Race To Your Real Estate and Mortgage Best Deal –Be Ready, Set GO To Win!
Good morning, Memphis! Welcome to our listeners across the 50 states! You’re on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer. You can connect with me at www.JoGarner.com. Our general topic is on the NASCAR theme “Race To Your Real Estate and Mortgage Best Deal –Be Ready, Set GO To Win!” If you have a question or comment and you’re on Twitter, make them to #JoGarner or call me directly off the show at (901) 482-0354. You can call us while we are live at (901) 535-9732 or outside the Memphis area (800) 474-9732 July 9th, 2016.
Real estate professionals, lenders and home buyers and sellers are seeing one of the fastest moving real estate markets in decades. Across the nation markets are struggling with too few homes being chased by too many buyers. It’s a race benefiting both buyers and sellers because sellers are getting to sell at higher prices and with a much shorter time on the market. Buyers, on the other hand are getting to finance at bargain-basement priced interest rates with lower payments they can enjoy the entire term of their mortgage. Today you will hear some 1. great tips on how to be ready to pull ahead of a competitor to get the house you really want. 2. Tom King, expert real estate appraiser will be sharing some tips to sellers on things they can do to get the most when they sell their properties. He has some excellent points to keep the realtor on the cutting edge and in the winner’s circle too.
Tom King, it’s always fun having you in the studio. Tell our new listeners a little bit about yourself and what you so as a real estate appraiser with Bill King Company.
(Jo) Mortgage rates hit a better-than-3-year-low this week. 30YR FIXED conventional- 3.25-3.375% with the 15 year rates coming from the high 2’s to the low 3’s. Rates can vary depending on loan type, loan amount, loan-to-value and credit score. The government loan programs and jumbo loan programs came in low also. Winners in the race for the best deal this week were people locking in their terms on loans to purchase homes and homeowners locking in terms on a mortgage refinance to lower their mortgage payments, shorten the term or even cash out. “Money’s cheap. You might as well borrow it,” one of my clients said the other day. Losers… well losers today can always be winners tomorrow…losers were mostly those who just weren’t ready. They hadn’t cleaned up some negative items on their credit reports or didn’t have enough saved back for those needing a down payment. There are so many loan programs that do not require much of a down payment, but most do. Some clients could not lock on a traditional refinance this week because their house was in the middle of being repaired and not completed. The good news is that so many refinance programs do not require a full appraisal. If you or someone you know is trying to buy a home or refinance one, it would be such a pleasure for me to have the opportunity to talk with them. You can reach me after the show at (901) 482-0354 (901) 482-0354 or my email jo@192.232.195.219
(Jo) Clear winners in the real estate market today are people who have been renting and for years have been paying their landlord’s mortgage but today have purchased their own home and making their own mortgage payment which, in so many cases, is less than the high rent they were paying on a lesser property. It’s a common occurrence to see one of my clients go from paying $1,200/mo in rent on a small unit to paying only $1,000/mo for a much bigger home. Owning vs renting puts them in a place of building wealth for themselves.
Other clear winners are my clients who thought they missed the boat on getting to refinance their mortgage to much lower rates, but with Britain leaving the EU and a host of other economic events, are now getting another chance to free up cash each month by lowering their mortgage payment. The biggest savings are for the families who can eliminate 5 or 10 years off their mortgage and still keep the payment the same or have it go down. Others are pulling cash out on a refinance and paying off higher-interest rate debt or using the cash to buy additional homes or investments. If you want to look at some bragging rights doing something like this, I would like to personally help you get those bragging rights. But you have to talk with me personally so I can work with you. You can connect with me at www.JoGarner.com or call me directly at (901) 482-0354. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY!
(Jo) A big part of the market are move-up homeowners or those wanting to downsize. It is this group that sees the opportunity to sell the house where they live for a big profit and use the profit to buy up to a bigger house with a smaller payment or to downsize and have no mortgage at all.
First-time homebuyers still make up a significant part of homebuyers. Most first-time buyers who interested in getting into the home purchase without a lot of money down. These same buyers are very sensitive to keeping the monthly payment within their budget. The good news is there are several down payment assistance programs that allow for very little down payment or none at all.
Tom, since we’re talking about Race To Your Real Estate and Mortgage Best Deal –Be Ready, Set GO To Win!, can you go over some appraisal tips for someone considering selling their home?
2nd segment after 9:15 break: Our Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest is sponsored by John and Jennifer Lawhon of Lawhon Landscape (901) 754-7474 the Lawhon’s can help you plan your landscaping if you have a BIG, BIG project or a smaller project . The Lawhons are giving away a $25 gift card to the first person with the correct trivia answer. If you know the answer to our trivia question, call us at 901 535 WREC 901 535-9732.
TRIVIA QUESTION: WHAT IS MY NAME?
[Trivia Answer: Memphis International Raceway (formerly known as Memphis Motorsports Park) also Rusty Wallace Racing ]
Hint 1: I am a 400-acre tract of land purchased in 1986 by Ed Gatlin and other investors with an interest in high speeds. What is the name of my location ?
Hint 2: This location hosts many national events where many of the events have people going in circles. What is my name?
Hint 3: This location near Memphis has a strong connection to NASCAR. Memphis Inis an auto racing park located across the Loosahatchie River from Memphis, Tennessee, approximately ten miles south of Millington, Tennessee. The facility opened in 1987 with a drag strip and 1.8-mile (2.9 km) road course. It includes a 3/4-mile tri-oval short track, built in 1998, which once hosted the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, as well as an ASA Late Model Series race. The 4,400-foot (1,340 m) drag strip hosts events such as International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) World Finals and Nitro Jam, Professional Drag Racers Association (PDRA), HOT ROD Power Tour, Super Chevy Show, Fun Ford Series and Mega Mopar Action Series.
Memphis International Raceway, more commonly known as MIR, was founded in 1986 by Ed Gatlin who, along with a group of investors, bought a 400-acre tract of land in northeast Shelby County, Tenn., and built a drag strip with an adjacent road course, a dirt track and go-kart track.
APPRAISAL WISDOM BY TOM KING:
⦁ Make sure you include all contract addendums when you submit to the lender and/or to the appraiser. Make sure the most current addendum or counteroffer appears on the first page of the contract, so the lender and the appraiser are certain they are working on the latest price and terms agreement. Tom suggests that the realtor or whoever will be meeting the appraisal at the property, verbally reminds the appraiser the price and amount of seller concessions associated with the contract.
⦁ If there are recent comparable sales of distressed properties in the area of the subject property, it is okay for a homeowner or realtor to inform the appraiser of the circumstances on why a particular property sold at a very low price. The appraiser has the option of not using that comparable sale in determining the value for the subject property if he/she deems the distressed sale does not represent the true value of homes in the neighborhood.
⦁ Tom explains why some appraisals are put on hold by the lender or customer before the appraisal inspection is done. Sometimes it is better to wait about doing the appraisal if there are issues with the report from the home inspector that might require raising the price on the house a little to have the seller pay for a repair or make a fix on something in the house. Once the appraiser has issued the official value on a home, it is difficult, if not impossible, for an appraiser to justify going back in and raising the value just because the seller needs the extra money to repair something for the buyer. Have all of the terms of the contract worked out before you get the appraisal.
⦁ The speed of home sales has been moving at racecar speeds in some areas. At times real estate investors, intent on getting a property in the neighbhorhood say, “I don’t care what the value is on the house, I am after cash flow.” It still pays not to get in too much of a hurry and end up making a mistake. It is a good idea for a real estate investor, especially if there is no traditional mortgage on the transaction, to have an appraiser like Tom work up an appraisal to determine the true value of the property.
QUESTION ANSWERED BY JO GARNER:
⦁ With competition fierce in some places, what does a buyer need to do to be ready when they need to offer on the house they really want.
-know what house payment and down payment is comfortable for you without breaking be bank. Keep in mind that you may have unexpected expenses in the future so always leave an adequate emergency fund available.
– be pre-approved and prepared to send the lender you supporting documents for a quicker loan process. Some items lenders will ask of you:
Last 1 or 2 tax returns all pages, W2s or 1099s, latest paystubs, last 2 months bank statements all pages. If you own rental properties, it is helpful to have available a spreadsheet with info about your properties, mortgages, rent income etc.
Work with your lender to remove as many contingencies from the preapproval letter as possible so that you are more competitive on your real estate offer than someone competing with you to buy the same house. An example of a contingency you may want to remove is the one requiring you to sell your current home first and pay off the mortgage before purchasing the new home. Or another common contingency seen on mortgage pre-approval letters is the one requiring the borrower to pay off a bill or clear a negative item on a credit report. Try and get those credit items cleared off before issuing a pre-approval with those contingencies on there. You will have a better advantage in the race to win the contract to buy the house.
Be prepared to pay for an appraisal in some cases, sometimes $400 to $600 depending on the type loan program. Some refinance programs do not require an appraisal. If you are buying a home you may also want to set aside money to pay down at the time of the offer for earnest money to convince the seller to take his house off the market while you get your loan processed. Most home buyers pay to have an inspector check out the details of the home before they order an appraisal. If that is your intention, it is a good idea to spell it out when you write your offer.
I think it’s a good idea for a borrower to pull a free credit report like the one you can get free each year. This gives you a chance to see if there are errors on the report that need to be corrected before going to the lender. Examples of accounts needing to be cleared up—collection accounts, if they are over a certain amount. If the creditor has been reporting the negative stuff on you to the credit bureau then hopefully by paying them off they will stop with the negative reports. Paying down revolving credit to a balance under 30% or sometimes 25% of the total credit limit can really improve your credit scores. BUT, talk with your lender FIRST before you start paying down and payoff debts. For you it may be better to leave your money in the bank rather than pay down debts. I would like very much to talk with you personally about how to do these debts
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK: Jo Garner share tip for buyers who need the seller to pay their closing costs and prepaid taxes and insurance for them, but are competing with other offers from other bidders. If the house will appraise for a higher amount than the listing price, go ahead and offer more than the listing price in exchange for having the seller pay the closing costs and prepaid taxes and insurance. By writing the contract that way, the buyer stands a better chance of getting their offer accepted but still getting the costs paid by the seller.
Jo Garner advises clients to get a home inspection before paying for an appraisal. The home inspector’s job is to go through the house with attention to every detail of the construction, plumbing, electrical and HVAC, roof etc. If there are major negative issues, the buyer can back out of the deal (if they have a satisfactory inspection as a contingency on the contract) and will only have paid for the inspection and not both the inspection and the appraisal at that point.
Talk Shoppe offers free networking & education to anyone interested in real estate or in business. Talk Shoppe meets every Wednesday 9A-10A CT at the University of Phoenix 65 Germantown Center 1st floor Cordova, TN. This Wednesday July 13th , 2016 9A-10A CT Talk Shoppe presents: “Attitude: A Recipe For Success” with Adrienne Foster, Performance Consultant & Trainer for Dale Carnegie. www.midsouth.dalecarnegie.com.
Talk Shoppe events are free thanks to sponsors like Leah Anne Morse of Cartridge World in Collierville. (901) 853-3220 https://www.cartridgeworld.com/collierville-tn/38017-0803/about-us/ Leah Anne Morse can help you save over 30% on your printing costs with their scientifically designed recycled cartridges that fit your printer.
Also, thank you to Mary Lou Nowak of Home Helpers of Memphis and the Mid-South. Mary Lou knows what to do and uses the latest improvements and developments to give non-medical assistance so your loved ones can enjoy staying at home. (901) 414-9696 http://www.midsouthhomehelpers.com/
2. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those families in our nation who have suffered violence. May the rest of us make an extra effort to be kind to someone today.
3. Sat 7/23/2016 9:00 Am at the Greenway on Humphreys Blvd. in Memphis, TN.,
The Love Well 5k & Festival put on by Redeemers Group Foundation Repair will benefit:
The Old Path Homeless Shelter for Women and Children right here in Memphis. To find out more about this event, go the Event website: lovewell5k.com.
There are a many ways you can make a difference for The Shelter: register to walk or run, volunteer, be a vendor in the festival, or simply make a donation directly to them and lovewell5k.com will walk you through all of those options.
4. Special thanks to Business Consultant with Focal Point, Eric Eurich for providing race car props for our Ready, Set GO theme today. Eric can help you turn visions into reality. 901 340-9558
4. FOR THIS PODCAST OF REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE AND MORE, GO TO JOGARNER.COM
5. Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe reminds you that IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY.
QUOTE CORNER:
Unknown “If the dirt ain’t flying, you ain’t trying.”
Mario Andretti “If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough.”
REJOINERS:
Gwen Christensen, owner www.buildersfloorsandinteriors.com
Jana Cardona, Executive Director Business Network International in West TN, and N Mississippi. www.BNIMidsouth.com
Lynn and Troy McDonald, Insurance with Erin McDonald Insurance Agency (901) 849-7101
Transitional Music: “The Intimidator” by Charlie Daniels Band; “Little GTO” Ronnie and the Daytonas; “Stroker Ace” Charlie Daniels Band; “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers for Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest.
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ABOUT TOM KING
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Tom is a well- respected and sought after appraiser in Memphis, Tennessee. He is a second generation appraiser with 40 years experience. He has been elected to the Memphis Area Association of Realtors Board of Directors three times.
Tom is a certified residential appraiser in Tennessee. He have appraised over 20,000 homes in his career. A graduate from the University of Tennessee with a degree in real estate, Tom is also a Certified Relocation Professional (CRP). Tom also has vast experience in dealing with the county and state boards of equalization and in valuations of property for tax appeal purposes. (901) 487-6989
ABOUT JO GARNER-MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER:
www.JoGarner.com (901) 482 0354 jo@192.232.195.219 twitter @jogarner
Jo describes her job description: “As a mortgage loan officer, my job is to give my client the benefits they want from their financing terms– listening to my client and determine what’s of the most value to THEM– What is their comfort level on a house payment, how much are they comfortable paying down, what type of financing do they need to get the house they want to buy or refinance. Different clients have different priorities in life—some are buying their first home with very little down payment funds. Some are recovering from medical challenges, divorces or preparing to send children to college and some are embarking on a long term goal of buying properties to build rental income. Whatever their personal priorities are, my job is to put together a mortgage with comfortable terms that will help them achieve their goals.”
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.com 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