- Sacramento Real Estate Adventures - Your Sacramento Real Estate and mortgage blog!

I'm getting ready to vent ... So keep that in mind when you read this!

I am in the middle of a short sale in Elk Grove that has proven to be a nightmare.  Most parties involved are working diligently to get this deal closed. One hurdle after another has come up and we have been able to overcome them to keep this short sale transaction moving forward.

Transactions are tough to close right now. Various challenges come up including lending guidelines that get in the way, property condition issues, short sale approvals, and keeping buyers motivated... Just to name a few. That doesn't mean deals are not getting done... Just that it takes a full team effort to get the homebuyer into their new home (or the seller out).

There is a team member that I cranky about on this particular transaction.

I've got a listing agent who is hustling and doing what it takes!  In fact, he is going above and beyond to get this deal done. I've got a transaction coordinator who has dealt with various hiccups and has had to modify and adjust. I am the agent representing the buyer and am hustling in any direction needed to make sure we are on track.

Then there is the lender involved! Ahhhh this one is driving me nuts.

We had another hurdle present itself this week. When I called this loan officer to present the latest challenge...His answer ticked me off!

The conversation went a little like this...

ME: Hey this is Erin!  We have an issue...  Can you do this in the time-frame given?

LOAN OFFICER? Well I don't know Erin. Ummmm Hmmmmm I don't think I can do it. Well... Ummmmm  I don't know.... Hmmmmmm  What do you think? Yeah ...let me know what you come up with. Ummmmm Good luck

OK maybe I am being too picky here... I'm probably a little too High D for my own good! I was in the mortgage business for 5 years, so sometimes I think I have a standard that is too high for other loan officers.

If I call you with an issue... Don't sound soooooo laid back like you have your feet up on your desk drinking a beer. If you can't do it... Just tell me no I can't do it in the time-frame given. BUT here is an alternative solution. I will call this person or I will attempt this to overcome the issue in another way. If I do this and then that... I think we can pull it off.

I want solutions not excuses. Do I expect you to be Superman? Maybe a little :) I do expect that you do your job and bring the same intensity that every other "team member" is bringing to the table. You should be monitoring the transaction from your end and offering solutions... LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!

Getting deals to close these days is a team effort and for some transactions it takes everyone involved to sprint to the finish line. It's our job as the professionals to get the buyer into a home with as little bruises as possible. There are some transactions that are especially tough. These "war story" deals remind us all what we are made of!

If you are not willing to jump through a burning hoop... on one leg.... with one hand tied behind your back.... Maybe you should find another job. That's the real estate world we live in right now!

I will carry this particular loan officer on my back across the finish line whether he likes it or not! These buyers are getting this home!

The truth is this is nothing new having a joker involved in a real estate transaction. I just needed to vent!

OK I'm done:) I feel better! 

If you want an Elk Grove Realtor who will work hard for you.... I'm your girl... believe me!

Check out this HUD Owned Condo in Rancho Cordova that just came on the market!

Located in the Capital Village subdivision, this two story townhouse features over 1,000 square of living space. Kitchen is complete with Black GE Profile appliances, tile counters and floors. Upstairs master suite. Balcony off living room. Come take a look today. Sold As-IS.

3186 Bridgeway Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
2 bedrooms
2 bathrooms
1065 Sqft

See more pictures of this Rancho Cordova HUD owned condo >>

Problems getting FHA financing on condos? This one is FHA insured so no matter what the current status of the HOA... This one can go FHA!  Get into this Rancho Cordova condo for as little as 3.5% down!

Contact me today to schedule an appointment to see this home! I am here to help you buy a HUD Home this year! 

Erin Newington
Sacramento HUD Approved Realtor
Keller Williams Realty
(916) 585-3858
        

Get your list of Sacramento HUD Homes for sale     

This listing is  courtesy of  Marshall and Assoc.

Looking to buy a home in Galt?  We have a new bank owned home that just came on the market! This 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home has just been painted and new carpet has been installed!

Nice open floorplan, familyroom with fireplace, large country kitchen with lots of cabinets and space for dining table. Back yard is nicely landscaped with patio. Great location close to schools and parks and easy Hwy access.

This is a Fannie Mae HomePath Property. Purchase this property for as little as 3 percent down. This property is approved for HomePath Mortgage and HomePath Renovation Financing. 

1154 Stormwood Ave, Galt, CA 95632 - $184,900
3 bedrooms
2 bathroom
1402 Sqft
.153 acres

If you are looking to buy a home in the Galt area... Give Erin a call (916) 585-3858 to view this or other homes for sale in the area! You can search for other Galt bank owned homes for sale at my website right now!

I just wanted to post a thank you to all the men and women in the armed forces who died protecting our country so that we are all safe.

Today is not just a opportunuty to take a day off... It's time to celebrate and appreciate those who fought to protect our right of freedom.

I pray that those who are still protecting us and our country are safe and that they will be with their family soon!

Here is a video tribute I found...

Did some hiking this weekend in the San Anselmo hills!

How nice it would be to live so close to so many great hikes!
Tons of dog people were out and mountain bikers scared the life out of me as they came plowing down the path. It was a peaceful time to reflect!

I need to get out more and walk our dogs! My sister walks her dogs up these hills twice a day!

I am ready for my work week and am excited about what I can accomplish!

Last week I was at a seminar that consisted mostly of real estate agents. The subject of loan officers came up and the crowd actually booed. Being 1 of the 3 loan officers in the room... I just looked around in amazement. Talk about a tough crowd!

Have you noticed real estate agents get a notable twitch when the subject of loan officers comes up? I am exaggerating here... but sometimes it does feel that way.

Some real estate agents act as if they are a superior class and I the lowly loan officer need to leave them alone. The funny part is... all I did was say hi and introduce myself.

Everything was going good until I told them what I did for a living. Talk about throwing out some judgment or stereo type before you really get to know me as a person!

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a salesy person. I don't care for salesy people (not matter what they are selling) and I certainly don't act that way... My Type D personality would not allow that ;). I am not going to hand you a flyer (I would rather die first)... I am certainly not going to chase you down the hall or into your office trying to get you to give me a deal. So then why when I tell you what I do for a living do you assume this is how I will act?

The truth is I don't need your business. That does not mean I don't want your business!

The fact is... we generate enough leads every month to allow us to referral clients to Realtors. One local agent received over $13,000 in commissions last year from our referrals alone.

So now that we have addressed that I don't need anything from you... Can we move on to getting to know each other as people who share a common client base and real estate market?

What if you thought about my introduction a little differently? When I am out networking, I am looking for folks who are hustling in their business. It intrigues me to find out how people are thriving in our market and I feed off their energy. I love to talk about war stories and battles won and how they are constantly evolving and growing their business despite of brutal market storms.

Why?... Because we are both in the same boat. I love the banter back in forth when you find a real estate agent in the crowd who gives you that spark. Do you know what I am talking about? When you can almost finish each other's sentences because your day-to-day life in business is parallel... even though they sell homes and we sell mortgages.

So if I don't need your business, Then why am I out networking and introducing myself?... Fair enough!

The word of the day is L E V E R A G E.

If you are kicking butt selling homes and we are kicking butt financing them... How can we work together to play an even bigger game?

I don't know about you... but our business is way up this year and the opportunities are endless. What is not endless is the amount of hours in the day.

So how can I find a real estate agent with a similar business/marketing plan who is going after the same target market then build something great. Maybe it is an event or seminar... maybe a website or blog. Whatever the thing is... it does not matter! Just two highly dedicated teams who are working together to create something bigger than they could alone.

So if you are a real estate agent and you are guilty of turning on your heels and running for the door at the sight of a loan officer coming down the hall... think about what you might be missing out on.

Have an idea of how we can work together and go after some business together? Call me to discuss the possibilities!

This blog by:

Erin Newington
Sacramento Mortgage Planners
First Priority Financial
(916) 687-6868

Isn't it shocking how the middle has fallen out of our Sacramento Real Estate Market?... and I am not talking about our property values.

As I am talking with Sacramento area real estate professionals, I notice they seem to fall into two categories. 

You have the real estate professionals who have more business than they can handle and others who have closed just a handful of deals this year... if any. 

Even folks who were top producers in the height of the market closing 60 deals or more a year... 2 years later have closed 4.

I find myself wondering why...

We are all working in the same market. We all put offers on the same Sacramento property inventory. We all work with the same money sources to finance our deals.   So why is there such a BIG difference in their results?

The common denominator seems to be attitude.

The real estate professionals who are knee-deep in business are enthusiastic about our market... drooling at the unlimited opportunity in front of them. The group that is starving... complains, whines, tells tales of lost deals, and expects their career to be back on track in 3 years when the market recovers.

I understand both sides of this coin...Trust me!

A couple years ago we were in the starving category. Banks were dropping like flies and we watched the Internet and the news (BIG MISTAKE) everyday as they dropped one-by-one. Consumers were scared and stop buying (expessially Investors... the largest segment of our business) and the world as we knew it changed before our eyes. We sucked up so much energy getting caught up in the whole mess...our pipeline really suffered because of it. There were other factors involved... but our attitude was the #1 problem.

At some point we decided we were in this business for the long hall and as our peers jumped ship we kept paddling. I stopped watching the news because it was depressing. We realized complaining, feeling sorry for ourselves, and doom and gloom conversation put us further away from our goals. We needed to focus on the only task at hand... Generating MORE Business!

It was not easy to turn our business around. Every time we thought the business couldn't get more difficult... it did! We struggled everyday to keep moving forward. We practiced focusing on the island 3 miles ahead, instead of the 15 ft wave right in front of us we could not control.

Every month we pulled ourselves further and further away from the fog of the scarcity mindset and the sun began to shine on a more regular basis. Now we have more business than we can handle and are currently looking to hire more staff.

The truth is...Opportunities are endless right now! If your wallet is empty... You should ask yourself WHY?   

Your mind plays a BIG part in your overall success. I listen carefully as every other word that comes out of the starving group's mouth is negative. Even their body language is a downer as they mope down the halls depressed. 

What the starvers don't understand or see (because they are still in the fog)... is they are keeping themselves captive.  Their mindset keeps them locked in their cage (they have created) while they continue to starve and wonder why. The reality is... They just need to open the door to the cage to get out of their funk.

Their lack of results has nothing to do with the Sacramento real estate market.

So if you find dust in your wallet and blame the current real estate market... I would recommend taking a cold hard look at what is really going on!

It is time to let yourself out of the self-created cage and get back in the game!

I am so thankful to be in business during our historic Sacramento Real Estate Market! It is time to hold on tight... and get ready for a fun ride!

This blog by:

Team Newington
Sacramento Mortgage Planners
First Priority Financial
(916) 687-6868

Do I have you excited about Sacramento Real Estate Market yet?
Enlist for our next Sacramento Investor Boot Camp and Foreclosure Tour!

We will take you out in the streets and look at the opportunities in our Sacramento Real Estate Market. 
www.SacramentoInvestorBootCamp.com

	Subscribe to our Blog Feed! >>
	Follow us on Twitter.com! >>
	Visit Our Website! >>

I just wanted to post a reminder that the madness going on right now in regards to HVCC (Home Valuation Code of Conduct) DOES NOT APPLY TO GOVERNMENT LOANS (FHA and VA)!

I know most Realtors are slightly on edge when the word APPRAISAL is mentioned these days!

So I hope this helps someone out there feel a little better! Hopefully you work with new first time home buyers who use FHA financing and you will breeze right past these nasty HVCC issues!

SIGN OUR PETITION! www.HVCCPETITION.com

We have over 20,000 signatures!

Do you deserve to still be in business if you provide crappy customer service?
In this economy especially....NO!

I am embarrassed to say that I had an enlightening experience with one of our service providers.

It is tax season and it is time to file our extension for our taxes.  I send an email back in the beginning of March to our CPA to make sure that the extension had been processed and filed.  I never heard back from him so I found myself trying to track him down so I could get my answer.  When I spoke with his staff, I was told "Mr. CPA (to protect the "innocent") does not answer his email during tax season".

I think I was stunned at this response and it took a minute or two for this to set in.  OK.... so I can never get him on the phone, the staff does not always seem to know what is going on, and now he won't return my emails. You would think the staff would at least provide an apology ... even an excuse!  Nope I got what I consider to be a slap in the face.

How can you treat a client like that and still think you will have a practice ...especially in this economy!

Don't get me wrong... I totally get that you can't be in 2 places at once and tax season can slow down the service that you are able to provide your customers.  I get that.  BUT why can't your staff return your emails and your phone calls?  That is what systems are for.. you can't just NOT check your email.  It is just ludicrous.

I can't be too mad at Mr. CPA ... it really is my fault for not "trading up" sooner!

It leads me to think about my own mortgage practice.  Are we providing raving fan service every time a loan comes down the pipeline?

Yes our service and communication with our clients throughout the process is great!  I say that based on the feedback from our surveys that are sent out after each loan closes to both the real estate agents involved and the clients.

BUT... there is always room for improvement!  I don't ever want to get to a place where I think our customer service systems do not need to be improved.  Even the smallest tweek can make a HUGE impact to the client.

Look at the example of my CPA above...

He could be the best CPA in town but that is not what I will remember.  I will remember him not having enough respect for me to return my calls or my emails.  

Well... that mistake cost him our business (once he completes our extension) and future referrals.

Are there mistakes you are making in your business that are impacting your customer service to your clients? 

This blog by:

Team Newington
Sacramento Mortgage Planners
(916) 687-6868
www.SuperiorLoanTeam.com

Subscribe to our Blog Feed

Thank you for your challenges, as it made us better mortgage professionals!

Thank you for weeding out the non-professionals in our industry, to give more opportunity to the rest of us.

Thank you for helping me realize that I really love what I do, no matter what the conditions.

Thank you for blessing us with growth in 2008, while others are no longer in business.

Thank you for lowered interest rates, giving borrowers more opportunities to buy and refinance!

I am excited for 2009 and it's possibilities... challenges and all!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!