R TEAM

Inman TV Interview with Dustin Luther of Rain City Guide

Thanks to Dustin...I blog.  This is a must see interview explaining how and why he started blogging with Rain City Guide.   If you have or are considering creating a real estate blog, this is a must see video.

Real Estate Video by - Real Estate Blogger

I made a mistake!

Somehow...I landed on an old post from Sellsius about a blogging competition.  I was so excited in posting it here for you to check out, that I didn't realize that it was the right day...wrong year!   To this day, I cannot figure out how I randomly landed on that page.   Anyhow...I actually published the post promoting this to R TEAM readers.   I was a tad embarrassed when Jay caught my error.  He was kind enough to email me instead of blasting me via a comment.  I never met Jay, but I do read his blog and he seems like a very classy, professional fella.   So what do you do when you make a mistake on a blog post?

You have a couple options.   Because I had just published the post when the error was pointed out to me...I removed the post.  This is probably the most dramatic measure you can take.   There were no comments and for all I know...Jay was the only one who saw it (hopefully).   It's not standard practice to delete or remove something that you've put up on the internet on your blog.   I removed the post by republishing it as a "draft".   I can delete it later if I want to.

Another option, depending on the type of error is to use the strike out feature (the "s" with the "-" through the middle).   I'm not sure why this is proper protocol in the blogoshere...however, you will notice an occasional strike out when someone has made a change or correction.   I think this is most useful with mortgage program changes so people can see what was changed modified.   Once at RGC, I did a post on Rent vs. Own and I spelled principal wrong.   A "bubble-head" caught my error and commented (with a bit of attitude) about it.  I could have gone through the entire post and just corrected my spelling...instead, because it was called out via a comment, I lined out my boo-boo and made my corrections.   Funny side note: when the Seattle Bubble did their rebuttle to my post, the author made the same spelling error!   We are all human, aren't we?!

I have also added an UPDATE (with the date/time): to post if I felt that was the appropriate way to add or correct information.   You could do a new post linking back to the corrected, however, if someone has saved the link to the post that needs updating, they may not be directed to the new updated post.

Bottom line...mistakes happen and they are ours to fix.  Typically, it's not a biggy!

New Feature: Friday's Rates

I don't know why I didn't think about doing this sooner...it's such a Big-Duh idea!  I currently publish mortgage interest rates on Friday morning at Mortgage Porter for reference.   We all know that rates change constantly (just yesterday, many lenders issued four different rate sheets from prices deteriorating) and other factors such as the borrower's qualifications will impact their rate.   Anyhow...I decided to post a link to rates on R TEAM.  It's located under the green box: MMG Weekly. 

Now you can get an idea of what rates were as of my last rate post.  Older rate post follow the most current.   And it's right next to Mortgage Market Guide Weekly which will provide with information on what has happened over the past week and what we expect the trend to be with mortgages.

It's a small blog world afterall

Back in early August...when all the #$%# hit the fan extra hard in the mortgage industry, I wrote So You Think You Might Need a Mortgage? on Rain City Guide.   A Realtor from Arizona read it and sent me this email:

"I just read your article on "So you think you might need a mortgage".   Very impressive.  I am a Realtor in Mesa Arizona, and have been a loan officer several years ago....

I do not make my living with loans, but want to insure my real estate client's do not get into trouble in the future.  I have long said many of the subprime loans were no good for most people and what's happening now shows that I was right.

Do you do loans in Arizona?  If so please let me know..."

BTW...I'm licensed for loans in Washington State...I don't provide financing in Arizona.

"I would also like to have permission to reprint with your photo the article in my HOA newsletter, as I could not write it any better.  This would go to 750 homes where I live and where I get the most of my real estate clients.  The newsletter goes out once a month.  I put a full page real estate ad on one side and an informative article on the other side.  Since this is a print article there would be no active likes, but all your contact info will be included."

This week, I received a copy of the HOA Golden Hills Newsletter this week which did include a copy of my article.   At the very least, I'm tickled that someone appreciated my writing enough to send it to 750 neighbors! 

And who knows...there are plenty of snow birds in AZ...a few just might be from our area.   The point is, it's an opportunity I have from blogging.  Simply writing down what I care about.

Give it a try!

Announcing R TEAM e-Newsletter

Earlier this week I sent the first issue of R TEAM eNewsletter.   I'm planning on it to be a monthly publication which arrives to you via email.   If you did not receive your issue and would like to be included on the R TEAM eNewsletter distribution list, please let me know.   This eNewsletter is not replacing R TEAM Blog or the R TEAM Blog subscription (which I suggest you do if you want to receive more information more often than once a month).

Google-juice is very tasty

Having a blog that you contribute to gives you "google juice".  I'm amazed that in a relatively short period of time, my blog is juicy!  One of the features that Typepad blogs have (others may too, I'm not aware since my blogs are Typepad based) is the ability to see what the search terms entered in Google were to land on your blog-site.

I was just reviewing them and came across this: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=top+loan+officer%2C+WA+2007&btnG=Search

Someone was searching: top loan officer WA 2007.

If you click that link...it shows Mortgage Porter (that's me) as #1!  (At least it did as of 2:45 p.m. today).

How would you like to be number one in your region on the internet when consumers are searching for the top Realtor?

I guarantee you that if I did not have my blog, Mortgage Porter, my website would not have me ranked as the top Loan Officer in Washington.   My website, although it's good for preliminary loan applications and requests for rate quotes, is stagnant.   My blog is full of fresh content--which google eats up.   

Remember, I only started blogging at the very end of November last year.  It's not too late for you to get your share google juice by having a blog.

Setting your preferences to Draft

A quick tip for when you're working on a writing an article for your blog.  Before hitting save, check the "posting status" drop down to "draft" (if you're using Typepad).   This will stop your post from being published (live) before you intend it to be.

To have this setting be your default, which I highly recommend:

1. Go to the "configure" tab above
2. Click preferences
3. Scroll to New Post and select "draft".

When you're ready to publish your article, change the drop down under posting status under your article to "publish now".   You can also opt to "publish later".  I schedule future posts when a topic is about something in the future (such as a holiday) or if I have written a couple of posts and I want to "stretch" them out instead of publishing them all on the same day.   

One last tip... before you hit "publish", I encourage you to use the spell check tool (it's right under the "compose post" tab).   

Happy Blogging!

R TEAM Improvements

Okay...not huge...but every little tweak matters.   Since R TEAM Blog is not just about getting Realtors to blog--I've added a link (the green flashing box under where you can subscribe in the upper right corner) where you can get your weekly Mortgage Market Guide updates.   This is a service that I subscribe to because I feel it is so important that we all know what's going on in the mortgage industry.   This tool has been invaluable to me and I want to share it with you.  If you don't want to hassle with coming here to click on the box, send me an email and I'll add you to my MMG distribution list.

I'm also trying out Snap Shots.   This is a widget (a gadget for your blog) that allows you to see a "snap shot" of something that has been linked before you leave the page you're currently on.   If a link is utilzing "Snap Shots" you'll see a tiny "cartoonish quote" box to the right of the link.

I've expanded the list of links along the left side of the page, too.   This list is rich with information that I think you'll find beneficial not just for blogging...marketing, too.

Questions, ideas?  I'd love to hear from you.   This is all about supporting your success.

FHASecure: What does it mean to you?

FHASecure is a program designed to help home owners who's ARMs have adjusted (reset) and they're falling delinquent on their mortgage.   It's a refinance.   You might be wondering what does this program have to do with you?   

With our current market with increased foreclosures, a majority of those being ARMs that have adjusted, if you have a client who is facing this scenario, you can let them know about (blog about it, put it your newsletter, call clients...) this option.

Ideally, home owners with adjustable rate or balloon mortgages should be contacting their mortgage professional 24 months before their mortgge is scheduled to reset to avoid having to do the FHASecure. 

For more information about this program, click here.

By the way, Mortgage Master (my employer) is approved for FHASecure as well as all FHA and VA mortgages.   We have been a FHA lender since our inception!  We are a HUD Approved Mortgagee.

How to keep track of great ideas you don't have time for

Sometimes I'm full of it!  Ideas that is.   They can just bounce on in my head and it can be when I don't have enough time to make the most of them.  For example, I was just walking my dog, Orson, and thinking about Flex Spending and how many people do not take advantage of this benefit.   It's a post I'll write about at Mortgage Porter.  This topic is going to take some time to do proper research before I can publish it and this morning I'm planning on going into the office (which means this will be a short post).

I don't want to "lose" my idea...this is an important and timely topic.   So instead, I quickly logged into my Typepad account (you can do this with what ever blogging platform you use) and started a new post  by entering "Flex Spending" as the title and saving it as a draft (bottom left corner under "posting status"). 

I probably have about 5 or 6 pending ideas (saved as drafts) that I'm going to write about when I have a little more time.  Sometimes I have other more important things to say or easier things to write about than something such as "flex spending accounts". 

Just a quick tip I thought I'd share with you that has been beneficial to my blogging efforts!