JD Terry - IHaveMoney2Lend

Another successful closing, yea!!

Yesterday I went to the closing for a young couple who had re-located from the Charlotte area to Wilmington. These folks came into my office 60 days ago. They were buying their second home, so they had some experience but were looking for some good advice on what product would best compliment their current financial goals. After a very informative meeting, together we decided on an FHA loan. They had about $10,000 in cash from the sale of their home but did not want to spend it all. I totally agreed with them and I too wanted to help keep a cash cushion in savings for those rainy days that may pop up.

With the FHA loan they put down only 3.5%, and along with their Realtor we negotiated with the seller to pay $5,000 in closing costs. My clients were extremely happy with the loan product, their rate of 6%, and the fact that they did not have to spend all of their proceeds from the sale of their previous home. I spoke with them today and they have started moving in! It will be a very exciting Halloween in their new home!

For those of you that are not that familiar with an FHA loan, here are the particulars:

• 96.5% Financing (as of Oct 1, 08)
• FICO score requirements down to a 580
• Reduced mortgage insurance (about ½ of that of a conventional loan)
• Seller can pay up to 6% in concessions
• The 3.5% down payment can come from a gift from a family member
• Very competitive rates on 30 yr fixed, 15 yr fixed and a few ARM products
• This loan also allows for non-traditional credit for borrowers with NO credit

How do you get the word out about your open houses, seminars, or any other event you are doing??? The most common answer is postcards or just an email to my database. I have a suggestion that works great and has tracking ability of who will be coming to your event....E-vite. That is right!

I am sure most of us have used it for Super Bowl parties, birthday parties, ect. It is a great, FREE tool that will allow your guest to RSVP and post comments. I had a Realtor that used this technique for an open house and she got great feedback. I think you might get more people to show up if they actually have to write back that they are going or not. Also, everybody can see what other folks replied with and what they said. Peer pressure can be a good thing sometimes.

Give it a try and let me know what you think. You can create a catchy e-vite by gong to http://www.evite.com/. For those of you who have not used it, it is VERY user friendly, and for those that have used it on a personal level we look forward to your feedback on a professional level.

At the very least your database will see how you think outside the box and will enjoy your creativity. It also might get you a few listings from the folks that receive it and want you to list their house because they love your unique approach in this market. After all, leave no new marketing stone unturned!!

The Federal is scheduled to Wednesday (tomorrow) and announce its new Policy Statement and Interest Rate Decision...it is expected that they will cut rates again from .50% - .75%. This does not come as a surprise as the Fed has cut the Fed Funds and Discount rates several times this year. As we know however, cuts in these interest rates do not translate into lower home loan rates. In fact, they typically move in the exact opposite direction.

The reason I wanted to share this information with you now is so that you and your clients can lock in and take advantage of the rates before this announcement tomorrow.

My advice is not to wait until Wednesday. Whether you're considering buying a home or refinancing your existing property today is the day to act. Also don't believe all you hear in the media about the credit market being to tight. Remember bad news sells, for whatever reason that is. Credit standards for many loans have tightened up, but mortgage money is widely available on home purchases for borrowers who can provide documentation and support their mortgage application.

Good luck and let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Everyone has heard about the so called Credit Freeze that our country is currently in. Personally I think a lot of it is blown out of proportion and it is more on a macro level than a micro level. However, the end of this week brought some welcome news that might point to a thawing out!

• N.A.R. reported that existing home sales were up 5.5% over the last month that is a 13 month high. It sounds like someone is starting to buy houses and be approved for loans (not that loans were not being made before now J)
• The short term LIBOR rate also fell to it's lowest point in the past month or so. This will free up some money for other banks to start lending each other money.
• Retail mortgage interest rates finished the week down an average of .625% from their highest point last Tuesday. Last Tuesday rates were almost at their highest level in 08'.
• Finally the number of foreclosed properties actually dropped from the last month about 13%. Even though we are obviously higher than we were in 07', the month over month drop is a great sign.
• Experts are saying we should see the bottom of the stock market in the next 6-8 days; at least that is their prediction. Only one way to go from the bottom.....UP!

In all of this positive news I do acknowledge the fact that there are a lot of people losing their jobs across our nation. I just hope that the good news that is being reported will translate into good news for those who have not had any in a while.

All in all this was a very positive week. We are still not out of the woods yet but it seems as if business is staring to happen again. Homes are selling, people are not losing their house as fast as they were, rates are below 6% on a 30 yr fixed product, and it is the best time to buy stocks in over 5 ½ years.

You can't turn a battleship on a dime, but you can defiantly see and feel when it does start happening. I think our battleship has started to turn.....

In this market I feel it is important for us to focus on the positive and not the negative news we hear on a daily basis. Today was one of those positive days in the mortgage business for me and for my clients.

Today I closed on a refinance for one of my clients. They are actually past clients of mine. I financed the purchase of their home three years ago in Burgaw, NC, and today we refinanced it. I reduced their interest rate by .75% and saved them over $140 a month on a VA 30 yr fixed loan program with NO Points!

The loan product that I utilized was something called an IRRL or Interest Rate Reduction Loan. This is a great loan program for borrowers that have an existing VA loan for their mortgage. The high points of the IRRL are many:

•· It is used when the borrower is reducing the interest rate and going from one VA to another VA product

•· There is no appraisal needed

•· There are no income documentation needed

•· There is no asset documentation needed

•· The VA Funding Fee is only .50%

This is a loan that my team and I pushed though underwriting in less than a week and closed in less than two weeks. It is a very easy loan for the borrower and very easy to underwrite.

Have a great week and I look forward to hearing your success stories too. Despite what we hear on TV there are success stories on a daily basis in the mortgage and real estate industry all over the country!!