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Home » Business And Finance Articles » How To Get Started Or Restarted In Your Mortgage Business

How to Get Started or Re-started in Your Mortgage Business

How to Get Started or Re-started in Your Mortgage Business

Whether you're new to the mortgage business or been sitting on the sidelines for a while, this is a great time to get involved and jump-start your mortgage business.

The U.S. housing market is still encouragingly active...thirty year interest rates although fluctuating are still below 7.00%...home equity interest rates have risen enough to force many folks to refinance and eliminate the higher rate line of credit...and, over 21 trillion dollars in adjustable-rate mortgages are ripe for conversion in the months ahead, to other mortgage products.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Make a list. Yes...you need to make a list of everyone you know. You've heard this before...the moneys in the list...and it's absolutely true. Make sure that you have their address, phone number, and email address if possible, plus and any other information you may have about them.

2. Send a personal letter to each of them. Tell them that you are now in the mortgage business and you are ready to help them any way that you can. Automate your list on your computer to make this function as easy as possible.

3. Follow-up a few days later with a phone call. Re-introduce yourself and your business. Ask if they have any questions about credit and/or mortgages. Ask questions that help you fill-in the blanks and take lots of notes. Offer your private number (cell phone number) in case they have any questions.

4. Send a hand written "Thank You" note expressing your gratitude for the time they spent with you and the information they provided. Very few people use "Thank You" cards today...you'll be remembered for using them.

5. Send holiday cards, birthday cards, postcards, articles and informative industry information each and every month there after. You'll eventually be accepted as an expert and trusted advisor, because of the valuable information that you continue to provide.

6. Never stop building your list. Set a personal goal of adding new contacts each day and then follow the same steps for each addition to your list.

This is the beginning of your database and your new mortgage business. Maintain your list, up-date it, and continually add to it. Handled correctly your database will result in mortgage referrals every month. The larger your database, the more referrals you'll receive.

By effectively using your database, maintaining an exceptional service level, and keeping your name in the forefront of your contacts mind...you have a great chance of generating business right away.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

How Landlords Find Tenants In A Soft Market

What has happened to all the renters? Well, Let's examine what has happen in the last few years in the housing markets.

First of all, interest rates have dropped to all time historical lows. This means that many renters have taken advantage of this and went out and bought a house. The second thing that has happened is that most real estate values throughout the country have gone up a lot in a short period of time. Because of this, many more people have decided to start to invest in rental real estate. More landlords, fewer renters equal a soft rental market.

When the market is soft, you have to be better at finding renters.

It's the mission of all business to get and keep customers. Well, the business of owning and managing investment real estate isn't any different. You must have a system and plan in place to find new tenants and keep you old tenants.

Typically owners of small rental property only do one or two things to find tenants. They may run an advertisement in their local newspaper or they may put a sign on the property that says "FOR RENT". This is fine in a good rental market, but if you want avoid vacancy you have to do more.

Here are five simple ideas to help keep those vacancies filled:

>1. Put together a property feature sheet explaining the features and benefits of your property and distribute it to local real estate offices.

>2. Offer bonuses and incentives to your other residents if the refer anyone to you that rents. As an example: gift certificates for dinner out, tank of gas, microwave, etc.

>3. Use the apartment rental services in your area. They can be found in your phone book and will list your property in their "properties for rent list" that they give to residents.

>4. Make up some cards that say "Properties For Rent â€" Houses, Duplexes and Apartments. Call Me" and leave them all over. Put them in the envelope when you pay your bills, leave them at restaurants or post them on bulletin boards at stores. Leave them anywhere, be creative and get the word out.

>5. Create a waiting list. Keep a list of all callers on any rental that you ever had available. When a new unit comes up for rent, notify the people on your list and see if they might have an interest. If you ever get calls from someone looking for a rental and you don't have any available now, put them on you waiting list.

Even though the above list is short, it should give you the idea that you need to have many ways to find renters. I'm sure that if you sat down and thought about it you could create a list of 50 â€"100 ideas. Once you have your list created, you should now test the ideas and see which ones gave you the best results. By doing this process you will fill your vacancies fast and have a constant stream of new tenants wanting to rent from you.

Copyright 2006 David Schneider