Monday, November 30th, 2009 at
11:56 pm
Many of you have huge databases and do a great job of keeping in touch with the contacts on your lists using frequent mailings.
If you are one of these people…Kudos to you! When maintained correctly, your database will provide a super source of mortgage referrals and new loans, keeping your pipeline filled for many years to come.
If you’re like me, you’re probably experiencing more and more pieces of your mailing being returned than when you first started mailing to your lists. You see things like “Undeliverable as addressed” or even “Forwarding Order Expired.”
Its unfortunate but, every time you mail to a contact that has moved or just can’t be found for some reason, you have just thrown good money down the drain. Not only did it cost you to produce the mailing piece…you also paid for the postage to send it. In all of this, here’s the really bad news…there is absolutely no possibility of getting any kind of response from those returns.
Now, if you’re relatively new to the mortgage business and/or maintain a very modest database of contacts this isn’t a problem for you. But, if you’ve been in the business for a number of years, your list may consist of many hundreds and possibly thousands of contacts.
When you have a huge list, you just can’t talk to everyone and take them to lunch. Most of them are contacts you have acquired over the years and you use direct mail to keep your name in front of them. You have found that by doing this, a goodly number of them call you when it’s mortgage time.
So…You maintain your database the best way you can by going into your list of names and delete the “returns” that you receive. No more bad addresses (until the next mailing), no more wasted mailers, and no more wasted postage. We also lost some contacts in the process that we worked so hard to get.
This just might be a better solution for you…
Our US Postal Service has an NCOA (National Change of Address) System that a limited number of companies are licensed to access. These companies or Service Providers are able to take your list and check it against the USPS address system.
By using this service, you’ll receive a report that will let you know if anyone on your list has moved, gone out of business, or even if the zip code that contact was in was changed by the Post Office itself. You’ll also receive a new copy of your list that has been cleaned, scrubbed, and updated.
The cost for having your list checked is extremely economical (about $5.00 per thousand records) and will allow you to keep getting your mortgage marketing message out to as many people on your list as possible.
The NCOA service is by far the easiest and most effective way that I have found to keep your marketing lists clean and your costs down. So, eliminate some of your list maintenance chores and save on your next mailing. When you’re ready to keep in touch, make your life easier and check your list.
By: Tom Domin
Related Posts:
Monday, October 5th, 2009 at
1:57 am
If you’re a borrower with bad credit looking for a commercial mortgage I have bad news for you. Your options are greatly reduced from just 6 months ago. In general, it is getting serous out there for a lot of people that for one reason or another that have credit scores lower than 600.
And the problem just isn’t that some borrower’s scores are low. It is also a function of banks dramatically raising their loan credit standards across the board and borrowers personal credit scores are just one of many criteria that have been raised and or tighten. And it’s one of those easy criteria to pick on for banks; there are no formulas to calculate or subjective factors to consider for them. It’s just a quick and easy decision of “oh, this borrower is below 650 – can the file”.
For example I just got off the phone with a commercial loan officer from a traditional bank who mentioned jokingly that 650 is now the “new 600″. Meaning that 600 used to be the bare minimum and that at her particular bank, 650 is now the new minimum score they will consider.
Borrowers should be as prepared as possible to explain their situation. The more logical the story, and most importantly, the more documentation that can back up their story the better. For example, if you had a divorce or medical issues, be prepared to provide documentation on these events. And remember this isn’t about you feeling bad about your past or a mini confession; you are trying to prove to underwriters that the underlying issue is gone and has been resolved. Read the rest of this entry
Related Posts:
Monday, September 14th, 2009 at
5:19 am
Bad credit home equity loan funding is a common option people with bad credit history turn to. This option actually secures sufficient funding for the applicant, should the application be approved. The applicant may have bad credit history, but he has also built sufficient amount of equity tied up in his own home. To understand this more, it is important to understand the concept of equity.
Equity is basically money that is tied up in a house or another piece of property. A house or property is indeed worth a lot of money, and this money right here is known as equity. Should there be sudden emergencies and there is an unexpected need of money, then you can actually take out a loan that is based on the equity that you have tied up in your house or property. Home equity loan funding is actually referred to as a second home mortgage as well.
Of course, the fact that you have bad credit will more likely bring about higher interest rates. Monthly payments can also be higher. This is the major catch when you apply for bad credit home equity loan funding, but there really is nothing you can do about it. The interest rates and monthly payments will always be higher in this scenario, as compared to that of people who have good credit history. The best that you can do here is to find a lender who can give you the best possible mortgage plan.
Another drawback is that the loan applicant could lose his home if the loan gets defaulted on. The bad news does not stop there because the applicant will still have to finish paying off his mortgage! This is in spite of the fact that the house itself has already been seized. Plus, there is a certain stigma that comes with the seizure of your property. You are then officially tagged as one of the major financial risks in the industry. This is why you have to be very careful when choosing your subprime lender and the companies you do business with here.
Taking out a bad credit home equity loan funding is indeed effective, especially if you want to correct or improve your credit score. With the money you get, you can then pay off your debts and ease your current financial troubles. But with the risks entailed, make sure you have the appropriate budget to pay off this loan as well. This way, you would not have to worry about losing your home in the long run.
By: Sean Bailey
Related Posts:
