Good morning to you Memphis! You’re back on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust.

With us today at the coffee table we have Richard Scarbrough, Realtor and investor with First National Realty. Richard, you’ve been on several times with us, but tell our audience a little about yourself and what you do.

Back again by popular demand we have Holly Swogger, real estate investor and currently president of the Memphis Investor Group. Holly tell us a little about yourself and what you do.

Our topic today is “Five Things to Do to Start Investing In Real Estate Today!” We certainly have some seasoned experts sitting here. Grab your coffee cup and join us at the coffee table today by calling on air 901 535 9732. That number again is (901) 535 WREC.

The big news yesterday was the better-than-expected jobs report. The employers added 163,000 jobs in July, according to the Labor Department. The stock market gained some points which sent the Treasury bill yield up a bit. When the yields go up on these mortgage-backed securities, it sends rates up accordingly. The economic reports, the stock market, and the yields on the 10-yr treasuries act like a long line of dominoes falling against one another–one affecting the next one and so on.

If you didn’t get your loan locked yesterday, don’t worry too much . The rates are still hanging at historic lows. The 30 year fixed rate is still between 3.375% to 3.875% depending on whether you want to pay points.
The 15 year fixed rate is still hitting around 2.75% to 3.125%
The 5-1 Adjustable rate is holding around 2.625% to 3.25%.

Even with the jobs report being better and the stock market taking off, the European debt crisis is still helping to keep a lid on the mortgage rates.

Word to the wise: If you or someone you know is in the process of refinancing or purchasing a home, if the rate and terms work well for them today, they need to go ahead lock the terms before the pricing and rates have a chance to go up in earnest.

My very capable assistant, Susan Belew, and I would like very much to work with you or someone you can refer to us. We can do some free evaluations so you can see compare the advantages of different financing scenarios. You can call us directly so we can talk privately at 901 482 0354. That number again to speak privately with us is (901) 482 0354. You can also catch us on www.mortgageloansblog.com

Home purchases have been kicking into high gear lately. With historic low mortgage rates added to bargain priced houses, well this equals a great opportunity to buy a house, or two, or three.

Most of your first-time homebuyers want to use a down payment assistance program. The most popular down payment assistance programs that Susan and I can use for our customers are the Tennessee Housing Development Agency program, the Shelby County Down payment Assistance program, or the City of Memphis Down Payment Assistance program

Repeat home buyers typically have some money to put down and use the standard Conventional loan or a combination of 2 loans if you want to get creative.

For refinances the Home Affordable Refinance Program (commonly called the HARP 2 program) is still a leading program along with the FHA streamline program with no appraisal.

The HARP program is designed to allow borrowers to refinance without an appraisal if their loans have been backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac prior to May 31, 2009. The HARP program works for homeowners who are underwater and it also works for homeowners who are not underwater. So if you or someone you know owes more on their home than its current value and they want to take advantage of mortgage rates in the 2’s and 3’s, please have them call me at 901 482 0354.

If you were trying to refinance your FHA loan a couple of months ago or before and you have an old FHA loan originated prior to May 31,2009, you may need to get a more recent quote on rates AND mortgage insurance. As of June of this year, FHA is allowing homeowners with old FHA loans from prior to May 2009 to refinance with a lot less mortgage insurance. If it has been a couple of months since you shopped around, give me a call and let’s see what you can get today.

Its rewarding to get a mortgage rate to enjoy as low as in the 2’s or 3’s. It is also rewarding to own some real estate property that brings in some good cash and cushions you for retirement. Today we are talking about “Five Things To Do To Start Investing In Real Estate Today.” We have some seasoned real estate investors at the coffee table to help you do that. Holly and Richard, What are some things you can do to get started investing in real estate?

Questions for Jo Garner: 1. When you mentioned some of the popular mortgage products being used by homebuyers today, what are some examples of how these programs work?

A: The down payment assistance programs for people who have not owned real estate in the last 3yrs (considered first-time homebuyers)–these typically are basic FHA loans with the sellers paying all of the buyers costs up to 6% of the sales price with the state or the county of the city coming in to pay the 3.5% down payment for the buyer. In a lot of cases the buyer gets in for $500 or less.

(Then there is of course the 100% Rural Housing loan and the 100% Veteran’s Administration loan for military vets. You do not have to be a first-timer for these programs. If the seller will pay your closing costs, then you can get in for nothing down.

B. Another popular program is the regular conventional program with no private mortgage insurance required. In order to minimize money coming out of the savings account from the home buyer, we do a first mortgage for 80% of the sales price and a Home Equity Line of Credit for the 2nd mortgage up to 90% combined-loan-to-value so the buyer does not have to come up with as much money.
Last month I loan a customer a couple of hundred thousand dollars on a Home Equity Line of Credit secured on the home where they had been living. They used this line of credit on their old home to put down on a newly constructed home they were about make their new home. That home buyer could have used money from her stocks and bonds but she said, “Hey, money is cheap. I might as well borrow it.”

Question 2: What type of loan terms are available for real estate investors these days?

Question 3: Can real estate investors also take advantage of the HARP refinance program without an appraisal for their investment properties?
Yes. If the mortgage they are refinancing has been backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac since prior to May 31, 2009, in most cases they can take advantage of the HARP refinance program with no appraisal required. If they have an FHA loan in their name on the underlying mortgage they can also take advantage of the FHA streamline refinance with no appraisal too.

Questions for Richard and Holly:
1. What are some pros and cons to purchasing for investment a single family home, duplex, small apartments or commercial property?
2. How did you get started buying real estate? How long did it take you to get to the point of using your real estate income to fully support yourself?
.

Real Estate Tip of the Week: (Richard and Holly)

ANNOUNCMENTS:

Richard and Holly announce upcoming MIG meeting etc

Jo makes 2 announcements:

Talk Shoppe offers free education and networking to anyone interested in real estate or business. This Wednesday 9a to 10a at the Better Business Bureau Richard Scarbrough will be presenting “Finding And Keeping Good Tenants.” For more info go to TalkShoppe.BIZ that Talk and Shoppe spelled S H O P P E dot biz.

Next Saturday right here on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program Tom King, real estate appraiser and certified Shelby County tax appeal expert will talking with us about real estate values in YOUR neighborhood and how to get your property taxes lowered. Next Saturday 9a to 10Am on News Radio AM 600.

Radio Show – 8/4/12 – 5 Things to Do to Start Investing in real Estate Today!
Real Estate brings you many things, wealth, freedom, great tax breaks – it is on sale, get some today!

1. Get educated and decide what your life goals are and make sure your significant other is on board. – 5 levels of education 1. Late night TV – Fluff to get you interested. 2. Books and recordings (from library, this show’s podcast, etc. 3. meetings, like MIG 2nd Thursday of every month 4. Small groups and seminars – MIG Saturday workshops, etc. 5. One on One – Get to know people in RE
Be wary of the full page ads offering overnight millions in RE. They are designed to milk you.

2. Decide how you want to invest and what you want to invest in. landlord or flipper? Some of both?
What types of property? Single family, Duplexes, Smaller Apartments, Commercial? Pros and Cons to all. We will discuss.

3. Pick a place to farm – What part of town are you going to work in? If you focus, you will be much more in tune with what is going on. You will know property values, rents and other factors that influence the market in that particular area like schools, employment, etc. I can’t keep all of that info for the entire city in my head. Plus there is some real value to having your investments close by and not all over town. It will save you time and money. You could pick someplace close to where you live, or near you work, someplace you are familiar with might be a good place to start.

4. Get your money together – You can save, private money from family and friends, hard money – what is that? Can try banks or Jo Garner. Jo, what kinds of products are available? Can investors even get loans now? How many? What types of paperwork do you need? How should people present themselves (financially speaking) to you or to a bank?

5. Make Offers – notice that was plural. You have educated yourself, decided what you want to do, been looking a part of town for a while, you have some money together so get out there and do it. Work with someone like Richard and make multiple offers on multiple properties, because you are not going to get every one, but one or two will stick. Richard how many offers have you made in your career? Were you worried about offending someone because you felt your offer was too low? No because your offer was the price based on your knowledge and experience.

Remember that real estate investing is a journey and it does not happen overnight. Beware of folks telling you that you can make tens of thousands every month and live on the beach. They are selling you a dream not a path to real estate success. Being successful in real estate investing can be done. Just follow our outline and maybe on day you can be hosting this show. Educate yourself, Decide where and how to invest, pick a place to farm, get you money together and make offers.

Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer Evolve Bank and Trust www.MoneyShoppe.NET
(901) 482 0354

Richard Scarbrough, Realtor and Investor with First National Realty (901) 753-3491

Holly Swogger, president of Memphis Investor Group www.memphisinvestorgroup.com
(901) 258-3486

Real estate and real estate financing solutions to your problems and challenges