Kevin Kelly Amerifirst Financial Inc.

Are you currently looking for Ocotillo AZ homes for sale? Well whether you are just beginning your search or have been looking for awhile; align yourself with an expert in Ocotillo AZ homes for sale. Dan Mullins, with Chris Paul Realty is just that expert. A licensed real estate broker, Dan specializes in the Chandler area and is a resident within one of Ocotillo's many fine communities.

With several years of focused experience in the Chandler area, living within Ocotillo allows Dan to give you a first rate tailored search of homes for sale in Ocotillo AZ. Dan truly believes in idea that he is looking for your next home, not his. He achieves this by listening and actively engaging you in a conversation to develop a list of your needs, wants, and desires. Dan then uses this list and his expertise in Ocotillo AZ homes for sale to find you results that make the most of your valuable time.

You have several options when choosing a real estate professional to help you find Ocotillo AZ homes for sale. Why not choose someone who not only knows the meaning of the word service, but also knows the Ocotillo community from the inside. You can click here to learn more about Dan Mullins, or e-mail him at brokermullins@cox.net.

Dan looks forward to partnering with you in your search for Ocotillo AZ homes for sale. To see some the great things going on within the Ocotillo community, visit their website, The Ocotillo Community Association.

Due to overwhelming requests for a repeat, we have scheduled another Section 8 Housing Class on February 16th. It will be held at the University of Phoenix at 1620 S. Stapley Drive Mesa, AZ (NW corner of Stapley and Baseline Road.) from 1pm to 4pm. So mark your calendars now.

There are three great reasons to attend this Section 8 HousingClass on February 16th:

1. It will give you 3 hours of fair housing credit towards your renewal requirements in a fun, engaged atmosphere.
2. Dana Booth will be the instructor.
3. And what's great about Dana teaching this class is that he has been and still is a Section 8 landlord.

So if you have ever wanted to learn about the real estate investment opportunities available in Section 8 housing, then why not learn it from a guy who has walked the talk. Dana shares actual experiences and real financial scenarios that will give you the tools to get started right away.

The class is free courtesy of our friends over at American Title! We have two different ways you can RSVP for this great class. Click on either link below to let us know your coming.

1. Educate 2 Earn Class Calendar
2. American Title Class RSVP

Also, click on the link below to print out a flyer for the class. We look forward to seeing you there!

Class Flyer

All the best,

So I've been sitting here staring at my computer for quite some time this morning without any results. I am committed to blog every day this month, but coming up with ideas and good, solid content has been a challenge on certain days. This day being one of them. Despite my desire to meet my commitment, I also don't want to put out words just to have words out there. I want it to mean something and I want it to be enjoyable/informative/impactful to those who happen to read it, even if it is just one person.

As I said I'm staring at my screen, and as is often the case in these situations, my eyes and my mind begin to wander. And as I am thinking (daydreaming), I find myself looking at my fortune from a fortune cookie. A couple co-workers and I got Chinese food last week for lunch and I rarely eat the cookie, let alone keep the paper in it. But here it is sitting on my desk, right below my screen, why I have no idea. I begin to read it over and over without really reading it until it starts to penetrate my consciousness and bring me back from my "thinking".

And what does it say?

"A Part of Us Remains Wherever We Have Been"

I realize that there are probably about a million fortune cookies out there with this same wording out there. That it wasn't some mystical or magical force that brought that fortune cookie to me. If you have ever had Chinese food with a group of people and someone in the group has the same fortune as you, you know what I mean. Still the same, the power of the words really started to hit home with me. Especially considering the industry we are all actively engaged in. I have even gone as far as to wonder if it would still have as much meaning to me if I was not in the real estate industry.

There is one word that keeps coming to my mind now when I read this fortune. That word is IMPACT. For this fortune to be true, or at the very least accurate, for all of us is that we have to make an impact. Whether it be on our family, friends, colleagues, clients, potential clients, or strangers who pass in and out of our lives. Making an impact on these people, ideally a positive one, is the best way to make sure a part of you remains with them. It goes beyond a business card or weekly e-mails. It is them seeing your business card and asociating it with good thoughts and memories about you. It is them either needing a loan, or looking to buy or sell a home, and having you come to their mind first.

My train of thought now running all on its own, I began to ask myself the following questions:

• Do I make an impact on the people I come in contact with?
• Have I done everything I can to make sure that the impact I create is a positive one?
• Does a part of me remain wherever I have been?

To be honest, I cannot answer yes to all of these on every day. But this has turned out to be a great reminder to me in my daily life. My goal is to be able to answer yes to these questions, all of them everyday. We spend so much time marketing ourselves and our services, how can we not want to answer yes. How can we not want to ensure that a part of us remains wherever we have been? This business after all is about people and relationships.

Admittedly, this may be a little deep for a Tuesday. But sometimes, at least with me, I need to get the ideas out there as they come in or I'll lose them. But I'm sticking with this one as I never know when an opportunity will present itself to make an impact on someone. Best of luck to you leaving a part of you wherever you have been.

All the best.

Ahhh, the joys of condo financing today. Now ideally, the situation would never get to the point where the client is asking this question. Because if I know upfront that they are condo shopping then there is an entire conversation that must be had to avoid or minimize frustration down the road.

Most of that conversation centers around making sure the client understands that while they are borrowing money to purchase a specific unit, the value of that unit can be largely affected by the condo building as a whole. Which may be a new concept to someone going from a single family residence to a condo for the first time. So with the complex in its entirety coming into consideration, we introduce the Condo Certification required by investors to be able to fund a loan on a condo purchase.

A Condo Certification is a one to two page form we would generate and have the Homeowners Association Management Co. fill out. There are typically about 25 questions/items that we are looking for information on, but here is a quick rundown of the more important items that could very well eliminate your ability to secure financing for that unit:

• Occupancy Rate - this is provided so that we know what percentage of the complex is occupied by the actual owners. Not investors who have their units rented out. Typically we would need to see an occupancy rate of 51% or more, meaning at least 51% of the complex is occupied by the owners.
• HOA Delinquency Rate- this is again is a percentage provided so that we know what percentage of the overall owners are delinquent on their HOA dues. Anything over 15% delinquency will be a huge red flag. And again, it is important to point out why this is needed is because of the concern for the overall well being of the building affecting the value of your unit. If HOA dues are not getting paid, the question would be asked, "How then can they fund the maintenance and care of the building?"
• Litigation- this is a yes or no question to whether or not the HOA is currently in litigation. A yes answer to this would be a deal killer.

Going through a thorough pre-approval and loan application process and then having the conversation upfront about condo financing and the condo certification will almost always make the process go easier. That way, when my client does find a condo they wish to purchase the expectations have been set right and we can get started on the condo cert right away. Thus avoiding wasted days for all parties moving forward on a purchase that will never happen.

It is also important to point out that almost every HOA charges a fee to fill out the condo certification form. It will vary from HOA to HOA. But ideally a little extra money upfront now will save a huge loss and frustration later. At the end of the day, it is really all about communication and setting proper expectations. Once that has been completed, the client knows that despite how strong of a borrower they might be, to reserve a bit of excitement a possible condo until the certification is back and we have the green light!

All the best!

The concept of "dialing for dollars" has been around for quite a long time. A person looking to either secure financing for a home purchase or to refinance their existing mortgage, will call around and ask the same question first every time without fail.

"What is your interest rate?"
or
"What is your best rate today?"

This is, of course, the rate shopper. The person who just wants to hear that magical rate. And what is that rate you may ask? It is the rate that is lower than all the other rates he or she heard that day in their flurry of phone calls. Time and time again we see it. We also see time and time again the person who goes chasing rate alone ends up frustrated, delayed, and paying more than they should have in the first place.

Now I appreciate that public is pretty well conditioned for just about as long as there has been anyone willing to discount whatever they are selling, to look for the absolute best deal possible. It doesn't help also in this immediate information age when the buyer is inundated with news from all sources about record low rates. So we are quickly conditioned and expecting to hear lower. Doesn't matter how low the rate is that they are hearing, it just was supposed to be lower.

Take, for example, a couple I recently did a loan application with. After receiving some pretty complete and thorough information, including a tri-merge credit report, I discussed a few different loan scenarios with them. These all included interest rates in line with that day and what I could realistically get them without points. Can I just say that taking into consideration their scenario I quoted them a rate of 4.25% on an FHA 30 year fixed rate. The wife's response to me, "Oh, I thought rates were lower." I had to stop myself from laughing out loud in disbelief.

With that, I come to you with some of the most important things you must know when shopping for a home loan:

• Almost without exception, we (lenders) get our money from the same place - Wall Street. This simply means that within a certain tolerance, every rate you hear if you go rate shopping should be about the same. If you are hearing 5% all day and then someone suddenly quotes you 3.5%, chances are it DOES NOT mean that every other lender you spoke to was trying to rip you off.
• Your favorite home page loaded with advertisements on record low rates is not always the most accurate source. You know right below that is an ad to help you lose 50 pounds in two weeks eating raisins and drinking beer, right? I'm not saying these ads are liars or directly trying to mislead you, they are trying to get your attention though. This goes also for generic websites that give you the national averages for the day on interest rates. Like I said in my previous blog on Online Mortgage Calculators, these are just good places to start. Use this as knowledge to better gauge your conversation when speaking with a licensed loan officer. Use it as a tool to arm yourself to get the best loan for you. Notice I said loan, not rate.
• Rates change - often. Especially in today's market, we have rate changes in the same day. A good loan officer will explain that to you upfront and then show you what your payments might look like at a higher rate if that scenario should occur. Knowledge is power.
• Shop for rate, rate, and rate. But what rate? Do you want or need a 30 year fixed rate or a 15 year term? How about an adjustable rate mortgage (NOT AN OPTION ARM!)? A good licensed loan officer won't answer your question until they have had a chance to assess your situation a little more and offer some guidance and look for ways to tailor a loan to fit your needs. Then we can talk about rates.
• With all of the above in consideration, find a licensed loan officer you can trust. Ask a family member, friend, or better yet a Realtor for a referral of someone they've used or trust. This person will be handling your most important debt to date. Don't you want to make sure you are comfortable with that person handling this?

Please understand, I am not saying that all lenders, banks, loan officers who quote you a rate well below what you have seen or heard elsewhere is being untrue. There could very well be times when they might actually be able to deliver on what they quoted/advertised. It has been my experience though, that this most likely is not the case. There is some fine print - READ IT. And while rate is obviously important, I am above all else trying to convey that you need to dig deeper and go beyond just rate shopping. This is a relationship, and whether it lasts two weeks, 30 days, or 2 months, you want it to be a successful one. A good licensed loan officer will make sure it is, and that it doesn't end after your loan closes.

All the best,