FHA change eases buyers’ wait time

The Federal Housing Authority just made it easier for borrowers with previous hardships to qualify for an FHA-backed loan again. This is welcome news for buyers who went through short sales or foreclosures during the recent economic downturn.

The FHA announced that it is shortening the mandatory waiting periods for homeowners with a black mark on their credit to buy again using an FHA loan. These negative marks might include a short sale, foreclosure or even bankruptcy.

Before the FHA announcement, homeowners who went through one of those hardships faced a three-year mandatory waiting period. With the changes recently announced by the FHA as part of their Back to Work - Extenuating Circumstances Program, buyers who lost their homes due to financial hardships, but who can now prove over a course of the year that they are back on track financially, may qualify for an FHA loan sooner.

Under the new program, FHA announcements indicate a buyer can repurchase again after one year instead of three, provided they can document they lost 20 percent of their income.

This recent FHA announcement has sparked much interest from homebuyers who lost their homes due to extenuating circumstances.

Because the housing downturn is now six years old, there are many more buyers coming back into the market as they have passed the previously allotted waiting periods of three or four years, and they are looking to acquire financing again.

We encourage buyers to become familiar with today’s repurchase rules. These rules vary depending on the financing used and the type of hardship the applicant previously underwent.

Currently more than nine out of 10 mortgages are either funded by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, the FHA or VA. So, if a buyer is looking to purchase and needs financing, it is more than likely he or she will be using one of these three financing options. 

Each of those options has different rules directing the time frame for seeking financing again following a short sale, foreclosure or bankruptcy. To help consumers make sense of these options.

To qualify for the new FHA program, buyers should be prepared to:

• Prove that the foreclosure or short sale was caused by an economic event beyond their control, causing an income reduction of 20% or more for at least six months.

• Prove they have recovered from the economic event that led to the crisis.

• Prove that their credit was satisfactory before the economic event.

• Show that credit has been re-established over the past 12 months.

• Complete at least one hour of one-on-one housing counseling from a Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved counselor.

12 "Expert Picks" for Fail-Safe Colors

12 "Expert Picks" for Fail-Safe Colors
Here are twelve neutrals that color experts and designers rank as their top

 "fail-safe" picks.

Amazing Gray (Sherwin-Williams SW7044)

I repainted my bedroom this color, which is a medium gray with just a hint of green. It’s not too cool and not too warm. My plan is to use it with other grays, a charcoal gray upholstered headboard, and dusty plum and chartreuse.
—Jackie Jordan, Director of Color Marketing for Sherwin-Williams

Sage Morsel (Valspar 5005-1C)
I believe more in timeless colors than fail-safe colors like this gray green with its sophisticated gray undertone. You can find this color in your garden, paintings, and vintage photos, but the lightness of the gray green makes it perfect for today’s home.
—Sue Kim, Color Trend and Forecast Specialist for Valspar

Cinderblock (Ralph Lauren UL222)
For a warm, medium dark neutral I love Cinderblock. It just makes everything look rich and sophisticated. Very restful and pleasing to the eye. I just finished a Victorian reading room where I used it on the walls, trim, and ceiling as a home office and my client loves it.
—Myke Reilly, Designer and Co-Founder of The Happy Collective in San Francisco

Chelsea Gray (Benjamin Moore HC168
When people think about neutrals, they often think light and they don’t have to. This is a darker color that's still soft. It’s great with lots of linens, antiques, and vintage-style furnishings or it’s rich behind a contemporary white sectional.
—Sharon Grech, Color Expert for Benjamin Moore





Manchester Tan (Benjamin Moore HC168)
This is a very warm neutral that is almost like an off-white. It’s not gray or cold, and it’s not a boring beige. It's nice with dark and mid-tone woods and works well with cooler colors like blues or with reds, yellows, and greens.
—Sharon Grech, Color Expert for Benjamin Moore




Restrained Gold (Sherwin-Williams SW6129)
This warm and inviting color not only looks good with painted white trim but also stained trims like oaks, plus it maintains its hue well in daylight or artificial light. It also looks great in just about every room and pairs well with a wide range of colors, from reds and oranges to blues, greens, or purples.

—Karen Mills, Owner of Interiors by Design in Kansas City, Missouri 




Warm Caramel (Glidden GLN01)
I think this is simply the most comfortable and delicious full-bodied neutral. It works wonderfully with both traditional and contemporary design styles and is perfect used alone or paired with another color. It is one of our top sellers from coast to coast.
—Barbara Richardson, Director of Color Marketing for Glidden




Smooth Stone (Glidden GLN36)
Smooth Stone is the perfect neutral, if you are looking for a color that has subtle character and one that is truly neutral without the influence of red or yellow undertones. It works beautifully with other accent colors, too.
—Barbara Richardson, Director of Color Marketing for Glidden




Star of the Garden (Kelly-Moore KM4004-2)
This is my favorite fail-safe hue. It is a neutral that has it all—not too light or too dark, too warm or too cool. It’s the perfect complement to all of today’s most fashionable colors. It’s popular for exteriors, too.
—Mary Lawlor, Manager of Color Marketing at Kelly-Moore Paints





Ever Classic (Pratt and Lambert 32-34)
This is a perfect gray for walls or trim. It’s a mid-tone, neither too cool nor too warm. While all grays are trending strong right now, this is a gray that is a classic and will never go out of style. This color will lend a sense of luxury and refinement to any room in the house.
—Peggy Van Allen, Color and Design Specialist for Pratt & Lambert

Safari Vest (Behr UL190-17)
Safari Vest makes a wonderful background color, because so many other colors harmonize with it. Cream trim and black accents create a classic modern scheme, or pair it with accents in burgundy, forest, or navy blue for a more traditional look.
— Erika Woelfel, Director of Color for Behr

Toasted Wheat (Pratt and Lambert 7-26)
This has been one of our top colors for many years. It is a warm, nature-based tan that is extremely versatile. It has a certain amount of depth so that it will have a presence, but it is neutral enough that it won’t steal the show.
—Peggy Van Allen, Color and Design Specialist for Pratt & Lambert

Commission cutting

Did you know that many consumers believe that if you earn a 6 percent commission you keep the entire 3 percent on the buyer or seller side of the deal? It’s no wonder that they feel commission cutting is fair game. What can you do to educate them otherwise?

One of the most important points to realize is that the moment your sellers ask you to cut your commission, what they are really telling you is that you have failed to demonstrate your value.

Arm yourself with a premium marketing plan

An excellent strategy for demonstrating your value is to give your sellers a written premium marketing plan. This plan outlines all the services you provide to give the sellers the maximum exposure that results in the maximum price for their property.

Powerful commission defense:

You will also need at least two scripts that illustrate why it’s better to hire you as opposed to an agent who cuts his commission. When a seller asks you to cut your commission.

• “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, in order to achieve the highest possible price for your property you need someone who is a strong negotiator, wouldn’t you agree?” 
• “So if John Agent from Competitor Realty couldn’t even negotiate a full commission on his own behalf, how effective do you think he will be negotiating the best possible price on your home?”
• “Mr. and Mrs. Seller, this is my premium marketing plan that will help you obtain the highest possible price in the shortest amount of time. If you would like to pay a lower commission, perhaps I can find a junior associate who is willing to work for less money.”

Note that neither of these scripts mentions the word “discount.” Discounts are perceived as a benefit. Instead, addresses the seller’s need to net the most from the sale, and the fact that no one wants to be represented by a “junior associate.”

The six-card commission defense
At this year’s Real Estate Connect San Francsico conference, Ben Kinney of Keller Williams revealed one of the best commission defense strategies I have ever seen. The primary challenge facing agents right now is that the public doesn’t understand how much the agent actually nets at the end of the day.

A second challenge is that agents are now receiving phone calls where the homeowner asks, “How much do you charge?” If the agent answers, “Six percent,” the caller hangs up before the agent has a chance to explain his services.

Kinney’s approach to this situation addresses both of these issues. Here’s what he does:

1. Kinney comes armed to the listing appointment with at least 10 business cards. He uses these cards to illustrate what happens with commissions.

2. When clients ask, “How much do you charge?” his reply is, “Three percent.” This is also the answer to the phone call that asks, “How much do you charge?”

3. The next step is to ask the seller, “How much do you want to pay the agent who brings the offer to you — it can be 2 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent or even more.” Assuming that the seller says, “Three percent,” he puts aside three cards in addition to the three cards representing his commission.

4. He then continues by explaining: “Just so that you understand what happens to the 3 percent that you will be paying me,” he takes three cards and continues as he removes the first card, saying, “Every agent has to pay their broker part of the commission.” He takes the first card and puts it aside.

He then picks up the second card. “This amount goes to the marketing of your property,” which includes such services as professional photos; video; Web marketing; social media marketing; newspaper ads the agent pays for; brochures; gasoline; and all the other expenses entailed in marketing a home.

He then puts that card aside, picks up the last card and says, “This is how much I get paid.”

He then tears the card in half and says, “But I have to pay taxes, so this is how much I keep.”

He then asks a very important question: “So if another agent offers to lower their commission, where do you think the money comes from? Three percent goes to the other agent, 1 percent goes to their brokerage, and the government keeps 50 percent of what they earn. They’re not going to take food out of their children’s mouths, so the only place where this money can come from is by cutting into the 1 percent that I use to market your home.”

So the next time a client asks you to cut your commission, try one of the scripts above, or if you’re feeling adventuresome, give Kinney’s approach a try. It works for Kinney’s team and it can work for you, too.

ChristineMatus.com

561-444-8860

4 Keys to Making a Great First Impression

“You have just 7 seconds to make a good first impression.” Roger Ailes, CEO, FOX News
“You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” Will Rogers

We know we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but we just can’t help it. The root of the problem is that our brains are capable of making 1,001 estimations and calibrations at lightning speed. First impressions are just another timesaver.

According to a joint study by NYU, Tufts, and Harvard, people make 11 decisions about us in the first seven seconds of contact: education level, economic level, perceived creditability and believability, trustworthiness, level of sophistication, sexual identification, level of success, political background, religious background, ethnic background, and social and professional desirability.

If you happen to be on the receiving end of this process, there are a few things you can do to make a great first impression:

Honorable mentions. If you really think about it, meeting someone new really is quite an honor. After all, you never know what that relationship could turn into or how it might transform your life or business someday. Knowing that, it’s easy to treat other people with distinction.

What have you done for them lately? Playing the hard-sell networking card within a few minutes of meeting someone is a turn off. Instead, figure out what you can do for them. What they can do for you will naturally follow.

When you lose, you win. You may indeed be the best at everything, but you don’t need to show it. Compliment others, and be genuinely impressed by their achievements–be a little jealous even. The rewards of humility will be apparent quickly.

Network like a ninja. The artfulness of martial arts comes from using another person’s strength in your favor. It just so happens that getting people to talk about themselves in conversation works much the same way. As soon as you know something about someone, ask how they did it, or why they did it, or what they learned from it. Showing your respect and recognition will make you attractive.

Don’t forget to pass these helpful tips along to your clients and colleagues.

ChristineMatus.com

Face Book Fan Page

5 Facebook Fan Page Problems & Fixs
Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook are probably the top three social media sites that every blogger should be on right now. And even though the first two have millions of users under their belt and are great lead generation tools, there really is no other network as powerful as Facebook.

Just try to think who of your friends doesn’t have a Facebook account! That is the reason why every business and every blog should have a Facebook fan page.

If you haven’t yet created one for your blog, you are missing out on a huge potential audience, high engagement levels and targeted traffic. But even if you have one, there are no guarantees. The fact is most fan pages will remain unnoticed and won’t ever break the hundred likes barrier. Getting people to click that elusive “Like” button isn’t as easy as it sounds. And even if you have the fans, generating likes, comments and ultimately Facebook traffic has its pitfalls. The following post is all about those pitfalls. In the below paragraphs you will find five of the biggest reasons why people might decide your Facebook page isn’t worth a visit and of course tips to help you fix the problem areas! Let’s get started:

1. You Don’t Have the Likes

That’s undoubtedly the key ingredient that you need in order to convince people to like you. Unfortunately it’s a paradox that doesn’t quite work in your favor:

In order to get more people liking you, you need to have likes in the first place. That is exactly the reason why building your fanbase from 0 to 100 likes is tougher than reaching say 500 fans once you’ve gotten those initial 100 likes. So how do you get started? Well you spread the word!

Here are some simple steps to help you:

Insert a fan page box UNDER your posts – It’s quite common to see those in the sidebars, but they are far more effective placed under the posts. That way they work as a call to action. You basically tell people “Did you enjoy my article? Then why not like me on Facebook to stay in touch!”

Share your Facebook posts on Twitter – Whenever you publish something on your fan page, click on its date header to open it in its own URL and share your post using that link. Now people will first be directed to your fan page, giving you the chance to get some of your Twitter followers to click “Like”

Tell Your Twitter followers – Don’t be scared to promote your fan page on Twitter once or twice per week. Unlike the previous approach, here you simply point people to your page with a message along the lines of “Enjoying my tweets? You might want to take a look at my Facebook page!”. You should create 3-4 different variations, so that you don’t post the same message over and over.

Use the Facebook Page Promoter Lightbox – A very neat WordPress plugin, that works as a pop-over like box. As with all pop-over plugins, that is far more effective than its sidebar alternative. Thanks to the plugin, I’ve generated over 250 new likes in just three weeks.

Write an article about Facebook – Why not let people know you’ve started working on getting Facebook traffic and promoting your fan page! In the post you can provide readers with tips or reasons why they should be on Facebook. That is a great opportunity to tell them about your own page and show them some of the techniques you are following.

2. People Aren’t Talking About It

Although getting likes does take time, it’s straightforward – you just need to start promoting your fan page. There however is another metric, which might be a bit more difficult to understand. What I am referring to is the “Talking About This” number. That one is displayed just below the cover photo and the title of your page.
First, what does “Talking about this” describe?

Well it is basically the number of unique Facebook users, who have interacted in one way or another with your fan page in the last seven days. Likes, comments, mentions and shares all count as interaction. So with that in mind, we can easily assume that if a page has thousands of likes yet very few people talking about it, then something is wrong. A possible reason for that might be that the page isn’t being updated. Another reason might be that the stories aren’t getting any engagement in the form of likes and comments. 

So, how do you increase the “Talking About This” number? Here are some guidelines to help you:

Ramp up the frequency – You can’t expect to get good results if you post a story once every two weeks. Try to share something with your fans at least four or five times per week!

Share different types of content – You need to spice things up. One day you could post a funny picture, the other day you can ask a question, then you could post a quote or why not a did-you-know kind of post with no links in it.

Craft a good call to action – The description you write holds a huge importance for whether or not people will click on your link, like your story or leave a comment. You can be as direct as saying “Like if you agree” when you post a quote for instance, or you could say something along the lines of “I would appreciate to hear your thoughts!”.

3. You Care About Getting Clicks Only

I really hate landing on a fan page, where the only thing I see are links to articles from the blog that the page belongs to. Not only that it feels rather spammy, but it’s also boring.Even if we assume the content you share is actually worth reading, this still doesn’t mean you should use your Facebook page solely as a promotion platform. Content might be useful, but the real problem is it is often “emotionless”. Sharing practical tips is great but it can’t produce an emotional attachment so to say. Additionally people also need a couple of minutes – first to actually read the post and then to decide if it’s good. That is why the stories that make an immediate connection with the viewer are in most cases images. You see them and you immediately act upon them, especially if they include a thought you can relate to or a funny story about the things you like or situations you’ve fallen into. In the end your desire to get clicks will end up dragging your page’s popularity down and hence returning less traffic for you. Another problem is that you will be getting very few likes (images for instance tend to receive double the likes of a link to an article), which definitely won’t make your Facebook stream look trustworthy.

4. It Feels Like You Aren’t There

One great way to create a welcoming feeling among your new fans is by simply showing them “you are alive”. If you have a fan page about your blog, you should also emphasize on the blogger behind everything. The idea is to add a small pinch of your personality to the mix.
Sounds simple in theory, but how do you do it in practice?
Not only ask, but reply – in a real world situation where you ask a question, it is quite obvious that you will also wait for an answer and then give your standpoint once again. It’s the same here. Whenever you ask your fans something, don’t forget to observe the answers and reply back (by mentioning the person by name, so that they get notified) with a thoughtful and constructive comment. Also take the time to like the comments that people are living as a way to say thank you.
The descriptions, again – As I already said, descriptions are important because they can work as a call to action. However one other reason why you must include them is because there you can write your own summary and present your own perspective. For example if you’ve just shared a great post (not from your own blog) it will seem more genuine if you also say a few words about what the post talks about and why you actually liked it. Those simple things do make a difference.

5. You Overwhelm Your Fans

Even if you share interesting content, ask for opinions and don’t forget to add some humor along the way, you shouldn’t overdo. Sharing too much updates is as bad as being inconsistent. Aside from the fact that seeing the same person (or page in our case) posting dozens of times throughout the day is plain irritating and it makes you want to slap them, if you post too much, people will simply stop noticing you. That’s similar to the so called ad-blindness, when readers simply don’t notice advertisements placed in common positions and having similar layouts on thousands of websites.
So, how much is too much?

I’d say four or more posts per day. I’m generally updating my fan page two times per day at most and the results are quite good. I tested bumping the number up to four and even five for a few days but that didn’t result in much of an improvement, so it’s not worth the time. I even got a comment from a guy who liked what I shared but said I should slow down a little.

Final Words

Those I believe are the main reasons why people might decide to steer away from you or unlike your fan page at some point. All in all I believe creating a successful fan page comes down to finding a balance between your own content and more interactive stories and also being consistent but not too overwhelming. 

Now I’d like to hear your thoughts! Are there other factors that might scare you away from a fan page? Do you agree to the points I’ve shared? Let me know your two cents!

Real Estate Boot Camp

Social Media Mistakes & Fixes

I read a post recently about singing the Star Spangled Banner before you hit send on a fiery comment or Facebook rant.

Wait! The next time you want to press SEND 
sing “The Star Spangled Banner” first!

Next time you are dying to press send to
Tweet that terrible thought......
Facebook a fictitious fact …........
Google a grand gaffe......
Comment carelessly......

Try singing “The Star Spangled Banner”.
It should take you about 1 ½ minutes...
Time enough for you to enjoy the brief satisfaction of speaking your mind and long enough for you to realize that you could lose a lot more if you pressed send.

Unfortunately this does not always happen as we're human and get swept up in the moment.

We've all seen the "salesy" comment in groups that blatantly screams "Please don't come on here and sell your self or company," yet the person finds it necessary to do so. The mass linkedin email saying bring me an offer on my new listing to everybody under the sun.

Whatever the case is you have most likely made a mistake on some sort of social media platform and learned from it.

What is a mistake you've made on social media and what have you done to fix it and/or make sure you never do it again???

Give us some insight as to what happened and what you did to fix it or what lesson you learned to correct the behavior in the future. You just might save another from making the same mistake.

FREE Property Videos

Happy Friday

Property Video

Listed or Sold

Tired of the Same Old Virtual Tours?

Let's Something Different!

561-444-8860

ChristineMatus.com