Written By: Karen Deis

To quote Malcolm Forbes...”The smart ones ask when they don’t know. And sometimes when they do!”

So we asked some of the top minds this question...”What is the smartest thing you can do right now to build your business in today’s market?”...and they answered us.

Since we had received so many responses, this is Part One with 6 of ideas from our experts:

The best idea in today’s market would be to position you as a first time homebuyer expert. Here is a game plan:

Most loan officers do business with real estate agents.

Do you REALLY know how much money they make? Years of experience? How much they spend on advertising and expenses? Where they are technologically challenged?

The National Association of Realtors® just released their 2009 Member Profile Report and we have taken the 74-page synopsis and condensed it for you.

It will help you determine which genre of agents you really want to do business with. For example, a newbie Realtor®, with 2 years experience, makes $8,600 gross income (yeah, that’s gross income) and those with 16 years make an average of $53,900 (gross).

When you read this article, not only will you see why Realtors® can be so demanding, you will also learn some of their weak points and how you can help them increase their business.

First of all, the most successful real estate agents have had a website for at least 5 years, hold at least one Realtor® designation, consider real estate as their ONLY career and have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Next, the income stats:

You are busy with refi’s. However, you still need to keep in touch with real estate agents. As a subscriber, you can either personalize the Realtor® Newsletter or cut and paste and email an article a week. Here are the articles in this issue:

• The New Reality of Working with First-Time Homebuyers
• Market Condition Addendum: Now Required on Every Appraisal & What it Means to You!
• Open House Quick Tip
• Business On the Go: Mobile Tools

Written By: Brian T. Larrabee, Industry Speaker (MortgageSpeakersBureau.com) and founder of Estate of Mind, Inc. a Visual Guide to the Housing Market and other educational tools for the benefit of consumers, bankers and real estate professionals in addition to 29 years of experience as an investor, developer, builder, mortgage banker/broker, financial advisor. Email: Brian@EstateOfMindInc.com.

We've just witnessed either a massive, pre-emptive, wholesale sentiment shift in the bond and MBS markets or one heck of a dress rehearsal.

Have mortgage rates reached a new plateau from which they will not fall?

Or will the impending double-digit rates of unemployment keep inflation and interest rates at bay?

Many homeowners, who are waiting patiently for lower rates or an approval on their refinance before locking in, have recently been the recipients of some unsettling news. What will you tell them when they ask if there is still hope and how will you explain it to them? While you must speak to your audience in your own words, the following are a few fundamentals and analogies that you can share.