Westfield, MA

WHAT IS MORTGAGE INSURANCE AND WHY DO I NEED IT?

Private mortgage insurance and government mortgage insurance protect the lender against default and enable the lender to make a loan which the lender considers a higher risk. Lenders often require mortgage insurance for loans where the down payment is less than 20% of the sales price. You may be billed monthly, annually, by an initial lump sum, or some combination of these practices for your mortgage insurance premium. Ask your lender if mortgage insurance is required and how much it will cost. Mortgage insurance should not be confused with mortgage life, credit life or disability insurance, which are designed to pay off a mortgage in the event of the borrower's death or disability.

You may also be offered "lender paid" mortgage insurance ("LPMI"). Under LPMI plans, the lender purchases the mortgage insurance and pays the premiums to the insurer. The lender will increase your interest rate to pay for the premiums - but LPMI may reduce your settlement costs. You cannot cancel LPMI or government mortgage insurance during the life of your loan. However, it may be possible to cancel private mortgage insurance at some point, such as when your loan balance is reduced to a certain amount. Before you commit to paying for mortgage insurance, find out the specific requirements for cancellation.

CALL KRIS GONET-HALL 43-204-6099

KRIS.GONET@NEMOVES.COM

RELOCATION SERVICE AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE

USEFUL INFORMATION TO PROTECT YOU!!!

Selecting an attorney is a very important, unavoidable decision.

Before you sign an agreement of sale, you might consider asking an attorney to look it over and tell you if it protects your interests. If you have already signed your agreement of sale, you might still consider having an attorney review.

An attorney can help you prepare for the settlement. In some areas attorneys act as settlement/closing agents or as escrow agents to handle the settlement.

AN ATTORNEY WHO DOES THIS WILL NOT SOLELY REPRESENT YOUR INTEREST, SINCE, AS SETTLEMENT CLOSING AGENT, HE OR SHE MAY ALSO BE REPRESENTING THE SELLER, THE LENDER AND OTHERS AS WELL.

• If choosing an attorney, you should shop around and ask what services will be performed for what fee. Find out whether the attorney is experienced in representing home buyers. You may wish to ask the attorney questions such as:
• What is the charge for negotiating the agreement of sale, reviewing documents and giving advice concerning those documents, for being present at the settlement, or for reviewing instructions to the escrow agent?
• Will the attorney represent anyone other than you in the transaction?
• Will the attorney be paid by anyone other than you in the transaction?

RELOCATION SERVICES AVAILABLE

Kris Gonet-Hall 413-204-6099

Kris.Gonet@NEMoves.com

BE CAREFUL... REAL ESTATE AGENTS ARE NOT INSPECTORS

Real Estate agent are not trained to find structural, electrical, plumbing, septic and other problems with a home or land and do not guarantee the condition of property they sell. In gereral, agents have no duty to inspect a property for defects and have no duty to verify information received from seller, municipal departments or other reputable sources. Naturally, real estate agent may not "knowingly (make) any substantial misrepresentation. Agents have no liability for innocently passing along to buyers information from reputable sources, even if it is later determined to be inaccurate. Agents who provide buyers with names of lawyers, accountants or other professionals do not guarantee the accuracy of the reports of thos professionals.

FOR ALL OF YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS. CALL KRIS GONET-HALL @ 413-204-6099 OR E-MAIL ME ANYTIME @ Kris.Gonet@NEMoves.com

RELOCATION SERVICES AVAILABLE

I sat down and watched my all time favorite classic Christmas movie: Santa Claus is Coming to Town with my daughters the other night. While enjoyable for all the normal reasons, I was reminded of a very important lesson while enjoying a song. Here are the lyrics to the song:

"Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking out the door

You never will get where you're going
If you never get up on your feet
Come on, there's a good tail wind blowing
A fast walking man is hard to beat

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking out the door

If you want to change your direction
If your time of life is at hand
Well don't be the rule be the exception
A good way to start is to stand

Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you'll be walking out the door

If I want to change the reflection
I see in the mirror each morn
You mean that it's just my election
To vote for a chance to be reborn"

Sing it with me!

It occurs to me that many of us in the real estate industry need to sing this as our mantra this year. It has been a difficult year for many people, but sinking into that negativity is a huge mistake. Often times just the impact of movement creates a forward momentum that can push you through a rough patch. The lesson of self motivation and positive growth is one that I try to bring into my day all year long, but this song does a fabulous job of keeping it close at hand. For myself, I am going to continue to vote for my chance to be reborn and start each day with a positive step towards my goals. I hope you will, too!

For a real estate agent with a positive attitude and a go-getter approach hire Lesley Lambert, The Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA!

Confession time. I have been a REALTOR for 20 years in Westfield, MA. I have a background in training and management and ran a real estate company for over a decade. I was the recipient of awards from an international real estate franchise and did motivational speaking and training for them for several years. I hosted a real estate television show. I was fearless...until it came to knocking on doors.

Latent fears are strange and usually make no sense. I can recall making my younger sister do the door knocking when we were selling girl scout cookies. I have never been able to comprehend what I was afraid of, just acknowledged that the mere thought of knocking on a strangers door made me slightly ill.

Worse than the fear was the knowledge that I was being a hypocrite. I would stand in front of hundreds of real estate agents and tell them that they needed to face their fears and pick up the phone or knock on a door. Man, is it so much easier to tell other people what to do!

So, here I am after re-inventing my real estate career and re-starting as an agent at Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA. I know all the things that I have to do to stay successful and I push myself regularly. I take aggressive training courses that keep me accountable. I create the web presence and work on becoming tech savvy for my career. I stay in touch with my sphere. I make appointments with for sale by owners and I mail to expired listings. Some of it works, but I am still not creating the kind of business that I want. My managers hold some brainstorming sessions and they tell us the impossible: go knock on doors, be the one that people meet face to face.

Hoo boy.

I acknowledge their advice. They are trying to push us into new patterns of behavior in this new market. I take a deep breath and commit in this meeting that I will try to knock on doors. That is a wimpy cop out committment, but it was the best I could do with the nausea creeping up.

Meanwhile, back at the real estate office (sorry, couldn't resist) I am becoming affiliated with a home retention company called Titanium Inc. and am very excited about the potential to help people who have fallen into hard times with their loans. This is a subject that I am personally connected with and I am ready to be part of a positive change for these people. I complete the training, get my first assignments and then realize that I have to go KNOCK ON THESE PEOPLE'S DOORS.

Well, I am afraid, but I said I would help these people and I will. My first stop is a woman who ends up hugging me and crying and we make an appointment to meet the following week. Not bad, I am ready to try some more at this point. My second stop slams the door in my face. Even that wasn't horrible...I realize he isn't upset with me, just the situation. As I am leaving he comes back out, apologizes and invites me in to talk. Wow...this isn't nearly as difficult as I expected. In fact, this is great....these people need my help and I can give it!

The following week I create some expired listing information folders and head out to visit some broker's open houses in Westfield, MA. There are four expired listings near the open house and I am knocking on all of them. One lovely older couple is home and they invite me in to chat.

The next week I am driving past a for sale by owner in Westfield, MA and I happen to still have some of my information packets in the car. I decide to stop and while the homeowner did look at me like I had five heads, he was pleasant and I dind't take up much time...just a low key "here is some information about what our company does, please let me know if you need some help".

So, I am cured. No more fear of knocking on doors and I am ready to take on 2009 in a pro-active face to face way. So, if I knock on your door: rest assured I am there to help you in whatever way I can... and be gentle with me, I used to be afraid of you, too!

If you would like to invite me to knock on your door then get in touch with Lesley Lambert!