Good morning to you, Memphis! Good morning to all of you listening across the country on IHEART radio. You are on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank. Our cohost today is Tom King, appraiser and Shelby County tax appeal expert with King and Vaughan Consulting.
Good morning, Tom. Glad to see you back again. You’ve been really busy lately. What’s been keeping you so busy?

Our featured guest today is well-known to the Memphis marketplace. Cole Epley with the Memphis Business Journal. Cole has been on this program before and is are VERY knowledgeable about Memphis and the real estate environment.

And to our listeners: Call us and let’s talk about what’s on YOUR mind. It could be about your house, your credit, your mortgage or your property taxes. Call us on the air at 901 535-WREC. That number again is 901 535-WREC.

Today since we have Cole Epley and Tom King around the coffee table, we can start with the topic, “Mining For Gold In Memphis Real Estate: Begin the Journey”

Cole, this week rates spiked higher than we have seen them since back in September. The bigger market shaker was the announcement by the Federal Reserve this week indicating that they may discontinue the aggressive purchase of mortgage-backed securities in the near future. The rates have stayed artificially low because the Fed has been buying about $40 billion dollars per month in mortgage-backed securities every month. Now that the housing market appears to be coming back, the Fed is considering letting rates go back up a little.

• 30YR FIXED – 3.375 – 3.5%
• FHA/VA – 3.25% (varies more between lenders than conventional 30yr Fixed)
• 15 YEAR FIXED – 2.875% – 2.75%

Word to the wise : If you or someone you know is considering refinancing a home or purchasing one, if it works today, do it today. My very capable assistant, Susan Belew and I have helped our customers shortening their mortgage terms, lower their mortgage rates and this has saved some several hundred dollars per month for others we’ve saved tens upon tens of thousands by shortening their mortgage terms. Susan and I have been working overtime helping others buy a home at still bargain prices. Call us off the air to talk more personally at 901 482 0354. That number again is 901 482 0354.

Tom, we are still getting calls from customers who are just now getting serious about refinancing their properties. They have been busy with their lives but don’t want to lose an opportunity to save tens of thousands of dollars by shortening the term on their loan and lowering the interest. You can save a few hundred dollars on your monthly payment and you can save $20 thousand, $50 thousand or over $100 thousand dollars by shortening term or both. The special HARP refinance loan and the FHA streamline refinance loan programs do not even require an appraisal. So it can work for you even if you’re upside down on what you owe on your house.

If you are considering BUYING a house or two or three, you have a HUGE opportunity to build wealth if you are buying in Memphis, TN. Just to give you a comparison of where we were in 2006 compared to, say last week. Rates are about HALF what they were at the peak of the housing bubble in mid-2006 when the median house price was about $250,000 dollars and the average interest rate was about 6.75% for a 30-year term.

A person who bought a home in 2006 with 20% down would have made payments of $1,300 a month. Today, a person who buys the same house at the current median price of home of about $162,000, would pay less than half that amount, about $600 a month. Its time to buy houses and its time to refinance some. >

Call me, Jo Garner, and my assistant Susan Belew at 901 482 0354. We would like VERY much to give you bragging rights on your financing terms. Our direct number again is 901 482 0354.

Tom and Cole, our topic today is “Mining For Gold In Memphis Real Estate: Begin The Journey.” We have our shovel and our mining pans and we’re ready to dig in to some gold.

Cole, you came to the dig prepared with a map of the Memphis real estate terrain. Tom, you have helped so many people last year save thousands of dollars by appealing their property taxes. You also know what is happening with values in general around the city.

Questions to be answered by Tom King :
1. Where do you see the best values in the city for someone wanting to buy real estate for a rental investment?

2. A little over a week ago one of our listeners was starting his journey to buying real estate for investment. You gave him some advice he said was worth more than its weight in gold. What was your advice to him?

3. When is the best time to start the tax appeal process?

Questions to be answered by Cole Epley:
1. Cole, you are very familiar with the Memphis real estate statistics: Why is Memphis a goldmine for making a profit purchasing real estate?

2. In your opinion, where are the areas that have the biggest appreciation in value?

3. How can you tell if a rental property will be profitable for you? (Cole shares a simple formula)

Questions to be answered by Jo Garner :
1. If you were purchasing a home in Memphis where do you see the biggest treasure?

A. If you’re stepping out to buy a primary residence in Memphis in 2013, one of the biggest treasures is the new Helping Homeowners Down Payment Assistance programs. You do NOT have to be a first-time homebuyer and UP to $15,000 dollars that does not have to be paid back if you live in the house for 5 years or more. There are several different down payment assistance programs available in Memphis. Let’s talk about which one will work best for you. Call me directly at 901 482 0354.

B. Another gold mine is the FHA 203K renovation and repair loan. You can pick up at a lower than market price a nice house that needs quite a bit of fix up and repairs. This 203K loan will help you fund buying the house AND doing the repairs.

C. Of course, you know I’m going to mention the gold mine you are already sitting on—your own primary residence, 2nd home or investment property. If you are paying 4.5% or more call me at 901 482 0354. Let’s talk. You may have an opportunity to save $20K , $50k, or over $100 thousand dollars by simply refinancing NOW while the rates are artificially low. But you have to take the first step. Call me.

2. You do a lot of loans for investors from Memphis and across the country. Why are there so many investors from other areas of the country buying real estate in Memphis?

A. Positive cash flow. Real estate investors are just like any other good business person—they want to buy something that is making a profit. Memphis and a few other cities are unique in this ability because you get more value for your money in Memphis and the surrounding area.

For example: If you can buy a house in the Memphis area for $100,000 or less that rents for $1,100 mo. Your total payment including taxes and insurance would be about $505/mo P&I plus about $280 for city and county taxes and insurance –that ‘s a total payment of $785/mo giving you a $315/mo positive cash flow. And that’s assuming the property is being taxes at $140,000 which Tom King here can probably get lowered substantially.
Some investors buy at much bigger discounts and make bigger profits but this example is a conservative one.

3. Based on our conversation before the show , you talked about reasons why it is important to start early this year with your real estate buying goals instead of later.

A. You are absolutely right. There are two major reasons you want to begin your real estate buying goals early in 2013 instead of later. The first reason is because the costs of borrowing continues its climb upward. The government oversight committee over the two biggest mortgage buying giants in the nation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have already levied two fee hikes on all new Fannie and Freddie mortgages over the last year and have already told us they are going to saddle us up again with more fees in 2013. Just in the last few months the costs to borrow has increased anywhere from $440 to $880 dollars per $100,000 borrowed. And they are about to go up again!

B. FHA is another government loan program that is about to become much for expensive for the borrower. They are talking about raising the mortgage insurance fees again on this program and increasing the down payment requirement.

C. The second major reason you need to begin your real estate buying and refinancing strategies EARLIER rather than LATER in 2013 is because the credit restrictions are continuing to tighten. We don’t see an end to the credit tightening for another year or more. Word to the wise: If the home purchase or refinance deal works for you today, do it today. I would like very much to have the opportunity to work with you. The best way to reach me directly is (901) 482 0354.

Real Estate Tip of the Week: Tom and Cole share a great tip

Jo had an additional tip: If you are trying to refinance your mortgage and the lender says due to loan limitations you will be required to pay all of your closing costs and prepaid taxes and insurance in cash, call me. There are a number of ways to overcome those limitations. Even if you are refinancing on an FHA Streamline loan—going from one FHA loan to another with a lower rate. FHA says you cannot borrower any part of the closing costs or prepaid taxes and insurance. But my assistant, Susan Belew and I have a great work -around solution to get you refinanced with much less or no money out-of-pocket. Call me 901 482 0354.

9:15 am “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus;
9:30 am “Step By Step” Whitney Houston;
9:45 am “A Brand New Day” by Sting

Talk Shoppe is an organization that offers the community free education and networking for anyone interested in real estate or business. They meet every Wednesday 9a to 10a at the Better Business Bureau. This Wednesday Mark van Stolk, a business coach with Calaveras Business Coaching will be helping us build a road map to where we want to go in our businesses in 2013. For more information about Talk Shoppe or to see other presentations by Mark van Stolk, go to www.TalkShoppe.BIZ.

Next week, right here on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program we have realtor Aleesa Blum of Smooth Transitions and Marx and Bensdorf to talk about helping your loved one down -size in a POSITIVE way to something that better meets their needs in their senior years.

Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank & Trust. (901) 482-0354. Past radio podcasts on Jo’ blog www.mortgageloansblog.com She has over 20 years experience in the mortgage business.
Tom King, certified Shelby County property tax appeal expert with King & Vaughan
Cole Epley, Memphis Business Journal cepley@bizjournals.com
For more information about how to appeal your Shelby County property taxes, listen to our podcast or contact Tom King. For real estate mortgage refinance solutions or mortgage programs or rates contact Jo Garner at 901 482-0354 or www.MoneyShoppe.NET