May 2019 Mortgage by Featured Agent

Mortgage Edition

May 2019

Make the most of

small space living

Create a

beautifully staged home

Austin Reed

productivity boostersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Get more done every day

contents

professionals 4

Productivity boosters— Get more done every day

Write listings that sell

Create a beautifully staged home

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t featured cover mortgage pro

Austin Reed

buyers&sellers 6

Avoid these mortgage mistakes Make the most of small space living

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Productivity boosters — Get more done every day Maybe you’re just starting out in the mortgage industry. Maybe your career is already established, but you’ve hit a plateau. Whatever the case may be, it’s always good to step back and reevaluate your business practices to find ways to improve or increase productivity. Oftentimes it takes stepping out of your comfort zone and going through some challenging growth phases to propel you to the next level in your business. Ever heard the saying, “A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what a ship is built for?” Don’t be afraid to take chances and make changes. Here are some ways you can shake things up and increase your productivity:

Build a Team — If you’re working solo, ask yourself: are you able to give your clients the very best 4

service by handling every aspect of business by yourself? Sure, you’re an expert at sourcing loans that are the perfect fit for your clients, but what about marketing, lead generating, managing referral partnerships, or maintaining social media accounts? Each can require quite a bit of time and expertise. Now might be a good time to let go and let others use their talents so you can focus on what you do best.

Be the King or Queen of Follow-up — It’s not only critical to follow up with potential clients or industry professionals to expand your database, it’s equally important to keep in touch with the contacts you already have. Reach out to them even if it’s just to say hello and update them on what’s happening in the Copyright Featured Agent Magazine

Oftentimes it takes stepping out of your comfort zone to propel you to the next level in your business. up paperwork, researching marketing strategies, or making your to-do list for the next day. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished when you have a plan and stick to it.

Use Social Media to Your Advantage — With more than 1.65 billion active users on Facebook every month, you simply cannot afford to not utilize it. However, make sure you’re using it efficiently to get the most out of your posts. Posting on certain days of the week — or even specific times of day — can garner more likes and shares. And remember, quality over quantity is what you should aim for when posting. Share things that will be useful to your clients, such as a link to your most recent blog post on how to best refinance a mortgage, or a timely article on interest rates.

market. It’s a great way to stay on their radar. If an opportunity arises or they’re weighing financing options for a property purchase in the future, they’ll think of you first.

Prioritize Your Day — Do you ever feel as though you constantly have your nose to the grindstone, only to discover you haven’t really accomplished much? Scheduling time for specific tasks throughout the day is much less daunting and can be extremely beneficial in boosting efficiency. Set aside an hour or two in the morning for returning phone calls and emails, then be done with it. Your next block of time can be dedicated to appointments, catching up with referral partners, or tracking new leads. End the day by finishing Copyright Featured Agent Magazine

Further Your Education — Think of your business as a software program that requires updates. Just as technology advances and programs need a little tweaking here and there, your business also needs to evolve with the current market trends and changes in the industry. Putting an effort towards continuing education ensures your clients peace of mind and keeps you ahead of the competition. Network with colleagues to see what trends are on the horizon, then take action to be at the forefront of those changes.

Take a Day Off — It might seem counter-productive to take time off when you’re trying to grow your business, but it can actually be just what you need to achieve success. Time away from work can improve your mental state, performance, and productivity. You also run the risk of eventually burning out when there’s a lack of work-life balance. So make the decision to turn off notifications on your phone, pack a bag, and head out for the weekend to re-energize and get your creativity flowing again. 5

Avoid these

mortgage mistakes

Applying for a mortgage is exciting, because it’s the first step toward becoming a homeowner. But the process can also feel invasive, intimidating, and a little overwhelming. After all, it’s not every day that someone you don’t really know takes a deep dive into your financial life while holding your future in their hands. If you’re wondering what you can do to make the process go more smoothly, here are five things not to do when applying for a mortgage:

Change Jobs — Stability is one of the most important things loan officers are looking for. Immediately before or during the mortgage approval process is not the right time to switch careers, start your own business, leave a job or make the move from a salaried position to a commission-based income. Even if you’re not crazy about your current job, grin and bear it until you have completed the home buying process. Once you’re happily settled in your new home, you can start looking for a great new gig.

Open or Close Credit Cards — During the mortgage approval process, every financial decision you make is going to be under scrutiny. Opening a new credit card can appear to be a reckless move, particularly if you run it up to its limit quickly. With that in mind, it might seem like closing any unused credit accounts you have would be a good idea. Wrong again. That will change your debt-to-income ratio and possibly hurt your chances of approval. Remember, your loan officer is looking for stability and responsibility, which is why you need to stay the course when it comes to credit. Co-Sign a Loan — Co-signing a loan might seem harmless, because you’re just helping someone out. You’re not really responsible for paying it back, right? Not true. Co-signing a loan can wreak havoc on your 6

carefully cultivated credit. The fact is, you are 100% responsible for paying that loan back if the other party can’t (or just doesn’t want to). In fact, a recent survey shows that nearly 40% of co-signers actually end up responsible for paying back the co-signed loan. Even after your mortgage is approved, you should always think twice about co-signing; in most cases it’s just not worth the risk.

Make a Late Payment — The excitement of the home-buying process can be hectic and unpredictable, which may cause you to let other things slide. But making a late payment on a credit card (or any other) bill, can spell disaster during the mortgage approval process. Just one late payment can cause a dip in your credit score that may be alarming enough to deny you the loan. Additionally, many lenders require a 12-month record of on-time payments on all accounts as one of the baseline measurements to be considered for a mortgage. To avoid overlooking paying bills during this busy time, set up everything you can on auto-pay so you know all your bills are being taken care of.

Move Money Around — Unusual activity in any of your accounts is going to be a red flag for a mortgage loan officer. Avoid large cash deposits and moving big sums of money between accounts. If you receive any cash gifts intended to help with your down payment, the gift giver may be required to provide documentation that the money was given for that reason and does not need to be paid back.

Now that you know what not to do when applying for a mortgage, you can focus on the excitement of preparing to buy a house. Remember, virtually everyone who has ever purchased a home has gone through the mortgage approval process and lived to tell about it, and you will, too. Good luck! Copyright Featured Agent Magazine

Austin Reed

Austin Reed Honesty, loyalty, and service. These values were ingrained in Austin Reed from a young age. Today, they are also the pillars of his thriving business as a Senior Loan Officer and Branch Manager with Guaranteed Rate in Boston, Massachusetts.

After studying finance, political science and economics in college, Austin knew he was headed into finance in some capacity. “I was recruited by a client from another industry and that’s what first drew me into the mortgage world,” Austin explains. “It has really played strongly to my strengths and the things that I enjoy, such as numbers, interpersonal relationships and communication.” 8

Austin has worked very hard to build his business organically and today, nearly 95 percent of his business is referral-based. “My business primarily has been built in and around Boston and the greater New England area, but I have expanded over the years, through clients, REALTORS® and referral partners that have relocated or branched out to different areas,” Austin says. “I lend nationally and have done business in a majority of the 50 states.” Austin and his team are dedicated to providing the highest level of care to each and every client. “We treat everyone we work with like they are our only client. We walk them through the process step by

step, and we are always available when they need us, including at night or during the weekends,” he says. “We like to take the opportunity to educate people on the process as a whole, especially firsttime buyers or newer clients. We fully understand that this is a huge decision for those we work with, and we take a lot of pride in what we do.”

Through constant contact and technology — including the use of organizational software which tracks every step of the loan — Austin aims to stay one step ahead of the curve by keeping all parties in the loop at all times. “As a team, we pride ourselves on transparency, honesty and proactive communications,” Copyright Featured Agent Magazine

Austin says. “We are never going to hide anything from our clients; we want to maintain clear and honest communication throughout the entire process.” This approach helped Austin and his team close hundreds of mortgages last year, and achieve an average net promoter score above 95 percent.

Austin has received a host of accolades throughout his career, beginning with Rookie of the Year his first year in the business. He has been a President’s Club Producer for the past five years, and has earned a spot in the Top 1% of originators in America. But what he finds most rewarding is the appreciation of his clients at the end of the process. “The thank you 9

“We fully understand that this is a huge decision for those we work with, and we take a lot of pride in what we do.” cards and phone calls we receive are the greatest reward,” says Austin. “When our clients realize the gravity of the process and are thankful for their new home, that is so gratifying for us.”

Outside of the office, Austin gives back to his community through coaching gymnastics and soccer — sports he was very active with growing up. He is also involved with CrossFit coaching and charity events.

In his free time, Austin loves spending time in the great outdoors. Whether playing sports or exploring new destinations through his love of travel, he is

never too far away from his clients. “One of the great things about being in this industry is that I can do it from anywhere,” Austin notes. “If I am away for a long weekend, I can set up in a conference room all day and be out exploring at night. With a successful team behind me, clients usually don’t even realize that I’m not at my desk.”

Looking towards the future, Austin plans to continue growing his business and expanding his team. “We’re hoping to be above the $100 million per year mark, all while continuing to improve the customer experience.” With his drive and continued dedication to his clients, there is no limit to what Austin Reed can achieve.

Austin Reed Senior Loan Officer/Branch Manager | Guaranteed Rate | Boston, MA 857.317.8650 | austin@rate.com | www.rate.com/austinreed NMLS ID: 815750 10

Write

listings that sell

As the saying goes, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words.’ But when you’re trying to sell a home, you need more than just beautiful pictures to tell the story — a well-written listing description is important, too. With most buyers beginning their home searches online, you need to having listings that are somewhat brief and SEO-friendly, yet descriptive and evocative. It’s a tall order, to be sure. But it’s very possible if you follow these tips for writing listings that sell.

Use Space Wisely — Zillow conducted a study that found 250 words is the optimal length for a listing description. Depending on how much you enjoy writing, that may sound like a little, or a lot. It’s definitely enough to allow you to describe the home and the neighborhood adequately, if you choose your words carefully. Don’t get too caught up in spinning a story of making memories or discovering your dream home. Instead, use concrete, objective language that talks about the home’s statistics and features in an interesting, engaging way. Rather than cramming everything into one solid block of text, aim to create ‘bite-size’ pieces of information. Be sure to use shorter, punchy sentences and break out details with bullet points so readers can easily scan your listing to find the details they feel are most important. (For reference, the paragraph you just read is 137 words. If it was a listing description, you’d have 113 words left.)

Focus on Features and Benefits — When describing a home, the immediate impulse is to focus on all of its amazing features. But, by doing that alone, you’re only telling half the story. If you just list a home’s features without explaining how those features will benefit the buyer, you’re missing an opportunity to make an emotional connection. For example, you could say the home has a screened-in porch. Or, you could say: lovely screened-in porch allows three-season indoor/outdoor entertaining. Now you’ve created an instant picture in the buyer’s mind about why they should want a home with a screened-in porch. By using just a few more words, you can create descriptions that lead buyers to wanting features they didn’t even realize they needed. Don’t Forget the Neighborhood — Remember, Copyright Featured Agent Magazine

Don’t get too caught up in spinning a story of making memories or discovering your dream home. Instead, use concrete, objective language that talks about the home’s statistics and features in an interesting, engaging way. buyers aren’t just looking for a house, they’re searching for an overall lifestyle. The most successful listings are the ones that focus not only on the home itself, but also give information on the neighborhood, too. Whether that’s calling out award-winning schools, well-kept parks, or restaurants and entertainment within walking distance, people want to know what’s good about where they might live. Be sure to talk to the current homeowners to get their input on what makes the area unique.

Keep it Professional — Some rogue agents swear by crafting listings with crazy headlines or a million exclamation points, claiming they get people to stop and take a second look. That may be true, but it’s probably not the look you want. Don’t compromise professionalism for catchiness. Using all caps, excessive exclamations, and randomly capping letters makes your listing look amateurish at best. At worst, overly ‘creative’ headlines can cause your listings to be mistaken for spam.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing — There was a time when loading up your listing with keywords was enough to get it noticed by search engines. But as we’ve all gotten smarter about how the internet works, those tricks no longer apply. Rather than stuffing your precious 250-word count with meaningless keywords, use it to write good quality copy that buyers will actually want to read. If you don’t think your writing skills are up to snuff, it will pay to hire a freelance writer or an assistant with excellent writing skills to create your listings.

Creating a compelling listing description is one of the many important phases of preparing a home to go on the market. These tips will help you craft compelling listings that sell. 11

Create a

beautifully staged home

A beautifully staged home does more than just look good. It can actually help potential buyers bond with a home and imagine themselves living in it. Savvy sellers understand the power of staging a home for sale, but may not quite know how to achieve the look they want.

You could hire a professional home stager to get the job done, but if that expense isn’t in the cards, there’s no reason you and your seller can’t work together to stage the home — especially when you have these low-cost, high-impact home staging secrets:

Kill the Clutter — ALL of it! It’s the necessary first step that will make the next steps easier (not to mention giving the homeowners a head start on their packing). Eliminate stacks of mail, magazines, catalogs, 12

newspapers, and any other extra paper. Box up knickknacks, keepsakes and kids’ toys and stack the boxes neatly in one corner of the garage, attic or basement. And while we’re on the subject — those areas need to be cleaned and organized, too.

Send Personal Items Packing — This can be hard for some homeowners, because those are the things that make a house feel like home. But remind the sellers how potential new owners need to imagine themselves making memories there, which is hard to do when they’re looking at years’ worth of kids’ school pictures, family vacation photos, or old sports trophies. Be a Cleaning Machine — A clean house is a house that sells quickly. Be sure the home is cleaned

quick tips Visit local model homes to stay current on design trends tu

Make sure the home smells as fresh as it looks tu

Clean out closets and cabinets to show off storage space tu

Arrange furniture to create room-to-room flow tu

Hang extra-plush, pure white towels to give bathrooms spa-like ambiance from top to bottom, including often-forgotten areas like corners, under and behind appliances, ceiling fan blades, and window tracks. See to it that bathroom fixtures and mirrors shine, and kitchens look spotless and neat.

Neutralize It — A fresh coat of neutral paint on walls and trim will go a long way toward making a house irresistible to buyers. Freshly painted walls, free of scuffs and nicks, make the whole house feel clean and new. Again, you want potential buyers to imagine all the ways they can make a home their own, and having a neutral canvas onto which they can project those daydreams will free their imaginations to run wild. Let There Be Light —Take down any heavy, dark Copyright Featured Agent Magazine

window coverings and replace them with sheer or light colored panels. Add lamps with high-wattage bulbs to brighten up dark corners. Bathing rooms in light makes them look larger, warmer, and more inviting. Plus, on a subliminal level, it shows buyers there’s nothing about the house that you’re trying to hide.

Make an Entrance — Be sure the home’s entrance gives an accurate hint about what’s inside. Keep walkways and entry area clean and free of excess paper and leaves. Don’t let any spiderwebs (yikes!) hang out in the corners. If the front door is looking worn, give it a new coat of paint and shine up the hardware. Ensure the doorbell is in working order and add a new welcome mat for the perfect finishing touch. 13

Make the most of

small space living

The Tiny House Movement is one of the fastest-growing housing trends in recent memory. Tiny houses are fully functional mobile living spaces that measure from 100400 square feet. Obviously, fitting all of life’s necessities in such a tiny space poses many challenges. But you don’t have to live in a tiny house to face the realities of small space living. Studio apartments, loft spaces, cottages and many other small spaces all present similar issues. Here are seven ways you can maximize small space living to create a comfortable, well-organized and stylish home. Take Care with Color — Adding color to walls is one of the fastest, easiest, most affordable ways to add character and personality to a room. But be careful when you’re working in small spaces, because the wrong color can make your room seem smaller than it 14

actually is. Avoid dark colors and stick with lighter hues to make the space feel more open.

Embrace Light & Reflection — Keep window coverings light, both in color and materials. Heavy window coverings will make rooms look and feel dark and claustrophobic. Stick to lighter colors and airy fabrics that allow light to filter through, even when closed. Another trick is to let curtain rods extend past the ends of windows on either side to create the illusion of width. Mirrors are another great way to visually trick the eye into thinking a room is larger than it is. Bonus points if you can hang a mirror across from a window to capture and reflect even more light. Make Furniture Multi-Task — When you live in a small space, everything should have more than one

You don’t have to live in a tiny house to face the realities of small space living. Studio apartments, loft spaces, cottages and many other small spaces all present similar issues.

Get Control of Clutter — Clutter is the enemy of small space living. When every available surface is covered with mail, magazines, clothing and other everyday odds and ends, the space looks messy and unfinished. One way to keep clutter under control is to practice the rule all minimalists live by: one in, one out. That simply means every time you bring something new into your space, an equivalent item has to go. If you buy a new pair of shoes, for example, you have to get rid of a pair you already have, and so on. It’s definitely challenging, but it will make you think twice when tempted to purchase something on impulse, knowing that something you already have will get the axe.

purpose. Think ottomans that double as storage space, tray tables that pinch hit as end tables, and dressers that serve as nightstands. If you live in a studio space, it’s practically illegal to have a sofa that doesn’t fold-out into a bed. And remember seeing Murphy beds (also called wall beds) in old black and white movies and TV shows? They’re making a comeback and can solve a multitude of small space furniture and storage issues. Keep Floors Clear — Crowding the floor with baskets or bins for storage may seem practical, but it will make the room look and feel smaller. Open things up by keeping floor space clear and moving storage up to the walls (or even the ceiling, in some cases). Shelves, hanging baskets, peg boards and other storage solutions will keep floor space free. Copyright Featured Agent Magazine

Utilize Hidden Spaces — The space under, in between or behind furniture is no longer just a place for dust bunnies to collect. When you live in a small space, it can be used for valuable storage. You can get specialized storage bins made to slip under the bed or simply use your imagination to decide what goes where, like slipping a folding tray table under the couch or hanging an ironing board or shoe rack behind a door. Keep it Extra Clean — Speaking of dust bunnies, small spaces need to be cleaned more frequently and thoroughly than their larger counterparts. It’s easy to ignore dusty corners or a too-full trash can in a large space, but everyday messes add up quickly when there’s not a lot of room. Take some time at the end of every day to do a quick cleaning and you’ll keep your small space feeling tidy and inviting.

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