Mortgage Secrets…Learn What the Experts Say

Did you know?

It’s Financial Literacy Month. And to long with this, please read this perfect quote to think about as you go through this very changing period of time.

“What is” is always shifting. Be aware of the shift in order to create the life I want.

Please take a moment to watch my SHORT, yes it’s true, it’s only 1:56 mins, video

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Attitude is Everything!“A good goal is like a strenuous exercise- it makes you stretch.”
~Mary Kay Ash

For some reason, when we can’t see the future clearly, we tend to see things as becoming worse rather than better. However, the optimistic attitude that gave us the world we now live in is what is needed to take advantage of the fantastic opportunities all the despair and market uncertainty is generating today.

Attitude is Everything

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It sure is crazy what’s happening out there and I completely understand many of the concerns I’ve been hearing from you. That’s why I spend my time studying the market everyday and proactively staying on top of the changing landscape in the lending industry, so I can help you make great, well-considered choices for you and your families future.

So Why Buy Real Estate Now?

Many people are struggling to decide if it’s the right time to buy real estate. Although we haven’t seen the bottom yet, who knows exactly when that will happen? I don’t have a crystal ball, do you?

But what do we know for certain? There are Two Ways to Make Money with Real Estate

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Article Written by Teresa Boardman of Inman News

I rarely put up articles that others have written but, in this case, it was so well written that I felt it necessary to give credit where credit is due!  Enjoy!

I am writing this today from Main Street America, the very same street that we have heard about on the news as the $700 billion financial rescue package was being discussed. I can almost see the street from my desk, but not quite.

It is lined with trees and brick buildings with shops in them. There are several restaurants, some bars, coffee shops and antique shops. The business owners I have talked to tell me that business is slow, it has been for months, and will continue to be slow in the coming months.

Our country is in the midst of an economic catastrophe, fueled by huge amounts of consumer debt that cannot be paid back to the financial institutions that lent the money. I know this is an oversimplification, but it gets at the heart of the problem. If borrowers cannot pay back the loans, the banks that lent the money are in jeopardy of insolvency, which puts our global economic system at risk.

The Republicans blame the Democrats, who blame the Republicans, and we all blame the lenders. They lent money to people who could not pay it back. There were subprime loans, no-doc loans, interest-only loans, exotic loans and no-down-payment loans, as well as widespread mortgage fraud.

There are a lot of people in this country who are financially overextended. Our national government is overextended to the tune of $10 trillion. We are nation of borrowers. For some, it starts with student loans. They seem to be the gateway loans that kick off a future of borrowing for cars and houses and using credit cards to buy everything else.

Americans are in debt before they are old enough to legally drink. The credit industry has a role in all of this, as they mail credit-card applications to children, but they would be out of business if people did not want to borrow money.

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“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” ~ Demosthenes

If you thought last Monday was wild on the news from Fannie and Freddie, the headlines that lead us into this week are even crazier. First, Mortgage Bonds are up sharply, which should lead to
much better home loan rates, especially for home purchases - time to get off the fence, and also for great refinance opportunities, just what we have been expecting, call me to see if this makes sense for you. Remember you can utilize your equity to purchase more real estate.

The week begins with more fallout in the financial sector. Lehman Brothers is done after 158 years, thanks to their over exposure to sub-prime mortgages. Another casualty that was narrowly avoided was Merrill Lynch, which is being acquired by Bank of America, again due to their greed and over exposure in the risky mortgage business. Also on the ropes is insurance giant, AIG, as they try to raise cash quickly to stay afloat.

So where is the good news you’re asking??? What do all these headlines mean to YOU? It’s a time to look for opportunities. There are many and where do you begin?

To start, there are MANY smaller opportunities or shall I say tools to utilize that are now available by way of The Fed. working on bailing out the American public.

“HOPE for Homeowners Act of 2008″

$7,500 Home Purchase Tax Credit

Seller Interest Rate Buy Down = Easier Qualifying

Fannie & Freddie Bail Out = lower interest rates

FHA loan limits & 100% financing

The huge opportunity is of course simply the shear number of homes that are “On Sale”. Can you remember the last time Southern California property was this cheap?

Find out why, when, how, and what. Get your questions answered. Make smart financial decisions. Come to our FREE educational workshop. That’s right, I said FREE. Invite Your Friends & Family this Saturday the 20th at 10am

Sneak Preview

Just wanted to share with you some GOOD NEWS out of all this crazy, roller-coaster-of-a-ride we call a market. What a GREAT time to be looking to buy a home!

Quote of the Week:

Know What You Don’t Know

“The doors of wisdom are never shut.”

Benjamin Franklin
~ Inventor    

Good Afternoon!

Please take a moment to watch this very quick video about something I’m going to try out, Question and Answer emails / videos:

http://www.vimeo.com/1610110

Forward this email to your friends and family so that they can watch the video, too.

QOTW - Q & A Introduction http://www.vimeo.com/1610110“This week I talk about how doing the opposite of what we’re taught or what we think we should do is usually the right thing to do, surprisingly. Also, I’d like to introduce my new Question and Answer idea that I hope will be useful to all of my viewers. If you have any questions that you would like me to address by video, email, or privately, send them to me via email at kkooiman@silverstarfinance.com.

Here is an example of a recent Q & A that I read online through one of the companies I learn from: Read the rest of this post

Right now we are in a Different time…right?  And like any rough time in our economy, being positive and truthful is necessary.  Most of what you are hearing and seeing is negative and down right depressing.  But I have to say, if you’ve been reading my weekly emails [ come on, I know you have =) ], you will have noticed that there are a lot of positive things happening not only at Silverstar but in the real estate market as well.

When was the last time that you could buy a home in Southern California at such a discount?  And when was the last time you could buy cash flowing investment real estate?  And think of how much lower your property taxes will be or could be?  Like I said, Better is Always Different.

Well Guess What???  The time is now, even Alan Greenspan agrees.

Alan Greenspan told the Wall Street Journal last week that we are witnessing a 100-year event. That could possibly mean that in his opinion our housing crisis surpasses that of the great depression of the 1930s. (Different)

“The truth is, this problem will not be fixed from the top down. It will only be fixed from the bottom up. Courageous positive individuals need to take action now to clear excessive inventory (one house at a time) before pricing will normalize.” (Better)

Even though the government is trying to implement new policy to help homeowners survive, the market turn around will ultimately come from homes being bought by people who are qualified to buy their first home and investors who are purchasing rental properties.  Everyone needs a roof over their head so don’t think that real estate is a bad investment or it’s a bad time to buy.

True, this is a different (better) time to buy that and requires different strategies and qualifications.  I know what it takes to buy a foreclosure or an auction property based on experience, not based on what someone else is saying.  I also know the importance of financial security and how to help you develop a road map to manage your debt and cash flow.  We have been helping our clients for years develop their blue print.  Change is good, working with someone who changes is even better.

How Silverstar is Different
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Quote of the Week:

“It is not the crook in modern business that we fear, but the honest person who does not know what he is doing.” ~Owen D. Young

Research has confirmed that one out of every three homeowners have no idea what kind of loan they have. If you and/or any of your family members find yourself in that category, I have set aside some time to review their loan and provide advice to determine what to do next.

When a family member, friend or neighbor needs advice about buying/selling/borrowing, please don’t keep me a secret because you want them to get the best possible result and be delighted that you introduced me, don’t you?

All anyone has to do is give me a call to talk about their own situation or equally as important, to give me the name and number of someone they think will benefit from a relationship with a trusted adviser.

Rarely do I send out the same video twice but, in this case, it’s such a no brainer (saving money) that I would hope everyone would inquire after watching the video. Will you do me a favor? Will you please forward this email to those who you work with or better yet, to a Human Resources person who is authorized to forward this to the entire company ? I’m sure your fellow co-workers/friends/teammates will certainly appreciate their company looking out for them by way of giving them a way to save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars each and every year. This will, of course, spread the word about what we do here as well. Let’s just call it another win/win for everyone. Read the rest of this post

This quote is a perfect fit for what I talk about in my video today:

“The great thing in this world is not so much where you are, but in what direction you are moving.” And it’s completely up to you!!  ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Great Big Dreams Require Great Big Thoughts & Little Tiny Steps from Janet French on Vimeo.

It’s really quite simple to enlist the help of a Trusted Advisor team. All it takes is one simple phone call to schedule a short 1-2 hours of your time to sit down with me and get your finances on track. From that point forward, all you need to do is keep committed, meet with us annually and let us handle the rest. Now you’re on your way to a balanced life!!

And if even if it’s not the time to refinance your loan, you may be thinking, “What on earth could a mortgage consultant do for a client that doesn’t need a loan? After all, the loan is closed…what else is there???”

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Get Out of the Box

“Wherever we look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems.”
~ Norman Rockefeller, U.S. Vice President

In this weeks video, I discuss a few important topics pertinent to today’s economic conditions:

1. 3 solid money saving tips
2. I’ve come up with a solution to the energy crisis and I’ve also found a way to balance the budget. I’ll share with you my ideas on how to solve both problems in a relatively short amount of time.
3. I will discuss with you why this real estate market and the opportunities that are there for the taking are unlike any other real estate market cycle in times past.

Of course, all ideas and plans require willing and accountable participants that finish what they start. I’m always here to lend my 2 cents to those inspired to make a change for the better in their lives. I’ve had my own set of hard times and I’ve participated in plans that had no chance of success, and I learned a lot from every one of them. Now, however, I have a team of experts that will do their very best to ensure that my mistakes of years past are not repeated.