Frisco Texas Mortgage, Real Estate, Events, and more

Each month I talk about 'Coffee With The Mayor' here in Frisco Texas. Its a casual meeting each month that the Mayor hosts for the residents of Frisco Texas. On average, 25+ residents show up each month and participate.

During a meeting a few months back, the Mayor introduced a class called "City Hall 101". This class provides a behind the scenes look at the daily activity of City Hall. This weekly class is held on Monday Nights from 6 pm - 9 pm.

Do you want to know how the City of Frisco operates? Now is your chance. Class begins Monday 9/14 and continues to December 7th.  Each week, there will be a new focus on a different city department or program. The city leaders and staff will present the information in an informal setting and encourage any/all questions.

As usual, this class is on a First Come, First Serve basis. So, register today as space is limited to 25 and fills up quickly.

Participants must be 18 years or older. All classes are held at City Hall insde the George A. Purefoy Municipal Center.

Ready to register? Go to www.FriscoTexas.gov then to 'Projects/Programs' and choose 'City Hall 101'. You may also contact the Deputy City Manager Henry Hill at hhill(at)friscotexas.gov

Always available for your Frisco Texas Mortgage needs!

John Cannata  Reliant Mortgage  p# 214.545.5604  

www.JohnCannata.com

Frisco Texas Mortgage Consultant

Its true! Home Sales have risen 7.2% from June to July.  Did you know this is the BIGGEST increase month-over-month in almost 10 years?  That is great news!

How did this happen?  Well, there are 3 main reasons that home sales have increased.

• Lower Prices - Higher inventory has brought down many home values. This is good news for buyers, but not so great for sellers.
• Low Interest Rates - Rates were at an all time low in February 2009. But just because the media stopped talking about the rates does not mean they have jumped way up. Rates are still fantastically low!
• First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit - Although I am not convinced that this sparked a ton more buyers, it certainly did not hurt at all. However, I am sure that many First Time Home Buyers purchased a little earlier to ensure they received the credit. Hey, why not!

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If you live in the state of Texas and are looking for a reliable Mortgage Professional to assist you with the loan product that best fits your financial situation, give me a call. We do not charge upfront fees to run scenarios or charge unnecessary application fees.

Do you want to know all of your options? Call me today and let's discuss them further.

Always available for your Frisco Texas Mortgage needs!

John Cannata  Reliant Mortgage  p# 214.545.5604  

www.JohnCannata.com

Frisco Texas Mortgage Consultant

I'm in the process of revamping my mortgage website... and when I say 'revamping', I'm actually talking about ideas, designs, etc. but have not made the changes YET. During this process, I've solicited quite a bit of feedback, reviewed examples, and really tried to see how I could create a bigger buzz on my homepage.

What I have found out from many people is that the number one mistake I am making is that I do not have a 'Call To Action'. Apparently its the number 1 mistake made with many websites and mailers. A Call To Action is what you want the reader to do. Whether you are working a website or a direct mailer, it will only be effective if it propels the reader to contact you easily.

The Call To Action can be a combination of things:

• Simple Statement like 'For More Information, please call me at...'
• An invitation to attend a free webinar / seminar
• A link/website where the reader can go for further information

No matter what your call to action is, just make sure its something you can track. If the customers are following through (short of calling you) then you want to be able to know what is working and what is not working. Track the results! You certainly do not want a potential lead to escape unnoticed.

I have seen many Realtor Websites give away information as a way to capture contact data. Perhaps you have seen this before "Real Estate Secrets and Tips", although some charge for this ebook. Or how about "Beginners Guide to Real Estate Investing"?  The reader just has to fill out the quick contact form in order to receive the email with this FANTASTIC information. Now you have a lead to call in the near future.

Is this a technique you use?

How do you feel about it?

What do YOU feel would work best?

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If you live in the state of Texas and are looking for a reliable Mortgage Professional to assist you with the loan product that best fits your financial situation, give me a call. We do not charge upfront fees to run scenarios or charge unnecessary application fees.

Do you want to know all of your options? Call me today and let's discuss them further.

Always available for your Frisco Texas Mortgage needs!

John Cannata  Reliant Mortgage  p# 214.545.5604  

www.JohnCannata.com

Frisco Texas Mortgage Consultant

Do you own a home in Texas? Have you thought about pulling cash out of the equity in your home for the following reasons:

• College Tuition
• Consolidate Debt
• Pay-off your auto loan
• Home repairs, etc.

What ever your reason, you should know your options and the specific guidelines for your state.

In the State of Texas, you have the option of completing a Section 50(A)(6) aka Texas Cashout Loan or a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). The main differences in these products are the terms and the interest rates.

The first thing to note about the HELOC is that the rate is approx 2% higher than a typical Rate & Term refinance. This rate adjusts and can increase/decrease depending on market conditions. The other big difference is that the HELOC is an open ended loan. As you can see from the brief description, it works similar to a credit card. If you borrow against your HELOC you must do it in $4000 increments. The loan can be paid back at any time with no pre-payment penalties. After 5-10 years the rate becomes fixed and you are no longer aloud to borrower against the equity until the loan is paid off. The rate adjustments, term of loan, etc are all based on the Note sined at closing.

The Texas Cashout Loan has its own guidelines and is specific to the Primary Residence. Please note that these guidelines are set in stone in the Texas Constitution.  ALL lenders must comply with these guidelines if they are completing a Texas Cashout Loan. According to the Texas Consititution, the following restrictions apply to all Texas A6 Loans:

• Loan to Value can not exceed 80% - Which basically means you can not borrower more than 80% of what your house is worth. If you owe more than 80% already, then you would not be eligible for this loan product nor can pull any equity of our your home.
• Only ONE Equity loan at a time - You may not have a second loan if you have borrower from the equity in your home.
• You may not refinance your home for at least 1 year - After you close your loan, you may not refinance your home fot at least 1 year after the date of closing. This does not mean you can not pay-off quickly. There are NO additional charges involved with paying off your home, it is strictly a state guideline. No lender can over rule this guideline just because rates have fallen below your current interest rate.
• It may not be an open ended account - This and interest rate are the biggest differences from the HELOC. If you qualify for $50,000 then a check is provided to you for this amount. One lump sum, unlike a credit card.
• Loan Documents must be signed at a Title Company, Lenders Office, or Attorney's Office - Sending a notary to your home is not an option. This ensures that a third party has witnessed the signing of the loan documents and no one else is receiving your equity check.
• Once a Cashout, Always a Cashout - In most cases, the rates for a Texas Cashout compared to a Rate & Term refinance are slightly higher. Once you have decided to complete a Texas Cashout, each time you refinance your home it will be considered a Texas Cashout.

** Please note that if you roll in your Closing Costs for your refinance, this is not considered a Texas Cashout. A Texas Cashout is when the lender is cutting you a check to spend as you will and/or paying off any debt outside of your primary mortgage **

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If you live in the state of Texas and are looking for a reliable Mortgage Professional to assist you with the loan product that best fits your financial situation, give me a call. We do not charge upfront fees to run scenarios or charge unnecessary application fees. Do you want to know all of your options? Call me today and let's discuss them further.

Always available for your Frisco Texas Mortgage needs!

John Cannata  Reliant Mortgage  p# 214.545.5604  

www.JohnCannata.com

Frisco Texas Mortgage Consultant

Each Month Mayor Maso hosts a 'Coffee with the Mayor'. Its a very informal meeting where Mayor Maso will answer questions from Frisco Residents about anything pertaining to our wonder city. Typically, these meetings are held on the 5th floor of City Hall and there are between 20-30 attendees.

A few months back, Mayor Maso thought of changing up the scenery and hosting these meetings at various locations.  The first time, the meeting was held at the Frisco Emergency Operations Center.  For more information from about that meeting, check out the What Happened During "Coffee with the Mayor" post I wrote.  It was a very educational meeting and brought in at least 60 attendees.

Well, this month the Mayor has decided to move the meeting to the North Texas Enterprise Center for Medical Technology (NTEC), which is located at 6170 Research Road in Frisco.  if you are not familiar with NTEC - It is a non-profit, medical technology incubator program.  This program is financed by the Frisco Economic Development Corporation (FEDC) and other private partners.  In 2007, the EDC and City of Frisco issued a $10.8 million bond to build this fantastic facility.  Now is your chance to get an inside look at what this bond has built.

Who: Frisco Residents (and anyone else of course)

When: Monday June 8th @ 8 am

Where: NTEC 6170 Research Rd - Frisco Texas

Come on out and learn about this fantastic 50,000 square foot facility that opened in November 2008.  Learn about NTEC and of course, there will be time to talk with Mayor Maso about the growth and future of Frisco Texas.

Always available for your Frisco Texas Mortgage needs!

John Cannata  Reliant Mortgage  p# 214.545.5604  

www.JohnCannata.com

Frisco Texas Mortgage Consultant

Copyright © 2009 by John Cannata (Reliant Mortgage Ltd) Coffee with the Mayor of Frisco Texas

How often to you search for yourself or your website through Google, Yahoo, MSN, and most recently Bing? 

According to statistics, Google is still the #1 search engine used.  Seeing as Google is number one, I wanted to take some time to understand how SEO works.

A few months ago during a meeting with Loreena Yeo, she introduced me to Katerina Gasset (Coach Katerina) who is also a member of ActiveRain.  For a small price, I learned a TON about Search Engine Optimization.  And although nothing about SEO is black and white, I certainly picked up enough tips to be lethal in my area.

Shortly after my last class, I wrote a post called Blogging is Awesome because I was listed #2 on Google under one of my keywords.  Since I have been out of class, I have written a few posts.  My posts usually cover personal and business related items.  So how have I been doing since the class?  Good question, so I googled a few keywords to see where I exist.

Here is an example of my Google results for a Refinance in Frisco Texas.  As you see, I am listed in 4 of the top 5.  All are different sites/blogs, including my Mortgage Website which is listed as #5.

Another friendly search placed my blogs in the # 1 and # 2 spot for Home Loans in and around my area.

So I ask you... Do you think that Katerina's class is worth checking out?  I would say YES!  It was well worth my time and money.  Blogging is GREAT!  And it all started with ActiveRain!

See you at the top!

Always available for your Frisco Texas Mortgage needs!

John Cannata  Reliant Mortgage  p# 214.545.5604  

www.JohnCannata.com

Frisco Texas Mortgage Consultant

In May 2008, I met a Realtor in Little Elm RE/MAX by the name of Linnea Lavell.  She told me about quite a few Real Estate Networking Sites, one of which was ActiveRain.  I signed up for a few days and just played around.  Towards the end of June 2008, I wrote my first blog post.  5 minutes after posting, I received my first official comment and then 15 minutes later, I received another.  I knew from that point on that I was addicted to the feedback and attention - and that was before I found out about the GOOGLE JUICE and was listed #2.

Look at me now almost one year later:

As of today, I am over 103K.  I know I am a little slow on publishing my 100K points but at  least I am doing it.  :-)

I am listed as #2 in Frisco Texas and #3 in Collin County.  Considering we have 982 members in Collin County, being #3 is not too shabby.

Within the state of Texas, I am ranked #43.  In May I reached 41, but I've slacked on writing posts/commenting for a few days.

Of my 172 posts written, 2 were featured posts.  I remember the first time I was featured.  It was a post about my daughter and how she was always taking my computer out of the office - Stay Out Of My Office!  My second feature was a few months later (February) and was about Fear and Greed.

Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of meeting MANY MANY great Real Estate Agents, Stagers, and Mortgage Professionals. Perhaps you have met some of them as well - Jason Crouch, Jeff Belonger, Karen Otto, Greg Nino, Leander McClain, Gary Woltal, Sherry Scales, Erik Hitzelberger, Marchel Peterson, Donna Harris, JL Boney, Elizabeth Ramsey, Shirley Parks... the list could go on and on. Of anyone who has commented or read my post, my biggest supporter on ActiveRain has to be Loreena Yeo of 3:16 Team Realty.  I met Loreena here in the Rain and have been working with her for quite a few months now.  We meet and talk about marketing strategies, our current pipeline's, market conditions, etc. It has been a blessing to work so closely with a Realtor that has such focus and vision.

I've learned, I've shared, and I've grown because of ActiveRain.  So, whether you comment on my blog or just stop by to read it... THANK YOU!  Because of you, I've continued to come back.  And because I come back, I've had the pleasure of more exposure on the internet. More exposure equals more business.

If you are reading this post and you have not yet joined ActiveRain, I highly suggest that you do. There is not another site out there that provides this type of expereince, knowledge, and exposure to Real Estate Professionals.  When I first joined, I did not find my blog on the interest.  It took a few months before I finally started to see results.  The key is to stick with it and write about your area.  It WILL show up on the interest and you will turn business because of it.

Thank you again and we will see you in the rain soon! (now if I can just get my 100K badge....)

Always available for your Frisco Texas Mortgage needs!

John Cannata  Reliant Mortgage  p# 214.545.5604  

www.JohnCannata.com

Frisco Texas Mortgage Consultant

Copyright © 2009 by John Cannata (Reliant Mortgage Ltd)

Congratulations to Me - I Officially Surpassed 100K Points on ActiveRain

Like many of you, I have seen a good share of calls because homeowners have found me on the internet.  I don't live in a huge city like Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Orlando, etc.  I live and work in Frisco Texas.  Our population is just under 105K (which is not a small city, but in comparison its not large either).  As a matter of fact, we still do many things like a small town.

Anyway, I've had homeowners find me on the interenet because they were looking up 'First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Frisco Texas'.  Typically those calls/emails were pretty local.  I welcomed all of them, even if they homeowner had already made the purchase.

This weekend I received my first phone call outside of our great state of Texas.  This call was from South Dakota and the homeowner is looking to relocate to Keller Texas.  Although I do not market under Keller Texas, the homeowner was still able to find me on the internet.

So... Thank you Activerain for helping people find my on the internet easily.  I've been able to assist a few homeowner's already and I look forward to assisting many more that look to move in and around Frisco Texas.

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Are you are looking to buy or sell a home in Frisco or another city in North Texas?  Perhaps you love your home but would be interested in refinancing to a lower interest rate?  If so, then I can help.  I am a licensed Mortgage Consultant located in North Texas with over 15 years experience in the industry.  I can help you get pre-approved for your new home loan in Texas and even suggest some very knowledgeable and professional Real Estate Agents in your area of choice.  If you are available to talk, I am available to listen.  Give me a call any time or visit my website for more details.

Always available for your Frisco Texas Mortgage needs!

John Cannata  Reliant Mortgage  p# 214.545.5604  

www.JohnCannata.com

www.txmortgageconsultant.com

Follow me on Twitter

Copyright © 2009 by John Cannata - Reliant Mortgage Ltd. 

You are looking to relocate to North Texas? I'd be happy to assist!

This is one of my favorite times of the year.  In the first round of the NBA Play-offs, there is a game(s) on each day of the week.  No matter what is going on in business or my personal life, I can always find time to watch my games (if I am not home, I always DVR!)

Here are the three match-ups I am most interested in, although there are many good match-ups (and some you should not waste your time watching)

• Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs (Dallas leading 1-0)
• Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz (Lakers leading 1-0)
• Boston Celtics vs Chicago Bulls (Chicago leading 1-0)

I am originally from Massachusetts and grew up watching the Celtics and Lakers (Bird and Magic).  I carry the same Celtic keychain that was given to over 20 years ago.  I should HATE the Lakers... but I don't.  I grew to really enjoy watching 'Showtime', especially when I moved to California in 1984 (in the middle of the Celtic/Laker rivalry).

Now that I live in Frisco Texas (and even a few years before I moved to Texas) I have been a big Maverick fan.  Many had doubts about the Jason Kidd trade, but I've watched this guy since he was playing for CAL in college.  He is a great team player and exciting for me to watch.

So, now I watch the three series and really enjoy the fact that none of them are facing each other.  I can pull for all three teams to move onto the next round.  Still crossing my fingers on the Celtic vs Bulls match-up.  The Bulls pulled out the first win in Overtime, led by the Rookie 'Rose' with 36 points and 11 assists.  A great game to watch, with a disappointing ending.

The Lakers will have an easy SWEEP against Utah, and hopefully Dallas can remain focused against the Spurs (sorry San Antonio fans.. we can still be friends though).  I am hoping to see Dallas / Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.  And in the West, if the Celtics do not make it, I am hoping to see Orlando against the Cavs.

I hope you enjoy the play-offs like I do.  If you don't then thanks for still reading this post.  :-)

Sure, we are all professionals, so I could be talking about you.  But this story is based on a professional basketball player.  Have you heard about this?

Apparently, over a week ago (I just caught this story recently) a Professional Basketball Player from the Milwaukee Bucks was caught TWEETING during halftime during HIS basketball game. Charlie Villanueva (@CV31 on Twitter) was tweeting during halftime of the Celtics / Bucks game a week ago Sunday.  The tweet read "In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We're playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up."

The message seems simple enough.  He was just sharing his thoughts, like we all do during the day, right?  Well, the Coach Scott Skiles didn't think so.  He wanted it clear that Charlie is to take his job seriously.  During halftime is a time to reflect on things the team needs to improve upon to win the game.  He felt that his TWEET was a sign that he was not focused on the game.

Some people just don't get twitter.  Coach Skiles may be one of those people, or perhaps in this scenario he has a valid point.  There were tied at halftime, so its not like the team was WAY ahead and could relax a little.  So naturally it makes me wonder about our customers and what they think about Twitter.  Do you think your clients feel the same way?  Perhaps they are watching your twitter updates and wondering if you found their new home, marketing their property, designed their website, or closed their loan.

What do you think... did Coach exaggerated or did he have a right to talk with the player?

If you are interested in the full story, here is the link from NBCNewyork.com website.

Always available for your Frisco Texas Mortgage needs!

John Cannata  Reliant Mortgage  p# 214.545.5604  

www.JohnCannata.com

Frisco Texas Mortgage Consultant

Copyright © 2009 by John Cannata (Reliant Mortgage Ltd) - Professional Caught on Twitter