Dustin McAlister

The mortgage market will be under siege this week with three Treasury auctions, the release of the government's bank stress test and the latest numbers from the employment sector on Friday.

The Treasury will auction $35 billion of three-year notes on Tuesday, $22 billion of 10-year notes on Wednesday and $14 billion of 30-year bonds on Thursday. The yield on all three securities is within shouting distance of pre-Thanksgiving levels - which should make them very attractive to domestic and foreign investors alike. If so, Uncle Sam's three-part Treasury auction this week should leave mortgage interest rates relatively unscathed.

The government's release of the stress test for banks late on Thursday will be, in my opinion, the "wild card" of the week. Passing grades for the majority of the 19 banks involved will likely support a continued rally in the stock market at the expense of fractionally higher mortgage interest rates. On the other hand, if the stress test reveals the majority of banks are more fragile than expected look for stocks to swoon as investors scramble to move capital into the relative safe haven of Treasury obligations and mortgage-backed securities.

Friday's 8:30 a.m. ET release of the April nonfarm payroll report may prove to be a non-event with respect to its impact on the mortgage market. Mortgage investors have already priced-in expectations for a 620,000 job loss and a 0.4% gain in the national jobless rate to 8.9% from the March level of 8.5%. Employment numbers that happen to be worse than forecast -- will not likely cause much of a stir in the mortgage market. The same cannot be said for numbers that are not as bleak as forecast. In the unlikely case the headline nonfarm payroll report shows the economy shed 600,000 or fewer jobs and/or the national jobless rate posts a reading of 8.8% or less look for mortgage investors to register their surprise by pushing mortgage interest rates higher.

This is the highest-impact method of obtaining listings in real estate. There is not a better, easier, less expensive way to get listings. The first six months that I was in real estate, I went around in circles chasing every unqualified buyer and seller in Baton Rouge. Consequently, I earned a whopping $275 during that first six months.The good news is that during the second six months I closed 24 transactions, the second year; 52 transactions, and then I leveled off at 60-65 transactions per year. I worked only with sellers, and I had only a part time assistant. I would not have been able to do that if I had not discovered the expired "gold mine."

These tips are from my expired listing system, which I believe is the most effective system in the real estate business - not only for me, but also for agents all over the United States. The first thing I want to do is address the most common myths about expireds. I have heard agents make these comments:

They all list with the same agent.

There is something wrong with the house or it would have sold.

They are all mean people.

Mail doesn't work because it will already be listed by the time they get the mail.

Here is what I have found to be true with these four myths:

One: "They all list with the same agent."

Through my experiences, I have found that about 50 percent of expireds will go back with the same agent for a number of reasons. Perhaps they are under contract or the house has actually sold and the paper-work hasn't hit the computer yet. I have always said that the previous agent is our biggest competition. However, I suggest focusing on the 50 percent of expireds who do want a change.

Two: "There is something wrong with the house or it would have sold."

There are certain mysteries in life, and this is definitely one of them. I have sold so many houses that had expired and had nothing wrong with them that it's unreal.

Three: "They are all mean people."

A better description can be given: they are all disappointed. These are people who had a dream, or a goal that has been shattered in many cases. Of course the Realtor gets full blame.

Early in my career I used to call, and what I found was that the first day was when they were the least receptive to having a conversation. The system that has proven to be very successful is the system that I developed about two years ago. I will explain the details shortly.

Four: "Mail doesn't work because it will already be listed by the time they get the mail."

This is probably the biggest myth of them all. Based on my experiences, these sellers want a break from the selling process. I personally have listed the vast majority of expireds from my consistent follow-up. I very rarely listed a house within the first couple of days after it expired. I have always found that we (not the seller) feel the biggest sense of urgency to get the house back on the market. Remember this phrase: "The fortune is in the follow-up."

Remember: You benefit in many ways from working with expired listings. Many agents love the idea of cherry-picking the listings they want to work based on dollar volume and geographic region.

Of course, you also benefit from the flow of buyer leads that listings tend to generate.

After testing every scenario such as calling them the day it expires, calling a day or two after, bringing packages etc, what I found that works best is to mail an initial package. It's important to look at the big picture here. Set yourself up for success. If you set a system in place that you won't be able to do every day, you could be setting yourself up to fail. That's why it is so important to use systems that you can delegate to a part time non-licensed assistant. It will give you consistency.

Many agents are under the impression that most if not all expireds re-list right away. Unfortunately, this causes many agents to neglect the development of an extended marketing campaign to expired listings. Use this to your advantage as the door is wide open!

I use the great little 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 post card and here is why:

• They have to see the message on the way to the garbage can
• They get results
• They are easy to use as a follow-up mechanism
• They are less expensive to mail

The day they expire send them a letter that will convince them that you are different. Remember, they don't care if you are "#1" or have a fancy brochure. Send a compelling postcard that backs up your initial letter. Have at least seven postcards prepared. One every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Mail a postcard every 21 days.

I will end with this: Remember the benefits of working expireds:

• The sellers are identifiable, so we don't have to spend a lot of time, money, and effort locating them
• About 50 percent will be your target
• When you use this system consistently, the sellers will begin calling you
• When they are calling you first, they are nice
• You don't have difficult objections to overcome
• You will be pleasantly surprised at the number of sellers who will do what you say because they really want to sell
• There will be a steady stream of income if you work at this daily

When you come to realize the effectiveness of marketing to expireds, you will be excited about having adopted this method of marketing. I hope you benefit from this information and decide to add this niche to your marketing target.

Written by: Tony Zito

Here is how to get your free expired listing marketing tool today

Welcome to your first edition of The Real Estate Under Construction! How would you like to get the exact marketing tools discussed in today's article? You need a well - written marketing tool in order to get the most out of today's strategy.

Instead of leaving this to chance, I would be happy to provide you with a proven marketing letter that works. This is only a small example of some of the powerful, time saving services I offer to the real estate community. To get your marketing letter, simply forward your request to dustinm@bankmortgagesolutions.com or you can contact me direct at 866-603-3208 x 7858.

SHORT-TERM TREND (10 days or less) Tilted in favor of higher note rates and lower investor prices

As I write, the trading action in the mortgage market is hot and heavy - with sellers currently overwhelming buyers. The Fannie Mae 4.5% 30-year mortgage-backed security has not closed below 101.562 since March 18^th. That price level has been challenged five separate times during the intervening trading sessions - and each time buyers have entered the market in sufficient numbers to push the price back above the 101.562 mark to the trading session close. I think this major level of "support" will likely hold again.

Give your lucky rabbit's foot a little extra rub as the day progresses - if buyers (the Fed) make a solid showing today, mortgage interest rates will likely level off at current levels with a decent chance to edge lower following the end of next week's Treasury auction on Thursday. If, on the other hand, the 101.562 price support level is beached to the downside in a meaningful way (by more than a tick or two) on a closing basis - the prospects for a steady march to mortgage interest rates of 5.0%+ will grow dramatically.

LONG-TERM TREND (11 days or more) Tilted ever so slight in favor of lower note rates and higher investor prices - but fluttering at a transition point.

Commentary: Supply is a big issue today as investors are busy trying to make room in their portfolios for next week's record setting $71 billion borrowing spree by Uncle Sam. The government will be in credit markets conducting a three-part auction beginning on Tuesday with a $35 billion 3-year note auction, followed by Wednesday's $22 billion 10-year note auction and concluding with Thursday's $14 billion 30-year bond offering. The yield on all three securities has risen rather sharply over the past week or so - which may result in investor appetite proving to be stronger than many now expect. If so, next week's three-part Treasury auction may ultimately support steady to perhaps fractionally lower mortgage interest rates.

Next week's economic calendar will be relatively light through the first four days of the week - but will end with a bang when Friday's April Nonfarm Payroll figures are released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Most mortgage investors have already priced in expectations of a headline payroll figure indicating the economy lost 630,000 jobs last month, while the national jobless rate dropped to 7.9% from the March level of 8.5%.

With so many expecting such dreary news from the labor sector the risk (in terms of mortgage interest rates) is that the nonfarm payroll data proves to be stronger-than-expected. I'm not saying such an outcome is probable - I'm just saying it should be considered possible. The "so what" factor here goes like this -- D Mortgage investors live in the future - not the present. The story from the labor sector doesn't have to improve much to induce investors to start incrementally ratcheting up mortgage interest rates in anticipation of stronger numbers to come.

This is the highest-impact method of obtaining listings in real estate. There is not a better, easier, less expensive way to get listings. The first six months that I was in real estate, I went around in circles chasing every unqualified buyer and seller in Baton Rouge. Consequently, I earned a whopping $275 during that first six months.


The good news is that during the second six months I closed 24 transactions, the second year; 52 transactions, and then I leveled off at 60-65 transactions per year. I worked only with sellers, and I had only a part time assistant. I would not have been able to do that if I had not discovered the expired "gold mine."


These tips are from my expired listing system, which I believe is the most effective system in the real estate business - not only for me, but also for agents all over the United States. The first thing I want to do is address the most common myths about expireds. I have heard agents make these comments:

They all list with the same agent.
There is something wrong with the house or it would have sold.
They are all mean people.
Mail doesn't work because it will already be listed by the time they get the mail.


Here is what I have found to be true with these four myths:

One: "They all list with the same agent."

Through my experiences, I have found that about 50 percent of expireds will go back with the same agent for a number of reasons. Perhaps they are under contract or the house has actually sold and the paper-work hasn't hit the computer yet. I have always said that the previous agent is our biggest competition. However, I suggest focusing on the 50 percent of expireds who do want a change.

Two: "There is something wrong with the house or it would have sold."

There are certain mysteries in life, and this is definitely one of them. I have sold so many houses that had expired and had nothing wrong with them that it's unreal.



Three: "They are all mean people."


A better description can be given: they are all disappointed. These are people who had a dream, or a goal that has been shattered in many cases. Of course the Realtor gets full blame. Early in my career I used to call, and what I found was that the first day was when they were the least receptive to having a conversation. The system that has proven to be very successful is the system that I developed about two years ago. I will explain the details shortly.

Four: "Mail doesn't work because it will already be listed by the time they get the mail."

This is probably the biggest myth of them all. Based on my experiences, these sellers want a break from the selling process. I personally have listed the vast majority of expireds from my consistent follow-up. I very rarely listed a house within the first couple of days after it expired. I have always found that we (not the seller) feel the biggest sense of urgency to get the house back on the market. Remember this phrase: "The fortune is in the follow-up."



Remember: You benefit in many ways from working with expired listings. Many agents love the idea of cherry-picking the listings they want to work based on dollar volume and geographic region.
Of course, you also benefit from the flow of buyer leads that listings tend to generate.

After Testing Every Scenario



After testing every scenario such as calling them the day it expires, calling a day or two after, bringing packages etc, what I found that works best is to mail an initial package. It's important to look at the big picture here. Set yourself up for success. If you set a system in place that you won't be able to do every day, you could be setting yourself up to fail. That's why it is so important to use systems that you can delegate to a part time non-licensed assistant. It will give you consistency.


Many agents are under the impression that most if not all expireds re-list right away. Unfortunately, this causes many agents to neglect the development of an extended marketing campaign to expired listings. Use this to your advantage as the door is wide open!

Following-up

I use the great little 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 post card and here is why:
They have to see the message on the way to the garbage can
They get results
They are easy to use as a follow-up mechanism
They are less expensive to mail


Here is how to work expireds

The day they expire send them a letter that will convince them that you are different. Remember, they don't care if you are "#1" or have a fancy brochure. Send a compelling postcard that backs up your initial letter. Have at least seven postcards prepared. One every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Mail a postcard every 21 days.

I will end with this...


Remember the benefits of working expireds:
The sellers are identifiable, so we don't have to spend a lot of time, money, and effort locating them
About 50 percent will be your target
When you use this system consistently, the sellers will begin calling you
When they are calling you first, they are nice
You don't have difficult objections to overcome
You will be pleasantly surprised at the number of sellers who will do what you say because they really want to sell
There will be a steady stream of income if you work at this daily


When you come to realize the effectiveness of marketing to expireds, you will be excited about having adopted this method of marketing. I hope you benefit from this information and decide to add this niche to your marketing target.



Written by: Tony Zito



Welcome to your first edition of The Real Estate Toolkit! My goal is to supply you with not only the informational portion of this edition, but also with the necessary marketing pieces and tools needed to get you started with the very program discussed. This week was a primer for designing an expired listing campaign, and requires a well written and well planned follow-up system.



Instead of leaving this to chance, I would be happy to provide you with a proven marketing letter that fits the parameters Tony Zito laid out. This is only a small example of some of the powerful, time saving services I offer to the real estate community. To get your marketing letter, simply forward your request to dustinm@bankmortgagesolutions.com or you can contact me direct at 866-603-3208 x 7858.

This is the highest-impact method of obtaining listings in real estate. There is not a better, easier, less expensive way to get listings. The first six months that I was in real estate, I went around in circles chasing every unqualified buyer and seller in Baton Rouge. Consequently, I earned a whopping $275 during that first six months.


The good news is that during the second six months I closed 24 transactions, the second year; 52 transactions, and then I leveled off at 60-65 transactions per year. I worked only with sellers, and I had only a part time assistant. I would not have been able to do that if I had not discovered the expired "gold mine."


These tips are from my expired listing system, which I believe is the most effective system in the real estate business - not only for me, but also for agents all over the United States. The first thing I want to do is address the most common myths about expireds. I have heard agents make these comments:

They all list with the same agent.
There is something wrong with the house or it would have sold.
They are all mean people.
Mail doesn't work because it will already be listed by the time they get the mail.


Here is what I have found to be true with these four myths:

One: "They all list with the same agent."

Through my experiences, I have found that about 50 percent of expireds will go back with the same agent for a number of reasons. Perhaps they are under contract or the house has actually sold and the paper-work hasn't hit the computer yet. I have always said that the previous agent is our biggest competition. However, I suggest focusing on the 50 percent of expireds who do want a change.

Two: "There is something wrong with the house or it would have sold."

There are certain mysteries in life, and this is definitely one of them. I have sold so many houses that had expired and had nothing wrong with them that it's unreal.



Three: "They are all mean people."


A better description can be given: they are all disappointed. These are people who had a dream, or a goal that has been shattered in many cases. Of course the Realtor gets full blame. Early in my career I used to call, and what I found was that the first day was when they were the least receptive to having a conversation. The system that has proven to be very successful is the system that I developed about two years ago. I will explain the details shortly.

Four: "Mail doesn't work because it will already be listed by the time they get the mail."

This is probably the biggest myth of them all. Based on my experiences, these sellers want a break from the selling process. I personally have listed the vast majority of expireds from my consistent follow-up. I very rarely listed a house within the first couple of days after it expired. I have always found that we (not the seller) feel the biggest sense of urgency to get the house back on the market. Remember this phrase: "The fortune is in the follow-up."



Remember: You benefit in many ways from working with expired listings. Many agents love the idea of cherry-picking the listings they want to work based on dollar volume and geographic region.
Of course, you also benefit from the flow of buyer leads that listings tend to generate.

After Testing Every Scenario



After testing every scenario such as calling them the day it expires, calling a day or two after, bringing packages etc, what I found that works best is to mail an initial package. It's important to look at the big picture here. Set yourself up for success. If you set a system in place that you won't be able to do every day, you could be setting yourself up to fail. That's why it is so important to use systems that you can delegate to a part time non-licensed assistant. It will give you consistency.


Many agents are under the impression that most if not all expireds re-list right away. Unfortunately, this causes many agents to neglect the development of an extended marketing campaign to expired listings. Use this to your advantage as the door is wide open!

Following-up

I use the great little 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 post card and here is why:
They have to see the message on the way to the garbage can
They get results
They are easy to use as a follow-up mechanism
They are less expensive to mail


Here is how to work expireds

The day they expire send them a letter that will convince them that you are different. Remember, they don't care if you are "#1" or have a fancy brochure. Send a compelling postcard that backs up your initial letter. Have at least seven postcards prepared. One every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Mail a postcard every 21 days.

I will end with this...


Remember the benefits of working expireds:
The sellers are identifiable, so we don't have to spend a lot of time, money, and effort locating them
About 50 percent will be your target
When you use this system consistently, the sellers will begin calling you
When they are calling you first, they are nice
You don't have difficult objections to overcome
You will be pleasantly surprised at the number of sellers who will do what you say because they really want to sell
There will be a steady stream of income if you work at this daily


When you come to realize the effectiveness of marketing to expireds, you will be excited about having adopted this method of marketing. I hope you benefit from this information and decide to add this niche to your marketing target.



Written by: Tony Zito



Welcome to your first edition of The Real Estate Toolkit! My goal is to supply you with not only the informational portion of this edition, but also with the necessary marketing pieces and tools needed to get you started with the very program discussed. This week was a primer for designing an expired listing campaign, and requires a well written and well planned follow-up system.



Instead of leaving this to chance, I would be happy to provide you with a proven marketing letter that fits the parameters Tony Zito laid out. This is only a small example of some of the powerful, time saving services I offer to the real estate community. To get your marketing letter, simply forward your request to dustinm@bankmortgagesolutions.com or you can contact me direct at 866-603-3208 x 7858.