Realtors:  Educate your buyers so that you are less likely to lose them...
I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who was a Realtor but got out of the business.  He had one last deal he was working on and just found out that his client found a home online - Realtor.com.  The client called the listing agent on the property and made an offer and completely cut my friend out of the loop.
While we were discussing this we were wondering if he thought he was going to save some money since only one agent would be involved.  Of course, both my friend and I knew that the truth of the matter would be that he would not get proper representation going straight to the listing agent since she really represents the seller AND he would also not save any money since the listing agent would make the entire 6% commission that is paid by the SELLER - not the buyer.  
My friend didn't say whether he had eductated the buyer about these things and I didn't want to ask in case he hadn't, but I did want to post this story so that any Realtor who reads this will see how important it is to educate your buyers.  When I meet with clients, I always educate them about what loans they would qualify for and what their options are and which loan is the best loan for them relative the their stated goals - usually the lowest monthly payment.  I also talk to them about other lenders from a perspective of where I have worked (big bank, broker, and mortgage bank) and the typical strategies of many loan officers to try to get business.  I still lose a deal every now and then but of the few that I've lost, I've had a few come back to me after the fact and tell me they wish they had stayed with me because what I told them would happen ended up happening.  Hopefully your clients will stay with you and get the benefit of your expertise and services and they are more likely to stick with you until the end if you educate them properly.  

Have a great weekend.  I'm available at 702-812-1214 if you have any lending questions or need a pre-approval for a client.
 

What drives you to be better?

I was on my morning bike ride and I was riding great.  Over the last couple of months I've noticed a fairly significant improvement in my average miles-per-hour while I've also noticed that my average heart rate has decreased somewhat significantly as well.  All of a sudden I'm riding about 1.0 miles per hour faster (about 2.2 mph faster than last year at this time) - and plan to improve that as well - and my Average HBM (heartbeats per minute) is about 7-10% lower than what it was just a couple of months ago.  The change?  I started cross training by running on the treadmill and doing the eliptical 2-3 nights a week in addition to my normal riding schedule (when it's not windy - I hate riding in the wind).

Why am I doing this other than the fact that I love cycling and want to see how good I can be at 46+ along with trying to manage my weight?  I have a riding buddy who calls me "Lance" because of how much I ride and how fast I ride (at least relative to my friend).  I always chuckle and defer humbly that I am far from him or any other pro cyclist, not to mention lots of great hobby cyclists.  However, I am competitive and if someone is going to call me Lance, I better try to live up to the name.  With this in mind in addition to my normal competitive nature, I started training harder both on the bike and off, and I am trying to watch what I eat - my sweet tooth is challenging some times - o.k. most times.
I then try to apply this same attitude and mentality to my business by analyzing what I can do to build more relationships - both referral and client.  I don't worry too much about my bottom line because if I take care of my relationships, they will help me create more relationships until I have enough to achieve my bottom line goals.  I look for niches (FHA 203(k) Streamline, Energy Efficient Mortgage, etc. - www.YouTube.com/thewunderliteam) and try to develop strategies that will help my Realtor partners build their business which positively impacts mine.  I also offer value-added services such as bond market analysis and the Energy Efficient Mortgage to provide benefits to my clients.
So what drives (rides) you?  What makes you want to improve your business?  What ideas do you have to help your fellow business partners achieve their goals as well?  It's the new year and a great time to assess what you can do to improve on last year.  Let's pick it up and sustain it throughout the year - not just for the first month.  Please share your ideas / comments.

D. Jed Wunderli
Certified Mortgage Planner
Alterra Home Loans
702-812-1214