The Mortgage Business is the Best Job on Earth!

I just returned from a trip to Belize (where my husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary). We arrived in Belize City to catch a flight to the little town of Placencia. The plane's passenger capacity was ten, including my husband sitting in the cockpit with the pilot! The "airport terminal" (and I use the words loosely) was a small, mobile home type building. Posted on the building were a couple of signs-one advertising RE/MAX? and the other advertising mortgages thru the building and loan company.

My "beach bag" of choice was one of those carry-all bags that you would pick up when attending mortgage conventions. So, the guests at the resort did not hesitate to ask me about interest rates and refinancing options. One guest even wanted to get into the mortgage business.

The point here is that wherever there is real estate for sale, there are mortgage companies and loan officers. We are one of the few professions in the world where we are instrumental in fulfilling one of Maslow's Basic Needs (and then some). We owe it to ourselves and our clients to give THEM the best advice we can give them-and not look at each transaction as a "commission". Love your job! I think the mortgage business is the BEST JOB ON EARTH.

Oh, one more thing-just to show you that you just can't get away from this business of ours, I thought I'd share this picture that we took on our trip to the rain forest. I think this says it all.

Just think of the advertising possibility using this picture.

(click on image to enlarge)

In this issue...

Don't some of the commercials on TV and radio by the Dot.Com mortgage companies get you downright MAD? It's not that they are lying about any of their claims that they cut out the middleman or that they have lenders competing for your loan! It's when they blatantly tell consumers "even if you have applied someplace else, you can still apply with US." Tom Ward (Tom Ward is CEO and Founder of Majestic Mortgage Corp., (now in its 15th year wih annual volume of $300M), and Majestic Consulting & Marketing. He is a frequent a contributing writer to industry trade magazines and speaker at industry events. Majestic Consulting & Marketing provides profitability, operational and marketing consulting to mortgage originators, bankers and brokers.) has written an article called The Dot.Com Challenge and How to Sell Against the APR. To make sure that his clients compare "apples to apples," Tom shows his clients how the APR quoted by the Dot.Com Mortgage Company translates to the TRUE AMOUNT OF CLOSING COSTS they will be paying. Using your HP 10b Business Calculator, and Tom's simple formula, you too, will be able to "sell" against your dot.com competitors.

Mike Moffitt, Mortgage Resource Group of US Home Mortgage (Mike is a Senior Loan Officer with the Resource Mortgage Group, a division of US Bank Home Mortgage, Minneapolis, MN. He specializes in the first time homebuyer market. Mike has closed $51 million YTD with $25 million of that in the purchase business.) has created a Realtor™ Referral Program. In his article "Forget the Donuts! Here's a Program That EARNS your Realtor's™ Business," Mike tells you why real estate agents (sometimes) treat you like dirt and how you can turn the tables on them by providing them with referrals! But, before he refers even the first client to them, he "interviews" them to see if they (yes, the Realtor) are suitable to become a "preferred agent." Then he goes one step further and has them sign a "contract" that says THEY must deliver a high level of professionalism to continue to get referrals. Mike also provides them with a buyer's needs analysis. (Purchase all forms and sample contract for $69.00! CLICK HERE)

In my travels throughout the country, I am obsessed with real estate magazines. What I find is that most of the ads look the same...picture of the real estate agent...real estate agent's "quaint slogan"...picture of the home for sale...short description of the home...phone numbers. Even worse are the mortgage ads where loan officers claim to be Number One. They can do every loan program ever known to man. And, of course, the ad includes their picture-which is either a professional pose or a glamour shot. In the article "Strike a Creative Pose," I have given you examples of some unique pictures that I hope will get your creative juices flowing the next time YOU place an ad in a real estate magazine.

In this issue's Quick Tips section, Tom Goodhew, Loan Officer with Argent Funding, Covington, KY, provided us with a wonderful idea that provided a "synergy" to George Hanzimanolis' FBSO Marketing article (featured in the 10-1-02 issue). By including a mini-application form as part of the FSBO Information Sheet, he is able to substantially increase the amount of pre-approvals-and the FSBO seller does the marketing for him. Read this short article to see how he gets clients to call him-a true consumer-direct marketing concept.

If you are looking for training at affordable prices, please check out www.LoanOfficerSeminars.com It's an on-line training company (that I co-own) that provides training to loan officers via the web and telephone conferencing. Best of all, for one registration fee (per location), everyone in the office can attend for only $149.00 total. The "Lunch & Learn" Teleseminars include both technical training and presentations by super star loan originators. The next scheduled sessions are:

October 24, 2002 - "Strategies of Raising Credit Scores" with Mari Gottdiener, President of OutSource Solutions and California Attorney

November 14, 2002 - "Creating Lasting Realtor Partnerships" with Greg Frost, President, Frost Mortgage and super star originator

December 5, 2002 - "Positioning Yourself as a Trusted Advisor" by Tim Braheem, First Rate Financial and superstar originator

We record each session as well so the CD Replay (a CD ROM to be played on your computer) is available to purchase at www.LoanOfficerSeminars.com. Click on "products."