Good morning, Memphis! Good morning to everyone here in Memphis and across the country. You’re on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me, Jo Garner, Mortgage officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. Our co-host today is a Keller Williams Realty’s top-producing realtor—Jennifer Carstenson. Today we have the expert here to tell us “How To Get The Best Deal Buying Or Selling Your Home.”
Jennifer, its truly a pleasure having you on the show today. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you and the Carstenson Team are doing for homeowners around the Memphis area.
We’re passing the coffee pot around the table. Drag up a chair and join us by calling 901 535 WREC. That number again is 901 535 9732. If you or someone you know is thinking about buying a house or selling a house, we have THE expert, Jennifer Carstenson, ready to help you. If you have a question about a refinance or a home purchase, maybe a question about your credit —whatever your real estate question, we want to hear from you. Call us.
Jennifer, the trends we are seeing are the same trends you are seeing because the most popular mortgage this week has been for people BUYING houses.
For homebuyers putting at least 10 percent down, my assistant Susan Belew and I are coming up with financing scenarios that will minimize or even eliminate the amount of private mortgage insurance the borrower has to pay. Since private mortgage insurance doesn’t benefit the borrower, the least amount paid the better. You need a mortgage officer who has been around the block a few times to find the most cost effective way to avoid pmi cost.
With the large number of first-time homebuyers in Memphis and the abundant down payment assistance funds out there locally to assist them with the down payments, the government mortgage programs are VERY popular too. Call me if you want to talk about these programs or the 100% USDA loan. To reach me directly off the air, the best number is 901 482 0354. That number again is 901 482 0354. You can also find me on my blog www.mortgageloansblog.com
Mortgage rates are an enigma this week. The Italian elections overseas created enough uncertainty that investors came back to a US bonds causing our mortgage rates to improve but then move a little irrationally. Mortgage rates vary depending on the loan amount, loan type, loan-to-value and credit scores and how much you want to pay in closing costs. The 30 yr rate this week is around 3.625%, the FHA 30 yr rates are around 3.375%. The 15 year rate hanging around 2.875% to 3%. The 5-1 year adjustable rate fixed for the first years, the rate is about 2.625% to 3.25%.
Regardless of rates, if you are planning to buy a house or refinance one using the government FHA loan program, you had better do it now because you’ll be paying even more for FHA mortgage insurance after March. If you’re not eligible for a military VA loan, or if you’re not using the 100% USDA loan and you don’t want to pay more than 3.5% down on buying a house, you need to get your lender to order the FHA case number before the end of March. My assistant Susan Belew and I would like to help you.
If your refinancing your home there’s the HARP program and the FHA streamline refinances that do not even require an appraisal value. Susan and I have been getting our customers into these refinances with no money or very little money out of their pockets—and in many cases with cash back. We want to help you too. Call us directly OFF the air at 901 482 0354 or find me on my blog www.mortgageloansblog.com
Whatever you want to talk about—if it is about real estate or your mortgage or your credit—we want you around the coffee table. Call us on the air at 901 535 WREC.
We have a top producing Memphis realtor with us today. Jennifer Carstenson, I am amazed at what you have accomplished and are STILL accomplishing in real estate in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2010 You won Keller Williams Memphis “Agent of the Year” for your production and in 2009, you won the prestigious award of “Rookie of the Year” for Keller Williams Memphis. Last year you closed 120 transactions for about $16 1/2M. Your team ranks in the top 8% of all teams with Keller Williams nationally and you are in the top 1% of all agents here locally. Wow! Jennifer, you are incredible! And what you do for your customers is incredible!
Our general topic today is “How To Get The Best Deal Buying And Selling Your House.” Jennifer, how DO I get the best deal buying or selling my house
Questions for Jennifer to answer: (Jennifer: you can give me the questions you want me to ask you when we get to the radio station. )
1. What sets you apart from your competitors?
2. What makes you so passionate about real estate?
3. What are some helpful pointers to getting the best deal buying and selling a house?
4. What does effective home staging look like today?
5. You have a results guarantee. What is it?
Questions for Jo Garner to answer:
1. You mentioned earlier in the show about ways you help your customers eliminate or lower the cost of private mortgage insurance. What are some of the ways you accomplish this?
Jo’s answer : One of the most common ways to avoid the private mortgage insurance on loans over 80% of the value or price of the house is to use what we call a piggy-back loan. For example yesterday I had a customer sealing the deal on a house priced at about $200,000 dollars. They only wanted to pay 10% down and with no other costs—and oh by the way—the lowest payment possible. Since the loan amount was over 80% of the price, we had to contend with private mortgage insurance. There was two common ways to get the customer what they wanted.
We could do a piggy back loan which would mean the first mortgage for this customer would be 80% of the price of the house instead of 90%-. This gets rid of the mortgage insurance completely. But, since they didn’t want to pay down more than 10%, the bank could come to the table with the missing 10% in the form of an equity line of credit—its sort of like the 2nd mortgage is riding piggy-back on the larger first mortgage to make up the full 90% financing.. Now there are two loans on the property instead of one—but no private mortgage insurance being paid each month by the borrowers.
But for this customer it looks like we’re going to use a different method of minimizing the private mortgage insurance though. The customer didn’t want to come up with more than 10% out of pocket but they plan on being in the house a long while so they didn’t like the variable rate the piggy back 2nd brought with it. So now we’re looking at a mortgage insurance plan that lowers the monthly mortgage insurance by having the lender pay all or part of the mortgage insurance in one lump sum for the buyer and the buyer to make a much smaller payment per month.
2. Lending restrictions are a lot tighter now. Can you still get people into a home purchase with nothing down?
Jo ‘s answer: For qualified, bankable borrowers the answer is ABSOLUTELY YES!
There are down payment assistance programs out there for buyers who have not owned real estate for the past 3 years—again, who are qualified borrowers.
There are also special loan programs with 100% financing like the government USDA Rural Housing loan and the Veteran Administration VA loan for our eligible veterans.
For other properties and other scenarios with various types of buyers, I have been able assist these customers in getting mortgage for nothing down using traditional financing but getting the down payment from a loan secured on something different like another house, stocks and bonds, a 401K, a gift or a loan from family. There is a treasure trove of down payment money out there. You just have to know where to look.
Real Estate Tip of the Week by Jennifer Carstensen
Jo has 3 announcements to make right after the Real Estate Tip of the Week:
1. Talk Shoppe offers free education and networking for anyone interested in real estate or business. This Wednesday 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM at the Better Business Bureau. Tammy Coleman and Kendra Richardson of United Housing will be educating us on the new Helping Homeowners Down Payment Assistance program for Memphis. For more information go to www.TalkShoppe.Biz.
2. Join some of our Evolve Bank folks for the 3rd Annual St. Mary’s School Gobbler 5k to benefit the Nanette Quinn Memorial Scholarship Fund this Saturday, March 2nd. The race started at 9 so if you hurry, you can catch everyone there now.
3. Next Saturday on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program we have Tom King, appraiser and certified real estate property tax appeal expert. He can help you lower your property taxes.
Transitional Songs: 9:15 am “Thank God For Home Towns” by Carrie Underwood. 9:30 am “Home” by Phillip Phillips 9:45 am “House” by Elton John
About Jennifer Carstensen:
“I know how to get your home SOLD! My average market time is 43 days. I have an aggressive marketing strategy that WORKS which means I don’t just list houses, I sell them. In 2010, I won Keller Williams Memphis “Agent of the Year” for my production and in 2009, I won the prestigious award of “Rookie of the Year” for Keller Williams Memphis!
So if you’re thinking of buying or selling real estate, choose a professional who’s experienced and who knows the value of superior customer service! I work with an amazing team, and I welcome the opportunity to earn your business!
Before real estate, I worked as an Account Manager for Argent Mortgage. I was responsible for growing and servicing loan officer’s purchase and refinance residential loans for over 100 mortgage companies. I closed an average of 60 loans per month. It kept me very happy and very busy!
My life moved from Chicago to Memphis in February 2008, and it was a welcomed transition. I grew up in Memphis so I’ve had a wonderful time reconnecting with all of my high school friends, joining an amazing church, and just enjoying real estate.
Keller Williams is the BEST real estate company out there, no question about it. Our philosophy is God-Family-Business, and we live by that every day. The family atmosphere is unlike any other company experience.”
Jennifer Carstensen, Keller Williams Realty jensellsmemphis@gmail.com (901) 261-7906
Lynn McDonald, Top producing insurance agent with Allstate Insurance 901 849-7101
Lynn Lanigan, Lanigan Worldwide Moving and Warehousing 901 827 0600
Duane McCroy, Top Quality Heating and Air Service 901 644-3303
Jo Garner, Mortgage Officer with Evolve Bank and Trust (901) 482 0354 www.MoneyShoppe.NET blog www.mortgageloansblog.com
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 financing.
Jo Garner has been in the real estate/financing business for over 20 years in Memphis, Tennessee. 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 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. She is also the host on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe radio show on News Radio AM 600 and IHEART radio every Saturday 9A-10A CST and online at http://www.iheart.com/#/live/2145/?autoplay=true
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.