Suprime Mortgage Dampen Your American Dreams?

Has the Subprime Mortgage got you a little down on your American Dream? The dream of owning your own home? What has the media done recently? The stock market is like a roller coaster - One day it is up and another day, the sky seems like it is falling. News splashes everywhere talking about foreclosures at an all time high, more houses on the market now than ever before.....


What is Subprime Mortgage?
A sub-prime lender is one who lends to borrowers who do not qualify for loans from mainstream lenders. Some are independent, but many big-time mortgage companies have set up sub-prime departments to take part in this lucurative market.


What is a Subprime Borrower?
A subprime borrower is one who cannot qualify for prime financing terms but can qualify for subprime financing terms. The primary disqualification for mainstream loans is primarily due to weak credit scores.

What could be the Subprime Lending Terms?
With the higher risks of borrowers defaulting, subprime terms are normally at a higher interest rate, some with early pre-payment penalties, etc.


So, what does this really mean to you - if you have not achieve your American Dream?

The fall of the Subprime Mortgage is a good thing. What???? What do I mean? No doubt, I am in the business of assisting people achieve their American Dream. Let me get this straight - I AM ALL FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM. After all, I came to this country in search of the American Dream. But before I go further, let me describe to you what "my version" of the American Dream is about.

My American Dream goes far beyond owning a piece of real estate. Coming from a third-world country and a minority in my very own country where minorities fight to be the fittest to survive, I call America - the greatest Land of Opportunity. In this place, regardless of my race, color, nationality or sex, if I put my mind into anything I want, the great blue sky is my limit. If I can dream it, I can achieve it!!!

So again, what does this mean to you? The Fall of the Subprime Mortgage? You might have just fall onto the "disqualified" category and did I say it is a good thing? There is always a reason why you were disqualified. It is most likely your weak credit history. Evaluate to see where you stand financially in the past three years. Have you ever been late on payments? Are you close to maximizing the credit cards you have? Do you have debts? Are you not saving money each month?

These are some painful questions to ponder on. If your answer could be Yes to one of these questions, reflect to see if you really are ready for homeownership. Your home should be a blessing to you. It should not be something you work, work and work just to make the payments. Worry one day, if you would be foreclosed on because you barely made the cut into qualifying for the loan.

Build your financial strength prior to achieving the American Dream. That means no debts of any kind and a good stash of savings to sit on (3-6 months of monthly expenses). Then your American Dream is a blessing for you and your family.

With the covers of news media splashing foreclosures every day, how sweet is the American Dream now to those who are going through this stress? I am not looking down on those who are in foreclosures today. There could be many, many unforeseen reasons. But if you could build your foundation on solid rock (no debts and savings), should you give yourself and your family that advantage of building the American Dream?

Insights to a Real Estate Agent Checkbook

A consumer said this: "I was really disgusted at the obvious consumer mentality behind the cars both of the realtors I worked with drove - a Lincoln or a BMW. I thought it was disgusting, and I wasn't sure what they were trying to prove, except to go BuyOwner when we sell, because obviously they make too much in commission".
The general public do think that real estate agents do make alot of money. Again, we (the real estate people) understand the perceived image of success. Hence, our fancy car, nice suits and definitely big hair-do.

There are more into "real work" to become a resourceful agent. It is definitely more than opening a few doors on a Saturday afternoon and sticking a For Sale sign on a Sunday afternoon. While there are a few who puts in minimal effort, most are hardworking - even much more than a regular 8am-5pm position. Sometimes working over 60-80 hours may not seen uncommon. We eat, sleep and think real estate. We constantly think of better ways to serve our clients whether it is through education, seminars, parties or reading on the internet. Sometimes in the middle of our sleep when a great idea strike, we jump out of bed to write it down. In some extreme cases, this field have cost the high price of our families.

We "invest" in a website, we purchase leads and we pay our real estate dues. We purchase health and disability insurance. Most of the time, these are purchased at a much higher premium than a regular employee - where majority of the insurance costs are beared by the company itself. Like any good planner, we invest in retirement accounts too. We save for our kids' college education.

In this Internet age, consumers expects us to deliver information immediately. We purchase office supplies and equip our business with high-tech electronics and machines - not just to be cool, but to "wire" ourselves so that we can responsively serve our clients in this instantaneous society.

Advertising and marketing costs are enormous to say the least - even before receiving the wonderful opportunity of serving our clients. Print media can be expensive and internet pay-per-clicks are not cheap either. An agent can spend well over $500/month and yet still may not be as productive.

We attend parties and we go to networking meetings. We visit other real estate offices to sell our listings. We certainly do not just put our houses on the Multiple Listing Service for sale and they magically sell. We sit through countless production meetings even when we rather watch TV or spend an extra hour at home. Some of us work with mentors, or join high-quality real estate training. Such classes often cost thousands of dollars and help us get ready to work with clients serving with top-notch knowledge and enthusiasm.

We study our markets, we preview houses after houses even when we dont have a client to work with in the specific market. We read through email alerts of houses that comes on the market. We get up early in the morning, we go down late at night.

We continuously put ourselves through education. Some are used to meet the minimum state requirements for holding our licenses, but most agents carefully select courses (some take additional classes) so that they can acquire knowledge to assist their clients better.

We hire office assistants to handle the volume we serve. We understand that clients expect high-quality, responsive service. These assistants work behind the scenes. They help us keep our transactions rolling smooth, they help us get answers for our clients. Their awesome help relieve us from day-to-day operations so that we have time to return our clients' phone calls ourselves.

I do hope that this post will let consumers peek into the world of a resourceful real estate professional. There are more examples to think of. I know I am barely scratching the surface. Just like any good ie high-quality gem, you get what you pay for. We perform all these activities and more. Yet we only get paid when a house successfully sells. So, are we worth the 3% we charge?

Why purchase a Lexus, Acura and Tahoe when we can purchase a Sportege, Elantra and Cobalt since all of them takes us to the same place? Why would a consumer choose to eat at a steak restaurant when a fast food chain serve the same purpose of feeding that hungry stomach? Why would a consumer want to work with an ordinary agent when the best of the best in the market is available? Would the best of the best charge not deserve the commission we make?

I proudly serve the real estate needs in the Frisco, Plano, McKinney, Allen, Dallas, Denton, Anna, Prosper, Celina, Richardson, etc. real estate markets. I will be honored to speak to you.