Kracl Real Estate Blog

One of the common occurrences that mortgage originators run into is gathering all the necessary information from a potential borrower.  This can range from basic contact and loan scenario information up to a full 1003.

What if I were to tell you there is an easier way?

Would it be worth exploring that option?

What if I were to also tell you it was something you were already paying for and part of your day to day system?

I understand the daily struggles and manual processes that operation and production managers want to eliminate.  This is why we have developed the Consumer Connect feature within Marksman.

I have had too many conversations with originators that request borrowers to:

1.  Print off a PDF from their website and return to them via email or worse yet, send them a hard copy through snail mail.

2.  Visit their website to submit an application that generates a duplicate file in their Lead Management System, Loan Origination System or Point of Sale System. (you have already spoken to them and should have this file started)

3.  Communicate information over the phone from the borrower on a notepad, bar napkin, or some other method that is not electronic and will need to be reentered into your tracking system manually.

Next time you engage with a borrower and need more information, try sending them the Consumer Connect invite out of Marksman.  After verifying their identity with a couple security questions, you and the borrower can work  on the 1003 together.  If the borrower can’t do it on the spot, they can login at any time and add to their information and it will notify you in Marksman when they do.

We have already given you one more tool to close more loans efficiently, you might as well use it…it is paid for!

If you want to learn more or have any questions regarding Consumer Connect, drop me a line.

Doug Foral

Over the past year or so, TheMorty.com has been developing relationships with various Service Providers within the Real Estate Industry. With the release scheduled for March 1, 2012, MarksmanLMP will be tightly integrated with service providers from Coast to Coast through TheMorty.com. Basically, it will work this way.

MarksmanLMP is a point of sale software used by Mortgage Lenders across the US. Several million potential borrowers each year utilize MarksmanLMP either through Lead Aggregators such as LendingTree, BankRate, Informa and a host of others, or “organically” through lender’s own websites, walk-in traffic or phone in requests.

With the upcoming release, MarkmanLMP will take these loan requests and offer the prospective borrowers the ability to find providers for services they need in conjunction with their up coming real estate transaction.

For instance, when a prospective borrower calls a mortgage company there are a number of services they may want. First of all, they may not be ready to commit to a particular rate or even a particular mortgage company. Marksman will allow the loan officer to stay in constant touch with the prospect by providing rate information as rates change for the specific situation of the loan prospect.

If the loan prospect is ready to move forward in the loan process, the loan officer can immediately Connect with the prospective borrower by “inviting” them to complete an application…or with as much of the application they feel comfortable. This is done securely and under the control of the prospect.

Once the prospect decides to move forward, the lender can help them Connect with other providers. Experienced real estate purchasers know they will need a host of products and services. TheMorty.com helps bring those together and promote communication between the parties.

For instance, the prospect may be at the point where they know they want a new home, but aren’t sure where to start. MarksmanLMP can help by suggesting some real estate agents in their area or by utilizing a service called RealXReferral which will connect them to a well regarded real estate agent in their area.

Once they find a property, the new borrower will also need Title Insurance Services, a Home Inspection and should at least get a competitive quote from a Homeowner’s Insurance Agent. These services and many more will be at the prospects fingertips to help them close the loan more quickly, efficiently and maybe in the process; save some money.

There are a host of other services that are, or will be available shortly. The whole focus is on improving the efficiency of the real estate market.

Can you sell your home yourself? FSBO (For Sale By Owner) is a great way to get your home sold, but there are a number of potential pitfalls.

If selling your real estate were easy, there would be no need for Real Estate Sales people at all. The fact of the matter is that it is not an easy job. There’s a lot of legwork, research, knowledge of the marketplace, handling the transaction, handling the buyer (if you have one), taking care of problems with the transaction, etc.

My point is that while real estate sales people do get paid a pretty healthy chunk of change, but they don’t just sit around. There’s a ton of work to be done. And when you have a market such as the one we’re in, it only makes matters worse! Since there are so many properties on the market, finding the “right” one can be a challenge. And some buyers do have “Remorse”…the idea there’s a better property out there, at a better price, better schools, etc.

So can you FSBO? For Sale By Owner is something that is frequently tried and rarely successful. Why? There are a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is sellers setting unrealistic conditions on their property. These range from an unrealistic listing or asking price, to unusual conditions placed on the prospective buyer. High earnest money deposit requirements, short closing periods and other requirements that make the transaction virtually impossible to complete are all impediments to having success in a FSBO.

So if you are thinking of putting your home for sale as a FSBO think about doing this…Get a reasonable price range. You can talk to some real estate agents, have it appraised or simply guess (I’d probably think hard about the first two). The agents might put some pressure on you to list with them, but look at it this way; you should interview at least three agents before you list anyway so think of this as the audition. A good agent will look at this as an opportunity to provide some great value to you and the odds are she will end up getting the listing anyway.

So get your house ready to sell. Paint, de-clutter, and generally clean up your house. Take the personal items and reduce them to a minimum. Make your house look attractive and not what you would like. Consider hiring a Home Stager. This person will come in and  provide some objective input as to what you should do to help sell your home. Then set realistic expectations and get ready to go.

One other thing…this is a legal transaction and you need to make sure you heed all applicable laws. There are some great kits you can buy (www.letsgofsbo.com) and you can always hire an attorney.

Using a Realtor®

If you decide not to FSBO, but still want to sell your house you are going to need a real estate agent to assist you. Real estate agents must be licensed in the state in which they are doing business. Generally, they must work either as or under a real estate broker who is ultimately responsible for their behavior.
A Realtor ® is a member of the National Association of Realtors and may have additional designations such as GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) among others.
If you decide to work with a Realtor ® it is suggested to do a little screening before signing a listing agreement or other agreement with them. Here are some suggestions:
• Pick a pro! Ask around. Get referrals and ask questions!
• Don’t pick a Realtor® based on genetics…pick them because they know what they’re doing, know the market and can sell your home!
• Interview at least three agents. Have a list of questions that are important to you and go down the list.
o How long have they been in the business?
o Do they know the market?
o What are their plans for marketing your home?
o What fees do they charge? A percentage of the sales price only? Or are there additional fees?
o How much do they plan on listing your home? How did they arrive at that listing price?
• How experienced are they? What is their typical listing period and what price range do they normally work in…also what neighborhood.
• What is the percentage of time they spend on listings as opposed to selling? No great answer here, but do they just list houses and leave the selling to other agents?
• How do they market your house to other agents…by just putting them in the MLS? Do they have a network of Realtors ® they work with outside of their office? Yard signs, Internet, open houses, flyers, newspaper, etc. Do they have a plan?
• Make sure you are comfortable working with them. Are they ethical? Did they come with a good plan for the value of your home? Did you think that value was too low? Too high? Just right? Be reasonable and make sure your expectations match the Realtors®
All in all, if you ask 20 people how to find a great Realtor®, you will likely get 20 different answers. Certainly these are not the only questions to ask, but they are a place to begin.

My name is Kracl. It is not an acronymn or anything else I know of.

My plan in writing this blog is to talk about Real Estate related topics. Real Estate Loans, Realtors, Title Insurance, Home Inspections, Termite (or pest Inspections), surveys, good experiences and bad.

I’ve been around the industry for a while, but I don’t know everything and don’t profess to. I simply think there are a lot of questions and confusion regarding real estate buying, selling, lending, requirements, misunderstandings and that kind of thing.

Feel free to disagree with me. Hopefully, I can provide some links to helpful information or tips and tricks of the industry.

One thing I do know, I that I don’t (and you, as well) don’t know it all. If you have something to add, send it to me…I’ll be happy to add it.