Save Thousands On Mortgage Terms & When Starting A Claim For Long Term Care Policies
Welcome! Thank you for connecting to the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe where we offer solutions to your real estate scenarios. I hope the information on our blog posts gives you something that you can use or that can save you some money.
If you are looking for information or help in areas that do not seem to be covered on this blog posts or my other posts, please feel free to call me at (901) 482-0354 or email me at jo@192.232.195.219 OR CONNECT AT www.JoGarner.com
MARKET NEWS
KINDNESS KORNER
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY MARY LOU NOWAK, HOME HELPERS
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JO GARNER, MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY TROY AND LYNN MCDONALD, ERIN MCDONALD INSURANCE AGENCY
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK
ANNOUNCEMENTS
QUOTE CORNER
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Good morning, Memphis! Good morning to those of you listening on internet radio across the 50 states. You’re on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe and I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer. Connect with me after our broadcast, about your mortgage needs, by calling me personally at (901) 482-0354 or if it’s more convenient, email me at jo@192.232.195.219 or connect with me by going to www.Jogarner.com. If you have any questions or comments regarding today’s topic call us on the air Saturday September 12th, 2015, call the studio at 901 535-9732 or toll free (800) 474-9732. I want to invite our listeners to follow me on Twitter @JoGarner. You can use #JoGarner in your tweets and we can see your comments within moments during this live broadcast. Today’s general topic is going to reach out you or any of your senior friends or family members. “Save Thousands On Mortgage Terms & When Starting A Claim For Long Term Care Policies.”
Our guest today IS Mary Lou Nowak of Home Helpers. Mary Lou is well-known and in the Memphis and Mid-South area. She is a professional who began client care at a 500 bed community hospital in 2001. And since then, has been working with seniors and their families as owner of Home Helpers. Mary Lou Nowak is an EXPERT in expediting long term care insurance policies saving families thousands and she has a heart of gold. Mary Lou, tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and what you do at Home Helpers
<Mary Lou introduces herself and talks about what she does at Home Helpers — >
(Jo) Our topic today touches on the importance of thinking about the future. I’ve spend PLENTY of time this week considering the future for our mortgage market. This week mortgage rates did not move a great deal. They seem to be sitting tight with the 30 yr conv at 3.875% to 4% and the 15 yr in the low to mid 3’s depending on several factors. Rates are biding their time and waiting for the Federal Reserve tell us if they are going to hike the Fed overnight rate or not. Mortgage rates are not directly tied to the overnight rate, so mortgage rates may or may not make an immediate move if the Fed hikes the rate, but the Fed’s decision can affect peripheral segments of the market which could affect mortgage rates INDIRECTLY.
Other big news I see happening shortly that will DIRECTLY affect home buyers, sellers, lenders and realtors are two big headlines—first FHA, the government backed loan program that allows borrowers to get into homes with only a 3.5% down payment, FHA has some new guidelines coming out effective September 15th, 2015—these regulations changes affect borrowers with student loans—even if they are deferred. Borrowers with authorized accounts on their credit may be in for a surprise and borrowers with recent extended job gaps. Appraisers are now required to do some specific checking of appliances, plumbing and electrical systems. If you want to know more about he the FHA changes and how they will affect you specifically, call me personally off the air at 901 482-0354 or connect with me at www.JoGarner.com
Effective October 3rd, 2015 the federal Consumer Financing Protection Bureau will roll out their Know Before You Owe big real estate and lending regulations. If you want to know more about the mandatory delays in the process and closing procedures for mortgages and the new order of getting prequalified for a loan, call me at 901 482-0354. I am not a legal expert on these new laws, but I will try and help you with the coming new rules AS I UNDERSTAND THEM. Lenders nationwide, myself included, will be learning as we go and developing best practices as we work through the changes. If you are about to purchase a home or refinance one , let’s talk.
Mary Lou, I know you work with clients and families who are dealing with personal changes of their own. <Mary Lou talks for a minute or so about a story & ways Home Helpers work with clients>
(Jo) We have a number of listeners on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe who are over 65 years old 70, 80 and even 90 years old that call and want to look at how to restructure their mortgage so that they can have a better quality of life. Some of our callers have taken advantage of the historically low rates and have refinanced their home loan to a 10 or 15 year mortgage eliminating 10 years or more of payments saving them tens of thousands of dollars and still kept their mortgage payment the same or lower than what they had. Talk about win-win—no mortgage payment during the golden years. I will never forget one of my clients –a 92 year old widow—called me up and told me her husband had always wanted to pay their mortgage off early so her mortgage payment was very high. After his passing, this lady decided that she wanted to grab life by the horns and live it to the max. She wanted to spend time at the cabin on the lake with her children, her grandchildren AND her great-grandchildren. But to do that she needed a MUCH lower mortgage payment. When I asked her what she wanted to accomplish from refinancing her home, she said, “ I want to live life and ENJOY living. Who cares if the house doesn’t get paid off—let the kids worry about that after I’m gone,” she laughed. We went back to a longer term on the loan freeing quite a bit of cash each month to spend on fun stuff. Gotta’ love her zest for life –and at 92!
Today we’re talking about “Save Thousands On Mortgage Terms & When Starting A Claim For Long Term Care Policies”. Mary Lou Nowak of Home Helpers, before we go to break can you start sharing some of your information about how to save thousands when starting a claim for long term care policies? <Mary Lou launches her topic>
(Jo) 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 person Lynn is recognizing today, who represent 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 AWARDS THE SPIRIT OF KINDNESS AWARD TO ALEESA BLUM, A REALTOR WITH MARX AND BENSDORF. >
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY TROY AND LYNN MCDONALD:
- How can getting insurance help fund getting help for a senior family member in the home?
- What are your words of wisdom about insuring vacant properties?
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QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY MARY LOU NOWAK:
- What are some of the biggest obstacles when people begin to think about getting help?
- There are those who have thought of this and planned for it financially but what don’t they or their family know that you can share from your experience?
- What about those who have long term insurance…aren’t they covered for this expense?
- I’m not familiar with the term “Elimination Period”….What is it?
- How did you come to learn about this problem regarding the elimination period?
- How does this elimination period affect what people who have this insurance?
- Why don’t people know about having to spend thousands of dollars out of pocket before being able to tap into the LTC payments?
- What makes Home Helpers different from other agencies?
- Please share some of your good stories about clients you have helped.
MARY LOU’S NOTES:
Topic 1: Apple vs. Oranges – how Home Helpers is different, there are over 100 agencies in the Memphis area…see attached video and information below
Topic 2: Long Term Care Expedited Program – Show families that already have Long Term Care policies what they need to do to save 10 to 14k. See attached rough draft of letter
Topic #1 In-home non-medical care has a lot of competition so to point out how we are different I have used the phrase “It’s like comparing apples and oranges”
Home helpers is different because…
| the caregivers are mature, engaging, anticipate needs and do this work because they have a genuine calling to help people
|
VS | A distracted individual who’s there for a paycheck until they can find a better opportunity
|
| We have over a dozen steps involved with our hiring process including national fingerprint check for criminal activity, a personality assessment to make sure they have the caring spirit to remain with a client we match up with them. |
VS |
Only local background checks that would overlook any issues in surrounding states. |
| We do not pay minimum wage and a minimum of two managers must interview before an employment offer is made. Anyone worth hiring is worth hiring well! What caregiver would accept close to minimum wage? |
VS |
Masses of caregivers are hired with many at minimum wage letting circumstances and issues with clients determine who they keep. You get what your agency pays for. |
| We compile the billing and care records that Long Term Care insurance companies require and sent it over to the LTC company so clients do not have too. |
VS |
Invoices and care records are just mailed to clients and the clients are left to submit paperwork and follow up on their own. |
| Home Helpers has been operating in this area since 2009 with a great reputation and references. | New in-home care agencies are opening often due to companies targeting Aging Baby Boomers. | |
| Expedited program to get through the LTC elimination period saving 10 to 14k | VS | Leave you to determine how to navigate the LTC policy while charging for many hours during the elimination period. |
Seniors with Long Term Care Policies – How Mary Lou can Save you you thousands when you’re about to start a claim
However, it is so important to understand that each policy has an “Elimination Period” (like a deductible). The Elimination Period can cost you as much as $19,000 out-of-pocket before you can gain access to any funds from the policy. In addition to the costs, the process is tedious and can take six months or more to gain approval then even longer to see payments.
It’s heartbreaking to see a person who so obviously needs help struggling, have care delayed and unexpectedly pay large sums out of pocket to gain access to what they have been paying for all these years. Some seniors just give up, stop the policy or decide to just quit trying to activate it.
My instinct was to try to help solve this problem, to figure out a way for seniors to get the help they need and have it cost the least out of pocket as possible. The situation required becoming an expert in the LTC policy activation and filing process. Knowing and understanding how to do this has resulted is saving families $14,000 or more.
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JO GARNER-
- What are some common loan structures used when your clients refinance their mortgage due to changing situations in life?
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK: Jo offers tip regarding when the reverse mortgage works and when it doesn’t.
Good for seniors over 65 yrs old who have a big chunk of equity in their homes but not a lot of other assets or income. The house can turn around and make payments to the owner—that’s a reverse mortgage. If you are house rich but cash and income poor.
Not-so-good for homeowners with not much equity built up in the home and for people who can reallocate their assets to give them the income they need. For them the reverse mortgage is not so good because it eats up a big chunk of the equity to buffer the lender from losses and also the reverse mortgage comes with extra restrictions on the uses of the house while the reverse mortgage is outstanding.
Government laws require the prospective reverse mortgage borrower to first consult with a HUD approved reverse mortgage lender before talking with a mortgage lender. ______________________________________________________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Talk Shoppe offers free education and networking to anyone interested in real estate or in business. Coming up Wednesday September 16th , 2015 join us for this free event. Nancy Crawford of the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South will present “Persuasion Tactics Scammers Use To Trick You” Talk Shoppe events are free at the The University of Phoenix 65 Germantown Court 1st floor Memphis (across from The Ag Center) 9A to 10A Wednesday. For more information go to www.TalkShoppe.com
To hear today’s podcast of the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe and others, go to www.JoGarner.com
Special thanks today for our professional videographer, Nick Barnes with Test Video Studios. Test Video Studios is a freelance videography studio that specializes in editing and consumer level online broadcasting. Test Video Studios also provides editing services for the local videography business, Storytellers. You can reach Nick Barnes at _______________________________-
- MAKE YOUR PLAN, WORK YOUR PLAN. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY.
Transitional Music: “When I’m 64” by the Beatles; “The Remember Song”by Tom Rush; “Forever Young” by Rod Stewart
“It’s A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong for the Kindness Korner
Quote Corner:
“Believe in your future and your future will believe in
you.”
― Aniekee Tochukwu Ezekiel, Psychology of Friendship for Leadership
“You might be on the back nine of life, but it’s good to finish strong.”
― Morton Shaevitz, Refire! Don’t Retire: Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life
You know you’re getting old when all the names in your black book have M. D. after them.Harrison Ford
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ABOUT TROY AND LYNN MCDONALD- ERIN MCDONALD INSURANCE AGENCY;
LYNN- I have worked for Allstate for 22 years and very much enjoy helping people manage risk through proper insurance coverage. We have a large agency and are well staff to take care of our clients need.
Specialties:Working with Landlords and Investors (901) 849-7101
ABOUT MARY LOU NOWAK –HOME HELPERS
Mary Lou Nowak is a professional who began client care at a 500 bed community hospital in 2001 and since, while working with seniors and their families as owner of Home Helpers became an expert in expediting long term care insurance policies saving families thousands.
Home Helpers – (901) 414-9696
ABOUT JO GARNER-MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER:
www.JoGarner.com (901) 482 0354 jo@192.232.195.219 twitter @jogarner
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 .
PHOTO GALLERY FROM REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE 9-12-15-