Good morning, Memphis! Welcome to our internet listeners and podcast 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 THE FALL 2020 REAL ESTATE MARKET-HOW TO PREPARE & HOW TO PROFIT. Subscribe to get Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe podcasts with show notes at www.JoGarner.com Call us while we’re live today October 3rd, 2020 at (901) 535-9732.
What can you do to take advantage of this 2020 Fall real estate market? Tom King, our appraisal expert will describe the major factors driving homebuyers and home sellers. I will share some top tips for getting the strongest prequalification letter and the most comfortable mortgage terms. We are opening our phone lines to our real estate realtors and lenders to offer THEIR top tips from experience working with buyers and sellers.
Back in the co-host chair we have Tom King, our expert real estate appraisal expert. Tom, you have been appraising homes in the Mid-South for over 40 years. You do appraisals for mortgage companies, relocation companies, family estate sales, divorce situations, cash home buyers and more. Tom, thinking back over your 4 decades of appraising, what differentiates our 2020 real estate market to fall season markets in years past? (Tom, describes the factors in our Fall 2020 market that are different from years past)—Shortage of inventory like we have never seen Even less homes on the market than last year. Demand is high and the supply of homes low –driving up home prices)
- Shortage of inventory causing competition with multiple home purchase offers being made on the same house within a few hours of the home being listed.
- Buyers are motivated to buy homes because of the record low fixed rate mortgage rates that buyers can lock in and enjoy for up to 30 years
- Examples of what you see actively taking place to illustrate these trends
- Advice to sellers on getting the highest price when they sell
(Jo) When you look out the window of your home and you see the weather changing, most of us will check our phone or television for a weather report. We want to know what to wear and how long it will take us to get where we want to go.
As a mortgage loan officer, I am seeing some really clever clients and how they are getting ahead and getting wealthier during this 2020 real estate market situation because they take the time to check out the market conditions.
Luis and Lydia Lopez (avatar picture)
Here are some winners: First time homebuyers like Luis and Lydia Lopez. They had worked hard for several years trying to save the money needed to buy a house in the school district where they wanted their 5-year old to start school next year.
Every time they would get some money put back, some emergency would happen that sunk their savings and the rent kept going up each year. Lydia admitted she was the biggest problem, since she had sometimes made quick decisions to spend money on things she really thought their family needed, only to find out she should not have spent the money.
The Lopez’ spent four months looking for houses, making offers only to get turned down over and over again. They needed a low mortgage payment and needed the least down payment at closing. Due to their lower credit scores, they needed a loan program lenient on credit that would still allow them a very low mortgage rate to keep their payments down.
Here was the solution for Mr. and Ms. Lopez:
After their daughter was tucked in one night, Mr. and Ms Lopez spent an evening after their daughter went to bed to look at bank statements and credit card statements from the last several months. They determined the maximum house payment that they could comfortably afford. They set a line in the sand on the max dollars they would pay down.
They got me their supporting paystubs, bank statements and asked us to review them. We did and I sent her an email about how good her documents were looking. They did not have a house to sell first and were willing to work with the seller on a possession date. They were prequalified for a government FHA loan with 3.5% down payment. We also had them prequalified on a conventional 3% down payment program—just in case the seller was concerned about the stricter appraisal inspection requirements.
Their realtor presented their letters with the home purchase offer. Hard work and perseverance paid off. The Lopez’ got some assistance with the move-in costs and, because of the low mortgage interest rates, their house payment was much lower than the going rent in the same neighborhood. We celebrated together at the real estate closing table.
Other very smart mortgage clients of mine have taken advantage of the record low interest rates to sell their home at a much higher price than they paid for it, take the profits and invest in a larger house in a more upscale neighborhood so they could care for an aging parent in their home. Even though, the house they purchased had gone up in value too, the ultra low interest rate still made the upscale move more affordable.
Homeowners can refinance right now: A. to lower their rate AND payment.
B. They can lower their rate AND shorten the term on their mortgage
C. They can refinance and roll into their mortgage other higher interest rate debt, so that all of the debt can be paid at a lower overall interest rate. With the higher cash flow this creates each month, the mortgage client has the ability to pay off these mortgage early too.
You’re on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer. What do YOU want to accomplish with your mortgage? Make your plan. Let’s work your plan if the deal works for you today, let’s do it today. When we come back we will be playing the Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest. Tom King will be sharing more of his insights about our home values. We are hoping some of our real estate will be calling in too . See you back in just a moment.
THE LOOK BACK MEMPHIS TRIVIA CONTEST
2nd segment after 9:15 break: Our Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest is brought to you by notable Memphis historian, Jimmy Ogle. Twelve of his Memphis History lectures entitled Making Memphis – Storytelling by Jimmy Ogle may be viewed by Googling “JIMMY OGLE PINK PALACE”. View at JimmyOgle.com. . The 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 or you can do the big project in phases . 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.
Garner # 187 * 09/26/20
Libertyland
Question: My roots in the Midtown area go back to 1923, and I provided “fun for all” for more than 80 years. Who am I?
Hint: I provided Summer employment for hundreds of Memphis youth each year.
Hint: My design, theme and name changed to a very topical name in 1976.
Hint: Sadly, I closed in 2005 and most of my belongings were auctioned off.
Last Hint: One of my rides was the favorite of Elvis Presley. Who am I?
Answer: Libertyland opened as an amusement park on the old Fairgrounds Amusement Park site on July 4, 1976. Before then, the fair had operated on the land, including the Coaster Pippin renamed Zippin Pippin with the opening of Libertyland and the Grand Carousel. The city of Memphis decided it was time for a theme park for the city. It opened in 1976 with several rides, including the pre-existing rides that had operated in that place before. The Zippin Pippin was widely popular as it was Elvis Presley‘s favorite wooden roller coaster. In fact, on August 8, 1977, Elvis rented Libertyland as a gift for his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. From 1 am until dawn, Elvis, Lisa Marie, Elvis’ then-fiance Ginger Alden and about a dozen friends rode the park’s then fourteen rides. The Grand Carousel was also a classic and was widely appreciated. The park gradually drew in decent crowds over the years, but never made a great profit. It continued to add attractions, such as a steel coaster called the Revolution, and others.
The park operated its last day for a corporate day on October 29, 2005. In early November, a meeting was called before the Mid-South Fair board of committee to close it. The vote was passed and the announcement was made public. Their reasonings included lack of profit, a steady decline of attendance, and they wanted to extend the midway for the annual Mid-South Fair which operates adjacent to the park’s site for 10 days in October. The Zippin Pippin is now in a happy home at Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the restored Grand Carousel is housed at the Children’s Museum of Memphis.
An
Images of Modern America book entitled Libertyland
was
published by John Stevenson in 2017, and John maintains theweb site
rememberlibertyland.com,
and
can be reached at
facebook.com/rememberlibertyland.
Jimmy Ogle has
retired from
walking tours in Memphis. Twelve of his Memphis History lectures
from the Pink Palace entitled Making
Memphis – Storytelling by Jimmy Ogle,
and
now more than ten hours Downtown Walking Tours are FREE on the
internet at . . . You
Tube Jimmy Ogle.
View JimmyOgle.com
for more info!
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TOPICS COVERED BY TOM KING, BILL KING APPRAISAL COMPANY
(901) 487-6989
Tom gives our listeners a description of what is different in our fall 2020 market
- Shortage of inventory like we have never seen Even less homes on the market than last year. Demand is high and the supply of homes low –driving up home prices
- Shortage of inventory causing competition with multiple home purchase offers being made on the same house within a few hours of the home being listed.
- Buyers are motivated to buy homes because of the record low fixed rate mortgage rates that buyers can lock in and enjoy for up to 30 years
- Examples of what you see actively taking place to illustrate these trends
- Advice to sellers on getting the highest price when they sell
___________________________________________________________
TOPICS COVERED BY JO GARNER, MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER
- What makes the Fall 2020 Real Estate Market different than other markets we have experienced?
- We are experiencing a buyers’ market AND a seller’s market all at the same time.
The main driver for buyers is the record low mortgage rates. Savvy buyers know that, if they can win at getting their offer accepted to purchase a home, they can lock in a record low interest rate that will give them a low mortgage payment for as long as they have the mortgage up to 30 years.
- While rents are going up every year all around these buyers, they can enjoy a fixed principal and interest payment, freeing up more and more cash as incomes go up but the principal and interest payment on the mortgage stays the same.
- The main profit for the seller is really clear. Home values are still moving up. Realtor.com reported that nationally year-over-year we are seeing listing prices for homes moving up about 10%—a really HOT MARKET. National Association of Realtors reported that the increase in existing home sales from July to August 2020 had increased more than we have ever seen since back in 2006. Home sellers know they can sell their house in record time for record prices.
The difference in this hot market and the one we saw right before the real estate collapse in 2008 is:
#1 The mortgages secured on these homes are more sound and borrowers capacity to pay is much greater.
#2 The shortage of homes and the emerging households ready to break into homeownership, makes the forecast look much better than back in ’08 and ’09.
- More preparation to profit this fall 2020? Be prepared. Be preapproved.
- For homebuyers it is important that you already know your comfort level on a monthly mortgage payment amount and the amount of money you can put down to buy the home you want. Stay within that shelter zone.
- For the most effective strategy was we see it from the mortgage desk, buyers who are prepared with a strong preapproval letter win the competitive bidding game many times—even if they did not make the highest offer price, can be the winner over other would-be buyers. It might just be that the seller is not looking for the highest offer, but the surest offer
- Pull a free consumer credit report and review your credit score, your credit payment history and the percentage of the credit limit you owe on credit cards.
The law allows you to pull your credit from the three major bureaus once a year free of charge. The official site to do this is www.annualcreditreport.com
Make sure there is no negative erroneous credit on your report. If there is, you have a chance to get with the creditor and get it corrected.
Over 30% of your credit score as of right now is determined on what percentage of your revolving credit you are using. For example, if you had a credit card with a $1,000 credit limit and you owed over $500, then you would owe over 50% of the credit limit. .
For now, you are being penalized with a lower credit score because you are using 50% or more of your credit limit. You actually add some points to your score by only using less than 30% of your credit limit. On a $1,000 credit limit you can put some points on the credit score by owing less than $300 on that card. You get even more points if you own less than 10% of the credit limit. But paying the card completely off may not be good since the credit card company might not report at all.
Don’t open any new credit accounts or add balances owed to existing accounts until after closing.
- Let’s talk about putting together a winning strategy for you or someone you know.
What do YOU want to accomplish with YOUR mortgage?
- Put some reputable, experienced real estate professionals on your team.
Buying a house is one of the largest investments you will ever make and you don’t want to make the most expensive mistakes you have ever made. A good realtor, mortgage loan officer, title company, appraiser, home inspector and insurance agent can keep you working smart and saving you from disaster. I would love to sign up for the job as your mortgage officer. But you have to contact me personally so I can work with you personally. MAKE YOUR PLAN. LET’S WORK YOUR PLAN. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY. Connect with me at www.JoGarner.com or call me at (901) 482-0354 (901) 482-0354.
CALLER: PAT GOLDSTEIN, Crye-Leike Realtors in West TN and West Mississippi
“The Gold Standard in Real Estate” (901) 606-2000 Pat has multiple specialized designations and is a member of Crye-Leike’s Multi-Million Dollar Club.
Home buyers need a solid and strong preapproval letter before looking at homes to buy
Be prepared to make your highest and best offer the first time, since you may be competing with multiple other offers from others on the same home.
Tip To Sellers-Make your home look its best before listing it for sale
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CALLER: FRANCES ANDERSON, Crye-Leike Realtors (recipient of many awards and certifications including being Lifetime Member of the Multi-Million Dollar Club and Realtor of the Year) (901) 857-2276
Tip to buyer: avoid contingencies on your home purchase offer. For example, if you make a contingency on the sale of your current home, your offer might gets passed over in favor of someone that is not requiring conditions on closing.
Increase the amount of earnest money you pay when you make your offer. It shows the seller you are very interested in buying their home. Also, earnest money is credited back to the buyer at closing
Trust your realtor who is representing you. Trust your lender
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CALLER: Stephanie Koshak, Crye-Leike Realtors (recipient of many awards and certifications including being a member of the Crye-Leike Million Dollar Club. Stephanie is a certified Real Estate Relocation Specialist) (760) 445-3234
Tip to buyer : Do your research. If you know some neighborhoods where you might like to live, drive around and evaluate the traffic flow, the quality of your commute to work, schools, zoning etc
Tip to sellers: Improve your curb appeal. Clean and declutter the inside of your home.
Make a list of repairs on the house that you have completed with details. This reinforces to the buyer that you have taken care of the home.
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CALLER: DONNA SKAARER, KAIZEN REALTY in Germantown, TN Donna is recipient of awards and designations including a specialty in new home construction. (901) 489-4182
Tip to Buyer- Communicate with your realtor and your lender. Make a list of what you want and need to give to your realtor. If you decide to expand your geographical search area or change your location and property requirement, let your realtor know as soon as possible so that she can expand her search for homes for you also
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK Jo Garner shares tip for homeowners taking advantage of refinancing to lower mortgage rate, shorten term, or freeing up cash per month
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Talk Shoppe offers free networking & education to anyone interested in real estate or in business. Talk Shoppe meets every Wednesday 9A-10A CT virtually. You can go to www.TalkShoppe.com (Shoppe) Click on the Upcoming Events tab. The website for Talk Shoppe’s virtual meeting room will appear. Just click and join us. This Wednesday 9A October 7th, 2020 Talk Shoppe presents : “October 7th Resources and Help From the Pros When You Are Dealing With Divorce. (Andrew Hartsfield, attorney at law/ Mark Ruleman, Ruleman Asset Management & Planning/ Mark Loden, MKL Budgeting Service/ Pat Goldstein, Realtor Crye-Leike Realtors/ Lynn McDonald of Erin McDonald Insurance Agency/ Lloyd Caldemeyer of US Health Advisors/Tammy Zurak of Z-Photag Studio/ Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS#757308 )
Talk Shoppe events are free thanks sponsors like Leah Anne Morse of All Things New. Leah Anne has a great reputation helping people and families organize to down size, up size or make lateral moves. Leah Anne can help you with an estate sale too. (901) 488-9733
Thank you to Talk Shoppe sponsor Mark Loden, owner of MKL Personal Monthly Budgeting Service. Mark helping his clients use his special system that make budgeting easy in effectively taking back control of your money and reducing debt much quicker. Contact Mark Loden at (901) 493-2069
2. (Tom announces) The Tigers are playing this weekend. GO TIGERS!!!
4. Subscribe at www.JoGarner.com and you can get our weekly blog posts with podcasts conveniently in your inbox.
5. Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe reminds you to MAKE YOUR PLAN. LET’S WORK YOUR PLAN. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY.
SPECIAL NOTE: REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE RECOMMENDS THAT YOU CONSULT WITH A FINANCIAL, LEGAL OR OTHER CERTIFIED, LICENSED PROFESSIONAL BEFORE ACTING OR INVESTING ON ANYTHING YOU HEAR OR SEE FROM THE CONTENT ON THIS SHOW OR BLOG POSTS. THE INFORMATION WE SHARE ON REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE IS GENERAL IN NATURE MEANT FOR GENERAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. ALL EXAMPLES GIVEN FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ON REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE SHOPPE AND ARE BASED ON TRUE STORIES BUT CHANGE NAMES AND CERTAIN DETAILS THAT DO NOT AFFECT THE INTEGRITY OF POINTS WE ARE MAKING IN THE EXAMPLES.
QUOTE CORNER:
QUOTE CORNER: from Maxine cartoon “I always start running in the fall—not all of me –just my nose”
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REJOINDERS:
- Pat Goldstein, Realtor with Crye-Leike Realtors in West TN and North Mississippi (901) 606-2000 “The Gold Standard in Real Estate”
- Real Estate Attorneys Rob Draughon and Shelly Rothman of Griffin Clift Everton and Maschmeyer (901) 752-1133
- Earl Leake, Leake Insurance Agency, Memphis and the Mid-South. Contact Earl for your commercial insurance to keep you and YOUR business safe. (901) 737-9352
Transitional Music: “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day; “California Dreaming” by Mamas and Papas; “Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds; “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers for the Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest
ABOUT TOM KING, REAL ESTATE APPRAISER WITH BILL KING APPRAISAL COMPANY
(901) 487-6989
Tom is a well- respected and sought after appraiser in Memphis, Tennessee. He is a second generation appraiser with 40 years of 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 appraising real estate for pre-listing sales, cash buyers, divorce settlements, estate settlements. (901) 487-6989
ABOUT JO GARNER-MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER:
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR MORTGAGE?
www.JoGarner.com (901) 482 0354 jo@jogarner.com twitter @jogarner NMLS# 757308 (currently working with Sierra Pacific Mortgage, Inc)
“Whatever YOUR personal priorities are, my job is to help you get the mortgage terms that will give you bragging rights when you talk about it and help you score on hitting your goals .”
As a mortgage loan officer, my job is to help you get to the benefits you want from your financing terms. What is most important to you? I can help you find the financing terms that will help you get to what you want. What is your comfort level on a house payment? How much are you comfortable paying down,? What type of financing do you need to get the house you 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.”
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 25 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 25 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 Jo Garner also host the radio show Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe airing on News Radio AM 600 WREC and iHeart Radio with podcasts and show notes published on www.JoGarner.com