America's #1 Mortgage Broker

Rebecca Levinson took over as host of RadioMortgage.net today. I posted this on Facebook:

Brian is now seeing 4.75% for conv and 5% for FHA/VA loans.

Rebecca asked:

I hope you are going to do a podcast on what this means to the consumer.

So, I made her our host for today's episode.  She did a great job.

Listen to Rebecca on Radio Mortgage

Would you invest $12.12 for an extra $12,000/month next year?

If you think about it, that's only one extra, median-priced real estate transaction, in Southern California.  What's keeping you from closing one extra transaction, each month, in 2009?  You need the right ideas and a plan to execute them.  That's what we're going to discuss this Friday, December 12, from 9:30AM until NOON.

Twelve extra transactions.  How about we break it down to twelve extra ideas so you can implement a campaign, each and every month?  It doesn't seem so difficult when you put it that way.

This Friday morning, December 12, from 9:30AM until NOON, Sean Purcell and Brian Brady will lead just twelve REALTORs in a Mastermind meeting at the Lomas Santa Fe Country Club in Solana Beach. We will share our thoughts about campaigning  and introduce the referral system perfected by Jason Blackburn of Laser Focus for Life.  Then, we'll lead you in a brainstorming session, pulling marketing ideas from the  "way-back machine" vault, shared with us by over 100 successful REALTORs.  The mastermind group will discuss how to best implement those ideas and schedule them on their calendar for implementation next year.

You'll essentially be writing your buyer-marketing plan, for 2009, without even knowing it.

Interested?  Reserve your spot now.  Still not convinced?  Read on.

Will spending a couple of hours, working with Sean Purcell and Brian Brady, help your business next year?

 Let's listen to what others have to say about them:

But this isn't about us. This is about facilitating you, the professional REALTOR, as you develop twelve low-cost, sure-fire ways to attract and secure buyers for 2009.  The goal is simple; twelve extra buyers, over twelve extra months, using twelve campaigns. If those testimonials convinced you to take action, enroll now.  If not, read on.

Here's who should NOT come to Friday's mastermind session:

1- Those who think it's too early.  If you can't get your butt out of bed and into a meeting by 9:30AM, you are too lazy to succeed.  Please don't come.  One guy signed up as soon as we told him about it.  He's a single father, driving from the San Fernando Valley.  He'll be fighting traffic for 2.5 hours to participate.

2- Those who think three days notice is too early.  Life is all about opportunities; you take 'em or you miss 'em.  We picked Friday because it's the 12th day of the 12th month of the year.  That whole "Power of Twelve" thing has to have a consistent theme so we can't change the date.

3- Those who don't like the idea of educating their competition.  Good grief!  Southern California is a HUGE market and San Diego is a giant county.  We're limiting this mastermind session to just twelve practicing REALTORs so don't expect to cross paths too much.  REALTORs from LA and Orange county are waiting for this announcement (Brian gave them a sneak preview in a webinar).  Sean's involvement in the East County Board should fill this thing up the moment he presses his e-mail send button.

4- You have something else going on.  Showing a buyer homes this Friday morning, or taking a listing appointment, are two legitimate reasons for missing out.  Absent those two excuses, missing this session could be detrimental to your success...because...

This mastermind session is just the beginning.  Sean and Brian will stay connected with all twelve of you throughout 2009:

1-We'll invite you to the exclusive, invitation-only Bloodhound Blog Unchained Website; a gathering place for the sharpest online marketing minds in the real estate space.  This value could be as much as $47/month- No charge to you.

2- We'll host two teleseminars with our mastermind group each month.  The first will be an interview with a noted speaker (with a question and answer period).  The second will be a "check-up" to see how you've implemented your monthly campaign.  Speaking with your fellow mastermind members will help you analyze what went wrong and celebrate what worked.  These calls are valued at $27 each; no charge to you.

3- You'll be offered the "members-only" discount for the Bloodhound Blog Unchained Online Marketing University, a $200 savings, if you elect to join us in Phoenix next April.

Let's see what the value of this Friday's mastermind session is:

$47 X 12=   $564
$27 X 24=   $648
DISCOUNT= $200

That's $1,412 of value for just $12.12 !  The real value,however, is in the future earnings.  Remember that our goal is to help you close just one extra deal each month for 2009.  At a $400,000 price, that translates into $144,000 in gross commission income, EXTRA, in 2009.

Learn how to reserve your spot by clicking here, now.  Only ten six 3 one spot left.

UPDATE:  Oversubscribed.  I"m looking forward to getting to work with everyone, on Friday

If you’re a regular reader of my mortgage rates report, you’ll notice that I adopted a locking posture, late last month, for the rest of the year:

If the Fed’s thinking of cutting rates further, why aren’t mortgage rates going down? I think it’s because the Fed has done all it can do.  Future rate cuts are like that eighth scotch.  Drinking that eighth scotch isn’t going to make you feel any better than the seven prior.  It just might make you feel worse.

I advised folks, right after the election, to lock loans with rates under 6% if they were closing within 30 days.  Today, I”m suggesting that you lock any loan that is closing this year.  Today, a 45-day lock for a 6.0% rate would costs 1.25%.  While you may see rates drop below 6% , in the next 45 days, the risk of them moving higher is greater.

Take 6% and run.

That was a colossal screw up, huh? That eight glass of scotch didn’t do anything but the injection of heroin did.  The eight glass of scotch I referred to was a rate cut.  I feel that in a zero interest rate environment, no further rate cuts would have a marginal effect on mortgage rates; I was right.  What I didn’t see is the Fed-induced rumor mill (the shot of heroin) of buying mortgage-backed securities so as to drive down mortgage rates to a 4.5% level.

If you’re worried about the long-term affect on the economy, the Fed action is a pretty dumb idea.  The only way for them to really affect mortgage rates is to buy up about $1 Trillion in mortgages.  If you’re a would be home buyer, that could really benefit you.  Even if you’re closing in December, lenders called off all bets and gave you another chance to relock yesterday, at the lower rates.  They want your business so take that opportunity and lock that rate. When the MBS traders see that this idea is probably NOT feasible, mortgage rates could back up another .25-50%, putting us back in the high 5.75%-6.0% range.

Let’s pretend, however, that the silly little market manipulation might work.  How would we pay for this massive purchase?  Remember when I said that mortgage-backed securities trade higher than their treasury bond cousins?  In banking we call that a “spread” and that spread was really fat last week.  Mortgages were trading at 5.75% while the 10-year Treasury bond was trading below 3%.  If the government was guaranteeing mortgages, why would that paper yield so much more?

Traders still think there is risk in the mortgage market. Homeowners continue to walk away from mortgages and that creates an inherent risk to the principal.  Since the explicit guarantee of MBS didn’t work, the only option is to buy those mortgages to drive rates lower; that’s what the rumor is all about.

Brother Can You Spare a Trillion or Two?

So, where are we going to get the money?  If the Treasury can borrow $1 Trillion, for 30 years, and they don’t drive the yields on that paper above 4.49%, they can buy mortgages in the open market down to a yield of 5.5%.  That’s called arbitrage and it’s how banks make money.  They “buy” money cheaper than they sell it.

This is why you, as a home buyer looking for a mortgage, must NOT keep your eye on the wrong ball.  Follow the mortgage-backed securities market here; ignore the 10-year Treasury bill,  You could very well see yields rise on the Treasury bonds while mortgage rates decline…

…if they actually try to attempt this silly idea.

PS:  I think the traders on Wall Street will catch on to this ruse and sell of mortgage-backed securities, driving mortgage rates higher.  You have to ask yourself if you’d be more upset watching rates rise to 5.75%, and missing a 5.25% mortgage rate, or watching mortgage rates drop to 4.75%, after you locked.

PPS:  My guess is that you could renegotiate your rate lock if the latter happens.  If you’re working with a mortgage broker, that broker will have the flexibility to re-lock you with another lender should that happen.

Close to 78% of the listed homes, in Southern California, fall under the VA loan limit. The 2009 loan limits, for the California counties are well over the original $144,000 of a few years ago.  In fact, the VA loan limit is over $1,000,000 for some San Francisco metro counties and close to $730,000 for Orange and LA counties. You can see all the new VA loan limits, for 2009 here.

Over half the transactions closed in October, 2008 were below $278,000

But the worsening U.S. economy is not dissuading buyers with bargain home prices in their sights, although the latest figures represent homes that closed escrow in October on sales that were initiated probably as far back as August.

Statewide home sales jumped nearly 64 percent from a year ago to 42,293 and nearly 5 percent from September.

Almost one in eleven adults, residing in California, is a veteran.  VA home loan guaranty eligibility is determined by service period.  Virtually everyone who served from 1975 on is eligible for a VA home loan.  This means that almost all the veterans, under the age of 50, are eligible for VA financing (click the link for restrictions).

This represents a tremendous opportunity for California REALTORS, in 2009.  The collapse of jumbo financing leaves no low downpayment loans for loan amounts above $625,000.  I think that financing vacuum will lead to inevitable collapse of the $700,000 to $1,000,000 price point in California, next year.  As  stated-income, jumbo ARMs adjust, there will be little to no financing alternatives for those strapped homeowners.  Expect foreclosures to increase in that price range, driving down prices.  A qualified veteran can swoop up some of those bargains.

Where can you find veterans who might want to buy a home?

1- Find them on meetup and offer to speak to them.  (If you happen to sell in the OC, you can meet the real military women of the OC here)

2- Set an appointment with the HR representative of one of the VA healthcare systems near you.  Oftentimes, veterans work at these centers using the skills they learned in the service.

3- There are over 450 American Legion posts in California.  Find five near you and post flyers on their bulletin board (ask me for a copy of mine).  Offer to speak at their meetings.

4- There are about 300 VFW posts in California.  Post the same flyer at five near you.

5- Talk to everyone you know and ask them if they know any veterans.  Don't worry about whether they own a home or not.  Veterans are a tight-knit group and refer business out to each other.

Whatever you do, don't paint yourself in a corner to thinking that only current service members can obtain a VA loan.  Here are some members, on Active Rain, that are most likely eligible for the VA home loan product (and they've been out of the service for years):

• Debra Drummmond is a former Marine (although she'll probably say that once a Marine, always a Marine).
• David Kucic was a Top Sergeant in the US Army.
• Our own Rich Jacobson sailed the seven seas in the US Navy.
• Rich Shelton is a retired Air Force Colonel.

There are plenty more but the point I'm trying to make is that ALL of these members, regardless of their "retired" status would be eligible to buy a million dollar home, in San Francisco, with no money down.  They'd have to move there and qualify for the loan but they are eligible to use their VA benefits, whether this is their first home or not.

Get creative for your 2009 business.  If you want to work with veterans but are unclear how to do it, contact me at (858)-777-9751.  I fund VA home loans in all 50 states...especially California!

PS:  I'm ecstatic that the Active Rain Real Estate Network featured this post.  Would you pleasse help me, by sharing your ideas here, as well:

Twelve Ways To Find Buyers For 2009

I could use some help from the Active Rain community.  I"m looking for twelve ways to find buyers for 2009.  Obviously, I'll take more but I'm giving a presentation about 12 sure-fire, low cost ways to find buyers in 2009.

Some ideas I've heard include:

1- Systemetized process for requesting referrals.

2- Door knocking on apartments

3- Visiting tax preparation offices

4- Building a campaign around a specific financing niche

5- Developing an employee benefits program.

I'd love to hear things that have worked for you.  Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge.

I'll be presenting on a panel, on December 4, on HomeGain Radio.  My 10-15 minutes will be about how to sell real estate, as an investment, against other asset classes like stocks, bonds or insurance.  Louis Cammarosano of Home Gain promoted the "Ask The Experts Call, here on Active Rain.  What astounded me was this comment:

I would be very leary about attending or presenting at this seminar.  Mixing investment advice and real estate is a very dangerous combination.  I hope that there are licensed financial planners or investment advisors in the audience...

I was astounded for two reasons:

1- There is no such thing as a licensed financial planner.  Licensed securities, insurance, and real estate people position themselves as financial planners and there are fee-based financial planners but there is no licensing board or entity for financial planning advice.

2- Are you REALTORs so gun-shy about the huge market decline that you're scared to discuss real estate as an asset class, as part of a retirement planning strategy?  That's what your license allows you to do; sell real estate (as shelter and as an investment).

I've watched REALTORs chase their tails for 15 years now.  2-3 years ago, smart REALTORs got schooled on short sales.  Proactive REALTORs positioned themselves properly with banks and garnered numerous foreclosure listings. That's about to come to a halt in 12-18 months

Where will you position yourself for profit in the next 5-7 years?  If you're not prepared to deal with investors, you're quite possibly going to be extinct.  Short refinances are coming in 2009; banks will still take losses but this time it will be to keep homeowners in their homes.  Less short sales and fewer distressed homeowners will lead to to fewer foreclosures.  This should help stabilize home prices.  We're going through a phenomenon called "price discovery" right now.  I can tell you that it's going to settle median prices into the median earnings for your market.  It's going to be lending driven.  As the mortgage business has gone "back to the future", fundamental reasons for valuations will be paramount.

Cash-flow remains king in the investment world but return on investment, measured by internal rate of return on capital, is the language we speak when comparing asset classes.  Property valuation is important to investors so you had best underestand that language, as well. That's what I'll be discussing on HomeGain Radio.

If you don't know how to present intelligently to a real estate investor, don't fret...it's not your fault.  Real estate licensing entities offer so many electives, to allow you to avoid the "hard numbers" that most REALTORs can't discuss this.

If you want to position yourself for this big boom (investors will dominate the markets in 6-18 months), help scared Americans properly plan for their retirement, and turn customers into clients, you need to learn the basics of investment analysis.  You don't need a CCIM designation to understand this.  Spend some time on the telephone with me, and I'll get you up to speed.

You folks are licensed to talk about real estate investments with people; start doing it .