Sonal Basu

Here is my two cents on what worked for me. I tried all of the traditional things like hanging around the office everyday for few hours, knocking on doors, floortime, open house and of course cold calling. Now I am not saying that these are not good methods for some Realtors.

For me...not so much. First time I went to knock on the doors (with my 11 years old son for safety) two people insulted me. That completely turned me off. Same with cold calling. As you can see I take things personally although I was told by other agents and my manager that it is not personal.

So here is what has worked for me at least....I joined my company's internet lead center. I pay portion of my commission when and only when I close an escrow on the clients offered to me by the center and only on the first transaction. No monthly fee and subscription fee. So far this year I have closed three transactions and have received 3 referrals from these clients of which 1 I have closed and other 2, I am writing offers for. I also spend my marketing money on lunches, coffees and dinners with my clients and sphere of influence. It has brought me face to face with people who refer me clients. I also do monthly email campaigns to all of my leads and clients providing them with updates on lending or sales in the area, etc. I do occasional open house but have not picked up a client from it. It has provided me with emails for possible clients.

I finished my first year recently with 6 transactions. I know that this method may not work for everyone but it works for me and I am blessed.

Happy Prospecting!!!!!

Below are the highlights of the FHA changes coming with the new housing bill that was passed recently. As far as I know these limits are only for Bay Area. In addition - more details are coming out on the retiring of the seller-funded down payment assistance plans (i.e. Nehemiah, AmeriDream, etc...) so see below for updated info on those....

New FHA Guidelines

•· Loan limits - will remain $729,750 through December 2008. Once those limits expire - the new maximum loan limit for our area will be $625,500 for 2009 and 2010.

•· Minimum Down Payment - today the minimum down payment for an FHA loan is 3%. As of October 1, 2008 - it will be 3.5%.

•· 100% Financing with FHA

•· As of October 1^st FHA will allow a 2^nd loan to be attached to the property up to 100% CLTV. For example - buyer could get 96.5% loan from FHA and a 3.5% loan from an outside party for a total of 100% financing. The outside 2^nd loan cannot be from anyone who benefits financially from the transaction - i.e. real estate agent, seller, etc...

•· And - since the loan is likely to be provided by a private party (family member, friend, etc...) there is often a concern about collecting the payments, dealing with late payments, setting up the terms, etc.... Private loans can be setup and managed through www.VirginMoneyUS.com. A nice service to help with what sometimes might be an uncomfortable process between family or friends.

•· Mortgage insurance - just recently FHA rolled out tiered mortgage insurance pricing based on the borrower's credit score. As of October 1, 2008 FHA will suspend the tiered mortgage insurance pricing. But - they are increasing the mortgage insurance rates on all FHA loans.

•· Seller-Funded Down Payment Assistance Programs (i.e. Nehemiah, AmeriDream, etc...)

•· These programs allow a seller to gift up to 6% of the purchase price to the organization. Then the buyer applies for a grant for the same dollar amount from the organization to use for their down payment. Due to the excessive default rates on loans with these DAP programs HUD has been wanting to retire these programs for a long time. Currently they will expire as of October 1, 2008.

Let me know if I can help.