Good morning to you, Memphis! Good morning IHEART radio listeners across the country. You’re on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program with me, Jo Garner, mortgage officer with Evolve Bank and Trust. Joining us around the coffee table today we have Aaron Ivey and Bonita Elam of Enterprise Property Management company.
Aaron, you guys are doing a great job at Enterprise Property Management. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what Enterprise Property Management can do for property owners.
Also around the table with us this morning we have Bonita Elam of Enterprise Property Management. Bonita, tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do at Enterprise Property Management.
Our topic today is “Property Management Solutions When You Need Them.” If you have a real estate challenge, no matter what it is, we want to talk with you today. Maybe you have a question about your home, your credit, your mortgage, your plans to buy a home or your plans to lease out one of your properties, give us a call on the air at 901 535 WREC. That number again is 901 535 WREC.
• (Jo ) I’ve got good news for most but bad news for some. Let’s start with the good news— December housing starts were up 37 percent from December 2011, December 2011 to December 2012 and house prices are increasing, Existing home sales rose 9 percent and new home sales 20 percent from December 2011 to December 2012 and house prices are increasing nationally. The market is being helped in its recovery by near record high homebuyer affordability. This affordability metric incorporates the effect of low mortgage rates, low house prices, and gradually improving family income. Here’s a word to the wise: If the home purchase deal works for you today, do it today.
If you have a mortgage that is not securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or FHA or VA or USDA, and you really want to refinance to the lower rates, the good news is that legislators in Washington DC are talking about releasing a HARP 3 program which would allow you to refinance your home to the low rates without a full appraisal. We’ll let you know if that gets rolled out. If you want this program you need to contact your Senator and Representative if you want this program available. It would free up more money to be sent back into our economy to help others sectors.
Now for the not-so-good news: If you’ve been sitting on the fence about buying a house or refinancing one–rates are creeping up on you. 30YR FIXED – 3.625% up to around if 3.875% if you don’t want to pay points. 15 YEAR FIXED – 2.875%- 3.00%– and higher if you don’t want to pay points. 5 YEAR ARMS – 2.625-3.25% depending on the lender
Of course the Home Affordable Refinance program otherwise known as HARP 2 is still very popular and it doesn’t require an appraisal value and allows your cost to be rolled into the loan. The FHA streamline refinance from an existing FHA loan to an FHA loan with less interest and possibly shorter term is still very much in demand. My very capable assistant, Susan Belew and I would like to work with you. If you can answer a few questions for us, Susan and I can determine which loan product would work best for you and what your new payment would be.
If a lender has told you that you have to pay a lot of money out of pocket to streamline refinance your house, please call Susan and me today. Susan and I have a way of getting you into these refinances with very little money out of pocket. To talk with me directly off the air, just call 901 482 0354. That is 901 482-0354. Or go to my blog www.mortgageloansblog.com.
The most popular call is from people BUYING houses. So many times our customer will have a house they are living in that cannot get sold before they need to close on the house they want to buy. We have several solutions for this challenge. One solution is to use a temporary loan that works like a bridge loan to provide you the full amount of money you want to put down on the new house without having to sell the old one. When the old house sells, you can pay off the temporary loan Is that clear as mud? Call me on the air at 901 535-WREC and we can talk about it.
Another solution that a number of people take is to lease the old house out when they buy a newer, better house that meets their needs. There are some fear factors involved with leasing a home to a stranger. That’s why its important to get an experienced property management team with an A+ Better Business Bureau rating like your company, Aaron.
Aaron, I’ve been watching you guys for about 10 years and I’ve seen what you can do for investors from around the country and locally who want to invest in real estate but don’t have the time or resources to manage their real estate investments. I understand that you can help people who need to lease their properties after buying a newer home too. What are some ways your company, Enterprise Property Management, can help property owners to stay profitable?
Questions to be answered by Aaron and Bonita:
1. What does a owner need to do to prepare to lease their home?
a) painting. We know that you really love the purple bedroom and lime green bath that you just painted last month, but prospective tenants are most likely not going to.
b) An inspection is performed before we list the property to identify what items need to be addressed other than normal home and carpet cleaning. This inspection is also valuable in determining the rent range.
c) Photos are taken of the interior and exterior. These are used for marketing purposes as well as to note the condition of the home prior to it being leased.
2. How do you determine how much a home will lease for?
a) years of experience and knowledge of the Memphis rental market become invaluable. As you have experienced yourself, there have been a lot of changes during the last decade in the real estate market. Establishing a rent range for a home is not a one-time occurrence. As the local market, the national market and the economy changes so does the rental value of a home. During the years of 2004 and 2006, the market was strong and so were the rents. We all have seen the news and experienced the downward trends in the real estate market which started in 2007 and continue to today.
b) We employ a number of home evaluation tools along with our own market knowledge to establish a “true rent range” when a particular home is ready to be placed on the market. Since there is no scientific method to precisely predict what a home will lease for, we use these tools to provide a rental range for our owners. Again it is our goal to lease the home for the most rent is the shortest time possible. This may require some flexibility on the part of the homeowner.
3. As an individual homeowner, why should I hire a property management company?
a) Here is a common scenario: you receive a job transfer, retire or have another major change in your family – guess what? Now you are going to be moving. Can you sell your home? In most cases, not without “bringing money to the closing table”. So what are your options now. Let’s look at it this way. Your home is probably your biggest investment. Yes, it is the place where you raised your children, had all the holiday parties, etc. but now it is your financial future. You will need someone you can trust to take over this difficult and complicated task for you.
b) A property manager will manage your property so that you can get back to doing what you do well. A professional management company will manage of your property from vacancy to move out, minor maintenance to major insurance claims, rent collection and all forms of accounting and regular reporting, field work and correspondences of all kinds, legal representations and evictions, electronic retention of invoices and contracts, and many more services. At EPM we try to innovate in every aspect of property management through
i) electronic reporting and 24 online access to your account through our owner electronic portal. This can include any lease or management documents, maintenance invoices, statements, and pictures of your property, which we store on our server.
ii) We communicate mostly by email and phone, but rarely by letter in order to cut the cost of paper use and postage. This insures a faster response time from us, and faster documentation for your homeowners.
iii) To learn more about how we can serve you, please view the welcome video on the main page of our website at www.propertymanagementmemphis.com. Even if you can’t write this down right now, its really easy to remember: www.propertymanagementmemphis.com
4. How does being a Realtor help you be a better property manager?
a) Obtaining and maintaining a Realtor’s license requires a great deal of education along with continuing education and maintaining ethical business practices as monitored on the local, state and federal level. This completely changes the way we do business.
b) Being a realtor affords us the use of Realtor tools to evaluate houses and advise homeowners on the best and most profitable use of their homes. We are the experts in our field and our customers appreciate that.
c) Realtors are almost always the first to innovate new technologies in the real estate field. Realtors work with one another in our industry to make sure that the latest and best procedures and marketing and analysis products are available to our customers so that we can better serve them in our industry.
d) We understand the language of real estate sales. Real Estate Investors often require the services of a property manager before a home has been acquired. Enterprise Property Management is able to help them in that process. Even though we may not sell them the home, we can interact with the sales person and make sure that the transition between purchase and management goes smoothly.
5. What are some new innovations which occurred in property management since you’ve been in business? –
a) 24/7 electronic access to EPM for our homeowners and tenants
i) 24/7 rent payment via the website
ii) 24/7 work order placement by tenant
iii) Emergency after hours calls routed through the phone server and responded to quickly
b) electronic management of documents and work orders accessible to homeowners year round, and specifically at tax time
c) reduction of paper usage- good for the environment and cheaper for all parties involved
d) innovations in property marketing- Internet, emails, wide range of electronic marketing without having to talk to a newspaper and worry about readership
e) Internet and emailing to help homeowners keep an eye on their property, even though they may live in another state or country
6. After the home has been rented, what can the homeowner expect of a professional property management company?
a) Collection and disbursement of rents, electronically
b) Regularly monthly statements delivered electronically
c) Constant access to property management staff during the week
d) Access to licensed realtors if real estate questions arise
e) Eviction services, if necessary
f) Quarterly inspections to check on house status and change A/C filters (comes with extra charge)
g) Deal with difficult tenants/ trouble tenants- this is the main reason you WANT to hire a professional property manager.
i) Tenants who don’t pay rent – discuss our process
ii) Tenants who make legal threats- discuss access to Atty Mike Mitchell
iii) Getting into a home when tenants do not return phone calls- process
iv) Tenants with undocumented roommates/ changing roommates- process
v) When homeowner/ property manager suspects shady activity in the home
vi) Eviction and legal coverage
7. Hedge of protection: How we respond to prospective tenants who attempt to take advantage of the homeowner through scam or falsified application. What is our response? What kind of application process should a property management company use?
8. How should a property management company protect homeowners once the tenant is in the home? What do we offer which is different from other management companies?
a) Quarterly Inspections
b) Vendors who communicate with our offices about issues in the houses
c) Property Managers who monitor accounts for late payments or lack of communication.
8. Discuss TEAM approach vs. regular Agent approach- why is it better to manage properties with a management TEAM vs. a group of agents who manage 100-150 homes all by themselves?
Questions to ask Jo Garner:
1 What mortgage terms can you give to a real estate investor for purchasing a rental home?
For people buying property to rent out for investment, on a single-family home, if the investor owns less than 4 financed properties, they can purchase with 20% down payment or they can refinance up to 75% loan-to-value. If they cash out mortgage companies usually stipulate a max loan-to-value of no more than 65%.
The lending rules are different for real estate investors owning over 4 financed properties. If they own between 5 and 10 financed properties, not many companies will offer a cash out refinance, but the investor should be able to refinance their existing loan for at least 70% of the value of the home. They can purchase another rental property too as long as they do not exceed 10 financed properties in their name. Borrowers who own more between 5 and 10 financed properties are also required to show a lot more money left in reserve for emergencies than if they owned 4 financed properties or less.
If the borrower is trying to buy or refinance their primary residence there is no limit on the number of other financed properties.
2. Can a real estate investor refinance his rental property using the special HARP refinance and the FHA streamline without an appraisal value and getting into the deal with very little money down? The answer is yes, the HARP and FHA Streamline refinances are good for primary residences, 2nd homes or rental properties.
3. Where can investors find the funds to use for down payment?
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE LAST SEGMENT WE DO THE REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK
Jo Garner makes two announcements in the last short segment:
Talk Shoppe offers free education and networking for anyone interested in real estate or business. This Wednesday at the Better Business Bureau from 9A to 10A Sandy Wright of Wright Edge Solutions will be presenting “Be Organized To Be Your Best.” For more information about Talk Shoppe go to www.TalkShoppe.BIZ
Next Saturday on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program, Attorney Ron Cohen and Probate Lawyer, Christine Karr. Do you know someone with questions about probate and their real estate? Join us next Saturday 9A to 10A CST right here on News Radio AM 600.
We continue to talk among ourselves or take callers until closing music starts at 9:57 am.
Transitional Songs: 9:15 am Hall and Oates “You Make My Dreams Come True;” 9:30 am Muppets “Money Song;” 9:45 am Madness “Our House”
Aaron Ivey and Bonita Elam of Enterprise Property Management
2965 N Germantown Rd Memphis, TN 38133
(901) 260-0206
Gwen Christensen, owner of Builders Floors and Interiors www.buildersfloorsandinteriors.com (901) 382-2155 (She can give YOU special builder pricing and the very best service)
Jo Garner’s Bio
www.MortgageLoansBlog.com www.MoneyShoppe.NET (901) 482 0354 jogarner@mindspring.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 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 17 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 ezine designed for real estate professionals and others indirectly connected to the real estate industry and currently publishes on her blog www.MortgageLoansBlog.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.