America's #1 Mortgage Broker

"If you thought REALTORs were behind the learning curve in Web 2.0, you should see the lenders"

If you're a loan originator, on Active Rain, congratulations.  There are some 300,000 working loan originators today and I'm guessing that about 1% of us are actively using social media.  Certainly, the REALTORs are way ahead of us but even they have room for growth.  If the participatory web is the future of commercial communication, this gives loan originators a tremendous opportunity to "stop buying donuts" and start teaching the close to 900,000 real estate agents, who don't get it, how to succeed.

Remember when you started in the business?  The most successful loan originator told you to "beat the streets and talk to agents".  Today, beating the streets requires nimble fingers rather than worn-out shoe leather because...

YOU CAN BRING VALUE TO THE AGENTS FROM YOUR COMPUTER

Here's the idea; teach the unwired agents how to get connected.  They'll love you for it.  In the past four months, I've:

• Talked to over 100 agents, in Orlando, FL and met a group of big producers.
• Held a training session for a dozen local agents.
• Spoke to over 200 agents, new to social media, via webinar.
• Met with over 200 agents, in Seattle.
• Instructed over 250 agents and originators, via webinar.

If I market to 100 real estate agents, consistently, I close 100 purchase loans annually.  In California, that's a pretty good living (even after I pay out my team members).  See where I'm going with this?

TEACH THE UNWIRED AGENTS HOW TO GET CONNECTED- They'll love you for it.

What's the matter?  You don't fell confident enough to instruct the unwired agents about how to use social media?  Forget the folks here, on Active Rain.  They get it. already.  Certainly you'll want to etsablish and nourish relationships here but the REAL opportunity lies in the other 90%; the unwired agents.  You already know more than they do...BUT...

I'll show you how to learn even MORE so that you're potent; an expert of sorts. 

Come to the BloodhoundBlog Unchained University of Online Marketing, in Phoenix, at the end of April:

Who should come to BloodhoundBlog Unchained in Phoenix? If it’s part of your job to attract and convert new business, we have what you need. On BloodhoundBlog, we talk a lot about Social Media Marketing, but in our own businesses, we work with Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Direct Marketing and good old-fashioned belly-to-belly sales. We also work directly with internet-based tools from PHP to RSS to CSS — acronym soup.

Three days of intensive learning about the world of online marketing in real estate- that will make you an experts of sorts.  Spend the rest of the year giving talks, webinars, and office meetings, and you'll have your 100 agents by Labor Day.  Oh!  You might learn a thing or two to help your business, too. 

Ask Scott Schang, of Porchlight Mortgage about the value of this conference:

I consistently utilize online webinars, youtube videos and constant contact which creates a perpetual cycle of automated action items that convert contact into clients.

My product is really education and expertise. Through my internet "presence" I am perceived (rightfully so I would hope) as an expert in my field. I think there's also a familiarity you develop by being so easily accessible on SM sites.

I have also met many professionals like yourself that have helped me to grow and become more innovative and creative through these on-line relationships.

I have built working referral relationships with many other professionals and I believe that my social media reputation helps to facilitate these relationships.

Bloodhound Unchained in Phoenix last year was really the launching point for my confidence to take more chances with my commitment to social media and I realized that I was far from alone in my search for enlightenment.

Scott attended the first ever BloodhoundBlog Unchained.  Since then, you can find him in the SERPS for "California Teachers Loans"; Google considers him more relevant than CalSTRS itself.  Scott doesn't stop with the SERPS, though.  He usues webinars, video, and classes to ge the word out and meet agents.  He started implementing his plan within weeks of attending Unchained.

Look at what Kevin Sandridge learned at Unchained.  Using scenius.net, he's able to include his content on two Florida REALTORs weblogs and benefits from multiple backlinks.  He learned more than just the "geeky" stuff, too:

I had the pleasure of sitting with Brian, Sean Purcell, Teri Lussier, and Chris Brown for lunch at Denny's during the recent Bloodhound Unchained Orlando 2008 Extravaganza.  As I munched on my Club Sandwich (and it was oh so tasty), Brian relayed the importance of putting yourself out there when you write a blog post - to stand for something - have a something to say - and let it rip!  I have to say, I'm still trying to find that "voice" in my own posts - but Brian did hit here, folks.  Love it or hate it, you're forced to do one or the other.  In fact, I dare you to read the post in its entirety and not have a firm opinion one way or the other.

These two guys are connecting with potential referral partners and ADDING VALUE.  They learned a lot of what they're teaching at BloodhoundBlog Unchained...now, you can, too!

We often expose bad vendors on BloodhoundBlog and catch a helluva lot of heat for it.  The cream always rises to the top, though.  Top of Mind Networks, President, Mark Green hosted me for a 45 minute social media marketing webinar.  When I was finished he said:

I am attending Unchained Phoenix and am paying full price for my education.  In other words, there’s no good buddy discount at work here and I’m going because I want to take my business to the next level.  There are only 75 total seats available - that’s it (minus mine, so make that 74).  If you thought this 45 minute webinar was compelling, try immersing yourself in this stuff for 2 straight days.  Think you’ll be able to blow away a realtor with this knowledge?  You bet your sweet bippy you will.

You bet your sweet bippy you will...pretty cool.  So, what's the plan?

First, come read about the three-day event.  We're only offering 75 seats MAX and close to 50 are already gone.  The tuition is only $697 for the full three day event.

That's about one third of a loan commission.  Reserve your spot today.

PS:  Still unconvinced that attending BloodhoundBlog Unchained won't  help you learn how to teach the unwired REALTOR to get connected and snag you a referral partner for life?  Call me at (858)-777-9751 and let me tell you a few war stories.  Actually, I'll knock off 100 bucks, right here, right now...just for reading this

RESERVE YOUR SPOT AT THE REDUCED PRICE NOW

I was really looking forward to Jeff's post today about "content ownership".  It's obvious that I feel this is an important issue. 

I wanted to highlight some of the salient points I made the other day but the Terms of Service forbid me to parse from "Members Only" posts and republish them in a public post.  You can click the link to get some background.

I was shocked when I saw that Jeff disabled his comments on his opinion.  It's not like Jeff to shy away from thoughtful discourse so I can only guess that the idea was that the Company wanted to send out an edict, without discussion.

I could not publish this as a Members' Only post, to comply with the Terms of Service, so members will be wise to note that before they comment.

I'll have some more thoughts about this, on Bloodhound Blog, tonight.

I wrote this about two years ago.  It won a couple of Carnivals: 

Carnival of Real Estate, hosted here on Active Rain

Carnival of Real Estate Investing, hosted by Agent Shopper

It was a lot of fun to write and a pretty good read (if I say so myself). While I've written informational blog posts, on Myspace, since 2004, I had just started to seriously blog on Active Rain, at this time in my life.  "Old-timers" in the Rain will remember this one but I thought some of the new folks might enjoy this light-hearted look at a boom town:

I talk a lot about trends in housing.  One of the ways to make money in any real estate market is to buy correctly.  How can you spot the next Aspen or Scottsdale?  Here are the six stages to watch:

1- If looking for the next hot ex-urb, look for a small town that is surrounded by natural beauty.  An old mining town in Southeastern Arizona, a former mill town on the river in Massachusetts, or an unnoticed beach town on the Gulf of Mexico.  This is the period where the real cowboys invest.  Their plan is to buy land and promote it. There is a bar and gas station in town.   There is no chamber of commerce.  Your friends will refer to the town as "bucolic".

2- Look for the artists and tradespeople.  If you see galleries and studios replacing tattoo parlors you have a good chance of making a killing in this market.  Artists like physical beauty and a sense of community. More importantly, budding artisans are VERY frugal with the dollar.  While I can't prove it with data, I just know these left-brained thinkers have a "sixth sense" about seeing the big picture.  The chamber of commerce is made up of the artists and the gas station owner, meeting at Joe's Tap Room once a month. Your friends will refer to the town as "funky" at this point.

3- Independent coffee houses and resale shops  follow the artists and it benefits everyone.  Customers need a place to eat and drink while shopping so these little businesses come in.  They take over the abandoned gas station and call their shops names like "The Shell House"  or "X-ed ON".  There is still room for upside here.  The Chamber of Commerce is hosted by the newly converted bed and breakfast in town and the mayor and police chief have joined. Your friends will call this village "quaint".

4- Starbucks comes in. They knockdown "X-ed ON" spend the money for a full environmental cleanup and relocate on the best corner in this village. Starbucks is pretty forward thinking in their site selection.  They'll take a risk on an edgy area before 7-11 and McDonalds.  This is probably a five year play at this point.  It is unlikely that you'll double your money but there is upside here.  The Chamber of Commerce meets at the Holiday Inn Express on the outskirts of town. Now, your friends will comment that this town is "charming".

5- The builders invade the area.  Little did you know that they were optioning dirt back in stage 3.  You start seeing signs and flags going up all over the place. McDonald's and  7-11's are sprouting up next to the large grocery store that was just built.  One of the art galleries gets written up in the New Yorker and the other five consider relocating.  The Chamber of Commerce is now meeting at the new housing tracts with names like "Copper Ridge" or "Miller's Crossing" and is made up of Realtors, loan officers, insurance agents, and a state senator.  Your friends are calling this area "growing" and considering a life there.

6- The buiders are now on the multi-family projects.  Target, Walmart, Home Depot and every other big box has moved into town and hosting the Chamber of Commerce meetings at their "Grand Openings".  The bed and breakfast got written up in Fromminger's, the art gallery is now an auction house next to the Tiffany's,  Joe's Tap Room is now called "Josef's Olde Taverne" and the guy who used to sell weed out of the back of his VW Camper 20 years ago is now mayor.  Your friends call this place "home"

This is when you sell.

Originally posted as The Six Stages of a Hot Market

Some coverage of the BHBUnchained and Seattle REBar camp

Video clips of Redfin.com CEO Glenn Kelman from the BloodhoundBlog Unchained preview event in Seattle

Living that Seattltude: Bloodhounds listening above the Sound

Down payment requirements, for mortgage loan programs,  have increased over the past 12-18 months.  Here are some examples:

• FHA hiked the statutory down payment to 3.5%
• Piggy-back mortgages, using second liens, are all but dead.  Conventional loans, with down payments of less than 20%, require private mortgage insurance (PMI).  PMI companies have hiked down payment requirements.
• State loan programs, like the CalSTRS loan program, suspended “no-down” programs
• Jumbo loans require hefty down payments

The larger down payment requirements were implemented to “limit loss exposure” to the lenders and guaranteeing agencies/insurers.  That’s good right? Well, not necessarily good for you, the borrower.  Low down payment loans, while more expensive, help to limit buyer losses in a down market.  Low down payment loans transfer market risk from the borrower to the lending institution; it makes the borrower “too big too fail”.

That’s EXACTLY what these big banks and brokerage firms did; they borrowed so much that they became “too big to fail”.  Former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, outlines the conundrum we face by consolidating the companies who were “too big to fail” into  larger institutions that are…REALLY “too big to fail”.

What’s that mean to you, the would-be home buyer?

You never want to borrow money you can’t afford to pay back…BUT…a low down payment loan just might give you some insurance against a declining real estate market.  It gives you LEVERAGE with the lender when things get…a bit dicey.

Why do banks rush defaulted loans, against homes with lots of equity, to foreclosure while they are more apt to “negotiate” a loan modification with a delinquent borrower who is “underwater?  Banks have to deposit a “loan-loss reserve”, with the FDIC, when mortgages become delinquent.  If the prospect of recovery is slim, some banks simply “write-off the loan” (to avoid that deposit with the FDIC) with hopes that they’ll recover SOMETHING later.

If higher downpayments “protect the lender” against market risk, it is only logical that the market risk is transferred to…the borrower.

That’s you.

Mortgage rates look to trend up in the next week or so.  Ambiguity about the spending/stimulus bill, combined with a massive borrowing effort by the Government, is making it difficult for mortgage rates to stay below 5%.  Economic data are still bleak and that should act as a ceiling for mortgage rates in the near-term.

If you’re buying a home, with a conventional loan, you should be able to lock-in 4.875% this morning.  I’d take that rate if you plan to close in February.  I, like Bill Gross of PIMCO, still think we’ll see mortgage rates at 4.5% again; we might have to go through 5.375% to get there, though.

If you have the time and will, hold out for a better rate.  Otherwise, all February closings are best served by locking today.