MAKING SMART CHOICES WITH MORTGAGES & TITLE INSURANCE
Good morning Memphis. Good morning across the country on IHEART radio. You’re on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Professional with Evolve Bank and Trust. We’re talking about “Making Smart Choices With Your Mortgage and Title Insurance.” We want to talk with you, though, about WHATEVER real estate or financing topic YOU want to discuss. Co-hosting the show today is Attorney Ron Cohen, of Premium Title Group. Ron, it’s always a pleasure having you on the show.
Also joining us around the coffee table is a realtor friend of mine and a very experienced real estate investor in the Memphis market, Richard Scarbrough.
We have some real estate pros around the table. Drag up a chair and join us by calling (901) 535 WREC (9732) That number again is (901) 535-9732
Let’s talk about what’s been happening in the real estate market place this week. On the mortgage side of the world we enjoyed 6-month low interest rates all week until yesterday afternoon when we saw an expected correction more in line with the positive job situation report from last week. But rates are still really good. Today’s Best-Execution Rates
- 30YR FIXED –4.125 – 4.25%
- FHA/VA – 3.75-4.0%
- 15 YEAR FIXED – 3.25-3.375%
- 5 YEAR ARMS – 3.0-3.50% depending on the lender
Loan originators were in general agreement that NOW is the time to lock in your mortgage terms.
Clear winners in the mortgage world this week were borrowers refinancing the homes to cut interest costs, property owners refinancing to pull cash out to reinvest toward making much higher returns on the money than the low fixed rates they got on the mortgage rate. Home buyers were clear winners too. The real bragging rights go to my clients who were renting and decided to buy up to a much better home with more amenities and by doing so, got a house payment lower than the rent they were throwing away before.
If you tried before to refinance your home but could not get approved because your value was too low or your credit score was too low, you may want to try again. Home values are up in a lot of different areas and many lenders have dropped the minimum credit score requirement from 640 to around 620. My very experienced assistant, Susan Belew, and I would like very much to help YOU get some bragging rights on YOUR mortgage terms. If you are BUYING a home, let us work up some financing scenarios for you to compare. You might be surprised at the options available to you today. The best way to reach Susan Belew and me is to call us directly at (901) 482 0354. Our number again is (901) 482 0354 or catch me on the blog www.mortgageloansblog.com
(Jo may make a comment on what Ron shares) Richard Scarbrough, you’re a realtor with First National Realty and you have purchased a few hundred properties yourself, personally. What do you see happening in the real estate market right now?
(Jo)First of all, don’t procrastinate. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY. My next advice to anyone interested in buying a home is to put experienced professionals who have a good reputation around you to help make the journey much smoother. You will need an experienced realtor –someone like Richard Scarbrough who will be dedicated to help you make good decisions and avoid pitfalls. A good mortgage officer is key because you are going to live with the terms on the mortgage for a very long time. One of my mentors many years ago told me you can slap some paint on an ugly house and you can replace some rotted wood but you can’t clean up rotten terms on financing very easily. Get bragging rights on your financing going in up front. Ron, I love it when my clients use Premium Title Group for their closing because I know you guys are watching out for them.
(Jo) Today we’re talking about “Making Smart Choices With Your Mortgage and Title Insurance.” Ron, we’re going to get into some conversations about making a smart choice on your mortgage and, Richard will give us some tips on getting a good deal on the homes we buy. But let’s start the conversation going about title insurance. What IS title insurance and why do we need it?
KINDNESS KORNER: Today on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program we are taking a few minutes to honor acts of kindness in our community. Doesn’t it make you feel good to hear about people doing random acts of kindness and purposeful acts of kindness? Let’s just take a moment to celebrate everyone out there who is actively doing this.
Today during our Kindness Korner segment we turn to Lynn McDonald, an insurance agent with Erin McDonald Allstate Insurance Company and certified Kindness Revolution representative.
“The Kindness Revolution™ is a national not-for-profit initiative headquartered in Memphis and active in over 150 cities across the country. Their mission is to raise the awareness of values, such as kindness, in leadership, customer service, schools, and communities. One of the ways they do this is to recognize the kindness of local citizens and companies, such as the company we are awarding today, Keller Williams for their dedication to community service on their appointed RED DAY. Keller Williams Company represents the values that we deem so important to our children and our communities and we would like to join in this recognition” from Ed Horrell…Founder and President of The Kindness Revolution™.
Lynn McDonald of Erin McDonald Allstate Insurance company is our Kindness Korner sponsor and a certified representative from the Kindness Revolution . (Lynn awards the honor to our recipient and enumerates some of the acts of kindness our recipient has offered.)
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY ATTORNEY RON COHEN:
- 1. What is title insurance? What does it do for property owners?
- 2. Some listeners may be asking, “Will every little title defect mess up my closing?”
- 3. So as a homeowner, what do I get after closing from title insurance?
- 4. As a homeowner, I might ask you, “Do I pay the insurance premium once a year?”
- 5. Who all benefits from title insurance?
- 6. You have some good points. What else will title insurance cover?
- 7. Where can you buy title insurance?
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY RICHARD SCARBROUGH:
1. What are the advantages to buying real estate in the Memphis market NOW?
2. How do you find real estate bargains?
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JO GARNER:
- 1. When shopping for a mortgage, how is the best way to determine which company is giving me the best deal?
The lowest rate is rarely ever the best deal. You need to consider the cost connected with the rate you are being quoted. This week I had a client call me to tell me she had her contract accepted and had gotten a quote from other companies with lower rates than I had quoted. I asked her a few questions about the cost estimate from my competitor and her answer was exactly what I expected. She did not have a working fax or scanner so I stopped by her home to look at the estimate with her. The competitor had separated the costs into four different categories. The one category that she was looking at was labeled “Closing Costs” and she pointed out that their “closing costs” was much lower than the closing costs listed on my estimate. I was able to point out to her that the competitor had fees separated into four different categories under different labels. One was labeled “closing costs.” Another category listed on down on the page was labeled “third party fees.” Another category was labeled “points” and yet another category was labeled prepaid items. All totaled the competitor was charging her about $1,700 more in fees than I was charging her but because of the way it was presented by the competitor it made it look like theirs was the best deal. I suggested to her if she wanted to pay that much in closing, I could get her rate lower too. That is exactly what we did. I am delighted to have this lady as my customer for life!
- 2. How is the best method of getting rid of my mortgage sooner rather than later?
Making any prepayments to the principal in addition to the regular payment in the earlier part of the loan instead of the end saves you the most in interest payments. One extra Principal and Interest payment per year takes off approximately 7 years off the term of the loan making it about a 23 year loan.
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK: Attorney Ron Cohen with Premium Title Group and Richard Scarbrough of First National Realty offer the tip of the week.
Jo’s announcements:
- 1. Talk Shoppe offers free networking and education to anyone interested in real estate or business. This Wednesday May 14th, Jana Cardona, Executive Director of Business Networking International will be presenting “Strategy For Building A Solid Referral Business—Develop Your Referral Marketing Business Plan.” Talk Shoppe offers these free events to the public at the YMCA Corporate office 6373 Quail Hollow Rd 2nd floor in Memphis at the corner of Massey Rd and Quail Hollow.
For more information about Talk Shoppe go to www.TalkShoppe.BIZ
- 2. Join us every Saturday on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program. For today’s podcast and others, go to www.MortgageLoansBlog.com We want to hear from you on how we can make our show better. If you have suggestions, call me directly at (901) 482 0354.
- 3. Our YMCA of the Mid-South is taking registrations right now for Summer Camp at the Y. Summer Camp is designed to reduce summer learning loss, get children active and most importantly—encouraging them to DREAM BIG! To register the most important children in YOUR life for Summer Camp at the Y, go to www.ymcamemphis.org or call (901) 766-7677. (Karen Clark of the YMCA was on the air to describe what we are doing to help children during Summer Camp to DREAM BIG!)
Transitional Music: “I’ll Be There For You” the Rembrants; “Hold On” Ian Gomm ; “I’ll Stand By You” The Pretenders; Our theme song for Kindness Korner is “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong
Co-host Attorney Ron Cohen:
Ron A. Cohen (part owner of Premium Title Group)
Of Counsel: Kusper & Raucci, Chartered
33 N. Dearborn Street
Suite 1530
Chicago, Illinois 60602
312-332-5000
312-346-1145 (direct)
312-332-4663 (facsimile)
Richard Scarbrough: Realtor and very experienced Real Estate Investor (901) 489-2979
About Jo Garner:
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 25 years in Memphis, TN. 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. She hosts the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program on News Radio AM 600 WREC in Memphis and on IHEART radio 9A to 10A CST every Saturday.
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.