PERKS & PAYOFFS FOR SPIC & SPAN—FLOORS TO FINANCES
Welcome! Thank you for connecting to the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe where we offer solutions to your real estate scenarios. I hope the information on our blog posts gives you something that you can use or that can save you some money.
If you are looking for information or help in areas that do not seem to be covered on this blog posts or my other posts, please feel free to call me at (901) 482-0354 or email me at jo@192.232.195.219 OR CONNECT AT www.JoGarner.com
MARKET NEWS
Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY Jeri Jeffries of Tiger Paws Carpet & Upholstery a
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JO GARNER, MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Picture Gallery from show
Good morning Memphis! Good morning to you in YOUR fair city across the US. You’re on Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. I’m your host, Jo Garner, Mortgage Loan Officer. Connect with me at www.JoGarner.com. Our show today is sponsored by Elite Title Company. Call Joe Rojas at 901 289-5821. If you have a comment or question and you’re on Twitter, tweet us to #JoGarner while we are broadcasting live on November 7th, 2015. Join us on the air right now by calling the studio 901 535-9732 and out of the Memphis area call (800) 474-9732. Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe has been on the air for 4 years offering solutions to our listeners for their real estate and financing scenarios.
But this morning we would like to honor another radio show host who has been offering some helpful solutions to homeowners on this station for twenty-FOUR years. Earlier I got Kim Shumate of the Fix It Up Show to stay a few minutes after his show. We have a special award designed by Beverly Borwick who creates fashion and accessory designs. Beverly is here to award Kim Shumate of the Fix It Up Show with a Salute to Service desk plaque. Jo recognizes Kim Shumate for his service to his listeners. <Kim Shumate makes his short comments as he accepts the award>
(Jo) Kudos! to you, Kim Shumate!
Our general topic today is ” PERKS & PAYOFFS FOR SPIC & SPAN—FLOORS TO FINANCES.” Jeri Jeffries from Tiger Paws Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning is sitting across the coffee table this morning. Jeri Jeffries has done work for me and a number of my friends. She comes with a long string of great testimonies from happy customers. Jeri Jeffries, tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and what you do for your clients at Tiger Paws. <Jeri has introduces herself and her company>
(Jo) The jobs report came out bright and shiny and looking better than expected yesterday. This caused the mortgage rates to move up again to where they were in July. The 30 year fixed rate came in around 4% to 4.125% with no points although I did still quote in the upper 3’s on the FHA loan 30 yr. 15 year fixed rates still hitting in the low to mid 3’s. I send my loans through Evolve Bank and Trust and I have a very attractive Jumbo loan product if your mortgage will be over $417K. If you are a doctor or a dentist looking for 100% financing at a very competitive rate, call me personally after the show at 901 482-0354 901 482-0354 or connect with me at www.JoGarner.com and let’s see what these numbers can do for you.
<Jeri talks about how the current housing market has been affecting her business and what types of properties and clients they serve>
- (Jo) There is a lot we can learn from watching the U.S. housing market. One of the headlines this week came from Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors chief economist. He said that the missing link to our full housing recovery are the first-time homebuyers. Today’s market is being driven by repeat buyers in two income households.
- Yun lists the reasons why first timers SHOULD be buying—low mortgage rates, healthy job prospects for college grads and the increasing costs to rent. On the other hand, the increasing rents and higher prices on houses make it harder to save for a down payment and then there is the situation with higher student loans and other debt. If you want to own your own home, let’s you and I talk about some special programs and special tools to help you build equity in your own place instead of having to worry about the landlord going up yet again on your rent. One of the hottest products I have right now is for doctors or dentists, I have 100% financing for you at a low interest rate. No matter what profession you are in, even if you are retired, if you want to get home financing call me and let’s talk PERSONALLY at 901 482-0354 or connect with me at JoGarner.com
(Jo) Jeri, do you ever have your clients tell you they are reluctant to have you come clean their carpets because they don’t want you to see how dirty their carpets are or how messy their house is? I have had clients like that too. Last week a realtor friend of mine asked me to get a client preapproved because his lease was going to be up at the end of the year. I left a message with the client over a week ago, but never heard back from him. A week later I followed up & he said he had already signed a year lease where he lived because he didn’t think his finances were in a shape to qualify to buy a home. I asked him a few questions and determined that I could very probably get him a preapproval letter that day. Before you sign another lease, call me. It may be easier than you think to own a house that is perfect for you and at a low fixed interest rate and a payment that may be even lower than what you were paying in rent.
But today we’re talking about PERKS & PAYOFFS FOR SPIC & SPAN—FLOORS TO FINANCES. Jeri Jeffries of Tiger Paws Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning, what are some perks and payoffs for having you come in and clean the carpets? <Jeri launches her topic>
2nd segment after 9:15 break: It’s time for the Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest. The Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest is brought to you by Memphis notable historian, Jimmy Ogle www.jimmyogle.com,. Jimmy Ogle offers free historic walking tours in downtown Memphis. To get his spring and fall schedule, go to www.jimmyogle.com . our Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest is sponsored by John and Jennifer Lawhon of Lawhon Landscape (901) 754-7474 the Lawhon’s can help you plan your landscaping even if you’re on a budget –even if you have a BIG, BIG project. The Lawhons are giving away a $25 gift card to the first person with the correct trivia answer. If you know the answer to one of our trivia questions, call us at 901 535 WREC 901 535-9732.
Our Trivia Question: WHO AM I?
Garner # 62 10/16/15
Beale Street Caravan
Question: I am in my 20th year of broadcasting Memphis Music around the world. Who am I?
Hint: My first producer was Sid Selvidge.
Hint: I am broadcast every Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. on the NPR network.
Hint: I am heard weekly by 2.4 million worldwide on over 400 stations in 177 countries.
Final Hint: I carry the name of Memphis’ most famous street.
Answer: Beale Street Caravan is a one hour noncommercial radio series broadcasting live recordings of Memphis music and its derivative forms to an international audience of 2.4 million worldwide weekly listeners on over 400 stations around the globe. Hosted by Pat Mitchell, each program presents seasoned veterans alongside up and coming artists recorded at festivals and venues throughout the United States. Music industry experts and celebrities liven up each program with serialized inside commentary about the history & process of the music.
Over 300 public and community stations air the show in the USA. For the quickest directions to Beale Street Caravan and its list of stations, check out the bealestreetcaravan.com website. Beale Street Caravan® is a 501I 3 nonprofit organization, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The late, great Sid Selvidge was the executive producer of Beale Street Caravan and now Kevin Cubbins has assumed these duties. Beale Street Caravan® is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Tennessee Arts Commission, ArtsMemphis and various civic organizations of the City of Memphis as well as by private foundations and individuals.
Last Week: Wyeth Chandler served as mayor of Memphis, Tennessee from 1972 to 1982. He was the adopted son of former Memphis mayor and U.S. Representative Walter Chandler. Chandler succeeded the controversial Henry Loeb, who battled local sanitation workers during a strike that brought Martin Luther King, Jr. to Memphis in April 1968. This violence-ridden episode in the city’s history resulted in King’s death by assassin James Earl Ray on April 4. Chandler spent much of his tenure dealing with the economic and social fallout from the strike and the killing, as the incidents gave the city a bad name among business and charitable interests for some years.
Chandler was mayor at the time of Elvis Presley’s death in 1977, and during the police and firemen’s strike the following year. Some Memphians criticized his administration as too “status quo”, but he was undeniably popular, winning three consecutive elections. After resigning from office to accept a judgeship appointment from the Governor of Tennessee, Lamar Alexander, Chandler was succeeded by two interim mayors: first by J.O. Patterson, Jr. (the first-ever African-American to serve in the office), then by Wallace Madewell. The next regularly-elected mayor was Richard Hackett, who served from 1983 until 1991.
“Yes Sir, Mr. Dees” was his favorite quote in radio DJ Rick Dees (of # 1 Disco Duck fame), and often re-used as an insert during many of Dees’ funny episodes over the air – “YAS SIGHER, MR. DEES!”
Jimmy Ogle gives free walking tours in Downtown Memphis during the Spring and Autumn, 2015. The next TUESDAY TOUR is November 10 (Court Square) with the next Bridge Walk being Sunday, November 15. The Shelby County Courthouse Tour: Third Thursday each month at 12:00 noon – next is Thursday, November 19. Go to jimmyogle.com for the 2015 Autumn season schedule and locations.
QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JERI JEFFRIES:
- How did you get started with the Tiger Paws Carpet and Upholstery Business?
- What services do you offer through the Tiger Paws business?
- What processes do you use and how do you decide which job needs which service
- What kind of training do you offer your employees?
- How can you find and clear pet stains from carpet?
- can you get red stains like wine and cool aid out of a carpet? How?
- QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY JO GARNER :What are some tips to set borrowers on get their loan looking and smelling clean for a home purchase or refinance?
Jeri, you’re in the carpet and upholstery cleaning business—making homes around the Mid-South look and smell better—especially closer to the holidays when you know your mother-in-law is coming. As a mortgage loan officer, sometimes I think I am in the cleaning business too. I call it window dressing the loan file to prepare it to look its best for the underwriter. That means making sure we have well documented the important stuff like the source of funds to be paid at closing and making sure the income is presented in a way that shows it is stable and will continue for a while.
Be truthful about your income and your assets. It’s a good idea to already have on hand copies of your latest 2 years tax returns—ALL PAGES, W2s and your latest paystub. Check your tax return to determine how much you are writing off as unreimbursed employee expenses. The amount you write off as unreimbursed employee expenses gets deducted from your regular income and may cause a debt-to-income ratio problem.
- Don’t be a Rockefeller—Once you enter the loan application process, it is not a good idea to move money around from one place to another. In some cases the underwriter may ask you to show a papertrail on some of it.
- Do NOT open any new credit accounts and certainly NOT a 12 months same as cash account. I know it is really tempting since, if you are buying a house, you want to get your refrigerator, your washer and dryer and on and on. But DON’T DO IT! Don’t even let anyone pull your credit during this period. And, oh by the way, the lender’s compliance department checks credit AGAIN and also checks with your employer RIGHT BEFORE you close. (story of guy who had been trying to get a certain house for several months and had been preapproved for the mortgage and when the some issues on the house had gotten worked out, we updated the credit report only to discover that our client had just co-signed on a car for a family member. The debt-to-income ratios were now too high for him to qualify for the mortgage. In his case, we were able to rearrange some income and debts and got him approved by the hair of his chinny chin chin.. )
- What advice do you give your clients who need help with credit issues?
-Pay your bills on time. By paying them on time and early, you can prevent creditors from showing late payments or collections on your credit report.
-If you have notice of a creditor about to file a collection against you, contact them right away and pay the bill or set up amicable terms with the creditor. Collections stay on your account for seven years. Even if you pay it off, it still remains on your credit report.
-Keep balances low on credit cards and other open-ended, revolving credit lines. High, outstanding revolving debt can affect a credit score. Ideally, you should try and keep the balances owed on credit cards and other revolving credit under 30% of the credit limit.
-Pay off debt rather than moving it around. A big influence on your score is how you handle revolving credit accounts. Be sure and make your mortgage and car payments on time. But if you pay your mortgage and car on time, then your revolving account usage is the next biggest factor in determining your credit score.
-Don’t open new credit cards that you don’t need, just to increase your available credit. This method could actually lower your score .
-If you are newly building your credit, don’t open a lot of new accounts too quickly. New accounts will lower your average account age, which will have a larger effect on your score especially if most of your credit history are new accounts. Also, opening new accounts in a short space of time can look risky if you are a new credit user.
-Do your rate shopping for a given loan within a two-week period. If you inquire over a two week period, the inquires from a certain type of merchant, like a car company or mortgage company, should score as only one inquiry if they occur within the same two-week period.
-If you have had credit problems in the past, opening a couple of new accounts and keeping them paid down to under 30% of the total credit limit should raise your credit score in the long term.
-Check your credit often and the scores too if possible. One place to find references for credit scoring information is to go to www.myfico.com
-Someone with no credit cards and no credit tends to be seen as a higher risk than someone who has handled credit cards responsibly.
- What does someone do who has NO credit? They will be very limited on available mortgage products and these loan s will have to be manually underwritten under the strictest guidelines. Most of the time these products require the borrower to document 3 or 4 seasoned non-traditional credit accounts like paying the utility bill, telephone service, rent or an insurance payment. If there is any derogatory credit showing on the credit report, you cannot use non-traditional credit methods in lieu of no credit scores.
- . What are some repairs or renovations that can add the MOST value to a home?
If you’re trying to sell or refinance your home on a program that DOES need an appraisal and you want to get the value as high as possible for the least amount of investment, first make sure repairs are done that affect the habitability of the house—like a leaky roof, rotted wood, malfunctioning electrical and plumbing or heating and air systems, peeling paint, torn or broken flooring or holes in the wall. Obviously if there are problems with the foundation of the house that will be a priority to fix. If the crawl space or basement has water in it or mold, that repair would be a priority. If junk in or around the house is a safety hazard, then the junk would have to go.
If you are upgrading the house, then adding heated space can add value if you aren’t over building for the neighborhood. Upgrading a bathroom or kitchen is usually a good choice. Swimming pools and landscaping usually does not add value dollar-for-dollar but it can sure add enjoyment.
REAL ESTATE TIP OF THE WEEK: (practical, money-saving, time-saving real estate related tip by Jeri Jeffries)
Announcements: 1. Talk Shoppe offers free education and networking to anyone interested in real estate or business. This Wednesday November 11th, 2015 Tax and Estate Attorney Wis Laughlin will be presenting “Year-End Real Estate Tax Tips For Real Estate & Business” For more information about Talk Shoppe, go to www.TalkShoppe.com
- To hear today’s podcast of the Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe and others, go to www.JoGarner.com
-3. “MAKE YOUR PLAN, WORK YOUR PLAN. IF THE DEAL WORKS FOR YOU TODAY, DO IT TODAY.”
-4. Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe was brought to you today by Elite Title. Call Joe Rojas at Elite at 901 289-5821.
-5. Thank you to Nick Barnes of Test Video Studios, a free-lance videographer who specializes in editing and consumer level online broadcasting. Contact Nick at testvideostudios@gmail.com
QUOTE CORNER: “My theory on housework is, if the item doesn’t multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares. Why should you?”
― Erma Bombeck
“Excuse the mess, but we live here.”
― Roseanne Barr
“Clean Up Anthem” by Lilly Singh; “Shaving Cream” Benny Bell; “ I’ll Survive-Hilarious Cleaning Song”; “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers for Look Back Memphis Trivia Contest.
Side note: From Wikipedia-(Lilly Singh is a YouTube sensation, vlogger, comedian, rapper, actress and motivational speaker. Better known by her YouTube name “Superwoman,” she has more than 7 million video subscribers and over 1 billion video views. In October 2015, Singh was ranked 8th on Forbes list of World’s Top Earning YouTube Stars of 2015.
Singh was born in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, Canada. The famous YouTube star graduated from York University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Singh struggled with depression, and used YouTube videos as therapy, and to make others happy. She started her own YouTube channel in October 2010, naming it “Superwoman.”)
Specialties:I love to design and make jewelry, elegant hostess aprons, embellished reversible vests, hair “fascinators” (head decorations), bags, embroidered towels and other items, using the most affordable and finest quality materials.
Nick Barnes-Videographer
Test Video Studios is a freelance videography studio that specializes in editing and consumer level online broadcasting. Test Video Studios also provides editing services for the local videography business, Storytellers. email is testvideostudios@gmail.com
ABOUT JERI JEFFRIES OF TIGER PAWS CARPET CLEANING & UPHOLSTERY:
I believe in providing a quality service for a fair price and standing behind my work. Honesty has always been my key to success. Additional Organizations where I am involved:
Memphis Restaurant Association, Greater Memphis Chamber, BNI, Food Service Connection, MMHLA
My back ground is in several types of businesses and industries — I have done everything from fast food, to selling vacuum cleaners door to door, to working in the resin and fiber glass industry to commercial pest control, to selling paint jobs for a local paint contractor and now I am here. I decided it might be nice to work for myself. To buy a business, that I could grow for my family. My kids, and their kids
ABOUT JO GARNER-MORTGAGE LOAN OFFICER:
www.JoGarner.com (901) 482 0354 jo@192.232.195.219 twitter @jogarner
Jo’s job description: “As a mortgage loan officer, my job is to give my client the benefits they want from their financing terms—listening to my client and determine what’s of the most value to THEM– What is their comfort level on a house payment, how much are they comfortable paying down, what type of financing do they need to get the house they want to buy or refinance. Different clients have different priorities in life—some are buying their first home with very little down payment funds. Some are recovering from medical challenges, divorces or preparing to send children to college and some are embarking on a long term goal of buying properties to build rental income. Whatever their personal priorities are, my job is to put together a mortgage with comfortable terms that will help them achieve their goals.”
Jo Garner is a mortgage officer with extensive knowledge in tailoring mortgages to her customers who are refinancing or purchasing homes all over the country. She offers conventional, FHA, VA or other loan programs for refinancing and purchases.
Jo can help you look at rent vs buy, when it makes sense to refinance, how to get the best deal on your home purchase financing.
Jo Garner has been in the real estate/financing business since 1987. She got her start in Portland, Maine where she first began her real estate career. She received her real estate education from the University of Southern Maine and was personally mentored in San Diego, California by Robert G. Allen, author of Nothing Down, Creating Wealth and The Challenge.
On moving back to West Tennessee in 1987, she went into business buying and selling discounted owner-financed notes secured on real estate. In 1990 Jo went to work for a residential mortgage company and has been a mortgage loan officer for over 20 years. Her goal is to offer excellent, affordable service to her customers, tailoring the loan programs to the specific needs of her clients.
In addition to her work in the mortgage field, Jo Garner is the primary sponsor and founder of Talk Shoppe in Memphis. www.TalkShoppe.com She was also the editor of Power Shoppe, a free weekly e-zine designed for real estate professionals and others indirectly connected to the real estate industry and currently publishes on her blog www.JoGarner.com .
For real estate financing solutions, plug into Real Estate Mortgage Shoppe. You can find mortgage rates, FHA Streamline refinance with no out-of-pocket costs,