Good morning, Memphis! Good morning to IHEART listeners across the country! You’re on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program. I’m your host, Jo Garner, mortgage professional with Evolve Bank and Trust. Our co-host is Eric Meyers, building contractor and owner of 5 Diamond Roofing here in Memphis.
The coffee’s on and we want you to join us around our coffee table by calling 901 535 WREC. That number again is 901 535-9732. You can connect with me on Twitter @JogarnerMoney
We want to talk with you about anything you want to talk about concerning your real estate or your real estate financing. Our general topic today is ‘Shelter Your Family & Your Finances Minding Your Mortgage & Your Roof’
Eric, the inventory on real estate for sale is low, sending values up while mortgage rates continue to stay at historic levels. The conventional 30 year rate with no points is around 4.5%. With just a little extra investment, you can get a rate even lower than that. The conventional 15 year loan with no points is around 3.5%. FHA and VA loan program rates are even lower.
Even though the unemployment numbers yesterday looked better, investors are looking at how many jobs were CREATED not just the unemployment number. Reaction to the payroll report is what sent rates back down significantly yesterday afternoon after the morning bump up. Rates are projected to be very volatile over the next 3 months as we try and guess when and how much the Federal Reserve will begin tapering off the mortgage-backed security buying.
My advice to those of you trying to predict the future to determine how to lock your refinance or home purchase terms. If the deal works for you today, do it today. Don’t let the mortgage rate market run away without you. Give me a call so we can crunch the numbers on YOUR refinance or YOUR home purchase. Call me on the air at 901 535 WREC or off the air directly at 901 482 0354 or catch me on Twitter @JoGarnerMoney or connect with me on my blog www.mortgageloansblog.com
We are still locking in and closing on refinance loans. Rates have gone up since this past spring, but they are still low enough to help a lot of people. Since the VALUES on homes are increasing rapidly, more of my customers are calling to refinance and pull cash out on a low fixed rate to pay off higher interest rate bills – like credit cards, or 2nd mortgages or other debt.
Today we are refinancing homes and paying off the first AND 2nd to give our customer a stable, fixed rate mortgage that eliminates payments on the other debt that we’re paying off and freeing up HUNDREDS of dollars each month that they can use to Shelter Their Family and Their Finances or just to enjoy life.
If you or someone you know is thinking about PURCHASING a home, you are more likely to land a deal worth bragging about right now because most homes, especially in the Memphis area, are still very reasonably priced and if you finance with a fixed rate in the 3’s or 4’s then your payment is affordable and much less than what you would pay for the same amenities renting an apartment.
You know Eric, we’ve been talking about home refinances and purchases but I’d like to have a few minutes to talk our listeners who have been turned down for a mortgage and aren’t sure the reason. Over the last few months we’ve closed several refinance and purchase mortgages for customers with good credit who had been turned down by other companies.
Today there are a massive number of mortgage loan regulations that seem to keep piling up . That’s why you need an experienced loan officer who can nimbly guide you around the obstacles. Common reasons for homeowners with good credit getting turned down for their loan is due to the loan officer not knowing how to scour a tax return and pull in qualified income from the back pages of the tax return.
Other reasons are inexperienced loan officers not knowing how to realign and help the customer adjust debt and funds to close or even being able to free up funds to close.
Other customers have sought shelter in my office after being given the runaround by an out of town internet company. In those cases the internet company was too busy to look closely at details of the customer’s situation or they would have been approved.
If you have good credit and want me to take a second look at your loan situation , I am happy to review it absolutely free. I have my own personal team and we really want to help you. Call me directly off the air at 901 482-0354. That’s (901) 482 0354 or catch me on my blog www.mortgageloansblog.com I’m on twitter @JoGarnerMoney.
Eric, we owe it to ourselves and our families, as busy as we are during the day, to take a few minutes to protect ourselves and those we love. I know you are in the shelter business with 5 Diamond Roofing. With some of the wind storms we have seen this year, I would guess you are getting quite a few calls.
Questions for Eric to answer:
1. What signs can tell a homeowner when there is a problem with the roof? Brown spots on ceilings / shingles in the yard
1 (a) A leak showing on the ceiling? If a leak is showing on the ceiling, how is the best way to trace back to where the hole is in the roof since it may not be directly over the leak? There is not a good way for a homeowner to trace a leak in general because where it shows up may have little to do with where it actually is. Water and Gravity play tricks on folks
2. What type shingles are best? What type shingles to avoid and why? Currently, about 90% of our clients are opting for lifetime Architectural / Dimensional (same thing) shingles and when you pair them with our lifetime labor warranty you have a great combination. The Lifetime shingles warranty is even transferable to the second owner if you sell the house. The remaining 10% of our clients are simply price driven and select a basic 3 tab shingle which only has a 20 year warranty and an actual expected lifespan of about 15 – 18 years. The cost to upgrade from the 20 year to the lifetime shingle is under $1,000 for most roofs. Nothing to really avoid except if your contractor is purchasing ‘seconds’ What are ￢ﾀﾜseconds?￢ﾀﾝ
3. How to avoid scams Check the BBB and/or Angie’s List rating for the contractor, ask for references and ask for addresses where you can see work that he has done. Make sure he is properly state licensed
4. How can you tell if the roofing has been installed correctly? The best way to assure yourself that the roof is properly installed is to be around when they are installing the roof, THe felt paper that goes under the shingles should go side to side starting at the bottom of the roof and working up and there should be waterproofing membrane in the valleys. Never have a roof replaced and not replace the pipe boots.
5. What are signs the homeowner can see if the roofing was not installed correctly? see above
6. What is the difference between dimensional roofing, regular shingles and other types of roofs? In asphalt shingles, you have 3 tab and Dimensional however there are many levels of dimensional shingles depending on what look you want to achieve and how much you want to spend. Beyond asphalt shingles, there are metal roofs which can have appearances ranging from industrial to looking like cedar shingles. You also have cedar shingles and slate as well as the Mediterranean looking tile roof like you see on some of the older homes here on East Parkway and they may be red or green
7. What is the best way to maintain a flat roof and keep it from leaking? The most important thing with older flat roofs is to keep them clean from debris. After rain storms, you should remove any tree limbs and during the fall, you should clean the leaves of once or twice. The newer flat roofs are much lighter placing less stress on the structure of the house and are lower maintenance. Additionally, we can add insulation during the installation to increase the energy efficiency of the home. Older flat roofs are, generally, hot tar and gravel which absorbs heat and the newer ones are basically a specialized rubber which is usually white which, obviously reflects the suns rays keeping it cooler.
Questions answered by Jo Garner
1. You mentioned earlier in the show about how several of your customers with good credit have come to you after being turned down somewhere else and you￢ﾀﾙve gotten their loan approved. How did you do it?
Jo- Self employed customers ￢ﾀﾓlook in the back pages of the tax returns (depreciation expense is not a real expense￢ﾀﾔit is only a paper expense and can be added back)
I look at the K-1s on sub chapter S businesses, LLCS and partnerships. There are details on the K-1s that can help and those details do not appear on the main section of the tax return.
There are loopholes you can jump through in situations involving business miles and home office expenses￢ﾀﾔthe list goes on. It takes extra time and expertise and you may not get all of that going to an internet 1-800 number company or an inexperienced loan officer.
An experienced mortgage officer knows how to rearrange debts and how to find extra income. You know Eric, we can sometimes be mistaken for magicians.
2. You mentioned earlier in the show that we have very unique opportunities to refinance or purchase a home right now because of the historic low rates and the quickly appreciating home values. Describe in a little more detail what you mean.
Here is a perfect example: In 2006, at the height of the real estate boom, you could buy a house for a median price of $250,000 paying 20% down with an average interest rate of 6.75% for a fixed rate 30-year term. Your principal and interest payment on the loan would have been about $1,300 per month. Today buying the same house at a median price of about $204,000 with a 30-year fixed rate of 4.5% no points with 20% down would give you a principal and interest payment of about $827 per month￢ﾀﾔthat is $475 per month LESS than you would have paid for the same house in 2006. $475/mo less in payments for the same house times 12 months is $5,700 per year in savings year after year. THAT is recognizing the unique opportunity we have today to refinance or purchase a home and sheltering our families financially by paying so much less per month for larger amenities.
Real Estate Tip Of The Week (Eric shares helpful roofing tip)
Jo has 2 announcements: 1. Talk Shoppe offers free education and networking for anyone interested in real estate or business every Wednesday from 9A to 10A at DeVry University 6401 Poplar 6th floor across from International Paper. Devry offers classes online or in person right here in Memphis. Talk Shoppe meets in one of the large classrooms. This Wednesday Nancy Crawford of the Better Business Bureau will be sharing tips on ￢ﾀﾜAvoiding Business Scams.￢ﾀﾝ For more info about Talk Shoppe go to www.TalkShoppe.BIZ
2. Next Saturday on the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe program Tom King, certified Shelby County Real Estate Property Tax Appeal Expert with King and Vaughan Consulting will be talking about Memphis real estate values and how to lower your tax bill right here on News Radio 600 WREC.
If you have suggestions on topics or ideas on how you can help us improve This show￢ﾀﾔThe Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe right here on News Radio 600, let us know your ideas and suggestions. For this podcast and past podcasts go to www.mortgageloansblog.com
Transitions Songs: ￢ﾀﾜUp On The Roof￢ﾀﾝ by the Drifters; ￢ﾀﾜDrip Drop￢ﾀﾝ Dion DiMucci; ￢ﾀﾜFixing A Hole￢ﾀﾝ by the Beatles
Jo Garner￢ﾀﾙ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 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.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.