The Lyons Den

Last thing I want to do is promote something on the blog but this marketing secret is really cool.

Hopefully by sharing it, it will help you grow your business.

Imagine a system that will never let you forget a birthday again…

Imagine a way to send an unexpected card everyday to people you care about…

Imagine the ability to act on a prompting and express yourself to someone who needs it…

Imagine following up with customers in less than 60 seconds. Do you think that would make a difference?

Walk through sending a card so you can experience what I have experienced with this system.

This system is the coolest marketing/”keep in touch” tool that we are using to build our companies and our relationships.

Here’s how it works:

You go to the card catalogue online.

You pick a card (or create one)

you type a message, hit send and the PHYSICAL CARD goes in the mail the same day for about a dollar.

YOU CAN EVEN DO IT IN YOUR OWN HAND WRITING

AND PUT A PICTURE IN IT. You probably haven’t seen anything like it.

There is even a cool comp plan associated with it.

Best wishes!

Here is an email I just received from my Wall Street buddy Rob:

All I ask is for a chance to prove that money can’t make me happy. Want some good news? Go to the gas station: oil is back down to $70/barrel. On to mortgages:

Countrywide said that “disruptions in credit and secondary mortgage markets pose a risk to the company and could hurt its financial condition in the short-term”. CW made the disclosure in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, supplementing other “risk factors” the company had outlined in its annual report. Payments were at least 30 days late on about 20% of “nonprime” mortgages serviced by Countrywide as of June 30, up from 14% a year earlier. For all loans, delinquencies were 5%, up from 3.9%.

WAMU’s wholesale channel is either formally or informally classifying smaller originators as “priority” or “non-priority” accounts. There are obvious differences in service levels, depending on where you fit in.

WAMU warehouse is implementing changes as to the types of loans and the warehouse advance amount for warehousing. The maximum non-conforming market value that WAMU will accept is 97 for non-conforming and non-government loans! All non-conforming loans must have a specific takeout commitment for each loan. WAMU will no longer warehouse the following types of non-conforming mortgages: second lien mortgages, non-owner occupied mortgages, NINA/NINR, SISA’s, mortgages with CLTVs greater than 90%, or mortgages with FICO scores less than 660.

Paul Financial has suspended their Equity Advantage program due to the continuing illiquid bond market.

The Bank of Walnut Creek ceased taking applications and funding loans.

According to the National Mortgage News, Investment banker Nomura Securities has closed its nonconforming mortgage conduit and laid off staff in its fixed-income research department.

Nat City is making the changes to the Non-Conforming price adjustments: FICO’s less than 660 now have a 5 point hit, FICO’s 660–679 are a 1 point hit, etc., and the following non-conforming products will be discontinued: “Follow the Findings”, 40 year terms, and 40 due in 30’s. Lock extensions under these products will not be permitted.

Anworth Mortgage Asset Corp. announced that its Belvedere subsidiary was in default on two of its repo lines and had unpaid margin calls on others, and analysts assume that the company will lose 100% of this amount.

NovaStar Financial posted a net loss of $52.9 million, compared with a profit of $34.7 million a year earlier. Loan volume fell 73% to $773.7 million, and the real estate investment trust said it is having more difficulty selling loans it makes.
CitiMortgage improved prices from 50-100 basis points on the non-agency Alt-A, ARM, and Jumbo fixed.

Bank of America announced that they were limiting the maximum LTV/CLTV for all Cash-Out Refinance and all Non-Owner Occupied (Investor) transactions is limited to 70% on SIVA, SISA, Stated Income Combo Home Equity Loan Program, NINA, and their “No Ratio loan” programs. In addition, all new registrations and locks for LTV/CLTV greater than 70% for Investment Property and Cash Out Refinances on these programs have been suspended.

Deutsche Bank/CLG announced that MortgageIT is closings its correspondent division and moving that function to wholesale.

Remember Wednesday when stocks rallied, credit tightened, and mortgage prices worsened? That flipped yesterday as issues in Europe and the US prompted liquidity injections from the ECB and the Fed: stocks crumbled and the front end of the treasury market (impacting ARM rates) shot up. 30-yr A-paper product was better by about .125, but no one likes uncertainty, and every investor is now questioning the backing of any investment they make, whether it is commercial paper, money market funds, stocks, etc., so, they will lean toward the “No credit-risk” paper, like US Treasuries, FNMA, FHLMC, GNMA’s, etc.

According to Merrill Lynch, traders are speculating that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at an emergency meeting as soon as next week. Investors see the chances of a quarter-point reduction in the Fed’s key rate on any day from Aug. 16 at higher than 50%, and the market appears to be pricing in a substantial risk that the Fed will be forced to do an emergency inter-meeting cut in August,’ according to ML.

A few years ago it worked very well. The consumer would fill in their information online, receive 3 quotes back and was able to choose the best deal. The customer was being served. Now it is a drastically different story that doesn’t serve or benefit anyone.

Back a few years ago all you would hear in restuarants and bars is how much so and so made on xyz real estate deal. Now all you hear is the nightmare of what happened to someone who filled out a mortgage form online.

“It’s like getting a virus on your computer and phone all at once for 60 days straight!” I heard someone shout.

“I put John’s information on one just because I hate his pompous-ass” -another one in the crowd blurted out.

Can you imagine if you thought you were filling out a form to get 3 emails or phone calls with offers and quotes? AND you even thought that you were going to take your time in making an educated decision!

Now the perpetual exponential mess starts… to your surprise you get 5 calls not 3. Then one of them promises you the best deal so you let them pull your credit. Then you get another 10 calls because brokers/lenders have bought your information from the credit bureaus. AKA a trigger lead. Then one of the 15 plus brokers or the lead company will sell your information to India or another offshore call center to follow up on your information and either re-sell it to another 5 brokers/lenders or use it for themselves.

In the end, no one wins. The consumer gets bombarded to the point of harassment and makes a decision based on frustration and confusion or worse, no decision at all.

Trust me ask someone you know if they have filled out a form online and they will tell you!

Don’t get burned my friends…if you are going to fill out a form online…do the following:

1st- OPT-OUT from having your private information trigger to companies that you did not authorize to call you or fill up your mailbox with more junk.

2nd- After opting out wait 5 days then fill a form out with a mortgage company not a lead company.

How to choose a good company/site:

1. Fill it out with someone who will do the work for you by shopping for the best deal for YOU. Most of the time you are going to want to go with a company that is both a broker and banker. That way if your deal gets turned down or is not competitive inhouse they have the flexibility to shop elsewhere for you on a wholesale level. If you don’t have time to talk to 10-20 lenders how can you have time to talk to 100+. Again, find a professional and let them do the work for you.

2. Even better see if they have some type of risk reversal guarantee to ensure you get a really competitive deal that fits your unique situation.

3. Fill it out with a professional company that is member of the Better Business Bureau, Mortgage Bankers Association, or Association of Mortgage Brokers. Do your research on them.

4. Search Google or the company’s website for any 3rd party creditability or articles.

5. After doing your due diligence if you are still not 100% sure that the company will keep your information safe read the privacy policy on the website. This way you know your information is secure and will not be sold. Make sure the site is a secure site

6. Make sure they offer personal service and don’t just treat you like a number. For example “The Velocity Of Money” Make sure they are going to be with you for life not just for one deal.

7. If you still don’t feel comfortable just call the 800# on the website

As one of the largest mortgage lead purchasers/generators in the nation we were awakened. It all started one day when I got a call from Matt Coffin. He let me know about a blog called “Morinsight.”

I guess the site had become a big hit and the author was becoming a big star. Little did I know at the time that the author was an employee of LEI.

My first thoughts were of anger.

I was thinking to myself… “No shit he became a star, he violated his confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements with LEI and shared all of LEI’s proprietary information with the “lead” buying industry for his own gain. If he is personally so ‘insightful’ why doesn’t he focus in on his job that he is paid to do and increase conversion?”

I told the team-member to immediately take the site down. Instead he tells me that he transferred the site to someone else in the industry and the site is now called “LeadCritic.” I later find out that this person “in the industry” is his brother-in-law. I knew that it would still be a distraction and that he would still be tempted to participate. The LEAD industry continues to surprise me my friends.

I guess more of a reason to ramp up organic lead generation.

Which we are BIG time!

Within the next 90days we will be riding into the sunset with exclusive organic leads (that weren’t sold 5x then 10x to trigger buyers then 10x to India follow up teams) avoiding the exponential perpetual conundrum of today’s mouse trap. Consumers are getting tired of it and most will NEVER fill out a form again online after going through the disaster.

We have a mission and a vision to execute, as I am sure you do. There is a huge opportunity for those who are willing to adapt to the NEW “professional-ERA” in this business. It is time not only to get efficient but EFFECTIVE! Leaders deal with adversity differently.

One secret I will let you in on….

I caution all true lead buyers (the owners of the company.) I, like most of you, have been designing our proprietary systems and work-flow for almost 7years now. They constantly need to be improved and built upon. Breakthroughs need to occur in order to be cutting edge. NO ONE can do that for YOU.

You’d have to be ignorant (or maybe just paranoid) not to wonder how many “side-deals” are being made.  

I know now that my anger was an over-reaction and the team member didn’t have any ill intentions but like I said we were awakened! AND I believe now that we are a better company because of it and our relationship has gone to the next level with the team-member. Some of our best people have come from overcoming adversity.

Your lead system is the key to the vault so don’t give the key away!

Looking for a bargain in a foreclosed house? There are some things you should know.

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A somewhat accurate depiction of my story growing up in Coronado and what my companies have grown into today. I guess they had to make the story sound a little cooler but my dad never lost “most of his money” and I was never “forced” to work. Other than that it makes for a decent read that I hope you will enjoy…

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