Are you ahead or behind the market?

We are at the midpoint of February and already people are well ahead of their first quarter projections! Are you taking full advantage of these incredible opportunities?

Here are some really great numbers:

• Mortgage rates are 1% or more lower than this time last year.
• Purchase business is up more than 16% over last year.
• Refinance business is up more than 200% over last year.
• Equity levels are at all-time highs.
• People can sell and move to a more expensive home for the same or slightly higher monthly payment.
• First & last month’s rent and security deposit can help get into a new home; add in an income tax refund and you are on your way!
• The possibility of lower rates and equity and eliminate MI as well as possible debt consolidation to further reduce monthly obligations!

With all of these opportunities, you should be setting personal production records!

How are you doing with the 50 refinance challenge? Will you get your 50 refinances closed by April 30^th? Many in my group are using this challenge as a way to stretch personal expectations and reward themselves for the commitment to do what they once thought impossible!

If you’re not closing five to eight loans a month, or haven’t closed 25 units since last October, what is holding you back?

We are here to help you!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

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Important Information

We got some really important information yesterday from a number of sources. The MBA shared that purchase activity was up 8% year over year and refinances were up 116% in the same period. Clearly the desire to buy homes is not wavering in the least, and the appetite to save money, reduces loan terms, change programs, consolidate debt, or access equity remains strong! This wave of activity is largely being captured by those who kept working hard in the fourth quarter of last year, and given the rate of new applications and the preapproval numbers being reported back by those I have been speaking to, we are in for a very strong first quarter!

The FHFA reported that in November, property values of homes financed with a conforming loan were up 4.9%. Now, any number of properties could be financed with a conforming loan program, but this number is likely to put more weight in more typical homes and less in larger homes. Certainly you could use a conforming loan on a two million dollar house, but most of these homes are likely represent what is the hottest part of the market right now, which are homes of more average market values.

Existing home sales were reported higher this month by 3.6% and almost 11% higher than this time last year! When you couple this with NAR reporting that housing inventories are at the lowest levels ever reported, and they started keeping this data forty years ago, we are in a real purchase housing demand cycle that makes sense given the rise of household formations, rising wages, consumer confidence, and the high cost of renting!

As supply continues to struggle to meet demand, new construction can only help so much! It will be those agents who can generate listing activity that will see the greatest advantage. For those mortgage professionals out there looking for an opportunity to forge new relationships with the best of the best, knowing the strategies to help generate those listing opportunities are essential! Buying leads will not create the relationships, value, and quality of experience needed this year; being a successful strategic partner in listing opportunities will be GOLD!

The cost of waiting will be enormous for those who wait to buy, sell, refinance, or learn the strategies needed to help create listing opportunities in your market! So use the tools and strategies on the website to help you create opportunities and build the very relationships you will need to defeat the algorithm enemy!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

 

 

Actions That Payoff!

With the first full week of 2020 running along, it is really important to be focused on the actions and activities that really payoff. With your work schedule clearly defined and your marketing calendar in front of you, this is a good week to be sure you are up to date and have all of your people with you. Here are a few things you will want to be sure of taking care of this week.

• Connect with every preapproval personally to be sure they are back in action.
• Speak with every Realtor you expect to be working with this year and be certain they have already done the same!
• Finalize your plans on your Valentine’s Day event or activity.
• Complete your “Accountant video” and get it out by Friday so you can follow-up by phone next week.
• First conversations of the new year with your banks and credit unions.
• Set the first breakfast or lunch appointments with your financial planners, insurance professionals, and divorce attorneys!
• Think about “Leap Day Saturday” potential event!
• Girl Scout Cookie Season!

Momentum is critical and if you have it, you want to keep it going; if you don’t, then you need to generate it NOW! All the tools are on the website so there are no excuses! If you can’t find what you need, just email me!

As always, questions and comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

Do What The Others Won’t Do!

The last couple of weeks of the year can really define who we are as mortgage professionals. For those of you who are going out of town on vacation or taking off until the beginning of next year, enjoy your time off and have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year! For those who are still engaged, you need to manage your work schedule to make the most of the opportunities left behind by those who will not do what you will; WORK!

Yes, there will be Open Houses this weekend. Find them. Visit a few. Connect with the agents, the seller, and the neighbors!

Yes, there will be people looking at houses this weekend. Be sure you are speaking to ALL of your active preapprovals. If you don’t know which ones are active, call every preapproval you issued in 2019 that you didn’t close yet and ask them!

Yes, you can find small banks and credit unions still open for business the next couple of weeks; go stop by for a visit!

Yes, accountants, financial planners, attorneys, and insurance professionals are working the next couple of weeks; pick up the phone and schedule an appointment!

Yes, there are people in your database that need to refinance or sell their home and buy a new one; call them in any order you like. Low hanging fruit first, every FHA loan needs to be refinanced, either streamlined or into a conventional loan to eliminate permanent MI.

Yes, there is work to do the next couple of weeks. Just two hours a day will help you take advantage of doing what the others won’t do and establish the base for a strong first quarter of 2020!

Have a Merry Christmas and I will speak with you again next week!

Mike@IMTcoaching.com

Happy Thanksgiving 2019!

I wanted to wish everyone who follows this post a very Happy Thanksgiving from me and my family, to you and yours! Many choose not to work this weekend and I don’t have an issue with that for those of you who are very far above expectations, so enjoy the time off! For those trying to reach their targets or further surpass their numbers, this weekend is a very powerful opportunity. Here are some things to pay attention to!

• Get out and active on each and every day this weekend. Calling isn’t enough, get OUT AND VISIT!
• Those of you with “Black Friday Sales” taking place remember the plan and execute! Don’t forget to be visible!
• Open houses, neighbors, and those video coupons need to be visited and shared!
• Facebook Live® and other social media can be a huge opportunity!
• Remember your countdown to closing timeline! How many days left to get your deals done by the end of the year!

The people actually out and engaged in the home buying and selling process have a real need for your speed and expertise! If you aren’t keeping your people informed, you are missing out on opportunities!

Last but not least, you should be using your new weekly schedule based on your business plan for 2020 beginning next week. Working in that new schedule will likely show you some opportunities to make changes or connect your work sections more efficiently. That is why we plan in October, so you have this time to work through the material and make sure the plan works in reality as well as you thought it would on paper!

Enjoy the holiday!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

Winning The Race Against Time!

Every day the next few weeks we have lenders who can no longer accept loan applications that need to close this year. Each and every day another lender has to say no to a buyer, a seller, a listing agent, and a buyer’s agent. As we move into December, you need to seize the opportunity by getting yourself and your market prepared for what is possible as we all deal with the race against time to close transactions before this year is over!

I have talked before about looking at the calendar and understanding your clients and your market; your company and your support providers as to what is the real timeline to get deals done in your world, because the race against time is very real to those who need to buy, sell, close, and earn by the end of 2019!

The process is simple; here are a few questions you have to deal with:

• What is your company timeline look like against the calendar and when are your people available?
• Are your outside support people, title, closers, insurance, appraisers, inspectors, attorneys, HR people, and others going to be working the same days as you?
• Once you have a clear understanding of the availability, what can you do? Are you closing loans on 12/31, and if so, how many?

Once you have these clear in your own mind, you need to connect with:

• All of your current pre-approvals and share the possibilities.
• All of your current referral partners
• Message the managers of all the real estate offices, small banks, and credit unions about your ability to get loans closed and by when.
• Connect with your database and share the story because you don’t know who they might know!
• Social media and YouTube videos will help you count down the days to get these deals done!

Many of you have the ability to work through the end of the year and serve the people who may need your help the most if you just get out and look. I understand that for many, the focus is about the holiday parties and time off. I also have seen other coaches telling their clients that they have had a great year and they deserve to take some time off and enjoy the holidays! Well, I hope those clients listen to those coaches and take the time off. Coasting the last six weeks of the year will give my clients the opportunity to close more loans, serve more people, and open new doors to relationships they might not have had a chance to explore!

The last six weeks of the year is NOT the time to coast, it’s a time to serve and to build! There will be plenty of opportunities to have fun and party. Once you close out your pipeline for the year you can take a vacation in January or February, but now is the time to push hard right to the end of the year and take advantage of a market that needs your help!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

Helping Them Level Up!

I spoke last week about paying attention to the calendar and how to set yourself up to create additional opportunities just by being aware of the timeline in front of us. One of those key points can become a significant strategy for those who work with Realtors® or would like to grow their group of Realtor® referral partners. That strategy begins with a simple understanding that many of your Realtor® referral partners work on a tiered commission schedule. This schedule determines the commission splits and often grows with the total volume of closed transactions in any given year.

While not all of the real estate professionals work under this arrangement, many do, and you should be aware that even just one or two more transaction sides can make a big difference in the commissions that are earned. In fact, one transaction at the end of the year can not only earn that professional more money on that particular deal; the jump in commission split tier is often the beginning base for the upcoming year! That said, one transaction more in 2019 could mean thousands of dollars in additional income for you referral partner in 2020!

So think about this. Did you know this information? If you were, have you ever discussed this with any of your referral partners? Have you asked them where they stand right now and what would it take for them to jump up to that next level? Wouldn’t that show your partner you had a real interest in their business? What would that partner think if you offered to spend the next few weeks helping them find the listing or that buyer that they needed, and then helped make sure the deal closed in time for them to level up? I think it would certainly help build a much more committed relationship!

The website has all the strategies you will ever need. Just pull up that section and become familiar with them again. Once that is done, it’s time to talk to your agents and see what you can do to help them make that next level happen by the end of the year! Just ask the questions and then log into the website and share the video clips with you agent! Once you choose the path, go execute the plan! Working together can make the process fun and even more rewarding!

So put together your list of Realtors® you need to speak with. Ask about where they stand on their commission levels and see if they are interested in making a run at another closed transaction or two by the end of the year! Even if they don’t work on a tiered system, an “extra” deal or two in the next six weeks wouldn’t be so bad would it?

Remember, pushing strong through the end of the year can help you start 2020 with momentum! There is plenty of time for special events and holiday parties, you can afford to spend a couple of hours a day helping put together deals that can close before this year is over!

Questions and comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

Watch and Share the Calendar

There is so much information becoming available at any given time that people often lose perspective of the mid-range and longer range timelines. Today is Halloween but the calendar for this year is a bit more different than usual. Thanksgiving is on the latest possible day it can fall. November 28^th, so while we have 28 days from Halloween until Thanksgiving, the distance from Thanksgiving to Christmas is also the shortest it can possibly be, and as well as to the end of the year!

What will also complicate this is that given the dates and the likelihood that many won’t work a full day, or if at all, on November 27^th, 28^th, and 29^th; and the 30^th is a Saturday, we lose closing days at the end of November as well as Christmas week and with December 30^th a Monday; what may very well become an “OFF” day for many other people and professionals.

I say this so you can be prepared. If you have awareness, you can remind your clients and referral partners that particular attention needs to be paid when navigating closing dates and measuring expectations!

So be very clear about the dates and what possible road blocks there might be. Just because you are willing to work, it doesn’t mean others are! Also bear in mind that it may become difficult to get verbal verifications if there are companywide closures or certain people are “off” for the holidays! You need to plan the dates carefully!

There are benefits to those who plan and share carefully! A few extra deals may find their way to you IF you are clear and share your timelines with all the parties involved. Maybe you get an offer accepted because YOU can get the deal closed by the end of the year? Maybe being the last lender still accepting contracts in December lands you that deal, client, referral, or referral partner?

All of these things are vitally important to pay attention too! So look and plan! Share the information. Know the last possible day you can accept a deal that you can close this year! It could mean both short term and long term rewards if you just pay attention to the calendar!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

Success Is Everywhere!

Today I return to beautiful Louisville Kentucky for the last of four business planning events I am have scheduled in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky for the mortgage professionals at Ruoff Mortgage! There is a real reason this company is the #1 retail purchase mortgage company in the Midwest, is there commitment to provide an exceptional opportunity for their mortgage professionals to succeed.

Connecting live with managers and originators to help build success is a commitment in the quality of the experience. The quality of the experience for our clients and referral partners is almost as important as the commitment in the quality of the experience for the mortgage professionals themselves! A great work experience certainly translates into a great client and referral partner experience!

All of this continues to support my belief that we need to keep the person involved in the process. Technology is certainly important to the process, and having a state of the art originations platform is an important part of the client experience; people who connect with other people create the best experience and achieve the best results.

Not only are those at Ruoff Mortgage having their best years ever, many of my other clients across the country are setting personal production records month after month. Who would have thought that your best personal purchase loan closing month could have been in October? How many would believe that yearly origination targets would have been eclipsed by the end of the third quarter? It all proves that with a plan, quality strategies, accountability, and commitment, no target is out of range!

I also wanted to thank all of you that registered, attended, and viewed the Crossroads event on Tuesday the 22^nd. It was the single largest event we have ever done online, and the volume of new people joining in is a direct result of our loyal clients sharing the message with their referral partners and coworkers! So thank you!

The survival of our industry will be dictated by those who make a real choice. Do you strive to provide a great customer experience for your clients and referral partners; or do you become an assistant or an order taker with a job? It’s a real choice and a real opportunity for all of us to make. Success in our industry still remains a choice we get to make for ourselves; for now!

Questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com

Rate Rollercoaster, The Trend Is Your Friend

If you have been following these blog posts you have seen me urge caution and patience when working within the rate environment. I have spoken about getting information you can verify and share. I have urged you use caution and judgement when talking about rates, and I have wanted you to know the facts and share them with your clients and referral partners.

I wanted to put some things into perspective for you and get an idea why you need to be aware of what is going on. For the sake of this demonstration, I am using the closing numbers from the UMBS 3% 30yr as my example for pricing purposes. Remember, price goes up, rates go down. Prices go down, rates go up! Take a look at the following:

• November 8^th 2018 – 93.90
• April 8^th 2019 – 98.42
• May 20^th 2019 – 99.06
• May 31^st 2019 – 100.40
• July 29^th 2019 – 100.73
• August 5^th 2019 – 101.73
• September 4^th 2019 – 102.25
• September 13^th 2019 – 100.54
• September 24^th 2019 – 101.45
• October 2^nd 2019 – 101.70

While it being quite the wild ride, today we are near the same levels we were at on August 5^th when everyone was euphoric about rates! Yes, we are still a little bit away from the September 4^th high water mark of 102.25, but we are almost 800 bps better than the low of last November! 800 basis points!!!

As I have said before, I believe the trend is lower and that we can reach or go past all-time lows in the not too distant future. I also think this volatility is going to continue along with this trend. Barring a real trade deal with China, or some other major event, you have to follow the information and the sources of that information. I follow MBS Highway pretty closely and a few other independent channels, but you have to find your place you are comfortable trusting, and then position yourself as a resource.

It’s always a good idea to lock your client if they are nervous or a jump in rate could blow out their deal. It’s always good to lock near emotional numbers like rates near either a whole number or half number. 3.99% and 3.49% are much different to your consumer than 4% or 3.5%. It just is the way that goes!

Be sure to have the rate and volatility talk with your customers. Show your clients the difference in payments and pricing. Listen to them when they are talking about payments and rates! Share with them a rate/point relationship!

Experts have verified information, share and educate their clients, and provide the options so that the client is making an informed choice about financing their property!

Be sure to go to the website and register for Crossroads 2019! www.IMTcoaching.com

As always, questions or comments: Mike@IMTcoaching.com