BloodhoundBlog

There’s always something to howl about.

Author: Dan Green (page 1 of 2)

Mortgage Planner

July 11, 2008

5 Minutes On “Why Now Is A Good Time To Buy”

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Mortgage Planner

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Old-fashioned microphoneI gave a quick radio interview this week that may worth a listen.  It’s another take on “Why Now Is A Good Time To Buy” from the mortgage guy’s perspective.

Some of the highlights:

  • Getting a mortgage approval is likely to get tougher
  • FHA is increasing its fees and Fannie and Freddie are likely to follow
  • Why banks are turning down loans with 50 percent downpayments
  • How the election is playing into consumer confidence

Mortgage markets are a pendulum and, right now, we’re swinging to the rough side.  Give a listen, find your talking points, and help your clients understand what’s coming down the pipe.

(Image courtesy: davebytes.com)

June 3, 2008

3 Hours On Blogging, Sponsored By The Chicago Association of REALTORS

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

Chicago There’s lots of ways to waste three hours:

  1. Watch The English Patient
  2. Commute from Norristown to Manhattan
  3. Wait in line for Space Mountain

Now, one more: Come hear me talk about blogging next week in Chicago.

As part of its Hot Topics series, The Chicago Association of REALTORS is trotting me out to educate Chicagoland real estate, mortgage and title professionals about writing effective blogs that build client loyalty and new business.

Novice or Pro, there’s something for everyone. And seriously — there are worse ways to spend your morning.

The two 3-hour sessions are:

  • June 12: 6600 W. Irving Park Rd, 9:00 A.M.
  • June 13: 200 S. Michigan Ave, 9:00 A.M.

CAR is charging $49 for members and $69 for non-members. If you’re in the latter group, use my name as a reference and you’ll get the member pricing. And feel free to bring guests — I really enjoy playing to a packed house.

May 5, 2008

The Simple Way To Get Personal Emails From Your Blog’s Readers

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

Make your email address publicDear real estate agent,

I was reading your blog and wanted to send you a personal note.  I couldn’t find your email address, though.  I followed the link to your Web site and your email wasn’t there, either.  Then, I Googled you.

No dice. 

As a last-ditch effort, I tracked down your broker’s Web site and clicked 12 times to find your agent profile.   I hoped your email address would be published.  It wasn’t.

I eventually picked up the phone to call you.  I asked your assistant for your email address.

Next time, don’t make me jump through hoops to do business with you.

Sincerely,
The guy who was reading your blog

April 21, 2008

Nobody wants to watch SNL reruns on Turner Movie Classics

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

NBC, Bravo and CNBC are three networks for three different audiencesThere’s a reason why certain shows play on NBC versus CNBC versus Bravo.  Different types of programming attracts different types of viewers.

Over the past 12 months ago, Bloodhound Blog has defined its programming and it’s now clear to me that the “viewers” are largely industry insiders that want to get a leg up on the competition.  There are passers-by in the crowd, too, but for them, BHB is just another channel in the 300s to flip through between commercials. 

Real estate professionals tune into Bloodhound Blog programming the same way that sports fans do with ESPN and celebrity-watchers do with E!.  And while the real estate pros are here, they’re treated to in-depth, throught-provoking programming that keeps them tuned in and coming back.

This concept is important because many Bloodhound Blog viewers have their own blogs somewhere else on the Internet and can learn from the concept of “knowing your audience”. 

When you know your audience, you never run out of things to write and you never lose relevance.  Your message is clear, consistent and constant — three goals in every good marketing campaign.  Over time, your message actually begins to define your audience. 

You soon write to your exact target audience because that is who is reading your blog.  It’s not a coincidence that people who like food watch the Food Network.

Now, as a real estate professional, you get paid in one of three ways:

  • You sell a home
  • You sell a desk
  • You sell a system to sell homes or desks

If you make your living selling desks to real estate agents and you blog, your blog programming should be written to attract your target audience of real estate agents. 

By contrast, if you make your living selling homes to people and you blog, your blog programming should be written with the consumer in mind.

Rachael Ray knows her audienceVery few network mix-and-match their programming.  Nobody wants to watch SNL reruns on Turner Movie Classics, after all.  Heck, even HBO has seven different channels for its movies.

Some bloggers know this inherently, some learn it the hard way.  Some never figure it out.  But if you look around at the blogs that you love best, it’s Read more

March 9, 2008

Principal Reduction : 2008 Buzzword?

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

FirstBusinessX story on mandated Principal Reduction

Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said banks should consider writing-down principal on outstanding home loans to help slow foreclosures. The media is calling it “principal reduction”.

Every party has something to gain and lose with principal reduction.  This is one reason why it may be a phrase forever remembered to 2008, much like “dot bomb” to 2001.

In some interviews, I am pretty interesting.  In others, I am fairly dull.  Put this one with the latter.

January 30, 2008

In The Business Of Personal Relationships, Database Marketing Is More Effective Than SEO Marketing

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

Two years ago, NAR told us that 74% of people begin their home search online.  What they didn’t tell us, however, what percentage of those people write paper with the agent on whose site they began said search.

This omission is an important one.  Just because a person starts online doesn’t mean he finishes there.  If you’ve researched a product at multiple Web sites before making the actual purchase, you understand what I mean.

Every store except the last one was just a borrowed encyclopedia.

Click-throughs from a search engines are not “leads” and that’s why the NAR statistic is misleading.  Until a reader engages the author personally, the click-through is only that.

A Web site visitor that registers for free search, free reports, or free seminars is not your client.  He is a window-shopper taking home free samples.  He’s a client when he signs, and never before.

Today, the Federal Reserve will do something to the Fed Funds Rate and if history is an indicator, my Web site traffic will quadruple.  It happens every time.  It’s because I’m so high on Google for the term “fed funds rate mortgage“. 

Of the traffic from Google, not a single person will reach out to me for a “personal question” about their mortgage.  Again, history is my indicator.  I am the source of information of for a lot of people and that suits me fine.

Knowing that my clients would care about the same information, I have a planned email to my database that will do three things:

  1. Explain that the cut in Fed Funds Rate will likely cause mortgage rates to rise
  2. Introduce them to the concept of “why the Fed is taking a shower”
  3. Point them back to my Web site for a full explanation of the “shower” analogy

This email to my database will generate new business.  Once more, history is my indicator. 

The last time I saw this was when I sent my “stick people in houses” video on the same day the Fed dropped rates 0.750% out of nowhere.  The email generated much more business for my team than did placing high on Google’s page rank.

When you’re in the business of personal relationships, effective database Read more

January 22, 2008

Amaze Your Friends : Why The “Surprise” Fed Funds Rate Drop Isn’t Impacting Mortgage Rates

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

Advanced Fiscal Literacy For Real Estate Professionals

  • The Fed Funds Rate is a fair proxy for economic health. 
  • When the economy is growing, the FFR rises to fight inflation.
  • When the economy is slowing, the FFR falls to fight “the absence of inflation” (i.e recession).
  • If inflation is the enemy of mortgage rates, the absence of inflation is a friend.

Mortgage rates have fallen since November because the economy is showing few signs of inflation.

Prior to this morning, markets expectations for the Fed’s next action were as follows:

  • 42% expected a 0.500% drop (moderate weakness)
  • 38% expected a 0.750% point drop (strong weakness)
  • 18% expected a 1.000% drop (extra-strong weakness)

This morning, the Federal Reserve lowered the Fed Funds Rate by 0.750%.  Mortgage rates are only down slightly.

Here’s why:

  • 42% of people had to fix their bets lower on the economy because they didn’t expect weakness like this
  • 38% of people already expected this and priced it into mortgage rates
  • 18% of people had to fix their bets higher on the economy because they didn’t expect strength like this

The slight movement is mortgage rates is the result of the (42 percent) and the (18 percent) shuffling their positions in mortgage bonds.

January 16, 2008

While Rates Are Low, Schedule Your Purchase Closing At Least 45 Days Out

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

Because of negative sentiment about the economy, we’re in the middle of the first remortgage boom of 2008. There may be others, or this one may last a while.

It’s been a few years since mortgage rates fell so far, so fast. It’s like a Sid Fernandez curveball.

If your loan officer hasn’t called you about taking a lower rate yet, get pro-active and call him (or her, Rhonda). It’s your money, after all.

That said, there are a few key differences from the last time we had a remortgage boom like this.

  1. During the last remortgage boom, lenders were growing their staff to handle extra capacity. This year, mortgage lenders are working with smaller staffs after major layoffs in 2007.
  2. During the last remortgage boom, lenders were sprouting like weeds to chase mortgage money. This year, there are far fewer mortgage lenders after the bloodletting in 2006 and 2007.

Complicating matters: mortgage guidelines are very different this year from the recent past. Underwriters don’t know the new standards frontwards and backwards like they did, plus they’re being more careful.

All of this combines to mean that fewer underwriters are processing more applications that each require additional scrutiny. It would be prudent for all of us to expect underwriting delays.

As an example, the “24-hour turntime” notices I used from my investors now read:

“Please allow one week for underwriting”.

Now, at times like this, some loan officers will say to clients and real estate agents that because they can underwrite home loans in their offices, their files are immune to delays when rates fall. There’s some truth in that (and I know because we do it at Mobium), but that doesn’t mean we’re not feeling the pressure of time, too.

Every mortgage broker|banker|lender in the country is experiencing very high volume right now and we are all coping with the same issues about time and resources.

30-day closings are still possible, but it may be better to play it safe at 45. If rates keep falling, we may bump that to 60.

December 12, 2007

They Were Wrong About The Bubble And They’re Wrong About This, Too

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

In 2002, Business Week talked about “Real Estate’s Bubble Cities“.

Barron’s said it’s a better time to be “a seller rather than a buyer”.

But, 2002 wasn’t the bursting of a bubble. Prices didn’t start to fall until three years had passed from those piece’s respective publication dates. And when they did, prices fell for reasons not even named in the articles.

Being right isn’t what earns a person credibility — it’s about being right at the right time and for the right reasons.

November 14, 2007

Irony Can Be So Ironic (Massachusetts Edition)

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

Massachusetts was one of the first states to put anti-predatory lending laws on its books, ratifying in November 2004. The law includes provisions for borrower counseling, prepayment penalties, and financing of fees.

Presumably, somebody thought the law had a positive impact on homeowners because, recently, Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank authored HR 3915, The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007. Currently in debate, HR 3915 is the first national anti-predatory lending program proposed by Congress.

And then comes the heavy dose of irony.

Today, RealtyTrac released its foreclosure data from Q3 2007. Check out five of the six cities leading the nation in year-over-year foreclosure growth:

  1. Bethesda/Frederick/Gaithersburg, MD (1,640%)
  2. Cambridge/Newton/Framingham, MA (1,552%)
  3. Boston/Quincy, MA (1,274%)
  4. Springfield, MA (1,169%)
  5. Essex, MA (993%)
  6. Worcester, MA (895%)

It appears that three years after its anti-predatory lending laws went into effect, Massachusetts homes are foreclosing faster than in any other state in the country.

Irony can be so ironic.

November 6, 2007

“It’s A Great Time To Buy!” — But This Time, For Different Reasons

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

Pirate's Booty

You hang around enough real estate agents, and you start to understand why “it’s a great time to buy real estate”. The reasons are many:

  • “You get terrific tax deductions.”
  • “Long-term, real estate is a fantastic investment.”
  • “With so much product available, you’ll be able to set your price.”
  • “This is the slow season — sellers are desparate.”

Well, now you’re going to hear from a mortgage guy why it’s a great time to buy real estate:

    The banks may not lend you money for very much longer.

The Federal Reserve surveys senior bank lending officials each quarter and not since 1990 has getting an approval for a residential home loan been as difficult as it is today.

And before you think I’m talking about “sub-prime”, think again. This is for all loan types — “prime” loans, too.

I read the story in Marketwatch as reported by the man with the best name in real estate reporting — Rex Nutting. Two out of every five banks surveyed tightened its lending guidelines for borrowers with ample income, ample assets, and strong credit, it said.

As an active mortgage planner, I can attest that this is true. Before long – maybe even before the New Year — I expect that five out of five will report tightenening up.

For people searching for new home loans, it’s like shopping at a supermarket that no longer stocks its shelves. Before long, there’s going to be very little food left and you’re going to go home either (a) hungry, or (b) with something you didn’t want.

It’s wise to do your shopping today, therefore, rather than take the chance that your Pirate’s Booty will still be on the shelf next month.

Why is today a great time to buy, the mortgage planner asked rhetorically? Not because real estate is a good long-term investment, he answered. It’s a great time to buy because the right mortgage product might not be there to finance it for you tomorrow.

October 12, 2007

Does anyone know any good blogging jokes?

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

I am a part of a panel presentation on blogging next week and want to add some levity. The problem is: I’m not funny.

I’m trying to find jokes about blogging on the Internet and I can’t find a bona fide laugher.

Q. Why did the blogger cross the road?
A. Because the WIFI signal was stronger there.

Does anybody have blogging jokes to share? In the absence of jokes, I’ll write them. And it won’t be pretty.

October 1, 2007

What Would You Pay For A Real Estate Agent If The Commission Was 100% Optional?

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Mortgage Planner

Author website

Radiohead is selling tracks from their upcoming album “In Rainbows” online. The price per track, according to the site, “is up to you”.  Fans can choose how much they want to pay for the MP3 tracks, or not pay anything at all.

Was there ever a more confident display of “knowing your value to your clients”?  Of course, many of Radiohead’s fans will pay an optional download fee.

To make this question relevant to us here at Bloodhound Blog, let’s see what our readers think:

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Welcome to BloodhoundBlog, the national real estate industry marketing and technology weblog written by, for and about real estate professionals. Better yet, welcome to the wired world of real estate. We are busily inventing Real Estate 2.0 – technology, marketing, service and salesmanship. Like all Bloodhounds, we are smart, frisky and fiercely independent. We've built a spot on the earth – beloved over all – where each one of us can be who we are, no matter who that might be. We are committed to an idea of excellence that will flush the bums, the con-men and the crybabies out of the real estate industry. If you yearn to have your failures excused, your moral lapses absolved or your boo-boos kissed, seek elsewhere. But if you are sick to death of mediocrity – welcome home. Read all about us, subscribe to our feed and steel yourself for the hunt. We work hard, we play hard, we learn everything we can – and we bow to no one.

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