Jeff Rickard

We are all aware of the the changes and hysteria in the mortgage business lately.  There are over 200 mortgage companies / investors out of business in the last twelve months.  B paper is gone, no income is gone, stated income is for the most part gone, 100% financing is seriously hampered or gone in the conventional market, negative amortization is highly regulated or gone and low credit scores, if they can get a loan, will pay dearly for it. 

     The big question is will they stay gone?  In the past we have had many cycles of the market getting tough and the pendulum swinging in the opposite direction.  Then the market improves and the pendulum swings back.  Continue Reading »

     The 2007 tax change that allowed mortgage insurance to be tax deductible has been extended by the IRS for the next 3 years.  Yippee! 

 What is a declining market?  It seems simple enough to explain, it is when real estate values are dropping in a market place.  Basically all of the front range currently qualifies as a declining market.  In the mortgage industry a declining market has major impact on the loans that we can do and how much you can borrow. 

     For example, if the home you want to buy is in a declining market conventional lenders require an additional 5% down payment.  So a loan program that was 100% financing now requires 5% down or basically changes it to a 5% down loan.  If you were required to put 10% down now it would require 15%.  Remember almost all the front range is considered a declining market by Fanni Mae and Freddie Mac. 

     FHA and VA has not at this time required additional down payment in declining markets but appraisals are now being heavily scrutinized.   

    Two things separate you from your competitors: a very specific strategy for your business and a story that tells the community you live in - or even the world - why you are different.  This is a quote from “The Seven Minute Difference” written by Allyson Lewis.

     I am going to go through the process of developing that story on my blog.  I am going to take the ideas from the book and do the exercises on line so you can see if and how it really works.  This process will take the next few weeks of Motivation Monday but I think it will prove very helpful for me and you.

Thanks for nothing!  Sometimes the government does stuff to help us and sometimes they do stuff so that we think they are helping us.  FHA Secure falls in the latter category.  To date nationally FHA has only done approximately 400 true FHA Secure loans.  Remember this was suppose to help us all out of our loan crisis issue.  A great plan that just does not work in the real world.  To make matters worse the FHA website is telling us all what a great program FHA Secure is and that they have done thousands of loans.  What they have done is thousands of FHA cash out refis.  That is great but nothing new and certainly not FHA Secure.  For more detail on FHA Secure read my post from November 21st. 

February is well known for sweethearts and Valentines.  It is that time of year that someone may steal your heart.  Just make sure they don’t steal your credit at the same time!

Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America.  In 2008 someone in one of every three households will become a victim.   Every day identity thieves are coming up with more clever ways to access your credit and bank accounts.  And once a victim of identity theft it takes the average person up to two years to clear everything up. While no one is immune to the possibility of identity theft there are things you can do to protect yourself. Continue Reading »

     If you think rates are dropping read economic notes this week!  Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) has also increased substantially at the end of last week.  Two increases in two days, that is a lot when you consider that they usually change every few weeks!

Did you know that you have a brand?
     It may not be as well-known as Nike, Toyota, Wheaties, Xerox, Band-Aid or other entities with which we normally associate the term. Nevertheless, you have one.
Think about it a second. 

     What came into your mind when you read the above brand names? Sure, you may have thought about a type of shoe or car. But then, even subconsciously, you recognized an association. That association most likely was established quite a while ago. You have a distinct perception about every product or service that you recognize. These perceptions are a complex mix of those things you believe as realities (how you see things as they are) and values (how things ought to be).
Establishing a brand.

     Companies use marketing to establish brands, intending to influence your perception of their products and services. If a company can establish a brand for their product or service in your mind, and influence your perception of that product or service as “good,” then it increases the likelihood of winning your purchasing decision. 

So what’s your brand? 

     What perception do you give to your customers? You think that you know how your customers see you. But everyone’s perception is unique, and impacted in some way daily. You must influence and persuade your customers’ perceptions of you constantly.

I love to read motivation, sales skills and marketing books. The love of those books is the reason I created Motivation Monday and I like to highlight my favorites. Today there are two books that I am very into and seem to be somewhat life changing. Part of the reason they seem so important to me is that I finally stepped down from management and since then the positive energy of the business has been somewhat overwhelming.

I am not ready to highlight excerpts yet but I do want to alert my readers to these books. They are Take Charge of Your Mind by Paul Hannam and John Selby and Flight Plan by Brian Tracy. Take Charge of Your Mind is about techniques that you can use to keep your focus during the work day and Flight Plan is a book about setting goals. There is nothing new about setting goals but the way they go about the process makes you actually act upon those goals. Now that seems amazing to me!

     I hate to beat the same horse but I am getting a million calls from clients wanting to lock these new unbelievably low mortgage rates.  Please read the economic notes this week.  It hits the nail on the head.  You can access economic notes by clicking on the tab above.