortgage rates are at the following levels:

* Fixed closed 1 year = 4.69%
* Fixed closed 5 year = 4.99%

With all the recent woeful economic news coming out of the US, despite the fact that Canada's economy is now more independent than it has been in the past, you would expect mortgage rates to decrease or remain flat in the next year or so.

I guess, only time will tell.

Kelvin Mangaroo is founder of RateSupermarket.ca which enables Canadians to compare Toronto mortgage rates and useful tools such as a Canadian mortgage calculator.

by Kelvin_Mangaroo

Reverse Mortgage Originators - Are You Sending the Right Marketing Message?

2008-07-20T04:28:00.000-07:00

As our population ages, elder care needs increase, and therefore cash flow needs increase. The three simply go hand-in-hand-in-hand. According to a recent joint Cornell and Purdue University study, supported by the National Institute on Aging; aging mothers are nearly four times more likely to expect a daughter to assume the role of their caregiver rather than a son if they become ill or disabled.

These mothers also are much more likely to choose a child to whom they feel emotionally close and who has values similar to their own, report Karl Pillemer, Professor of Human Development at Cornell, and Purdue sociologist Jill Suitor, in the journal, "The Gerontologist". (The Gerontologist 46:439-448 (2006) © 2006 The Gerontological Society of America Making Choices: A Within-Family Study of Caregiver Selection Karl Pillemer, PhD, and J. Jill Suitor, PhD )

The Marketing Message

The point with regard to Reverse Mortgages (and the marketing of your Reverse Mortgage services) is that in order to send the right message, you have to understand your audience. We, as an industry, are not just speaking to the 62+ homeowner. We are marketing to- and educating- thousands and thousands of adult children. Although it's much more difficult (ok impossible) to purchase as list of "adult children of aging parents", our attitudes, our sales pitch, and our overall message needs to convey credibility and trust.

Your Audience

Long-term care is a family issue, but it is more often a woman's issue. Throughout history women have been the caregivers in our lives. As we have seen, women also live longer than men on average. From beginning to end, women often care for family members young and old. Now as our population begins to age, it is even more important that we understand what lies before us.

Although we see increases in male caregivers all the time, the fact remains, that when it comes to long-term care for our family members and our spouses, today women carry the weight.

Daughters, daughters-in-law, wives, sisters and nieces often accept the role of caregiver for aging adults in the family. Across the U.S. there are women commonly referred to as "the sandwich generation" who are playing dual roles in their families. They are often mothers themselves, while caring for their own aging parents at the same time. The level of stress and frustration can be overwhelming. Careers are being put on hold, and promotions passed up, in order to accommodate the busy schedules of their children, and their parents. Even so, there is still not enough time for these women to meet everyone's needs. A financial burden results as well.

Women in America also tend to marry men who are older than they are. Therefore, they often end up caring for a chronically ill spouse in later years. When this happens, it is sometimes the case that all of the retirement funding and assets are used to pay for the long-term care needs of the "ill" spouse, leaving nothing in savings to care for the "well" spouse later in life.

It is estimated that one out of two women will need long-term care at some point in their lives. One out of three men will also require long-term care. So why do more women need services? A woman's life expectancy is still longer than the average male.

So there is your audience- seniors, adult children of aging parents, and women.

Generating Success

Do you have the right marketing message? Is your message conveyed using the right media? Do you even have a marketing plan?

The most successful Reverse Mortgage originators understand full well that family involvement is a big deal, an important consideration, and not something they try to avoid. As elder care needs increase, families are looking for solutions. You may have that solution. If your community trusts you and believes that you are a credible professional, the business will fall into your lap with very little effort. Establishing that level of credibility and trust takes time. Start a new marketing plan KNOWING who your true audience is, and move forward from there.

For more information and the FREE Amazing Senior Service Marketing EZINE, please go to http://www.ultimateseniorservice.com or http://www.marketingmyseniorservice.com

by Valerie_VanBooven

How to Create an Effective Mortgage Direct Mail Campaign

2008-02-06T15:49:00.002-08:00

Direct mail is the most effective and cost effective way to generate new mortgage business there is. Marketing as we know it has changed dramatically over the past few years. Homeowners have more resources than ever before, they can research almost any type of mortgage, company, or product online, and within seconds have the information they wanted. This has taken a significant percentage away from conventional forms of marketing. New spamming laws and telemarketing Do Not Call lists (Which over 58 percent of homeowners in the United States are registered on) don’t leave a lot of ways to directly market to homeowners. With these factors in mind direct mail can be the best most cost effective way to reach new mortgage prospects. With direct mail you’d have the potential to reach 100 percent of all homeowners in the United States.

What if I told you I’ve discovered a direct mail piece that generates an amazing 20 to 30 percent response?

I send 75 pieces per week, at a cost of $35 (Including Postage). Of those I’ll typically get 15 to 20 incoming calls. These will generate about 8 to 10 new mini applications per week which is all I need to reach my current closing goals of 5 to 6 closings per month.

Creating the Mailer

It should be obvious that in order to generate this kind of response that the direct mail piece must be an aggressive one. There are two components to my direct mail campaign, both packaged in a single envelope. The first is a letter that simple says, “Please call me at your earliest convenience at (Phone number) regarding the enclosed document,” followed by my name and signature. The second piece is what gets the homeowner’s attention, and is also what helps generate a huge response, a copy of their Deed of Trust.

The Deed of Trust is perceived by most homeowners to be a very private financial document. In reality, of course, it is available through public records at any county clerks office. However, most consumers are not aware of this, so curiosity plays a large role in the effectiveness of this mailer. When they read the letter they realize that someone has a copy of their Deed of Trust, people immediately question who it could be from and what it is regarding, especially because there is no wording regarding solicitation of any kind in the accompanying letter. In fact, I created this mail campaign based on a similar tactic sent to my home, which intrigued me in exactly this way. You may receive calls from homeowners who are confused or surprised at the prospect of someone (You) having access to their legal documents. Some callers may even be angry or upset by the mailer. Use those calls to explain your position and take the opportunity to inform them about your services. Homeowners in debt may be concerned that this is another letter from their bank, or a warning about foreclosure. Once you reassure them that you’re there to help, you can almost always get an application over the phone. You’d be amazed by the results. In addition to the county clerk’s office, you can also get the Deeds of Trust from the title company you work with. Not all title companies the resources to get deeds, but call around and you should be able to find one. If not don’t worry, my website www.MortgageDirectMail.com contains information on how to get copies of deeds.

Eliciting Response

The contents themselves are not the only reason for this positive response. There are other aspects to why this direct mail campaign is so successful. The envelope and the way the recipients name and address appears also has a huge effect. There is a reason the national response average is less than one percent. People hate junk mail and when they spot it, they tend to disregard the mail before even opening it. Your first goal is to get the homeowner to open the envelope. Sounds simple, but many people don’t think about this, and that is the reason for a lower response rate. Here are some suggestions for creating an appealing direct mail piece:

Step One Develop a compelling direct mail piece. Use the one described above, or invent one of your own that will induce a high response. Remember, you don’t necessarily need to mention your services in the mailer. The method that has worked well for me is to simply provide my phone number, and request that they call regarding the document enclosed.

Step Two Determine which homeowners you’d like to target. Do you mostly work with Conventional, Jumbo, or FHA loans? Do you want to specialize in a particular niche? Next, compile a list of homeowners on which to focus your marketing efforts. You probably already have a similar list in your database. If not, call some of your contacts and title companies, many will produce a complimentary list for you. Or you may want to purchase leads from a reputable company.

Step Three Now that you’ve got your address list, you must hand address each mail piece you will be sending. This is going to take some time, but the results will be worth it. If you really don’t have the time and you don’t have an assistant, you can recruit your children, hire a temporary assistant, or enlist your friends help.

Taking the time to hand address the envelopes is one of the most important steps, increasing the response rate substantially. This is what gets them to open the mail piece, most junk mail is not hand addressed. Additionally, I have found the effect to be even greater when I don’t use a company envelope of put a return address. You may choose to simply put your name and address, but leave your company name and logo off. Many people are turned off by unsolicited mail of any kind, and this is a way to circumvent that.

Step Four Use regular postage, not bulk rate. Deliver the marketing pieces to your post office on Saturday morning to ensure your mail will reach homeowners on Monday and Tuesday, with a few arriving on Wednesday. Believe it or not most people who respond to direct mail respond on the first three days of the week. When mailers arrive on Thursday or Friday, consumers tend to put off calling until after the weekend, and then, in most cases, forget to follow up. That’s it! Four simple steps to a successful mortgage direct mail campaign you can even do from home. By engaging the consumer and piquing their curiosity you will increase your direct mail response rate dramatically.

Oliver Maldonado is a Mortgage Consultant, National Sales Trainer, and Author of The Mortgage Book and The Greatest Sales Book in the World. OliverMaldonado@comcast.net or www.MortgageDirectMail.com .

Oliver Maldonado is the Author of The Greatest Sales Book in the World, The Ten Sales Commandments and The Mortgage Book. He retired at the age of 33 from the success of his systems and products. Oliver Maldonado traveled around the country with the Nations #1 Sales Trainer Tom Hopkins conducting semiars on his systems.

by Oliver_Maldonado

Success Using Telemarketing - Even For People Scared of the Phone

2008-02-06T15:49:00.001-08:00

Even if you have fear of the phone, or fear getting rejected on the phone, don't let this stop you from using telemarketing to your advantage in your business. In today's economy, telemarketing is a great opportunity for your business to increase revenue without a lot of initial marketing expense. Here are (3) tips you can use if you fear the phone.

Tip #1- Start warm. First, gather a list of names and numbers from contacts, clients, leads, prospects and anyone you have done business with or that you have had contact with in the past. The idea here is to get a group of 50 or so contacts- even if don't have that many contacts to work with, start with 10, or 20. It doesn't matter, the point is to get a warm list together of people you are familiar with. Second, develop a script. This can be simple and your objective is not to get immediate sales, but to just call, say hello, and follow-up by saying you are ready to assist if they need your product or service. If you can muster the courage, you might ask for a referral, or simply "do you know anyone that might use (insert your product or service)" This tip alone can jump-start your business and will reduce the amount of fear you have talking to people on the phone.

Tip #2- Follow-ups. Use the power of follow-up with prospects and clients. You don't have to sell, just call and mention that you wanted to follow-up after their proposal, visit, appointment, sale etc. You want to just verify they were happy with your product or service and then reinforce the relationship. This call will result in closed sales, happier clients and more business.

Tip #3- Get Help. If you absolutely fear the phone and cannot make these simple calls, hire someone to do it for you, or get an existing employee to do these calls. Find someone outgoing and that has no trouble on the phone. Give them a simple script to follow and you should have a recipe for success. Making these calls will free up your time to do other marketing activities.

These are (3) simple tips you can use to get new business or jump-start your business in 2008 using telemarketing without having to fear rejection by phone.

Timm O'day has used telemarketing successfully for over 10 years in a variety of businesses including insurance and financial services, the mortgage industry, charitable fund raising, service businesses, telecommunications, business products and services and home based businesses . He believes that it is a great method to compliment any marketing campaign. Timm is offering a free telemarketing script for all readers of this article.

You can also get more information on Timm's last telemarketing project at the Telemarketing Case Study & Results

by Timm_O'Day

Book Review: Refi-Bust: Mortgage Brokers Gone Wild! by David Lawrence

2008-02-06T15:48:00.001-08:00

Many mortgage lenders and bankers are upstanding professionals, some though like any business are not. Finding your way to the right one is explained by short-hand in a new book by David Lawrence. Peeling back the facade of an industry in the fore-front of the real estate boom, a no-holds-barred perspective brings to light the growing mortgage refinancing hangover.

Refi-Bust: Mortgage Brokers Gone Wild! by David Lawrence, BookSurge 2006, ISBN 1-4196-3581-6, Paperback, 150 Pages, $18.95 is written by an experienced professional in the mortgage industry. Featuring an keen eye for looking at his own peers and seeing through the fancy offices to the dark side of an industry that has run out of steroids and is coming off record years in the origination and refinancing of residential mortgage loans. Laying out the foundation for troubled waters ahead for home owners who didn't complete their due diligence before signing on the line, Lawrence's style makes you think twice about your own experience. Hopefully you'll read this book before contacting your mortgage loan officer.

Chapter titles include: The Crazy Times, A New and Noble Career, The Window, The Esteemed Telemarketing Department, Let Nate Close It, The Blow-Out Appraisal, What Credit Score Do You Want?, The 10-Point Credit Line, Maximizing Your Fees, A Closing Agent's Perspective, Can We Underwrite Our Own Loans?, Are You Sure This 1% Loan is Fixed For 30 Years, Foreclosure, Foreclosure, Foreclosure, Enough with Deceptive Advertising!, A Real-Life Financial Free Fall, Hope on the Horizon?

In addition to the chapters there is a preface, foreword, introduction, conclusion, afterword, glossary and informative resources for state mortgage divisions and an explanation of The Ohio Mortgage Broker Act. As a residential real estate broker, I found the book alarming, but educational. Though I must say I have met and respect many mortgage professionals, this book does cast a light on the seamier side of the business.

This book is a solid eight and recommended to home buyers and owners, mortgage editors and educators, and real estate agents and brokers.

Mark Nash is the author of "Fundamentals of Marketing for the Real Estate Professional", "Starting & Succeeding in Real Estate", "Reaching Out: The Financial Power of Niche Marketing", and "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home". Mark is a contributing writer for: Realtor (R) Magazine Online, Broker Agent News, Real Estate Executive Magazine, Principal Broker, and Realty Times. His tried and true real estate tips has been featured on CBS The Early Show, CNN, HGTVpro.com, The New York Times, and USA Today. Purchase his books at http://www.1001RealEstateTips.com.

by Mark_Nash

Mortgage vs. Real Estate Lead Generation

2008-02-06T15:47:00.000-08:00

It is fairly common for real estate companies and mortgage brokers to use leads. There is a difference between mortgage lead generation and real estate generation. Mortgage lead generation deals with people who need to refinance their homes or apply for loans, while real estate lead generation is a service that connects potential buyers with real estate agents.

Mortgage leads are generated in a number of different ways. One way to create the leads is for the lender, that is the mortgage broker, to appear in a paper or online directory. This lets potential customers make the first contact. The lenders give information about themselves, like the interest rates they charge and types of lending programs they offer, along with their contact information. This allows potential borrowers to search out the lender that is best for them.

Real Estate lead generation is somewhat different. It involves connecting prospective buyers to real estate agents. It is usually a good idea to use a real estate lead generation service that uses only inbound leads, meaning that the buyer contacts the lead generator looking for a real estate agent. This way, the lead generator can get the most information possible from the buyer in order to find the most appropriate real estate agent. Many lead generation services use tricks to lure prospective buyers.

Mortgage lead generation helps lenders and borrowers find each other. This service benefits everyone involved. Some of the most successful businesses on the Internet are lead generation agencies.

Lead Generation Info provides detailed information about sales, mortage, MLM, business-to-business, internet, and insurance lead generation, lead generation telemarketing, and more. Lead Generation Info is the sister site of MLM Leads Web.

by Jimmy_Sturo

Mortgage Marketing Tools

2008-02-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

Mortgage companies today are employing different kinds of tools – both conventional and non-conventional – to market their businesses. On top of the list of mortgage marketing tools are telemarketing and web marketing.

Telemarketing is marketing through call centers. Mortgage companies are contracted with call centers that provide leads on potential mortgage buyers. Call centers call people from a random list. If the person is interested in a mortgage, then the lead is forwarded to the mortgage company. By the method of hot transfer, a call can be directly transferred to an official from the mortgage company. The success ratio of call centers in mortgages is an estimated 8 to 10 percent.

Websites providing mortgage-lead generation services are another option. Websites describe several features of their mortgage companies, and try to attract customers. Interested buyers are pre-qualified online via an application form. This is also the lead which is forwarded to the mortgage company.

Many mortgage companies try to market themselves in the open market. Usually, when there are new schemes, companies hold seminars to a select group of people, who are usually real estate agents and home buyers. There are interactive sessions where the scheme is discussed in great detail. There are presentations and demonstrations conducted. Mortgage companies holding such seminars also provide incentives for people who buy their mortgages on the spot, or within a fixed number of days. This method proves to be a highly successful mortgage marketing technique, but it cannot be used all the time.

Some mortgage companies rely on flyers, poster and newspaper advertisements to create general awareness about their company. This helps the company to attract an initial flurry of prospective buyers. In the aftermath of such advertisements, mortgage companies have to sometimes hire extra staff to manage the increased load of queries.

Mortgage companies sometimes also use their existing buyers as tools to attract new buyers. Existing buyers are asked for references among their friends, relatives and colleagues who might be interested in acquiring mortgages. Mortgage companies may send greeting cards to them on their birthdays and holidays in a bid to appease them into giving referrals. They may distribute sundry things like pens or magnets as free gifts at strategic places.

Different marketing tools are adopted by mortgage companies according to their market standing and budget. The tools must be carefully planned after a demographic study of the market. Tools that have a utilitarian value such as postcard mailers, pens, refrigerator magnets and paperweights are always winners.

Mortgage Marketing provides detailed information on Mortgage Marketing, Mortgage Broker Marketing, Mortgage Marketing Leads, Mortgage Marketing Tools and more. Mortgage Marketing is affiliated with Internet Mortgage Leads.

by Eddie_Tobey

How to Avoid Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

2008-02-01T13:24:00.002-08:00

Many home buyers find it difficult to provide the required 20% down payment and are forced to pay private mortgage insurance, or PMI, in order to buy a home. Private mortgage insurance solves the down payment problem but creates another two: it increases monthly payments and on top of that it is not tax deductible. Fortunately, there is more than one way to get your desired home without having the 20% down payment and avoid PMI at the same time.

Terminating PMI When You Already Have One
The use of private mortgage insurance has been a great way to make it possible for a borrower to buy a home with as little as 3-5 % down payment and give the lender insurance in case the borrower defaults on the home loan. However since PMI payments can be significant, the borrower starts to ask himself/herself how to get rid of those payments.

The Homeowner's Protection Act includes rules for automatic suspension of PMI payments and cancellation of PMI when 22% equity in the borrower's home is reached. Those rules apply to mortgages signed on or after July 29, 1999, and exclude government-insured FHA or VA mortgages that are considered high-risk to default.

Additionally, disregarding the time when the mortgage was signed, the borrower may ask for PMI termination once s/he exceeds 20% equity.

Avoiding Private Mortgage Insurance via a Piggyback Loan
Piggyback loans are a very popular way of avoiding private mortgage insurance. It consists of taking a loan (first mortgage) covering 80% of the sale price of the home and taking and placing additional 5%, 10% or 15% on a second mortgage. A combination of 80% first mortgage, 5% second mortgage and 15% down payment is referred to as 80/5/15. Accordingly, the other two loan combinations are 80/10/10 and 80/15/5.

Although second mortgages generally have higher rates, in the end the borrower may save money because in contrast to PMI payments, now the loan payments are tax deductible.

Choosing a Finance Single Premium Option over Private Mortgage Insurance
Since an increasing number of borrowers are turning to piggyback loans in order to avoid PMI, the mortgage insurance industry came up with this solution claiming that it lowers monthly mortgage payments to the same or lower level as a piggyback loan. With this option homebuyers pay a single premium on their insurance and it is amortized over the term of loan.

One of the pitfalls of this solution is that few lenders offer this option, since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not work with this kind of PMI structure.

Finding a Loan with No Private Mortgage Insurance
Loans with no PMI have one great disadvantage - they typically have higher interest rates. Instead of paying regular PMI, the latter is included in the higher rate of the mortgage.

Which of the above solutions will be best for you depends entirely on your particular case. Sometimes paying the private mortgage insurance might turn out more beneficial than choosing to avoid it with a second mortgage. Therefore you should consider your decision carefully and make all the necessary calculations in order to make the right choice.

Jim Cramer is an expert who shares his knowledge and years of experience in the mortgage field providing hundreds of Mortgage Questions and Mortgage Answers dedicated to help home buyers. Learn more about Home Mortgage Insurance

by Jim_Cramer

Mortgage Marketing

2008-02-01T13:24:00.001-08:00

No business can go a long way without marketing, and the mortgage industry has long understood this fact. Mortgage companies actively market themselves via different channels to boost their businesses. Their marketing could be through personal methods such as seminars, presentations, and demonstrations, or through external agencies like call centers and lead generating websites. Mortgage companies that do not have the means to spend more money on marketing employ simple tactics such as flyers, press advertisements, email contacts and also word-of-mouth publicity.

The first step in mortgage marketing is to understand the market thoroughly. Mortgage companies sometimes conduct random surveys to understand the type of population they cater to. The services of an external agency could be enlisted. Another preliminary step is to have an insightful study into the company’s own strengths and weaknesses. Mortgage companies try to highlight their positive points, and at the same time improve on their weaknesses.

Mortgage companies market themselves through a particular feature that becomes identified with their brand. They could either advertise early mortgage approvals, loan processing within a short time, low interest rates, low insurance rates or bad credit mortgages. Sometimes they market their specialty in particular types of mortgages such as real estate, vehicles or home improvement. While marketing, mortgage companies describe their expertise in different types of mortgages such as governmental, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc.

Mortgage marketing is done on an extensive scale through telemarketing. Call centers provide mortgage leads to mortgage companies, which are then followed by them. Another channel is websites, which generate leads online and forward them to mortgage companies. Mortgage companies may spend thousands of dollars to call centers and websites to provide them with substantial leads.

Sending direct brochures to real estate agents is another approach at mortgage marketing. Real estate agents have the potential to market mortgages to their clients and thus generate business for the company. Mortgage companies may give some commission to real estate agents for the business they create. Certain mortgage companies erect kiosks at busy places which provide information to home buyers. These kiosks are targeted to first-time mortgage seekers.

Today, mortgage companies face tough competition with each other. Through serious marketing techniques, mortgage companies are attempting to keep their businesses going.

Mortgage Marketing provides detailed information on Mortgage Marketing, Mortgage Broker Marketing, Mortgage Marketing Leads, Mortgage Marketing Tools and more. Mortgage Marketing is affiliated with Internet Mortgage Leads.

by Eddie_Tobey

Telemarketing Speaker Suggests Keeping Your Call Center FULL!

2008-02-01T13:23:00.001-08:00

In a separate article, I wrote that if you truly know your job, you probably are aware of 1,000 more things than somebody else, who doesn’t.

This definitely applies to managing call centers, and especially to overseeing telemarketing units.

For example, we know from experience:

(1) Louder voices sell better than softer ones.

(2) Callers are more robust, extroverted, and successful pitching from a bullpen than a private office.

(3) Informal leaders, usually your top reps or those with the longest tenure, will be more influential than the formal supervisors and managers in the phone unit.

(4) Scripts are inevitable, but to succeed they need to be enforced, strictly.

(5) Turnover is part of the telemarketing beast, that can be tamed, but usually isn’t.

If you want more information about these ideas, please see my articles that provide details.

In this piece, I want to bring up a sixth piece of knowledge: If you want peak performance from your telemarketers, keep every seat in your center occupied.

A full room is necessary for these reasons:

(1) Voices are louder and the collective loudness emboldens every individual in the group, creating peer pressures to perform.

(2) A full room means you can and will replace every vacant seat, immediately. Nobody’s seat is sacred. Only performance will secure it for the occupant.

(3) This is a desirable job, and there’s competition to come aboard.

(4) If you like the people around you, and want them to make it, help them whenever you can.

(5) Per capita achievement is raised in a full room; you’ll get disproportionately more sales than when fewer seats are occupied.

So, keep recruiting until you reach 100% capacity, and keep recruiting after that, to maintain it, dropping the worst achiever when you need a desk.

Anything less than 100% occupancy means you’re not doing your job as a manager!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com. For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to http://www.customersatisfaction.com

by Dr._Gary_S._Goodman

Reverse Mortgage Scams

2008-02-01T13:22:00.001-08:00

Reverse mortgage scams are business propositions that may sound good at first, but turn out to be a huge waste of money. Reverse mortgages are the most popular home loans among Americans above age 62 who own a home. These mortgages help older homeowners in America convert the equity of their home into cash. Even though many reverse mortgage sites and organizations are employed in the task of serving people, a whole bunch of them are fraudulent sites and firms.

Reverse mortgage scams are traps laid by fake sites or reverse mortgage companies who try to charge a huge amount to people going for reverse mortgages. As with other scams, telemarketing is the most popular mode used for cheating. Senior citizens are often contacted via telephone and goaded into disclosing personal information. Information on reverse mortgages is actually provided free of charge by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Sometimes these fraudulent companies ask six to ten percent of the loan amount for just offering the name of the lender companies who provide reverse mortgages, or for helping to fill the application. Even before applying for a reverse mortgage, it is important that one consults the right organization for information. Make sure that no contract is signed under compulsion from an agent.

Signing the contract either before one's children or in the presence of an advisor can help avoid some of the tactics laid by the deceiver. To avoid reverse mortgage scams, it is best not to make any dealings through the Internet or phone.

Reverse Mortgages provides detailed information on Reverse Mortgages, Reverse Annuity Mortgages, Reverse Home Mortgages, Benefits Of Reverse Mortgages and more. Reverse Mortgages is affiliated with Second Home Mortgages.

by Eddie_Tobey

Reverse Mortgage Leads

2008-02-01T13:21:00.002-08:00

Reverse mortgages are a booming industry in which people are buying and selling property at lightning speed every day on the market. It is a great way to make money. Reverse mortgage leads are details about prospective customers made available to reverse mortgage agencies. The most convenient way for a reverse mortgage firm to secure reverse mortgage leads is by getting information from any of the various mortgage lead-generation services available. The information obtained often directs the agencies to the most worthwhile customers.

Commendable and efficient services add value and credibility to the firms providing leads. Reverse mortgage leads can be obtained from the Internet and other mediums, such as telemarketing and call centers.

Reverse mortgage leads are also provided by individuals who work in the field as freelancers. The leads are sold to various companies at very competitive and affordable prices. The right reverse mortgage leads can facilitate business for a reverse mortgage firm.

While looking for reverse mortgage leads, it will be worthwhile to check at least three different lead-generating firms or sites. As the amount and charges may vary with different companies, it is better to rely on one of the firms after gaining thorough knowledge.

Reverse mortgage lead providers work untiringly to formulate a database of prospective reverse mortgage customers. Readymade reverse mortgage leads help minimize the time and effort actually needed to be put in by reverse mortgage companies. These leads also help the companies spend more time in actual business dealings than in qualifying and finding prospective borrowers or customers.

Reverse Mortgages provides detailed information on Reverse Mortgages, Reverse Annuity Mortgages, Reverse Home Mortgages, Benefits Of Reverse Mortgages and more. Reverse Mortgages is affiliated with Second Home Mortgages.

by Eddie_Tobey

Cheap Exclusive Mortgage Leads

2008-02-01T13:21:00.001-08:00

Many mortgage lead providing companies advertise some leads as `Free Leads’ in their websites. In effect, these leads are Cheap Leads. When a Borrower fills in the `Request for Mortgage Loan’ Form, the Lead Provider forwards these to the Mortgage Broker or the Lender’s loan officer. Even if they are Cheap Leads, the latter tries to handle them. This is because the broker or the loan officer would receive commission and gain benefits by processing the leads successfully. When such Leads are handled by one Lead per loan officer or broker, they are known as Cheap Exclusive Mortgage Leads.

A Cheap Mortgage Lead includes all basic details about a mortgage, such as information about any existing loan, credit profile and so forth. A Cheap Mortgage Lead usually provides a free accessible account to the Broker or the loan officer. Some Mortgage companies charge for every lead that is accessed, and others charge for only those leads that are contracted over a period of time.

Lead Providers or Mortgage Marketing Firms verify Cheap Mortgage Leads before making them available to the broker or the loan officer. Cheap mortgage leads usually take 24 hours from the time the Borrower fills the details, to the time the lead reaches the destination via the Lender. This time includes the time taken by the intermediary to verify the details.

Cheap Mortgage Leads usually include a return policy. That is, if any lead is unsatisfactory, it is replaced free of charge by the Lead Provider or the Mortgage Lead Marketing Company. Many Mortgage Marketing Companies also provide a toll-free customer care number and an email address to the Borrowers as well as Brokers and Loan Officers, if they have any questions concerning these Cheap Mortgage Leads.

An important point to note about Cheap Mortgage Leads is that here, mortgage brokers and loan officers are given an option to choose cheap mortgage leads from a collection of many leads. They can access real time leads, or `cherry pick’. A real time lead is the lead that is forwarded to the broker as soon as it is received by the Lead Provider, whereas a cherry-pick lead is one that can be `picked’ and chosen by the broker or the loan officer from amongst many Leads.

Accuracy and the source of the Lead are very important to consider in Cheap Exclusive Mortgage Leads.

Exclusive Mortgage Leads provides detailed information about exclusive mortgage leads, exclusive internet mortgage leads, exclusive telemarketing mortgage leads, exclusive real time mortgage leads and more. Exclusive Mortgage Leads is the sister site of Life Insurance Leads.
by Jennifer_Bailey

Exclusive Internet Mortgage Leads

2008-02-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

Exclusive Internet Mortgage Leads are exclusive Mortgage Leads that can be purchased online. Being a relatively new phenomenon in the mortgage industry, Internet Mortgage Leads are seen to have given unprecedented freedom and flexibility to Borrowers, Brokers and Lenders. All that one has to do is to search for "internet leads". Search engines display several accredited Internet Mortgage Lead Providers just at a click of the mouse or the keyboard button.

Websites of Mortgage Lead Providers bring the Borrowers, Brokers and Lenders under `one roof’. Borrowers fill up the Loan Request Forms [Leads] at the websites. Loan officers or Mortgage Brokers register themselves by quoting their lending criteria at the same websites. They browse the leads [or sometimes receive them by email by quoting how many and what type of leads that they require] and make a selection of the leads that they like to purchase. They sometimes use filters , based on the following parameters, to be more specific about their choice of leads: Credit Rating, Type of Loan required, Loan Amount Required, Home Equity, Geographic Location (State and Area Code) etc.

Based on the request, the Lead Providers sell the leads to the broker or the loan officer on an `exclusive’ basis. These leads cost around $20 to $40 per lead. The price depends on various factors and differs from one loan type to another and from one firm to another. Brokers can make their payment online.

Once brokers buy their leads, some websites even offer efficient, password-protected, Online Lead Management Systems for use by the broker. By using the system, the broker can customize contents, manage emails, obtain information on current interest rates, and much more. Some websites even offer sales training to brokers who are registered with the site.

Exclusive Internet Mortgage Leads are a boon to all those in the Mortgage Industry today.

Exclusive Mortgage Leads provides detailed information about exclusive mortgage leads, exclusive internet mortgage leads, exclusive telemarketing mortgage leads, exclusive real time mortgage leads and more. Exclusive Mortgage Leads is the sister site of Life Insurance Leads.

by Jennifer_Bailey

Exclusive Real Time Mortgage Leads

2008-02-01T13:19:00.001-08:00

Real Time Leads are those leads that are fresh, as against those that are sent to several brokers and loan officers and hence recycled many times over. How fresh can Exclusive Real Time Mortgage Leads be? Let’s take an example.

John is interested in a mortgage loan. He gets to the website of a Lead Provider, registers, fills out the Form of Request for Loan, and clicks the `Submit’ button. Immediately, his Form reaches the Lead Provider. The Lead Provider has a look at it. He gets to the online database of loan officers who have registered at the website and finds out which loan officer’s lending criteria matches with the lead generated. He immediately sends in the Lead to the matched loan officer. This takes at the most, a few minutes.

Thanks to the Internet and Web Design Technology, databases of Borrowers, Leads and Loan Officers [with access to their own Lead Management Systems], are used in an amazingly fast manner. All the information, as soon as John clicks the `Submit’ button, reaches the loan officer’s computer monitor in just a few minutes. When such a `lightning fast’ mortgage lead system operates on `exclusive’ basis, we call the leads `Exclusive Real Time Mortgage Leads’.

Though the process is incredibly fast, online transactions don’t involve `face-to-face’ meetings of people at the beginning of the mortgage process. Due to this reason, it’s advisable that all the three parties, the Borrower, the Lender [loan officer] and the Lead Company, check the credibility of each other as well as the documents before signing the loan agreement. It’s important to note that the Internet should be used basically as a `gateway’ in the Mortgage Process. There’s no substitute for `face-to- face’ human interactions.

Once the functionaries concerned take care of this aspect, Exclusive Real Time Leads are indeed, an excellent phenomenon, as they are `fresh’, cost effective and privacy respected. The Speed of Information Flow is what makes Exclusive Real Time Mortgage Leads unique.

Exclusive Mortgage Leads provides detailed information about exclusive mortgage leads, exclusive internet mortgage leads, exclusive telemarketing mortgage leads, exclusive real time mortgage leads and more. Exclusive Mortgage Leads is the sister site of Life Insurance Leads.
By Jennifer Bailey

Semi Exclusive Mortgage Leads

2008-02-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

As the term `Semi-Exclusive Mortgage Leads’ would suggest, these are Leads that function somewhere in between Exclusive and Non-Exclusive Leads. The Lead Provider sends Exclusive Mortgage Leads to one Lender at a time, and Non-Exclusive Mortgage Leads to several Lenders at a time.

Many Mortgage Providers restrict the number of loan officers, for instance 4 or 5, to whom they send any one lead. Such Leads are known as Semi-Exclusive Mortgage Leads. These leads don’t enjoy the 100 per cent confidentiality that is associated with Exclusive Mortgage Leads. It is because more than one person accesses the loan request information that is provided by the Borrower. This is bit of a disadvantage. But then, the above circumstance brings in some competition, unlike in the case of Exclusive Mortgage Leads. This fact brings down the cost price of the lead. This is an advantage.

In Exclusive Mortgage Leads, as there is no question of competition, whatever fees that the lender charges usually work out, thought not necessarily all the time. On the other hand, in Non-Exclusive Mortgage Leads, several Lenders have access to the lead. This leads to a competition among the Lenders [loan officers]. This situation can be a plus point for the Borrower, as he or she can bargain for lower interest rates on the Mortgage Loan.

So in effect, Semi-Exclusive Mortgage Leads are balanced in terms of advantages and disadvantages. For this reason, this type of Lead is gaining popularity in the mortgage industry.

The golden rule to follow in Semi-Exclusive Mortgage Leads, as in other types, would be to look for the most important factors in the Lead: Price, Speed and Quality. If all the three are satisfactory, Semi-Exclusive Mortgage Leads are near ideal.

Exclusive Mortgage Leads provides detailed information about exclusive mortgage leads, exclusive internet mortgage leads, exclusive telemarketing mortgage leads, exclusive real time mortgage leads and more. Exclusive Mortgage Leads is the sister site of Life Insurance Leads.

by Jennifer_Bailey

Telemarketing Mortgage Loan Leads

2008-02-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

There are innumerable mortgage loan lead generation websites all over the internet. These websites attract mortgage buyers with their schemes. The normal procedure followed then is to make the interested buyer fill an online application form. These online application forms are in fact nothing but mortgage leads, which are then forwarded to the mortgage company. After this juncture, it is the mortgage company that decides to follow the query either by an email or by the telephone.

The business of internet lead generation is booming. More and more mortgage buyers today are becoming internet savvy and browsing the net for better deals on their mortgages. Hence, mortgage companies have begun tapping the potential of this extensive lead generation market. They may pay the lead generating website as much as $50 per exclusive loan lead and $25 per non-exclusive loan lead.

That said; mortgage companies are extremely cautious of lead generation websites. It is a well-known fact that most internet leads are fake and manipulated. Hence, every company performs an extensive check before contracting a lead generation company. Questions about their process of lead generation are asked. It is important that the leads be fresh and not recycled; and most importantly, not false leads. Even the method of remuneration must be discussed in detail, as to when will the mortgage company be obliged to pay the lead generation company.

The leads provided by websites must contain the name, address and contact number of the prospective buyer along with what would be the best time to call. Besides this, there should be ad hoc information as to whether the person is FHA or VA qualified, what the monthly income is and what kind of loan is being required.

Websites are constantly selling their leads to mortgage companies. Unfortunately, a bulk of this is done through unsolicited mail, or spam. The immense amount of mortgage lead related spam being circulated on the net is making both buyers and sellers of mortgages wary of Internet based lead generators.

Mortgage Loan Leads provides detailed information on Mortgage Loan Leads, Internet Mortgage Loan Leads, Free Mortgage Loan Loads, Telemarketing Mortgage Loan Leads and more. Mortgage Loan Leads is affiliated with Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loans.

by Peter_Emerson

Exclusive Telemarketing Mortgage Leads

2008-02-01T13:16:00.000-08:00

Telemarketing Mortgage Leads are faster and more personalized than Internet Mortgage Leads. How do Telemarketing Mortgage Leads work? Let’s take an example. Barry wants a mortgage loan. Barry, the borrower, fills the Form of Request for Mortgage Loan on a Lead Provider’s website. Tina, a telemarketing representative working for the Lead Provider Company, contacts Barry over the phone, verifies all the important aspects in Barry’s Lead (i.e. property type, loan type, and state in which the property is located) and confirms whether Barry is really interested in the loan.

Immediately after this, she puts Barry on hold and phones Larry, a loan officer attached to a lender, and provides him with Barry’s name, type of loan sought, and phone number. Larry, the loan officer, uses this phone number to preview the data associated with Barry, by using a standard web browser in his computer. Usually, lender firms have toll-free numbers to call.

If Larry is really interested, he phones Tina. She takes Barry off-hold and introduces him to Larry, the Loan officer. As soon as this is over, she disconnects, leaving Barry and Larry to continue with the sales process.

Exclusive Telemarketing Mortgage Leads involve a telephonic network of the Borrower, Lead Provider and the Lender. An increasing number of call centers, which began a few years back with Business Process Outsourcing and Information Technology Enabled Services, are proving their effective presence in Mortgage Industry as well, by functioning as Mortgage Lead Providing Intermediaries.

In Telemarketing Leads, the Lead Provider thus plays a very central role between the Borrower and the Lender, by handling the most important introductory phase for just a few minutes on the phone.

Exclusive Mortgage Leads provides detailed information about exclusive mortgage leads, exclusive internet mortgage leads, exclusive telemarketing mortgage leads, exclusive real time mortgage leads and more. Exclusive Mortgage Leads is the sister site of Life Insurance Leads.

by Jennifer_Bailey

What Ever Happened to Common Courtesy?

2008-01-18T19:32:00.002-08:00

realize I’m not living in the Victorian Era where good manners were expected, but I still think a level of civility should prevail. The obvious situations where gentlemen hold open doors for ladies, are not to which I’m referring. It’s easier to explain through an example.

I’m at a store waiting for a clerk to show up at the cash register. After a few moments, she arrives and I’m about to give her my item when a woman pushes past me and throws her purchase on the counter, saying, “You take visa, right?”

I stare at her for a moment wondering what she was thinking. Then I decide to clarify the incident by saying, “I was actually here first.”

She gives me a slight smile and says, “That’s okay. I only have this one purchase. You really don’t mind, do you?”

With irritation, I reply, “Actually I do and I guess you didn’t see me,” with sarcasm literally dripping from the last phrase. She ignores me and talks to the clerk.
I
As she finishes her transaction, she leaves saying nothing to me and without any apology. The clerk apologizes that this incident occurred and I tell her it’s not her fault.

But this type of behavior is rampant. I see variations all the time: rudeness by clerks, customers, and the general public. Cutting in line is a mild form and fairly common, although it could lead to dire consequences, depending on the cuttee’s reaction. Road rage sometimes turning to violence, is another example caused by awful driving manners. It also is heard on the phone from corporate representatives and telemarketers. I had one call yesterday, asking me to refinance my mortgage.

“My house is paid for,” I tersely replied.

“You must have a house with a mortgage somewhere,” he responded incredulously.

“Nope, I don’t.”

“Then you’ll need to get one on it when you buy a car or something large,” he continued.

“No, they’re new and paid for. Good bye.”

“Hold on,” he pleaded. “There’s going to be a time in the near future you’ll be begging me for a mortgage on your house. Like when a big medical bill comes due.”

Now I’m intrigued. “You mean you can tell the future? Can you tell me if I’ll win the lottery too?”

Now he’s bitter. “Look here you wiseass. All I’m saying is you’ll need a mortgage. So write this down. Bill Smith with ABC Mortgage at 888-555-1212.”

Guess what I did with that valuable information? I was in sales for 25 years and never handled a potential customer like he did. But I see other social mishaps all the time. Like patrons who are rude to restaurant servers, barely making a living. They not only badger them to death over the stupidest requests, but then fail to leave an adequate tip at the end. How they can be blamed for a tough steak or cold soup, is beyond me. Get a clue and complain to management.

Being nice to someone doesn’t take hard work or any money. It takes patience and discipline. I understand the frustration and stress of simply surviving every day, but being rude and annoying can’t possibly help any situation. Instead, it sets off a chain reaction that spreads like a virus through society.

The father who was yelled at in the office comes home, verbally attacks his wife and kids for no apparent reason. In turn, each of them is now in a lousy mood. The clerk who was berated over something she can’t control, ends up driving home like a maniac, almost causing several accidents. The shopper, who was nearly knocked over by a zealous housewife grabbing a sale item, now has a migraine and heart palpitations. The list of negative affects goes on and on.

So I’m proposing a moratorium on poor courtesy. Let’s make an effort to be a polite, and gentle society, once more. Be nice to your friends, co-workers and salespeople. Resist the urge to lash out or cause bad feelings. Because, ultimately, this behavior serves absolutely no purpose whatsoever. Wouldn’t you like a big smile and “thank you so much,” at the end of every interaction? I thought so. I hope you feel better already. I know I do. And thanks ever so much for taking the time to read this article. I can tell you’re a great person.

Jeffrey Hauser was a sales consultant for the Bell System Yellow Pages for nearly 25 years. He graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Advertising and has a Master's Degree in teaching. He had his own advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona and ran a consulting and design firm, ABC Advertising. He has authored 6 books and a novel, "Pursuit of the Phoenix." His latest book is, "Inside the Yellow Pages" which can be seen at his website, http://www.poweradbook.com. Currently, he is the Marketing Director for thenurseschoice.com, a Health Information and Doctor Referral site.

by Jeffrey_Hauser

No More Cold Calling Leads - Just Closing Deals

2008-01-18T19:32:00.001-08:00

Calling Cold Calls is simply tiring and annoying. People hate cold calling "Fake Leads". People also hate being on the receiving end of a cold call. How many times have you been watching your favorite show and the phone rings, and guess what a telemarketing. That is probably the most annoying things that can happen to you.

Most cold call leads are really not leads at all, they are "Fake Leads". The Sales person did not buy leads, they bought a list of contact names. You can get the same effect from cold calling people from the yellow pages. A little know fact is when a telemarketing computer system goes down, guess what they pull out, the yellow pages!

Getting a prospect for a mortgage for example is the most difficult part of a sales job. Most people do not buy cars from people calling them to sell one, why would it be a better idea to call them about mortgages? (which is usually a lot more than a car).

Real Leads are real people actively looking for the product or services that you are selling. That a Perfect Leads. In our mortgage example the best solutions would be a Real-Time Online Mortgage Leads.

A Real-Time Online Mortgage Lead is a prospect that has just finished filling out an online form and within 1-2 minutes you are calling them back when the idea is still fresh in their minds. Now that is a lead you can close!

Why Real-Time? Borrowers want to get info now! They will be impressed when you call them within 2 minutes of them filling out the online application. That makes a great statement in the minds of the prospect. Usually a prospect starts working with the first person to contact them.

In the end if it's quality that you are looking for fresh real-time leads are the way to go. Do not waste your hard earned money on cold calling leads or calling straight from the yellow pages.

Christopher Carter has more than 10 years in the financing and mortgage industry. He works at Perfect Town, USA which sells real-time & exclusive mortgage leads, which are timestamped and origin stamped. Perfect Town USA owns several successful mortgage lead generating websites.

by Christopher_Carter

Overcoming Voice Mail Challenges

2008-01-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

If you are in the business of sales, than ultimately, cold calling is part of your weekly, if not daily routine.

Let's face it, cold calling just isn’t very exciting, and you need to make many cold calls in order to have success.

During my days working as a loan officer for a mortgage company, I would spend two and a half hours each night, Monday through Friday banging out my cold calls.

My goal was to take at least three applications per evening, resulting in fifteen applications per week, with a goal of turning at least three of the fifteen applications into actual loans.

I faced many challenges during those evenings of cold calling. Such as hang ups, and people saying things such as “I already took care of that,” and “take me off of your calling list,” etc.

One other challenge I came upon was the answering machine. There was nothing worse than selling to a machine.

But after much rejection from the actual live human beings I was dealing with on a nightly basis, I began to think of the answering machine as my friend.

I would use the answering machine as a tool to have my potential customers get to know me.

I would speak in a friendly upbeat voice, introducing myself and the company I worked for.

But, I would not just leave it at that. I would take the opportunity to describe in brief a product we had available that I believed would meet their needs.

I always kept it short and sweet, not giving the customer an opportunity to delete me because my message was long and drawn out.

Leaving your name and number simply is not enough to entice a customer to call you back, especially when cold calling.

So dangle a carrot in the way of one of your products and there will be a good chance your customer will call you back.

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of http://www.jconners.com a mortgage resource site. You can also check out his blog at http://wwwmortgagespot.blogspot.com for more articles

by Jay_Conners

Sales Training Tips - 7 Ideas Proven To Boost Sales

2008-01-13T15:21:00.001-08:00

Many people, including some in the sales profession, believe that sales training is a waste of time and money. A popular belief is that sales people are born to sell, and that an individual either "has it" or they don't, and nothing can be done to change it.

This belief has been proven to be wrong. Selling is a learned skill. Many of the beliefs about the skills required for success are much different than those actually necessary.

Below is a list of truths about the sales profession:

Sales is a learned skill. A sales rep will never reach their true potential until this fact is accepted. True professionals study and practice the skills proven to be effective and continue sales training throughout their career.

Sales calls can be made any time. Many sales reps actually believe sales calls can only be made after 9:00 or before 3:00. The professional knows someone prefers 7:00 a.m. and others work evenings. Professionals find people to see them for a full day every day.

The minds controls most sales. This is why many sales come in succession. It's often called a lucky streak, but it isn't. It is the sales rep "assuming the sale" without faking it. The previous sale programs the brain to believe the next one will buy also, and it often happens as a result. It is a 100% true belief the buyer is going to buy today.

Good telemarketing is critical. Work backwards and determine how many calls are necessary to develop a full week of appointments. This number is the amount of calls that must be made each week.

Increase selling time. The only time that is real "value added" is the time spent with the prospect or customer. The time getting an appointment, traveling to and from locations, completing paper work, and attending meetings is an incidental necessity, but not value added. Do all of these tasks outside of the high value added hours. Increasing value added selling time can be learned using lean manufacturing and six sigma principles.

Learn to Close. Closing is the most learned skill in the profession. When a prospect objects about the price, color, service, or anything else, the sales pro knows exactly how to respond down to the specific words. At the point of the objection, there is no time to think. All thought should be directed toward body language and preparing the next 3-4 steps in the sales cycle.

Learn sales techniques. Techniques are not tricks, and no sales rep would be effective trying to trick someone into buying. Some believe closing is using tricks but it is not true. It is simply being an effective negotiator helping the customer make a buying decision. For example, with a service objection such as the length of after-sale service being too short, the sales rep should use a "right angle close". This negotiation is simply stating the answer with a buying question, such as "If I can get the two week service changed to four, will you give us a try today"?

Visit us for sales training and six sigma online training

by Carl_Wright

Cold Calling Made Easy

2008-01-13T15:20:00.001-08:00

In my ten plus years of sales and marketing work with small businesses, many of them would ask me “Does cold calling really work?” They would profess to be leery of doing it for fear of rejection or simply through fear of making the call. They had questions such as: “I hate feeling like I'm being sold, so I want to learn how to come across less like a salesman.” “What's the MAIN purpose of cold calling anyway?” “Is it to get the decision maker's name or to make an appointment?” “Do you recommend phone calls, or personal visits, or mailing literature first?” “How often should I try to contact a person?”

First of all I want to mention that you need to make sure any list of names or prospects or whoever you are calling is not on the Do Not Call List or you could get in big trouble. Go to donotcall.gov to find out more about it or to sign up as a consumer or a telemarketer.

I did a little research online before I sat down to write this and I found just a ton of information on cold calling and sales (like I had suspected). I thought I would find a simple 10 step process that I could shoot back at you that would sum it all up, but no such luck. I found a lot of sites who claim to have the best cold calling secrets out there, some sites who claim cold calling just doesn’t work anymore, some sites with numerous articles written on the subject and then some sites selling all kinds of books and CD’s on how to improve your skills. You know I will always recommend reading books or listening to CD’s about certain topics to make you better at what you do and in this case, it may not necessarily be books about cold calling but rather about SALES. Knowing good sales strategies and closing techniques can really help when cold calling because you learn to react quicker and respond better to objections or negative responses.

Is there anyone out there who really uses cold calling as their main lead generating avenue however? In this day of relationship selling, I can’t even imagine cold calling in my business. In fact, all the telemarketing calls I get at home are either mortgage companies (#1 by far) trying to give me a free loan comparison analysis, phone companies trying to get me to switch or credit card companies trying to get me to sign up or transfer balances to their card.

There are of course certain ways this could be good, for example IF the mortgage company knew I had a high interest loan, say over 8% (glad I don’t, but you get the point), getting my name from a list from their title company, they could possibly tempt me with a 4.5 or even 6% rate over the phone enough to warrant the free analysis.

However, every one of them that calls me can never beat the rate that I currently have which tells me they haven’t done their homework to narrow down their target list. In turn they are wasting hours of their time calling on people like me. Why wouldn’t they just get a list of prospects that REALLY have high rates, ones who would be easier prospects? I would.

Then, using the mortgage company as an example. People these days don’t have a lot of time and I would venture a guess that most don’t like receiving telemarketing calls, especially those that don’t get to the point of the call. You know the ones…they say hello Mrs. Saallla (can’t pronounce my name of course and stumble over it a few times); I say “hello, it’s Sawa”. Then they ask “How are you this evening?” and I say “Does it really matter, what do you want?” (Yes, I know, sometimes I am harsh). Then they say, well Mrs. Saallla (again), let me tell you why I am calling…. (By that time it’s too late, I’m done with them). You know what I mean?

Develop a good script to grab their attention and get to the point in the first sentence or question. Practice your script on friends and colleagues, role play. When you do start to use it, try it out on the coldest leads you have not the hot ones, save them for when you have more practice or you may blow some big opportunities.

The question I ask you is who is your target market? Are they going to be receptive to cold calls? If not, you might want to find another way to reach them – more than likely there are numerous other ways to market to your target market. Just know that if you are calling the consumer you will need a whole different script than if you are calling a business prospect – many factors come into play such as the “Gatekeeper” (receptionist) or kids, answering machines, etc. Do you leave a message or don’t you? I say you do – you’ve already spent the time it took to make the call and wait for the machine you might as well leave a clear, short and well constructed message. Then when you call back a few days later, it’s a WARM call.

So, as far as when to cold call in your sales process, do you call first, mail a letter first or send an email? This will depend on your industry and your target market and what they would be most receptive to or how long your sales process is (the higher cost of your product or service may warrant a longer sales process). I normally suggest mailing a letter or emailing if you have their email first and then when you call, it’s not a cold call but a follow up call to the letter or email; hence eliminating the ‘cold call’. Of course it isn’t that simple, you might need to send 2 letters, a brochure, email 4 times with attachments or links to your website and you probably will have to call at least 6 times, leaving 3 or 4 messages before even considering to give up (in an aggressive industry where there is a lot of competition you will want to be persistent). Many people value persistence as a good quality to have, you don’t want to be annoying or a pest, but a confident salesperson being persistent with their prospect can be respected and it also makes you look more dependable and reliable.

The following websites are ones I found (I am not familiar with them all) that you might find helpful, some have email newsletters that you can subscribe to. Anytime you can get constant reminders about a subject you are weaker in, suggestions, tips, etc. it can only make you stronger in that subject.

1. coldcalling.com – newsletter and book suggestions
2. briantracy.com – sales guru
3. nevercoldcall.com – another option?
4. gitomer.com – sales guru
5. eyesonsales.com – many articles on the subject
6. wendyweiss.com – a couple good free reports
7. leadsintogold.com – articles about why not to cold call

To be honest, I think I would find other ways to promote your business and generate leads rather than wasting your time on the phone. If you are a good salesperson and a real expert in your field, you might come off a little desperate if you cold call. I don’t mean to offend anyone out there who IS cold calling. I’ve done it; I’ve even done door-to-door sales before! I find that I am more effective in front of people, in person and most of the time they need to see me quite a few times (building relationships) before they’ll even consider talking to me about their marketing needs. You can’t build that type of relationship over the phone, not with one call or 20 calls. Good luck and let me know what you think of what I said here; I’d be interested to know what works for you and what you’ve tried.

PERMISSION TO REPRINT: This article may be reprinted provided it appears in its entirety with the following attribution:

Katrina Sawa, Small Biz Marketing Expert and Founder of K. Sawa Marketing. © Copyright 2002-2007 K. Sawa Marketing. Reprinted by permission of Katrina Sawa, a marketing and promotional expert who helps small business owners and entrepreneurs make the most of their marketing dollars and time. For more insight about her services, to get FREE Marketing Advice, or to sign-up for her FREE GET NETWORKING ezine, visit her at http://www.ksawamarketing.com, or email: katrina@ksawamarketing.com
by Katrina_Sawa

Top Sales Trainer Asks: Can Someone Who Says: "I'm Not A Salesperson!" Become A Good One?

2008-01-13T15:19:00.000-08:00

“He has the gift of gab; he should be in sales!”

“People really like her; she’d make a great salesperson!”

“He’s the funniest guy I know; a natural for selling!”

Have you ever wondered how people get into the sales field?

Clearly, some are born into it. The President of the local car dealership has his son working as the sales manager of one of the divisions.

For those two, and for many others, you might say selling is in the genes.

If you’re a people-person, others notice, and they encourage you with the sorts of lines that opened this article.

But can anybody else become a good salesperson?

Must you be extroverted, outgoing, someone who doesn’t mind shaking hands and smiling into the eyes of strangers?

You can.

If I didn’t believe this, I wouldn’t have written the best-selling book, “Selling Skills For The Non-Salesperson,” or “Telemarketing For Non-Telemarketers.”

But it’s not easy converting ardent non-salespeople into top achievers, especially if they say or simply believe the following statement to be true:

“I’m not a salesperson!”

To get people to try, to handle a modicum of rejection, to get some good orders under their belt, they cannot be burdened with negative core beliefs about this occupation.

If they dislike salespeople, or even feel in any way turned off by the negative stereotype of salespeople, there may be little hope for their development.

Which means there are two types that can succeed: (1) People that are positively predisposed toward selling, i.e. they think they might be good at it, though they haven’t tried, yet; and (2) People that are neutral about it; that are willing to have an open mind, accept and implement instruction, and not disable themselves with negative beliefs about the process.

To date, few sales recruiters and trainers have screened applicants based on their ATTITUDES toward selling, itself. Instead, they’ve focused on SKILLS.

With a bad attitude, skills-training isn’t likely to be accepted or to stick, whether you’re dealing with veterans or with fresh recruits.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books, over 600 articles, and the creator of numerous audio and video training programs, including "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant-a favorite among salespeople and entrepreneurs. For information about booking Gary to speak at your next sales, customer service or management meeting, conference or convention, please address your inquiry to: gary@customersatisfaction.com

by Dr._Gary_S._Goodman

How to Create an Effective Mortgage Direct Mail Campaign

2008-01-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

Stop Cold Calling and Double Your Sales in 30 Days

2008-01-10T19:33:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows what “cold calling” is, but how about “warm calling”? That’s easy, warm calling involves contacting your former clients and people you have already identified as prospects.

These are the people you had made previous contact with and are listed in your database or on your Rolodex. If appropriate for your industry, I recommend spending one hour a day calling your database.

To gain the greatest benefit from your warm calling efforts, you should provide an exceptional level of customer service and give unexpected bonuses to your clients throughout your sales process.

This way, your past clients will be happy to hear from you and eager to help you find new business.

Let’s see how you can “heat up” your warm contacts to create hot new business leads.

Build rapport – All right, it may have been some time since you last talked with your contact, so a little refreshing of his or her memory might be necessary. Use the time to re-establish your relationship, inform him or her about your unique selling proposition and inquire about their current needs.

Ask for referrals – Here is an example of how a mortgage loan officer could ask for referrals: “Do you know anyone who may be buying or refinancing real estate in the next 3 – 6 months?” Especially useful if your “warm contact” absolutely has no need for your services at the present time.

Tell him or her about your current gift incentives for referrals – if you have a plan in place, let him know. One example: “If you refer new business to me I will pay for dinner for you and your wife at Outback Steakhouse.” Or, tickets to their favorite sporting event.

Review their current situation: Is their any current need for your product or service? Have their plans, needs, or goals changed? (If this is your past client you should have notes on hand about their long and short term plans)

Be sure to keep notes on every call in your database or files. Update all of your contact information to include any changes.

If you have made arrangements to “warm call” clients on someone else’s list, offer to split any of the commissions generated.

Yes, warm calling is a great way to stimulate business especially in a competitive marketplace. Once a day, pull out your “warm call” list and contact people. Add to the list those whom you previously “cold called” and see as a potential future client.

For more information about this and other lead generation strategies, visit ==>http://Mortgage-Training.Mortgage-Leads-Generator.com

Please feel free to reprint this article as long as the resource box is left intact and all links are hyper linked.

Hartley Pinn has recently created the Mortgage Leads Generator Training Course to teach people how to make over $50,000 a month working part-time (10 to 15 hrs per week) as a mortgage loan officer.

by Hartley_Pinn

Researched Mortgage Marketing Techniques - Do Leads Still Work?

2008-01-10T19:32:00.002-08:00

I have seen many post on websites, broker chat rooms, outpost, and comment sections about mortgage leads being bad and down right fraudulent. Well I have taken this question to the next level, "Are mortgage leads still worth buying?"The answer is of course. I ran an experiment in late July that tested major mortgage lead websites and this is what I generally found.

Mortgage leads are a much more competitive marketing tool compared to several years ago.

Online shoppers definitely do submit their application to more than one site when shopping online - this is the biggest issue noted through out our research.

Return policies are the biggest key to making this investment profitable.

Time spent on calling mortgage leads can be enormous if you let it.

The ROI on mortgage lead purchases is still high if you manage your purchases, people, and profits correctly.

The biggest issue with calling mortgage leads is that we as mortgage brokers and loan officers are spoiled or think that we are calling deals - not leads!

Leads have to be worked, worked, and worked some more. We bought 10 mortgage leads each from 5 top sources and the results were pretty good. We found that 3-4 were completely bad and the rest had to be called over 4 times just to make initial contact. In the end we had to work the leads for about 3 days and we received 3 applications and one deal went to the table. We found this in 3 of the companies we reviewed.

The outlook we have on the scenario is this - 10 leads for an average of $150.00 and we got 3 potential deals -2 deals we could not get because of the borrowers situation - which is not the lead companies fault - and the other one we had to work for over a week to get a deal struck and bring in 2245.00 in total fees to our net branch.

What a massive ROI - don't you think?

Another scenario we had was a reorder with a company that we did not strike a deal with, but this time we bought $500.00 in leads and the return was the same. Did we complain, NO, we profited over $1500.00 for a $650.00 investment - that is an easy choice in my office. After calling these leads we called and interviewed a few of the mortgage lead companies and asked them how they view their product and view the brokers that buy leads from them.

First we spoke with Dave Henry (http://www.leadorder.com) and he spoke with us about the cost of generating quality mortgage leads. Dave stated "Mortgage leads can cost between 8 dollars to 14 dollars just to generate, as long as you are using legal and ethical methods to generate mortgage leads. We do not participate in SPAM or incentive backed leads and that drives cost up and drives quantity down."

"With cost going up it has forced 100% of all Lead Companies to work with other marketing companies - do not be fooled all of them do - this in turn can drive down quality because as a company you can not screen every lead. To combat this we have instituted a verification process that all our affiliate leads go through before hitting our system."

Off the record Mr. Henry stated that he sees his company as a leader in Lead delivery, a big issue with most lead buyers. Their MLT, Mobile Lead Technology, a system powered by Yahoo actually sends a text message or page to a mobile device once a lead hits your email - We say that is a cool idea!

The second person we spoke with was Jayson Williams with Leadbull.com (http://www.leadbull.com) a mortgage lead company with one of the largest member databases on the web. Jayson states "Our system is simple and since we do put so many leads on our system from our own websites and other marketing companies we want all of them to be backed with the best return policy, so we credit back most request if they fall in our parameters. We want to make the experience easy and profitable. The main issue we find is brokers that call a lead 2-3 times do not get an answer and try to report as bad - just because a borrower does not answer the phone or call you back does not make it a bad lead."

Jayson says "Our system is based on 3 principles - fair trade - good service - and affordable products. We know that most LOs or Brokers are new or have good employees below them and are responsible for keeping their leads flowing. This is why we offer such a vast array of products like aged leads that are good for telemarketing or new loans officers getting their feet wet. Our verified and exclusive leads come in at a slower rate but are packed with much success. These leads are good for the experienced employee that can close a hot deal and fast."

We asked Jayson about exclusive and verified leads and he stated the main thing to remember is that "most lead companies are trustworthy and do sell their lead once or the stated amount of times, but the Internet has made it so easy for a borrower to submit an application to 3 different sites in a matter of seconds. This causes your exclusive $75.00 lead to be worked more than you expected - but that is the name of the game. The Internet makes them easy to get but more people are getting them - don't be fooled the less that lead is sold the better but mix it up, do not put our eggs in one basket, but different types of leads and make sure the company has a good return policy."

We want to thank these companies for their insight and we will add more about or research in the coming weeks. From our findings Mortgage Leads are still a viable source for generating revenue.

by Jayson_Brock

Overcoming Objections Over the Telephone

2008-01-10T19:32:00.001-08:00

In sales, one of the things you will be doing a lot of, is making phone calls. You can’t escape it. It just comes with the territory.

Making phone calls is really not all that bad. The thought of having to do it, is actually much worse than having to physically sit down and do it, and once you get on a roll, it’s never as bad as it seemed.

The part of making cold calling sales calls that you will find to be most painful are the objections you will be faced with, such as, and most annoying, is the hang up, which doesn’t happen as often as people think. In this particular case, I have no answer on how to meet this challenge, my suggestion would be, not to stress over it, just move onto the next phone call.

Another objection you will be faced with is: I’m not sure. I have to think about it.

My suggested response to this objection would be:

I understand that you need to think about it, but perhaps there is something I did not explain clearly enough, is there anything you would like to go over one more time?

Or . . .

I know when it comes to making a commitment over the phone that it is easy to become lost in the confusion of everything that has to be done and understood, is there anything I can go over with you one more time.

If that doesn’t get them talking again, then let them go by politely asking for their permission to follow up with them in a few days, and, if you could possibly send them out some literature, along with your business card.

Another common objection is:

I have to ask my spouse.

A good response to this objection would be:

Is your spouse available at this time? I would be happy to speak with him/her.

Again, if this does not work, then let them go, and politely ask to send out literature, and follow up with a phone call.

And one other objection you may run into . . .

I have already taken care of that, or I am working with someone else.

If you are hit with this objection, it is most likely your prospects way of telling you they are not interested.

On the other hand, if they tell you they are working with someone else, it never hurts to take a chance, and ask your customer if they would like to see if you could get them a better price, or even a better product. It can’t hurt, and if they are interested than go for it! If not, than let it go right there, and move onto your next prospect.

And remember, challenges are nothing but obstacles on your path to greatness!

Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of sales and marketing experience in the banking and mortgage industry, and is the owner of J. Conners, Mortgage leads reviews - a mortgage resource center for mortgage brokers, loan officers, and lenders. He is also the owner of Www.callprospect.com a mortgage lead company, specializing in fresh leads.

Jay Conners can be contacted via e-mail at conn1229@yahoo.com

by Jay_Conners

7 Steps to Market Your Mortgage Business

2008-01-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

In my consulting experience working with hundreds of mortgage professionals, I have noticed a similar attribute that is common to most independent mortgage brokers. Most are “doers”, not “planners.”

In reality, being a doer is perhaps the ultimate mark of a successful person. It’s what makes entrepreneurs a rare breed. Rather than thinking or wishing, they get out there and make things happen.

But I have encountered many mortgage brokers who get into trouble “doing” the wrong marketing activities the right way or “doing” the right marketing activities the wrong way. If you want to “do” the right marketing activities the right way you must start with a marketing plan.

You don’t have to kill a tree to create an effective marketing plan. In fact, you can create a successful plan for your mortgage business in just one day. To begin, don’t worry about writing style or making your plan fancy. Just go get a pencil and paper and let’s get started.

Step 1 — Understand Your Market and Competition
A big mistake that many mortgage brokers make is that they start marketing their services without first understanding the market and what it wants (not what it needs). If you try to sell something that people don’t want, they won’t buy it.

It’s that simple.

A profitable market consists of people who have dire wants that are being unmet, so much so that they will jump to buy your solution (mortgage product or brokering service). A profitable market can be compared to a lake with thousands of starving fish. All you need to do is throw in the bait and it turns into a feeding frenzy.

To get an understanding of your market you should ask yourself questions like:

• Are there segments in my market that are being underserved?
• Are these segments of my market big enough to make money?
• How much of a share of that market do I need to capture, to just break even?
• Is there too much competition in the segment of my market to be competitive?
• What unique problems does my market segment face when getting financing?
• What are the weaknesses in my competition’s offering that I can capitalize on?
• Does my market want or value my unique competitive offering?

Step 2 — Understand Your Ideal Client
Knowing your ideal client intimately is the first step to easy sales. Until you know (1) who your ideal clients are, (2) what they want, and (3) what motivates them to use your services, you can’t prepare an effective marketing plan.

To really get to know your ideal clients you’ll need to ask yourself questions such as:

• How does my potential client normally research their mortgage options? (e.g. search online, ask a friend, Yellow Pages etc. )
• Who is the primary buyer and the primary buying influencer in the purchasing process? (e.g. husband or wife, real estate agent, financial planner, accountant)
• What kind of habits does my ideal client have? For instance, where do they get their information? (e.g. television, newspapers, magazines, internet, word of mouth)
• What are my target market’s primary motivations for getting financing? (e.g. pride of ownership, lower payments, building equity, eliminate financial stress, etc.)

Step 3 — Pick a Niche
If you say that your target prospect is “everybody” then nobody will be your client. The marketplace is jam-packed with competition. You’ll have more success jumping up and down in a small puddle than a big ocean.

Carve out a specific niche and dominate that niche; then you might consider moving on to a second niche (but not before you’ve dominated the first one!).

You could be a “Home Ownership Consultant specializing in Turning Renters into Home Owners” or a “Small Business Financing Expert specializing No-Income Verification Mortgages”. ” You get the picture. Make sure to choose a niche that interests you, that you are passionate about and that is easy to contact. I can’t stress this point enough. There’s nothing more destructive than to pick a niche that you can’t communicate with or that costs you a ton of money to contact.

Step 4 — Develop Your Marketing Message
Your marketing message not only tells your prospect what you do, but persuades them to begin a relationship with you. You should develop two types of marketing messages. Your first marketing message should be short and to the point. Some may call this your elevator speech or your audio logo. It’s your response to someone who asks you, “So, what do you do?”

The second type is your complete lead generation marketing message that will be included in all your lead generation marketing materials. To make your marketing message compelling and persuasive it should include the following elements:

• An explanation of your target prospect’s problem.
• Proof that the problem is so important that it should be solved now, without delay. (e.g. painful mistakes to avoid, high interest debt to consolidate, stop renting and own your own home etc.)
• A free offer that you invite your prospect to take as the first step (i.e. free report, free consultation, free seminar etc.).
• An explanation of the benefits people will receive from taking your free offer.
• Examples and testimonials from happy clients you have helped with similar problems.
• A clear call to action (e.g. To get your free copy, call 24-hour Recorded Hotline 1-800-123-1234 ext. 34
• Emphasize that your offer is FREE with NO OBLIGATION

Step 5 — Determine Your Marketing Medium(s)
Remember, when I said that it’s critical to choose a niche that you can easily contact? When you go to choose your marketing medium(s) you’ll understand why that was sound advice.

Your marketing medium is the communication vehicle you use to deliver your marketing message. It’s important to choose a marketing medium that gives you the highest return on your marketing dollar (ROMD). This means that you want to choose the medium that delivers your marketing message to the most niche prospects at the lowest possible cost.

The following is a small sample of tools you might use to get your message out:

• Newspaper ads
• Posters
• Seminars
• Television ads
• Signs
• Radio ads
• Trade shows
• Yellow Pages
• Articles
• Classified ads
• Newsletter
• Networking
• Take-one box
• Telemarketing
• Magazine ads
• Postcards
• Flyers
• Email
• Door hangers
• Fax broadcasts
• Brochures
• Website
• Business cards
• Public speaking

The trick is to match your message to your market using the right medium. It would do you no good to advertise your “Debt Consolidation Services, on a hip-hop radio station targeted at young adults who rent. This is a complete mismatch of the market, message, and medium. Success will come when there is a good match of these three elements.

Step 6 — Set Sales and Marketing Goals
Goals are critical to your success. A “wish” is a goal that hasn’t been written down. If you haven’t written your goals, you’re still just wishing for success. When creating your goals use the SMART formula. Ensure that your goals are, (1) Specific, (2) Measurable, (3) Achievable, (4) Realistic, and (5) Time-specific.

Your goals should include financial elements, such as mortgage amount funded, annual sales commission, gross profit, and so on. However, they should also include non-financial elements such as closed deals, applications taken, leads generated, new clients.

Once you’ve set your goals, implement processes to internalize them with all of your team members if applicable. This might involve reviewing them in sales meetings, displaying thermometer posters, and awarding achievement prizes.

Step 7 — Develop Your Marketing Budget
Your marketing budget can be developed several ways, depending on whether you want to be more exact or to develop just a quick-and-dirty number. It’s good to start out with a quick-and-dirty calculation and then to support it with further details. First, if you have been in business for over a year and tracked your marketing-related expenditures, you could easily calculate your “cost to acquire one client” by dividing your annual sales and marketing costs by the number of clients acquired. The next step is to take your cost to acquire one client and simply multiply it by your client acquisition goal. The result of this simple computation will give you a rough estimate of what you need to invest to meet your sales goals for the next year.

Conclusion
There you have it: The Seven-Step, One-Day Marketing Plan. It’s simple really. Of course you’ll need to study up a bit more about your marketing medium(s) of choice, its appropriateness for your message, and its associated costs. But try not to make the development of your plan a laborious, drawn-out task. Remember the 80 / 20 rule: 80% of your results will come from 20% of your effort.

My final word of advice is to make sure you set aside uninterrupted time to develop your marketing plan. It could very well be the most important document to which you and your team members will ever refer. Now you have the blueprint for success to not only survive in 2007 – but thrive!

Doren Aldana, the nation’s leading Mortgage Marketing Coach, is dedicated to helping mortgage professionals attract more clients with less effort. Aldana is also the author of a 21-part Audio Seminar, "21 Secrets of Superstar Mortgage Brokers and Loan Officers!" To pick up your copy of this special free resource visit: http://www.mortgagemarketingcoach.com

by Doren_Aldana

How to Stop Telemarketers

2008-01-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

You have finally gotten the baby to sleep and you sit down to dinner, which you find is cold because it took so long to get your infant to finally go down for the night. You warm your dinner again and, just as you sit down, the phone rings. The baby wakes and on your way to get her from the crib, you answer the phone, only to find that someone wants to give you a no-obligation quote on auto insurance.

At best, telemarketers are annoying. They always seem to call at the most inappropriate times and they can be difficult to get away from. And while your first impulse may be to simply hang up or say "I'm not interested," that is generally not the best way to go about it if you want to stop telemarketers from calling your home the next time.

Your first step for stopping telemarketers is to join the National Do Not Call Registry with a quick visit to DoNotCall.gov. This registry is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and allows you to place your home number and personal wireless numbers on the national Do Not Call list for free. Once your number appears in this registry (typically the day following your request to join), telemarketers have 31 days to stop calling you. If they don't stop calling, you can file a complaint directly on the DoNotCall.gov website.

This simple, 30-second task will greatly reduce the number of phone calls you receive, and your registration is effective for five years. However, the registry will not stop calls from political organizations or charities, nor will it stop telephone surveyors (unless their true motivation in calling you is to sell you a product.) The registry will also not stop calls from those companies you already do business with. You have to stop these telemarketing calls yourself.

As mentioned, your first instinct may be to hang up or say "I'm not interested," but, if you do, your phone number will simply be put back on the list and you will be called again and again.

When you receive these kinds of calls, make sure to state very clearly that you would like to be added to the organization's Do Not Call list. And then keep a record of those companies or organizations. The law does not require non-profits to keep these do-not-call lists, but you can state your wishes, and if you are met with a rebuttal, ask to speak to the supervisor. Your goal is to remain firm but calm and to proceed until you talk with someone who can assure you that you will not be called again. If the organization feels that they will lose your contributions or support if they do not cease calling, they will tend to comply.

Jamie Jefferson writes for Momscape.com, Susies-Coupons.com and Susies-Travel-Coupons.com where you'll find hand-selected online coupons, coupon codes and travel discounts.

by Jamie_Jefferson

How Important Is My List

2008-01-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

In direct marketing whether it be telesales, direct mail, fax marketing, or a combination, the contact data is paramount. Sales leads, mortgage sales, and telemarketing industries hinge on the effectiveness of their data. They do not use generic data, intact they employ the services of specialized consultants to generate their data for each campaign: in the following we'll look at why that is:

Consider this: if I send a piece of Grammy award wining sales copy to a 72 year old blind woman and I am selling tennis rackets, I may see no success. However, if I send a less professionally compiled offer of deeply discounted tennis racket, to tennis enthusiast, who've purchased from mail order or over the internet in the past, I'll see much greater return on my investment.

This example takes polar extremes, but in a world of tight margins and concern for overhead overrun, we must leverage every advantage afforded to us. Sales data used in direct marketing provides us that opportunity.

Sales data and sales lead generation using targeted marketing data has become a powerful way to generate sales. The integration of systems companies and continued breaking down of barriers by data brokerage companies provides a highly robust data sources available for purchase.

Working with list consultants will yield higher returns and need not add to the bottom line of the data price. Many companies such as Professional Lists Inc. (www.professional-lists.com) provide consulting and list building as a part of their service package. The consultants in the data industry should understand their data sources, how they work together, and should be compiled into a highly selectable sales data source.

Knowledgeable marketing professionals will enable you to add to your ROI and overall effectiveness of your marketing campaign. The data they compile will become invaluable in creation of YOUR marketing campaigns and their superior knowledge and experience is available to you as you make your marketing decisions.

Tom Ryan's direct marketing and leads generation skills are tested daily in his position with Professional Lists Inc. Mr. Ryan is a consultant and V.P. of sales with Professional Lists Inc., http://www.professional-lists.com His clients receive the benefit of his years of experience in direct marketing and sales.

by Tom_Ryan

Book Review: Refi-Bust: Mortgage Brokers Gone Wild! by David Lawrence

2008-01-08T16:47:00.001-08:00

Stop Selling and Start Building Letting Them Buy!

2008-01-08T16:46:00.001-08:00

In 1996, I walked into a telemarketing firm with nothing that had any resemblance to sales experience; let alone telemarketing experience. I was a drummer in a rock band, had hair down to my hips, wore painted leather jackets and had holes in my jeans. A local sales recruiter had come to my college and was looking for fresh meat. He had been there when I walked in at 7am and he was still standing there as I was about to go home, at 6pm.

I had decided to stop at his little booth, and as I looked down at his interview sign up form; there was not one name on the list. I was standing there thinking, "He's a recruiter that works for a company that focuses on selling themselves, yet he couldn't even sell a bunch of college kids on a way to make extra money! Now, you gotta laugh at that a little! Well, I signed his form and as he looked up to shake my hand, he took one look at me and said, "Son, this is a form to sign up for a job in sales." I replied, "Yeah, I know. It looks like you can use all the help you can get!" He smiled and asked if I could meet him across the street in an hour. That was the beginning of my new calling!!!

I went to the building and sat down among some of the stuffiest folks I had ever seen in my life. They were people in their mid forties and their suits and dresses seemed like they had once held a vibrant color, now they were faded and the stitching was beginning to unravel. The men looked as though they were once used car salesmen, and the ladies maybe had been real estate agents. I think you are getting the picture. Little did I know, at the time, telemarketing firms were like the last stop for sales people. When they had lost their shiny luster and maybe their pitch had gotten old, this is where they ended up! Good thing for me, I didn't come there for a job, I had heard there was going to be free sandwiches and I was broke!

As we were all pushed into a small conference room, I noticed a twiggy little guy with a brown suit, patches on the elbows and a bad, gray hair piece. It was pretty sad that, even the management looked as if they were on their last leg. The man began to speak, in a somewhat cocky fashion, and said, "Everything you have learned about sales to this point, you can leave behind! Folks, you are dealing with a whole other kind of animal here, telemarketing.

I'm sorry, but at that very moment I lost it. I started laughing uncontrollably. It wasn't out of disrespect, it was just that I was waiting for him to tell us to drop and give him twenty! As I chuckled, to myself, he zeroed in on me. "You...", he yelled,"...do you find me funny."

"Yes Sir...I do Sir!", I was obviously not there for the job and was expecting for someone to ask me to leave at that point. The man looked confused and said, "Alright tough guy, dial that phone and read that script!" So, I dialed the phone looked at the product, threw the script aside, and in a matter of 12 minutes; I had landed my first sale. Everyone looked at me in amazement! I was obviously confused, because I was just doing a job. I was raised that when you do a job, you do a job right! Well, little did I know that it was rare if anyone would sell on a cold call their first call out.

The manager had asked me why I didn't read from the script. I told him that it did not properly represent the product and that it seemed too sleazy. I had booked a lot of gigs for my band in the past, and the one thing club owners always told me was; they had liked how I was very personable while speaking to them. I always got the show. Well, just then the manager said that if I couldn't follow the script then I was going to have to find another job. I stood up, grabbed two more sandwiches for the road, and said,"Have a nice day!"

As I was turning to leave, a clean cut older man in a three piece suit grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into an office. It was coming down to crunch time, and in those days I was competing in a lot of martial arts tournaments, and when someone touched me like that...it was more than I had in me to not knock them out! The man put his hand up and said, "Hold on son. I just wanted to ask you; where did you learn to communicate on the phone with people like that." Although I was pretty sharp back then, the dumbest answer came out of my mouth, "I talk to my grandma three times a week."

The man, with a serious look on his face, shook his head and said, "hmmm... so, you mean that you were speaking with the lady on the phone as if she were your own grandma then!" I agreed and he said, "Would you be willing to train our firm to do what you just did? We would be willing to pay you a consultant's fee and you gain commission on the phone at the same time." I agreed, said I would see him in the morning, walked to the closest mall and got a hair cut and bought a suit. I may have been a drummer, but I beat on the drums, not my own skull. If I was going to gain respect from this team of older folks, I could not let them see the long haired guy they had seen tonight!

Ok, we're going to cut the story there. Since then I have gone on to train many people to create success, in what ever business they are in. It all comes down to this, if you want to acquire return clients, instead of one time customers; if you want to have those clients come to you to buy, instead of you having to close the deal...then you are going to have to get on board and start building some relationships!

The old way of selling is gone...don't be sad, now instead of people dreading to talk to you, you can put steps into motion that will bring them to you, ready to buy and build a long lasting relationship with them.

This my friends, was the story of the evolution of sales!

For more information on learning the new way of acquiring clients and creating unbeatable confidence in selling, go to http://www.OutSideTheBoxLive.com and pick up the "Client Acquisition Mastery Program (CAMP) Training Manual" and enroll in the CAMP 12 month Intensive Success Training Program with Bob Yeager

by Bob_Yeager

Bob Yeager - EzineArticles Expert Author

Cold Calling, Does it Work?

2008-01-08T16:45:00.001-08:00

In my many years in sales management, I've always realized that the least favorite area of prospecting for any salesperson would have to be ‘cold calling’, wouldn’t it? That would include contacting either by phone or in person. The question is, "does it work or is it a total waist of time?"

Even the most battle hardened veterans don’t find cold calling very appealing, yet it’s the place many rookies start and sadly, end their selling careers. For the most part, my personal belief is that cold calling is kind of like this.

You decide to go duck hunting. You get out the shotgun, grab a couple boxes of shells and head out into a field or pond somewhere. You load the gun, pump a shell into the firing chamber, point the gun skyward and pull the trigger. Of course, you hope that there’s a duck flying by. Oh, there wasn’t. Just repeat the process. Load, point and shoot.

Load, point and shoot. Load, point and shoot. Isn’t this fun? What no ducks yet? Load, point and shoot. Gee the gun barrel is getting a little hot and you’re running out of shells. Still, you have no duck. Have you figured out yet that I’m not a fan of cold calling?

Believe me when I tell you, I have tried it a ton when I was a new salesperson. I even counselled sales reps to cold call back when I was a rookie manager. Finally, finally I understand, I get it, cold calling plain and simple doesn’t work. Boy, the pain feels so good when it stops.

The reason it doesn’t work any more, if it ever did, is it has way too many things stacked against it. The first thing is that most folks are just far too busy in their lives to be very receptive to unsolicited interruptions.

Consider everyone’s friend, the telemarketer that calls at meal time or in the middle of your favorite TV program. Ask yourself, how do you feel when someone interrupts you? It doesn’t matter, whether you are interrupted at work or at home, these intrusions are generally not welcomed and are often met with quite hostile reactions.

I have a great deal of empathy for the salespeople who try to make their living as telemarketers. Often these people are new to the selling field and they are simply trying to make a living. If they are able to read, the telemarketing companies themselves offer these folks a few bucks an hour, maybe some bonus money and a prewritten high pressure sales script and turn them out to the public as cannon fodder.

Because the scripts are self serving rather than customer serving most are actually very rude in nature. As much as I feel empathy for the telemarketers who make the calls, I disapprove of the tactics and the unprofessional behavior of both the telemarketing companies and the companies that utilize them.

Today many households use answering machines and call display features to try to screen out these calls. That means that they are so ticked off at unsolicited calls that they actually spend money to avoid them.

Why would you think that an unsolicited call from you would be treated any differently? You know that when a salesperson calls, the purpose is to sell you something, isn’t it? There is no need to volunteer for the potential abuse that greets salespeople making unsolicited cold calls.

There are many different ways to obtain potential new customers. Cold calling is the least effective and most damaging to the salesperson's self esteem.

We offer complete, powerful and very affordable computer based sales training for companies and educators is available at http://www.sellingatmastery.com/

Individuals please visit http://www.salestraininghere.com/

Both sites offer free valuable bonuses just for stopping by. There is a very lucrative affiliate offer that you will want to check out because getting paid is good! Plus we have a no nonsense, risk free guarantee.

by Jim_Masson

Jim Masson - EzineArticles Expert Author

Exclusive Mortgage Refinance Leads

2008-01-08T16:43:00.000-08:00

Exclusive mortgage refinance leads are found under the exclusive mortgage leads category. Exclusive refinance leads are sold to one broker or one lender and thus, increases the possibilities of higher profit and less competition. The pricing of the leads is based on certain aspects that include the amount of premium, usage of filter features offered by the various lead generating services and the age of the generated leads. Discount rates are also available, depending on some of these factors.

Refinance leads are helpful for saving money on the mortgage loan, improving the property against which the refinance loan is being taken, getting faster and ready cash and lower the monthly payments. Various online mortgage lead generating services are available, selling exclusive and non-exclusive refinance leads. The benefits of opting for these online services include faster response and choosing the number of leads by the broker, according to personal preference. The time and money saved for personal advertisement and marketing is not always profitable. The brokers have the advantage of studying the various leads online and to choose from them.

The purchase of exclusive refinance mortgage leads come with discounts, in the case of freshly generated leads. They come with a guarantee and higher closing rates in return. Several brokers visit, check and buy these online services, to opt for the best deal, in order to buy the best exclusive mortgage leads. Brokers and lenders can request for free quotes by filling up online forms and requesting for information on the service and mortgage leads type. The service agencies collect and compile all the data from the buyers and help in connecting them with the right broker. Exclusive mortgage refinance leads, when bought from the right agents, can be the perfect solution to expanding the mortgage business and maintaining business relationships.

Exclusive Mortgage Leads provides detailed information on exclusive mortgage leads, exclusive internet mortgage leads, exclusive telemarketing mortgage leads, exclusive real time mortgage leads and more. Exclusive Mortgage Leads is affiliated with Home Mortgage Interest Rates.

by Jennifer_Bailey

Mortgage vs. Real Estate Lead Generation

2008-01-06T15:09:00.001-08:00

Mortgage Lead Generation Software

2008-01-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

U.S. mortgage companies are in a fiercely competitive market and often have difficulty attracting new customers. The more clients they can lure, the more promising their business prospects become. To succeed in attracting new clients, companies need to concentrate on making their endeavor more time-bound.

The mantra for them to succeed and to come out with flying colors is to streamline their organization as far as their functional aspect is concerned. In doing so, most of the companies find themselves racing against time.

A good time management technique in relation to the company’s business philosophy can really help. Against this backdrop, good mortgage leads can boost their effort and are an integral part of the burgeoning mortgage business.

Good mortgage lead generation software minimizes the speculation on the marketing process and puts companies in a position to spare valuable resources and concentrate on other vital spheres of the business. Companies can take recourse to mortgage lead data from a standard database or can resort to vigorous marketing campaigns and can produce the required leads to suit their convenience.

Another important lead channel can be created through telemarketing. It can be an appropriate tool to furnish an unhindered and inevitable flow of leads. This helps loan officers to close down on prospective clients rather than wasting precious time in locating prospective borrowers.

Soft ware incorporated in systems dealing with lead distribution aims at making the end user consisting of salespersons more competent. It enables the end user to choose precisely the sort of lead design that they would like to obtain.

Mortgage Software provides detailed information about mortgage software, mortgage banking software, mortgage broker software and more. Mortgage Software is affiliated with Mortgage Note Buyer.

by Kristy_Annely

Prevent Losses with a Mortgage Refinance for Bad Credit Loan

2008-01-06T15:07:00.000-08:00

You mourn the loss of a favorite pair of shoes. You agonize over losing a round of chess. If you could feel this intensely over footwear or a game, think of how distressing it would be to lose your home! Thankfully, a mortgage refinance for bad credit loan can help you hold on to your house.

Little Lessons about Losses in Life
Whether an object, a person, or a chance is involved, we usually hate to lose things. Near the age of one year old, we begin to experience something called "separation anxiety." In other words, we fear that being unable to see our parents means they have disappeared forever. Although we outgrow this phenomenon, loss doesn't get any easier to deal with. As children, losing our favorite toy can be devastating. Then as teenagers, losing a best friend can seem like the end of the world. As adults, we experience the ultimate loss when we lose our home. Still, as we will find out later, a mortgage refinance for bad credit loan can help us cling to that one place where we hang our hat and hearts onto.

Losing Legally
After taking out a mortgage on a home, the importance of paying one's monthly mortgage payments in full and on time cannot be stressed enough. Sure, there may be times when we are a little short or late on our payments. But these cases should be rare or nonexistent. In particular, negative financial scenarios and their legal ramifications that any borrower should avoid include:

* DEFAULTING: When you default on a debt, you fail to pay it by the due date.

* BANKRUPTCY: When you are bankrupt, you are unable to pay money that is owed. Voluntary bankruptcy occurs when the debtor himself files for bankruptcy. However, when a creditor requests that a court declare bankruptcy, this is referred to as involuntary bankruptcy. In the U.S., liquidation, reorganization, and debt adjustment are your legal options after bankruptcy.

* FORECLOSURE: This is the legal process that occurs when a creditor collects the collateral that is used to secure a defaulted loan. In most U.S. states, lenders must file a foreclosure suit and get judgment prior to collecting and auctioning the property of a borrower.

Rekindling Hope by Refinancing Mortgages
A mortgage refinance for bad credit loan can help you keep your house despite missed payments. "Bad credit" is a credit rating term. It can refer to one's defaulting on a loan. While "bad credit" is not a crime, it can certainly make your life miserable. Enter a mortgage refinance for bad credit loan. Refinancing a loan involves adjusting a mortgage loan and changing planned debt payments. How does this help? It frequently reduces loan payments or lowers finance costs. If you want to avoid losing your home, a mortgage refinance for bad credit loan can help to end legal problems.

Besides weight, headaches, and pushy telemarketers, we generally hate losing anything. That is why finding a good mortgage refinance for bad credit loan can help our money problems vanish into thin air.

Hold on to your home with a mortgage refinance bad credit loan! Learn more about mortgage loans with bad credit or look for mortgage lenders for bad credit when you visit WhatAboutLoans.com now.

by Rony_Walker

Reverse Mortgage Scams

2008-01-06T15:06:00.002-08:00

Telemarketing Services - The Purpose of Telemarketing Opening Dialogue

2008-01-06T15:06:00.001-08:00

I picked up the ringing phone the other day. “Hello?” I said. Then I sat in shock as I heard on the other end, “Hello, my name is Jim and I’m calling from XYZ Co.

We are a full service communication provider and we’re offering clients a very special promotion on our satellite television services. If you sign up with us today you can receive our full service for just $25.00 a month for the first three months. What’s more you won’t be charged a sign up fee.

Now before you say ‘no’ I’d like to take a moment to remind you about all the great features of our service…” He went on and on and on and didn’t give me the opportunity to say a single word. Finally, he took a breath and I was able to decline the offer.

Jim of XYZ Company (the names are changed to protect the guilty!) shares a misconception among many telemarketing services professionals about the purpose of the opening dialogue.

This article is going to talk about what that opening dialogue is for. Note that it doesn’t matter if you are working for individual sales leads or business sales leads, this truth remains the same.

Telemarketing services opening dialogue? Many people assume the opening dialogue should be like a Gatling gun: firing off all your bullets at once in the hopes that one or two will hit the target. It’s ineffective and, like Jim’s opening dialogue, almost comical! It gives the impression that the telemarketing “professional” doesn’t care about the sales leads’ time.

Why is it like this? It’s because many people feel that they have a bunch of things they need to say and they’re expecting their sales leads to say “no”.

So, you’re asking me, if that’s not the case, what is the purpose?

Telemarketing requires patience and should be aimed at opening a dialog, not just making a quick sale. The aim is to generate interest; to whet the appetite; create interest; and to develop a little intrigue. Ultimately, the purpose of your opening dialogue is NOT to try and sell the product. The purpose of the opening dialogue is to get the customer to say three simple words: “Tell me more”.

So when you are faced with outbound telemarketing - a list of business sales leads numbers to dial, and you’re just getting ready by crafting the opening dialogue, what do you put at the beginning? The answer is simple: just enough to have them say to you, “Tell me more.”

Here are some examples that Jim could have used on me:
•“Did you know that you’re not getting all the channels you could be getting?”
•“Did you know that you’re paying too much for television?”
•“Did you know that the average home pays $3 per channel per month. I can show you how to pay half of that.”

Inbound and outbound telemarketing services could be one of the most profitable ways to increase your sales leads.

Whether you’re dealing with housewives or mechanics, students or CEOs, personal sales leads or business sales leads, you only want to accomplish one task with your opening dialogue: get them to say three little words to you… “Tell me more.”

Claudine Waskowycz is a veteran telemarketing, telesales and cold calling expert, sales trainer, who worked with dozens of organisations to transform their business and sales. She is also the author of, The Cold Calling Game … is Up and My Sales Conversation Guide. Visit http://www.cchighlights4u.com

Benefit form dozens of Articles updated on regular bases on presentation skills, customer service, sales, marketing, motivation, inspiration, communication, success, meetings, associations, business, and more. Visit http://www.cchighlights4u.com

by Claudine_Waskowycz

Semi Exclusive Mortgage Leads

2008-01-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

Reverse Mortgage Leads

2008-01-05T19:25:00.002-08:00

Mortgage Marketing

2008-01-05T19:25:00.001-08:00

Telemarketing As A Career - Is It A Good Choice?

2008-01-05T19:24:00.002-08:00

If you are considering becoming a telemarketer either as a career or a temporary job, I would like to offer you some things to consider. Most telemarketers are not really salespeople at all. They are script readers who are expected to add a human voice to the script which has been written by a high pressure artist. Then they are offered up to the marketplace as cannon fodder.

Telemarketers are generally very poorly paid and virtually never trained as salespeople. But it gets worse. Telemarketers are usually not trained to deal with the rejection and personal abuse they will surely encounter while doing their jobs. The public considers the telemarketer at the bottom of the heap when it comes to salespeople.

Many people try telemarketing as a way to break into selling. Regrettably, for most, it is a selling career stopper rather than a career starter. Working in telemarketing is one of the fastest ways I can think of to have your self esteem battered and bruised. That might explain why the industry turnover of employees is so high.

My question to anyone looking to telemarketing as a career or even a shorter term job would be, "Why"?

* Why be under paid?
* Why be abused?
* Why not learn to be a professional salesperson?

Selling can be a very rewarding and very lucrative career. It can build self esteem and provide for all you would want materially. That is, if you learn the skills properly. Great salespeople aren't born, they learn their craft. It doesn't take long either with the right knowledge. And the good news is, it need not be too costly an investment to be on your way.

There are some great training programs and books available. Acquire the skills that will serve you for a lifetime. I might be a little biased, but I invite you to check out what I have to offer you because getting paid is good!

We offer complete, powerful and very affordable computer based sales training for companies and educators is available at http://www.sellingatmastery.com/

Individual salespeople and those wishing to learn how to sell, please visit http://www.salestraininghere.com/

Both sites offer free valuable training bonus resources just for stopping by.

There is a very lucrative affiliate offer that you will want to check out because getting paid is good!

We offer a no nonsense risk free guarantee.

If you are serious about improving your sales results, earning more money and boosting your customer satisfaction record you can't afford to pass this up. Please visit us now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Masson

Jim Masson - EzineArticles Expert Author

Find the Ideal Vending Location - Hire a Vending Locator

2008-01-05T19:24:00.001-08:00

Vending Locator Service - Overview

Most vending locator services promise you to provide the best and top quality vending location services. In such a situation when all services sound good, choosing a perfect vending locator service provider gets most tedious. At the same time, you should remember that your chances of making money through vending machine installations can be brighten up if the vending service provider you hire knows his job best. Hence select a vending locator who knows his job best.

Your ideal vending locator

* Take a look at the key features of an ideal vending locator service: Capability to find most suitable and safe vending machine locations
* Conduct a through research while selecting locations
* Should provide vending machine maintenance
* Experienced and professional vending machine locators
* Customer/Technical Support
* Provide vending locator consulting
* Should be able to provide vending locator service for one or 100 machines
* Qualified and skilled staff

How vending locators work

Once you hire a vending locator service after discussing your vending machine requirements, a vending locater service provider should chalk out a strategic plan keeping in mind the kind of vending machine that needs to be placed. Different kinds of vending machines are suited for different locations. For example, a beer vending machine is ideal for hotels and restaurants while a snack vending machine is ideal for shopping centers.

Once the ideal locations for your vending machines are short listed, calls need to be made to contact shop owners, retailers, hotel owners, restaurant owners, salon owners, and other suitable businesses to find out if they are interested in having a vending machine at their premises. Demonstration is given to those who are interested in installing vending machines on their locations. Once all is finalized, the vending machines are installed. According to the settlement, vending location services also provide vending machine repair and maintenance services.

Jade de Guzman is the owner of http://www.businessbeanstalk.com, a call center that caters to the diverse cold... calling needs of entrepreneurs and small to medium businesses. He has found locations for thousands of machines nationwide.

Business Beanstalk is an unmatched combination of affordable price and technological perfection. We use the award winning Five9 Virtual Contact Center suite of applications. To add to it, our call agents have worked with some of the biggest companies in the world. We deal in sales telemarketing lead generation, b2b lead generation, lead qualification as well as mortgage telemarketing and appointment setting telemarketing lead generation. Remember this is only the partial list! The use of the latest technology at Business Beanstalk reduces the average cost of telemarketing lead generation. We can also provide the requisite Do Not Call Registry scrubbing for your organization for Business to Consumer (B2C) calls. For any queries feel free to contact us at. Call us at 1(877)270-4480.

by Jade_De_Guzman

Telemarketing Speaker Suggests Keeping Your Call Center FULL!

2008-01-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

Mortgage Mailers: Am I Really Pre-Approved?

2008-01-05T19:22:00.002-08:00

Isn't it annoying to get all that junk mail from companies trying to get you to apply for a home mortgage? This is a typical letter from our readers:

"I keep getting pre-approved mortgage offers in the mail (several a week), and this makes me very uncomfortable. Many of them are from out of state banks or companies I have never heard of. I have been told there is a way to keep these companies from sending me these offers or inquiring about my credit, but no one has been able to tell me how I should go about this. Is there an address or phone number I can contact to take care of this?"

Getting off a Telemarketer’s List

When a telemarketer calls, document when and where they are calling from and ask them to please put you on their “do not call list” (use those exact words). According to federal law they are not allowed to call you again. If they persist and continue to call you, you can make a report to National Fraud Information Center.

Junk Mortgage mailers:

You can write to Experian Consumer Opt Out: 701 Experian Parkway, Allen TX 75013 or call (800) 353-0809 (one call or letter gets you off all three bureaus).

I have received numerous calls from my readers claiming that they had just gotten a loan from a telemarketer or from mortgage mailers. One of them had given me full details of what occurred when she applied for a loan thru them. A call was initially received from a telemarketer and when the client replied, a representative got some information and advises that a service loan representative would call her back. One did, and after getting all necessary information they offered her a rate that she thought was good. Their processing time was very quick, within about a week and a half, the loan representative called again and said that she had been approved and that the papers are ready for signing. They scheduled a signing date, once all documents are laid down; the borrowers noticed that her closing cost was sixteen thousand dollars ($16,000). She then refused to sign; a manager called and threatened to sue the borrowers for a commission. The borrower then thought she did not have a choice and followed his instructions and signed. Now, they are closed and the commission was paid to the mortgage company from Michigan.

One lesson to be learned from this, Real estate lending law varies from state to state. Not only that, a mortgage company could be governed by Department of Real Estate or Corporations. There are major differences is all governing bodies.

I tried to inquire about mass mailing myself for my business, I found out that it is not important what you can offer the clients but how you can draw them in to you and then close them. These companies sometimes sell your information for pennies, they send out millions of mailers and when someone calls, they have professional closers to tell you anything you want to hear just to get your business. The percentage of closing if very low because most of the people hate telemarketers and mass mortgage mailers. That is why these companies always try to come up with innovative ways to send you mailers or call you.

With mortgage business slowing down, I am sure the telemarketer and the mortgage mailers will increase.

I recently got a call from a telemarketer who does not know I was in the business; I played along with their sales pitch and wanted to see how good they are in trying to get me a loan. They were offering a 1% loan with no discount points. I started asking deep questions like, what are the margin, indexes and the life cap. The representative tries to stir me into mostly the low payment that this loan offers. I ask if there was a negative amortization (increasing principal balance) on this loan. They clearly said “NO” and said that I have options and again tried to focus on the low payments again. I then ask for a good faith estimate to be sent to my fax number, I got it after 3 days. I then noticed that they are charging me an origination fee of 2%, I ask the representative about this and he said that he already gave me a discount for not charging me a discount points.

In my business, they are the same fees and that is a huge deception. I then went down the list of other closing costs: there are about $1800 in other miscellaneous fees. I then called and said I was not interested anymore, the same scenario happened, another person came into the picture and tried to talk me into this loan. He gave me some discount and said that we are ready to close. I asked this person about the negative loan, he explained it a little better but kept directing me to the minimum payment that is low. I then said I am not interested. The person I spoke with was a manager and got frustrated in trying to close me and then hung up on me.

Don’t believe your mailers or telemarketers; they are just trying to talk you into putting money into their pockets. Be very careful, so far I have not heard of a good deal with one of those specialty marketing strategies. Best to always get all details of the loan in writing and not verbal.

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Ken Go has been running his southern California home loans business since 1987. His honesty and courtesy equal loyalty to his customers. Forget about "good faith estimates." With 1st Innovative Finance Group, all loan rates and fees are guaranteed upon application. Ken Go writes a California home loans blog for anyone who might want free advice about financing a home with a mortgage. Ken speaks English, Chinese, and Filipino (Tagalog).

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ken_Go

Ken Go - EzineArticles Expert Author

Non Exclusive Mortgage Leads

2008-01-05T19:22:00.001-08:00

When borrowers supply their forms of request for a mortgage loan, lead providers generate leads from the data supplied by borrowers and mail them to several brokers or lenders. Very often these leads get recycled, as they move from one broker or loan officer to the other. Such leads are known as Non Exclusive Mortgage Leads.

Though Non Exclusive Mortgage Leads have a downside related to confidentiality and speed of transfer, they are less expensive than Exclusive Mortgage Leads. More importantly, they can offer the best deal to the borrower. Let’s take an example.

Maggie applies for a Non-Exclusive Mortgage Loan at a mortgage lead providing company. As hers is a Non Exclusive Mortgage Lead, the lead provider sends her lead to several loan officers and these people get in touch with her. As the loan officers increase, competition becomes stiffer. It is much like the difference between one person spending $100 and several people sharing the same $100.

In other words, in Non-Exclusive Leads, the chance of Maggie’s bargaining with loan officers and getting the best deal is very bright. Though there is a basic difference between Exclusive and Non-Exclusive Mortgage Leads, in terms of confidentiality and competition, the mode of transfer of information from the Borrower to the Lender, through the Broker or otherwise, at the Lead Provider’s Office or Online, face-to-face or telephonic, is a different matter that concerns speed.

Non Exclusive Mortgage Leads are less expensive for the lender to buy, but the competition is higher. This means that the lender has less choice dealing with Non Exclusive Leads than Exclusive Leads. This becomes the plus point for the borrower.

Exclusive Mortgage Leads provides detailed information about exclusive mortgage leads, exclusive internet mortgage leads, exclusive telemarketing mortgage leads, exclusive real time mortgage leads and more. Exclusive Mortgage Leads is the sister site of Life Insurance Leads.
by Jennifer_Bailey

Exclusive Mortgage Broker Leads

2008-01-05T19:21:00.002-08:00

When getting a mortgage, borrowers fill the lead forms in person at the lead provider’s office or online at the lead provider’s website. Except in the case of Internet Mortgage and Telemarketing Leads, the lead providing companies collect the leads during office working hours, and then mail them out at night to brokers. This means that there’s at least an overnight’s delay in the lead transfer process.

If, on the other hand, Mortgage Brokers have their own web sites that can gather Mortgage Leads, will it not be better? Today, Lead Proving Companies are bringing in the advantages of Web based technology to their Broker clientele as follows: They help the Mortgage Broker, who is registered in their site, with efficient Lead Generation and Management Systems. These are basically web pages that can be handled by the brokers independently. They are designed in such as way that they cover all lead distribution needs as desired by the broker.

By using such Lead Generation and Management Systems the broker can manage the content, upload an Online `Form of Request for Loan’ filled in by the Borrower, track visits [knowing the number of people who visited the web page], advertise the website in search engines, allocate the desired choice of lead format - html emails, .pdf email attachments, text files, fax, etc. and accomplish many more tasks.

Several independent Mortgage Brokers and Broker Firms go in for this type of system due to its obvious advantages. Broker Firms use the system with an option to work as an exclusive system [where leads reach one loan officer] or non-exclusive system (where leads reach many loan officers) by using their networking facility.

Though these leads cut an edge over other type of leads, these are more expensive, as such systems include a custom designed web site, a few hours of internet and search engine marketing. Lead Providing Companies usually charge a setup fee for the site and a fee per lead with a minimum stipulated fee. Let’s take an example. A Lead Provider charges $1,000 for the website and $1 per lead per day, or a minimum fee of $30 if the leads are less than 30 per day. If the Broker’s web site mobilizes 50 leads per day, the monthly fee comes to $50. If on the other hand, the site collects only 25 leads per day, the monthly fee is $30. The price includes electronic data transfer just like in paid web based email services.

Though relatively expensive, speed, confidentiality of data and the degree of freedom to the Broker render Exclusive Mortgage Broker Leads unique and popular.

Exclusive Mortgage Leads provides detailed information about exclusive mortgage leads, exclusive internet mortgage leads, exclusive telemarketing mortgage leads, exclusive real time mortgage leads and more. Exclusive Mortgage Leads is the sister site of Life Insurance Leads.

by Jennifer_Bailey

Exclusive Telemarketing Mortgage Leads

2008-01-05T19:21:00.001-08:00

Telemarketing Mortgage Loan Leads

2008-01-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

Mortgage Options For Veterans

2008-01-03T16:07:00.001-08:00

here are several mortgage-financing options for veterans. The last thing you need to worry about is who to trust when it comes to making one of the biggest decisions in your financial life. Veterans can go conventional, FHA, or they can apply for a VA loan. Here is a brief description of the different programs available.

Conventional - Most conventional loans go directly through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The borrowers for these loans usually have to have good credit. Loans are available to 100% and the seller can contribute up to 3% closing costs. Generally, these types of loans have mortgage insurance. The mortgage insurance is typically tax deductible; to be certain it is best to contact your tax advisor. These loans vary from state to state. The maximum loan amount for a conforming conventional loan is $417,000. To go conventional the borrower must be able to prove income and have reserves in the bank.

FHA loans - These loans are for people who have had some credit problems in the past. To obtain this type of loan generally the borrower has to be on time with all accounts for the past year. These usually require that the borrower put down at least 3% to the transaction. This 3% can be gifted from a relative. This program allows up to 6% seller contributions to cover closing costs and the costs associated with setting up an escrow account. The FHA loan also requires up front mortgage insurance for 2.25% to 2.5% rolled onto the back of the mortgage. The mortgage insurance premium is .5%, which is cheap. To be eligible for an FHA loan the borrower must have the ability to prove his income.
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If applying for a conventional of FHA loan here is, a checklist of items that loan officer is going to need to get you approved:

Copies of driver's license and social security card
1 month recent pay stubs
2 months recent bank statements
2006 and 2007 W2's and tax returns
most recent statement of 401K, IRA, CD's

VA loans - VA loans are 100% financing loans with no mortgage insurance. The veteran pays an upfront mortgage insurance premium, which like FHA rolls into the loan amount. If the veteran is on disability or has sustained any injuries during active duty this upfront mortgage insurance fees may not be applicable. VA loans are assumable. To be eligible for a VA loan the borrower must have the ability to prove his income.

If applying for a VA loan here is, a checklist of items that loan officer is going to need to get you approved:

Copies of driver's license and social security card
1 month recent pay stubs
2 months recent bank statements
2006 and 2007 W2's and tax returns
Most recent statement of 401K, IRA, CD's
DD-214
Certificate of eligibility (original)

It is important to understand the pros and cons of each mortgage option. In order to make the best decision the loan officer should take the time to explain all three types. Compare the three and determine which makes the most sense. To make the best decision be certain all of the facts are available.

Jason Holter specializes in helping Veterans achieve home ownership through a vast array of products. As a special token of his appreciation and gratitude towards veterans Jason Holter is offering one thousand dollars off of closing costs for loan amounts 100,000 dollars or more. Jason guarantees that if your closing documents aren't at the title company two days before you are scheduled to close, he will waive his origination fee. To date, he has not had to return the fee to anyone. For more information about Jason Holter, please visit his website at http://www.yourclearlakemortgage.com or email him at jholter@prolendingmortgage.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Holter

Save Money By Paying Mortgage Weekly?

2008-01-03T16:06:00.001-08:00

If paying your mortgage biweekly (every two weeks) cuts about seven years off your pay back schedule, then paying weekly should cut off 14 years, right? If you find a place where that works, let me know and I'll sign up with you!

Though there are international variations in the way mortgages are calculated, most United States home loans have some common characteristics. Two notable ones are that interest is computed monthly (usually at 1/12th of the annual rate) and that the interest is charged "in arrears," that is, after it was used. Though these can vary among lenders, most follow this format.

Therefore, your mortgage interest is the same for the month of March with 31 days as it is for February when there are only 28 days. In addition, any payment you make this month will not reduce the interest you owe next month, because of that "arrears" thing. It has already been established you will pay your interest rate times .o8 (1/12th of the rate) times your remaining loan balance.

One more basic to keep in mind: most U.S. lenders want to process your mortgage payment only once a month. Biweekly mortgage plans are usually implemented by companies external to your lender, and provided as a service to you (you pay a fee for the service) and to the bank (there are fewer mortgage defaults since the payment is automatically deducted from your bank account). It's a win-win-win. Properly implemented, you could pay back a 30-year fixed-rate loan in about 23 years, depending on loan specifics, of course. (For $200,000 at 6%, the technique eliminates nearly $50,000 of mortgage interest.)

I learned about this "hold for full payment" policy the hard way on a remote rental property on which the property taxes were increased. I paid my usual payment to the mortgage company. Next thing I knew, I got a 30-day late notice. A phone call to the mortgage servicing company revealed they weren't equipped to notify borrowers of property tax increases uploaded to their computers by tax assessment offices. Their method was to wait for the next month's payment, slice the $28 off needed to supplement the last payment, and carry me forward a month behind from then on. They-and other mortgage companies-are quite rigid about the "no partial payments" thing.

This is why for a biweekly payment plan to work, either an outside party collects your two week's worth of mortgage principal and interest and holds it for you until they collect the next two weeks' worth, then combines the two half-payments and delivers them to your bank; or your bank has a system in place, totally at their discretion, for applying your payments. Payments are usually still held and applied monthly, but a rare bank might actually apply the two-week portion when it is received.

The reason the biweekly payment plan works so effectively is that there are 26 two-week periods in a year. Fifty-two divided by two equals twenty-six. I hope by seeing how a biweekly plan actually works-which is a bit different from how most of us are used to thinking they work-the problems with a weekly payment plan become clear.

Lenders are not set up to accept payments four times a month, or 4.2 times a month (the average number of weeks in a month). You could operate your own weekly payment plan, with your year's payments due divided by 52. You would then set the money aside, not to spend it, until you have collected two (if you are also working with a biweekly service company) or four, if you are doing this completely on your own.

Either way, you are squeezing in an extra month's payment every year. And the best part about it is-if done correctly-that the 13th lump sum goes to principal only!

To receive a free report called "Warnings About Biweekly Payment Plans," simply check the box at www.letyourmortgagemakeyourich.com Or you can select the free list of credit card companies that pay rewards points directly to your home loan.

And get instant access to my popular mortgage savings tips. Scads of ways to reduce your mortgage interest without refinancing! You can also read more about United First Financial and their Money Merge Account from Lin Ennis, developer of the 86-page do-it-yourself manual Let Your Mortgage Make You Rich! Why should you put your banker's kids through college instead of your own? Get the facts and pay off your home in about one third the time!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lin_Ennis

Lin Ennis - EzineArticles Expert Author

Mortgage Loans in Texas

2008-01-03T16:05:00.002-08:00

Based on the most recent data mortgage rates for thirty year fixed mortgages are at a historic low, and the amount of points charged varies per lender, based on many factors including the loan amount, longevity of the loan and your credit score. There are various types of loans available, including fixed rate mortgage loans, adjustable rate mortgage loans (ARM), home equity loans, home equity lines of credit (HELOC) and more.

It is very important to consider the type of loan you need to meet your current financial situation and consider your future needs.

Fixed Rate Mortgage
This is your parent's financing. Prior to the internet, when most people stayed at the same job until retirement and families weren't as mobile as today; this loan was the epitome of stability. With fixed rates, the interest rates and payments stay the same for the term of the loan.

Balloon Mortgages
Balloon financing always seem attractive in the beginning. These loans generally offer a fixed rate for several years. At the end of the fixed rate portion of the loan, payment is due in full. If at the end of the term you are unable to pay you have few options. You can refinance but you will be subject to current interest rates or you may find yourself in default.

The 5/5 & 5/1 Adjustable Rate Mortgage
This offers a stable payment and interest rate for the first five years. In the sixth year the interest rates, and therefore the payments, are adjusted every five years for the 5/5 arm and every year for the 5/1 arm.

Refinancing in Texas
In some instances, refinancing your current mortgage loan can help you lower your monthly payment. Borrowers can borrow against the equity built up in their home at a lower cost than they can from other sources. Like most mortgage interest, another benefit to refinancing is that if you pay off credit cards, the interest you pay will now be tax deductible.

The rates and points on each loan will vary. As with any major consideration, it is imperative to consider all of your options and utilize all of the resources available to make an educated financial decision. Talk to a reputable mortgage lender and ask them to explain some important points in finding the right loan for you.

Jason Holter is an experienced and ethical Mortgage Lender from the Houston area. Jason works closely with the most respected realtors. Jason is so confident about his services, he offers a "2 Day Doc Guarantee".

He guarantees that if your closing documents aren't at the title company two days before you are scheduled to close, he will waive his origination fee. To date, he has not had to return the fee to anyone.

Jason's website offers articles, advice, and loan applications at http://www.jasonholter.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Holter

The Basics Of Home Mortgage Refinance

2008-01-03T16:05:00.001-08:00

If you're looking to find out the basics of home mortgage refinance, you'll want to know some of the tricks to make the process easier. Chances are, you're looking into it because you're unhappy with your current interest rates, or you'd like to think about changing your thirty year mortgage into a fifteen year mortgage, putting more money back into your pocket in the process. Here are some helpful suggestions to make your upcoming decision a little easier on both your time and your wallet.

The world of home mortgage refinance can be a tricky one if you don't have a lot of experience in the area. For this reason, you may want to enlist the services of a mortgage agent or broker. Though it will cost you some money in commission, the agent will be able to show you the differences between a good refinancing plan and a bad one.

Today's refinancing industry is much more competitive than ever before, meaning the choices are nearly endless. However, for the newcomer (and even for some who are experienced) it is hard to tell where the hype ends and the substance begins. An agent can help you separate the wheat from the chaff and save you some valuable money in the meantime.

Though it may be tempting to go for a home mortgages refinance through your current bank, don't jump in without considering your options. Websites such as Lending Tree can put you in the hands of many different lenders bidding to give you a new loan. This way, everyone wins and you can get the cheapest possible interest rates. Of course, you needn't go through Lending Tree. There are competitors with equal services and you can shop around on your own if you have the time and inclination.

Finally, know your market. This may not be the best time to acquire a home mortgage refinance program. The market goes through its ups and downs and it takes some timing to procure the best interest rates. If you go in while the market is hot, you may not get as good a deal as when it's a seller's market. Take all of this into consideration when searching for a loan and you'll be better off and get a much better refinancing deal.

You can find out more about Home Mortgage Refinance as well as much more information on everything to do with home mortgage refinancing at http://www.HomeMortgageRefinanceTips.net

by Terry_Edwards

FAQs on Getting a New Home Mortgage (Refinancing)

2008-01-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

What is refinancing and what types are there?

Refinancing is simply the process of getting a new home mortgage to replace your existing one. There are various loan terms available for you to choose from. The most common ones are the 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 or even way up to 40 to 50 years.

Is it financially safe to get a new home mortgage?

Refinancing can most likely lower your current interested rate to an adjustable or fixed mortgage. That said, refinancing may well be the solution to your financial problems. Refinancing also allows you the chance to change from your current adjustable rate to a fixed rate and vice versa. It can also allow you to take some cash out from your equity, lower your interest rates and your overall monthly mortgage payment. These benefits can be enjoyed only with refinancing, but at the expense usually of longer, renewed mortgage terms.

How much do I pay for refinancing?

Getting a new home mortgage may cost you some fees and charges which may include application fees, appraisal and legal fees, closing and other related charges. There are lenders who offer low cost, or even "no cost" refinancing at the cost of higher interest rates, or deductible from the lump sum mortgage to be issued. It is not really "free" per se, but you do not pay up front for the mortgage.

Is it a good idea for me to refinance?

It may or may not be a good idea to refinance. The answer to this depends on individual circumstances and your financial goals. Refinancing may be a good idea if you want to lessen your monthly payment or reduce your interest rates. However, you should consider other factors as well such as your length of stay in your home, the points you are willing to pay, your home equity, and so on.

Is it necessary that I pay points to get lower interest rates?

The choice of whether to buy points is also entirely up to you, depending on what you want to achieve. Points are usually tax deductible in small increments. You can use this to your advantage as well.

How long will it take me to get a new home mortgage?

Refinancing usually takes about two weeks to a month depending on a few factors. If you had a fairly recent home appraisal, or if you can get appraisal service easily, you can refinance as soon as just a little over a week. During refinancing peak seasons, it might be difficult to get an appraisal, and you will experience delays in refinancing.

How do I shop for a great new home mortgage deal?

Try to get in touch with at least three lenders and check on each of their loan terms, programs and rates. You can do your canvassing online or through phone.

Can I still refinance even if my credit rating is not so good?

Yes, by all means, do so. The loan terms you will be given may not be as attractive as when you have a good rating, but it relatively can match it well.

Want to know more about mortgage refinancing and other ways to solve your financial burden? Check out New Home Mortgage or Home Mortgage and let our experts provide you some sound advice on handling your finances better.

by Alan_Lim

Should I Refinance My Mortgage?

2008-01-03T16:03:00.002-08:00

If you choose to refinance your mortgage, then this is right time for you to do so. The market is filled with lenders competing with each other to offer the best refinance mortgage deals. To enjoy the benefits, grab the opportunity as fast as possible.

There are numerous reasons why people go for refinancing their mortgage. The most common reason is that one is relieved from paying high interest rates even when the market offers much lower interest rates. If you want, you can also reduce the repayment period to get rid of the loan as fast as possible and save thousands of dollars, which could have gone into paying high interest rates. In addition, what more you want when you don't need to pay anymore Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) if your current loan balance is below 80 percent of the new appraised value of your home. If you think ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) is not anymore suitable to you, you can shift to FRM (Fixed Rate mortgage) according to your own convenience by refinancing your loan.

The process is as easy as a cakewalk. Forget about the hassles of physically negotiating with lenders. If you are looking for the cheapest and the best mortgage rates, look no further. Once you apply for refinance, your request is matched with the best deals. You can get connected to multiple lenders, as they are available online. All you have to do is, fill up an easy online form and in response, up to four lenders will send you free refinance loan quotes that enable you to compare refinance rates and other terms. Refinance loan calculators help you to compare the different refinance rates and choose what suits you the best.

Robert Cruise, an expert business writer, regularly contributes his articles to various websites just to help common people, small businesses and everyone to get mortgage refinance facility. Visit http://www.proloanz.com/mortgage_should_i_refinance.asp to read more articles from this author.

by Robert_Cruise

How to Choose a Mortgage Lender

2008-01-03T16:03:00.001-08:00

Choosing a mortgage lender does not have to be a difficult task, but it does have to be a task that you take very seriously and make serious considerations about before you do it. Mortgage lending is done by a number of different people in today's world and that is the reason why you must be careful; some people are good, some are bad and it is the careful consideration and shopping around for comparisons that you do beforehand that will ensure that you work with a lender that is good for you. While all lenders are different and offer different products, the ideal lender for you will have a number of different characteristics.

Experience

A good mortgage lender will have experience in handling people that are just like you. In today's age of the internet, it is impossible for a person to have a lot of experience as a lender without someone having written a review about them. Whether you are talking about a specific bank or else you are talking about a specific individual that is an agent for other lending activities, you are going to be able to find something online about them if they have a lot of positive experience with clients. You can even ask them right away for testimonials from clients they have had in the past and cross-reference the two pieces of information to get an overall view of just how experienced they might be.

Skill

Mortgage lenders are essentially people that are supposed to make you feel good about the mortgage that you have. This means that while part of their job is educating you on the mortgage products and options you have available to you, another large part of their job is in the field of making you feel good and confident about the mortgage product that you pick. This should be regardless of whether you follow their advice or not. Therefore, a good mortgage lender, regardless of the decisions that you make, will be courteous to you at all times and will make you feel very good about the decisions that you make. If your lender does not do this, then you need to be wary about continuing with them because quite often there is a link between someone's ability to make you confident and the confidence they themselves have in what they are saying.

Options

Lastly, a good mortgage lender will be able to offer you options. Most lenders work for a specific company, so this really has more to do with what the company has to offer rather than with what the lender has to offer and that is why it is down here at the bottom of the list. Options are usually given everywhere, but the places that you are likely to get the best options are from places like big banks. If you can get good mortgage options from a particular bank and then find a lender agent that possesses experience and skill, then you are going to be in a good position to make sure that you end up with a mortgage agreement that is truly good for you.

Manuel Koch is the Owner of the Credit Card Review site "MoneyInTheWallet.com"

by Manuel_Koch

Paying Off Your Mortgage

2008-01-03T16:02:00.001-08:00

There is an idea floating around out there in the ether. Some folks are actually talking about paying off their mortgages and getting out of debt for good. Poppycock! That's madness. What is so great about financial freedom anyway?

Face it. Your mortgage, for which you probably broke traffic laws to get to the closing, has become a ball and chain. The dollar amount of your home loan may have actually increased over the years, while the appraisal value may have gone down. This begins to look rather hopeless after a while.

Now, there are some friends of mine who claim that they do NOT want to pay off their mortgage. They say they need the tax write off. I just can't get my mind to go there. Saving a few bucks on taxes cannot compare to owning your home outright. You must eliminate your mortgage if you really want to build wealth, which begs the question.....how?

The typical comsumer has mortgaged the largest loan he could, right? Didn't you sit down and figure out your budget with your lender? They have formulas for this kind of thing, and we all went for it. They were right. Your mortgage is probably just the right amount to guarantee that you can make your payments....almost comfortably. By the way, they also know that you will probably be refinancing in the next 5-7 years, and that you will, indeed, never get out from under the beast that is called " closed-ended loan with front-loaded interest". It is a killer, make no mistake.

You have GOT to do something about it. So how do you pay off a mortgage? Simple. Just add more money. If you pay down your principle balance, they charge you less interest. If you make just one additional payment per year, you will save 5-7 years of payments at the end of your mortgage. Great. Where am I going to get an extra $1199 this year? You could scrape up $100 per month couldn't you? Sounds fun doesn't it? Not.

Suppose you could use someone else's money? Would that work? Yes, I think it would. In fact, if you could apply $5,000 to principle on your 30 year mortgage, just once, you would eliminate $28,000 in interest charges. Why, if you did that several times, you could pay off your mortgage in a fraction of the time! So, who is going to let you use their money, because most of us don't have the extra 5 grand sitting around. Ah, but perhaps you do.

See the whole time you are slaving away and making your mortgage payments, you are building equity. Not much at first, but it is happening. You also may have some built in value in your home or elsewhere. This is the beginning of leverage.

The bank has available to you, a completely different kind of credit. It is called "open-ended" credit. It is nothing like your mortgage.

Your mortgage is closed-ended credit. Money only flows in one direction. The Bank's. You have to make full payments, on time, and you can never ask for them back. The interest is extremely loaded onto the front of the loan, so that the bank gets paid their profit first, long before you actually make progress on your part of the loan. That is why banks have the biggest, nicest buildings in every town or city.

But open-ended credit, in the form of a Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC) or a Personal Line Of Credit (PLC) allows you to create real cash flow. Cash flows in and out, and every time it does, the balance in the account changes. The bank can only charge you interest on the actual daily balance. So get the picture here. If you were to borrow 20 dollars today, and pay it back tomorrow, you would only owe interest on 20 dollars for one day.

If you were to borrow, say $5,000, and make a payment to the principle on your mortgage today, and then deposit your $5,000 paycheck tomorrow, what would happen? Well, you would owe the interest on $5,000 for 1 day....about $1.75 - $2.00. But you cancelled $28,000 in interest charges on your 30 year mortgage! Whoa! Does this sound too good to be true? Yes and no.

The fact is, this is just math and money. Neither of them ever sleep. If you do the math right, this idea becomes fact. The problem is, it is a lot of math. You would constantly have to be monitoring your cash flow, expenses, fluctuations, and lifestyle. Life changes all of the time. You cannot just pull a dollar figure out of a hat, and go borrow some money from your HELOC. You could easily get yourself in an expensive financial hole. It would have to be a precise number, and that number would always be changing. Boy, if only there was computer software.......

Did I mention that there is computer software that can help you do this? Oh yeah. There are several companies out there that offer software of different kinds. Some companies are just banks who want to "help" you refinance, some offer a course on how these ideas work, others are legitimate software developers. Most of them charge $3500, so make sure you pick the right one. The big names in the business are: United First Financial, Sydney Financial Group, CMG, Free and Clear, and McCory. More are popping up all of the time.

Do your own research, and make sure that you are not getting stuck with nothing more than a fancy spreadsheet. You want a tool that is responsive and dynamic and flexible with your changing financial tides.

Call these companies at their customer support centers and see how long you have to wait. You want to deal with professionals. You want live customer support for life. You want free updates. You want a written guarantee. But mostly you want the best, most intuitive, interactive, simple to operate system, and not a static piece of software with an owner's manual. Don't fall for a 10 year projection on your payments. Keep in mind that the optimum numbers will change as your life happens.

If you do this right, you can be debt free in 1/3 to ½ the time. You will save a fortune in interest payments. You can discover a whole new way of thinking about money, like how to make other people's money work for you, instead of the other way around. Enjoy.

Do you want to get out of debt? Marc Rosenbaum will help you. Make contact and request a free analysis of your financial situation. Take charge today!

http://www.debteraser2007.com

http://www.thecashgarden.com

by Marc_Rosenbaum

Idaho Mortgage Refinancing

2008-01-03T16:00:00.000-08:00

The Idaho mortgage refinancing system makes it easy to use the already present equity in your home to serve whatever purpose you need it for. Fortunately for most homeowners there are a variety of ways to get more money out of your home.

Once you have decided on the best method for you and your needs, the process of home mortgage refinancing usually isn't a long one. Always check around for the best interest rates and find a bank or company you are comfortable working with.

Lines of Credit and Home Equity Loans

One option for an Idaho mortgage refinancing that many people take advantage of is a line of credit, which allows the borrower to only pay back what they actually use from the home's equity. While you also will be issued checks like from your checking account, a line of credit works like a credit card does. Before signing on the dotted line you will have the opportunity to agree to the interest rates, then you only make payments on the amount of money you spend and the appropriate interest.

With an Idaho mortgage refinancing that involves a home equity loan, you are responsible for the terms that tend to go along with a traditional loan. You will once again agree to certain interest rate and terms. Many people find this the best arrangement for them due to knowing in advance what their monthly payment will be.

What to Do With the Money

Once you complete your Idaho mortgage refinancing option, you may be left wondering what to do now; vacation, home repairs, or paying off other high interest rate credit cards or loans. It is completely up to you how you spend the extra money. Many people use it as an opportunity to make a fresh financial start for themselves and get out from under the overwhelming debt.

Another option a lot of people go with is education either for themselves or their children or grandchildren. Higher education, trade schools, or online learning all have benefits and it is only natural to take advantage of the opportunity to better your or a loved ones greater learning and earning potential.

With an Idaho mortgage refinancing process you are in the lead and have the responsibility to make sure your possible future lender meets your needs effectively and cost efficiently for you. Make sure you know the terms and policies before signing and an Idaho mortgage refinancing can work out wonderfully for you.

Since 2000 Ron has been on a mission to help people continue their dream. He helps people refinance from an adjustable rate and the uncertainty that brings to a solid fixed rate,as well as refinancing to help people get cash out for a variety of reasons. Mainly he enjoys helping people KEEP their dream.

First Time Real Estate Purchase

2008-01-02T04:47:00.001-08:00

Nothing can be more exciting & terrifying at the same time than buying your 1st home. Everyone talks about all the advantages of buying real estate such as the tax benefits, appreciation etc. But there are some risks involved and the more knowledge you have before you start the process the less vulnerable you will be to those risks. Now that you have decided to take the plunge there are some things you can go to make the experience exciting and pleasurable.
One of the 1st things you should do is interview 3 Mortgage Specialists. This accomplishes 3 things, 1st you know in advance how much home you can afford. The worst feeling is to go out looking, find your dream home and then realize you cannot afford it. After that it will be really frustrating trying to find another home. Knowing what your price range is before you start looking assures that when you do find a home you will be able to afford it. 2nd, once you decide to put in an offer, being “Pre-Approved” puts you in a stronger bargaining position, especially it you happen to be in a multiple offer situation. 3nd you will have a relationship established with a mortgage broker. This will move things along much more efficiently once you have found your home.
Now that you have been “Pre- Approved” it is time to start the Search for your dream Home. 95% of people turn to the Internet to start that search. There are many options but realtor.com is probably the most popular. This tool can help you get to know the real estate market in the area you want to live. Check out the average home prices for the size of home you are looking to purchase in any given area. Real Estate prices can really fluctuate greatly even in the same city.
Once you have found a few homes that interest you, it is time to call a real estate agent. Having a buyer’s agent costs you nothing, the seller pays all the fees. So take advantage of all the benefits they have to offer. Here is a sample:
• Evaluate the specific needs and wants of the buyer and locate properties that fit those specifications.
• Assist the buyer in determining the amount that they can afford (pre-qualify) and show properties in that price range and locale the consumer has determined.
• Assist in viewing properties and either accompany the client on the showings or preview the properties on behalf of the client to insure that the identified specifications are met.
• Research the selected properties to identify any problems or issues to help the consumer in making an informed decision prior to making an appropriate offer on the property.
• Advise the client on structuring an appropriate offer to purchase the selected property.
• Present the offer to the sellers agent and seller on the clients behalf.
• Negotiate on behalf of the buyer client to help obtain the identified property. Keep in mind that the buyer agent will be doing so with their clients best interests in mind.
• Review and explain all legal documents to their buyer client.
• Recommendations and assistance in securing appropriate financing for the selected property. • Provide a list of potential qualified vendors e.g. movers, attorneys, carpenters if these services are needed by the consumer.

Now that you are ready to buy, you will begin the negotiating process. The seller wants the most money and the buyer wants to pay the least amount. This is where the expertise of your real estate agent comes in. Usually the seller gives a little and the buyer gives a little.

Knowledge is power when it comes to purchasing real estate, so educate yourself and the whole process will be exciting & pleasurable!
http://www.getanewhome.net

About the Author: Christine Hancock began her real estate career proving herself a top producer on a new high rise development. This experience gave her valuable knowledge of construction as well as the buying process and resulted in 4-million dollars in sales during her first year.

Shopping For a New Home

2008-01-02T04:46:00.002-08:00

Congratulations on your decision to get a new home, now is the time to consider some aspects to help you find your dream home.

First and most importantly, find a professional Real Estate agent to help you get through the process. Before you decide how many bathrooms you need, or what area is the best, it's important to know how your credit is and if your actual financial situation is in good condition, and finally, how much you are going to be able to qualify for on a mortgage.

All these aspects are important to consider before you get in your car and drive around looking for you next home. So the beginning to buying a property starts with researching for a good real estate agent, somebody that you like and trust. You can find these qualified people on the internet or through the newspaper or possibly by referrals. The second step is to interview the agent and see what service he or she is able to offer to you and if you have to make a commitment to work with one person at a time.

After you select the agent that you feel most comfortable with, it's time to bring all the questions that you think are important to you in order to know if you are going to be able to aford the house.

The financial part is the most important one - that means your credit score, your monthly income, proof of employment, downpayment, etc. You will need to know how much money you are going to need for closing the transaction. Generally closing costs are 10 percent, byt sometimes it's up to an additional 3%. Finally, earnest deposit money is the first thing you will need to make the offer.

A proffesional real este agent is trained to help you through this financial part, but in addition to that, after you establish your criteria, is able to search easily for your criteria in a computer system, looking around all tha neighborhoods that you are interested in and show you all the properties available in the real estate market, before you get in the car. This means you get pictures and sometimes virtual tours, etc. so that you can disqualify the properties that you do not like, saving you time and inconvenience.

When you find your dream home, it's important to ask questions about the area, school, amenites like grocery stores, doctors offices, recreation areas, libraries etc. Sometimes driving around the neighborhood to identify these factors helps you to make the best decision.

Remember that working with a good agent, saving you time, money and inconvenience, is the best way to find what you want. Somebody that does the job for you, review all the contracts, negotiate the best deal, make sure the house passes all the inspections and is ready for you to move in immediately. Good luck on your new home.

About the Author: Ingrid Macher is a Real Estate Agent in the Las Vegas, NV and Henderson, NV areas. If you have any unanswered questions, you can reach her at her Las Vegas Real Estate website.
http://www.lvrealproperties.com/

American Morality - A Glimmer of Hope on the Horizon

2008-01-02T04:46:00.001-08:00

Has the United States lost it’s basic principle of morality? Has the United States moved away from the guiding principles that this country was founded on? A single line from the Declaration of Independence describes these basic principles, and it is the meaning of these words which provided the foundation for the formation of the United States:

"We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." - Thomas Jefferson

All Americans are created equal and life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is a right granted to every citizen of the United States. Our founding fathers acquired these principles from their religious beliefs, and regardless of what people may think, the United States was founded on Biblical principles. Our founding fathers did not use certain aspects of the Bible just to satisfy what they wanted in a country. They used the Bible as a whole in order to create an understanding of what the basic rights are for an individual. They concluded that these rights are from God and are given to all individuals.

One of the unalienable rights given by our creator is the right to live our lives. Our creator placed each individual on this earth for a reason. Is it not true that other people in the world have that same unalienable right to live and fulfill God's purpose? So, if this is a founding principle for our country, does it not follow that we as a country should help others less fortunate then us? Should not others, who were born in underdeveloped countries, have the same right to life? In this article, I will address some of these questions, with the hope that by examining these issues, we can as a society, move in a direction our founding fathers had envisioned. Americans have lost site of the fact that excess without giving is not really what our founding fathers had in mind. Lets examine some examples which are symbolic of this immorality that currently exists within the American society.

Before presenting this first example, we need to have a clear definition of what morality is. From WordNet, a lexical database for the English language, developed at the Cognitive Science Library at Princeton University, morality is concern with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong. This first example of immorality may be considered by many as one that does not have anything to do with morality, but if you give it more then cursory thought, you would most likely consider it a morality issue.

This first example has to do with Americans and their relationship with their automobiles. Yes, immorality can be seen at such a insignificant level. More importantly, this example shows the pervasiveness of immorality within the American society. Most Americans, if typical, need an automobile for basic functioning within most areas of the United States. The automobile has become a perfunctory status symbol. Many people within the United States can barely pay their rent or mortgage, but they will shovel out money per month on an automobile they really can not afford. They spend money per month in the form of a car payment or lease, just to have a “nice” car.

The American obsession with the sport utility vehicle is one I still do not understand. One basic argument of the SUV owner is that by driving a SUV, they feel safer. If your driving skill is so poor that you can not avoid poor drivers, try working on your driving skill. This to me makes more sense then driving a tank (SUV) which consumes large quantities of fuel and concomitantly contributes to an increase in fuel demand. This increase in fuel demand drives fuel prices upward. With Americans so reliant upon their automobiles, higher fuel prices mean less extra money in their pocket. Money that could be used to help feed those dying from starvation throughout the world.

The American car companies for many years pushed the SUV on the American public, and now these car companies are suffering the consequences. The thinking as to why these companies offered these vehicles to the American public was that they thought Americans would continue in their mind set that excess is better. The American car companies today are doing poorly as a business. They have continually laid off workers in order to maintain a level of viability. They have been very slow to innovate and the federal government has had to mandate fuel efficiency. Because of their sluggish response to the need for fuel efficient vehicles, American car companies are now suffering the consequences.

On the other hand, Toyota and Honda, companies which have put fuel efficient hybrids out into the market place, are now doing very well. Toyota is now the number one car seller in the world. Toyota and Honda have always placed fuel efficiency as a higher priority. A glimmer of hope lies in the fact that Americans are starting to create the mind set that excess is not good, and frugality is the way of the future. Simply put, driving SUVs is not intelligent.

Driving an SUV when it really is not necessary is an example of overindulgence in the United States. Granted, there are situations where an individual needs a SUV such as Alaska or any area of the country where road conditions are poor or winters are severe. Or, there are occasions where material needs to be transported in a SUV because of it’s increase carrying capacity. In these cases, there is a legitimate reason to own a SUV because of it’s utilitarian value. But the majority of SUV owners are not in these situations or extreme conditions frequently enough to warrant owning such a fuel wasting vehicle. Driving a hybrid is an example of intelligent frugality. In order to buy a Toyota or Honda hybrid, you will have to be put on a long waiting list. This is a good sign that Americans are starting to develop the mind set that having less is better and frugality is the way of the future.

Our society has been through a period of excess and overindulgence but changes, hopefully, are on the horizon. Morality in the form of giving needs to be reincorporated back into our society. It makes more sense to drive a more fuel efficient vehicle, and use some of the saved money to contribute to the world hunger problem. For most morally conscious individuals, this type of sustained and continual activity leads to greater long term happiness.

Giving does not have to be monetary, it can be in other forms, such as giving time or knowledge. This brings us to our next example of morality reduction that has been in existence in the United States. Many parents today are not giving enough time to their children. Children need to be nurtured. A parents wisdom, gained through a life time of experiences, needs to be imparted to their children. Parents need to impart to their children the value of giving and a feeling of concern for others . When I was a child growing up, school shootings where kids are killing teachers and fellow students, was virtually unheard of. Today, school shootings are occurring at an alarming frequency. To me, part of the problem is due to parents not spending enough time with their children. Again it comes down to giving. In this case, it comes down to giving time and knowledge. Parents not giving enough time to their children is another example of morality reduction within our society.

Another example of the immorality prevalent within our society is displayed by the films which come out of Hollywood today. I am sorry to say that most of these films really are to put it bluntly, garbage. Most of these films lack the cerebral quality of the earlier films. From a technical perspective i.e. special effects, they are excellent, but from a cerebral perspective, they are lacking. Most of today’s films rely heavily on special effects in order to appeal to the audience. The common theme for today’s films almost always involves action sequences, sex, and violence. They are always trying to appeal to the dark side of human nature with very little thinking required of the audience. Therefore, most of today’s films are lacking in moral quality. They are produced only to make money for those who are producing them, without any understanding to the implications they may have on society, especially younger people.

Creativity is basically gone from Hollywood and many of the movies coming out today are remakes of successful earlier films. Once and a while a good film will be presented to the American public, but generally speaking most are junk. Most of today’s actors are not really household names. They come and go fairly quickly and lack the staying power of a John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, or Humphrey Bogart. These actors displayed a level of integrity and they new about the personification they were displaying to the American public. They were not perfect, but they did display a higher level of morality.

Is our society spiraling downward into the oblivion of lost hope? I believe not. More and more we are seeing examples which display the positive value of giving. A case in point. Time Magazine finally got it right when they named rock star Bono, and Bill and Melinda Gates as the Persons of the Year for 2005. They were named persons of the year not because of anything that happened at Microsoft and not because Bono is a rock star, they were named persons of the year for their charitable work and activism aimed at reducing global poverty and improving world health. Finally a media organization is recognizing the value of giving.

Another sign of hope that Americans may be moving away from the mind set of excess and non-giving, can be seen in the enormous outpouring of giving monetarily in the wake of the worst hurricane season the United States has had on record. Americans have also given monetarily to the tsunami relief effort. Americans have not been giving readily to the current starving in Africa. In December 2005, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization issued a warning that nearly 12 million Africans face the immediate threat of famine. Americans have not been giving to the Pakistani earthquake relief efforts.

This lack of giving is not really due to Americans not willing to give, but rather due to the lack of media exposure. CNN would rather spend hours talking about whether President Bush broke the law by wire tapping potential terrorists in the United States, then talk about the important world issues such as the thousands that are dying in the wake of the Pakistan earthquake or the starving in Africa. It is very important that the media expose these type of stories. You can not give if you do not know about the need.

The point is this. Giving on a continuous basis, produces feelings of long term happiness. For this country to get back to it’s moral principles, giving to others in need is one way to move in that direction. Which brings me back to my original point. Americans need to fully get back to the mind set that giving and having less is of greater value then having more. We must move away from trying to produce short term happiness via artificial means.

Artificial symbols such as what type of car you drive, how fancy your clothing is, or how many vacation homes you can acquire should be of less importance to any one who has some substance to them. The next time you find yourself propagating one of these excesses, think of the 24,000 people per day that are dying of hunger. Think about the six million children under the age of five which will die of hunger each year. Think about the downtrodden, the abused, and the tortured. When you think about these things, giving makes more sense. Give what you can and when you can.

Albert Einstein once said “ the value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.” What many people do not realize is that Albert Einstein was a deeply religious man. He knew that only a God could produce such a complex universe, and that such complexity could not have been produced by random chaotic events. He saw the order in the universe and the relation of the universe with God. He simply did not wear his religion on his sleeve. He also had insights beyond physics in that he realized what truly gives a man a sense of happiness and inner peace.

Einstein had it right in that happiness does not come from what you hold, but really from what you give. No matter what your religious belief, a life time of giving to those less fortunate then yourself, will result in long term happiness. Give it a try. You might be surprised at the feeling it produces. A glimmer of hope is on the horizon. The United States can move back to it’s Biblical principles. But we must all do our part.

About the Author: Thomas Sullivan, the author of this article, is a Search Engine Optimizer, Webmaster, and activist for world hunger elimination. He has built and currently maintains several websites. A relevant website he currently manages is Hunger Relief Organizations - World Hunger Statistics.
He also maintains the blog World Hunger News. For questions or comments you can go to his email on his website.

Home Improvement

2008-01-02T04:45:00.002-08:00

Home Improvement

Many homeowners pursue home improvement projects, for different reasons. Replacing fixtures or appliances, updating the home with new decor, or investing money, upgrade or refurbish a home to sell. Certain upgrades or improvements will yield a higher return, while other improvements, may not be desirable, for a buyer. Average return of ninety percent or greater, when investing money, remodeling a kitchen, and adding a bathroom. Less then ninety percent return, when adding a room, remodeling a bathroom, and replacing windows. Adding a swimming pool may not be desirable to perspective buyers, considering, additional maintenance cost. Building a deck or enclosed garage, can add to the value of the home.

A budget should be considered, for home improvement projects. The budget should include some money, set aside, for unexpected, and over budget expenses. If the homeowner, is unable to pay for home improvements, than financial arrangements, maybe considered. Option Number one: Refinancing current mortgage, borrowing money for home improvement or secure a lower interest rate. Assuming, current mortgage has few years to pay off, and the interest rate is at least, two percent below, current mortgage. Option Number two: Take a second mortgage. However, interest rate will be slightly more, than the first mortgage, amount borrowed is a small amount, and will be paid back in less time, than first mortgage. Home equity loan maybe suitable, if the home is debt free of any mortgage. The homeowner can borrow, usually up to 80 percent of the value of the home. Must have a good credit rating, for home equity loan. Option Number three: Using credit card, which provides maximum amount, for unsecured line of credit. However, unsecured credit yields, highest interest rate, and should be paid off sooner than later. The interest rate payment is not deductible. Option Number four: Homeowner has a brokerage account is eligible, for a margin account. The margin account, allows the account holder to borrow money, usually up to fifty percent, value of the brokerage account of securities. However, if brokerage account falls below a certain amount, then client can get a margin call. The client would either pay back loan immediately or sell all securities, in account. Other financial resources include, Government Grants, and securing a loan, from a union bank, only for union members.

Home improvement projects, can sometimes include hiring an architect, Interior designer or contractor for a specific project. Always confirm, choose to hire, has a license from the state or county, and insured for liabilities. Confirm all references, and check with department of building codes for any violations. Always, obtain a written estimate of the costs. Remember, work has to be done, within a reasonable amount of time. Recommend getting referrals, for a contractor, architect or designer.

Home Owners may need landscaping, for a home improvement project. Possibly, adding flowers, shrubs, mowing the lawn, or cutting the edge. A landscaper maybe hired, for more extensive work, including cutting down trees, replacing or moving trees, adding a stone garden or any additions.

Home improvements, can be utilize by saving energy. Installing insulated windows, prevent heat from escaping, and cold from entering the home. Also, insulation in the attic, walls, and floors. Purchasing energy saving hot water heaters, appliances, toilets, that use less water, and installing solar panels, produce electricity, can save money throughout the year. The Federal Government has grants, offering energy efficient homes.

Upgrading the home for safety, for home improvements, very important for health of those living in the residence. Fire Detectors should be installed, outside of each bedroom, and in areas of the home. Checking them twice a year, make sure the batteries are working. Some fire detectors are hooked into the security home system. Also, installing carbon monoxide detectors is an odorless, and tasteless gas. Especially in homes, using gas ranges, and detecting any gas from automobiles parked, from an attached garage.

Other, types of home improvements Including: Purchasing decorative pictures, adding area rugs, posters, new shelves, pillows, and new furniture. Sometimes, simple home improvements have the most dramatic eye catching achievement.

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About the Author: Freelance Writer
Website: www.geocities.com/stockup98/CONTENT.html

Interest-Only Loans Can Buy More House and More Trouble

2008-01-02T04:45:00.001-08:00

They're spreading like wildfire--interest-only mortgages appear to be the panacea for rising home prices and the incomes that can’t quite catch up. You can buy "more house" and have a low mortgage payment and a big tax deduction. Who wouldn’t want one, right?

Well, a large number of consumers are getting into these loans when they shouldn’t. Interest-only mortgages work well for some individuals and are dangerous for most others, yet the number of interest-only loans is rising rapidly.

Take a look at San Diego. In 2004 almost half of the mortgages required interest-only payments in the first few years according to a study done by LoanPerformance, a San Francisco--based real estate information service. Could this have something to do with the housing market? You bet it does. Are home prices rising faster than salaries and incomes? They sure are. So how is one supposed to afford a house in such an expensive housing market? You guessed it--an interest-only loan.

Interest only-loans were originally aimed at more sophisticated investors who wanted to leverage their income by re-directing what would have been the principal portion of their payment to higher yielding investments that exceed the rate of their home appreciation. These types of investors typically have more assets and financial discipline than most and therefore aren't as likely to get in as much trouble with such a loan.

Today, interest-only loans are being utilized by borrowers who are trying to leverage debt. What they are doing is getting more debt for their buck; they're borrowing more money but keeping their payments low (initially) in order to compete with other buyers in sellers’ markets. Here are some of the potential dangers that face such borrowers:

• If the principal balance isn't being reduced, than no equity is being built, and if home prices are stagnant during the interest-only period and the borrower needs to sell, he'll need to be able to pay sales costs out of whatever equity there is in the house, if there is any. Remember, mortgage amortization is in the borrower’s control, appreciation is not.

• If there’s a downturn in home prices, the borrower could end up “upside down,” meaning the mortgage balance on the property could end up being greater than the property’s market value. In this case, the borrower would be responsible for sales costs and the remaining mortgage balance which could lead to foreclosure.

Interest-only mortgages make sense for borrowers:

• who have seasonal incomes or earn commissions and/or bonuses and have a desire to pay on the principal when it’s convenient.

• upwardly mobile individuals who expect to earn more in a few years and want to buy “more house” early on rather than later.

• who intend on investing their cash flow in higher yielding investments or paying down high-priced debt.

Make sure you know what you’re getting into with an interest-only loan. Consult with your mortgage broker or lender to know what the possible repercussions could be, and be sure you’re getting the loan for the right reasons. Eventually, you want to own your home, and it’s better to be planning on that sooner than later.

About the Author: Brian Daniel is a loan officer for http://www.bendmortgagegroup.com, a mortgage company in Bend, Oregon. He is also the company's marketing coordinator. For more articles visit http://www.bendmortgagegroup.com/Articles.

Term life insurance: What length of term insurance do you need?

2008-01-01T07:38:00.001-08:00

Getting confused with life insurance terminology and all of the policy information of whole life insurance. Then term life might be perfect for you. It is simple to understand and relatively cheap.

Term life insurance means you pay the premium for a term and if you die, your beneficiary collects. If you don't die, nobody collects. Terms can be 5,10 or 20 years. What could be simpler?

Some people feel like they're wasting money because at the end of the term, they don't get anything back. But that is what Whole Life Insurance is for. With whole life, you pay higher premiums in to the policy, and after a long period, there is cash value that you can use.

Term insurance is a "hedge" insurance policy. You're hedging that you might not live to the end of the term and you want to leave a death benefit. The death benefit will cover expenses such as your children's college or university tuition or pay off your mortgage.

If you buy term life insurance you will know that for a set period of time you will have the coverage you need to offer your family protection when you are gone. With you gone, the earning power of your family may be greatly reduced. Your family may quickly fall into financial tragedy if you have not provided them with the protection they need.

The easiest way to learn about term life insurance is by shopping on the Internet. The Internet will lead you to many different companies offering this coverage and allow you to investigate their policies and service with ease. You will be able to find consumer pages, reviews and forums with advise on how to select the best insurance company and arrange for a policy with all of the coverage you need.

It is important to learn all you can about term insurance and how to judge a trustworthy insurance company. Advice from friends and family can be very helpful as well.

But always remember, when you buy term life insurance, it is just for a certain term or length of time. You will need to renew the coverage with a new policy when the term expires. Your insurance company will usually prompt you with a reminder when this date is near.

About the Author: Bob Buckham is webmaster of http://www.canadalifeco.com and has been contributing insurance and mortgage articles to the finance industry for years.

7 Simple Tips For Flipping Real Estate

2008-01-01T07:37:00.001-08:00

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’ve probably either dabbled in real estate yourself, or at the very least, know someone who has. So, how does someone that’s brand new to real estate start flipping homes? (And let’s clear the air right now… IT IS NOT TOO LATE to start investing in real estate).

Follow these 7 tips to start investing in real estate today:

1. Look In Your Own Backyard
The grass is always greener in the other neighborhood, and it’s easy to keep looking for the “right” area. The bottom line is that any area is the “right” area. In order to be effective in the steps 2 through 7, you’ve got to get over the idea that real estate deals only exist in other areas. It sounds cliché, but there are plenty of deals in your own backyard. Not to mention, it’s easier to manage and you’re likely to know the values in and around your area.

2. Find the “Right” Property
Not every piece of real estate is a good investment – even if you can “steal” it! Make sure you look at things like:
• Property Location – Will you be able to sell the property once you’ve renovated it?
• Condition – How much work– and what kind of work – needs to be done and is it a project that you can afford to take on financially and from a management perspective?
• Seller’s motivation – Is the seller truly motivated enough to negotiate on price?

3. Have A Thorough Inspection
Unless you’ve been flipping real estate for a while or have a background in construction, then it’s a good idea to have a full home inspection. It may cost you a few hundred dollars, but will catch things that maybe you didn’t know to look for. When flipping real estate, it’s the “little” things that add up very quickly and can eat up your profits!

*** Bonus Tip*** Use a home inspection to help renegotiate the purchase price OR ask for a credit toward repairs.

4. Don’t Get Emotional
Real Estate is emotional by nature. Investing in real estate cannot involve your emotions. It’s got to be all business. If the numbers don’t work, move on to the next. So many times, people are so desperate to flip their first deal that they make bad decisions just to do something at all. Then, they’ve become so attached to the deal that they try to sell it for higher than the market will bear and end up holding the property longer, reducing their profit and getting left with a bad taste in their mouth.

5. Know Your Numbers – All of Them!
Late night infomercials will hype you up with pipe dreams of flipping real estate for millions of dollars in profits and no work. You’ve seen the testimonials that go something like: “Mary Smith purchased this property for $100,000. It cost $10,000 in repairs. She flipped the property for $140,000 and made $30,000”. Somewhere on the screen, you see in teeny tiny print: Results Not Typical. Your Results May Vary!

Of course results are not typical because those results assume that you buy the property for all cash and pay no closing fees and have no monthly costs. Be VERY cautious of deals that you see that sound like that!

In the real world, costs associated with flipping real estate are:
• Purchase costs: Upfront mortgage fees, attorneys fees, regular closings fees, title, survey, etc.
• Carrying costs: It’s more than just the repairs! When you’re flipping real estate, you’re likely paying higher interest rates than on, let’s say, a primary residence or second home. In addition to the repairs, you’ve got to consider monthly payments, taxes, insurance, utilities, etc.
• Selling costs: Again, you’ve got closing costs and possibly real estate commissions to consider.

Whether you’re flipping a real estate deal here and there or you’re looking to make real estate your new career, it’s important that you know – and figure – your costs into your calculations. Keeping this in mind will help you keep from getting emotional (See Tip 4)

6. Keep Track Of Your Progress
You can’t improve what you can’t measure! Throughout the entire project, you’ll want to constantly track your progress. This way, you’ll know, at any given time, where you stand on the deal. This will help keep you focused by keeping the bottom line in front of you all the time.

7. Expect the Unexpected
In virtually every single property you flip, you will run across SOMETHING that you simply didn’t expect. Whether it’s an issue that pops up 2 hours before closing that needs to be handled or a big surprise when you peek behind the drywall that you had to replace! You’ll almost always run at least a little over budget or hold it a little longer than you anticipated. But at the end of the day, you’ll have the satisfaction of taken an ugly house and turned it around and depositing a healthy check in your bank account.

About the Author: Heather Seitz makes it easy to get to the bottom line. Learn how to evaluate a real estate deal in less than 15 minutes. Get your FREE video on flipping real estate and uncover the top 5 secrets that you need to know to double your profits on every single deal. Get your free video and 5-part mini course at www.fixingandflipping.com

Good Mortgage Broker vs. Bad Mortgage Broker

2008-01-01T07:36:00.001-08:00

According to the NAMB (National Association of Mortgage Brokers), two out of three Americans work with a mortgage broker to purchase a home because of the broker’s expertise and wide selection of loan products and lenders. However, with so many so called “experts” out there, how does one separate the wheat from the chaff? How do you know if a broker is honest? And how do you know they're an “expert” or not?

The NAMB says that over 70 percent of brokers are legitimate, that is they have safeguards and policies in place to make sure that they stay on the straight and narrow. So what about the other 30 percent? Well, the whole 30 percent isn’t bad, but just as in any classroom, you’re going to have those at the top, some in the middle, a few at the bottom, and others who simply don’t show for class. Obviously, those at the bottom and the no shows would not be your first choice if you were going into surgery and they were holding the scapel, nor should they be handling your loan when you purchase a home or refinance.

Because of the surge in numbers of mortgage brokers in the past few years, there are plenty of incompetent and dishonest brokers out there. In order to avoid the 30 percentile, I offer the following tips to help you find a mortgage broker that is not only an expert but honest and reputable as well:

Don’t believe everything you hear. Asking friends or family to recommend a mortgage professional is usually the first place people start. However, how do they know the broker is reputable and trustworthy? Check with your state regulatory offices and licensing bureau once you have some referrals. Better to be safe than sorry.

Use an NAMB certified mortgage broker. Brokers certified by the NAMB practice the highest ethical and professional standards in the industry. There is a “Find a Broker” link on the NAMB’s website at www.namb.org.

Use an Upfront Mortgage Broker (UMB). These brokers disclose their fees to customers in writing in advance at the customer’s request. They also disclose the wholesale prices they receive from lenders. For a list of UMBs visit www.mtgprofessor.com.

Honesty is the best policy. If a mortgage broker suggests that you lie on your loan application in any way, he/she is most likely in the 30 percentile. Walk away.

They need to show you the money. If a mortgage broker doesn’t disclose your closing costs in three business days, it’s probably best to take your business elsewhere.

If you’re not bleeding, they shouldn’t be applying pressure. A mortgage broker who pressures you into anything you are not comfortable with probably failed ethics. No reputable broker will pressure you into anything you don’t feel comfortable with.

There are no stupid questions. Does the mortgage broker answer all your questions to your satisfaction? Are his/her answers straightforward, honest, and respectful?

Do you have a reservation? If you feel comfortable with whom you’re working with and feel like they have answered all your questions and put all your reservations to ease, you’ve probably found a good mortgage broker.

About the Author: Brian Daniel is a loan officer for Bend Mortgage Group Ltd. a mortgage company in Bend, Oregon. He is also the company’s marketing coordinator. For more information or help with an Oregon home loan visit www.bendmortgagegroup.com

New retirement savings plan - Roth 401(k) coming into effect

2008-01-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

The Retirement savings plan, Roth 401(k) introduced by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, 2001 will come into force from January 2006. Unlike a traditional 401(k) Retirement Plan, a Roth 401k plan applies to all employees but the latter requires the contributions to the plan account with after-tax dollars while a 401k plan allows for contributions with pre-tax dollars.

You may not be allowed to contribute to a Roth IRA if your income level is higher but you can certainly qualify for a Roth 401(k) plan, as there are no income specifications here. In addition, you can contribute up to $15,000 for 2006, as in a 401(k) plan and the limit reaches $20,000 for individuals turning 50 years of age or older by the end of the year. The increase in the limit is termed as the catch-up contribution which was a provision of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001.

As far as the employers’ contributions are concerned, these amounts will be matching the contributions of employees but with pre-tax dollars. The employer contribution will be rolled up in a separate account and funds withdrawn from that account will be subjected to taxes on withdrawal.

The Roth 401(k) plan may not allow you to get the benefit of the contribution from pre-tax dollars but it allows you to withdraw tax-free money after retirement. You can avoid paying income tax on the cash you withdraw from your plan account after retirement. But your age should be 59 and ½ years and you should have held the plan account for more than 5 years or more. In case you withdraw money before retirement, you will have to pay taxes (almost 35% of the contribution) and a 10% penalty.

A Roth 401(k) plan can be helpful as it prevents you from tax payments on withdrawal after retirement. But this will help you only if your tax bracket after retirement is same or higher than what it is now. If your current tax bracket is low, then you can contribute more towards the Roth 401(k) plan account. Your savings thus increase and you get to withdraw a higher amount at retirement. You can also roll over your Roth 401(k) balance into a Roth IRA whenever you leave your employment.

You can contribute a part of the allowed limit, which is $15,000 to a Roth 401(k) plan account and the rest to a 401(k) account, and thereby reduce the tax payments. This is because a Roth 401(k) allows you to contribute after-tax dollars whereas a 401(k) plan account allows for pre-tax contributions.

With a Roth 401(k) plan contribution, you don’t take home several dollars since you are allowed to accumulate after-tax dollars into the plan account. But then you don’t have to pay taxes on the amounts taken out after retirement and this helps you especially if the tax bracket is higher at that time.

About the Author: Lance Williams is working as a content developer for MortgageFit.com. He specializes in mortgage and real estate concepts.

Making Money With Real Estate

2008-01-01T07:33:00.000-08:00

The many ways of making money with real estate include not only the various types of property. Of course you can make money with land, apartment buildings, homes, commercial buildings and more. But with whatever type of real estate, there are different ways you'll make your profits. Some of those ways, and how to maximize them, are listed below.

1. Pay-down on the loan. Equity builds with every payment you make. If you get the lowest interest rate you can, more of each payment will go towards the principal.

2. Cash flow. Buy income property the right way, and you not only have your tenants paying all the costs and paying down the mortgage loan, but you also have positive cash flow. As a rule, just don't buy properties without cash flow.

3. Value appreciation. Sometimes making money with real estate can be as simple as holding on and waiting. For the most appreciation in value, however, you should buy in an area where demand is growing faster than the supply.

4. Tax depreciation. After all the tax law changes, you still get to declare a loss for depreciation that doesn't really exist. Saving at tax time, means more after-tax profit. To maximize this, buy property that has its value primarily in the buildings, because you can't depreciate the value of land.

5. Get instant equity by buying low. Buy below market and you get instant equity that will be converted into a profit when you sell. Offer a reason for the seller to sell low: fast closing, cash, assume some debts or liabilities, etc. Alternately, just make a low offer. A seller may have his own reasons to sell it cheap.

6. Selling high. If you clean it up nice, make it easy to buy, and find the right buyer, you'll get top dollar. The following four on the list cover ways to create value, so you'll get more when you sell.

7. Finance the sale. You'll often get substantially more for a property if you offer financing. This is especially true if you let someone buy it with little money down. You can also get good interest on the loan.

8. Changing the use. Find a higher use for the property, and you can convert it to make it worth more to the next owner. This could mean making condos into apartments, or apartments into condos. Perhaps converting a home into office space will get the biggest return.

9. Improve and repair. Repairing anything that needs it is obvious, but you need to look creatively and carefully to find improvements to make. Concentrate only on those that will raise the value several times more than what they cost you.

10. Sell it in parts. Sometimes in real estate, the parts are worth more than the whole. For example, splitting off an extra lot to sell for $30,000 will rarely decrease the value of a home by that much, so you'll make more money in the end.

Look at the sources of profit listed here, and think of how you can use a few of them on your next real estate investment. You can get wonderfully creative making money with real estate.

About the Author: Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, get a free real estate investing course, and see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Cheap Satellite TV -- Who Has the Best Deals?

2007-12-29T20:15:00.001-08:00

Just a few years ago there was no such thing as a cheap satellite TV system. A decent system cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 for a satellite TV dish and the array of electronic boxes that came with it. Not only that, it cost hundreds of dollars to have a big-dish satellite TV system installed.

Today, because the satellite TV industry has become so competitive, dealers are giving away satellite TV systems to entice people to subscribe to their satellite TV service. Even the installation is free.

So when it comes to finding a cheap TV system, you're in luck. They're not just cheap, they're free.

Satellite TV Systems

Here’s what you get when you subscribe to either DISH Network or DIRECTV's satellite TV service:

* A free satellite TV dish and mounting stand.
* Up to four free satellite TV receivers plus universal remote controls.
* Free professional installation of your system in up to four rooms of your home.
* Free DVR (digital video recording) receivers so you can record your favorite programs.
* HDTV satellite TV receivers (optional) for high definition reception.

Note: DISH Network and DIRECTV offer bonus gifts such as a free DVD player and home theater system when you order their service. Click on the links below to see the latest offers.

Cheap Satellite TV Service

When it comes to satellite TV service, you can pay anywhere from $31.99 a month for 60 channels of programming, on up to $93.99 a month for 215 channels.

Both DISH Network or DIRECTV's satellite TV service includes the following:

* More than 225 program channels with digital-quality picture and sound.
* Up to 500 commercial-free movies per month.
* DVR (digital video recording) so you can bypass commercials and record your favorite programs.
* HD (high definition) programming.
* Up to 60 pay-per-view programs per day.
* Your local channels with digital picture and sound.
* Commercial-free music channels with all-digital sound.
* Toll-free and online 24/7 customer service.

Note: DISH Network and DIRECTV offer special introductory programming rates for new customers. Click on the links below for current offers.

The Bottom Line

Getting the cheapest price for satellite TV depends on whether you want the cheapest service, or you want the cheapest price per channel.

DISH Network has the cheapest satellite TV service. Their starter package -- America's Top Sixty -- gives you 60 channels of satellite TV programming, including your local channels, for $31.99 per month.

DIRECTV's Total Choice program package offers the cheapest price per channel at $0.31 per channel ($41.99 ÷ 135 channels). In addition to 135 program channels, you also get your local channels and 31 music channels.

If television is your primary form of entertainment and you want a wide variety of shows, movies, sports, and news ... if you're tired of fuzzy reception and want digital-quality picture and sound ... if your cable bill is beginning to equal your mortgage payment -- then I think you'll find satellite TV is a real bargain.

About the Author: Brian Stevens is a professional freelance writer and webmaster who has written extensively on cheap satellite TV.

Click on the following link for more information on free satellite TV systems and service, or these links for ordering information, the latest offers, and free bonuses from DISH Network satellite TV or DIRECTV satellite TV.

Free Satellite TV -- Is It Really Free?

2007-12-29T20:14:00.002-08:00

You've seen the online and offline ads -- "Free satellite TV!" "Get a 4-room Satellite TV System Free!" and "Satellite TV Dish and Receivers Absolutely Free!"

But is satellite TV really free?

The answer to that question is yes ... and no.

Yes, the equipment you get -- the satellite TV dish and satellite TV receiver -- is free. But no, the programming service will cost you money.

Let's examine the facts.

Due to the demise of Pegasus and Voom, there are only two major satellite TV providers in the USA -- DISH Network and DIRECTV.

DISH Network Satellite TV Service

When you order a free satellite TV system from DISH Network, you will be asked to pay a $49.99 activation fee. This fee will be credited to your programming bill, so in essence, your satellite TV system is free. Installation of your satellite TV system is also free.

With DISH Network you have the option to upgrade to a DVR (digital video recording) receiver, or an HDTV (high definition TV) receiver at no charge.

DISH Network programming starts at $31.99 per month for 60 program channels, and goes up to $86.00 for 230 channels including Showtime, Starz!, HBO, Cinemax, and Sirius radio.

DISH Network offers more movies, shows, and HDTV than cable or DIRECTV, and with one of their free DVR receivers you can record, pause, and fast forward live TV with a click of your remote. All DISH Network programs are broadcast in digital format for crystal-clear picture and sound.

DIRECTV Satellite TV Service

Depending on your credit rating, when you order a free satellite TV system from DIRECTV you may be required to pay a deposit or prepayment. Because the deposit is refunded to you and the prepayment goes toward your programming fees, the DIRECTV satellite dish and receivers are free. Installation is also free.

If you want a DVR receiver you will be charged an additional $49.99. The charge for HDTV receivers is $299.99.

DIRECTV programming packages start at $41.99 per month for 115 channels (including 31 music channels), and go up to $93.99 per month for 185 program channels, including Showtime, Starz!, HBO, Cinemax, and 31 music channels.

DIRECTV offers more sports programs than you can get with cable or DISH Network, including the popular NFL Sunday Ticket, and is broadcast in all-digital format.

The Bottom Line

Both DISH Network and DIRECTV's basic satellite TV dishes and receivers are free ... but the service will cost you anywhere from $32 to $94 a month.

So if you watch just a few television programs a week and have access to over-the-air TV, or if you have cable TV and are happy with your service, then satellite TV probably isn't for you.

If, on the other hand, TV is one of your primary forms of entertainment and you want the biggest variety of shows, movies, sports, and new -- or if your cable bill is beginning to equal your mortgage payment -- then satellite TV may be just the ticket.

Click on the following link for more information on free satellite TV systems and service, or these links for ordering information, the latest offers, and free bonuses from DISH Network satellite TV or DIRECTV satellite TV.

About the Author: Brian Stevens is a professional freelance writer and webmaster who has written extensively on free satellite TV.

WHY REFINANCE YOUR HOME

2007-12-29T20:14:00.001-08:00

There are many reasons why you may be interested in refinancing you home. The biggest reason is to save money. When you refinance your mortgage, you are more than likely able to substantially reduce your monthly payments.
One tactic people use is to shop the rate around to several different lenders to see what they have to offer and what deals work for them. You may have bought your home in times of relatively high mortgage rates and therefore are locked into higher payments than you should be. If you qualify for a lower rate, you could lock in that mortgage rate and stretch out the payments so that every month you are paying less to live in your home than before. If you decide to refinance your home, you will undoubtedly be confronted with a variety of choices as to what sort of new loan you can get.

Refinancing your home mortgage can certainly free up a lot of capital, which gives you the opportunity to do many things, such as needed home improvements, travel, investments or your children’s college tuition. Many people who are deeply in credit card debt may want to refinance their homes in order to free up some of their home equity and pay off their other debts. This can be a good strategy if the debt is at a high interest rate. It makes good financial sense to pay off debt, which can be as high as 25% with a new loan at around 6% or 7%.
People who refinance their homes often come out better than before. Don’t forget to shop around and find the best deal your can for your mortgage and you may be able to have a lot of spare money every month.
https://www.imortgagefinancial.com

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