Jeff Coon - Direct Mortgage Lender

(732) 938-2252 x 303

Jeff Coon

Freedom Mortgage Corporation

This year has been a challenging one for many of us in the business of selling & financing real estate.

It seems there may be a lack of overall urgency with many sellers unwilling to budge on price, and buyers willing to sit on the sidelines, or perhaps even being one of those sellers themselves.

Mortgage lending guidelines have tightened in many ways, too. There's just not as much action taking place, but we need to take stock of what we can do to control our own destinies, and earn a living!

Here's a few ideas that I'll share with you. Maybe one or more of them will resonate with you, and make today the day you change something or fine tune your own approach to the business.

LISTING PRESENTATIONS:

• Are you prepared? Have you done more than the average research, driven the neighborhood, checked comps, prepared market absorption & average DOM & list/sold price ratio info for the seller?
• Can you suggest ways to improve the marketability of a home, such as repairs, paint, landscaping, curb appeal, de-clutter?
• Do you have a marketing strategy prepared, and can you stick to the plan (or more importantly, can you get the sellers to commit?)
• Can you get the listing for the right price? ( Avoid the temptation to get the listing at any cost! )
• Do you suggest a tour of competing properties for sale with your potential sellers? Show them what they are up against.
• Do you suggest staging?
• Do you recommend a pre-listing appraisal?
• Are you on time?
• Do you want to be first, or last to interview? First in has first shot of locking it up with a good presentation. Nothing beats walking out the door with the signed listing as the other agents are being called to cancel their appointments. Of course, last also offers the ability to address all concerns the seller now has after talking to other agents, and problem solving.
• Are you advocating the full price selling agent commission, in order to avoid agents ‘skipping' the listing?
• Are you listening to the seller's motivations, and trying to identify with them?

THE ONLY FOUR THINGS SELLERS WANT TO KNOW IN ORDER TO GIVE YOU THE LISTING:
When making a listing presentation keep in mind that the seller who is deciding on whether to choose your services or another agents is really not concerned with all the paper work or glossy office flyers telling of all the services your agency will provide. The seller has only four things on his mind:
1. How much can we get for our home?
2. How long will it take to sell?
3. How much will it cost or what's the commission?
4. And finally, how do I feel about you? Do I like you? Are you in charge? Do you know what you are doing?

Remember- don't go to presentations with your just hoping they will choose you. Go to the meeting prepared to answer the big questions and take command of the meeting. You are a professional and yes, they are deciding if they will choose you but you also will choose if you want to sign them! Sellers respect agents who are professional and can take charge. Answer the four questions above to a seller's satisfaction and the listing should be yours.

YOUR LISTINGS: ( once you have them )

• Do you take excellent photos, or ho-hum? - With the high internet use by home shoppers, a bad picture is the # 1 turnoff next to price. Leaving pictures out is sure sign of something wrong!
• Give Good Directions-Not everyone relies on their G.P.S. to navigate through unfamiliar neighborhoods. Enter good directions to the property, and skip shortcuts. Don't use "See MapQuest" or "Call Broker."
• Using Remarks-Use the Remarks fields to the fullest extent to paint a picture of the property in the minds of the reader. The Public Remarks is a great place to talk about the features and benefits of the property, not to repeat the Description fields in sentence form.
• Add a Virtual Tour...If a photo is worth a thousand words, and a good virtual tour is worth a thousand photos, shouldn't you have a virtual tour for your listings?
• Enter Room Dimensions. Take the extra time to measure the room dimensions for your listings. If homebuyers are thinking about room dimensions, they are likely already picturing their furniture and decorations in the property. That is a good thing!
• Disclose Short Sales. If your listing is a short sale or could possibility become a short sale, be courteous to your fellow real estate professionals (and abide by the MLS Rules & Regulations)
• Tell the sellers what they need to hear about the home: It needs to be clean, and de-cluttered! Rooms need to be defined so the buyers can see what the room is for.
  1. Kitchen - No one wants to see dirty food in the sink.
  2. Bathrooms - No one wants to see dirty anything here.
  3. Windows - Finally, everyone wants to see through a window.
• Have an open house! - make sure you advertise it in the paper, and have plenty of directional signs. This is a great tool to find new buyers, and possibly new sellers, and keep your train rolling!
• Are your sellers going to buy? Are they pre-approved????
• Price reductions- sometimes, we miss the mark. If there's no action, it's the price. Everything will sell if priced right, even those ugly ones! Get a meaningful reduction, check the pictures, what else can you change?

YOUR BUYERS:

• First of all, can they actually buy? Get them pre-approved. NOW. (call Jeff- 732-938-2252 x303) Insist on this, and recommend they work with a local mortgage lender you know & trust, & tell them why.
• Ok, then make sure they are YOUR buyers. Explain to them how much time you will devote to helping them, and either sign them to a buyers agency agreement, or be sure to have ‘the talk' about how the agency representation works. Ask them to refrain from calling other listing agents simply because they got your voice mail if they want to see a home. Tell them the rules of engagement, and protect your interests!
• Understand what the right price range is. Talk to the mortgage lender & ask questions, take notes & confirm with the buyers to ensure you're all on the same page.
• Submit strong offers & coach your buyers on what this means. Cover letters with rationale, deposits, & be specific.
• Communicate & stay in touch with these people. Eventually, they will buy, be patient, & understand their time frame.

Stay available & accessible for your clients. Return email & voice messages promptly. Communication is key!

Look at what the top agents in your office are doing each day. What behavior are they exhibiting, and what can you use to mimic their results?

FREEDOM MORTGAGE:

Ok, you may be wondering what we have done to be ‘different' in today's market. Well, I'll tell you. We've recently launched a buyer incentive program that gives buyers a 1% lender credit towards closing costs.

This applies to all types of loans, and we've recently added the ability to issue the same credit to refinance transactions. We've also created more of our helpful tips & guide booklets to better serve our agents. We've sponsored numerous broker open houses, and caravans, and added more agents to our referral network. We hired a new, top-notch, experienced mortgage processor for our local team, too. All of this has allowed us to improve our already fast turn times for loan approvals, maintain & increase our market share during a difficult period, and continue to provide excellent service & support to our referral partners & their clients.

Please, call on us to be your trusted resource for mortgage information, and fast free-preapprovals & on time closings!

http://purchaseprosblog.com/post/2325572/freedom-mortgage-offers-1-lender-credit-to-buyers

Jeff Coon
Branch Manager
Freedom Mortgage Corporation
Bus: (732)938-2252 x303
jeff.coon@freedommortgage.com
Do you know someone who needs a home loan? All referrals greatly appreciated!

NMLS ID#19375 Licensed by NJ Division of Banking & Insurance

Over 25,000 hours of experience!

Do you know what an energy efficient mortgage is?

Perhaps you've been at a closing and heard the attorney mention this odd form the buyer had to sign....or heard a mortgage rep mention this program before. If you are showing a home that is need of new windows, or has an outdated or old furnace or Central A/C unit for example, then you may want to know about these options for the buyer's loan. A buyer can add the cost of the replacement items to the loan, without affecting the qualifying ratios. This allows the buyer to stick with a low down payment of as little as 3.5% for FHA or ZERO for VA loans and be able to buy the home and finance the cost of adding the energy efficient items. This works for new homes as well, if they have Energy Star rated appliances & HVAC equipment. In some cases this can be used to help someone qualify!

If you'd like to learn more, there is an upcoming FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage Webinar:

July 19, 2011 - Webinar: FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM). This Webinar explains how to obtain the "present value of the energy saved." This training course provides real estate professionals, housing counselors, and lenders with an overview of the EEM process. Registration required, no fee. All times are Mountain Time. More info at: http://www.hud.gov/emarc/index.cfm?fuseaction=emar.registerEvent&eventId=966&update=N

Energy Efficient Mortgages

An Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) is a mortgage that credits a home's energy efficiency in the mortgage itself. EEMs give borrowers the opportunity to finance cost-effective, energy-saving measures as part of a single mortgage and stretch debt-to-income qualifying ratios on loans thereby allowing borrowers to qualify for a larger loan amount and a better, more energy-efficient home.

To get an EEM a borrower typically has to have a home energy rater conduct a home energy rating before financing is approved. This rating verifies for the lender that the home is energy-efficient. This is usually a HERS report, performed by a qualified inspector.

What is HERS Rating?

A home energy rating involves an analysis of a home's construction plans and onsite inspections. Based on the home's plans, the Home Energy Rater uses an energy efficiency software package to perform an energy analysis of the home's design. This analysis yields a projected, pre-construction HERS Index. Upon completion of the plan review, the rater will work with the builder to identify the energy efficiency improvements needed to ensure the house will meet ENERGY STAR performance guidelines. The rater then conducts onsite inspections, typically including a blower door test (to test the leakiness of the house) and a duct test (to test the leakiness of the ducts). Results of these tests, along with inputs derived from the plan review, are used to generate the HERS Index score for the home

EEMs are typically used to purchase a new home that is already energy efficient such as an ENERGY STAR qualified home. The term EEM is commonly used to refer to all types of energy mortgages including Energy Improvement Mortgages (EIMs), which are used to purchase existing homes that will have energy efficiency improvements made to them. EIMs allow borrowers to include the cost of energy-efficiency improvements to an existing home in the mortgage without increasing the down payment. EIMs allow the borrower to use the money saved in utility bills to finance energy improvements. Both EEMs and EIMs typically require a home energy rating to provide the lender with the estimated monthly energy savings and the value of the energy efficiency measures - known as the Energy Savings Value. EEMs (and EIMs) are sponsored by federally insured mortgage programs (FHA and VA) and the conventional secondary mortgage market (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). Lenders can offer conventional EEMs, FHA EEMs, or VA EEMs.

FHA Energy Efficient Mortgages

The mortgage loan amount for an FHA EEM can be increased by the cost of effective energy improvements. The maximum amount of the portion of the EEM for energy efficient improvements is the lesser of 5% of:

• the value of the property, or

• 115% of the median area price of a single family dwelling, or

• 150% of the conforming Freddie Mac limit.

For more information on FHA EEM loan limits refer to FHA Mortgagee Letter 2009-18 . No additional down payment is required, and the FHA loan limits won't interfere with the process of obtaining the EEM. FHA EEMs are available for site-built as well as for manufactured homes. Applications for an FHA EEM may be submitted to the local HUD Field Office through an FHA-approved lending institution, such as Freedom Mortgage. Information about the FHA EEM can be found on FHA's web site. Additional information is available from HUD's Office of Single Family Housing by calling (800) 569-4287. There is also a fact sheet about FHA's EEM (70KB). The Systems Building Research Alliance has information about FHA EEMs for ENERGY STAR qualified manufactured homes. The EEM can also be combined with the FHA 203k loan.

VA Energy Efficient Mortgages

The Veteran's Administration (VA) EEM is available to qualified military personnel, reservists and veterans for energy improvements when purchasing an existing home. The VA EEM caps energy improvements at $3,000-$6,000. Borrowers should ask their lender about a VA EEM at the beginning of the lending process. More information about VA EEMs can be obtained from the Web site for the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs or by calling (800) 827-1000. Chapter 7 of VA Pamphlet 26-7 (Revised) (1.5MB) contains lender guidance on the VA EEM.

To learn more about EEMs contact Jeff Coon at Freedom Mortgage at jeff.coon@freedommortgage.com (732) 938-2252 x303.

Additional information about writing energy-efficient mortgages can be found on the Web sites for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET).

Freedom Mortgage Offers 1% lender Credit to Buyers

Home Buyers & Real Estate Agents Take Notice!

Buyers- you could save thousands of dollars at closing!

Effective June 1st, 2011 the local Wall Township, NJ branch location of Freedom Mortgage Corporation is test marketing a new program targeted at home buyers. The offer consists of a 1 percent lender credit towards closing costs on all loan programs including: FHA, Conventional, USDA, VA & Fannie Mae Home Path loans. This is not limited to first time buyers! Anyone who becomes pre-approved on or after June 1st, 2011, and applies for financing & subsequently closes with Freedom Mortgage prior to the initial expiration date of September 30th 2011 is eligible to receive this credit towards their closing costs as listed on the final HUD-1 settlement statement. The program is available on primary residences, second/vacation homes, and investment property, and for single family, condo/townhome, and 2-4 unit properties.

BUY A HOME & GET a 1% LENDER CREDIT TOWARDS YOUR CLOSING COSTS!

PLUS 30 year fixed rates as low as 4.25% (4.466% APR)

NJ Real Estate agents can obtain promotional materials

(flyers, and savings certificates) by email request.

Send requests for more information & promotional materials to: jeff.coon@freedommortgage.com

Freedom Mortgage Corporation offers direct lending to the public. Headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ and with a 25 year+ proven track record, Freedom has a focus on supporting local real estate agents efforts to grow their business, and to provide support to the local NJ real estate market. Buyers can obtain Fast, Free mortgage pre-approvals, and enjoy personal one-on-one licensed & professional loan officer support throughout the process of shopping for a home.

To request pre-approval or to inquire about details of this exciting new program, please contact:

Jeff Coon
Branch Manager,
Freedom Mortgage Corporation
NMLS ID# 19375
(732) 938-2252 x 303
jeff.coon@freedommortgage.com
1800 Route 34 North Suite 406
Wall, NJ 07719

Branch NMLS: 57957. NJ Branch License # 0743118
Freedom Mortgage Corporation is an approved lending institution. This offer is made solely by Freedom Mortgage Corporation and is not intended to imply in any manner whatsoever that any loan product or service will be or has been originated by HUD, FHA, VA, the U.S. Government or any Federal, State or local governmental body. *30 year fixed rate of 4.250% with APR (Annual Percentage Rate) of 4.466% was based on a loan amount of $300,000 as of 05.24.11. Rates Change Daily. Terms of offer subject to cancellation, contact lender for details. **Call for program details, terms and conditions. Lender Credit applies only to closing costs towards a new purchase mortgage. Savings may differ depending on your specific situation. This offer is only redeemable at the Wall Township, NJ Freedom Mortgage Branch. Offer has no cash value and is not redeemable for cash. Only one offer per application. Cannot be combined with other offers. Lender NMLS ID: 2767. Licensed by the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, License #9939948. Freedom Mortgage corporate office is located at: 907 Pleasant Valley Ave. Suite 3, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054. All Rights Reserved.

Freedom Mortgage Rated "One of the Best"

by readers of the Asbury Park Press for 2010

If you are in the market for a mortgage to purchase or refinance a home, please contact:

Jeff Coon

Branch Manager
Freedom Mortgage Corporation
Bus: (732)938-2252 x303

Cell: (732)547-4651
Fax: (732)938-2493
jeff.coon@freedommortgage.com

NMLS ID#19375 Licensed by NJ Division of Banking & Insurance

Over 25,000 hours of experience!