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Awareness about emotional and mental health challenges is crucial for reducing the stigma involved. Many professionals, including realtors, secretly struggle with depression, anxiety and a host of other issues. The stress and pressure in the real estate industry can amplify these problems. Fluctuations in market conditions, for instance, can contribute to the stress realtors face. Overdoing it in sales or even not having the proper focus to drive sales can result in burnout. Deals that fail or clients who are unsatisfied can impact realtors’ sense of self. Self esteem and resilience are needed in the field to succeed. Setbacks are a big part of real estate. Overcoming them is expected and almost necessary to excel. Furthermore, real estate agents often work independently, which can lead to feelings of isolation. Loneliness is a real thing. It can negatively impact day-to-day job demands. To make matters worse, dealing with unhappy or insatiable…
“After closing, you can paint an ugly house, but you can’t paint over ugly financing.” Jo Garner Real estate is still hot, and mortgage rates are still low. When a home buyer gets his offer accepted, he had better be able to move –and fast. As a mortgage loan officer, the best advice I can give anyone getting a mortgage is to get preapproved and compare more than one financing option. When you sign the last paper at the closing table, you want the contented feeling of satisfaction, knowing that you made the very best decision. Here are some general rules of thumb to consider: 1. If you plan on keeping the mortgage for over five years, strongly consider getting a mortgage with a fixed rate and not a variable interest rate. You will enjoy the stability of a principal and interest payment with a fixed interest rate that…
Do you dream of a rambling ranch home? Perhaps the two-story place you grew up in is serving as inspiration for your home search. There are some homebuyers who insist they want a one-story home and those who wouldn’t dream of buying something without stairs.
I am a big believer in business planning and success scheduling. My entire coaching philosophy is rooted in these two prime building blocks. While your annual business plan can create a structure and vision for the entire year, I like to work in three mini-90-day plans that help allow for local market trends and aspects of business that is also based on seasonal awareness. The first 90-day plan runs from about the third week of January through the April 15th tax filing deadline. The second 90-day plan runs from your local calendar from about two weeks before the schools let out for the year in your area, until about three weeks after they return back to school. This really depends on your local area because these times really deviate significantly around the country. Some kids get out in May and return early August; while others get out in late June and…
For a limited time only, Chase is increasing their Closing Guarantee program from $5K to $20K. Chase promises their clients that they’ll close the loan on or before the contract closing date or pay the buyer $20,000. The grant can be used to discount underwriting fees paid at mortgage closing or pay down interest rate and down payment. This special time offer is available until July 27, 2024. Chase wanted to honor spring homebuying season in an extra special way this year, knowing how challenging the housing market has been. They also have a whole en-suite of offerings and tools to help prospective homeowners. The housing affordability crisis—with high interest rates, high homes prices, and low supply—has been widely reported. To help homebuyers address these challenges, Chase Home Lending is focused on providing financial resources and homebuyer education, including increasing its Closing Guarantee from $5,000 to $20,000. “Current market…
-- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 7.02 percent. “Mortgage rates decreased for the second consecutive week,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Given the news that inflation eased slightly, the 10-year Treasury yield dipped, leading to lower mortgage rates. The decrease in rates, albeit small, may provide a bit more wiggle room in the budgets of prospective homebuyers.” News Facts The 30-year FRM averaged 7.02 percent as of May 16, 2024, down from last week when it averaged 7.09 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.39 percent. The 15-year FRM averaged 6.28 percent, down from last week when it averaged 6.38 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 5.75 percent. The PMMS® is focused on conventional, conforming, fully amortizing home purchase loans for…
Did you hear the one about the Mom who sent “LOL” regarding the passing of a loved one? In this case it was the older generation innocently texting & trying, thinking LOL stood for, “Lots of Love”, not the “Laughing Out Loud” that has become today’s version of the abbreviation. Texting & Trying is Drinking & Driving for old people: Generational Confusion. This proves there is comedy in tragedy, as well as hilarity in definitions and communication. Sending LOL to someone regarding a death seems ridiculous, and yet, we need our sense of humor even when things are actually sad. Most funerals I have attended are pretty somber, although people do their best to put forth a smile. Sometimes it’s accidental! When my wife’s grandma passed away in 2001 the family decided to hold the viewing in her living room. I was a newlywed and wondered if this was some kind of ruse…
Pending home sales are down and new listings are flat during a time of year when they typically rise. But this week’s softer-than-expected inflation report sent mortgage rates down, which could bring back some homebuyers and sellers. rates down, which could bring back some homebuyers and sellers. SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ: RDFN) —Pending home sales fell 4.3% from a year earlier during the four weeks ending May 12, the biggest decline in roughly three months. That’s according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. Pending home sales also posted a week-over-week decline, unusual for early May. Inventory is losing momentum, too, as would-be sellers stay put to hang onto their low mortgage rate. New listings rose 10% year over year, but they were essentially flat from a week earlier, which is significant because listings typically increase this time of year. The housing market slumped because of…
Bring it Home® Communities accelerated its national rollout with the introduction of a patent-pending mobile application for real estate brokers and agents. Called "Before They List®," this innovative app facilitates the collection of specific property information. It gauges interest in a given homeowner's property from other practitioners within an office and evaluates market viability. Practitioners may then report findings to the prospective homeowner, providing an efficient means of potentially generating a listing agreement. "Inventory levels are at an all-time low, and we aim to provide the latest technology to assist with new listing procurement," explains John Giaimo, President and CEO of Bring it Home® Communities. "Obtaining feedback benefits homeowners who are still deciding and helps ensure an informed choice," adds Giaimo. A recent homeowner survey found that 76% are considering placing their home on the market but are hesitant to do so. When asked, "What would motivate them to sell?"…
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![41% of Home Equity Loans Are For Home Improvement [New LendingTree Report]](/media/k2/items/cache/097d1effbd954be8cb94ee2c6548f94e_S.jpg)
Despite low buyer demand, home prices remain steep throughout the U.S. Owing to this, many homeowners have seen the amount of equity they’ve built into their houses increase. When a homeowner utilizes the LendingTree marketplace to shop around for a home equity loan lender, they select one of five reasons for why they’re seeking the money. By analyzing borrowers’ home equity loan requests in the first quarter of 2024, we determined why homeowners across the 50 states are thinking about tapping into their home equity. Here's what we found. Across the 50 states, 40.58% of those seeking a home equity loan cited paying for home improvements as their primary reason. 33.78% of homeowners considered tapping their home’s equity to help consolidate debt. This was the second most commonly cited reason among LendingTree users. However, in some states like Wyoming, Idaho and South Dakota, it was the most commonly cited. Using a…
The median down payment in the U.S. last quarter was $26,000, an average of 13.6% down, according to a new down payment trends report from Realtor.com, published this morning. The analysis of down payment trends at the national, state and top-100 metro levels found that while down payments fell from the all-time-high in Q3 2023, down payments climbed annually – up 3 percentage points and roughly $12,000 from Q1 2023 – as homeshoppers contended with higher mortgage rates and home prices and a restricted home supply. Despite the drop from the historical peak, down payments remain well above pre-pandemic levels – larger percent down on today’s typically higher priced homes means buyers paid 87.8% more as a down payment in Q1 2024 ($26,400) compared to Q1 2020 ($14,000). Here are the key takeaways: In Q1 2024, down payments reached an average 13.6% down, or $26,000, the highest first quarter average…
In my Anticipatory Leader Program, I talk about being Anticipatory in how you approach your business future, identifying disruption before it has the opportunity to disrupt. However, an Anticipatory Mindset is a key strategic tool that can be applied to all areas of life, including the conversations we have both at work and in our personal lives. I recently had the benefit of speaking with Phil Jones, who is a leading expert on the power of language for influence and persuasion. We discussed the art of structuring conversations and word choices. This is to promote safe spaces where information can be shared with trust and, in turn, innovation can thrive. In fact, Phil and I had such a great conversation, I am able to write even more about what we discussed in yet another article! My first article was about eliminating friction and creating a gray space of curiosity to facilitate more…
The issue is REAL! The reality is becoming more and more apparent. Debt is a national problem, and it’s going to get far worse before it gets better! The main culprit is the federal government. NOBODY has more debt on the planet than the United States of America. That debt continues to pressure the markets as the ability to borrow larger and larger sums of money gets more and more expensive. Nobody wants to acknowledge it, but it does impact our everyday lives more than you think it does. The other issue we have is that consumers are piling up debt faster than ever! We are not only setting records for outstanding debt; but consumers are relying on more and more debt to simply cover what they feel are their basic costs of living. Especially young people, who seem to think $1,000+ cell phones and $500+ car payments, and $150…
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