How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. This ebook was designed to give correct and helpful information, but there may be typographical errors and mistakes in content. The information contained herein is up to date only to the date of publication. The author and publisher of this ebook shall not have liability nor responsibility to any person or legal entity in regard to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly by the information contained in this ebook. 1 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads MARKETING SECTION.........................................................................................4 HOW TO BUILD A REFERRAL NETWORK IN 30 DAYS ..............................................4 REACH 15,000 MILITARY PERSONNEL FOR ONLY $15...........................................12 Military News Publishers..................................................................................12 San Diego Navy Dispatch .................................................................................13 Aberdeen Proving Ground News ......................................................................13 The Ranger........................................................................................................13 Fort Sam Houston News Leader .......................................................................14 The Southernmost Flyer....................................................................................14 New York Harbor Watch...................................................................................14 7 MAGICAL WORDS ...............................................................................................15 AMAZING ONE PAGE LETTER.................................................................................16 TOP REAL ESTATE AGENTS CALLING YOU ............................................................18 HOW YOUR CUSTOMERS PROMOTE YOU ...............................................................22 AUTOMATICALLY GET TARGETED LEADS WITHOUT BUYING A LIST ....................23 HOW REAL ESTATE AGENTS ADVERTISE YOU FOR FREE ......................................26 HOW TO LEGALLY PAY $100 REFERRAL FEE TO NON-REAL ESTATE PERSONNEL 28 PARENT MARKETING – THE EASIEST NICHE ..........................................................29 SPEAK TO 1,000’S BY PRESSING ONE BUTTON ......................................................31 WHY RESTAURANTS LOVE TO PROMOTE YOUR PRE-APPROVAL FORM ................32 A PRIVATE CLUB CAN NET YOU THOUSAND$.......................................................33 FSBO COMMISSION BEFORE WRITING THE LOAN .................................................34 THE QUADRANT ROUTE TO SUCCESS ....................................................................35 HOW TO GET EVERY ENVELOPE OPENED ..............................................................37 OUTSOURCE MARKETING LETTERS FOR PENNIES ..................................................39 HIRE PROFESSIONAL SALES LETTER WRITERS ......................................................40 LOCAL INTERNET ADVERTISING BARGAINS ...........................................................41 NEVER LEAVE YOUR DESK FOR OPEN HOUSE LEADS ...........................................42 BIRTHDAY SURPRISE SPREADS YOUR NAME LIKE WILDFIRE ................................46 HOW TO GET A FREE BOOTH AT HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOWS ...........................47 FREE VOICE MAIL ADVERTISING ...........................................................................48 GET PERPETUAL LEADS BY BEING AN EXPERT .....................................................49 FREE CONTENT FOR YOUR NEWSLETTER ..............................................................51 THE NEXT GENERATION BUSINESS CARD ..............................................................52 HOW TO GET A FREE OFFICE WITH LEADS INCLUDED ..........................................53 THE BREAKFAST CLUB ..........................................................................................54 HOW TO GET 90% OFF DISPLAY RATES ................................................................55 LENDERS SECTION .............................................................................................56 RESIDENTIAL WHOLESALE LENDERS .....................................................................65 COMMERCIAL MORTGAGES ...................................................................................69 REPORTS SECTION .............................................................................................76 5 CRITICAL QUESTIONS WHEN SELECTING A 15 YEAR LOAN................................76 5 REASONS TO BUY A HOME .................................................................................77 6 THINGS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE YOU BUY ....................................................80 7 BIGGEST MISTAKES WHEN REFINANCING...........................................................83 9 HOME BUYER TRAPS & HOW TO AVOID THEM ..................................................85 10 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR LOAN OFFICER........................................................88 11 DEADLY MISTAKES WHEN APPLYING FOR A MORTGAGE ................................90 HOW LENDERS DETERMINE YOUR INCOME ...........................................................92 HOW TO BUY A HOME NO MONEY DOWN ............................................................93 HOW TO INCREASE CREDIT SCORES IN 48 HOURS .................................................95 2 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads HOW TO PREPARE FOR A CLOSING .......................................................................97 WHAT'S A CREDIT SCORE ......................................................................................98 RESOURCES SECTION......................................................................................100 ADVERTISING.......................................................................................................100 CHECKLISTS .........................................................................................................106 DEAD DEALS .......................................................................................................142 LEADS & LISTS ....................................................................................................143 FREE TOOLS SECTION.....................................................................................150 3 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Marketing Section How To Build A Referral Network In 30 Days Traditional sales people and managers will tell you it takes six months to build solid relationships before the loans begin to trickle in. And they're right - if you don't separate yourself from the crowd. The question becomes, "what do you have to offer that is significantly more valuable than your competitors?" Intelligence? No, you can always find a smart originator. Appearance? Nope. That's a "gimme." Punctuality? Nope...another gimme. Loan Programs? No, wholesalers blanket an entire metro area. If you have the loan, so does your competition. Follow-through? "I get the loans closed" .... so does your competitor. You need to create value. You need to develop a unique marketing position. Something that makes you shine. Something that you can call your own - with your signature. There are numerous ideas to help you stand out from the crowd. Each one would be unique to you. Here's one that works. Modify it to suit you. Make it your own. Joint Venture Advertising quickly creates your very own network. By taking charge and saving business owners money, you suddenly become an integral part of their business. Picture this, if you were a business owner and someone offered to save you 75% on your advertising expenses, would you at least take the time to listen to the proposal? I bet you would. I know I would. Now the questions become "isn't this expensive?" and "how do I do it?" You can create your network for only $34. That's right - $34. There are four primary steps to a successful advertising joint venture: • Research • Making The Offer • Selling The Offer • Operating Your Network Research 4 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads To get started, you have to research two things: a). determine who you want to work with that is mutually beneficial and b). real operating costs and procedures. For example, it doesn't make sense to propose joint venture advertising to a local hair salon. How many of their customers would also be your customers? Probably not enough to make it worthwhile. Here's a brainstorm list of potential partners: Real Estate Agents, Home Builders, Financial Planners, Home Insurance Agents, Home Repair Contractors, Home Improvement Dealers, Home Inspection companies, Furniture Stores, Car Dealers, Mobile Home Dealers and Boat Dealers. Most of these businesses would have the same or similar customer profile. But before you rush out and include all of the related companies from your local Yellow Pages, do further research. Guilt by association could devastate your reputation. Don't invite just any Tom, Dick, Jane or Harry into your network. Scrutinize and have a filtering process. To begin with, research the company and individuals. Go to your local public library and ask the friendly librarian to show you how to search their computerized newspaper and magazine articles for the past few years. Just type the company's name and any individual's name to see what pops up. Write down anything negative and follow that lead why it happened, who was involved and if it was resolved. Then determine if you want that company or person in your network. Next, check their licensing status. Licensing status could leave clues. Discover if they were ever reprimanded, suspended, fined, revoked or re-instated. Thanks to the internet, professional license searches are only a click away. Log on to the Public Records: Search Systems or KnowX. If you don't find your answers, you'll have to contact your State's licensing board for the specific occupation. In any case, the information will help you make the decision to include or exclude someone in your network. Get their contact information from the Yellow Pages or Superpages.com. Now, let's research the pricing and operations of your network. Correct pricing and data makes you the leader. You want to make certain that you have control - or perceived control - at all times. If your network doesn't believe that you know what you are doing, it will destroy your opportunity with these people. Furthermore, they will tell people they know. Word-of-mouth advertising can be your best or worst enemy. Be prepared when you "leave the gate." Compiling real operating costs is simple tele-research. You will want to have several strategies prepared before you sell your offer. This can be easily done with Microsoft Excel or Access. Create a new spreadsheet as follows: column 1: source column 2: ad type column 3: circulation column 4: readership 5 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads column 5: age column 6: income column 7: education column 8: homeownership column 9: male column 10: female column 11: lead time column 12: spot rate column 13: spot CPM column 14: contract rate column 15: contract CPM column 16: contact column 17: phone column 18: fax column 19: email column 20: address Your new spreadsheet will be rich with information. While you are at the library searching all the newspaper and magazine articles, ask the friendly librarian for the directory of all media and advertising sources in your local area. Make a copy to get you started compiling your spreadsheet or database. Your sources will be: radio stations, Broadcast TV stations, Cable TV stations, all newspapers, magazines and newsletters. But ... The Devil is in the details. On the surface, many offers look great. But when you review all the data, it may not be such a wise decision. You have to compare the advertising medium's demographics with your "network's customer profile." The first detail – source - seems obvious. But don't overlook the small publications like the alternative-entertainment newspaper, music newspaper, parenting newspaper, seniors newspaper, mindbody newspaper and direct mail postcards or flyers (ask your librarian). Ad type is obviously for radio or TV. But for newspapers and magazines, it could be a classified ad, a display ad or an insert. For direct mail it could be a postcard, a flyer or a letter. Circulation would be interchangeable with viewers and listeners for TV and radio. Readership is for the print media. Typically, readership is defined as "pass along" circulation and is usually three times actual circulation. For example, if I purchased a newspaper and laid it on my coffee table at home, then three other people read it, it had a "pass along" circulation of three. 6 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Lead time is simply the duration from the ad deadline to its run time. You need this information to plan the ad payment and collection from your network. Spot rate is interchangeable with Open Rate. It is just the advertising rate you would pay without any discounts. Spot CPM is the cost-per-thousand ('M' is the Roman numeral representing 1,000). Contract rate is your volume discount rate. You have to sign a contract to guarantee a specific number of ad runs – hence the name. Contract CPM - contract rate cost-perthousand. The other details are obvious. Just call every source and ask all the questions to complete your spreadsheet. Typically, the source would prefer to send a media kit (it's easier for them because they usually have them packaged and ready to go). However, it takes longer for you to get your critical information. You make the call. Making The Offer Use a sales letter to break the ice. If you are not well-known in your business community - or completely unknown - you need to establish some credibility with the reader. By using the company letterhead and envelope combined with the power of the written word, you are telling the reader two things. First, you are part of an established organization. Second, you can state your ideas clearly and concisely in a professional manner. Along with the sales letter, you may want to include an additional page. This would serve as an "RSVP" and survey. You want the following information to pre-qualify your prospective network members: 1. What position do you hold at your company? (This will give you a hint if they can engage in outside advertising. Not all companies allow this.) 2. Do you have the authority to approve advertising? If not, who does? 3. What is your current business volume? (Are they ambitious? New? Or just in the wrong field?) 4. How long have you and your company been in business? (Are they experienced? If people are going to use their services and you are doing the financing, their performance may affect your reputation.) 5. What is your advertising budget? (Do they have money to co-op?) 6. Is the cash or credit available now? If not, when? (Will indicate when to get started with this person, immediately or put him/her in your tickler file for the future.) 7. What is your level of interest in a co-op advertising venture? 8. I'm scheduling a meeting with the other (3 or 5) co-op advertisers to brainstorm and go over the details on (date and time). Should I pencil in your name? I recommend mailing 100 for your first attempt (34 cent stamp x 100 letters = $34. Company letterhead and envelope free. Voila! Only $34.). To increase your reply, you may want to 7 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads follow-up with a phone call a week later. If you get a huge response, just create several joint venture groups. You want to keep it small - about 4-6 per group. Selling The Offer A smooth presentation virtually ensures success. Since you initiated this venture and meeting, you are perceived as the leader. Be sure to keep this advantage by being prepared. Have a mini-packet for each expected guest - plus extras. Your packet should include page 1). your spreadsheet (minus the contact information for each source), 2). sample ads and 3). Joint Venture Advertising agreement. Begin the meeting by reminding everyone why they attended: to save 75% on advertising expense, to build business relationships, to refer leads and maybe even become friends! Keep the meeting flowing by staying on course. To maintain the leadership of your network, it's incredibly important to keep the meeting cohesive. If people start "going off" on too much of a tangent, recognize their idea or statement and bring them back into to the fold. Explain that you have done all the research and ready to get started immediately. Review your spreadsheet printout. Discuss each other's customer profile and where it may best fit. Have a vote on which ad to begin with which source. Get the agreements executed and place your advertising order. To further cement your leadership and advertising savvy, you could "take it up a notch" by suggesting the network use ad tracking. Ad Tracking Ad tracking determines your best return on advertising dollars. By tracking every ad response, you know which ads are working and which ads are duds. However, there are five reasons an ad may not produce results: 1. poorly written headline 2. poorly written ad 3. wrong placement within the ad source 4. wrong source per demographics, and 5. bad timing. (But that's a whole different book.) Before you cancel an ad claiming "it doesn't work," modify it and run it again. This is known as testing and is a crucial component to advertising success. Change the headline. Change the text of the ad. Change the placement of the ad. Keep tweaking it until it produces great results. Then roll out your major ad campaign and secure those discounted contract rates. But be sure to use a different ad code for each change. Enter all the information into another 'Ad Results' spreadsheet and analyze it. 8 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Tracking your ads is very simple. For each ad, either use an extension number with the phone number, or something like "ask for Mr. Jones." Each ad will have it's own extension number or name like this: Sample Classified Ads Top 10 Reasons To Use A Save Thousands. Free For Sale Mortgage Broker. Free Report. By Owner Kit. 1-800-555-1212 Call Ms. Jensen at 555-1212. ext. 454 When someone calls, the operator must get the extension number or the person's name and write this down on the lead sheet. If you are mentioning a web site in your ad, I suggest adding lead-in pages for tracking. Instead of abcmortgage.com, it would be abcmortgage.com/wkaz. Have your webmaster program a simple tracking script – or download this one. Then follow this ad tracking code all the way through post-closing. This completes the ad tracking cycle to give you the data you need to assess your future ads. Here's how ... Ad Tracking Assessment Ad assessment tells you if you are wasting money. First, create another spreadsheet with the following columns: - ad code - source - run date - ad - circulation - inquiries - INQ ratio - applications - app/inq - app/circ - closings 9 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads - cls/inq - cls/circ - recissions - rec/inq - rec/circ - fundings - fnd/inq - fnd/circ Here's what the columns mean (excluding the obvious): ad is the file name located on your computer. For example, if it's a print ad, it might be in C:\ads\paper\detnews1.gif. If it's a radio ad, it might be C:\ads\radio\WIQB.wav or just a plain text file telling you where a copy of the ad is physically located. app/inq is the ratio derived from the total number of applications received didvided by the total number of inquiries specific to that ad code. app/circ is the ratio derived from the total number of applications received divided by the total circulation (or listeners or viewers) of the ad source. Likewise for cls/inq, cls/circ, etc. [You could also add columns for total applications by $dollar$ and related ratios.] [cls= closing, rec=recissions, fnd=fundings] Second, compare all the ratios for each ad code. Select the highest funding ratio and go wild with contract advertising in all the appropriate sources. Operating Your Joint Venture Maintain leadership through competent operations. Encourage your members to engage in their own ad tracking - or offer the service for a nominal fee. Meet at least twice per month to compare ad tracking notes. This meeting would actually morph into a "Master Mind" meeting as described in Napoleon Hill's book "Think & Grow Rich." As you discuss each others ad results, review each other's ads, analyze each other's customer profile and the ad source' demographics. Then assist in re-writing each other's ads, if necessary. Determine your next course of action as a group ... keep the current ads, modify the current ads, scrap the current ads or increase advertising. Then repeat. Does all of this seem like hard work? It's not difficult. It might be tedious. But once you create the system, it's just a matter of "plugging-in." In conclusion, your goal is two-fold: 10 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 1. getting leads, and 2. building relationships to secure a stream of leads forever. Therefore, the real question is not "Is temporary monotonous work worth it?" Rather, "is short-term tedious market research worth the long-term benefits?" Once you get the ad group "up and running," you will work smarter and have a larger pipeline at a fraction of the cost and time. The bottom line is ... would you rather be a leader of your own ad network or running around the streets? Leave that to the uninformed rookies! 11 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Reach 15,000 Military Personnel For Only $15 As the phrase goes, "There's more than one way to skin a cat." I worked at a couple of different mortgage companies who targeted VA streamline refinancing via direct mail. Their application rate was a healthy 8% - even up to 20% with follow-up phone calls. Obviously, this strategy can be a very effective. But it requires a large up-front cost. Not to mention you are probably competing with dozens of other companies sending their direct mail pieces. Why not get a leg up on your competition? Enjoy greater impact on their home turf. People like to do business with like-minded people. Therefore, if you infiltrate their territory on a regular basis, your name will sink into their subconscious mind and be readily recognized. When they choose to call you, it's because they see your name everyday in their comfortable environment. Whereas, "junk" mail may get opened. But it is usually considered an annoyance - even if they receive a tremendous benefit. So what's the secret? Advertise in little-known military newspapers because ... • Military base newspapers reach more than 97% of the total worldwide military population • Military base newspapers allow you to cover one base, one metro area, one region or the entire US • Military base newspapers are the only official source of local base news, written, edited and authorized by the Public Affairs Office and Commander on each base • Military base newspapers provide information available nowhere else to military personnel - changes in regulations, promotions, commissary sales, transportation schedules, classified ads, sporting events and more • Military base newspapers are the only newspapers allowed to have official distribution on the base • Military base newspapers are mostly published by major daily newspapers with first-class reproduction Contact the following: The Flagship Norfolk, VA Circulation: 40,000 weekly 12 Sun Press All Hawaii Military 808-235-5881 Military News Publishers Northwest Airlifter Circulation: 9,200 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 804-446-2750 Ranger Circulation: 24,700 Tacoma, WA 800-293-1216 Desert Airman Paraglide Air Pulse Circulation: 10,500 weekly 40,000 Fort Bragg soldiers Fayetteville, NC 910-484-5433 Circulation: 32,000 Bellevue, NE Redstone Rocket Circulation: 20,000 Desert Wings Edwards Air Force Base Tucson, AZ 520-297-1107 Tallyho Circulation: 30,000 Glendale, AZ 602-842-6000 Huntsville, AL The Bayonet Circulation: 24,000 Columbus, GA 402-733-7300 Southern Nevada 805-945-5634 The Dispatch Circulation: 12,500 Montgomery, AL 334-365-6739 San Diego Navy Dispatch Circulation: 25,000 Long Beach Navy Dispatch Circulation: 10,000 Ventura County Navy Dispatch McClellan Air Force Base, CA Beale Air Force Base, CA Naval Air Station, NV Aberdeen Proving Ground News Aberdeen, MD 410-838-4409 916-671-5894 Circulation: 6,000 619-280-2985 Northwest Guardian The Ranger Tacoma, WA "White Sands" Missile Ranger 597-8624 Las Cruces, NM Circulation: 17,400 The Observation Post Circulation: 8,600 20 Palms, CA 13 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 505-523-6464 619-367-3577 The Kirtland Focus Audience: 29,000 Albuquerque, NM 505-344-8891 Fort Sam Houston News Lead er Skywrighter San Antonio, TX 210-658-7424 Circulation: 30,000 weekly Wright-Patterson Air Force Base 513-294-7000 Airscoop Emblem Enid, OK Albany, GA The Southernmost Flyer 405-233-6600 912-889-8006 Key West, FL 305-294-6641 Excalibur Army Flier Wright-Times Valdosta, GA Enterprise, AL Goldsboro, NC 912-244-1880 334-347-9533 919-778-2000 New York Harbor Watch Sentry Serving entire TriState Area - 77 military installations! Circulation: 7,000 weekly Minot, ND 701-839-0946 Reach: 100,000+ weekly 718-769-4400 Some of the above sources represent several military newspapers. For more ways to reach the military economically, call Armed Forces Communications at 805-968-8000. 14 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 7 Magical Words Gimmick your way to success. Learn seven magical words to quickly grab the lion’s share of he market. What’s your gimmick? What’s your hook? How do you attract customers? How do you create “buzz” for yourself? You need to create a “hook” or phrase to differentiate yourself. You need to become “known” for something. Have you ever been in an office and overheard a conversation when someone said, “Oh yeah, isn’t he the one the …. (something) …. ?” The person they were talking about was popular for some reason. Perhaps he or she exploited a niche and did it so well that everyone talked about him or her. That’s exactly the method behind 7 magical words. Here they are: “$1,200 Origination Fee Regardless Of Loan Size” Welcome to the world of flat-fee origination. This niche requires discipline. You offer a par rate plus $1,200 origination fee plus all 3rd party costs. That’s it. No more. No less. Ever! At first you may be tempted to tack on an extra fee “here and there.” But resist the temptation at all costs. If you stick your neck out and retract your offer, your reputation is history – and so is your market share. Greed will kill your flat-fee business. I know a couple loan officers who told me “that’s a great idea, but why not make it a tiered-fee system?” For example, they proposed an origination fee of $1,250 for loans under $150,000. An origination fee of $1,800 on loans under $200,000. All other loans are charged an origination fee of $2,500. Then they also suggested “grabbing an extra ½ point or so on the back” Do you see any difference between their proposed tiered-fee system and the standard 1% commission? Not much. But what did they really do? Greed wiped-out their unique marketing position. By eliminating your unique marketing position, you give away your business. You become just another loan officer lost in the crowd. Nothing special. No better than anyone else. No reason for someone to call. And certainly no “WOW factor!” Belief and time will win. At first, real estate agents, builders and others may not believe you will close a loan without cranking up the fees at the last minute. That’s fine. Re-assure them that you honor your word and it’s in writing on the Good Faith Estimate. Once a few loans have closed and you have proven yourself to honor your flat-fee system, the agents, builders and others will begin talking about you. Thus …. BUZZ! … and greater income with less origination effort. 15 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Amazing One Page Letter I wrote this letter for a client and faxed it to twenty real estate offices five times each in ten days. He made $7,000 in 14 days and added six new real estate agents to his referral network. He has granted permission to allow you to use or modify it to your liking. (NOTE: The best response is to create a newsletter style page using MS Publisher’s newsletter wizard. Use 2 columns.) ### Beginning of letter ### How Real Estate Agents Increase Their Commissions Being a wildly successful Real Estate Agent is hard work. But why is it that I can walk in to almost any real estate office and pull cash out of waste basket? Many real estate agents are losing commissions and they don’t even know it. But it’s not their fault. They don’t have the special frequent meetings. Nor do they have Steve [last name]’s experience to surf through the loop holes. Yet … Every real estate agent can add an instant profit center for free. You can benefit from Steve’s knowledge and experience without concern to more training or extra meetings. Picture yourself doing no work whatsoever and gaining a new client that you just told, “Sorry, I won’t be able to help you.” Many real estate agents flee from unique situations. Considering all the time, energy and expense you exert to secure a client, it is certainly understandable you would weed out the tough deals. But that’s where Steve [last name] comes in. Steve is your free profit center. There is no reason to chase the challenging transactions. But when they do appear, call Steve [last name]. If your clients • have a difficult time proving income due to creative tax accounting, • if they have credit problems – even in bankruptcy or foreclosure, • if they have two houses on one lot, • if they want to buy a house below market value and finance 100%, • if they only have one year on the job, • if they have a qualifying ratio of 55% or • if they have any out-of-the-ordinary circumstance, call Steve. 16 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Here are some of Steve [last name]’s most recent transactions: • 104% purchase financing where borrower only had 1 year on the job • 5% down purchase loan with no proof of income • refinanced a borrower in foreclosure – closed in 5 days • $565,750 loan to subdivision developer who ran out of money – no proof of income required – closed in 15 days • $145,500 purchase loan for borrower turned down 4 times due to excessive obligations, and • a cash-out refinance on vacant land. Don’t waste your time. Don’t lose a prospect. Don’t damage your reputation. I know it’s risky to tell a prospect you can help them when, in fact, you are not sure if you can. Therefore, give Steve a test. Grab your waste basket. Dig out the credit report of a prospect you recently sent away. Invite Steve [last name] to your office. He will tell you what loan program he could offer. If you’re happy with the results, call your prospects. Tell them there are no guarantees and no up-front costs. Buy you may be able to get them financing. They just need to authorize a onepage form. Since these people are prospects you already rejected, you are not losing a prospect, risking your reputation or wasting your time. You are adding a lucrative profit center for free. In today’s real estate world, you need an arsenal of financial weapons to beat your competition. There are dozens and dozens of creative loan programs to increase your commissions. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend the time to be the expert. Relax and pass the buck to Steve [last name] while you grab the easy clients. Add a profit center to your business absolutely free. Get started today. Your first step is to call Steve [last name] now. Dial 919-555-1212. ps. You can call Steve’s Fax-On-Demand number to retrieve his Pre-Approval form automatically at 919-555-1212 doc#2. Have your prospect complete and fax the form. ### End of Letter ### 17 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Top Real Estate Agents Calling You As consumers become more educated and the internet slowly replaces the MLS, I believe the FSBO market will see tremendous growth. If you’re in the mortgage business for the long haul, why not position yourself as the FSBO expert? Cultivating your FSBO leads database is free! You can extract the prospects from FSBO magazines, weekend real estate classified ad sections, web sites that focus on FSBO ads, driving around your lending area and the great loss-leader: the free FSBO kit. (psd: idontknow58) Call all the FSBO prospects and offer a huge carrot. You might call the homeowner and say this: “Hi Mr. Homeowner, before I look at your house, I’d like to know which mortgage company you selected for pre-qualifying your home buying prospects.“ They will probably say, “Huh?” Then just explain that by signing a purchase agreement without pre-qualifying an interested buyer, they have taken their home off the market for at least ten days. Now identify yourself and explain that you specialize in the FSBO market and will provide free mortgage pre-qualification to everyone that calls to look at their home. In fact, persuade them to tell all interested parties that they are required to have pre-approval letter from a recognized mortgage company (you!). But that’s not all, let’s take it up a notch! Now the carrot gets really big and bright orange. You continue to sweeten the pot by offering to help them with their FSBO open house for free in exchange for the list of visitors. Be sure to read a real estate marketing book from the library or Border’s. Then teach the homeowner all the tricks: turn on the all the lights to brighten up the place, set the oven on super low and squeeze out a few vanilla drops for a pleasing odor, etc. Give them a checklist (from your free FSBO kit) what to do before the open house including advertising and yard signs. On Open House day, have a visitor’s sheet that is required to be signed before entry is allowed. Capture their name, current address, daytime telephone number and – for security reasons – their car’s license number. Most people don’t want to discuss this area, but its crucial. Career criminals could pose as a homebuyer just to “case” a home for future theft. Therefore, you may want to even suggest a hidden camera pointing at the entrance. The Open House is done. Now you’ve got work! That’s right, if you want to be a FSBO expert, you will have to become a part-time marketer before you get the mortgage leads. If the open house was a success, then you should have lots of homebuyer prospects to call for a free Pre-Qual. Plus, you might even have completed Pre-Qual’s at the open house. 18 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads When the homeowner gets a prospect that wants to make an offer and has been pre-approved by you, contact the real estate attorney to draw up the contract. Then take it from there like any normal mortgage application. Now that you have all these leads from the FSBO Open House, let’s turn the table on the mighty real estate agents! Parlay your FSBO success into working with the top dogs. Go to a busy real estate office and ask to speak with their top producer. You’ll probably have to do a little cajoling since the top people don’t want to be bothered by a loan officer. But tell them that you have hot, pre-qualified, homebuyer leads that you want to turn over to him or her. That will get their attention! Do not speak with one of their lackeys (assistants). Only talk to the top dog or go to the next real estate office. No exceptions. Take no prisoners. You’ve done their work. You deserve the best – grab it! When talking to the top producer, tell him or her that you will exchange them leads for his or her top 5 juiciest, slam-dunk jumbo mortgages. If they balk, let them know how much commission they just lost and move on. Since they’re probably on a 100% commission deal. They just lost big cash. If they beg you back, demand the top 7 juiciest, slam-dunk jumbo mortgages. It might be wise to get this exchange in writing specifying the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all leads. Also, both of you would need to call your respective leads and notify them that they can expect a call from Joe Realtor. And Joe Realtor tells his leads to expect a call from Dave Mortgage Expert. Of course, you would work all the pre-quals from the open house you gave to the realtor. Just as he would continue working with the juicy leads he gave you. This strategy should have Real Estate Agents calling you and catapult you to a top producer faster than any other method – except buying the agency! 19 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Increase Application Giving Away Free Vacations For years I’ve been intrigued by the lack of real marketing within the mortgage industry. Promotions work! In fact, there is a company that based their entire sales on a sweepstakes. They are the #1 promoter of magazine subscriptions. Have you guessed who? Publisher’s Clearing House. They make millions of dollars. They are so good at promotions, you may forget what they actually sell. Here’s a simple method to increase applications. Write a fabulous press release and ads that tout a free vacation certificate for everyone that applies for a mortgage – certain restrictions apply. The restrictions are the applicants must bring all documentation in your office plus provide names, addresses and telephone numbers of 3-5 homeowners that they personally know. Plus the restrictions on the certificate. Your travel certificates only cost as low as 20 cents each. The certificates provide the recipient free lodging at top resorts nationwide. No time-share viewing or any gimmicks whatsoever. This is unsold hotel space so it is free. The hotel, of course, is willing to offer this because they wouldn’t have any revenue if the space remained vacant. They are counting on the traveler spending money on their hotel, restaurant, bar, gifts and hopefully returning at full price. You might be thinking, “I’m already paying for ads, why pay for certificates too? I can buy leads for 25 cents each.” Consider this: suppose you spend $800 for 3,200 good mortgage leads. From that batch you get a 2% reply – or 64 people – that talk to you and maybe 15 people apply for a loan. Your customer acquisition cost is $53.33 versus 20 cents per application and advertising costs, which should bring you to a total of no more than $19 per lead. Which is more economical? Which will generate the elusive word-of-moth advertising? You guessed it … the free vacation certificate. Are you beginning to see why all the major corporations engage in promotions? They are more cost effective and generate the coveted word-of-moth advertising. Best of all, they are customized with, “Compliments of Your Name.” 20 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Sample Certificate & Pricing* 50 Certificates: $25.00 500 Certificates: $100.00 * subject to change Order Certificates Here Ps. To comply with RESPA, you must give every applicant a travel certificate when the apply. NOT if they close the loan or if they are approved. 21 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How Your Customers Promote You During my 12 years in the mortgage industry, I’ve overheard countless loan officers and sales managers say they want to send birthday cards, Christmas cards and thank you cards to every customer, every year. This is a great and simple idea. Yet most of the loan officers just have dusty software – including me! After all the work it takes to close a loan, you are just happy to get a commission check, right? You’ll do the follow-up marketing next week, you say. All teasing aside, this concept is very powerful. Everyone loves to get birthday and Christmas cards. And they usually tell people, don’t they? In fact, I get a Christmas card from my car insurance agent every year. And, for some reason, I tell people. Then it seems the next ten minutes is spent with everyone around me comparing their insurance rates and swapping agent names or phone numbers. Wouldn’t you love to be the topic of that conversation? This strategy is easy and you can use any spreadsheet or database software to track when to buy and send cards. Or you can even do it the old fashion way – write it in a notebook! Just load your software and do a search for forthcoming birthdays next week. Or even easier, most of the internet portals offer free reminder services. I use Yahoo’s reminder service for my relative’s birthdays. It takes 20 seconds to set up and you don’t have to think about it again! Go to your Options area of Yahoo’s free email. Click on reminders and enter your customer’s data: name, address, telephone number, fax number, email address, notes regarding their likes and dislikes, hobbies, kids names, date loan closed, loan amount, interest rate, type of loan and credit score. Set the reminder two weeks in advance of your client’s birthday (one reminder for borrower and another reminder for co-borrower). At that time, you will automatically receive an email from yourself to send a birthday card. When you send the card, include a quick approval form, business card or referral form. Of course, Christmas is a no brainer, right? But you may still want to create a reminder to be sent 3-4 weeks in advance to remind you to send all clients a Christmas card. If you want to just point and click instead of running to the store and post office, try here. 22 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Automatically Get Targeted Leads Without Buying A List If you build it and promote it, they will come. This is the oldest trick in the mail order empire – it’s The 2-Step Freebie. It goes like this… 1. place a blind classified ad offering a dynamic free report that is only available at your web site. Be sure to capture their information online or via 1-800# using ANI capture, and 2. the free report and follow-ups sell your product. Thus, building a database of targeted prospects inexpensively. For example, Turned Down Again? Learn 5 steps to get approved for a mortgage. Free report and vacation certificate. 1-800-555-1232 ext. 33 www.yoursite.com/adtrack Simply send the respondents the free report and vacation certificate along with your quick approval form, company brochure and business card. Change your free information to attract whatever customer you choose. The more specific you ad, the more targeted your leads. As a safety net, I recommend using some form of data capture. If the person hangs up before leaving their information, you still get their telephone number. Here are two strategies to capture their information: 1. Rent a voicemail box that uses ANI (Automatic Number Identification) NOT caller ID. Caller ID can be blocked by simply pressing *67 before dialing the number. Plus it is not available in all areas. To get ANI, you usually have to go through a phone carrier – Sprint, Bell South, etc. You can also call Communications of America, Inc. at 1-800-4545930. With this method, you will receive a report of all phone numbers who call your ad. Then do a reverse search in Bresser’s Reverse Directory or go to InfoSpace.com. When you get the caller’s address, send them the report (won’t they be surprised!!). 2. Use a 24-hour per day live operator answering service. (Look in your local yellow pages under secretarial services). This is more expensive but some people prefer to talk to a live person. Be sure to operator only mentions the title of the report and nothing else. In either case, be sure to mention the information is completely free and no obligation. When offering the free report at your web site, don’t make the mistake of publishing the entire 23 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads report. That defeats the whole purpose – building a targeted leads database. Instead, tweak it … A naked page gets better results. Your entire goal is to capture the visitor’s email address! Therefore, “86” all links .. that’s right – delete all links. You only want 4 things on this web page: 1. a couple short paragraphs describing the benefits of your free report in glowing terms 2. remind the reader about the free vacation certificate 3. tell the visitor he or she receives the report and vacation certificate instantly and 4. tell him or her you do not share, trade, rent or sell their email address. If you visitor thinks you’re trying to sell them something, you won’t get their email address. But I’m just getting warmed up … Put everything on automatic pilot. Weed out the tire kickers. Even though your classified ad and free report is aimed specifically at a certain customer, you will still get shoppers (probably other loan officers!). Don’t waste time with people who aren’t ready to commit to a loan application. Let the email autoresponder and your web site sell them. When they have questions your site doesn’t cover, they will call if you constant suggest it. (Remember, most people are only conducting research online. You need to tell them to call you.) The internet’s answer to fax-on-demand is called an autoresponder … or email-on-demand. You type your sales letter or report. Upload it to your autoresponder and promote away. The beauty with these autoresponders is the multiple follow up feature and email capture. You determine how many informative letters and reports the recipients receive as well as how often. Included in each email is a link for the recipient to “unsubscribe” (or remove themselves from your email list; … you certainly don’t want unhappy prospects.) I recommend sending the first report immediately. Send the second report five days later. You might ask if they have any questions regarding your free report entitled “5 Steps To Get Approved For A Mortgage.” Also encourage them to call you. Furthermore, include a “ps” that suggests using your free mortgage calculators at your web site – or call you for more specific “what if” scenarios. The third email might be delivered five days after the second. It could be “Top 10 Items You Need For Your Loan Application Appointment.” And you could continue on and on and on. But always include a sense of urgency to call you and a “ps” in your letter. Since these autoresponders are free, I encourage you to create one for each free report. This will easily identify your targeted leads. 24 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Here’s how to offer instant free vacation certificates: 1. scan your customized vacation certificate and save as a graphic file 2. upload your vacation certificate graphic file 3. in the autoresponder, include the graphic link. Eg. Yoursite.com/vacations.gif. 25 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How Real Estate Agents Advertise You For Free The forgotten e-tool strikes back. With the hype of the internet, it seems most people have forgotten the good ol’ fax machine. Several people I talked to are tired of waiting for the computer to “boot-up” just to check their email or reply to an ad. In this instant-gratification world we live in, people want results now. So give it to them. Benefits of fax-on-demand: • no “boot-up” time • 90% of offices own a fax • 75% of home offices own a fax • instant results • can retrieve the fax from any Kinko’s, UPS Store, etc if don’t own a fax machine • very affordable • no computer programming knowledge required • only 67% of America is connected to the internet. Real Estate Agents may be losing business. Do you see any fax-on-demand (FOD) numbers in real estate ads or business cards? Just telephone numbers and websites, right? But most people don’t want to talk to a sales person until they are ready to buy – even then they don’t want to. Therefore, there is a high probability they won’t call the agent. Additionally, with only 67% of Americans online, the agent has numerous missed opportunities. This helps you because you can educate the real estate agent of these facts. Thus … Bring the real estate agent in your loop. Every good sales person has a pre-qualifying or prescreening process. Typically it is as easy as a one or two page form. Offer the agent to host his or her pre-screening forms on your FOD free. In exchange, the last page of the FOD request is your pre-approval form. Your free service allows the RE agent to concentrate on the serious clients and prospect 24/7 with classified ads: “Buying a home? Free Vacation! I’ll search the MLS. Tell me what you want. Use this easy form. Fax-on-demand: 555-0000 doc#4.” The caller will receive 1-2 pages of the real estate agent’s “pre-screening” forms. Plus page 3 is your pre-approval form. The twist is if the callers want the free vacation certificate, they have to complete and fax or mail your pre-approval form. Now you have a lead too. Be sure to mail the vacation certificate promptly and include more marketing material. You can find 26 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads quality FOD’s by running your fingers through the Yellow Pages. Or go to American Voice Mail. Your FOD strategy can have many referral partners. Many FOD’s offer several boxes or document numbers. Each box or document number can usually hold up to 10 pages. Therefore, if your $20 per month FOD contains 10 boxes, that’s only $2 per month per referral partner (RE agent, Home Builder, Contractor, etc) and they are advertising you! Here’s a thought .. think outside the box for referrals and offer the free fax-on-demand service to every organization in your lending area. They all have meetings, calendars and forms that their members request. Now they can refer them to their free FOD – which has your pre-approval form. Possible targets: PTA, restaurant menus, Jaycees, churches, home builders, financial planners, accountants, child care centers, schools, etc. Review your local Yellow Pages for more brainstorming. 27 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How To Legally Pay $100 Referral Fee To Non-Real Estate Personnel Using just this one method can provide you with all the material goodies and toys your heart desires. Approach several religious organizations in your area - churches, synagogues, mosques, etc. Ask to speak with the priest, rabii, etc regarding donating to their general development fund. Here's the offer: you will donate $100 to their general development fund for every loan funded from a member of their organization. Additionally, request that the minister, priest, rabbi, etc announce your new generous offer in their organization's bulletin and during the end of the mass or service. If they don't provide a free ad, buy one! Here's a sample: I Pay $100 Cash to [church name] General Development Fund for each closed mortgage loan. Purchase – Refinance - Equity Loans. Call Tony at 555-0000 To make this legal, RESPA enforcement says the loan officer (not the mortgage company or loan applicant) must write the check from their personal account and take the charitable tax deduction on his or her taxes. Be sure to keep all paperwork if you get audited. Here are two other options: 1. Buy a mailing list of church-going homeowners and send a postcard similar to the above ad. 2. Print on your business cards: "I donate $100 per funded loan to your church. Ask me for details." (Or even go crazy and wear buttons like Herbal Life distributors "Lose weight. Ask me how." Crazy enough to make some people very wealthy!) 28 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Parent Marketing – The Easiest Niche What segment of our population usually owns their home or has a burning desire to own their home? PARENTS! You want your children to grow up playing in a backyard, don't you? Of course you do and so do most parents. Here are a couple ideas to reach parents. 1. For parents who are renting: Create a brochure or flyer with children playing on a merrygo-round or backyard swing set with a caption: Watch Your Children Play in Your Backyard! Become a Homeowner Today. Discover our New Loan Programs • • No Money Down No Out-of-Pocket Expense • • EZ Qualifying Free Pre-Approval Call Johnny Now! (919) 555-4444 2. For parents who own a home: Create a brochure or flyer showing progression from toddler to college graduate or entrepreneur with this caption: Give Your Child A Headstart! Begin Their Future Today Your child can live their dreams. 29 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads They can go to college, be a famous artist. Or anything they want to be. Learn how homeowners just like you are making it happen for their children. Call Jane Now! (919) 555-3333 Work with a financial planner on this one. Do a refinance or equity loan at a fixed rate and consolidate all their debt. With the new monthly savings, the parents then put that amount into a dollar-cost averaging program created by the financial planner. The financial planner will be buying you lunches - and giving you referrals! Three ways to reach parents: • Buy a mailing list - parents who rent/own their home • Place take-one brochures on the counters of Child Care Centers. • Financial Planners - propose a joint venture advertising campaign using their current client list. Families on a budget would most likely use the dollar-cost-averaging approach to secure their children's future. The financial planner can establish that plan and use the cash infusion from your loan. 30 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Speak To 1,000’s By Pressing One Button Imagine recording your ad, pressing a button and 5,000 people per day hear your message. This little beauty has been available for years. Welcome to the wonderful world of autodialers! An autodialer (AD) is exactly what it sounds like (I think Einstein named it). It automatically dials telephone numbers so you don't have to. There is no need to pay telemarketers. No need for advertising expenses. No need for anything. Just the deposit and monthly bill for 2-4 phone lines. If you call locally, you don't even incur phone expenses! If you don't call locally, use the flat-rate calling plan for telemarketing. You just load all the names and telephone numbers in your calling area. Record your message(s) and program it to run 9am - 9pm Monday through Friday and 11am-6pm on Saturday. Most AD's can now recognize whether they get a live person, an answering machine, a busy signal or no answer. Therefore, you need to record two messages, one for the answering machine and one for the live recipient. If the AD reached a live one, you need a series of yes and no questions. For example, "Are you the homeowner?" Press 1 for yes, 2 for no. "Did you know the public records indicate you have cash in your house?" Press 1 for yes. 2 for no. "Would you like to extract that cash?" Press 1 for yes, 2 for no. The AD companies have great and proven prompts for you to use. The rest of the information has been deleted due to the new Federal Telemarketing Law. If you want to continue with auto dialers, tread at your own peril. Search Google.com. 31 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Why Restaurants Love To Promote Your Pre-Approval Form Restaurants can be eating out of the palm of your hand. They get free printing and mailing. You get your pre-approval form in a high-traffic position. It doesn't cost them one single penny. It's a win-win proposal. Have you ever noticed the "Free. Take One" brochures near the cash register at many restaurants? It's the stand-up tri-fold brochure. Usually it's a credit card application, mini homes magazine or a free health club membership. Now you can get premium positioning by offering a unique advantage. Offer to print and mail the restaurant's coupons for free. Here's how: design your brochure with an attractive cover. On the inside (left) are the highlights of the free vacation. On the right, is your pre-approval form. Upon receipt of the pre-approval form (fax or mail), the prospect will receive their free vacation certificate and a "special" coupon from [name of restaurant]. Have the restaurant design the coupon and simply copy it to send with the vacation certificate. (You may want to code the coupon so the owner of the restaurant can monitor the success of the program. Thus, providing information that it works. This helps maintain your premium counter position.) Do this with as many restaurants, gas stations, golf courses and any business that has high "foot traffic." Get creative! Sample Pre-Approval Brochure Cover 32 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads A Private Club Can Net You Thousand$ As Ross Perot once said, "Find a niche and service them quietly so your competition doesn't discover your niche." That's exactly the trick with this secret. You'll be so excited with only 2-3 other loan officers competing for the loans that you may have a difficult time keeping your mouth closed. But forego the temptation or you will decrease your income. This is a goldmine that many loan officers don't want to deal with because it is a paperwork nightmare. But, get a great processor and study everything about their business and you'll make big bucks! Here's what you do: join a local or regional real estate investment club. Advertise in their newsletter and participate in their meetings. In fact, register to be a speaker at one of the meetings. You may want to discuss how to maximize cash out and avoid the maximum LTV imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for 1-4 units. Teach them the old 2-step refinance. Refinance with a non-conforming lender at 90% cash out. Then wait 6 months and refinance it (no cost) to a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac rate and term. The higher interest rate during the six months is a great tax write-off and they get the cash out of their equity to buy more properties that you finance. To find real estate investment clubs in your area, go to Creative Real Estate Online. If you need a high LTV cash out rental lender or other hard-to-find sources, join WeirdLoans.com. 33 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads FSBO Commission Before Writing The Loan Easily break into the FSBO market with tiny, inexpensive classified advertising like this: SAVE THOUSANDS Free For Sale By Owner Kit. 555-0000 ext. 412 yoursite.com/fsbo This accomplishes two things: 1. secures FSBO leads to use in conjunction with real estate agents calling you, and 2. earn a commission before writing the loan. Here's a couple websites that pay commission to sell FSBO listings. Simply offer to list the homeowner's property on these sites. They are: ForSaleByOwner.com ForSaleNetwork.com Sell It By Owner Get your free FSBO kit (psd: idontknow58) 34 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads The Quadrant Route To Success If you're not in their faces, you won't get the loan. Remember the old saying, "Outta sight is outta mind?" That certainly holds true in referral sales. If this is your chosen path to success, then here is a solid plan that works. First, get a map of the area you choose to work. Draw a square around it. Then split it in four equal boxes. Now you have four quadrants. Second, use your trusty - or dusty - Yellow Pages CD-ROM. Export all your potential referral sources within the entire box into a database or spreadsheet program. This could be real estate agents, financial planners, builders, accountants, insurance agents, car dealers, home improvement dealers and collection agencies. Third, create three categories: A, B and C. For each quadrant, you will choose 'A' referral sources, 'B' referral sources and 'C' referral sources. The 'A' sources are those that you expect to produce the greatest results - i.e. give you loans. The 'B' sources you would expect fewer loans. And the 'C' sources, you would expect very few loans. [D sources? Those are the ones that dropped out of A, B and C. Deadbeats!] If you don't know anyone in any quadrant, choosing which source goes into which category is more or less random until you hit the streets. Initially you may want to go by shear size of their operation (listed in the details section on the CD-ROM if you are using InfoUSA.com). Fourth, now you "pound the pavement" and "press the flesh" with all your fantastic marketing materials and ideas from this book and others. Remember to look sharp, be alert and charming. Most of all - solve a problem fast and make it easy! Here's how to use the quadrant system: On Monday, you visit referral sources in quadrant '1.' On Tuesday, you visit referral sources in quadrant '2.' On Wednesday, you visit referral sources in quadrant '3.' On Thursday, you visit referral sources in quadrant '4.' On Friday, you take the day off! Just kidding. Here in the South it seems like everyone takes off Friday. But your Friday will consist of visiting anyone you missed during the week plus any paperwork that needs attention. This system is designed to minimize you running around aimlessly like a chicken who just got its head cut off. But what about those mysterious sub-categories A, B and C? 35 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads To avoid being a headless chicken in a smaller territory, you have three categories of referral sources - A, B and C. Remember, you expect the most loans from A, fewer loans from B and very few loans from C. That being the case, complete your day planner - yes, write this down in advance - to visit the 'A' list about 3 times per week. Visit the 'B' list 5-7 times per month. And visit the 'C' list about 3 times per month. These lists are not set in stone. You are the master. Change them at will. As you travel your daily route, make notes for each potential referral source. If you think a 'C' source may turn into an 'A' source, rewrite your list. Swap the 'C' source for the 'A' source and monitor the results. Analyze your lists weekly or monthly to determine whom to fire or promote. This is your business. Don't waste precious time with deadbeats. You can socialize after hours. This is not an exact science. You need to train your referral sources! For example, if you are in quadrant 2 and get a page from a referral source in quadrant 3, before you interrupt your schedule, be sure you're getting an actual loan. Ask the source if their client has completed your quick approval form from your website or fax-on-demand! (Use these 24-hour-a-day sales assistants to the max!) Then call your processor and request a credit report and grading. If all is well, then meet them. You have to remain in the driver's seat or you will be that poor chicken! In conclusion, for the person who enjoys 'hitting the streets,' this is the best system I have seen. I used it and it worked. But the key is consistency. Get your face in their office on a regular basis. Be helpful. Train them to work with you efficiently. Teach them a little of what you know. (Not too much or they won't need you.) And never, ever eat lunch alone. Invite someone from your 'A' list and let the IRS share the tab! 36 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How To Get Every Envelope Opened If you send a standard, bland envelope (or worse - a company envelope), do you think it is opened? Are you sure? Especially if it has your company name as the return address. Remember the consumer is much more educated these days. If someone sees a mortgage company in the return address and they don't have a loan with you, most people would assume it is junk mail. If they do open the envelope, their state of mind will not be conducive to selling. You need to put them in the emotional and susceptible state of mind. Recall the last time you received an unexpected over night delivery or priority mail. Were you anxious? Excited? Did it put you in a more curious and positive state of mind? I bet it did. It does for most people. So why don't we use priority mail to send our titillating offers? PRICE. It's too damn expensive, isn't it? But what if you could send envelopes that looked almost identical to priority mail or UPS envelopes at a nominal price and only pay 1st class or bulk mail rates? Would you? Now you can! Using these great envelopes virtually guarantees it will be opened with ENTHUSIASM! Now it's your responsibility to write a compelling sales letter to induce them to call you or visit your website. (Here's an idea, use the free vacation certificate combined with the Persuasive Sales Letter Outline.) Now we're talking powerful, right? Pretend you just got home at 7pm and you are opening your mail. You see the stack of mail - bills and junk. Then this priority mail envelope jumps out and says, "open me first!" At that moment, you reach for the envelope either thinking, "I didn't order anything" (curious and confused) or "what's in HERE?" (curious and excited). In order not to lose you, the marketing pro know he or she has to overcome that first hurdle curiosity. The pro already got your attention. Now he or she has to get your interest. You may want to start the letter with - Congratulations! A FREE Vacation Certificate has your name on it! Imagine you and your loved ones on the sunny, warm beach of Miami. Or playing with Mickey Mouse in Orlando. …. Or something. 37 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Are you getting the idea? Find all the Publisher Clearing House' direct mail pieces and model them! (Beware: promotions can be so much fun that you may not want to write loans anymore. Like me!) You can get these great envelopes here. 38 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Outsource Marketing Letters For Pennies Distribute your direct mail campaign with a couple clicks. No more schmoozing your processor or receptionist to do your "dirty work." No more wasted hours licking horribletasting stamps when you could be making sales. Just put your leads database and sales letter in the proper format. Upload it to ZairMail.com and focus on sales and closing loans. If you are more comfortable with a face-to-face service, call one or more mailing services listed in your local yellow pages under "Mailing Services - Print and Mail." They merge, fold, stuff, print and mail your entire direct mail campaign. This saves a ton of time and allows you to focus on follow-up phone calls for more sales. Your time is worth far more than the $8.00 per hour job of merging, folding, stuffing, printing and mailing!! Remember, you are a Mortgage Professional. It’s time to get paid like one. Not $8.00 per hour. 39 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Hire Professional Sales Letter Writers People buy based on emotions. Why not let the professionals with dozens of years experience tug those emotional strings? In less than a week or two, you can have a dynamic, emotionally-charged sales letter using all the trigger words that prompt the reader to call you. If you choose direct mail, essentially you have four choices: 1. write the sales letter yourself, 2. use money-saving templates 3. hire professional writers, or 4. buy letters from loan officers who write their own letters and make 40 great claims. How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Local Internet Advertising Bargains There's a myth online that you cannot buy affordable local advertising. But that is absolutely crazy. Since the internet is just a network of computers, programmers can write code to have the computer do many things...including detecting geography – called geoTargeting. When you log on to the internet, you are automatically assigned an address. It's called a dynamic internet protocol - in most cases. This dynamic IP is your computer's address while you are online for that session. Marketing companies use that IP address for many reasons including "geo-targeting." Geo-targeting is exactly what it appears so infer. Advertisers can buy ad space based on geography, or location. For example, if I want to target residents of Dallas, TX, my advertising representative notifies the data entry people. Now any banners or email advertising I purchase will only be displayed to people in Dallas, TX and surrounding areas. Any ad agency worth their hype can provide geo-targeting. But the least expensive method while advertising on name-brand websites is a little-known, self-serve service called Amazing Media. Through AdVariant.com, you can be on websites like AOL.com, Weather.com, Advertising.com, WashingtonPost.com, ChicagoTribune.com, SFGate.com, About.com, iWon.com, BizJournals.com, InfoSpace.com, MP3.com, apartments.com, Live365.com, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, eUniverse.com, Excite.com, Forbes.com, VerticalNet.com, IntelliCast.com, NetZero.com and RegionalHelpWanted.com for as low as $38 per month. Check the current name-brand sites here. Other avenues for local, online advertising include Yellow Pages like and SuperPages.com by Verizon and your local radio and TV stations. Yahoo Yellow Pages If you want to pay slightly more, you could have an advertising agency handle everything. Like, FastClick.com or ValueClick.com. These agencies only charge you when someone clicks on your ad. NOT just for displays (a/k/a impressions). 41 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Never Leave Your Desk For Open House Leads Here's the easiest and most ingenious way to cultivate home buying prospects plus grab real estate agents and builders as new referral sources. Place the following boxed classified ad in the real estate section of your major metro newspaper(s), alternative newspapers, parenting newspapers and "shoppers" newspapers (expand to the Homes magazines when budget allows): FREE OPEN HOUSE LISTINGS delivered weekly to your door, fax or email. Subscribe for free or place a free ad. Recorded Details: 555-1212 Record a message similar to this: "This is a free service for the Raleigh Metro area. Anyone who has a home for sale may place their 4-line ad for free. All real estate agents, builders and for sale by owners are welcome. To place your free ad, call Dave at (919) 5551212. To receive your weekly open house listings for free, leave your name, address, city, state, zip, telephone number, fax number and email address plus your preferred delivery method: fax, email or US mail. Thank you for calling." This ad may not seem Earth-shattering, but let's analyze what's really going on. First, you will have current and potential home buyers calling to get the free listings. In fact, by using a recorded message you will increase the number of callers because they believe a salesperson will not contact them. Therefore, your database of prospects will also include people who aren't quite ready to purchase their home, but want to start looking without the pressure of a salesperson. Working these leads will help keep you in business "down the road." Second, some real estate agents and builders will call because they want their free ads delivered to "your" home buying leads. They will probably call you and ask, "What's the catch?" Tell them the only catch is that you get their complete contact information for future marketing purposes. Upon receipt, each week you will place all their listings for free. That's it. Don't push for a meeting at this point. Your focus is the open house listing delivery service. You will have plenty of opportunities to secure a meeting with the real estate agent or builder. And I'm certain they will be surprised and appreciative that you did not pitch them 42 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads immediately. In fact, they will be flabberghasted to the point of telling every real estate agent. Your name may circulate just for this simple reason! Which is the goal, isn't it? Third, you now have leads of current and potential home buyers plus possible new referral sources. Or do you? What if someone doesn't leave their contact information? Did you waste money advertising? Or should you use a live operator service? I suggest a recorded message because the Direct Marketing Association agrees that the two magic words, "Recorded Details," increases the volume of calls. Which leaves us with the challenge of capturing the caller's information so it is a genuine lead. High technology to the rescue! Technology can be both a blessing and a curse. In this case, it's a blessing. When you get your voice mail number, be sure to use ANI or Caller ID. I suggest ANI (Automatic Number Identification) because it captures all numbers and cannot be blocked. Whereas Caller ID is not available in all areas and the caller can press *67 to block the Caller ID before dialing your number. ANI is a little more expensive, but worth it. Typically, you will have to utilize the services of your local telephone company. Or you can contact Arch Telecom or American Voicemail. Now that we have their telephone number, let's use more wonderful and free technology in our pursuit of easier big bucks. A telephone number is virtually worthless without identifying the recipient. Imagine telemarketing like this: "Hi, this is Dave with ABC Mortgage. Tonight I'm offering to put cash in the pocket of homeowners like yourself. Who am I speaking with?" This might work where I live in the friendly and humid South. But in many parts of the country, people would hang up or tell you where to go! Which means you never got the chance to get their name and address to send them follow-up mail. Here's the solution. Reverse telephone number lookup is the key. Bear in mind, you won't find all the numbers in your search because some will be unlisted numbers and the main databases only provide the listed telephone numbers [more on that later]. But the listed numbers are all there and the information is free. Log on to the internet and go to infospace or whitepages. Click on their link for reverse lookup. (Sometimes it's a real small link so look hard.) Once you are there, just type in the area code and telephone number. Voila! The person's name and address appear like magic. If it doesn't, fire the magician! Seriously, if the number isn't in the database, it is either a business telephone number or unlisted. If it's a business number, just go to the yellowpages. If you don't have internet access, then go to your local public library and use their free internet access. Or ask the librarian for Bresser's Index. This is a reverse telephone directory in print. By now you are probably thinking..... "Are you crazy? This sounds like alot of work. And I'm not in the publishing business!" Here's the beauty of this litle gem. 43 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads • You are getting all the contact information of prospective homebuyers (recipients of the free open house list). • You are getting FSBO leads (do the mortgage from their buyer and open house prospects plus finance their purchase). • You are getting contact information of real estate agents and builders that may send you loans, and since you are the publisher, • you can include any ad(s) you want - yours! Would you rather chase prospects "pounding the pavement," or collect a toll for people to use your road? Now let's cover the details. The operation is simple. Boring, but simple. If you operate this service alone, put on a pair of headphones and crank up your favorite tunes. Before you know it, you'll be done. Here's what you will need: database software, word processing software, paper, envelopes, stamps and a typist. Here's what to do: as the listings and subscription requests come in, enter all the information into a database. (You may want a few different databases. One for new referral sources. One for home buyers. And one for listings.) Every Wednesday print the listings for that week. Deliver them to the subscribers by their preferred method. This means you have to 'print to a file' for the email and fax deliveries and print on paper for the postal mail deliveries. You can fax or email directly from your computer for free. Your only real cost is the paper and postage for postal mail deliveries. I suggest a Wednesday delivery so the subscribers who chose postal mail will have the listings for the weekend open houses. I also suggest imposing a deadline for listings such as Thursday or Friday before delivery date. That's it! Are you brain dead yet? Was that boring? Let's spiff it up. You are not a publisher. You are a publisher in disguise! Remember your purpose is to create a leads system. But, as the publisher-in-disguise, it is your discretion what is included in your publication. Here's what I recommend: 1. a title page 2. all the listings in logical order and columns 3. a full page mortgage pre-qualification form with a coupon at the top of the page. The coupon would be "Free Vacation For Two" if provide loan documentation and this completed pre-qualification form in person. Certain restrictions apply. Call for details. Help a friend: Please copy this form and pass along to a friend. Would you expect any 44 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads phone calls with this coupon? I certainly would! In fact, you might even be the talk of the town. In conclusion, this is perhaps one of the most economical leads system ever! Be persistent. Your service will become popular. To jump start the popularity, call your local media and announce your new free service in a press release. If you discuss your free service as a service and not a marketing strategy, you might make it to the presses. Enjoy the good life of a publisher-in-disguise. 45 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Birthday Surprise Spreads Your Name Like Wildfire Here's a simple marketing twist that is sure to get people talking about you. How many times have you received a birthday card from a stranger? Let alone...a loan officer you never met? Probably never. And that is the beauty of this strategy. Buy a cross-referenced mailing list from Best Mailing. Request they merge the birthday database with homeowners in your target area. Then send them a birthday card with your business card and a pre-qualifying form that offers a free vacation certificate upon receipt. (That will teach the lazy loan officers who only dream about sending birthday cards to follow up!) ps. Be sure it is a real birthday card. Not just a note on your letterhead. 46 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How To Get A Free Booth At Home Improvement Shows Why pay for an expensive booth at a Home Improvement show when you can get it for free? Just go to the show with dozens of your business cards (and your new prepaid calling business cards), a couple pens and your mortgage calculator. Observe which Home Improvement dealers are getting the most traffic. Go to that booth and ask questions about financing a room addition (or whatever they are selling) and pull out your calculator to crunch numbers before he/she does. Then write the info on the back of your business card. Show him/her the card to see if the numbers are correct - making sure you show them that you are in the mortgage business. Then offer to do the "number crunching" for all the prospects at his/her booth. He/she can focus on selling the products and you can provide a valuable service as the "numbers person." Before you know it, the HI dealer will ask you behind the booth to work with him/her. You now have a free booth and a new referral source. Plus all the prospects have their payment info on your business card (and give them the free prepaid calling cards). All in all, not a bad weekend, eh? 47 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Free Voice Mail Advertising This little gem is free and get's people talking! I did this when I was a wholesale rep. Instead of leaving the usual boring message of "Hi, this is Dave with Unimaginative Mortgage. Please leave your name, telephone number and brief message after the tone." Say something like: "Hi, this is Dave with Creative Mortgage. If you apply for your loan by 5pm August 4, 1999, I'm paying your appraisal! Please leave your name, number and brief message after the tone." Or try: "Hi, this is Dave with Creative Mortgage. This week I'm offering free credit counseling to all homeowners. Please leave your name, number and message after the tone." Be sure to change the message every week, or daily, to keep it fresh. Tailor your message to your customer profile. Obviously, the examples above could be used for a retail loan officer not a wholesale rep. When I was a wholesale rep, I would change the message weekly. Fortunately I worked for a company that had weekly specials so I didn't even have to think. I just read the flyer! But the point is when one loan officer heard the message on my voice pager, he told everyone in the office. It wasn't long before most of the office was calling just to hear my message. This helped "break the ice" and lead to more sales. 48 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Get Perpetual Leads By Being An Expert Instead of running around telling everyone, "I'm a one-stop shop. I do it all!" Study one area of mortgages and be the best in your location. A "me too" person doesn't stick out of the crowd. For example, suppose you enjoy teaching first time homebuyers that they really can buy a house with little or no money down. If this is going to be your niche, research every possible program and create a brochure highlighting key points but not giving away the farm. Your research should cover everything! FHA, VA, Conventional, Jumbo, State programs, rural programs, credit situations and yes even Carlton Sheets' program. If you can't find all the info you seek on a loan program, take a course or two. Even call a wholesale underwriter and ask for lessons. Tell them you want to provide the best-packaged loans they ever saw but you need to learn more details of their programs. You might be pleasantly surprised! Now that you are an expert, TELL EVERYONE! Don't walk into offices and say, "Hi, I'm Johnny Wombat with XYZ Mortgage and I'm an expert in no money down mortgage programs." What kind of reaction do you think you would get from a real estate agent? Probably, "Yeah, you and half the loan officers in this town. Put your material over there." Here's how to generate huge demand for your services: 1. Zero in on one specific topic and write an article. Then get it published in all Real Estate publications - national and regional. For example, write an article entitled "3 Ways To Buy A House No Money Down in Less Than 60 Days." This may pique an editor's curiosity enough to publish your article - especially written by a full-time mortgage professional instead of someone just selling books! To locate all the real estate publications, go to your trusty local library and ask the friendly librarian for Gale's Directory of Publications. Ask them to help you find the real estate and mortgage publications. Also ask them for the newsletter directory. You may also want post your article at goArticles.com and ArticleCentral.com. Then search for all real estate websites and propose they include your article with your copyright and contact info intact. The benefit to the real estate agent is they can promote the article to get traffic to their site. The benefit to you is obvious - self-promotion and a link to your website. Next, call all the publications found and tell them you are a researcher and loan specialist for legitimate no money down programs and need to know whom to send a press release. Get their name, telephone number, fax number and email address. Send it to that person and follow up a few days later. 49 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 2. Convert your article to an "Advertorial." This media buzzword has been around a long time. You may have heard it and wondered what "big" secret the marketing people are keeping. It's simply an Advertisement and your Editorial (article). (Clever, eh?) To spruce up your advertorial and add instant credibility, contact the publications that published your article and request reprints. The reprints will include your entire article plus the publications name and logo. Then you can say, "As seen in Real Estate Today." Now place your advertorial as a display ad in Homes Magazine, newspapers, restaurant placemats, local business magazines and local business newspapers. Also post it as a flyer at libraries, grocery stores, malls, inserts in newspapers, etc. Even use it in direct mail to apartment dwellers and For Sale By Owners. Ask the FSBO to copy it and pass it out to all their open house visitors. They may sell their home faster. You may also want to fax blast it to your local real estate and financial planner offices to help build your network. 3). Write a series of articles each with a very specific topic and repeat above. The beauty is that mortgage guidelines are always changing. Thus creating new articles all by themselves. If you run out of ideas, interview "experts" and write an article about what they say. In any case, once you get your first article published, you need to keep a flow of articles to the editor or reporter so your name is always on their mind. It's difficult enough to get published the first time around. It's exponentially tough in subsequent attempts if you are not in their face because you will appear inconsistent and unreliable. That could jeopardize a star reporter's credibility and judgment. Then you are toast with that reporter. 50 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Free Content For Your Newsletter Now that you have a series of articles, let’s take it up a notch and send out the infamous newsletter. Except your newsletter will have a unique twist. In addition to your article and the usual market wrap-up, invite builders, real estate agents, accountants, home repair/improvement dealers and financial planners to submit their article for free (or interview them and you write the article). This accomplishes three things: • You don’t have to create articles • They get free advertising (be sure to have their contact info at the end of the article) • Builds your referral network. Be sure to end your monthly newsletter to builders, real estate agents, home repair/improvement dealers, financial planners, homeowners and renters. (Hint: on the bottom of each page, print “Got an article in you? Call Joyce at 555-1212.” This keeps the free articles coming so you don'’ have to make this a full time job!) You can retrieve the mailing list from Best Mailing Lists at 1-800-692-2378. PS. Obviously, with each newsletter you would include your ad and a quick approval form. And never forget to mail one to to each person you interviewed. 51 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads The Next Generation Business Card This new business card makes you money even if you don’t close a loan. They have been in use for nearly two decades in Europe, and almost one decade in the US. But, amazingly, most companies aren’t jumping on the bandwagon. They think it’s something only convenience stores offer. What I’m talking about is customized prepaid telephone cards. You can order prepaid calling cards with virtually and ‘skin’ you want, including your business card. Just send the company your business card and they can print hundreds or thousands of prepaid calling cards with your business card on the front of the card. (Be sure to include your fax-on-demand number, autoresponder and we site addresses.) You can order the cards without any prepaid minutes. The caller would activate the card and you get commission. Plus you also receive residual commission every time they recharge the card for more minutes. With low per minute rates, you could get commission for life. Once you receive your cards, pass them out to everyone! When you fill up your gas tank, give the cashier a free card. When you go to the doctor’s office, give one to the receptionist and the doctor. When you go golfing, give one to everyone in the clubhouse. Go Wild! Give one to everyone. Remember, they are not collectibles. Pass them out because people will keep the prepaid phone cards in their wallets or purses – and they have your business card on it! Get more details from: Custom Phone Cards Digital VoiceXchange Vertical Wave 52 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How To Get A Free Office With Leads Included Have you ever shopped for office space? It’s usually quite expensive. Then there is also the security deposit, credit check. Negotiations and more. Here’s a way to avoid those shenanigans: Request a meeting with the owner/manager of a medium-sized Real Estate Office, Insurance Agency, Financial Planner or CPA and offer to sit in their office Monday through Friday 28pm and pre-qualify mortgage prospects for free. Now the owner/manager can promote an in-house mortgage expert and you get a free office with built-in leads. Simple, eh? 53 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads The Breakfast Club You can find these type of clubs in every metro area throughout America – if not, start one. It’s very simply a networking club, not a detention club like the movie. The business members from a local area meet once per week for breakfast and you build relationships with other like-minded business people. Of course, the primary purpose of the club is to generate leads for your business. You may have to join a couple different clubs until you find one where you feel like you “fit in.” But it’s worth it. So look in your local business paper under Events & Meetings or call your Chamber of Commerce. 54 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How To Get 90% Off Display Rates Have you ever dreamed of your own 4” x 4” display ad that can rake in thousands of dollars in commissions? Sure you have. But can you afford it? If you are in a large metropolitan area, it can cost thousands of dollars, unless you buy remnant space. Remnant ad space is simply unsold ad space. For some reason or another, the ad sales reps just could not sell all the ad space. This is great for you because the newspaper does not want to go print with a blank box on the page. So what do they do? They scramble! They offer steep discounts up to90% to their current advertisers in the “Remnant Space” address file. That’s where you come in. Visit your local library and get a list of the names and telephone numbers of every publication in your area. Call each publication and ask for the display advertising sales manager. Tell him or her that you would like to be put in his or her tickler file for remnant space. The first thing he or she will say is, “We don’t have remnant space.” Why do they lie? Perception! What would happen if the word hit the streets that The Observer can’t sell all the ad space? Their credibility could be tarnished. What does this have to do with competent journalism? Nothing, but this is a capitalistic society that relates virtually everything to the almighty dollar. So when you undoubtedly hear the usual comment, just say something like “I know a fine publication like yours is in great demand for ad space. But should the occasion arise, would you consider placing my ad? I can send your several sized camera-ready display ads. What address should I send them to?” Be sure to send a captivating, yet generic ad because you never know when or where your ad may appear. It might be in March in the Entertainment section. If you ad said, “Pull out cash from your home to buy Christmas gifts,” you might be the talk of the town but probably not the image you’re seeking. After you have done this with each publication, send the sale manager a cheerful card every couple months to say hello and to remember you for remnant space. You may also want to pay full price for small display ads like 2” x 2” and be sure the sales manager knows about it. That way, he or she won’t think of you as some yutz looking for a free ride! Ps. You could also outsource all of this with one phone call to Media Networks. They specialize in selling remnant space. Call them at 1-800-225-3457. 55 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Lenders Section Down Payment Grants Down payment grants have always thought to be in tandem only with FHA loans. (FHA allows minor credit problems and offers higher qualifying ratios.) However, in most cases, an eligible loan program is any single-family mortgage loan that allows charitable organizations to provide Gift Funds to a buyer for use towards their down payment and/or closing costs. Furthermore, the following grant organizations do not require FHA: Genesis Program, The Buyer's Fund, National Home Foundation, Newsong Fund and the GMAC program. Subprime lenders that allow down payment grants to purchase homes are: AmeriQuest, EquiFirst, Long Beach, Finance America, NovaStar, National City and Banc Express (contact info at bottom). Provider* Asset Restriction Buyer Education Buyer Reserves Max Income ACI none no no none CDS none yes 1% price sales none GP none none none none HART $15,000 liquid yes 1% price sales none NCC none none 1% price sales none PIC none yes no none TBYI none no no none RAO none no no none NHF none no no none NS none no no none *See the letter abbreviations preceding the provider's name below. NOTE: if the provider is not listed above, the specific information 56 is unknown. How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads SOURCES (ACI) The Ameridream Charity, Inc. 1 East Diamond Ave., Suite C Gaithersburg, MD 20877 301-977-9133 Maximum gift funds: 5% of sales price Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Any property may become an eligible home if… a). the home meets the standards and criteria of the mortgage the home buyer will use to purchase the home and b). the seller agrees to make a 2%, 3% or 5% contribution to the AmeriDream Charity, Inc. and pay a processing fee of 3/4% of the sales price. c) the sales price does not exceed the appraised value of the home (CDS) Consumer Debt Solutions, Inc. 158 Vineyard Avenue Highland, NY 12528 (845) 691-9697 Maximum gift funds: $10,000 Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Any property may become an eligible home if... a). the home meets the standards and criteria of the mortgage the home buyer will use to purchase the home and b). the seller agrees to make a contribution to the CDS Home Grant program and pay a processing fee of $650 for all qualifying homes. c). the sales price does not exceed the appraised value of the home. (GP) Genesis Program 8834 N. Capital of Texas Hwy., Suite 110 Austin, TX 78759 512-231-0270 57 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Gift Funds may be used for any or all of the following: -Down Payment -Closing Costs -Prepaids -Payoff Debts to Qualify Other unique highlights: -Not Restricted to FHA loans. Conforming and Non-Conforming OK! -No Geographic Restrictions -No Registration by Mortgage Company, Realtor, or Closing Office required -Expedited Funding -Genesis can fund within 24 hours of receipt of paperwork -Reduced Requirements: No Roof Certification, Homeowner's Warranties Maximum gift funds: $22,500 Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Existing or New Construction on … - Single Family (1-4 Units) - Condominiums - Townhouses - Manufactured/Modular Homes (HART) Housing Action Resource Trust Rancho Cucamonga, CA 909-945-1574 Maximum gift funds: $15,000 Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Any property may become an eligible home if.... a). the home meets the standards and criteria of the mortgage the home buyer purchase the home and will use to b). the seller agrees to make a contribution to the HART program and pay a processing fee of $650 for homes sold for $100,000 or less or $950 for homes sold greater than $100,000. c). the sales price does not exceed the appraised value of the home. 58 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads (NCC) Nehemiah Corporation of California 1851 Heritage Lane, Suite 201 Sacramento, CA 95815 (916) 231-1999 Maximum gift funds: 3% of the sales price Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Any property may become an eligible home if .... a). the home meets the standards and criteria of the mortgage the home buyer purchase the home and will use to b). the seller agrees to make a 3% contribution to the Nehemiah Corporation and pay a processing fee of 1% of the sales price or $800 for a new home or $950 for an existing home, whichever is less c). the sales price does not exceed the appraised value of the home (PIC) Partners In Charity 10 E. Main Street, Suite 114 East Dundee, IL 60118 1-800-705-8350 Maximum gift funds: 5% of the sales price Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Any property may become an eligible home if .... a). the home meets the standards and criteria of the mortgage the home buyer purchase the home and b). the seller agrees to make a contribution to the PIC program and pay a equal to 3/4% of the sales price of the home will use to processing fee c). the sales price does not exceed the appraised value of the home (TBYI) The Buyers Fund, Inc 313 East University Parkway Orem, UT 84058 (888) 627-3023 59 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Other unique highlights: - Any FHA, Conventional, or Sub-Prime loan that allows a gift from a nonprofit organization can use The Buyers Fund program Maximum gift funds: appraised value of home Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: can be used to purchase any residential property (RES) Real Estate Strategy LLC Maximum gift funds: appraised value of home Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Existing or New Construction on … - Single Family (1-4 Units) - Condominiums - Townhouses (HB) Harford Foodbank 1.877.550.7005 Maximum gift funds: 10% of sales contract can be used for down payment, closing and prepaids Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Unkown (RAO) RealtyAmerica.Org 2040 Hwy A1A, Suite 206 Indian Harbour Beach FL 32937 888.708.6005 Other unique highlights: - Home protection plans are not required - Roof certifications are not required 60 costs How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Maximum gift funds: 5% of sales contract can be used for down payment and costs closing Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Owner-occupied, single family (NHF) National Home Foundation, Inc. 15200 Shady Grove Rd. Suite 202 Rockville, MD 20850 301-840-3844 Other unique highlights: - Grant can be used with any FHA, Conventional, or Sub-Prime loan that allows payment gift from a charitable organization a down Maximum gift funds: $25,000 Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: Existing or New Construction on … - Single Family (1-4 Units) - Condominiums - Townhouses (NF) Newsong Fund Other unique highlights: Grant can be used with any FHA, Conventional, or Sub-Prime loan that allows payment gift from a charitable organization a down Maximum gift funds: $25,000 Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: - Single Family (1-4 Units) - Condominiums - Townhouses 61 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Foundation For Housing Assistance 1387 Marlowe Avenue - Suite 12 Cleveland, OH 44107 (216)-521-4663 Other unique highlights: Grant may be used for down payment and closing costs Maximum gift funds: 5% of selling price Has to be 1st time homebuyer? No Eligible properties: - Owner-occupied, single family GMAC Mortgage "HomeStretch Plan" 858-450-3373 It's a 30-year fixed mortgage, plus a second mortgage with NO INTEREST. The second mortgage can be up to 4% of the loan amount and can be used as the down payment or other costs. It can also be COMPLETELY FORGIVEN after 10 years of residence in the property. A New Horizon/Credit Counseling Service, Inc. Hillsboro Executive Center North 500 Fairway Drive, Suite 208 Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 800-556-1548 NOTE: The above are national organizations. You also have the opportunity with your State Housing Agencies. Look in your local White Pages telephone book. In the Blue Section, you'll find government agencies. Look under your State Agencies and find Housing Agency. Then ask for descriptions of their down payment assistance and other housing assistance programs. 62 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Note Buyers This is a very short list. However, these few companies will do almost any "cash flow" deal in the USA. First National Acceptance Company of North America 241 E. Saginaw Highway, Ste 200 East Lansing, MI 48823 Tel: 1-517-333-7229 Tel: 888-363-FUND Fax: 1-517-351-9731 www.fnacna.com National Capital Corporation 3605 N. 68th Street Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Tel: 602-370-5670 Fax: 602-532-7533 www.NationalCapitalCorp.com Sun Capital, Inc. 929 Clint Moore Road Boca Raton, Florida 33487 Tel: 800-880-1709 Fax: 800-645-1942 www.suncapitalinc.com Sunvest Corp. 255 W. Napa St., Ste H Sonoma, CA 95476 Phone: (707) 939-9450 Fax: (707) 939-8476 www.sunvestinc.com 63 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Definitely worth checking out: www.PaperSourceOnline.com 64 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Residential Wholesale Lenders Amerus Group No prepayment penalties 125% LTV 2nd fixed rate, simultaneous closings BNC Mortgage 80/20 Program Mortgage Only - consumer credit not considered Second Homes, Non Owner Occupied 100% LTV Cash Out Refi - Income Verified - No assets disclosure and no M.I Decision One Up to 115% LTV 4% LTV Enhancement 6% Seller Concessions Encore Credit consumer credit not considered credit score low as 500 to 55% D/R 90% Stated First National Bank of Arizona 85% No Ratio with INTEREST ONLY for first 30 years // investment property Irwin Home Equity 125%LTV 2nd's, interest only on SFR, CONDO/PUD, 2-4 units, Manufactured and SFT non-owner. Linx Funding 100% stated income 100%LTV 580 credit score 65 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 100% stated 2nd's 620 credit score 100% no ratio 100%LTV + 6% seller concessions interest only option unlimited cashout unseasoned refi's 100% LTV 2nd homes 90% investor/non-owner NIV for Salaried S.E. and Wage Earner Up to 60% DTI Low as 500 credit score to 95%LTV Meritage Mortgage One active tradeline is all you need. 12-month history required with no more than 2x30. Cancelled rent checks qualify! Use primary borrower's middle score. Up to 100% CLTV Combo - Full Doc & Stated Allows for 1 day discharged bankruptcies and foreclosures No seasoning of funds required to close First time homebuyers allowed Up to 55% DTI No Mortgage Insurance required Stated wage earners and salary Mortgage Investment Lending Associates 100% stated no seasoning for BK7 or BK11 Mortgage Lenders Network USA, Inc. 95% LTV MORTGAGE ONLY! No VOM/R, 620 or higher 6 mo bank stmts, 100% of biz deposits for s/e qualified for income 66 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 100%LTV, 580 score no source/seasoning of funds 100% STATED no traditional appraisal (Electronic prop valuation accepted) 95% investor properties 100%LTV Townhomes & Condos (owner occ) PRMI Funding Gift of equity up to 20% Lease option treated as a refinance with 12 mos. cancelled checks 95% LTV with 600 middle score 90% N/O/O with 600 score BK discharged only 1 year for A grade 90 % Stated N/O/O 1-4 Units No Reserves required Consumer lates not a factor Up to 107% LTV. Can use 7% for closing cost or to pay off debt 103% available to 600 credit score 107% second home with 680 or higher score No verification of funds for down Up to 100% with a 580 score Up to 90% with a 500 score 100% condo Resource Home Equity 100% Stated Income or Full doc (one loan or combo), salary or wage earner Mortgage/Rental Not Considered Sourcing or seasoning of funds not required 100% 1st/2nd Non-Owner 100% 1st/2nd Combo Down to 580 Score (includes condos and rural properties) 125% 2nd's 67 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 100% stated VALUE 2nd Saxon Mortgage manufactured homes, min score 550 100% 2nd to $100,000, min 620 score 68 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Commercial Mortgages American Commercial Mortgage 7000 W. Palmetto Park Rd Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33433 Tel: 1-866-669-3473 Fax: 561-392-7716 AmericanCommercialMortgage.com "Hard Money" Commercial These lenders offer commercial mortgages for "hard money" and unique properties. Hard money loans can save a commercial mortgage foreclosure, revive a failing project or finance a great acquisition. If the transaction is properly structured (cashflow, management, etc) and you provide a professionally packaged loan request, you can get a loan even with credit problems. But the lender must have a clear and quick exit. Adams Financial Services, Inc. 425 N. Alfred Street Los Angeles, CA 90048 800-834-7775 Lending In: Nationwide A.S.K. Investments, Inc. 16162 Beach Blvd Huntington Beach, CA 92647 800-834-6544 Lending In: CA Only Bar-K, Inc. 201 Lafayette Circle Lafayette, CA 94549 925-283-1771 Lending In: Western United States 69 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads BayView Financial Trading Group 2665 S. Bayshore Drive Miami, FL 33133 877-906-BFTG Lending In: Nationwide Bentley Capital, LLC 2111 E. Highland Ave Phoenix, AZ 85016 602-381-0177 Lending In: AZ, CA, CO, NV, UT, WA Brownstone Mortgage Capital 2700 N Main Street Santa Ana, CA 92705 800-547-1285 Lending In: CA and HI C & G Financial Services 888-303-9509 Lending In: Nationwide Chesterfield Mortgage 1001 4th Ave Seattle, WA 98154 877-352-7881 Lending In: Western & MidWest States Eastern Savings Bank, FSB 11350 McCormick Rd Hunt Valley, MD 21031 800-787-2265 Lending In: Nationwide 70 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Equity Funding 2101 Fourth Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 206-625-9007 Lending In: CA, OR, WA Fairway Commercial Mortgage 434 NW 19th Avenue Portland, OR 97209 503-241-2340 Lending In: AZ, CA, CO, ID, NM, OR, TX, UT, WA Farmers & Merchants Bank 302 Pine Avenue Long Beach, CA 90802 877-788-4FMB Lending In: Southern California First Mount Vernon Industrial Loan Assoc. 6019 Tower Court Alexandria, VA 22304 703-823-6800 Lending In: DC, DE, MD, NC, VA Foss & Associates, Inc. 30 Lakeshore Plaza Kirkland, WA 98033 800-563-3005 Lending In: MT, OR, WA Geneva Real Estate Investments 1 Northwood Drive Orinda, CA 94563 71 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 925-254-3241 Lending In: California Imperial Capital Bank 888 Prospect Street La Jolla, CA 92037 888-551-4852 Lending In: AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA Interbay Funding 1301 Virginia Drive Fort Washington, PA 19034 877-207-6099 Lending In: Nationwide Jackson Federal Bank 145 S. State College Blvd. Brea, CA 92821 877-945-2265 Lending In: AZ, CA, NV Kennedy Funding Two University Plaza Hackensack, NJ 07601 201-342-8500 Lending In: Worldwide Meecorp Capital Market 2115 Linwood Avenue Fort Lee, NJ 07024 201-944-9330 Lending In: Nationwide Meridian Mortgage Investors Fund 72 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 4050 Bank of America Tower 701 5th Ave Seattle, WA 98104 800-901-9301 Lending In: AK, AZ, ID, KS, MT, NM, NV, OR, TX, WA MoneyPlace 681 Main Street Niagara Falls, NY 14301 877-643-6015 Lending In: Nationwide except AK and HI North American Mortgage Company 89 Newbury Street Danvers, MA 01923 978-762-9269 Lending In: Nationwide Old Standard Life Insurance Co. 601 W. 1st Ave Spokane, WA 99201 800-541-0828 Lending In: Nationwide Olympic Coast Investment Inc. 11222 Roosevelt Way NE Seattle, WA 98125 800-523-1979 Lending In: AK, ID, MY, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY Pacific Coast Investment Co. 801 Second Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 800-562-6278 73 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Lending In: Nationwide except AR and MT Preferred Funding Inc. 733 Seventh Avenue Kirkland, WA 98033 800-789-1488 Lending In: OR and WA Seattle Funding Group 1230 120th Avenue, NE Bellevue, WA 98005 888-SFG-FUND Lending In: AK, AZ, CO, NV, OR, UT, WA Security Funding Corp 82 E State St Eagle, ID 83616 208-939-0002 Lending In: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY Silicon Financial Corporation 1100 E. Hamilton Avenue Campbell, CA 95008 408-741-1674 Lending In: California Sterling Partners Capital, LLC 53 Unquowa Place Fairfield, CT 06430 203-256-9068 Lending In: Nationwide SWH Funding Corp. 2 University Plaza 74 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Hackensack, NJ 07601 201-343-3222 Lending In: Nationwide The Funding Solutions, Inc. 78 Harvard Avenue Stamford, CT 06902 203-327-1200 Lending In: Nationwide United General Mortgage Corp 5000 Tilghman Street Allentown, PA 18103 888-919-8462 Lending In: Nationwide Westar Financial 16000 Mill Creek Blvd Mill Creek, WA 98012 800-765-0803 Lending In: ID, OR, WA Western Peaks Financial Corp 1255 Post Street San Francisco, CA 94109 415-447-1441 Lending In: California 75 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Reports Section You may use these as you see fit. 5 Critical Questions When Selecting A 15 Year Loan 1. How Much Will I Save on My Interest Rate? It is a fact that 15 year mortgages will provide you with a lower interest rate and overall lower interest payment. However, there is a trade off, be prepared for a larger monthly payment. 2. Should I Do A 30 Year Mortgage and Make Extra Payments? A 15 year mortgage locks you into a set payment. With a 30 year mortgage you can make extra payments which will decrease the number of years of mortgage payments, but you need self discipline to actually make the payments. You really have to look yourself in the mirror to answer this question. 3. What Is the Benefit of More Equity Sooner? The benefit of home equity is that it provides a ready source to borrow against. makes sense to borrow against yourself (via your home equity). Often it 4. How Long Do I Want To Have A Mortgage? Whether you are young or mature, you may want to eliminate this obligation sooner. You may, for example, want to time at the end of your mortgage to enjoy your retirement. Consider the benefits of earlier relief from this commitment, but don't forget to consider the income tax implications. 5. Should I Use My Home As A Primary Investment? By obliging in a 15 year mortgage you are investing in real estate, perhaps leaving less for other investments. Ask yourself, "How diversified do I want my portfolio to be" before making this financial commitment. 76 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 5 Reasons To Buy A Home 1. Income Tax Savings Because of income tax deductions, the government is subsidizing your purchase of a home. All of the interest and property taxes you pay in a given year can be deducted from your gross income to reduce your taxable income. For example, assume your initial loan balance is $150,000 with an interest rate of eight percent. During the first year you would pay $9969.27 in interest. If your first payment is January 1st, your taxable income would be almost $10,000 less – due to the IRS interest rate deduction. Property taxes are deductible, too. Whatever property taxes you pay in a also be deducted from your gross income, lowering your tax obligation. given year may 2. Stable Monthly Housing Costs When you rent a place to live, you can certainly expect your rent to increase each year – or even more often. If you get a fixed rate mortgage when you buy a home, you have the same monthly payment amount for thirty years. Even if you get an adjustable rate mortgage, your payment will stay within a certain range for the entire life of the mortgage – and interest rates aren’t as volatile now as they were in the late seventies and early eighties. Imagine how much rent might be ten, fifteen, or even thirty years from now? makes more sense? Which 3. Forced Savings Some people are just lousy at saving money, and a house is an automatic savings account. You accumulate savings in two ways. Every month, a portion of your payment goes toward the principal. Admittedly, in the early years of the mortgage, this is not much. Over time, however, it accelerates. Second, your home appreciates. Average appreciation on a home is approximately five percent, though it will vary from year to year, and in some years may even depreciate.. Over time, history has shown that owning a home is one of the very best financial investments. As a fairly general rule, homes appreciate about four or five percent a year. Some years will be more, some less. The figure will vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and region to region. 77 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Five percent may not seem like that much at first. Stocks (at times) appreciate much more, and you could easily earn over the same return with a very safe investment in treasury bills or bonds. But take a second look… Presumably, if you bought a $200,000 house, you did not pay cash for the home. You got a mortgage, too. Suppose you put as much as twenty percent down – that would be an investment of $40,000. At an appreciation rate of 5% annually, a $200,000 home would increase in value $10,000 during the first year. That means you earned $10,000 with an investment of $40,000. Your annual "return on investment" would be a whopping twenty-five percent. Of course, you are making mortgage payments and paying property taxes, along with a couple of other costs. However, since the interest on your mortgage and your property taxes are both tax deductible, the government is essentially subsidizing your home purchase. Your rate of return when buying a home is higher than most any other investment could make. you 4. Freedom & Individualism When you rent, you are normally limited on what you can do to improve your home. You have to get permission to make certain types of improvements. Nor does it make sense to spend thousand of dollars painting, putting in carpet, tile or window coverings when the main person who benefits is the landlord and not you. Since your landlord wants to keep his expenses to a minimum, he or she will not be spending much to improve the place, either. probably When you own a home, however, you can do pretty much whatever you want. You get the benefits of any improvements you make, plus you get to live in an environment you have created, not some faceless landlord. 5. More Space Both indoors and outdoors, you will probably have more space if you own your own home. Even moving to a condominium from an apartment, you are likely to find you have much more room available – your own laundry and storage area, and bigger rooms. Apartment complexes are more interested in creating the maximum number of incomeproducing units than they are in creating space for each of the tenants. If you are moving to a home for the first time, you are going to be very pleased with all the new space you have available. You may have to even buy more "stuff." The Business Cycle and Buying a Home 78 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads There are times when the economy is brisk and everyone feels confident about his or her prospects for the future. As a result, they spend money. People eat out more, buy new cars, and…. …They buy houses. Then, for one reason or another, the economy slows down. Companies lay off employees and consumers are more careful about where they spend money, perhaps saving more than usual. As a result, the economy decelerates even further. If it slows enough, we have a recession. During such a time, fewer people are buying homes. Even so, some homeowners find themselves in a situation where they must sell. Families grow beyond the capacity of the home, employees get relocated, and some may even find themselves unable to make their mortgage payment - perhaps because of a layoff in the family. Supply and Demand When the supply of available houses is greater than the supply of buyers, appreciation may slow and prices may even fall, as happened in the early eighties and the early to midnineties. If you are lucky enough to purchase a home during a slow period, you can be reasonably certain the economy will begin to show strength again. At times, real estate values may even surge drastically. In many regions of the country, this is precisely what occurred in the late eighties and nineties. Market Timing is Difficult One problem with attempting to time your purchase to the business cycle is that no one can accurately predict the future. Another challenge is that interest rates are generally higher during a depressed market and income may not be keeping up because less overtime is available and bonuses or commissions are down. With higher interest rates and lower earnings, fewer people can qualify for a home purchase than in more prosperous times. Why You Should Not Wait Plus, "timing the market" generally works best for first-time buyers. People who already have a home usually need to sell it in order to buy their next one. If a "move-up" buyer wants to buy a home during a depressed market, that means they usually have to sell one during the slow market, too. If a seller wants to sell his home to take advantage of a "hot" market when prices are fairly high, they generally have to buy their next home during that same hot market. It tends to equal out Finally, the business cycle can change over time. Since 1983, we have had two fairly long expansions with only a slight recession in between each. You would not want to wait nine years to buy a home, would you? You could miss out on a substantial amount of appreciation by waiting, and end up paying much higher prices. 79 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 6 Things You Must Know Before You Buy Mortgage Regulations Have Changed . . . Mortgage regulations have changed significantly over the last few years, making your options wider than ever. Subtle changes in the way you approach mortgage shopping, and even small differences in the way you structure your mortgage, can cost or save you literally thousands of dollars and years of expense. Get the Right Information Whether you are about to buy your first home, or are planning to make a move next home, it is critical that you inform yourself about the factors involved. to your Industry research has revealed that there are 6 common mistakes that most homebuyers make in mortgage shopping that can have a significant impact on the outcome of this critical negotiation. If handled correctly, these issues could result in a mortgage that will cost you less over a shorter period of time. Before you commit your hard earned dollars to monthly mortgage payments, consider these 6 issues. Effective consideration of these important areas can make your payments work much harder for you. 1. You can, and should, get pre-approved for a mortgage before you go home looking for a Pre-approval is easy, and can give you complete peace-of-mind when shopping for your home. Your local lending institution can provide you with written pre-approval for you at no cost and no obligation, and it can all be done quite easily over-the-phone. More than just a verbal approval from your lending institution, a written pre-approval is as good as money in the bank. It entails a completed credit application, and a certificate which guarantees you a mortgage to the specified level when you find the home you’re looking for. 2. Know what monthly dollar amount you feel comfortable committing to When you discuss mortgage pre-approval with your lending institution, find out what level you qualify for, but also pre-assess for yourself what monthly dollar amount you feel comfortable committing to. Your situation may give you a pre-approval amount that is higher (or lower) than the amount of money you would want to pay out each month. By 80 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads working back and forth with your lending institution to determine what this monthly amount is, and what value of home this translates into at today’s rates, you won’t waste time looking at homes that are not in your price range. 3. You should be thinking about your long term goals, and expected situation, determine the type of mortgage that will best suit your needs to There are a number of questions you should be asking yourself before you commit to a certain type of mortgage. How long do you think you will own this home? What direction are interest rates going in, and how quickly? Is your income expected to change (up or down) in the near term, impacting how much money you can afford to pay to your mortgage? The answers to these and other questions will help you determine the most appropriate mortgage you should be seeking 4. Make sure you understand what prepayment privileges and payment frequency options are available to you More frequent payments (for example weekly or biweekly) can literally shave years off your mortgage. Simply by structuring your payments so that they come out more frequently, will significantly lessen the amount of interest that you will be charged over the term. For the same reason, authorized pre-payment of a certain percentage of your mort-gage, or an increase in the amount you pay monthly, will have a major impact on the number of years you will have to pay and could shorten your payment term considerably. These two payment options can cut years off your mortgage, and save you thousands of dollars in interest. However, not every mortgage has these prepayment privileges built in, so make sure you ask the proper questions. 5. Ask if your mortgage is both portable and/or assumable A portable mortgage, where available, is one that you can carry with you when you buy your next home and avoid paying any discharge penalties. This means that you will not have to go through the entire mortgage process again unless you are making a move up to a much more expensive home. An assumable mortgage is one that the buyer for your home can take over when you move to your next home. This can be a very powerful tool at the negotiating table making 81 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads it much easier and more desirable for a buyer to buy your home, discharge penalties. and again saves you any 6.You should seriously consider dealing with a Mortgage Expert Consider dealing only with a professional who specializes in mortgages. Enlisting their services can make a significant difference in the cost and effectiveness of the mortgage you obtain. For example they can make the process faster thereby avoiding costly delays. Typically there is no cost or obligation to inquire. 82 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 7 Biggest Mistakes When Refinancing 1. Make Sure of Your New Interest Rate Make sure that you save enough to justify the process of refinancing. It is best to decrease your interest rate by at least .75% to 1%. For example, this will save you about $100.00 a month on a $150,000.00 mortgage. 2. Know Your Closing Costs Up Front By law, closing costs must be disclosed within 3 days of the loan application, however, there are different approaches to calculating them. Closing costs are initially estimated until the details of your specific loan are clear. It is wise to use a worst case scenario and be pleasantly surprised. 3. Be Sure You Fully Understand Your Reason(s) For Refinancing Some refinance simply to reduce their interest rate. You should be aware that simply reducing your interest rate is not always to your advantage, so make sure that the gains from your rate reduction more than cover the related fees. There are, however, other legitimate reasons to refinance that may not be related to interest rates. Some are debt consolidation, home improvements, or a major purchase. Some of these choices may offer other financial or personal advantages, such as taking cash out to buy a car. In this example, you may be able to deduct your interest payments on your tax return. Always consult an accountant or tax attorney before making these types of decisions. 4. Beware of "APR" Advertising "APR" stands for Annual Percentage Rate. Some mortgage brokers use "APR" teaser rates to get your attention, however, they may actually end up costing you more. Such rates are often derived by using a 30 year mortgage coupled with an accelerated payment plan. Most lenders allow you to select such a plan, if you chose. Know your actual interest rate that you will be paying when comparing mortgages. 5. Should I Consider an Adjustable Rate? 83 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Adjustable rate mortgages, or "ARM’s," can be very helpful in assisting people into the housing market. They can help minimize your monthly payment, however, in the long run they can cost you more money if additional refinancing occurs. 6. Beware of the Quality of Service Provided You want your refinance to be accomplished with as little hassle and in the shortest period of time. Ask your mortgage broker details of their service plan and performance guarantees. 7. Not All Mortgage Brokers are Created Equally Be sure to ask your mortgage broker about all their available loan products, rates. A subtle difference can save or cost you thousands. 84 terms and How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 9 Home Buyer Traps & How To Avoid Them No matter which way you look at it buying a home is a major investment But for many homebuyers, it can be an even more expensive process than it needs to be because many fall prey to at least a few of the many common and costly mistakes which trap them into either: paying too much for the home they want, or losing their dream home to another or, (worse) buying the wrong home for their needs. buyer A systemized approach to the home buying process can help you steer clear of these common traps, allowing you to not only cut costs, but also secure the home that’s best for you. 9 Buyer Traps This important report discusses the 9 most common and costly of these homebuyer how to identify them, and what you can do to avoid them: traps, 1. Bidding Blind What price should you offer when you bid on a home? Is the seller’s asking price too high, or does it represent a great deal. If you fail to research the market in order to understand what comparable homes are selling for, making your offer would be like bidding blind. Without this knowledge of market value, you could easily bid too much, or fail to make a competitive offer at all on an excellent value. 2. Buying the Wrong Home What are you looking for in a home? A simple enough question, but the answer can be quite complex. More than one buyer has been swept up in the emotion and excitement of the buying process only to find themselves the owner of a home that is either too big or too small. Maybe they’re stuck with a longer than desired commute to work, or a dozen more fix-ups than they really want to deal with now that the excitement has died down. Take the time up front to clearly define your wants and needs. Put it in writing and then use it as a yard stick with which to measure every home you look at. 3. Unclear Title 85 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Make sure very early on in the negotiation that you will own your new home free and clear by having a title search completed. The last thing you want to discover when you’re in the back stretch of a transaction is that there are encumbrances on the property such as tax liens, undisclosed owners, easements, leases or the like. 4. Inaccurate Survey As part of your offer to purchase, make sure you request an updated property survey which clearly marks your boundaries. If the survey is not current, you may find that there are structural changes that are not shown (e.g. additions to the house, a new swimming pool, a neighbor’s new fence which is extending a boundary line, etc.). Be very clear on these issues. 5. Undisclosed Fix-ups Don’t expect every seller to own up to every physical detail that will need to be attended to. Both you and the seller are out to maximize your investment. Ensure that you conduct a thorough inspection of the home early in the process. Consider hiring an independent inspector to objectively view the home inside and out, and make the final contract contingent upon this inspector’s report. This inspector should be able to give you a report of any item that needs to be fixed with associated, approximate cost. 6. Not Getting Mortgage Pre-approval Pre-approval is fast, easy and free. When you have a pre-approved mortgage, you can shop for your home with a greater sense of freedom and security, knowing that the money will be there when you find the home of your dreams. 7. Contract Misses If a seller fails to comply to the letter of the contract by neglecting to attend to some repair issues, or changing the spirit of the agreement in some way, this could delay the final closing and settlement. Agree ahead of time on a dollar amount for an escrow fund to cover items that the seller fails to follow through on. Prepare a list of agreed issues, walk through them, and check them off one by one. 8. Hidden Costs 86 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Make sure you identify and uncover all costs - large and small -far enough ahead of time. When a transaction closes, you will sometimes find fees for this or that sneaking through after the “sub”-total - fees such as loan disbursement charges, underwriting fees etc. Understand these in advance by having your lender project total charges for you in writing. 9. Rushing the Closing Take your time during this critical part of the process, and insist on seeing all paperwork the day before you sign. Make sure this documentation perfectly reflects your understanding of the transaction, and that nothing has been added or subtracted. Is the interest rate right? Is everything covered? If you rush this process on the day of closing, you may run into a last minute snag that you can’t fix without com-promising the terms of the deal, the financing, or even the sale itself. 87 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 10 Questions To Ask Your Loan Officer 1. What's the loan's Interest Rate and Annual Percentage Rate? Find out what the interest rate will be on the loan as well as the annual percentage rate (APR). The APR is a combination of the interest rate, points and other charges divided by the loan’s term to give an annualized rate. It is the best way to properly compare loan costs. 2. How Many Points Will Be Charged? A point is one percent of the loan amount. Points charged are additional to the interest rate that is charged on the loan. A loan with a low interest rate and high points may cost you thousands more than one with a higher interest rate but low points. This is important because the number of points charged varies from lender to lender. 3. What will be the Total Closing Cost Fees Charged? Lenders charge fees for the services incurred to process and close your mortgage. By law, closing costs must be disclosed within 3 days of the loan application, however, there are different approaches to calculating them. Some brokers will initially disclose closing cost figures which are very appealing, only to provide much higher costs as your closing date approaches. 4. Is There a "Lock-In" Policy? Is There an Additional Charge to Lock-In an Interest Rate and Discount Points? Many lenders offer a lock-in policy that guarantees you a certain interest rate and points for a specified number of days. The alternative to this is accepting the prevailing rate and points on your closing day. Since rates can change daily, the one time lock-in fee may be able to save you thousands. 5. How Long Does it Take to Process My Mortgage? Processing is the means by which your loan is prepared for underwriting, or approval. The time it takes to process a loan varies by the type of loan and even among lenders. Loans can usually be funded within 7 to 10 working days. If time is of the essence, a 88 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads lender with quick processing, underwriting very valuable asset. and funding capabilities can prove to be a 6. Are You a VA Automatic or FHA Direct endorsement Lender? VA automatic and FHA direct endorsement means that a lender has met all the government requirements for FHA/VA and the lender’s underwriter has completed mandatory education requirements. An automatic or direct endorsement lender can approve or disapprove a loan just as if the loan had been sent directly to the regional FHA or VA office. 7. Can I Finance the Up Front Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Premium into the Loan Amount? If your down payment is less than twenty percent of the sale price, to qualify, you will be charged PMI, an insurance premium to protect the lender in case you or someone else who assumes your loan defaults on the loan. Some lenders allow you to include the first years premium into the amount of the loan. Including this premium may be the difference when getting a mortgage by reducing your cash outlay. 8. Is There a Pre-Payment Penalty? Normally you can prepay a loan without penalty if you notify the lender in writing that you are either selling or refinancing. There are however, exceptions. Make sure to ask about your mortgage, and have it configured for your unique situation. 9. What is the Lender’s Track Record? It’s important to rate your lenders reputation for speedy processing, knowledgeable loan service and meeting contract deadlines. You want to hire a mortgage broker who will treat you the way you want to be treated and has respect for your purchase. Your lender will be dealing with your hard earned money and home purchase, so you want to be confident that you have made the correct decisions. 10. What Do You Offer to the First Time Buyer? (If applicable) Purchasing a home is among the most significant financial commitments most people will ever make. First time buyers often have special needs and concerns. If this is you, make sure your mortgage broker provides services especially tailored for the first time buyer. 89 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 11 Deadly Mistakes When Applying For A Mortgage 1. Not Knowing How Much Money You Can Put Down It’s important to know how much you can afford to pay in down payment and closing costs when you apply for your mortgage. The more you put down the better rates and terms you’re likely to get. At the same time you also need to stay within your means and comfort level. 2. Working With A Mortgage Broker Who Has A Poor Performance Record Industry insiders know that the most common reason that a sale fails to go through is that the mortgage fails to go through. Ask your mortgage broker about her/his performance guarantee. 3. Not Understanding The Process Most of us don’t shop for a mortgage very often. As a result it isn’t something we become familiar with. Work with a mortgage broker who will take the time to answer your questions and uses terms you understand. 4. Working With A Lender Who has Only One Investor Not all lenders have a range of options when it comes to investors. What if that investor doesn’t offer the type of mortgage you need? Or worse yet, what if you need to change loan products after you’ve started the process? Working with a mortgage broker who has many investors enables you to address these issues without starting the process over again. 5. Making Large Purchases Prior to Your Mortgage Application Many people think that it is in their best interest to get large purchases completed prior to applying for their mortgage. As total debt is a key component in determining the amount of home you qualify for it is best to wait until after your home purchase has closed to make such purchases. 6. Over Shopping Your Loan 90 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Each time you call a lender seeking the best possible rate and terms you have your credit report pulled. Every time your credit report is pulled you risk decreasing your credit score and thus possibly decreasing the likelihood of getting the best rate and terms. Experts recommend that you select a mortgage broker with a number of investors and do your shopping with her/him. 7. Hiding Things From Your Mortgage Broker Most of us have experienced times of financial difficulty at some point. While it can be embarrassing to discuss issues like this, your mortgage broker is there to help you get loan approved despite such issues. Your mortgage broker can only help you with those things with which s/he is aware. 8. Making Late Payments Late payments, especially those within the last year, can be very detrimental to getting the best rate, terms and even the difference of being approved at all. While this might seem like unnecessary advice, ALWAYS pay on time. 9. Over Using Credit Cards Credit cards are a convenient way to make purchases, but if not paid off or balances kept low you might find it more difficult to get the best rates and terms on your mortgage. Keeping your total debt as low as possible helps you get the mortgage that best meets your specific needs. 10. Cosigning On Someone Else’s Loan While it can be a great service to a friend or loved one, signing to guarantee someone else’s loan is often a big headache for the cosigner. Before cosigning you decide if you’re willing and/or able to assume the liability. 11. Not Getting All The Facts It is important to learn the total cost of your mortgage loan, both at closing and for the life of the loan. While mortgages can look a lot alike there can be subtle differences which can save or cost you thousands of dollars. Get all the facts and know what to expect. 91 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How Lenders Determine Your Income When a loan officer pre-qualifies you, he works backwards to figure your maximum mortgage amount. You can do the same thing. The first step is to determine your monthly income. It isn't quite as easy as it sounds. Lenders only count income they can document through paperwork. If you are a salaried employee, and don't earn bonuses, it's easy. Get out your paycheck. If you get paid twice a month, multiply by two. If you are paid every two weeks, then you multiply by 26 (the number of pay periods in a year) and divide by twelve. Unless you're a teacher. Teachers don't always work year round and they have special rules. If you are an hourly employee who works a straight forty hours a week and don't earn overtime income, then it's easy, too. Look at your paycheck, multiply your hourly rate by 40, multiply that total by 52, then divide by twelve. If you earn overtime, bonuses, or commissions -- it isn't as easy. Lenders don't give you credit for what you are currently earning. They average your income from those sources over the last two years, then add that to your regular salary or hourly monthly income. If you want a shortcut that is usually close, get out your W2 forms for the last two years. Add them together and divide by twenty-four. That is your monthly income. If you are a teacher, a nurse, a seasonal employee, in construction, or earn only part-time income -- you can use that shortcut, too. Add the figures from your last two years W2's, then divide by 24. It generally gets you close. If you are self-employed or receive 1099 income, then you need a two-year track record. Lenders go by what you declare to the IRS as income, since that is documentable. Since some self-employed people overstate their expenses, this may understate your income. Look at the Schedule C of your tax returns for the last two years and the number at the bottom that says "profit" is your annual income. You can add any depreciation to that figure. Add them together and divide by twenty-four. There are variations and exceptions (like those who own their own corporations) above should cover most people. 92 but the How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How To Buy A Home No Money Down The Zero Cash Down payment Program offers you a way to buy a home with no down payment. That's right zero down payment. You may have owned a home before and are presently renting, or are a first time homebuyer and need a way to break into the housing market but held back because you thought you required a substantial down payment. Or you may be in the position where you do not want to liquidate your financial assets to use as a down payment on a home. Regardless of your present situation, you want a way to get into or to re-enter the housing market without having to make a cash down payment. The Zero Cash Down payment Program may be just the answer you need. Here's what is required to qualify for the Zero Cash Down payment Program. Program Qualifications 1. An excellent credit history No recent history of bad debts consistent and timely payment of current liabilities 2. Limited liabilities You will be required to disclose all current liabilities you have in order much more debt you can carry. (ie. present car loan, credit cards, etc.) to determine how 3. At least 3 years of employment stability You will be required to show proof of employment for the past 3 years, ie. a letter of employment from your employer or financial statements for the past 3 years if selfemployed. 4. The financial ability to carry larger monthly payments Without a down payment you will be required to meet the obligation of larger mortgage payments. Your monthly payments could vary from a few to several hundred dollars more per month. Under the Terms of the Program You Can Purchase Many Types of Properties They include: detached or semi-detached homes free-hold town homes condominium town homes 93 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads It is important to note that not all properties qualify for the Zero Cash Down payment Program. To ensure that you get an accurate picture of what properties may or may not be included in this pro-gram in your particular area, it is advisable to review the terms of the program with your Realtor ®. Benefits of the Zero Cash Down payment Program 1. No Down payment If you are renting, why pay your landlord's mortgage? Why not reap the benefit of building your own equity? Are you renting because you are held back from owning your own home because you think you need a substantial down payment? The general perception of many would-be-homebuyers and even that of some Realtors ® is that a substantial down payment is required in order to purchase a home. This is simply not true. Because of this perception many would-be-home-buyers feel they have to save for years before they have enough money for a down payment so that they can finally enter the housing market. In the meantime they are lining someone else's pockets, while waiting a long time before they can start building their own equity. Well, with the Zero Cash Down payment Program you don't need a down payment to buy a home. 2. Buy a Home Now! If needing a down payment is keeping you from owning your own home, this new program offers you an immediate way to get into the housing market. With the Zero Cash Down payment Program you don't have to wait to purchase a home. 3. Approved Bank Program It is important to know that the Zero Cash Down payment Program is an approved bank program. Review this program with your lender or Realtor ® who has specialized knowledge in financing and can assist you with the Zero Cash Down payment Program 94 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How To Increase Credit Score In 48 Hours Credit bureaus say it’s one of the most useful trends to hit the mortgage market in years. Yet most home loan applicants--and some mortgage brokers and realty agents--still don’t know about it. It’s called "rapid re-scoring." It’s potentially a mortgage saver--even anybody whose credit scores have been depressed by erroneous credit files or by ill-advised use of their existing credit lines. a home saver--for information on their Say you’re applying for a loan on a new home you want to buy. To your surprise, the loan officer tells you that your credit score is too low to qualify for the loan program you need to swing the purchase. High credit scores--700 and above--indicate that you are a solid credit risk and deserve the best interest rates and terms available. Scores less than the low 600s indicate that you have credit problems and might default on a new loan. Some consumers’ credit scores come in artificially low because their credit files contain outdated and erroneous information. To correct such mistakes, loan applicants typically have to endure weeks or months of hassles contacting creditors, pleading with them to amend the information they erroneously sent to the repositories. That process, in turn, usually takes far longer than a loan officer can afford to wait to move ahead with your application. You have to come back and file a new loan application, pull new credit scores and hope for the best. Sometimes the delay costs you a shot at the favorable interest rates that prevailed at the time of your first application--and just may knock you out of contention for the home and the loan package you wanted. But now savvy loan applicants have a new option, working through their mortgage broker or loan officer: They can get their files corrected and re-scored within 48 to 72 hours. Though participating local credit reporting agencies cannot advertise their re-scoring services to the general public, they often let their mortgage lending clients know about them. The re-scoring agencies negotiate special contracts with the three repositories, allowing them to obtain "universal data correction" forms from creditors--often within a day or two--and then sending them directly to repositories for immediate correction of the consumer’s file. The staff-intensive service costs money. Some lenders are charged $30 per tradeline, per bureau, per borrower. 95 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads A lender or broker trying to save a marginal application from a borrower with a few credit errors on file might be charged $120 or $150 to get a rapid re-score within 72 hours. A more extensive re-scoring could cost two or three times that amount. But it can be worth it for the borrower and the lender. Many rapid re-scores raise credit scores by 30, 50 or more points, depending upon the nature of the errors in the file. That jump in score, however, frequently pulls a borrower out of the "sub-prime" category, and can save thousands of dollars in interest in fees over the term of the mortgage. One of the country’s top experts in the field, Ruth Koontz of Baltimore-based Lenders Credit Services, Inc., says re-scoring is most dramatic when a loan applicant’s credit files contain major factual errors (identity-theft situations, bogus delinquencies on credit cards or mortgage payments), and when the files show balances that don’t belong to the borrower. Re-scoring can also be a plus when consumers have made poor use of their credit choices, such as by maxing-out credit cards, home equity lines and personal credit lines. Re-scorers like Koontz know how and where to redistribute that debt to raise credit scores immediately. Don’t confuse rapid re-scoring with "credit repair." Re-scoring is a legitimate service expressly sanctioned by the credit repositories through special contracts with select credit reporting agencies. "Credit repair", by contrast, often involves illegal attempts to dupe the repositories and lenders alike. 96 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads How To Prepare For A Closing Double-Check the Money Prior to the actual closing day, there are several things you should do to be certain that your real estate transaction will close on time, and that everything will go smoothly. A day or two before closing, you should review your final closing statement or HUD-1 Statement, whichever is used in your area of the country. You should go over all the calculations and be certain that you are given credit for all your deposits and any other credits due to you from the seller or for other items agreed upon between buyer and seller. Go over all the lender and title and escrow fees, to be sure they are what you had been told and that you agree to them. Check the math calculations on the closing statement. Errors do occur. Review the Documents Carefully review the preliminary report or the guarantee of title insurance, to verify the exact legal description of the property and any liens, encumbrances or other items which may have been discovered on the property. Be sure that all items are removed that you did not agree to. Verify that the title or escrow agent has your correct vesting, or the way you want to take title to the property. This is important because to correct a vesting on a deed later on is time consuming and can be avoided if care is taken when escrow is closed. Re-Inspect the Property Besides the paperwork which you must review and verify, you should re-inspect the property once again just prior to closing. Is everything the way you expect it to be? Have all the necessary repairs or other corrective work been done that were promised to you? This is important so that you don't arrive at your new house and find unexpected surprises. Check and Double-Check The most important thing to remember is that before closing you want to be certain that all the conditions of the purchase contract have been met. You want to be sure that all directions given to the closing agent have been performed. Before signing your name to any closing documents, check and double check that everything is correct, interest rate, fees charged and condition of the property. 97 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads What's A Credit Score A Brief Explanation of a Credit Score When you apply for a mortgage loan, you expect your lender to pull a credit report and look at whether you’ve made your payments on time. What you may not expect is that they seem to be more interested in your "credit" score. "What’s a credit score?" is a common reaction. Each time your credit report is pulled, it is run through a computer program with a builtin scorecard. Points are awarded or deducted based on certain items such as how long you have had credit cards, whether you make your payments on time, if your credit balances are near maximum, and assorted other variables. When the credit report prints in your lender’s office, the total score is displayed. Your score can be anywhere between the high 300’s and the low 800’s. Lenders wanted to determine if there was any relationship between these credit scores and whether borrowers made their payments on time, so they did a study. The study showed that borrowers with scores above 680 almost always made their payments on time. Borrowers with scores below 600 seemed fairly certain to develop problems. As a result, credit scoring became a more important factor in approving mortgage loans. Credit scores also made it easier to develop artificial intelligence computer programs that could make a "yes" decision for loans that should obviously be approved. Nowadays, a computer and not a person may have actually approved your mortgage. In short, lower credit scores require a more thorough review than higher mortgage lenders will not even consider a score below 600. Some of the things that affect your credit score are: Delinquencies Too many accounts opened within the last twelve months Short credit history Balances on revolving credit are near the maximum limits Public records, such as tax liens, judgments, or bankruptcies No recent credit card balances Too many recent credit inquiries 98 scores. Often, How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Too few revolving accounts Too many revolving accounts 99 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Resources Section Advertising Cable TV Advertising Networks Pinpoint Your Advertising Television advertising can be affordable if you know where to buy space. Most broadcast television spots are too expensive. But Cable TV and the new "adcast” systems makes it a viable, relatively inexpensive, less tedious and a somewhat targeted avenue. The old system required you to contact each Cable TV station individually to place ads. Or pay higher-than-normal agency fees due to the work. But now many entrepreneurs filled the void and offer “adcasts.” That’s simply an electronic broadcasting network of which to deliver the same ad in digital format to multiple Cable TV stations. Thus, one call, one check, one ad copy to many stations and one report on your ad results. 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OBSESSION OF THE YEAR OFFER ENDS ( ) OFFER LIMITED TO FIRST( ) OFFER LIMITED TO FIRST( ) CALLERS OFFICIAL ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY ONE TIME SETUP FEE ONLY $ OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK OPPORTUNITIES OPTION TO PURCHASE OPTIONAL ORDER DIRECT ORDER NOW! ORDER TODAY ORDER WHILE SUPPLIES LAST ORIGINAL OTHERS COST TWICE AS MUCH OUT-OF-SIGHT OUTSTANDING OUTSTANDING BENEFITS OVER COMING OVERNIGHT DELIVERY OVERRATED OVERWHELMING OWNERSHIP PARTICIPATION IS LIMITED 122 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads PATENTED PAY NOTHING FOR ( ) MONTHS PAY ONLY..... PERFECT PERFORMANCE PERMANENT PERPETUAL PERSONAL FORTUNE PERSONALIZED PERSPECTIVE PHENOMENAL PHONE TODAY! PIONEERS PLUS GET... 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TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TAKE CARE OF TAKING OVER TAX BENEFITS TAX DEDUCTIBLE TECHNICAL TECHNOLOGY TERRIFIC TEST DRIVE TESTED AND APPROVED TESTS PROVE THERE'S NOTHING LIKE IT! THINNER THOUSANDS THOUSANDS SOLD TIME LIMITED INFO TIME SAVING TIME TESTED TIMELY TIMES RUNNING OUT TIP OF THE ICE BURG TO ASSIST YOU TOLL FREE TOP LEVEL TOP NAME 128 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads TOP SECRET! 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WIDE VARIETY WILLPOWER WIN WISDOM WITHOUT LIFTING A FINGER WORD-OF-MOUTH WORKS IN MINUTES WORLD PREMIER WORLD'S GREATEST WORLDWIDE YEAR ROUND YOU CAN DO IT YOU CAN TOO 130 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF YOU QUALIFY YOU SELECT YOU THE CUSTOMER COMES FIRST YOUR CHOICE 131 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Anatomy Of A Press Release “How To Get Free Advertising” When you see ads like that, they are either referring to press releases or getting articles published. These two methods are for more powerful than any ad could ever be. However, they are also much more elusive. Here is a sample release. I dissected it to highlight the important parts. 1 – A standard introduction for a press release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2 - Who to contact for more information. Iclude address and phone number. Contact: The Made in New York Store 373 Enfield Falls Road, Ithaca, NY 14850-8758 Michael Turback – Succinct title that entices the reader. 607-277-0303 3 – Attention Grabbing Headline Made In New York Store Announces Selection As Ultra=Cool Shopping Site 4 – Begin with the location and date, followed by an introduction covering all major points. Ithaca, NY, January 5, 1998 – The Made in New York Store. An online department store based in Ithaca, New York, has been selected by coolshopping.com as an “Ultra-Cool Shopping Site,” and one of the first 400 sites on the net to receive the coveted designation. Made in New York is the only store whose every item is produced or manufactured exclusively in New York. Its address on the internet is http://www.newyorkfirst.com. 5 - A quote by a company representative adds credibility to your release. 132 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads “In the restaurant business it would be the equivalent of a 4-star Award by The New York Times,” says Michaels Turback, Made in New York Store President, and himself a former restaurateur. 6 – Include information about why this event is newsworthy. What is the criteria for a selected site? Innovative design, layout and vavigation. Interesting and useful consumer products. The Made in New York Store is in good company. The elite group of sites includes Bloomingdales, Fortunoff and Martha By Mail, the shopping site of Martha Stewart Living. 7 – conclude with further contact information For more information about The Made in New York Store, visti the web site at www.newyorkfirst.com of phone 1-800-581-7599 ### Above Press Release Without Comments: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: The Made in New York Store 373 Enfield Falls Road, Ithaca, NY 14850-8758 Michael Turback, Customer Liaison 607-277-0303 MADE IN NEW YORK STORE ANNOUNCES SELECTION AS ULTRA-COOL SHOPPING SITE Ithaca, NY, January 5, 1998 – The Made in New Yyork Store, an online department store based in Ithaca, New York, has been selected by coolshopping.com as an “Ultra-Cool Shopping Site,” and one of the first 400 sites on the net to receive the coveted designation. 133 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Made in New York is the only store whose every item is produced or manufactured exclusively in New York. Its address on the internet is http://www.newyorkfirst.com. “In the restaurant business it would be the equivalent of a 4-star Award by The New York Times,” says Michael Turback, Made in New York Store President, and himself a former restaurateur. The Made in New York Store is in good company. The elite group of sites includes Bloomingdales, Fortunoff and Martha By Mail, the shopping site of Martha Stewart Living. For more information about The Made in New York Store visit the web site at www.newyorkfirst.com or phone 1-800-581-7599. ### Where to send a press release for free: MediaPost PRWeb 134 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Marketing Plan Outline If you can honestly and accurately answer all the points below, you will master your entire territory. Thus, you will know exactly what loan product to sell to whom. Determine Your Market 1. Geographic Market 2. Customer a. Income b. Education c. Sex d. Age e. Location f. Specific consumer characteristics i. needs and how your loan products fills these needs ii. expectations (quality of service, speed of delivery, convenience, etc) 3. Total size of market a. Number of customers in market b. Number of loans closed annually in market c. Prices of loans now being sold d. Projected growth of market in three years e. Projected changes in market and how it affects you i. Changes in technology ii. Inflation iii. Current or potential competition iv. Interest rates v. Wages vi. The economy vii. Government policies and regulation viii. Industry cycles ix. Seasonality x. Other Marketing Plan 135 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 1. Goals of marketing plan a. Targets you want to reach b. Changes you want to make 2. Loan program target position in marketplace a. Image b. Benefits offered c. Pricing 3. Company’s target position in marketplace a. Technological leader b. Marketing innovator c. Low-cost originator d. Loan product differentiator/innovator e. High quality service f. Exclusivity – loan product, sweepstakes, etc 4. How customers view your loan products now 5. Customers to be targeted 6. Competitive strategy a. Price b. Quality c. Service d. Convenience – location or go to them e. Loan product differentiation f. Technical knowledge g. Image h. Other 7. Marketing, Sales & Promotions a. Newspapers b. Magazines c. Trade publications d. Radio e. Broadcast TV f. Cable TV g. Direct mail 136 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads h. Coupons, vacation certificates, etc i. Trade shows j. Other 8. Pricing a. Methods used to determine optimum pricing b. How this price … i. Will gain market share iii. Will maximize profits iv. Relates to desired image or target market v. Compares to competitors’ price vi. Why customers will pay this price 9. Specific potential customers a. Who are they b. How are they selected c. How are they contacted d. Sample advertising pitches for each targeted customer 10. Advertising agencies or marketing consultants a. Now signed b. Planned to sign 11. Public relations a. Public relations planned or implemented b. Public relations agencies or consultant now being used or to be hired 137 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Sales Letter Outline Much preparation and thought is required to produce a compelling sales letter. You could just sit down and start writing .. and re-writing … and re-writing until something “sounds right.” But the best approach is to analyze and project. Connect the benefits to your targeted audience. For example, in the “How Real Estate Agents Increase Their Commissions” letter, the benefits were: Adding another profit center Adding it for free Doing no extra work Requiring no additional training, Testing the service virtually risk-free Passing the buck relieving them of any responsibility. Those are some powerful benefits. And for the busy (or laxy) real estate agent, it fits like a glove – if the loan officer can prove they are competent. But how did I extract these benefits? Like this … Create a features-benefit chart to get the juices flowing. Brainstorm and write down every feature, every nook and cranny of your offer. Absolutely everything you can think of. Don’t leave out anything – no matter how crzay or irrelevant it seems. Then determine the associated benefit. For example, using the same letter above … (short version) Features – Benefit Chart Feature Benefit Agent’s client completes preapproval form Agent has no extra work Loan officer works “dead deal” first Virtually risk-free to agent This is obviously the short list. But I wanted to point out my thought process when constructing the letter. The benefit is typically just the result of the feature from a different perspective. When you chart is complete, study it. Then walk away and take a break. Sometimes my charts sit for days until I’m inspired. Then I’ll crank out 3-10 letters one after another. But I always start with the headline. 138 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Your headline is the most important part of your entire letter. Let me repeat that statement. Your headline is the most important part of your entire letter. Should I mention it one more time? Your headline is the most important part of your entire letter. If you headline doesn’t draw in the reader, you wasted your time writing the darn thing. Write you headline to stake a claim. For example, “How Real Estate Agents Increase Their Commissions.” If you’re a real estate agent interested in making more money, you’re going to read the letter because I’m claiming to educate you (the reader) and fatten their wallet. Use words that sell when writing your headline. You want to draw attention immediately but keep it somewhat believable. And it must correlate to your benefits. Brainstorm with the headline too. I usually write a half dozen or so headlines before I choose one. After writing a few headlines, put them out of your mind and concentrate on … Pre-Draft Questions 1. What’s the most valuable benefit I can offer this reader? 2. How can I make this reader feel the value of this benefit? 3. Exactly what do I want this reader to do and what immediate action should I press for? 4. What major objectives to the proposed action will this reader probably have, and how can I deal with them? Now comes the tricky part – writing a dynamic letter that persuades the reader to take action immediately. Here’s the outline to assist you … I. Opening A. Secure interest i. arouse interest ii. present benefit(s0 iii. establish credibility (avoid detailing desired action too much in the beginning). II. Body A. Justify benefit and explain proposal (body must cover a lot of vivid details) j. explain benefit in glowing, but realistic, terms k. fully clarify the connection between proposed action and benefit, so even resisting readers will believe l. deal with any anticipated objections m. explain with perfect clarity what action you want 139 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads The body should progress from focusing mainly on the benefit at fist to focusing mainly on the desired action near the end. Shifting from benefit to proposed to action. Phrasing should shift from conditional at the beginning (“If you do it”) to definite in the middle (“When you do it”) as readers become persuaded. Then to instrumental near the end (“here’s how to do it”). The sift should not be obvious. If you must deal with expected objections, do so about ½ to 2/3 way through the body. III. Closing Getting action: confidently press for action and remind the reader of the benefit they can expect … “act now” … “do it today” … etc. Post-Draft Questions 1. Does the opening get attention and vividly portray the benefit? 2. Does the body emphasize the benefit near the beginning and the proposed action near the end? 3. Does the body clearly explain exactly what I want the reader to do? 4. Does the close firmly press for action and relate it to the benefit? 5. How could I make the images more vivid? 16 Ways To Jump Start Your Sales Letters 1. Open with a reference to time. 2. Use a YOU point of view. 3. Ask a question that will capture their attention. 4. Make a definite statement 5. Make a courteous request 6. Open with a big name 7. Get sentimental, but not hokey 8. Challenge your reader with a startling statement – when you can lead directly into your story. 9. Tell a story with a point 140 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 10. Start on a positive note 11. Make an offer 12. Give a gift 13. Report the news 14. Tell “how” 15. Use numbers 16. Warn of benefits that may be missed 141 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Dead Deals If you still can’t “find a home” for your loan. In 1999, I created an email list specifically for that purpose. Just type your loan information and scenario, then email to the list. At last count there were over 1,702 loan officers and sales managers across America willing to help you. I have since released the list and it is now owned and operated by Mortgage Press here. You can also visit the Grapevine, created by Thomson Financial. 142 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Leads & Lists What’s the difference between leads and lists? Leads are completed mini-applications. Lists are people that match certain demographics (direct mail or cold call). LEADS ELeadz.com 2222 Michelson Drive #191 Irvine, CA 92612 877-302-7730 The Mortgage Leads Network, Inc 3600 S. Harbor Blvd, #120 Channel Islands, CA 93035 888-250-4130 mLeads 888-43-LEADS LISTS Download mortgage lists from 1,000+ counties in 47 states across the USA. Low as 5 cents each. Choose from up to 100 peremeters … MortgageLists.com People Who Have Completed Moving Surveys and related 1. People who have completed surveys that they are planning to move. A Moving Experience, list managed by: The Listworks Corp 914-769-7100 2. People who asked about moving services and are going to relocate. 143 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads From PreMover.com.. List managed by: LH Management Division Leon Henry Inc 914-723-3176 3. People who are going to build a custom built home. Market Touch, Inc 800-215-0501 4. People planning to apply for a home loan. Acme List Management 847-587-1160 5. Users of a relocation web site (AAAMove.com) to find a mover; get moving estimates; bid on a move and pay for the move with a credit card. List managed by: Market Touch, Inc 800-215-0501 Last minute addition for movers/homebuyers: http://www.homebuyernetwork.net http://www.house-hunting.com/leads_by_email.htm http://www.servicemagic.com/realestate/realestate_signup.jsp http://www.nationalrelocationagents.com/about.htm http://www.proforcerealestate.com/advertisingwebleads.html http://www.cdirealestate.com http://www.homegain.com/agent/signup http://www.relocationexperts.com/network.htm http://www.americanhomeguides.com/membership/prod_builders.html People Who Have Attended Home Buying Seminars 1. People who attended a seminar on how to purchase homes. ListSmart Inc 816-505-2111 2. Creative Real Estate Seminar Attendees Have attended educational workshops focusing on making money in real estate. (investor loans!) World Data 144 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 561-393-8200 People Who Currently Rent 1. @Home.com users that rent List managed by: Kathy Elter Walter Karl, Inc. 845-732-7055 2. Apartment Dwellers Database (General) Walter Karl, Inc. 845-620-0700 3. Blue Ribbon Renters Apartment dwellers who take advantage of credit offers and soft trial offers by mail. Media Horizons, Inc. 203-857-0770 4. Renters With Credit Qualifiers (credit score estimates) FMP Direct, Inc 800-995-3343 5. Accepted Renters Masterfile Market Street Lists, Inc. 608-772-6666 People Who Bought Home Plans & Blueprints 1. Venture Direct, Inc 212-684-4800 2. Homestyles Publishing, list managed by: Names & Addresses, Inc. 847-465-1500 Surprise Bonus 1. AOL Homeowners 145 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads AOL members who live in single family residence. List Services Corporation 203-743-2600 2. Ameritech Residential Disconnects People who have disconnected their residential phones in the past 30, 60 or 90 days. Possible movers. Only available in IL, IN, MI, OH and WI. Walter Karl, Inc. 845-620-0700 3. Homeowners in default or foreclosure TransAmerican Marketing 714-744-1777 4. Potential Home Equity Borrowers Bank model, subprime lenders, finance companies and 125%CLTV Acxiom More List Companies FMP List Services Inc 847-816-1919 upwardly mobile movers, 1st-time homebuyers, age credit card presence, households with children, growing families on the move, dwelling type, median age, income, education , home value ACT ONE Mailing List Services, Inc 800-228-5478 by mortgage amount, home value, length of residence, mortgage date, mortgage type, land use, type of rate, occupation. Renters or homeowners Focus USA 201-489-2525 Venture Direct Worldwide 212-684-4800 foreclosures 146 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads The Rich List Co. 516-537-0915 homeowners and renters with unlisted phone numbers ListSmart Inc. 816-505-2111 consumers who attended a seminar how to purchase homes and rental properties American List Counsel Inc. 800-403-8646 high-income residents at home Walter Karl Business 914-620-0700 apartment dwellers Lifestyle Change Communications 770-984-1100 stable and creditworthy homeowners, length of residence, home value, veterans, purchase price, income, dwelling type, 2nd mortgage holders Carney Direct Marketing 949-581-5100 homeowners, origination date, home value Database Marketing Concepts 516-218-0389 high-tech homeowners who subscribe to Information Week, Internet Week, Windows Magazine, Electronic Buyer’s News, etc Adrea Rubin Management, Inc 212-983-0100 seniors Dunhill International List Co, Inc 147 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 561-347-0200 wealthy homeowners by occupation NCRI List Management 201-541-9500 homeowners with equity Experian (f/k/a TRW) 800-541-0524 Dependable List Management 847-995-1234 homeowners who have lived in their homes at least 125 years Midwest Direct Marketing 913-686-2220 monthly updates of rate type, dwelling type, construction loan, equity loan, 1st time sale, foreclosure, interest rate, lender info, seller carryback, private party lender and tons more TranAmerican Marketing 714-744-1777 homeowners in default or foreclosure Performance Data 800-626-2341 finance company users, occupations, home owners Profile America List Company 201-569-7272 5.7 million home equity loan prospects Market Touch 770-754-9066 148 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads pre-mover hotline, absentee owners, owners with credit cards, senior owners, timeshare owners, veteran owners, widowed owners 149 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads Free Tools Section Discover easy-to-use software to create your “electronic brochure,” to get your icon on people’s computer desktop, to create your own automated lead-generating website plus submit your site to the top 40 search engines. ¾ Password for only Publisher Name downloads: idontknow58 1. Download AOLpress to create your web site. It’s a simple program that utilizes “WhatYou-See-Is-What-You-Get” technology for creating web sites. I’ve been using it since 1994. If you are having trouble designing a website, use 1 of the 6000 website templates. After you have unzipped the templates, in AOLpress, click File then Open and choose a template. (Download Template Set 1, Set 2, Set 3, Set 4.) If you don’t have an unzipping software, download Winzip or UltimateZip. If you don’t like AOLpress, visit eBooksnBytes.com for their extensive editorials on several ebook creators. 2. Once you have your offline website created, create you “eletronic brochure,” or ebook, with Sbuilder. Make sure all your files are in the same directory. Then click a few buttons to create it. Download Sbuilder here. 3. To get your icon on people’s desktops, download Install Creator at ClickTeam.com. Use their “wizard” to create an installation file. Be sure to check the boxes to add your icon to their desktop and start menu. This software is kind of like Winzip whereby it “wraps” itself around your file distribution purposes. When you ebook (website-on-disk) is installed, it will automatically create an icon on the desktop and start menu. Now you get free advertising on their computer. 4. Distribution of your ebook can be by floppy disk or your website. If by disk, use MS Word Wizard under labels. Select computer disk. Create vibrant color labels. Print and affix the labels to blank floppy disks. Copy your ebook on numerous floppy disks. Distribute them a Home Builder’s Shows, Real Estate Offices, CPA offices, Financial Planners Offices, direct mail and even add them in your office’s reception area! You may also consider writing and distributing a quick press release to your local media. Announce that your innovative website-on-disk is available free by calling 555-1212 or visiting yoursite.com. If you’re distributing it by website, just upload and create a link to download. 150 How To Get TONS of Mortgage Leads 5. To create your automated lead-generating website, you need to add one thing to your index.html page. Then upload it to your website. The “Web Caller ID” – known as Magic Subscriber – generates the code needed to add to your indes.html page. When someone visits your site, they will see a small box offering a free report. When they click “OK,” it brings up their email software and inserts their name and email address. The person simply clicks Send to receive the report. Your would want to automate this further by placing a series of reports on an autoresponder. Be sure to include your advertisement inserted before, in the middle and at the end of the report. Use the free autoresponder at freeautobot.com or sendfree.com. Download the “Web Caller ID” software entitled Magic Subscriber here. Now you have a lead-generating website. It automatically captures your visitors name and email addresses using the Magic Subscribe code. It automatically sends a series of free and informative reports with your advertisements using a free autoresponder. The recipients are now seeing your name and contact information associated with the educational reports. This helps build credibility and the perception as an expert in your field. Thus, they are more likely to contact you for a loan. Furthermore, you have their name and email address to follow up at anytime. Just place classified ads for the free report and your site takes over from there. Also … 6. Submit you brand new leads website to 40 search engines using this software. 151
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