HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR PODCAST:
MARKET NEWS
LOOK BACK MEMPHIS TRIVIA CONTEST
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY REGINA PALMERTREE AND DAWN BARKER:
1. What are the changes to the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act?
2. How will these changes impact consumers?
3. What are ALTA Best Practices?
4. ) Why should Settlement Agents be certified?
5. What is a credit score and why may it be different from ones I pull off the internet?
6 How can I get a copy of my report
7. Once I make application, why is it not a good idea to start purchasing things for my new home?
8. How is the best and fastest method to getting credit dispute statuses removed from the credit report?
9. What are the steps to take to get erroneous credit removed?
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JO GARNER:
1. What advice to you and Susan give your clients when they start the loan application?
2. What is the most important priority in mortgage underwriting—low income- to-debt ratios or money in the bank?
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK
ANNOUNCEMENTS
_______________________________________________________________
Good morning, Memphis! Good morning across the country on iHeart Radio and BOCI Radio. You’re back on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. If you want to talk about real estate or real estate financing or if you want to talk about your credit—or someone else’s, call us on the air at 901 535-WREC 901 535-9732. We have as our guests today Regina Palmertree and Dawn Barker of Memphis Consumer Credit Association. Both Regina and Dawn have extensive experience in the mortgage industry and credit industry. Regina, tell us a little about yourself and Memphis Consumer Credit Association. <Regina introduces herself and MCCA.>
Regina introduces Dawn Barker. <Dawn Barker intros herself and MCCA>
(Jo) Today our general topic is “IT’S ABOUT YOUR MONEY, YOUR MORTGAGE & YOUR CREDIT SCORES.” This week it was all about the JOBS. Thursday night Freddie Mac was reporting mortgage rates at a 20-month low and yesterday afternoon after the strong jobs report came out –wow—mortgage rates started racing back up to a 27 day high –but overall they are still good at 30YR FIXED – 3.75 no points best case scenario; FHA/VA – about 3.25; 15 YEAR FIXED around- 3.00 The Evolve Jumbo loan portfolio product is still around 3.99%.
If you have been sitting on the proverbial fence about restructuring your mortgage or buying a house, call me. Susan Belew, my experienced assistant and I can crunch the numbers for you to see where we can possibly save you a few hundred dollars a month on your home or tens of thousands of dollars shortening the term on your mortgage. If the strong move up in rates today is any indicator where they are headed then RIGHT NOW would be a good time to get your financing locked in. Call me now on the air at 901 535-WREC or directly at 901 482-0354 901 482-0354 or catch us on my blog
www.JoGarner.com
< Dawn comments about upcoming compliance changes taking affect> (Jo) For the last few months here on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program, we’ve been talking about the importance of PLANNING your moves toward reaching your financial goals. A big factor in determining the price of your interest rate is your credit scores. Regina Palmertree and Dawn Barker will be sharing some good information with you today. If you have questions about YOUR credit, call us on the air at 901 535- WREC. Susan and I use the Credit Simulator tools-which acts a lot like a flight simulator, telling you how to get your scores the highest in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of investment on your part. If you’re trying to buy a house, you need your scores at their best quickly.
<Regina comments about the factors that affect consumers’ credit scores> (Jo) Big opportunities in our market right now are still refinancing and buying real estate. It’s a perfect storm with mortgage rates being very low and prices continuing to move up. To add to the mix—gasoline prices at record lows is causing families to have more discretionary money to spend. Susan and I have some refinances that do not even require an appraisal. We have home purchase loans with very little or nothing down in some cases. Fannie Mae just came out last month with their 30 year fixed rate mortgage requiring only 3 percent down. FHA—the government loan program just lowered their private mortgage insurance monthly premium SIGNIFICANTLY. Renters in the Memphis MSA and other similar cities, in so many cases, can get more house at about a third less monthly payment by BUYING a home vs continuing to rent. If you want to look at YOUR options call us now on the air at 901 535-WREC 901 535-9732 or call me directly off the air at 901 482-0354 or connect with me at www.JOGarner.com
(Jo) There are so many true success stories I could tell right now about our clients who have made a plan and worked their plan to get to a place in life where they have always wanted to be. Last year John and Mandy Flatman shared their credit make-over story and how through their faith in God and staying with their plan, they were able to buy their dream home and have room to grow their family. Susan and I were the ones who were most blessed from working with the Flatmans. They were an inspiration. So if you’re out there and you are discouraged, thinking you will never be able to work through your financial challenges, take some encouragement from John and Mandy Flatman –and from us today—you can do it. Put reputable, experienced professionals around you—make your plan and work your plan.
Today our general topic is : “IT’S ABOUT YOUR MONEY, YOUR MORTGAGE & YOUR CREDIT SCORES” Regina, What factors impact someone’s credit scores? <Regina launches their topic >
___________________________________________________________________________
2nd segment after 9:15 break—It’s time for the Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest. The Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest is brought to you by Memphis notable historian, Jimmy Ogle www.jimmyogle.com,. Jimmy Ogle offers free historic walking tours in downtown Memphis. To get his spring and fall schedule, go to www.jimmyogle.com . Our Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest SPONSOR is Professional Organizer Sally Baker of the The Source. Sally Baker offers skills to help you get control of your clutter and organize your life. The Source can tackle any size project, from a closet to an entire house or office. You can contact her at 901-258-4775 to get more details about her professional organizing skills and how she might help you get your world under control! Sally Baker – The Source – 901-258-4775 2ND time with winner on line– The Source can help solve your clutter problems and bring order into your life – one shelf, cabinet, closet or garage at a time. No project is too large or small for Sally to tackle. Being organized will help save you time and money, and The Source can help you achieve this. Contact Sally at The Source by calling her at 901-258-4775.
LOOK BACK MEMPHIS TRIVIA CONTEST
Garner # 40 02/06/15
100 North Main Building
Question: I am the most recent building in Memphis to be nominated for placement on the National Register of Historic Places. Who am I?
Hint: I am sad today, and I am completely empty!
Hint: I am the tallest building in Memphis!
Hint: I had a large swimming pool indoors and members club on my 36th floor.
Final Hint: My round, revolving restaurant was known as “The Top of the 100” Club!
Answer: 100 North Main Building. Opened in 1965 at the corner of Main and Adams in Downtown Memphis, the 100 North Main Building became the tallest building (431 feet tall) in Memphis surpassing the previous tallest building – the Sterick Building (built in 1930). The building was designed by Robert G. Hall. Due to its proximity to various municipal buildings, 100 North Main’s tenant base consisted primarily of attorneys, title companies, and various other professionals involved with government business and the courts. The “Top of the 100” Club was popular for several years, but a vain attempt at luring the fleeing-to- suburban-Memphis retail and office market to stay Downtown.
The building was constructed with the revolving restaurant atop the main roof. This restaurant operated under several different owners and names (Top of the 100 Club, Pinnacle, etc.), but is now vacant. Behind the restaurant was a Japanese garden which closed in 1971. A few large stones and a concrete path are all that remain of the garden today. The base of the tower is a multilevel parking garage. In their 1986 book Memphis: An Architectural Guide, authors Eugene J. Johnson and Robert D. Russell, Jr. called 100 North Main “one of the least interesting” downtown structures.
In 2006, the aging office tower was priced for sale at $20 million. Due to limited demand for commercial office space in downtown Memphis, much office space began to decline in value. In January 2012, only 30% of the building was occupied. The building sold for $5 million in August 2013, valuing the building’s 436,280 square feet of office space at approximately $11 per square foot. In February 2014, the building’s new owners revealed plans to convert the building into apartments and a hotel at a cost of almost $100 million.
In its January, 2015 meeting, the Tennessee Historical Commission nominated the building for listing on the National Register of Historical Places.
Last Week: Pressbox Lofts. In 1912, the S.C. Toof & Company Printers began construction on a headquarters building in the architectural style of the Chicago School. With an emphasis on function over ornament, the building was made to last with steel-frame construction under masonry cladding. And last it did— in 1982 the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the new millennium, the building was integrated into designs for AutoZone, a state-of-the-art stadium reminiscent of classic American city ball fields.
In 2014, renovation began on the 65,000sf building, converting the long empty building into 50 units of loft apartments, ranging from 680sf to 1290sf, in seventeen different floor plans; and ground level retail space. Other features of living in Pressbox Lofts include the obvious like proximity to the Memphis Redbirds baseball games, as well as walking distance to all other Downtown and Riverfront venues and events, and the Madison Trolley Line. Add the full-service Coffee Shop and Roof Deck to parking garage, being pet-friendly and on-site storage facilities.
Jimmy Ogle gives free walking tours in Downtown Memphis during the Spring and Autumn, with the Spring, 2015 tours beginning Sunday, March 15 (Bridge Walk) and April 7 (Union Avenue Manhole Cover & History Tour). Go to jimmyogle.com for the 2015 Spring season schedule and locations.
Shelby County Courthouse: Third Thursday each month at 12:00 noon – next is Thursday, February 19 and March 19.
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY REGINA PALMERTREE AND DAWN BARKER:
1. What are the changes to the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act?
2. How will these changes impact consumers?
3. What are ALTA Best Practices?
4. Why should Settlement Agents be certified?
5. What is a credit score and why may it be different from ones I pull off the internet?
6. How can I get a copy of my report
7. Once I make application, why is it not a good idea to start purchasing things for my new home?
8. How is the best and fastest method to getting credit dispute statuses off my credit report?
9. What are the steps to take to get erroneous credit removed?
______________________________________________________________________
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JO GARNER:
3. What advice to you and Susan give your clients when they start the loan application?
-Do’s And Don’t’s List- Don’t go open any new credit accounts nor add to any credit card bills. Especially do not open a 12 months-same-as-cash account. Not only can it hurt your income-to-debt ratios because of how underwriting calculates these, but it can hurt your credit score because it appears as a maxed out account.
-Don’t change jobs during the loan process and don’t change the way you are paid until after your mortgage is closed.
-If you are married, your spouse will need to sign a few documents at closing, even if the spouse is not on the loan or title.
-Don’t move money around from one account to another during the loan process. There are strict guidelines on verifying large deposits and since we get updated bank statements and income documents right before we close, this could delay closing if you have to reverify something. Don’t go to Tunica and gamble with your funds either (short funny story here)
2. What is the most important priority in mortgage underwriting—low income-to-debt ratios or money in the bank?
______________________________________________________________________
4th segment REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK: (Dawn gives a practical, money-saving real estate related tip our listeners can use)
Jo’s announcements:
Talk Shoppe offers free education and networking to anyone interested in real estate or in business. Coming up Wednesday February 11th, 2015, Lynn and Troy McDonald of Erin McDonald Insurance Agency will be presenting “Raise Your Flood Insurance IQ. What Real Estate Professionals Need To Know” & Sweet Sale for Valentines Day. Troy and Lynn McDonald, Allstate Insurance (901) 849-7101Talk Shoppe events are free at the YMCA NUBER CENTER 5885 Quince Rd Memphis (across from Lichterman Nature Center) 9A to 10A Wednesday. For more information go to www.TalkShoppe.com
Transitional Music: “Money Honey” by Elvis Presley; “Credit Card Song” by Old Man Pie; “For The Love Of Money” by the
Bluejays; “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers for the Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest
ABOUT REGINA PALMERTREE:
Account Executive
Memphis Consumer Credit Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 172086
Memphis, Tennessee 38187-2086
Cell: 901.488.6124
rpalmertree@mccacompanies.com
www.mccacompanies.com
An Equifax Sales Agent
ABOUT JO GARNER:
www.JoGarner.com (901) 482 0354 jo@192.232.195.219 @jogarner
Jo Garner is a mortgage officer with extensive knowledge in tailoring mortgages to her customers who are refinancing or purchasing homes all over the country. She offers conventional, FHA, VA or other loan programs for refinancing and purchases. Jo can help you look at rent vs buy, when it makes sense to refinance, how to get the best deal on your home purchase financing.
Jo Garner has been in the real estate/financing business for over 20 years. She got her start in Portland, Maine where she first began her real estate career. She received her real estate education from the University of Southern Maine and was personally mentored in San Diego, California by Robert G. Allen, author of Nothing Down, Creating Wealth and The Challenge.
On moving back to West Tennessee in 1987, she went into business buying and selling discounted owner-financed notes secured on real estate. In 1990 Jo went to work for a residential mortgage company and has been a mortgage loan officer for over 20 years. Her goal is to offer excellent, affordable service to her customers, tailoring the loan programs to the specific needs of her clients.
In addition to her work in the mortgage field, Jo Garner is the primary sponsor and founder of Talk Shoppe in Memphis. www.TalkShoppe.BIZ She was also the editor of Power Shoppe, a free weekly e-zine designed for real estate professionals and others indirectly connected to the real estate industry and currently publishes on her blog www.JoGarner.com . For real estate financing solutions, plug into the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program. You can find mortgage rates, FHA Streamline refinance with no out-of-pocket costs, refinancing options, home purchase loan programs, answers and real estate, money-saving tips and more.