Stuff every Real Estate Agent Better Know...Or Else
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I just wrote an article about the biggest pet peeves that mortgage companies have about realtor's deals, and they would apply to investors as well! Here it is:
OK, you know that I first got in the mortgage business in 1995, so I’ve been doing this for a while, but for the last few years I’ve focused more on the real estate side. But my husband, Tim is very active in the industry, and since I share an office with him and Eric, I get to hear all of their ranting and raving about the silly things that... continue reading >>
"Kiss"ing Tips from Andy
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Did I get your attention with my Subject Line today? "Kiss"ing Tips from Andy"Well first of all, get your mind out of the gutter! What I was talking about is a quote from KISS Guitarist, Paul Stanley on an interview by Donny Deutsch on "The Big Idea" on MSNBC last night. The whole show was about overcoming obstacles and how people have overcome hardship to be wildly successful. Here's the quote:
"Obstacles are what you see when you lose sight of your goals"
Pretty deep from a rock star, eh?
Rock On!... continue reading >>
How's Your "Elevator Pitch?"
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30 Second Infomercial Revisited
You may know that I am a big proponent of having a strong "Elevator Speech" or "30 second Infomercial" basically that is how you answer the question: "What do you do?"
Today I want to revisit this topic for a few minutes and really get you to stop and think...how would YOU answer the question, "What do you do?" Really, write it down quickly on a piece of paper...go on, I'll wait.
Got it? Good. Now look at what it says. If someone ELSE had... continue reading >>
Adventures in REO's with Andy
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Adventures with Andy
By: Stacy
So it here is the afternoon before 4th of July and Andy goes “you want to take a ride to go see a couple of properties?” I’m like okay….I don’t get out of the office much and I always enjoy going to see properties.
We pull up to our first house – a vacant bank owned property, however there is a large truck and airboat sitting in the driveway. As we go up to open the door and realize we’re not getting in, since we were given a 4 number combo code and... continue reading >>
It's Finally Raining...Deals!
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IT'S RAINING! Yayyy! Here in Sanford, Florida we've been pretty dry, and my lawn and my plants are REALLY suffering (by the way...I drove by some of your houses, they look pretty bad too!). Florida NEEDS this rain for many reasons, get our water table back up, put out the fires (and prevent future ones), save our azaleas from certain death...and then I realized that this rain is a symbol of our real estate market! Yep, we've been waiting around for months for the deals to start "sprinkling" in again, and just when you were about... continue reading >>Lessons from the Kentucky Derby
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Lessons from the 134th Derby.There were a couple of lessons in the bitter-sweet 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. I don’t know if you watched it or not…but Tim and I did. You may not know it, but I actually come from a “horsey” family, in fact one of my horses as a kid was a direct descendant of the 1956 Derby winner “Needles” (Her name was Needle Fly Adams, but we called her “Cupcake”)
Anyways, back to this years race…there were many beautiful stories this year, the trainer in his 70’s that this was his first... continue reading >>
You Get What You Ask For...
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The #1 secret rule of negotiating...ASK!
"You miss 100% of the shots you never take"
You may have heard this quote before, it's been attributed to hockey great Wayne Gretzky, and also to his father saying it to Wayne.
But what does it mean? I'm not a hockey follower, but I can figure out that it means that if you never even attempt the shot...you will definitely never make it. Kind of like negotiating! If you never even ask for what you want, there is no way they will ever say yes. So I want you... continue reading >>
Flood Zone Tips on Your Deals
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Have you ever worked on a deal and then in the middle found out it's in a flood zone and requires insurance? Or maybe the maps have been changed in your area by FEMA and now you need it. Here's some tips:
First, make sure it really is. Flood determination shows up in 3 different places on a transaction. The Appraisal, The Survey, and the lender-ordered flood certificate ("flood cert"). The one that counts is the flood cert.
You can sometimes appeal through either the flood cert company or FEMA with a survey and elevation... continue reading >>
How's Your Self-Talking These Days?
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Today I'm going to discuss how your attitude determines your success, this takes shape in many different ways, but today we're going to cover one of the more critical ones:
Self Talk: If a five year old child heard every day "you're stupid, you're worthless, you're never going to amount to anything" do you think that would hurt their chances of being a successful adult? Of Course! So why do we do it to ourselves every single day? When someone makes a mistake they say "I'm so stupid" or when their business is not going... continue reading >>
When can you buy another house after Foreclosure or Bankruptcy
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I get this question all the time, and there’s a lot of misinformation floating around out there, so I decided to get you some clarification. This is as of 8/1/08.
Please note, this is Fannie Mae’s Guidelines, so FHA, VA, and other types of loans will differ.
Chapter 7 Bankruptcy (liquidation): 4 years from the discharge or dismissal date
Chapter 13 (repayment plan): 2 years from discharge (paid as agreed) or 4 years from dismissal (kicked out) Extenuating Circumstances: reduced to 2 years.
Multiple Bankruptcies: 5 years (exceptions may reduce it to 3 years)
Foreclosure: must wait 5... continue reading >>