Amy Stoehr – CEO of Real Estate Masters Guild
Encouraging and supporting like-minded real estate professionals who want success, profitability, balance and significance as their operating model.
I've been training with, teaching for, and learning from the real estate industry's brightest and best since 1993!
My mission since 1998 has been to have a profound impact on improving the quality of people's business and personal lives.
I spent nearly 12 years with one of the real estate industry's most influential trainers, Howard Brinton STAR POWER Systems. Their foundation of best practices from best agents simply made sense. And the synergy and family atmosphere nurtured there is one I continue to seek out when I attend conferences and create in our live event environments.
On the personal side, I love to hike, and I put this to the ultimate test in September 2019 by summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. That adventure became a life-altering experience that led to the creation of Kilimanjaro Kidz Education Foundation - I hope you take a few minutes to check it out! A portion of every single coaching package is contributed to better education for the children of the incredible people working on Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Oh, and some of you may appreciate that I'm married since 1994 to an excellent guy who tolerates my craziness - and super proud of the two sons we were blessed to raise.
“You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation.” Picturequotes.com
How strong are you financially? Is your source of income stable? If something personally earthshaking should occur, do you have enough savings to cover your expenses for three months or even a year? Are you investing in things that continue to build your wealth even while you sleep? For example, real estate has historically been an effective hedge against the effects of inflation.
If you own your home, your net worth is probably looking better and better, with the values on homes appreciating at over 15% year over year. (Median home prices have risen at a higher percentage, but affordability is not calculated on median home price. Affordability is determined by comparing household income with the appreciation rate.) Lawrence Yun, the chief economist with the National Association of Realtors, predicts that home prices will continue to rise over the next year or more but not at the lightning speed we have been experiencing.
Renters are having a tough time. Rents in many parts of the country have increased over 10% year over year and are predicted to continue rising. Rising rents are compelling renters to gear up to trek into the homebuying market. Good news for those entering the homebuying market—more homes will be coming on the market this fall and next year. The bad news is pricing is still going up, making it a little more challenging to find a home with a payment that matches the budget. However, once you own your home and lock in a mortgage with a low, fixed-rate, you get to enjoy a principal and interest payment that never increases.
If you want to build a good life living in a home that you own, here are some ways to get started building a solid financial foundation:
1. Get a job with a stable income, even if it is part-time. If you are self-employed, you will need to show at least a two-year income history on your tax returns. Mortgage underwriters average the last two years of NET income. (Some paper expenses can be added back to your income for qualifying purposes.)
2. Set up a realistic budget. Take two or three hours to review your credit card statements and bank statements. Then, find ways to eliminate as many expenses as possible, replacing them with a different product or service that gives you the same benefit at a much lesser cost. Once you know what you spend each month compared to your income, you will confidently know how much you can afford on a house payment.
3. Build up your savings. Arrange with your payroll department to have a set amount of your paycheck automatically sent to a savings account and let it grow.
4. Improve your credit. Review your credit at www.annualcreditreport.com and correct any errors. Make your payments on time. If you want your credit scores to improve, keep your balances on credit cards showing LESS than 30% usage on each card.
5. Get a clear vision of the life you want for the next 12 months, the next five years, and the next ten years. Then, what steps do you need to take to move you closer to that life gradually?
Get your own copy of Jo Garner’s new book “Choosing the Best Mortgage-The Quickest Way to the Life You Want.” An essential mortgage guide with people stories for finding the right loan and overcome common barriers. Buy on Amazon and Barnes and Noble or www.JoGarner.com/best-mortgage-book
Nora Crosthwaite spent years in software development and left to do something meaningful and positively impact the world around her. With no sales, marketing or real estate experience,
After showing hundreds of homes since 2015, Nora realized there was a need for helping sellers prepare their homes for the sale and make them shine. Nora wanted a convenient online staging consultation but couldn't find the right fit. So, she created it: Stagerie.
Nora runs a real estate team of three agents at Home Sweet Des Moines (brokered by RE/MAX Precision) and is growing Stagerie, available nationwide. Stagerie launched in 2020 and was one of six companies chosen for the Iowa Startup Accelerator program in spring 2021. Now, Nora has worked to make Stagerie the only occupied staging company that is a RE/MAX approved supplier and is actively looking for other partnerships. Stagerie has stagers in five different states, with more coming later this year.
Outside of Stagerie and real estate, Nora continues to build the Des Moines community. She was a finalist for the Inspiring Women of Iowa Character award in 2021, completed the Greater Des Moines Community Leadership Program in 2020, and is a member of the Iowa Association of Realtors Diversity Committee. She focuses efforts on several nonprofits, such as Pi 515, Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity, and the upcoming KIAP Foundation. In her free time, Nora spends time with her husband Paul, teenage daughter Layla, and three cats, usually catching up on the latest Star Wars or cooking shows. She is a live music fan, martial arts practitioner, and loves to travel.
Nora can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter at @NoraCrosthwaite.
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“Financial independence is the ability to live from the income of your own personal resources.” Jim Rohn
It’s a secure feeling, owning your own home with an affordable payment so you and your family can enjoy living life together. It’s a feeling of satisfaction knowing that as the value on your home goes up, and the balance on the mortgage gradually gets paid down, you are building wealth for yourself and those you love.
1. Know your comfort level for a payment and down payment.
Experts on podcasts and financial posts suggest keeping your total house payment under 33% of your gross income. They recommend keeping your total house payment and payments on other debt no more than 43% of your gross income. Keep enough savings in the emergency fund to get your family through an emergency. Don’t rely on the mortgage loan officer to tell you what you can afford. Mortgage software often approves borrowers for up to 50% or more for their total income-to-debt ratio. How can you enjoy life if you are tied down with over 50% debt?
2. Create multiple profitable exit strategies.
Susan was trying to decide to rent or buy a home. “I don’t feel like I can afford a mortgage. What if I want to move?” Susan put together a team consisting of a reputable realtor, a lender, and her financial advisor. Susan’s realtor found her a home in a neighborhood with a long-term track record of going up in value. Rents were going up too. The FHA mortgage that Susan was getting had a qualifying assumable clause in it.
Susan felt more secure and comfortable with her decision to buy a home instead of renting. If the market was not good for selling a home when she was ready to sell, she could always rent the house to tenants and make a profit. A future buyer might pay her a large chunk of money one day to qualify with the mortgage company for assuming the payments on a lower interest rate loan.
Looking at the real estate market today
The lack of homes for sale, lots of money floating around the country, and Millennials nearing their peak homebuying years, are all stoking the housing boom. As a result, home prices continue to rise, construction costs are higher, and investors are grabbing up starter homes for rentals.
How long will the real estate boom market last?
Emerging groups of future home buyers look like they will keep the housing demand high for many years. However, the Federal Reserve is watching the employment reports, inflation, and the pandemic situation. The Fed will decide if they will taper off buying mortgage-backed securities later this fall. If they pull back their buying, mortgage rates are predicted to go up.
Real estate has historically been an excellent hedge against inflation. Locking into a low fixed mortgage rate can add a layer of financial security. Renters’ pocketbooks are squeezed as rents move up over time. With a fixed-rate mortgage, the principal and interest payment stay the same, giving the homeowner more discretionary funds as his income goes up.
It’s the middle of August, which means you have 90 days to get in front of everything you are going to close and get paid for this year. Silly as that sounds; it is the reality. We really need to get ready for the sprint to the wire that is the next 90 days and we can start with knowing where we are.
By now you know what is going to close in August, or pretty close to it. You also have a good idea of what September is going to look like. This will get you ¾ of the way to your annual numbers. It also sets the parameters of what you need to do to get to where you want to go the rest of this year.
Key questions:
• Are you tracking ahead or behind your business plan?
• Are you off your blend of loans purchase/refinance?
• Are your referral partners on target to meet your projections?
• Who in your pipeline of pre-approvals is looking?
• What is the number of obvious refinance targets you are going to try and convert?
• What are the other targets in your business plan and are you on track to meet or exceed those numbers?
• Is what I am doing now sustainable?
Some people are worried about their numbers. Those that are behind last year or who are overly refinance heavy in their loan mix are starting to wonder how to stay on top of generating new opportunities?
If your plan is working well, keep working the plan. If you have any issues with the above questions, it’s time to focus on getting the answers! Before you know it, you will be looking at Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the end of 2021 with a pipeline that is empty isn’t a lot of fun going into 2022!
Questions or comments: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Kathleen Lappe, “Katie”, entered the real estate industry as an entrepreneur eager to solve a problem. She quickly identified an opening in the publishing industry, Katie created and founded a magazine dedicated to real estate. Her idea bloomed into the largest publishing house for Kentucky and Northern Tennessee real estate and auctions. Home Market Magazine was successfully acquired in 2018.
As digital search revolutionized the housing industry Katie realized the same could be done in the auction arena, and AuctionLook took form. AuctionLook is a nationwide auction aggregator and data portal for auctioneers, many of whom are REALTORSⓇ. More than half of AuctionLook’s inventory are real estate opportunities. AuctionLook has over 4B dollars in real estate published and more than 6,000 REALTORSⓇ/Auctioneers have engaged on the platform. AuctionLook manages 25 state auction associations, with more slated for 2020 launch. As her knowledge and strategic real estate insight grew she founded Apro.bid, a personal property and real estate bidding platform. Apro.bid has exceeded revenue projections 100x within the first year.
As Katie’s entrepreneurial accomplishments thrived, her game changing moment took place in 2019 with the founding of DirectOffer, Inc. Katie recognized that consumer home shopping behavior has changed! Home search amid COVID-19 demands a transparent and immersive experience with as much, or as little, in-person interaction as desired. With DirectOffer’s progressive search features, nimble infrastructure and AI enhancements Katie’s latest real estate venture is meeting the moment.
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