Mortgage Broker Marketing » Reason

The Reverse Mortgage is Meeting the Needs of Seniors in a Big Way

admin — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:51:09 +0000

In most cases the senior is looking places to find money to off set the major loses they have felt from the banking and investment crisis. The one place that is still a safe haven in many areas is the home, even with declining values. The main reason is that most seniors purchased their homes when values were mush lower before the great appreciation era. If a seniors still has a mortgage on their home and many do have a current mortgage on their home and have to make payments every month. If a senior has a first mortgage lets say just for $100,000 at a 6% rate they are putting out over $600. 00 per month or $7,200 per year. This amount if they did not have to make the payment would be added to their income that they would be able to use to live. In many cases seniors over the years when the economy was booming many took at 30 year loans and or adjustable rate mortgage and are now faced with higher payments and they are trying to stay afloat. If a senior is faced with this problem they should really consider a Reverse Mortgage for many reasons not to mention relief from payments. In many cases not only would they be free from mortgage payments, but they would receive additional funds to use as they see fit. Under the Reverse Mortgage program they senior controls how and what they spend the money on once they have closed. Some things never change when doing a Reverse Mortgage and that is they still must pay the taxes and insurance on their home. If a senior is use to having an escrow of taxes and insurance they maybe able to set aside the monies with the company and have them pay it yearly for them. One thing that all seniors should be looking at is the availability to access the money that they need from their home that they paid for over the course of their lives. In the years that you will need it the most and not have to worry about paying it back in their lifetime. Many seniors are now thinking that if they take out a Reverse Mortgage and the bank or Mortgage Company goes out of business they will be out of luck. This is not true it is protected by the FHA mortgage insurance, that if they do go out of business then Federal Government takes over and pays them the money. The Reverse Mortgage is the safest mortgage in the entire mortgage industry. Unlike a typical mortgage where a lender has many options to force your paying of the loan, the Reverse Mortgage has the full protection of the US Government that guarantees that the senior will never have to leave their home for as long as they live. This of course is providing they pay their taxes and Insurance and continue to live in the home as their primary residence. Now in 2009 a new program is emerging within the Reverse Mortgage and this a great option for many seniors who have one reason or another sold their home or have to move to a newer location. The Reverse Mortgage purchase program is now available to seniors over the age of 62. The program is design to allow seniors to purchase a home without any mortgage payments for life. Now just to make it very clear this does not mean that a senior can purchase with no money down. This is not the same mortgage that got this country in to the financial situation that we are in where people would by a home with zero down or less in some cases. A senior who is looking to purchase a home will have to have money to purchase a home; it is all based on the age of the person and the appraised value of the home. Let’s say that a person age 62 wants to purchase a home that is appraised at $200,000, they would need approximately 40% down payment on the home. They would in most cases be able to finance all or part of the closing cost within the Reverse Mortgage. But let’s look at it in another way! Remember the older you are the less you will need down!If that same person wanted to purchase a home using a conventional mortgage, they would need at least 20% down and would have to qualify with at least a 720 credit score and have the income to qualify for the mortgage payment. So let’s look at the difference! Conventional Reverse Mortgage $200,000 Purchase price ………………………$200,000$40,000 down payment ………………………. $80,000$160,000 mortgage ……………………………. $120,000 $858. 00 per month payment……………………Zero per monthNow this is what it looks like on paper for a conventional mortgage verses the Reverse Mortgage the big difference is that a senior for a Reverse Mortgage purchase they will not have to qualify for the loan they already are if they are 62 or older. Also under the conventional mortgage if a senior fails to make a payment on their mortgage they will be foreclosed on just like anyone else. For the senior who has a mortgage currently and is worried if they are going to be able to make payments on the mortgage Think Reverse Mortgage! No Income or Credit qualifying; if think this isn’t a big deal call your mortgage banker and see what it takes to get a mortgage today. Also this is very important issue your conventional mortgage is not guaranteed that you will stay in your home for the rest of your life! Here is what you have to do to get a Reverse Mortgage for your home! Speak to a Reverse Mortgage Specialist who can educate you on all aspects of the program. You will be required to have a FHA Approved counseling session and receive your certificate to hand to the mortgage company. A Fully executed loan application must be signed and submitted. The FHA appraisal must be completed for value and condition of property. The title search must be completed and cleared of any and all liens and judgmentsAll insurances must be changed all endorsements Closing is scheduled once all final conditions have been cleared. Closing takes place either in the home or at a title office. The client must wait three business days for the cancelation period which includes Saturdays. Money is disbursed and all existing liens are paid off and any additional funds available are sent to the person who closed on the loan. So if you are thinking of how you are going to make it through these hard times, waiting to see if the market will ever turn around you are loosing money in your home. Remember this as the stock market, and real estate even stay where it is now you may never see the return of that money.

Mortgage Broker Strategies 101: Back to Basics

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:37:08 +0000

Mortgage Broker strategies are important as you very well know, but have you considered all the marketing you can do on a day to day basis. This is not the type of marketing where you put an ad in the paper or hire a call center. These are the little things you can do to make sure that your mortgage business continues to grow. These are the things that cost very little but are huge in terms of keeping business as well as high customer satisfaction.

Fist Tip

Whether you are sending out a letter, a card, or even an ad for the paper, make sure you use effective writing techniques. First among these is to make sure that you have a headline on everything you do. Whether people realize it or not, the headline grabs the reader. Once they see a headline, they are way more likely to read the rest of the piece of text. Always make sure that the headline has a benefit in it so that your client has a reason to keep reading.

Second Tip

Keep writing! For many people, the thank you note has raised their income by large percentages. Every person, customer or friend, loves to show appreciation. They like to know that you are happy for them and that you realize what they have done for you. When you thank them you are connecting with them and helping to cement a future relationship.

If you make it a point to write thank you notes every day, you can really help your return business. Thank people who didn’t even work with you on a mortgage. You can thank those who did something for you: your mechanic, mailman, or even the teacher your kid has at school. Whatever you do, just make sure you send those thank you notes. It will definitely pay off for you.

Third Tip

Be a braggart. When you do something for a client, make sure you tell them. You want to make yourself valuable to the client for a couple of reasons: so that he or she understands why you are getting paid, and so that he or she would refer you to someone else in the future. This can be very valuable down the road. Even though bragging seems harsh normally, so be humble and just point out the things you accomplished because in business you want to be valued.

Fourth Tip

This is a strange one for many, but make sure that if you have a phone person, that he or she always suggests that you are with a client. If he or she says “I’m sorry but he is working with a customer right now, give me one second to see if he can take a call right now”.

This allows you to look busy and confirms that you are worth the effort to work with. It also gives you an out if you don’t want to talk with a certain person for one reason or another.

Last Tip

Though there is an unlimited amount of advice that could be given about mortgage marketing techniques, there are some that are certainly more important. One of those is this: never stop marketing. Even if you are the best mortgage broker that ever walked the planet, if you cannot market then it won’t matter. Nobody will know you are great, you will have no business to close, and you will not make any money.

Above everything else, mortgage is about getting clients in your door. The rest is just paperwork and learning the ropes of the loan biz. With that in mind, there is one other thing you should consider:

Form realtor partnerships whenever you can. If you can find a program that will help you hook up with realtors the right way, you should jump on it. By giving yourself that extra advantage, you are enabling your business to grow without making yourself do more work.

With a partnership with the right realtor, you may find yourself with a large number of renters turned buyers on your desk each day. What a great way to run the mortgage business huh?

So no matter what you do, implement a new marketing tip each day. Try to send out thank you notes, thank people in person, look for times to brag about your self, and even try to keep marketing. Above all, find ways to form those partnerships. Getting hooked up with a realtor and with changing renters into buyers, you will grow your business faster than you ever imagined.

By: Shane Brooks

Mortgage Broker Marketing: How to Use Open Houses to Meet Agents

admin — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:28:24 +0000

If you’re searching for a proven method that leads to fast results, than this article is for you. Many times I come across loan officers who are either new in the industry and need to earn immediate income or who joined during the height of the refinance boom and now needs to build purchase business.

Either way, this strategy I’ve tested with dozens of loan officers and have had great success. In fact, it’s one of those ideas that’s commonly known, but is uncommonly practiced – meaning that it’s another way of getting ahead of your competitors.

Captive Audience

With the housing market appearing to cool off and inventory climbing in many towns across America, it prompts agents to hold open houses again. This is great news for you, because it means they’re captive. It’s one thing to approach an agent at their office, when they’re on their natural turf, but when it’s an open house, you’ll discover their behavior is strikingly better. For one thing, if the traffic for the open house has been slow, they’ll be happy to have someone to speak with.

So the first step, which believe it or not, is the most difficult for loan officers, is to give up some personal time on a Saturday and visit several open houses. How much time? If you’re efficient, meaning you’ve spotted the open houses in Friday’s paper and planned a route, you could knock out a dozen in three hours.

Your Plan

If you’re going to take some personal time on a Saturday to pursue agents, you definitely want to make the most of your effort. So let’s review your objectives; an open house visit is your chance to:

Schedule Appointments – Don’t miss this point – Your primary objective in visiting open houses is to schedule appointments, not to share every reason in the world why they should do business with you. You’re not there to socialize longer than 20 minutes. If you’re staying longer than that, you’re giving up too much information.

Build Your Prospect List – If you visit a dozen open houses, you should gain at least four appointments. But what about the other eight? If you don’t get an appointment, always seek permission to market your services to them in the future. Just say, “If you’re like most agents I meet, you’re interested in ways to grow your income. If I come across ideas from time to time that can help you do that, would you be offended if I send it to you?” Of course, very few will turn you down and now you’re building a list of prospects who have granted permission for you to send them information.

If you find yourself quickly accumulating a permission-based list, consider implementing a regular email or direct mail campaign so you can build familiarity, which leads to future originations.

Demonstrate Your Professional Commitment – Just by showing up on a weekend, you’re making a statement about your willingness to service agents.

Make Friends – You might find open houses to be a less confrontational method to meeting agents. Some of my toughest clients, loan officers who never called on agents before, found open houses to be less intimidating and trouble-free.

The idea of visiting open houses has been around since the dawn of time…ok, maybe not that long, but hopefully you get the idea. It can give you a quick jump start to meeting agents, developing some familiarity and if you schedule several appointments, a real chance to interact with agents who will send you originations.

If you’re new in the industry or haven’t marketed your services to agents before, it’s a strategy worth trying. You’ll find that it’s not too difficult, and agents recognize the effort you’re putting forth, so they’re more empathetic to your cause.

By: Jeffrey Nelson