I know what you heard on the news ... I heard it, too. Once again, the media uses one source and misrepresents the truth by omission. It may be true that if you go to some of the largest banks in the nation you have to have 20% down to purchase a home. However, many lenders still have plenty of resources available to qualified buyers up to 100% financing. Yes, I did, I wrote 100% - which means no down payment.
But Ken, those loans are dangerous!
Sorry folks, the loan is not dangerous. The borrower may be but the loan is not. These loans are issued through the new, improved, Fannie Mae guidelines with a piggy back 5% to 8% from one of the most reputable PRIME BANKS in the nation. The second is fully disclosed and insured and the first is a prime loan. The borrower really needs to have a 680 middle score (average in the United States), a steady job history, at least 3 months of liquid reserves, and income to support the loan with a 43% DTI (can go a little higher with bigger reserves.)
Property does NOT have to be rural like the USDA loan. This is not FHA or VA. Property DOES have to be in move in condition. Property can be a warrantable condo.
Contrary to popular belief making a huge down payment on a home is not always the smartest decision for every buyer. Small business people, for example - who may be about to come under massive social government onslaught, need to hold on to their reserves as much as possible to fund their increasing costs of doing business. Retired people may need their reserves to offset major medical expenses.
The key is the people who get these loans deserve them.
These loans are currently available for 100% financing in Georgia and Florida through my Novation Mortgage. 866-946-0120 (only Georgia and Florida for these loans)
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VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE - on the ISSUES not skin color or sex.
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RealNowRadio coming soon to a streaming audio near you! If you are interested in participating please visit the site and contact Ken.
THE OPINIONS IN THIS COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY KEN COOK's PERSONAL OPINION AND NOT REFLECTIVE ON ACTIVE RAIN, NOVATION MORTGAGE, or ANY SPONSOR OF THIS WEBSITE.
EDUCATION BEATS LEGISLATION EVERY TIME. Get your clients, friends and family members to a LENDER RUN home mortgage seminar as soon as possible.
Today is the day we overthrow fear and the paralysis it has brought to our nation. Today we put aside our differences and face the common threat. Today we make a change that starts right here inside of me - and you. Today we take the offense in this onslaught against our clients. Today we establish a new path to a revived American dream.
You can choose to be a part of the change that begins today or you can choose to remain in paralyzed fear. I don't know about you but my clients - past, present and future - are relying on ME to do the right thing for them. Today I don't have as many active clients as I have in the past because they are terrified and don't know the truth. New clients don't call as often as they did 12 months ago because they don't even realize (a) we still know how to do what we do best and (b) there is a plethora of ready inventory just waiting to be had.
Today we stop waiting on the government to announce the next injection of billions and billions of our dollars to prop up the economy and our industry. Today we are the props to our clients and our partners in the industry.
John and Jane Doe need us. They think they need the government, and in part they do, but without us - you and I - the government is nothing. It is true that some of our industry partners have helped corrupt the nation's economy and if that is true then some of us can help work to put the economy back together. God bless our elected officials but there are very few of them who know our industry like we do. The truly wise ones call on us for our input en mass and listen to what we say as their expert advisers before they make their final decisions. John and Jane Doe can do exactly the same thing.
Today instead of just commenting here, which I certainly want you to do, I ask you to pick up the phone and call me - 678-946-0101 rings straight to my desk. I want to hear what you have to say about making an immediate change of high impact into the industry.
I AM CAMPAIGNING FOR CHANGE! Change that matters - change we can control - change that makes the real estate industry in America stand up straight and support this great nation like it has for many years. It will take time but why do we wait on the government to do it for us?
WE CAN DO IT! There are 116,159 members of Active Rain. I guarantee you we all know at least 10 people who are in the industry who are not part of AR. Folks that is 1,162,000 people. You think we can't make a major change immediately? True we have our lobby organizations like the NAR, NAMB, MBA and others but we can work in addition to those OUTSIDE of the Halls of Congress.
We touch the people. WE TOUCH THE PEOPLE.
Comment then call me - 678-946-0101. If I don't answer it's because I'm speaking with someone else. I don't care if 2 of you call or if 20,000 of you call I will speak with you. I want to hear YOUR words and YOUR emotion and YOUR plans to take back our industry. For too long we have let the fringe element tear down our foundations and destroy what took 300 years to build.
Since the days of the Continental Congress we have become one of the greatest nations, if not THE greatest nation, in the history of the world. THE RIGHT TO OWN REAL ESTATE - perhaps one of the most empowering changes that happened in the last millennium is impeded today. The right is not that we DO own real estate but that we MAY own real estate. How many properties today are REO's? How many HUD properties are there in your neighborhood? (Side note: one day when you have time and after you have committed to take control of our industry with me, read this amazing article from 130 years ago.)
The next move is yours. Like the old saying goes, and I mean this with all respect: Lead, follow or get out of the way. The fear ends today for as many as I can reach. Those few combined with the few you can reach may well be the entire population of north and central America by the end of the year.
Today I want to hear your heart, your wisdom and your plan.
"Let's roll!"
UPDATED - We just got out of one of the best staff meetings we have ever had and I am ON FIRE!!!
Everyone - I tell you if there is an agent in Georgia that wants to work with absolutely the most determined and most capabable mortgage team IN THE BUSINESS - bar NONE - it's Novation Mortgage and my dynamite team. The days of trying to sneak past your gate keeper is done - this model is only for people serious about OVERCOMING this nasty negative market and DOMINATING! If that's you call me - if it's not you then watch the rest of us roll.
Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683
We have the power. We have the skills. We have the experience. We have the tools. We have the resources. We have the time. We have the intent.
Hmmmm .... "we have the intent".
Most of us have heard the old saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." No, it's not in the Bible or any other globally recognized religious document - to my knowledge. It is, however, a very true saying. "Did you pay your mortgage on time? - no, but I intended to."
The older I get the more I really most of our business differences are petty and the other ones are mostly resulting from personal fears. Many times it appears as though we fight more for our differences than our commonalities. For example we each do our best to have a niche, to be number one in our niche and market. Even though a large majority of us belong to the same national associations and organizations we do our best to carve out and protect our miniscule empire. Fear not, I am guilty.
What would happen if for just one quarter - just 3 short months - we all stopped defending our little territory and we worked as one unit? What if we all were focused on the same ultimate goal and discount real estate brokers and mortgage brokers and agents and loan officers and appraisers and title agents all saw the same goal and worked as a unit to achieve that goal?
Many of us have been around long enough to experience at least a couple of major disasters in our area and the globe. I remember several but I think most of us remember the murderous attack by fringe Islam against our people on our soil. Certainly this was a catastrophic event of magnanimous proportion. Almost everyone can tell you exactly where they were on September 11, 2001 at 9AM eastern.
Though it was completely different there was a small rippling of the same sentiment on January 28, 1986. I remember exactly where I was and I have a snapshot of the moment etched into my memory. Likewise when Mount Saint Hellen errupted and when New Orleans was blown away and just recently when Galvaston Island, Texas was decimated.
While the impact of each of these was not necessarily world shaking the ripples were, and still are, noticed throughout all domestic US activities. Do you remember the unity after 9/11? I do. There were flags EVERYWHERE. In my neighborhood I was no longer the sole owner of a 24' flag pole. Little flags were on mailboxes, people painted their lawns with flags and WE REMEMBER and all sorts of things. The majority of people thought with one mind. Right or wrong we were unified.
Today, admit it or not, the real estate industry and the finance industry in America is rocking from a major, high impact devastation. Sure, a few percent of us may be doing well but the majority of us are suffering to put it mildly. There is so much fear and so much paralysis caused by fear that many of us who have already withstood around two years of this tormentuous environment are starting to feel hope edging away.
You may be immune to it and I hope you are. Early on I was one of those saying this would last a couple of years and we would recover and things would be back to acceptable. I even wrote that if it is so bad you need to get out of the industry. And it is true that many of us needed to get out of the industry. Just like when you toss bread crumbs on the water fish come out of the deep to eat and return to the depths, out of site, when it is gone. Tens of thousands of people entered our industry when they were needed.
We are the remnant and some of us will not make it. So how do we unite?
1. Fulfill our common purpose - if our common purpose is anything less than to calm the fears of a paralyzed public we are missing it. People don't know the truth when they hear it because of so much media senselization. The media says there is no money and even if you can get a loan you have to have 20% down. We in the industry know this is absolutely not true nor should it be. We can work together.
2. Stop our inner bickering - we are all experts in some area. Most of us don't need you telling us our faults of which we are normally perfectly aware. In fact if we were not so afraid of the piling on of venom and flames for admitting our faults we would do so more openly.
3. Let strangers into our feifdom - instead of telling the other agent what an idiot they are or instead of me telling everyone what I feel about that guy John I welcome them into my land (which exists only in my imagination).
4. Defend one another - you know I have seen some pretty nasty things happen in the last ten years. The worst ones almost always start with this statement, "Well I've been doing this for 20 years and I never ..." Instead of proving how fearful and disrespectful we can be why don't we say, "Wow, something must have changed. Please tell me how things are different today."
5. Do something good for the community - call your local school and ask what they need that you can help provide. Find the local senior's center and see what you can do to help. Do you know you can even volunteer to stop in at the hospice and bring comfort to families who are facing the loss of a loved one?
Once again I ask, "Can we commit to each other to make our industry and our nation a better place?" I don't have to agree with your politics to work with you to strengthen our economy regardless of who is in office. Together we can all make a huge impact on this market and this economy.
Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683
The absence of change is death. Living things change, it is their nature. Highly active beings, those which change most rapidly, are called lively.
On September 5, 1774 a group of 56 people met in Philadelphia, PA because America was in a state of change. Fifty-six men made decisions that day which were far reaching and long lived. Had that meeting not been held the entire world would be a different place today, 234 years later. The First Continental Congress met because Parliament, not the band, had initiated change which, to the colonies, was mostly intolerable.
Today we are in change which is, by must, intolerable.
The change we face today is global yet the opportunity to affect change could still rest within the thoughts and actions of as few as 56. I see at the top of the screen today there are 114,857 members of Active Rain. It also occurs to me that the name of this network is Active Rain. It isn't Real Rain, Passive Rain, Panicked Rain, Republican Rain, Democratic Rain, or even Happy Rain. Out of a number of people that large it seems reasonable to expect a small group to be considered lively. It seems reasonable to believe a small group could start a change to echo not only across the nation but around the globe and into time.
Today we need change.
Both major presidential campaigns today talk about change. Change we need. Change was needed in 1774. The change we need today is different and the same. We are a people oppressed, not so much by government - at least in America - but rather by the lack of action of grass roots leadership. Grass roots leadership just like you.
What change do we need?
Everyone will answer differently. Most will say we need change in government. They will say we cannot trust the current elected officials to lead us through the change we need. Many will say we need change in regulations - either more or less or just something different. Those who say these things will be dancing around the real answer. They will be toasting marshmallows they did not make on a stick they did not fashion over a fire they did not build.
You can experience change or you can cause change.
When my son was very young he was very active. He was a little agent of change. I noticed in him he easily gave way to flights of fancy. In other words he let the world around him cause the change in his activities and thoughts. We started very early, he and I, having conversations about this. The saying we now know is "either control your life or life will control you". He is still working on it and I pray for him daily. But what about you? Are you a victim of change? Are you an inactive participant in the massive, global change sweeping our world?
Change is not passive nor are its agents.
The butterfly effect is not real. Physics do not work the way that little story would have you believe. A moth flapping its wings in Detroit does not cause a breeze to blow ten inches away much less in Tokyo. Why? Because like small changes in life there are other laws of nature in place to absorb those changes. Now gather every moth, butterfly, bird, bat - all flying creatures - into one great body and you will get massive change. Keep that chorus flapping their wings in unison and you will effectively initiate the greatest change possible from that assembly.
You can change your world today.
Almost everyone in the world is looking for an answer. There is not one country unaffected by the change which is currently sweeping the globe. Massively wealthy countries and totally impoverished countries alike are pressed down and together to look for a solution to these intolerable changes. Yes, I am writing of global revolution. This one fought against ourselves with no shots fired from any weapon.
Change requires acknowledgment.
We can all easily acknowledge change is needed. Once we finally stop playing the blame game we can move forward. Most have done so but I still get emails and phone calls and even read posts and blogs by people trying to accuse this group or that or even point out one specific man or woman. Friends, just as one person or group is powerless to "fix this mess" it took legions to "get us into this mess". What we need to do is understand the most important thing for each of us to do is to remain calm. Hard for me to do because I truly am facing the very real possibility of losing everything I have put together over the last several years - not unlike many of you.
Challenge to you to be the change.
My eyes flew open after only four hours of sleep because I need change in my world - today. Not only do I need change in my business, I need change in YOUR business which may change my business. You need change in my business which may change your business. What I want to challenge every ACTIVE Rain member to do on this day when we will see our markets plunge and probably recover - perhaps more than once - is to Be The Change. Start in yourself and affect those closest to you - they are looking for strength and honor in someone close to them. I am normally very opinionated and often too quick to respond but people around me do not need that today so my change is to reach into the part of me that is strong and honorable.
Today, starting right now, I will change ME. I will bite my tongue when someone says something I judge to be "wrong" or sound "stupid". I will remain calm and dignified regardless of how much more stress I "think" I have than the person(s) with whom I an interacting. I will look for solutions within my power, not blame for things already done. I will make small changes to my method of thinking and acting. I will prefer to be affectIVE instead of affectED which will make me more EFFECTive.
Change we can commit to.
You and I can not make new legislation in ourselves to change the world. You and I together can start change where we live. Not by lipservice but by action. What will you do starting today to create a climate of change in your world? How can I help you acheive your goals of change? We can be the first two to flap our wing in unison even if I am a purple moth and you are a yellow chickadee.
Change your world or it will change you.
Ken Cook - Change Agent #101 - 866-946-0120 - I will commit to your change plan. Call me or email me - we will flap our wings in unison and achieve change that could spread through time.
Ken Cook - Georgia - FHA, USDA, VA and Conventional Home Loans (678) 439-8683
There was an article in our local newspaper last week proclaiming it is impossible to purchase a home without 20% down payment. Instead of berating the failed attempt at accurate reporting let me help the readers:
(A) FHA will currently lend up to 97% of the sales price. This requires a down payment of only 3% - which on a $200,000 home is only $6,000
(B) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both still have 95% programs
(C) Novation Mortgage and a few select other conforming lenders have a new test product in the My Community format which actually will allow qualified borrowers to finance 100% of the acquisition price and up to 3% of the closing costs using a combination of a Fannie/Freddie program and a 5% to 8% funding from a national bank.
When would it make sense to use a program like (C)?
Let's say Bob and Betty have been living in Detroit where the both worked for the auto industry. They bought a home in Dearborn 3 years ago for $190,000. Bob found work in La Grange, Georgia at the Kia plant. Betty worked in the parts division at one of the Big Three and found a job managing a local parts warehouse in nearby Columbus. Bob and Betty are moving to Georgia. There is a hitch. They owe $164,000 on their home which is now worth only $148,000. They have saved $22,000 over the last few years but the move is going to be expensive and selling their existing home is going to cost them.
Need I finish the story? So for all of you out there who believe people who don't have a down payment don't deserve a new home I submit to you, 42 year old Bob, 39 year old Betty and their 3 children. Bob with his 732 middle score and Betty's 721. I suppose it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks as long as a legitimate, conforming-conventional lender believes they deserve a new home and proves it by writing the check.
Bob and Betty America, I believe in you and we have a solution for you with affordable, fixed terms. You may be selling your home for less than you paid for it but now you can purchase a new one - also at new lowered cost.
If you are buying in Georgia or Florida call us. 866-946-0120
See you at the polls in November. We only have one chance to get this right - vote for change that matters.
RealNowRadio coming soon to a streaming audio near you! If you are interested in participating please visit the site and contact Ken.
THE OPINIONS IN THIS COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY KEN COOK's PERSONAL OPINION AND NOT REFLECTIVE ON ACTIVE RAIN, NOVATION MORTGAGE, or ANY SPONSOR OF THIS WEBSITE.
EDUCATION BEATS LEGISLATION EVERY TIME. Get your clients, friends and family members to a LENDER RUN home mortgage seminar as soon as possible.
Having a rent-a-website $35 per month. Having a custom developed website (that actually gathers information) $899. Being in the top three on Google, Yahoo and Live ... you guessed it. Priceless.
For the last several years my money maker websites have been in the top 10 on at least two of the three almost every week for my most important key phrases. I have to admit I had a little inside information since I've been "online" since before there really was an "online". Then in 1994 I switched from BBS's to the brand new "world wide web" technology and eventually owned a fairly successful web services company which catered to The NRA, American Outdoorsman, Shari's Restaurants, Hunter Engineering, SiGARMS, The Canadian Pooplayer's Association, and so on. That is when I learned about paying attention to people much more in control than yours truly.
Major changes have taken place since that time but the basic techniques for getting on top and staying on top are still the same as when Gossamer Threads was the name of the day and Google was what babies did. Fresh relevant content with lots of links from other sites with fresh and relevant content. Active Rain is a beuatiful boost because, for the most part, there are few links from or to blacklisted sites associated with AR.
Many users of AR have learned much about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and the value of being "on the front page" of the major engines. We have learned how to make sure keywords are in the title of the page and in the URL (Uniform Resource Lookup a.k.a. web address) and repeated just the right number of times within the content. Too many and you lose. Too few and you don't get ranked high.
But right now I want to introduce some of you to the Google Trends machine. Now that you are aware that keywords need to be properly used, that you need to link to and be linked from relative content and avoid blacklisted sites you will love this trend tracker. I can almost assure you that checking this regularly and following the trend reports in combination with knowing your client base and market horizon you will be even more greatly rewarded for your pointed effort.
First An Example
You may guess that searches for FHA have gone up over the last few weeks but would you have also guessed that searches for refinance have gone down?
What you are looking at is a trend track from Google Trends where the red line is FHA and the blue line is refinance. This was accurate as of 10PM eastern on 9/Oct/2008 and may be a little more telling than you would have expected. You can check the current results by visiting this link.
The top lines are general search terms and the bottom pair are news search.
I think you would agree if you were a loan officer this is a valuable bit of information to have, agreed?
So give it a try for yourself. Try keywords important to you in your market area and your line of service.
THE OPINIONS IN THIS COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY KEN COOK's PERSONAL OPINION AND NOT REFLECTIVE ON ACTIVE RAIN, NOVATION MORTGAGE, or ANY SPONSOR OF THIS WEBSITE.
EDUCATION BEATS LEGISLATION EVERY TIME. Get your clients, friends and family members to a LENDER RUN home mortgage seminar as soon as possible.
When I teach my Real Estate Investor's Quick Start Workshop (3 hours - shameless plug) I teach the importance of evaluating not only the individual property but the surrounding area. One of the things I teach is that you need to know how many foreclosures are ON THE MARKET in the area. Trulia provides a lot of tools for fast glimpses into an area. Sure, you can use your MLS if you have access to it. But here is a down and dirty quick trick for the common man (and as pros you need to see what they are seeing, too).
To see how many foreclosure listings there are in a city use this link in your browser:
Simply replace the CITY and STATE with the area you are looking for. If there is a space in the CITY or STATE such as Las Vegas or New York replace the space with %20 like this Las%20Vegas,NV or New%20York,NY
Do you want to be more recognizable, more popular, more read, more noticed than you have been to date? Want to meet more people in the biz? Want to alert more people to your AR postings?
Sometime earlier in life, things change so quickly in the economic realm I cannot recall if it was this year or last, I looked at something called "Twitter". Then I re-looked. Ever re-look? I relooked just last week.
On Twitter I find many AR friends and many new friends but I want to be able to find all of the AR users who also use Twitter. Haven't used Twitter? Try this link for my Twitter. Once you get there go ahead and sign up.
The trick to Twitter is getting your thoughts out in 140 characters. Sometimes it is more difficult than you may think ... especially if you are in the 50 and over crowd where everything must be grammatically proper. Or at least close!
Posting links in Twitter uses up too many of your characters so the big hiccup is making your links short(er). Long before I knew of Twitter I knew of TinyURL.com and if you Tweet you'll need it. For example I changed the URL http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/02/mckinney-accuses-gov ernment-slaughtering-prisoners-dumping-bodies-katrina/ to become http://tinyurl.com/3snf2z - and that's a big difference.
Join me on Twitter and you'll find a large number of your AR friends plus meet many more.
ALSO: If you don't know about RealNowRadio you need to check it out!
This is not the bottom. I repeat, this is not the bottom.
Why?
Simple, we are not yet doing the right things. When I say we I mean people. We are doing, in many senses, the same things we did to cause the last two major panics. The only difference this time from the last two, and I'm speaking of 1837 and 1929 of course, is we have more backstops in place.
The news that CITI is cutting back massively on their wholesale outlet is just one more indicator of how bad things really are. Remember, most financial companies do not operate to the future, they operate based on the pain they feal right now. CITI is no different. They feel the burn of market failure so they pull in their tentacles. Not to trivialize it but this is just another jerk of the knee reaction in a time when the market is screaming for stability.
CITI flinched.
But so did Wachovia, just before they announced failure.
In a society which is in a state of flux more than anything else we need a stabilizer. Right now there are none. Words of politicians, no matter how young and dynamic or old and weathered, are useless and the sound of a cracked cymbal. They neither comfort nor do they provide accurate and factual information. True enough we will come through this because we always have. The question on everyone's mind is, "how much longer with this last and how much lower will it go." The truth is nobody knows.
You may wonder how I can say with certainty this is not the bottom. Really it is very simple: decision makers are still afraid. Oh, they prefer the phrase lacking confidence but when you disseminate it the base meaning is simply "scared".
ING boasting of 100,000 loans with only 330 foreclosures is fantastic. It made me feel good because I have a little bit in ING. Not a lot but enough to buy groceries for a few months if needed. But I digress. The point here is that we are not at the bottom or even a bottom and we will continue to slide down as long as lenders remain in fear.
Until those who have are willing to share with those who need the market will continue to fall and the bottom will continue to elude. The 1/2 point target cut really means nothing. Oh, it means I can advertise a lower rate to people who are interested but if I cannot cover the paper, what difference would it make if the rate was zero?
Look for the bottom when you see big lenders opening new wholesale channels and when you see trading have more days up than down. There is no way we will avoid market instability for the next few weeks or even months but when you average the day and compare it to previous days you will recognize the bottom without Cramer yelling about it. I can't watch that guy, sorry.
Stay calm, keep working, keep praying, and remember the pain.
See you at the polls in November. I dare you to vote for inexperience in a time like this.
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RealNowRadio coming soon to a streaming audio near you! If you are interested in participating please visit the site and contact Ken.
THE OPINIONS IN THIS COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY KEN COOK's PERSONAL OPINION AND NOT REFLECTIVE ON ACTIVE RAIN, NOVATION MORTGAGE, or ANY SPONSOR OF THIS WEBSITE.
EDUCATION BEATS LEGISLATION EVERY TIME. Get your clients, friends and family members to a LENDER RUN home mortgage seminar as soon as possible.
More tools for YOUR success (all free by the way).
Everyone knows the headlines. Even the bum at the corner can ask questions like, "How 'bout that bailout, eh?" Furthermore even the bum on the corner can offer his political wisdom, "That Bush done messed up everything they oughta vote him out." The truth is most of us know as little about the back end of macro economics and financial polity as a 10 year old does about real estate regulations. So it's good that we actually earn our living providing our services to main street where most people are just like us.
Some can tell a different story but most will report that their buyers are fearful and uncomprehending of the current state of the industry. Sellers are all over the board from feeling trapped with a home they fear they cannot move to still thinking they can get 10% more than the property appraised for just because they redid the kitchen and bath. Our job, you job and mine, is to pinpoint reality and be open and honest about it. The truth today is a divided one: it's a great time to buy and it's a terrible time to buy.
The time to buy is now if you have either divested yourself of your previous real estate holding (as a non-investor) or you can see a way to hold your previous property as a rental until the market turns. After all when it is a great time to buy it is not a great time to sell. However, for many people, the time to sell is now.
Ken - you're confusing me. You just said the time to buy is now in the opening of that paragraph and then you closed with the time to sell is now. Which is it?
The time to sell is now if you are facing foreclosure or other financial hardship which is a certainty if you keep your existing property with the existing loan. One solution to help keep your home is HOPE for Homeowners but it is not for everyone. In fact it is not even for the majority of people facing foreclosure. Selling short (short sale) nay be an option for you but it could take time and there could be ramifications from it. Walking away and just leaving the property there is really not an option when there are so many other ways including loan modifications.
As a real estate agent it is your duty to understand all of these options beyond the headlines. In other words you need to understand these options well enough to write the story which follows the headlines. You need to know about HOPE for Homeowners even though there is no commission in it for you. There will be, however, referrals for you. You also need to know about short sales. I used to do short sale training but I think I trained too many so now there are thousands of experts.
Your clients, and mine, and our prospects, often believe they know everything there is to know about a subject simply because they saw it on the evening news or they Googled it. Just like agents with years of experience are certain that a client can't Google up enough knowledge to fully understand the real estate transactional process they also cannot Google up enough education to fully understand the economy on a macro or micro scale. That is your job.
Pulling a CMA does not make you an expert on your market area. It helps but it is only one tool to use to help you understand your "farm". If you call me right now on my cell phone and I am on the river in a canoe I can give you some solid, up to date facts and figures about my market areas. It doesn't make me special it just means I use some of these tools (and you may have others) to study and stay on top of my market area. I also use some others for which I have a subscription but I will not cover those here.
Without even looking at any of these tools I can tell you that my county, Cobb County, has the lowest foreclosure rate in the metro area at 3.7% - I can tell you my city, Marietta, has a population of roughly 70,000 and we have grown by about 13% since 2000. I can tell you the rough demographic makeup and name the mayor and city council as well as the police leadership names by zone and Board of Education. I can also talk about businesses and employers, colleges and universities and any planned redevelopment zones in my area.
YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO POP-OFF THESE NAMES AND NUMBERS IN YOUR AREA!
Here are some of my free favorite tools to help me stay on top of the information in my micro area:
City Data - "City-data.com is reaching 10.4 million absolute unique visitors per month with 92.2% of visitors from the US and 1.9% from Canada (Google Analytics, September 2008). As of October 1, 2008, Quantcast.com ranks us as the 123rd largest website in the U.S. Our forum is one of the most widely read forums in the US. Our website is frequently referenced by the media."
City Facts USA - "Here you will find information about every city, from large like New York to as small as Lost Springs, WY (2000 total population 1*) in USA. Information includes but not limited to demographic facts ((race, income, ancestries, education, employment etc.), housing data, State and county information, zip codes information, area codes, radio stations, maps etc. We also interested to collect the little know interesting facts about your city or any city in USA."
CenStats - This is data from the Census Bureau and it provides a lot of detail about industry in your area.
BLS Data - the Bureau of Labor Statistics lets you create your own dataset online. Very cool stuff.
I can't give you all the links for your area but here are some I keep up with. You should easily be able to find these for your area with a little searching:
Cobb Chamber of Commerce Marietta City Schools Marietta City Government Cobb County Zoning and Planning Commission
Knowledge is power and having more knowledge is more power. Know your market because THAT is really your product. See you at the top!
See you at the polls in November. I dare you to vote for inexperience in a time like this.
THE OPINIONS IN THIS COMMENTARY ARE STRICTLY KEN COOK's PERSONAL OPINION AND NOT REFLECTIVE ON ACTIVE RAIN, NOVATION MORTGAGE, or ANY SPONSOR OF THIS WEBSITE.
EDUCATION BEATS LEGISLATION EVERY TIME. Get your clients, friends and family members to a LENDER RUN home mortgage seminar as soon as possible.
