Real Estate Information Center

Those seeking to obtain a new mortgage or refinance their existing home loan have the option to consider government mortgage grants to help come up with the financing they need. These funds are available through various state and local agencies, and can provide up to $20,000 in cash grants that never have to be paid back.

As long as you use the money for the intended purpose, the mortgage grant is yours for your personal use. And while there is over $870 million available, it is said that less than half of these funds are every applied for simply because most people don’t know that they exist.

Qualifying to receive a home mortgage grant does not require good credit, a down payment or any kind of collateral. Since these programs are not loans, the application process has other conditions in mind. Those specific conditions vary from grant program to grant program, but mortgage grant money can be obtained regardless of income or current residential status.

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Predatory lenders are called predators for a reason- they profit off of exploiting their own customers.

Millions of Americans each year fall prey to predatory lending companies. These companies target first time customers or other naive target and propose aggressive sales policies to pressure customers into signing un-afforadable lending agreements. Customers of these vicious lenders end up falling behind on mortgage payments and filing for foreclosure. To prevent falling victim to these vicious lenders, here are four obvious signs.

First, most companies have aggressive and deceptive marketing promising exceptional rates. For example, these companies will advertise to have exceptional payment plans or rates while clouding the truth. Second, these companies often sign onto agreements without adequately accessing the buyer’s ability to pay. Third, they finance excessive fees into the loans- making mortgage payment plans even more costly. Fourth, they charge higher interest rates than a buyer’s credit can afford. Last, they propose home improvement scams. Continue reading ‘How to Avoid Predatory Lending Through HUD’ »

Many people do not realize that there is a much easier way to refinance a home these days. You may be one who has been mired in a pile of paperwork for the past 45 days waiting on your mortgage broker to call you back. And if you have a VA or FHA mortgage… the question is, “WHY?”

In fact, there is a little known refinance program available these days called a Streamline Refinance and it is gaining popularity. Many may still be confused about the specifics of a Streamline Refinance so we wanted to put together a little information for you to determine if you may qualify for this easy to use program.

First of all, you need to currently have a VA or an FHA mortgage… and you will have had to have been paying on it for more than 6 months. FHA requires you to have a clear pay history over the last 12 months with no 30 day lates while VA does allow you to have one 30 day late over the same time period.

Continue reading ‘The FHA Streamline Refinance Secret!’ »

Often real estate professionals avoid marketing because they don’t know what direction to start with. Many decide to just do some sort of “branding” in the hopes of getting more business, only to be told that they must do more “branding” before they will get phone calls. A focus on real estate marketing means getting results from every ad, mailing piece, or website page that is placed. Marketing doesn’t have to be difficult, as long as you have the right ideas to put into action.

Part of your real estate marketing strategy should be to put into action ideas that generate calls for business every month. This doesn’t mean trying “gimmicks” it just means taking time to understand your market and meeting their needs with the right messages. Take into consideration the following marketing ideas to generate more calls and start closing more business.

1. Place ads on transactional words- Instead of placing pay per click ads on generic words like “my area real estate” consider placing ads on transactional words. These keywords are often over looked and will result in leads who will act quickly. Adding transactional related keywords like “buy” and “purchase” will help you to focus on buyers who are ready to get out in the field and take action.

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In the world of real estate the most important method of gaining new clients is word of mouth. People regularly recommend a real estate agent who they have worked with to their friends and family members which can quickly lead to a large list of prospective clients. The key to successfully achieving this sort of success using word of mouth is business cards because they allow your existing clients to easily remember your name and your contact information.

Real estate business cards also serve an important purpose in that they allow real estate agents to get their name out more quickly. Simply leaving business cards at any homes which you are showing is a great way to potentially find new clients and to ensure that anyone looking at the house is able to contact you if you are a listing agent.

The most important factor to success with real estate business cards of any other type of business card is to ensure that you have a well designed business card. These simple cards which may not seem like much can easily mean the difference between getting clients and not getting clients. A well designed card which is professional and easy to read helps to improve your image in the eyes of prospective clients while a poorly designed card can easily turn people off.

Continue reading ‘Real Estate Business Cards – How to Get the Most Impact From Your Business Cards’ »

If you don’t have written goals, then you have no goals. You already know that, you’ve heard people say it 100 times. But besides your written goals what other types of written plans do you have?

You should have your daily “to do” list that you write every day. And, here’s one of the most important things you need to have written down and planned out: YOUR MARKETING PLAN! Marketing as you’re well aware is the lifeblood of your business. If I were to ask you right now the exact date that your next batch of letters is supposed to go out, would you be able to answer me? Too many people don’t have a written marketing plan and they wonder why they haven’t closed a deal in a few months.

Investors come up to me at meetings, or I’m doing a conference call and they all say “I don’t seem to be getting any leads or closing any deals, what should I do?” I immediately ask them if they are mailing 1,000 letters a month, putting out 100 signs a month, driving for dollars and emailing Craigslist ads….of course we all know the answer to this–The only thing people have to offer up is excuses.

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As a luxury real estate marketing professional, your marketing materials must look and feel different, from the competition. Great packaging is crucial. Whatever you leave behind with home sellers at your listing presentation should stand out and scream “marketing savvy”. The way you market yourself is like a test drive of what your client can expect when you market their home.

Think about it! Basically, what is in that folder, the data and the conclusions reached on the selling price are generally pretty close; the market research is identical if your competition is also competent. But, your packaging should look good enough to stay on their coffee table, like a coffee table book! And, it should make your competitors materials pale in comparison.

Here is a lesson from the world of marketing gelato or Italian ice cream. The word “gelato” means frozen in Italian. There is no gelatin in gelato as some people believe. We are aficionados of gelato in Italy. Our favorite is Vivoli’is in Florence, behind the Piazza Santa Croce church. We also treasure memories of hazelnut gelato sundaes sitting outside under the arcades in Torino.

Continue reading ‘Personal Branding For Real Estate Agents – Great Packaging is Crucial’ »

So you’re a real estate agent and you want to take advantage of the lucrative commissions you can make by encouraging other agents to share referrals with you.

To make a long story short, it’s all about “networking” – both online and offline. But because with agent referrals you are dealing with agents in other cities, one of your most important tools for networking with other agents will be the internet.

In a nutshell, here are the three most important steps for developing a strategy for generating agent-to-agent referral activity.

1. Develop a referral network with agents in other cities. Use internet networking sites, email and telephone.

Continue reading ‘Developing Your Own Agent Referral Network’ »