Frisco Texas Mortgage, Real Estate, Events, and more

Periodically, I check out the Applications available for the iPhone. I've downloaded several, including Tweetie... which is my personal favorite Twitter Application for iPhone.. and thats because I have tried a few others.

Recently I came across an application called "Words with Friends". Its basically SCRABBLE that you can play with your friends or random players online.

Don't worry, you keep your name and number a secret if you would like. After downloading it, you'll be asked to create a user name (which you can switch every day if you want to). Then choose who you want to play.. someone from your Contacts, someone from Twitter / Facebook, or some Random player online.

While playing, you can choose a word and then sign-out. Your phone will tell you when its your turn. You're welcome to talk with the other player through a game board. Again, no phone number or real name is displayed.

If you are a real Scrabble addict, you'll be happy to know that you can play several games at a time. I'll warn you though, its VERY addicting. I was not a scrabble player before, but I've been playing quite a bit over the past 4 days since I've downloaded it.

Are you in the Austin area? You may find Donna's classes informative. She is looking for a few agents in the area in February.

How do you see today's Real Estate Market? More like a 'Stop Sign' or a 'Speed Bump'?

First it started with Home Appreciation and how it has slowed down. In some states, appreciation took a hard hit. Luckily in Texas, we were not hit as hard with rapid appreciation or depreciation values.  Then we heard all of the hype about mortgage interest rates going up, then down, then up, etc.

Is this any time to buy a home? OF COURSE, if you're buying for a place to live, not as a property to flip for fast profit.

Over a year ago, it wasn't uncommon to have 15 offers for a property. And it wasn't uncommon for people to waive their contingencies, which lets you off the hook if the home inspection turns up something you don't like or your financing falls through. In today's soft market, such desperate sacrafices aren't required.

What some people think is a stop sign is really just a speed bump. A normal Real Estate market books our speculators, people who flip properties for quick profit. Now people are buying for the right reasons. Sellers no longer hold all the cards and this helps balance out the market.

There are several benefits of home buying in a Cooling Marketing:

More Selection - Inventory has inflated to record high levels, giving a huge selection to choose from. In the past, you were forced to outbid other buyers on homes the moment it appeared on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Now you can tkame more time finding your next dream home.

Negotiating Power - The market slowing down helps your negotiating power for many homes. Keep in mind that there are still quite a few 'steals' out there and your offer is not necessarily the 'best' offer. So, although you have the power to negotiate, sellers are still waiting for a 'reasonable' offer. Talk with your Real Estate agent before determining what is a 'reasonable' offer in that particular area.

Interest Rates - It is easy to get caught up in rising rates. Some people act like "Chicken Little" and scream about the sky falling when rates inch up a quarter of a point. Rates are still way below wher they were 5 years ago. Work with a Reliable Mortgage Consultant to ensure you know the options available to you.

A home is a great investment, especially if you plan to live in it long term. The national median home price has risen each year since 1968 which is when record keeping began. When you consider the volatility of the stock market, the benefits of owning real estate still outweigh it and you get the tax benefit.

Do you still see the Real Estate Market as a Stop Sign or do you now see it as a Speed Bump?

If you want to know what your home is worth, or you're exploring the possibilities of home ownership and you would like to discuss adding real estate to your investment portfolio, feel free to contact me.

If you live in Dallas, you will certainly hear all about it. The Dallas Cowboys are the talk of Texas, no matter what the season.  Cowboys lose again, falling to San Diego 20-17.

Typically, the Cowboys look solid leading into the play-offs and then fall apart. It appears they are no wasting any time this year and have 2 losses in a row.  Last week against the New York Giants and now this week to San Diego.

You always want to see your home team play well and of course win. I'm just not seeing it. Dallas Cowboys need to win heading to play-offs because it helps build confidence. With only 3 regular season games left, its not looking good. Next week we face the UNDEFEATED New Orleans Saints, then we face Washington Redskins (who we barely beat 3 weeks ago 7-6), and then we come back home to face those Eagles.

Obviously none of those games are a 'gimme', so Dallas will have to play tough. What started off as a solid season is suddenly coming to an end unless these players can somehow stop the bleeding.

Who is your team this season and how they doing?

Loreena shares some good tips on time management. Personally, I don't think you should get up at 4:30 am, but if that works for you GREAT!  Certainly the first point she makes is a good one - Start the night before.  Anyway, she provides some good points and excellent examples.

This month, I am focused on marketing ideas. I am not a marketing expert, but I have certainly learned some small tips that can make a difference. A few days ago, I wrote a post about being prepared for your client and their family to visit your office.  Basically, the idea was to have a 'Fun Box' for the kids. Check out the article for further details.

Today, I wanted to talk about Branding Your Email Address.  I've seen more and more professionals that have email addresses like Jeff8932@hotmail.com or even BeautyQueen65@tx.rr.com.

Think about the image you want shown to your clients. Its much more professional to have an email like John@PowerhouseMortgage.com or Stacey@SellMyHome.com. And if you don't have your own domain name to set up an email address like the above, at least be creative with your Hotmail or RoadRunner email address. Something like MyAgentStacey@hotmail.com would be quite a step up from CouchPotato@mac.com

Sure, its a good laugh to use Couchpotato and it is easy to remember, but is that really the message you want to send them?

Disclaimer... this may seem a bit long, but its well worth the read if you are not totally familiar with the new changes that take effect January 1, 2010.

I will tell you that I do not cover all of the changes, but I did want to touch on some important things that effect how a Loan Officer / Mortgage Broker receives compensation. The changes that are occurring January 1st due to the new RESPA/REG X guidelines are not just changes to the physical GFE Form. This post is not a RANT. I wanted to clarify something because it MAY effect your relationship with your Loan Officer.

There have been many posts recently that discuss the changes to the Good Faith Estimate itself. Yes, that is very important because the form itself is completely different. I understand the purpose of trying to make the changes, although I do not see how its easier for the consumer. Again, this is not a rant, so I will move on to my point. I did not see many of these posts address some other important changes that will effect how a Loan Officer provides a standard quote.

• The borrower will need to know prior to loan submission whether they want to pay Discount Points (lower rate), Standard Fees (flat rate), or No Fees (higher rate). Once the GFE has been accepted, fees can not change (very little tolerance) unless there is some sort of act from God that causes the change.

Let me explain further by first providing you with an example:

A borrower calls in and wants a quote for a purchase. The quote is for a $300,000 loan for 30 years. The loan officer provides a few quotes, all on GFEs so the borrower can clearly see the fees, rate, and payment. The below quotes are based on the customers credit, DTI, and down payment. Here are the examples the LO uses:

• 4.5% with 1% origination and 1% discount
• 4.75% with 1% origination and no discount
• 5% with no origination and no discount
• 5.125% with no lenders fees (no orig, no discount, no processing, no underwriting, etc)

In today's environment, the Loan Officer can lock in the rate and move forward with one scenario. Let's say the borrower originally wanted to go with the 5% option (no orig, no discount).  All paperwork provided to the lender would be focused on the fees and rate for a 5% rate.  Two weeks later, the customer realized that he would receive a decent bonus check at the end of the year. So, he wants to go ahead and switch the rate to 4.5% and pay the 1% orig and 1% discount. No problem! This is an easy change. New GFE signed by borrower, new TIL, updated 1003 and 1008, and send it off to the lender for revisions. ** Please note that I am talking about going with the original fees the customer was aware one day one, not adding any additional 'non-sense' fees that were not originally discussed.

Now let's move this ahead and say the borrower calls on January 2, 2010, after the new regulation changes...

Same loan scenario, same options provided above. The customer is provided QUOTES instead of a written GFE. Once a GFE is issued, this is the GFE that is used moving forward. Knowing this, the customer has to know now which loan scenario he/she wants to move forward with. Let's again say that the borrower chooses the 5% option (no orig and no discount). Again, they call and change their mind. They want to move forward with the 4.5% and pay the discount point.

UH OH!! This is now a problem. Why? Well, I can no longer add the 1% origination fee, or a broker fee. I can however add the discount fee with no problems because the borrower changed his/her mind about the product. But any fees that go back to the broker can NOT be adjusted. Not even a little. With no origination fee, how is the broker going to get paid on the loan?  Oh, thats right... he/she wont get paid.

Before I tell you how the LO may handle it, let me give you the reverse scenario... Let's say the borrower originally wanted the 4.5% rate. Within that quote, the broker would disclose the YSP (Yield Spread Premium... aka 'the money the lender pays us based on rate quoted' minus any scenario deductions (LTV/FICO)). On this deal, there is not YSP because the customer is paying a Discount Point to lower the rate. When the customer calls in and wants the 5% rate with no origination and no discount point, the Loan Officer/Broker is left with ZERO YSP and ZERO Origination. So, no income for this loan.

So, how would this be handled? First, let me clarify that I am not telling you to provide inaccurate quotes. I'm also not telling you to mislead the borrower. My first suggestion is make sure the customer has agreed to the original scenario. Don't allow the changes to take place after the file has been submitted. In most cases, the customer knows which direction they want to go. Either they pay less fees and higher rate or higher fees with the lower rate. Make the choice and then move forward.

But if you happen to have a borrower that WANTS the option to change their minds, then you will need to over quote them. With that being said, this means that all scenarios above would quote a 1% origination and a 3% YSP. Your customer may not appreciate seeing these fees, but its the only way that the Loan Officer / Mortgage Broker will be able to ensure they get paid no matter what loan scenario the customer chooses. You may also need to use this scenario if you are FLOATING the rate. ** Just a suggestion for this specific scenario and should not be the 'norm' **

• As for the other changes according to RESPA / REG X, they are specific to fees associated to the loan. For example, all service provider quotes only have a 10% tolerance. This includes Title, Appraisal, Survey, Inspection, etc. Anything over 10% will be paid by the broker.

Personally, I see this change as a huge benefit. This eliminates all of the erroneous quote that I have been competing against in the past. Too often a competitor will under estimate fees to look cheaper. If that happens moving forward, the broker will have to pay the difference so the borrower is not penalized. I do feel that this change eliminates the borrower being surprised at the closing table with any/all new fees that suddenly appeared.

If you have any questions about any of the changes above, or other changes you have heard about, feel free to contact me. The above examples are just some of the changes taking place on 1/1/2010. I felt they were important to mention as it may change how Loan Officers provide quotes moving forward.

In the below post, James Barath of Benchmark Mortgage shares an article WORTH the read. Definitely a good reblog.

If you have a homeowner that feels their house is worth more than the market value, then this is the article for you.

Are you prepared for a client to visit you all of a sudden? I'm not just talking about someone that just shows up at your office, but that is certainly one situation. I'm talking about a client that wanted to stop by for a few minutes to discuss a home they noticed or the loan documents you asked for. How prepared are you and your office to have such a visit?

Maybe you keep a neat office, so this isn't an issue for you. But let's take it a step further. How about if your client(s) brought the rest of the family? If you want to be sure that your client(s) is not distracted, its best to have something in your office for children. Having a 'play box' in your office is a start. Fill the box with things like these:

• Crayons
• Coloring Books
• Toy Cars
• Dolls ('action figures' for the boys)
• Puzzles
• Crosswords
• etc.

Do they have older kids? It doesn't hurt to have a Nintendo DS (or similar hand held game system) and a few games. A good used Nintendo DS can be picked up at a GameStop, or local game store. They are pretty inexpensive and come with a charger. Plus while you are there, you can pick up a few games. It does not have to be expensive and you may have this stuff lying around your house already.

It will help keep the kids occupied while you and your client(s) talk about business. Plus your client(s) will appreciate the extra thought.

Did you get a chance to read this post from Debe? It was a featured post, so you may have. Its good timing considering homeowners are decorating for the holidays and may still be very interested in selling their home.

Have you spoken to them about how to decorate their home during this time? Here are a few tips.