Listen with your heart

I like to spend a little bit of time each day on something I like to call “on time” which I adopted from Todd Duncan. This can also be called a sales tip or a business booster because quite honestly so much of what we do in the mortgage and real estate market is tied to relationships. On time is simply working ON your business, not IN your business for a certain period of time each day. See, we really need to make sure we stop and focus on spending time on our processes, on our knowledge, on our self improvement and on and on. I think for those of us that really get this “on time” concept; it naturally flows over into our business and makes us better human beings. Heck, even if it doesn’t translate into a new deal or additional income, it will seemingly improve the health of our interactions with others.


John Maxwell is one of my favorite authors to read when I’m spending some on time. In his book 25 Ways to Win With People: how to make others feel like a million bucks, he talks about listening with your heart. How huge is listening??? It’s essential but most of us only listen to others because we know our turn to speak is coming! John says that to listen with your heart, your listening has to be active. He explains that the fundamental cause of nearly all communication problems is that people don’t listen to understand; they listen to reply. Is that true for you like it has been for me? I have worked to take a tip from John and write an ‘L’ at the top of my paper when I sit down to meet with someone so that I remind myself to listen. I hope that eventually this will become a habit.

It’s important that in our society we focus to eliminate the distractions such as phone calls, TV, pagers, email and texting when we are seeking to listen to someone. These things make good listening nearly impossible. Another major barrier to effective listening is assumptions. When you jump to conclusions with someone you are taking away your incentive to listen because you already have your mind made up. Finally, (a big one for me) is pride. Thinking we have little to learn from others is, perhaps, the most deadly of distractions because we leave little room for input from others in that situation.

When we strive for active listening we communicate that we are fully in the moment and the other person knows it. Maxwell reminds us that the best way to persuade is with your ears.

I hope that you can find a way to incorporate this “on time” into your business, but most importantly, into your life.

Arizona looking to ease the job loss pain in 2010

Although the Arizona Department of Commerce gave the state’s job loss an upward revision to 178,500 from the projected 146,000 for 2009, the outlook for 2010 appears to be moving things in the right direction. The pain will ease according to the new state economic forecast. Tourism, transportation and construction continue to be the hardest hit in 2009 as the recession rolls on and those industries feel the lack of consumer spending.


The Department of Commerce revised their numbers down from 21,600 jobs lost in 2010 to 17,400. While this certainly isn’t a report of positive job growth, it is an indication that things are stabilizing and that we could see an up tick in Arizona tourism, travel and construction projects.

The easing of the detrimental job cuts moving forward are hopes that sectors that have struggled this year will stabilize and those that had flat gains such as education, mining and health care will actually show job creation.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed that our state actually outperforms these projections and we further down the path to recovery.

FHA Streamline Refinances Are A Changin’: No Cost Option Going Away November 18, 2009

In a letter dated September 18, 2009, HUD announced that it will be changing the way it operates regarding FHA Streamline loans. The new changes will take effect 60 days from the issuance date. The biggest change has to do with the way no appraisal option is handled. Up until now, and for the next 7 weeks, you can still get your FHA loan streamlined and incur NO out of pocket expenses. That was the beauty of the FHA Streamline. You mean, I can lower my rate and take advantage of the current interest rates and I don’t have to get an appraisal, document my income or assets and/or pay anything out of pocket to do so? Yes. But…like all good things, (or so it seems) this too is coming to an end. The highlights of the new, revised changes are as follows:


At the time of loan application, the borrower must have made at least 6 payments on the FHA-insured mortgage being refinanced.

At the time of loan application, the borrower must exhibit an acceptable payment history as described below.

1) For mortgages with less than a 12 months payment history, the borrower must have made all mortgage payments within the month due.

2) For mortgages with a 12 months payment history or greater, the borrower must have:

       a) Experienced no more than one 30 day late payment in the preceding 12 months.

AND

       b) Made all mortgage payments within the month due for the three months prior to the date of      application.

The lender must determine that there is a net tangible benefit as a result of the streamline refinance transaction, with or without an appraisal. Net tangible benefit is defined as:

1. reduction in the total mortgage payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurances, homeowners’ association fees, ground rents, special assessments and all subordinate liens),

2. refinancing from an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) to a fixed rate mortgage,

OR

3. reducing the term of the mortgage

If a credit score is available, the lender must enter the credit score into FHA Connection. If more than one credit score is available, lenders must enter all available credit scores.

If subordinate financing is remaining in place, the maximum CLTV ratio is 125 %.

1. For streamline refinance transactions WITHOUT an appraisal, the CLTV is based on the original appraised value of the property.

2. For streamline refinance transactions WITH an appraisal, the CLTV is based on the new appraised value.

Revised Streamline Refinance Transactions WITHOUT an Appraisal:

The maximum insurable mortgage cannot exceed:

The outstanding principal balance minus the applicable refund of the UFMIP,

PLUS+

The new UFMIP that will be charged on the refinance.

Revised Streamline Transaction WITH an Appraisal:

The maximum insurable mortgage is the lower of:

1. Outstanding principal balance minus the applicable refund of UFMIP, plus closing costs, prepaid items to establish the escrow account and the new UFMIP that will be charge on the refinance;

OR

2. 97.75 percent of the appraised value of the property plus the new UFMIP that will be charged on the refinance.

Discount points may not be included in the new mortgage. If the borrower has agreed to pay discount points, the lender must verify the borrower has the assets to pay them along with any other financing costs that are not included in the new mortgage amount.

The actual letter can be viewed at Mortgagee Letter 09-32: Revised Streamline Refinance Transactions

The moral of the story is: tell one, tell all to take advantage of the FHA Streamline Refinance as it exists now or be prepared to come in with cash. Maybe it’s just me but I find that most people are having a bit of a cash flow problem these days and need to take advantage of the underwriting guides as they exist.