AGBeat Columnist: Robert Ashby
Writer for national real estate opinion column AgentGenius.com, focusing on the improvement of the real estate industry by educating peers about technology, real estate legislation, ethics, practices and brokerage with the end result being that consumers have a better experience.
Do You Trust Your Clients?
…Should You? Most of us probably have never even thought about asking ourselves these questions, yet we need to know the answers. We expect our clients to trust us, but should that relationship have trust flowing from both sides? I am guessing most of you would first answer these questions with a resounding “YES”. After all, good customer service is ...
Florida Suing Countrywide
…Adds Themselves to the Growing List of States At the beginning of the month, Countrywide was acquired by Bank of America, but that has not stopped the troubles Countrywide got themselves into. Led by their Chief Executive, Angelo Mozilo (their "perfectly tanned" leader), Countrywide became the Number 1 lender in the nation, and also the Number 1 in scandals surrounding ...
Federal Reserve Decisions & Their Effects on Mortgage Rates
The Dilemma As I get ready to head for bed, I can’t help but feel many of you out there are still wondering what may happen tomorrow when the Federal Reserve makes their next rate cut decision. The first thing you need to understand is that what the Fed decides does not directly impact mortgage rates. When the Federal Reserve ...
New 2012 AGBeat media kit available now
- We know you want the most sophisticated audience, and here it is!
Having Lenders Compete Can Cost You Your Identity
Risk Factor One of the ways homeowners use to obtain the best mortgage deal is to use online mortgage forms to get multiple lenders to offer their best rates. While this may be a good start, there are some pitfalls that could prove very costly. One of the problems with shopping around is getting caught up in the lowest rate ...
Who Needs a Real Estate Agent? Just Just Run a Contest Instead
Auctions, discount brokers, etc., have all taken a stab at real estate agents and their profession, working to turn them into a commodity or even get them to disappear altogether. Now there may be a new trend taking place, have a contest to sell your home. That’s right, in Ocala, Florida, there is a woman that decided she wanted to ...
Mortgage Acceleration: Is the Latest Fad Right for You?
There has been a lot of talk over the last year or so about various mortgage acceleration programs, in fact, I have talked about them since last February (2007) myself. Fueled by United First Financial’s Money Merge Account marketing through an MLM style set up, the latest fad or craze has grown dramatically, leaving one to question whether or not ...
Zopa: Is Social Financing Better Than a Bank?
Social Financing Before you run out and begin thinking that social financing is going to help you pay your mortgage, understand that loans are small, but they can prove helpful in many ways. It is also not entirely without the use of a credit union. How It Works The basics of how it works is by connecting those who wish ...
What Color Ocean Are You Swimming In?
I was cleaning the office and scanning my book shelf recently and came upon a book I have not read in a while and it brought back a realization we all need to know. The book is called Blue Ocean Strategy and it talks about how we set up our businesses and compete. If you take a look at your ...
Equity Management is Misunderstood
A couple of weeks ago, Shailesh (fellow genius) wrote about how equity management is overrated. Personally, I think it is underrated as it is often misunderstood. As many believe, he went on to explain how it is about debt leveraging, putting off paying down your mortgage in order to invest instead. He even went on to mention that it seemed ...
Mortgage Bonds Bleed to Death After Cupid Shoots Them in the Heart
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, the day of love and bonds saw anything but. As Cupid flew around, shooting arrows, bringing together loved ones, he shot mortgage backed securities with a poison arrow instead. Mortgage bonds, the real driver of mortgage rates (not the 10-year note), had been holding their own as traders scrambled causing rallies and sell offs in ...
Did Your Practitioner Fix Your ARM…
or Make it Worse? When you break your arm, do you go to your family doctor, or do you go see someone at the ER that is equipped to deal with it? If you are like me, you go to the ER and request a specialist on top of that to make sure your broken arm gets fixed correctly so ...
I see Dead Cats, They’re Everywhere, Just Bouncing, They Don’t Even Know That They’re Dead
By now you have probably heard about the term “dead cat bounce”, but for those who don’t, here is a basic definition…it’s a fool’s rally. However, if you prefer a more elaborate definition, click here for the Wikipedia answer. Chances are that if you are watching the markets like I do, you can see dead cat bounces happening in virtually ...
Benn Rosales
Conal Campbell
Elijah May
Lani Rosales
Tara Steele
Marti Trewe
Charlene Jimenez