Jeff Rickard

  The last time I reported on coming changes I was expecting some movement in early December, that seems unlikely at this time due to “holds” put on the FHA legislation by several Senators.  Their actions prevented the legislation from being on a “fast track” but it appears that at least the “holds”will be lifted this week or next. 

     Identical provisions in the House bill and the Senate bill are raising the mortgage limit floor from 48% to 65% of GSE limit ($271,000), making condo approval processing easier, increasing the maximum loan limits for reverse mortgages to $417,000 and allowing reverse mortgages to be used for home purchases.  Since it is in both bills they should approve these changes.

     Different provisions in the House and Senate bills are as follows: 

Down payment - Senate wants current 3% to be reduced to 1.5%, House wants 0% down payment or 100% financing.  Senate probably wins this one so we expect 1.5% down payment.

Mortgage limits in high cost areas,  Senate wants to raise from $308,370 to $417,000.  House wants to go to $729,000 (yeah baby!)  Senate will probably win this too but may have to go to about $500,000. 

Seller funded down payment assistance - Senate hates it, House loves it.  Too close to call.

This holiday season; don’t just worry about expanding your waistline but also expanding your credit waistline!  There are several traps it is easy to fall into during this spending season.  But there are some tips you can follow that will help you avoid these pitfalls and keep your credit rating in good shape all year long! Continue Reading »

     This weeks entry is from Jeffrey Fox’s “How to Become a Rainmaker”. 

Treat Everybody You Meet as a Potential Client

Rainmakers see the world, and everyone in it, as their market.  Rainmakers know the world is small.  They know that everyone knows someone.  They know that anyone can become a client, or refer a client, or recommend a client, or scuttle a promising relationship.

     Rainmakers treat nonclients as they do existing customers.  They are polite to everyone.  Rainmakers view everyone as influential.  They know that business can come from unexpected places.  They know that something they did ten years ago might result in business today.

Continue Reading »

     FHASecure is a refinancing option that gives credit-worthy homeowners, who were making timely mortgage payments before their adjustable rate loans reset but are now in default, a second chance with an FHA insured loan.

     This program is one of the responses that the government came up with for our huge national foreclosure problem.  On the surface it sounds very good but in reality we are having a difficult time getting any done.  There are parts of the program that sound great in theory but the reality is very different………..maybe? Continue Reading »

The mortgage and real estate industry has been very challenging in Colorado as of late, so in an attempt to help all of us thrive and survive I am going to start “Motivation Monday”. Every Monday I will do a post that is motivational or sales tip driven. The source of this information will come from all sources but I will always try and reference the source so you can further investigate. Please feel free to add your opinions and information because we can all use a boost.

How can I differentiate myself from the competition?

All sales people are under the false belief that because they think their product is better, that each customer will perceive them as different from the others.  And they are wrong.

The first key differentiator is you, the sales person.  You differentiate yourself from others by the questions that you ask, the ideas that you bring into the room, and how well you communicate them. 

You differentiate yourself from others by:  Continue Reading »

     I have added a new tab to the site.  It is Economic Notes and it is distributed weekly by our marketing department at Universal Lending.  I will update this tab every Monday with the latest economic news that effects the mortgage industry.  I have also added a link to our new Rickard Team website.  The link is top left under the 1760 description.  

I read an interesting statistic on Mark Eskano’s blog site.  He is currently in Las Vegas at the National Association of Realtors Expo.  The statistic from NAR states that 2007 looks like it will be the 5th best year for real estate sales in the 100 year history of NAR.  That is not what you would expect if you just watched the news on TV.  To read the complete article written by Mark Eskanos of Metro Brokers  go to the link: http://www.eskyknowsdenver.com/2007/11/15/no-limits-las-vegas/

     You have probably heard the commercials on the radio that say “pay your mortgage off faster, save 10 years”,  “do not change your spending habits and pay your mortgage off in half the time”.  These ads have generated a lot of interest and have caused my clients to call and ask “what is it all about?”  The truth is that I do not know, so I figured I better do some research.  After my research I still do not know!  This post is a new concept for me, it is based on me knowing nothing and still giving an opinion. Continue Reading »

Found some updated numbers that I thought I’d share with you real quick.

Was surfing around and came across the Blog World Expo in Vegas next week and they had some interesting numbers.

Blogging Statistics

• Over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog.
• More than 147 million Americans use the Internet.
• Over 57 million Americans read blogs.
• 1.7 million American adults list making money as one of the reasons they blog.
• 89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years.
• 9% of internet users say they have created blogs.
• 6% of the entire US adult population has created a blog.
• Technorati is currently tracking over 70 million blogs.
• There are over 1.4 million new blog posts every day.
• 22 of the 100 most popular websites in the world are blogs.
• 120,000 new blogs are created every day.
• 37% of blog readers began reading blogs in 2005 or 2006.
• 51% of blog readers shop online.
• Blog readers average 23 hours online each week.

The convention is November 8 & 9th in Las Vegas.

There seems to be some confusion about RSS going around. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about it here in the past couple of weeks, so I thought I’d jump in and talk a little bit about it, offer a quick explanation and hopefully help folks understand what it is and how it works.

I will get back on my top questions about blogs next week.

If you have visited a news website, you’ve probably seen this icon once or twice before and wondered what it was:

Continue Reading »