Author Archives: TitleTap

6 “Must Have” Social Media Strategies for REALTORS

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Are you creating business buzz using the power of social media marketing?

Use the Power of Social Media for Your Business!

Use the Power of Social Media for Your Business!

If not, let Seaview Title be a partner in your success and show you 6 ways to use social media marketing to find more leads, create referrals, and improve your online presence. 

Facebook:

• If you have a Facebook page, use it to host a Facebook Contest. Run a local sweepstakes, and offer concert tickets or dinner for two to the winner. The point of this is to get more locals liking/following your page and engaged in your content.

Twitter:

• Team up with a local business in your neighborhood to do a twitter-only special. For instance, tweet “For 20% off at @HomeDepot, check back for the discount code I’ll share with you at 5pm today!.” This is a great way to obtain re-tweets and new followers, and help promote real estate related businesses.

• Add your Twitter Username to your business cards and other promotional marketing materials and encourage potential clients to engage with you by asking questions, and soliciting their questions or comments. This is easy to do using the @ function on Twitter.

YouTube:

• Take a video of a listing that you are representing, and include some item in visible place in one shot of the video. Ask your viewers if they can find the object and make sure that comments are turned off so the answer can’t be revealed. This is a great way to get viewers engaged in your listing video.

• Create a YouTube Channel and name it something like “Best Places to Visit in Naples, Florida.” Add a teddy bear in each video, and make it like a journey for your clients who follow the bear to various activities around your city, such as concerts, special locations, water parks, petting zoos, or arenas, marinas, new restaurants, and the like.  Mention in the video, “Wouldn’t you love to live in Paradise? Let me help you find the perfect home,” followed with your contact information.

Instagram:

• Turn Instagram into a treasure hunt. When you host your next open house, tell your followers “Follow this weeks photos to my next open house.” Throughout the week strategically take pictures of the neighborhood to provide clues to your followers about the location of the open house. The first person to find the open house via Instagram and showing they’ve collected certain clue cards along the way, could win a giveaway.

• Instagram allows for a 15 second video, so find a client who would feel comfortable leaving you a review in 15 second or less. Ask them something like “In 15 seconds describe what you enjoyed most about working with me.”

Pinterest:

• Take and edit pictures of your city via Instagram and upload them to Pinterest.

• Use Pinterest to connect with your current buyers. Create a board and title it “Mr./Mrs. (clients last name).” Send your clients an invite to “Collaborate” on the board with you. Tell them to pin pictures of what they are looking for in their next home. Not only will your clients love this, but essentially every time they pin to your board they are marketing for you.

• Once you have found your clients their new home, take a picture of them next to their new house. Add the photo to the board and say something like “Another closed deal” while including your contact information and link to your website. (Be sure to always ask your clients to inform you while they are pinning so you can edit the text in theirs pins while also managing your brand.)

LinkedIn:

• Use LinkedIn to connect with local Mortgage or Title professionals in your area who would be interested in hosting an event with you. Also, you could connect with inspectors, cleaning companies, lawn services, and other real estate related vendors.

How Should I Prepare For Internet Showing?

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Today, your first “showing” will be on the Internet – you’re watching this on the Internet, right?

Your price, listing description and PHOTOS determine whether someone will visit in person.  Consider professional staging advice or help.

Prep for photos and video just as carefully as real visits.

Ask your realtor if they use a professional photographer

If they do look at prior photos and pick someone who understands the job.

Photos should make the most of your home’s features and give prospective buyers an emotional connection that invites them to visit in person.

Help them envision their lifestyle in the house not just the counters and walls.

If your realtor recommends video, just as with  photography stage it carefully and hire a professional it will pay off.

And look over your listing when it goes live on a computer AND a mobile device to make sure it’s accurate, pleasant and compels people to show up.

Remember – your first showing these days will be on a screen.

 

How Should I Prepare The Outside For An Open House?

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Professional “staging” may include the exterior, but if you’re doing it all yourself, try the five things outlined in this video.

1 – Landscape & lawn.

That’s the first impression; make it a good one.

Mow, prune, edge and get rid of junk!

2 – Paint And Clean!

You don’t have to do the whole house, but the front door and lintels should either be painted or cleaned.

3 – Leaks & Repairs

Small visible problems can become large mental objections and change how someone feels about your house.

Fix ‘em beforehand.

4 – Pets

Some people have allergies and concerns.

Time for Fido to visit a friend.

You weren’t including him with the house anyway.

5 – Get Fresh Eyes

Have your realtor or a friend who’s willing to be candid tell you what you missed. Or pay a staging professional for a report.

We don’t really see familiar things well – so let them be your

‘test buyer’ so you can present the best first impression to the real ones.

 

What Is The Debt-To-Income Ratio (DTI)?

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Measuring your existing debts against your existing income is one part of a lender’s required assessment of your ability to repay a loan.

Like the video says:  debts are existing financial commitments; a car payment is a debt a grocery bill is not.

To calculate your debt-to-income ratio add up your monthly debt payments and divide them by your GROSS monthly income. (Gross income is generally the amount of money you earn BEFORE taxes and other deductions.) The Federally-established debt-to-income target is a maximum of 43% for Qualified Mortgages.

If your ratio is higher there may be other loans available  - however, there may also be additional questions to establish your ability to repay, and the rates may be different than those available for Qualified Mortgages.

Studies suggest that a high debt-to-income ratio puts a homeowner at greater risk of challenges making monthly payments. So consider your situation and risks carefully before exceeding that suggested ratio.

What Does Ability To Repay Mean?

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What are the “Ability to repay” rules about?

In a nutshell, as this video shows, new laws require lenders to make a good-faith assessment of a borrower’s capacity to pay back their loan over time.

It’s a longer-term view that goes beyond immediate income, debt and credit rating.

These new Federal laws- supervised by the CFPB - require lenders to ask more questions –

about income, assets, employment, credit history, and monthly expenses –

as they relate to the proposed loan.

For example, a lender offering a mortgage with a low initial rate must try to assess how a borrower will handle the later, higher rate as well.

If you’re applying to borrow ask whether the program you’re considering is a Qualified Mortgage

Ability-to-repay rules are built in to loans that meet Qualified Mortgage guidelines.

 

What Is A Qualified Mortgage?

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As this video explains,  Federal laws put into effect in 2014 and  supervised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau define lending practices and loan terms for a new category called “Qualified Mortgages.”

They provide stable loan features for consumers and improve legal protection for lenders who follow the guidelines.

These guidelines require lenders to assess each borrower’s ability to repay their mortgage loan.

As of 2014, guidelines require that a borrower’s monthly DEBT – including mortgage – be no higher than 43% of their monthly gross INCOME

The laws also define unacceptable loan terms:

  • interest-only loans
  • terms over 30 years
  • negative-amortization loans that increase principal over time
  • most balloon loans

do not meet the Qualified Mortgage guidelines.

The laws aim to provide consumers with objective guidance  about reasonable debt from the CFPB and in return, to grant lenders who follow that guidance with higher levels of protection from lawsuits.

Ask your lender about Qualified Mortgage options for your home purchase.

 

What Is A Rate Lock?

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Mortgage rates change constantly through an unpredictable combination of government policies and economic conditions. This video explains the common term ‘rate lock.’

A “Rate Lock” is a guarantee that a lender will honor a specific combination of interest rates and points for a given period of time. A lock protects a buyer from rate increases but commits them to a higher rate if mortgage rates fall below the locked rate.

As of 2014, rate locks aren’t usually an option until a purchase offer for a specific property – new-home or resale – has been accepted by the seller. The borrower’s credit score, the loan-to-value ratio property type, location and other factors plus, of course, market rates and market conditions will also affect rate-lock decisions.

Decide whether to lock or “float” based on your capacity for risk and your best rational knowledge about construction and closing schedules. If your rate lock expires an extension might be available but both you and the lender will be looking at current mortgage rates to decide the best option.

 

What Is A Certificate of Eligibility, or COE?

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What Is A Certificate of Eligibility, or COE?

The COE is the key document that verifies to lenders that someone is eligible for a VA-backed loan.

Servicemembers, Veterans and National Guard and Reserve members may apply online or through their lender; most lenders have access to the system and can verify eligibility IF the VA has records on file.

The VA also maintains a hotline for assistance.

Surviving Spouses can use VA Form 26-1817 to request determination of their eligibility for VA Loan Guarantees.

Your lender may be able to assist with processing or contact the VA for information this video did not address.

What Are The Major Types Of VA Loans?

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What Are The Major Types Of VA Loans?

Major Veterans Affairs loan programs described in this video include:

1) Purchase Loans.

These help eligible parties buy a home at competitive interest rates with little to no down payment and little or no private mortgage insurance.

2) Cash Out Refinance Loans which enable taking cash out of home equity to pay off debt, fund school or make home improvements.

3) Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans also called Streamline Refinance Loans can help veterans obtain lower interest by refinancing existing VA loans

Other programs include:

4) Native American Direct Loans to help eligible Native American veterans finance homes on Federal Trust land.

And

5) Adapted Housing Grants to help veterans with service-connected disabilities buy, build or modify a home suited to their disabilities.

Many states offer additional resources to veterans, too.

Talk to your home lender about your situation.

What Are VA Home Loans?

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What Are VA Loans?

As the video says, the name is misleading – they’re not loans FROM the VA.

The VA – short for “US Department of Veterans Affairs” – is the Federal military veteran benefit system.

The VA administers benefits and services for Servicemembers, Veterans their dependents and survivors.

Programs related to home loans are one of their key services.

The VA is not a bank; they do not provide home loans themselves.

But they do guarantee a portion of home loans provided to veterans and other eligible people by banks and mortgage companies.

These guarantees enable lenders to provide more favorable terms.

They are are commonly called “VA Loans”.

They cover buying, building, repairing, retaining and adapting homes for personal occupancy by eligible Veterans and survivors.