I just read this blog (Why Do Buyers Need a Buyer's Agent--That ISN'T Representing the Seller?) by Debe Maxwell (Debe Maxwell Talk Charlotte with Charlotte's Realtor®) that scared the beejesus out of me and should scare the holy crap out of any buyer out there right now thinking that they're going to save money by using the listing agent to buy your home.
So often, I have heard so many of my clients tell me that they will only work with listing agents because they will save money. Many times (thankfully), the listing agent will tell my clients to get their own agent because they will only represent the seller (even though here in CA they CAN do both, many choose not to).
Anyway, I just wanted to repost this video that Debe posted because I want to let buyers out there know that this can happen to them if they do not have their own buyer's agent.
There is a short commercial before you get to the news reel but watch the video. Debe has said to feel free to pass this example (click on link) on to buyers who refuse to realize that not having their own representation can not only cost them hundreds of dollars but, hundreds of thousands of dollars!
So, Fannie Mae finally rolls out their new DU Refi Plus program that was specifically geared to help gads and gads of struggling homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than what their homes are worth. So, let's take a look at just who exactly is going to benefit from this new program. 
The goal is to allow homeowners with a relatively good and stable payment history refinance their current loan into a more stable loan product and hopefully lower their monthly payment. Here are just some of the program requirements:
To find out if your current loan is a Fannie Mae loan, you will need to check at http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/. If you have a Fannie Mae loan, then you may qualify for refinancing options as follows:
As I've mentioned before, DU Refi Plus is only available for limited cash out refinance transactions that allow the first mortgage to be paid off and closing costs financed and the borrower may receive up to the lesser of 2% of the new loan amount or $2,000 in cash. This cash back amount is intended to cover differences in payoff amount or closing costs items and is not intended to be a part of every limited cash out refinance transaction just so the borrower can get cash back.
The new loan can not be used to pay off subordinate liens/mortgages and no new subordinate liens/mortgages can be obtained in connection with this refinance. Also, existing borrowers may not be removed but new borrowers may be added. Reverse mortgages, government mortgages and second mortgages are not eligible for DU Refi Plus. Additionally, the new loan can not be an ARM with an initial fixed period of less than five years.
While this program is slated to help homeowners who are still current on their mortgages and have managed to maintain a pretty decent payment history, this program is fraught with gaps and holes. Two of the many issues I see with this new program in being able to assist as many people as it was supposed to help is a) the fact that it does not allow homeowners to payoff their second mortgages and b) it only allows up to 105% ltv. 
For many years, prospective homeowners were encouraged to get piggyback loans as a way of avoiding mortgage insurance. So, millions of homeowners are now stuck with not just one adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) that is going up but two ARM's that are resetting and wrecking havoc on their budgets. Furthermore, many of these same homeowners have suffered the loss of equity in the double digits.
If Fannie Mae and the Obama Administration really wanted to assist struggling homeowners refinance into more affordable loans, why would they restrict the ability to get rid of that rising second mortgage that in many cases is worse than the first and only limit the new loan amouts to 105%? Go figure!
It will be interesting to see how successful this new program is. Let's all hope that it's results don't end up being as disastrous as FHA's now defunct HOPE for homeowners program. Anyone remember that horrid program? Yeah, I thought so.
As a dog mama, I get emails all the time from other dog mama or papa's who are passing along messages from other dog mama and papa's who are looking for homes for their "babies". I just received the one below and thought it was just too funny not share with other dog mama and papa's here on the rain. Whether you own a dog or not, you must appreciate the efforts of this dog mama to find her "baby" a new home!
Great Dog Needs New Home
Free to good home. Excellent guard dog. Owner cannot afford to feed him anymore, as there are no more drug pushers, thieves, murderers, or molesters left in the neighborhood for him to eat.
Most of them knew of him only as "Holy Shit".
If you're truly interested in adopting him, contact me.
Fellow Mortgage Girlfriend (www.mortgagegirlfriends.com), Karen Deis Karen Deis recently was doing some research for the next issue of www.LoanOfficerMagazine.com, which she contributes to, and she came across a tremendous amount of really great government websites.
She commented that the Obama Administration has ushered in a new era of information teamed with technology, which has created more transparency than ever before. If don't know already, HUD is now on Facebook and Twitter!
It so much easier now than ever before to find just about anything that you need to know. There are also RSS feeds to keep you informed and key word searches make the websites easy to navigate through them!
Karen shared with all of her fellow MG's (that I am reblogging now) 11 government websites that we should all know about and care about. Karen has also gone on to explain why each one is important and what to look for when you visit each site. Karen has done the "content shopping" for us. Even if you don't originate FHA loans of VA loans, as a professional loan originator, you still need to know the latest updates! For consumers, these sites can be an excellent resource for information.
http://twitter.com/HUDFHA - As of March 20, 2009, HUD is now on Twitter-not only sharing updates, but also providing links to websites! Subscribe to the RSS feed and get regular updates whenever something new has been posted by HUD.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-DC/Federal-Housing-Administration-Department-of-Housing-and-Urban-Development/37437263955?ref=ts - You have to have a Facebook account to read FHA's posts. You can use this site to "write on the wall" and asked a question and they actually answer you. Lots of content with resources.
www.financialstability.gov - Everything you wanted to know about the Financial Stability Plan is accessed here-including Making Home Affordable guidelines, modification program info, etc. Current press releases and web casts can be accessed here as well.
www.whitehouse.gov - Wow, this site has everything from video of Obama's speeches to initiatives to links to every government agency. You can subscribe to get updates on a regular basis! Loads and loads of content!
www.Treas.gov - Making Home Affordable website has just been launched, which consumers can fill out a few questions to see if they qualify for a loan medication. More importantly, it contains anything and everything to do with the Treasury Department, including interest rate stats, new income tax changes (including tax forms).
www.Makinghomeaffordable.gov - So, here's the website mentioned by the Treasury Department. It's a consumer site where they can answer a few questions to see if they qualify for a Home Affordable refi or modification. However, the MOST IMPORTANT page on this site is where consumers can determine if they have a Fannie or Freddie loan so they can contact their servicing lender for a Fannie Refi Plus or a Freddie Refi Relief loan. http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/loan_lookup.html
www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com - Created by the National Association of Home Builders, it's a consumer site with detailed info about the $8000 tax credit. It's translated in both English and Spanish.
www.Hud.gov - As a lender, this is where you can find the latest HUD Mortgagee letters but the "At Your Service" pages contain a wealth of information for you and consumers: how to buy a HUD home; how to avoid foreclosure; does HUD owe you an MIP refund; find a Housing counselor.
www.VA.gov -- Everything about VA benefits, including VA field offices can be found here! However, if you offer (or want to become a VA-approved lender) VA loans here's the housing link http://www.homeloans.va.gov/
www.Efanniemae.com - As a conforming-loan lender, you can subscribe to Fannie Announcements but beware-you'll get notices about EVERYTHING, including servicing, multifamily, LLPA's etc. Check out the FAQ's related to DO/DU Notes-good info!
www.Freddiemac.com - Same as Fannie but Freddie calls their updates "Bulletins". Their site is easier to navigate. Both sites have "advanced" key word search functions and you can subscribe to get updates emailed to you.
If you have any other questions and/or concerns or if I can be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact me. Have a good day everyone. :)
I just read this post called Mr. Lender, Here is Hawaii Randy's Tip for the Dayby Realtor Randy Prothero (Hawaii Randy's Blog). While I agree that we (lenders & mortgage professionals) need to serve of our clients (and yours) very well during the sales transaction (regardless of who referred them), I want to also pass the same message on to the Realtors and/or agents as well.
In today's market, mortgage professionals are just as much as a resource of referrals for Realtors as Realtors are for mortgage professionals. In many cases actually, mortgage professionals are probably a greater source of referrals since many prospective buyers start their home buying search with first getting approved for financing before even thinking about talking to a Realtor or looking at available properties.
Granted, there are those prospective buyers who tend to approach the process of buying a home backwards by finding the home they want and then trying to find someone who will give them the loan to buy it. However, I don't want to address those particular situations in this post because, quite honestly, that subject needs to be addressed in a whole other post.
After nearly eight years in the mortgage industry, I have worked extremely long and hard to establish my sphere of influence (SOI) that has provided me with countless referrals over the years. It's these people who kept me going last year when business got really tough to come by but luckily for me, I managed to stay afloat with the referrals that my SOI managed to keep giving me. I also worked hard to established new business through my marketing efforts of doing home buying seminars, farming my local market and experimenting with some internet marketing. I have established a very high level of service that I extend to all of my clients regardless of who they are, how they came to me or how much they are spending on their home.
So when I refer one of my clients to a Realtor, rest assured, I am documenting and evaluating that Realtor and their level of service. Furthermore, if I don't feel that Realtor has served my client as well as I feel that my clients deserve, that Realtor will not be receiving any more of my referrals. As long as we're issuing advice on how to serve our referrals, here's my advice to Realtors on how to treat my clients if they want anymore referrals from me.
1. Be nice, polite and professional when you speak with them.
Just because they're first timers looking to purchase a small, lower priced home and are not particular savvy about the home buying process doesn't mean they don't deserve to be treated with the same respect that you treat your higher priced, more experienced clients. This is actually your opportunity to impress them with how much you know about what you do and what a really great Realtor you are. If you don't treat them in the way that I feel they deserve, you will not get anymore of my referrals.
2. Be flexible and accommodating when making plans to meet with my clients and show them property.
Try and work around their schedule(s) and don't demand that they work around yours especially if they have an extremely difficult time getting away during normal business hours. Most of my clients don't have the kind of jobs that we have where we have the freedom to be able to make and set our own hours and schedules. Most of my clients don't have that kind of flexibility, but you do. If you can't be understanding and accommodating enough to work around their schedule(s) and if you demand that they work around your schedule or if you continually reschedule your appointments with them because something better came up, you won't get anymore of my referrals.
3. Communicate with them and educate them on what you do and what is expected of them.
Return their phone calls in a timely manner when they call you to ask questions because they are confused about something you've asked for. When they tell you they don't understand something you've just explained for the second time, explain it again only better this time. Most of my clients are not savvy buyers and don't work in our industry and sometimes need to have things explained to them in manner in which they can understand.
Many are a little scared and uncertain because they've never been through this process before and it is quite possibly the most significant decision they have ever made, even more so than when they decided to get married and/or start a family. If you don't have it in yourself to be a competent and compassionate professional or if you refuse to spend your time and energy working with them because you simply aren't making that much money off them, then you won't get anymore of my referrals.
Frankly, I could go on and on about how I expect you to treat my clients but this post is getting long enough. At this point, I'm going to reiterate a point Randy emphasized in his own post.
4. Remember who brought you to the dance and take care of my clients.
Remember who gave you the opportunity to serve a new client and make a new client for life. Take care of my clients in the same manner that I take care of them. Provide at least the same level of service that I provide or even better if that's possible. Make me look good and don't make me regret sending my client to you.
I depend heavily on referrals from my SOI so, if my clients are unhappy with the way that you are treating them or if they don't feel that you are serving them properly, I will hear about it and that will reflect poorly on me as well as you too. You need to WOW my clients just as I have already done so.
I also keep a list of Realtors that my clients and I have had good experiences with as well as a list of those that we have had a bad experience with. It takes a pretty poor experience to get on the bad Realtor list. The list of good Realtors that I will refer business to is a short list and I share my lists (good & bad) with all of my fellow LO's and mortgage professionals and that list is long (nearly eight years long).
While many Realtors are experiencing a tremendous surge in their business because of certain aspects of today's real estate market (REO & short sale opportunities), many Realtors today are in dire need of new business in order to stay afloat in this market. While a minority percentage of Realtors grab up the REO and short sale business, the larger percentage of Realtors will be dependent on getting their business from other sources, like referral sources.
Keep in mind, we (lenders and mortgage professional) can be just as much a referral source for you Realtors as Realtors can be for us.
Cobalt is a HUD-approved lender providing affordable financing options for the low-medium income resident. As a HUD lender, we offer an array of federally-funded homeownership assistance programs.
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