Remember the song “Stuck in the Middle With You” by Stealer’s Wheel? It was background music for a particularly gruesome scene in the Quentin Tarantino movie, Reservoir Dogs.

Well, I don’t know why I came here tonight
I got a feelin’ that something ain’t right
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair
And I’m wonderin’ how I’ll get down those stairs
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right
Here am I stuck in the middle with you

Wall Street bond traders are singing that tune and it’s bouncing mortgage rates all over the place. They’re scared because they feel that “somethin’ ain’t right” with the underlying loans held by Fannie and Freddie. Still, the US Treasury Secretary has pretty much guaranteed that the government will back Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should the dung hit the blades.

While the treasury securities market has been somewhat stable these past few weeks, mortgage-backed securities are bouncing all over. Some days they act like treasuries and the spread narrows. Other days, they act like junk bonds and the spread widens. If you listened to my “dog on a leash” analogy, imagine a rabid animal running away from a scared owner one day and a docile pet running and cuddling with him the next.

Like the song, says, we’re “stuck in the middle” which means, in my mind, we’ll see mortgage rates rise a bit, to the 6.5% level, then drop to Continue reading this post

Max Hits the City Of Lights on Eve Of HomeGain Product Launch

On the advice of Max’s personal veterinarian, Dr. Wolliz, Max, the HomeGain mascot is once again in travel mode in anticipation of a new product launch at HomeGain. Our readers may recall that Max was sent to the hospital after HomeGain launched Agent Profiles. Apparently, the shock of the level of innovation was too much for him. Prior to the launch of the HomeGain Agent Blogging Network Max was sent out of the country as a precautionary health measure.

Now that HomeGain is on the eve of launching a new product next week, we have sent Max for a two week sojourn to the city of lights.

To see Max living it up in Paris,

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In just a few days, on Tuesday, August 12 there is a HomeGain sponsored event taking place that I wanted to make sure all you Realtors knew about. It’s a live phone forum called “Ask the Experts” featuring an exceptional team of experts!

Meet the Experts:

• Joseph Ferrara of Sellsius Real Estate Blog – “Blogging Advice”
• Brian Brady of World Wide Credit Corp – “Mortgage Advice”
• Mitch Ribak of Tropical Realty of Suntree – “Lead Capture and Conversion”
• Jay Thompson of Thompson’s Realty – “Online Presence”

It’s a free call where you’ll get sound advice – and be able to ask these experts questions that relate specifically to your business! There are already a couple hundred people registered, so we are anticipating an interesting and fun event.

See the full email invitation.

Sign up here and we’ll see you on Tuesday.

As I have written before, the term “lead” is a four letter word that somehow became dirty. I have suggested a name change to “need” because converting a client means meeting their needs. First, a look at the buyer.

A buyer needs to:

1. See ALL the listings the agent sees. This is need numero uno.
2. Get as much up-to-date information about the listings as possible, including all available public information, without having to hand over name, rank and serial number.
3. See pictures—lots of them—and video and virtual tours if available
4. Know all about the neighborhood, amenities, schools, crime, jobs, green space, public transportation and other quality of life issues
5. Know about any restrictions on use of the property or other legal issues which may impair the quiet use and enjoyment of the home
6. Know the details of all the comparable homes for sale in the area and recent comparable sales in the area
7. Have a home inspected by an experienced licensed inspector or engineer
8. Know their creditworthiness and all about mortgage products they qualify to obtain
9. Find a home quickly Continue reading this post

My business partner Pat Kitano and I have been thinking a lot lately about Twitter. What is it? How will it impact real estate marketing? In my first article, I acknowledged that at first glance, Twitter looks like an enormously fun waste of time. Far smarter minds than mine have made much the same point — twice!

We believe there is a business case for using Twitter effectively in real estate. I’d like to present several examples here of using Twitter as a communication tool, then follow up later with a more metaphysical discussion.

1. Conferences—Keeping track of the conversation, aka knowing where the cool kids are.

If you’re in real estate and have not been hiding under a stack of open escrows (not likely), you’ll know there were two big industry events last week: Inman Connect, and the REBarCamp pre-conference. Both conferences had an active “Twitterstream” conversation going on, (here for Inman, here for REBarCamp) not a simul-cast, but more of a “parallel-cast” to the actual sessions.

The image below is a sample of the conversation in the parallel-cast during a session on the MLS; note that slight edginess, bordering on rudeness, gets your message amplified: Continue reading this post

This month’s Agent Success Newsletter features William “Sean” French of RE/MAX Town Center at Easton in Columbus, Ohio.

After years of trial and error, Sean has a website that captures above average visitors, and business practices and processes in place that are making his business more successful than ever.

Sean French has seen a high ROI from the BuyerLink program that drives buyers to his website – last year he invested $18,000 and saw $75,000 in return!

During our exclusive interview with Sean, he gives advice on the following topics:

• What a successful website should include
• Where to send website visitors
• 4 steps to better qualifying leads
• How to hit home runs with follow up phone calls

Listen to Sean French’s advice and business strategies:

To hear more HomeGain Radio interviews, plus find real estate articles, survey results and more, visit our Media Center!

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