Friday, May 22, 2009

Realtors It's Time To Take Charge

The Next Real Estate Industry Revolution: A primer on how to become a full service provider to your clients.

After the introduction of the MLS and the advent of Franchising, the Real Estate Industry was changed forever. We are now on the brink of a third revolution, which only a few real estate agents are embracing.

You are and always have been and will be the Trusted Adviser to your clients. They look to you for advice, what to do next in the process of purchasing their new home. You have a huge influence. Until now, there appears to be many reasons for you not to provide full real estate services to your clients; such as mortgage financing or other services. Some of your reasons maybe:

  • Fear of getting too financially intimate with your client
  • Don't want to spread yourself too thin, you want to focus on what you know, which is real estate
  • Lack of knowledge & expertise regarding finance and mortgage
  • Added expense and time required to start another business
  • Fear of violating RESPA and may risk the possibility of loosing your license
  • You were told not to in real estate school or by your very own managing broker (while you knew that he or she was already in the mortgage business)
  • Most Realtors have been thought in sales school, that to be successful they must stay in control of their client and the sales process. To-day how business is being conducted is rapidly changing with the ever growing Internet Customer. Have you noticed that you are less and less in control. Here are some interesting statistics; "76% of clients looking for a home will use the Internet, before they ever E-mail, telephone or meet with a Realtor". - 'The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently conducted a survey which determined that over 80% of home buyers would prefer to have their real estate agent help them with their mortgage financing rather than refer them over to someone new and unknown." Consider a New Business Model, where Internet technology and easy to use Point of Sale mortgage loan origination systems, implemented on the Internet, makes the tasks of filling out a 1003 mortgage application a breeze.

    Initial loan documents and required disclosures by law are automatically generated and E-mailed to your clients within the three day RESPA rule. Mortgage products and pricing are done automatically from the input you provide by filling out the easy e1003 application in your browser. Then a list of available solutions are given to you to select from by the build in pricing engines.

    You can become a virtual owner of a Mortgage Company overnight. Give your clients more of what they want and spend 80% of your time on the 20% of the activities that will expand your business and generate more revenue for you.

    Here are a few steps to follow to implement this New Business Model:

  • Decide to add Mortgage Origination to your or your team's existing core of talents (Whatever your talents are now, you need someone else's talents to complement yours to realize your goals faster.) Benefits: You will stay in control of the loan process. You won't miss any important contractual dates. You will get automated loan status reports. You will stay RESPA compliant. You will make an additional commission by representing your clients on mortgage origination.
  • Create a Winning Team- by having a highly focused, local team tailored to support your business is your key to success. You can outsource mortgage origination to a local team of a mortgage bank (make sure that they have the track record in the purchase origination business, they have the technology, products, pricing, in-house underwriting and processing support) and still receive a healthy piece of the mortgage loan commission. You can decide how much time and energy you want to spend in the mortgage business. You can have your own dedicated mortgage coordinator and processor. You can direct your client to your loan coordinator to get pre-approved. You can be in conference with your client and your loan coordinator to complete the on-line loan application and follow the process on your computer.
  • This is a testimonial from a Realtor in Albuquerque, NM, who is taking charge and using this new business model: "When I joined the company, I was looking for a place to put my license that would give me flexibility. I have bought and sold homes for several years, mostly my own properties. Little did I know the real opportunities that this company presented. I can make more money in less time with no investment or liability like I had before. I have recently been a buyer‘s broker with a customer and originated a loan at the same time, with the help of Steve Toth. My customer received excellent service at a single location (his home). I already had most of the info I needed for the loan. The purchase offer was accepted on a Thursday and by Friday we already had a pre-approval on the loan. How easy is that for my customer and me? My customer did not even have to miss work. I have changed my whole focus on Real Estate. Instead of spending days looking for my next project, I spend my time with customers ready to buy or sell and helping others in the business. None of which is none productive time. What a great opportunity for any Real Estate agent!!"-Ron Hensley-Albuquerque, NM

    To find out more on Strategic Alliances with Realtors to Offer Mortgage Education and Full Service Real Estate to Consumers and to view our Webcast click here

    About the Author:

    Mr. Toth has over eight years of residential, commercial and investment banking experience. He started the Real Estate and Mortgage Focus Radio Show in early 2004 on 630KHOW Denver's Talk Station to educate the public about real estate, finance and coaching. He became known as a real estate and finance area expert and someone who networks at a high level within the industry.

    In 2006 Steve M Toth, ?The Mortgage Guy?-Radio Show Host on Live365 expanded the ?Real Estate and Mortgage Focus?? Radio Show Program into a national show on Live365- the World?s Largest National Internet Radio Network.

    In 2003 he started a coaching practice called Real-Coaching? to provide coaching programs and consulting services that dramatically enhance individual and team performance in the areas of Sales, Motivation, Leadership, Teamwork, Communication and Life Balance Management Skills for Realtors, Investors and Mortgage Professionals.

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