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Quality At-Bats

December 2, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

One major flaw in the great game of baseball is the way we’ve been measuring and evaluating a player’s performance. Similarly, most players will tell you how well their season is going based on what their batting average is at a given point in time.

I believe that this is a mistake – as you can do everything correctly as a hitter and still make an out. How do you account for that?

Well, many coaches today are utilizing a different type of evaluation – the Quality At-Bat.

Cliff Godwin, former assistant coach at Ole Miss and current head coach at East Carolina University gives a great definition of the Quality At-Bat. He said, “A Quality At-Bat is an at-bat that makes a positive contribution towards our team goals.”

There are numerous ways that to have a Quality At-Bat:

Executing a Hit & Run, Sac Bunt, Sac Drag, or Squeeze
Executing a Bunt for a Hit
Walk, HBP, or Catcher’s Interference
Moving a runner from 2nd base to 3rd base with 0 outs
Driving in a run from 3rd base with less than 2 outs
Any RBI (Sac fly, 2 out RBI, etc…)
All hard hit balls (NOTE: All base hits are not QAB’s. i.e. bloop hits.. We want HARD contact!)
8+ pitch at-bats
When you can see 4 or more pitches after you are down 0-2 in the count

“Make a hard out, perform an offensive fundamental, throw any at-bat up there of eight pitches or more, a good bunt — not a bad bunt but a ball put on the ground where somebody’s got to make a good defensive play, a walk,” Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates Manager

Justin Dedman – Lee University Hitting Coach

One of my favorite coaches, Justin Dedman at “Hitting Mental” has a post worth viewing regarding his definition and planning for the Quality At-Bat:

“Hitting is challenging, which is why we love it, but when a hitter is consumed with stress about his own stats, fearful of future performances repeating past failures, or distracted by expectations, hitting has become nearly impossible. A focus on QABs allows a hitter to stay focused on simplifying the game.”

Here’s Justin’s list:

No one on base, first inning? I should be focused on reaching base, nothing more. Get a good pitch to hit, and I will maximize my chances of making a HARD CONTACT.
Developing toughness in practice, and the mechanical savvy to hold your ground on an inside pitch, allows a hitter to react appropriately in-game and take an HBP.
Acquiring plate discipline in front toss and batting practice allows a hitter to avoid weak contact more often, see more pitches, and improve his chances of coaxing a BB.After a foul ball and a close call for strike two, we find ourselves down 0-2. Battle your way from 0-2 to seeing 4+ pitches! You have just flipped the script on the pitcher! Now, many pitchers are begging to get any ball put in play, as they don’t want their pitch count to continue to skyrocket.
Any executed bunt, slash, hit and run or run and hit is a QAB! These are huge skills to master. Executing these skills keeps an opposing defense, pitcher and manager on the defensive, and alleviates the pressure to get hit after hit by only swinging against good pitchers.
With a runner at second base and 0 outs, it’s great to advance the runner from second to third, but this is situational. I should not give away at-bats in an effort to manipulate and push the ball back side. Our offensive goal is to score as many runs as possible each inning, not just one run, unless we are in a “tight and close” scenario.
Any time you get an RBI while making an out, that’s a QAB. Let’s not focus on perfection. An RBI ground out may not be ideal, but it’s quality. These aren’t called Perfect At Bats! Of course, hitters must be taught which situations ask for them to potentially sacrifice a more aggressive approach for something simpler that more consistently gets the run home. Most situations with a runner at third and less than two outs create this QAB opportunity.
Hits aren’t QABs, but 2-strike hits sure as heck are. To get a two-strike hit, a hitter must take advantage of a mistake or fight his way to getting a pitch he can handle to score the run.
Lastly, any at-bat that ends with 8+ pitches is a QAB, regardless of the result. The average number of pitches per plate appearance in MLB in 2015 was 4.30. Having an 8 pitch AB has a similar impact on a pitcher to having faced an extra hitter.

The True Believer and Preacher – Steve Springer

One of the priemer mental coaches regarding the Quality At-Bat is Steve Springer – and his website called qualityatbats.com. I’d highly recommend that you visit Steve’s site and grab his CD – his mental approach is spot on.

He’s worked with a ton of big league players and coaches – and he’s really brought the concept of the Quality At-Bat to the forefront of baseball today.

For example, what if during a game a hitter goes 0 for 4 on the night and the at-bats go like this:

1) Line out to the shortstop

2) Ground out to 2^nd base that moves a runner to third with no outs

3) Grinds out a long at-bat by fouling off pitch after pitch late in the game, which ultimately leads to the opposing team having to go the bullpen

4) Scores a run from third with less than 2 outs by weakly grounding out to the middle infield that was playing back.

This player normally would consider the as 0 for 4 but in the Quality At-Bat system he would be 4 for 4. Players view their performances much differently through this system and it won’t lead to as much stress and frustration, which we know, are performance crushers.

I’d invite you to change your perspective on hitting performance metrics. Don’t forget the end goal is to help your team win! It’s not just about personal statistics anymore….

5 Ways to Raise Your Credit Score Today

December 2, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

I receive questions all the time regarding the credit scoring system, the FICO score, and how to improve those scores.

Not only can improving your FICO credit score improve your chances of obtaining a mortgage, but it could improve your auto insurance premiums and, possibly, make you a more attractive employment candidate.

FICO scores range from 300 to 850 – and mortgage applicants get the best mortgage rates and terms when their FICO scores are 720 or higher.

For borrowers of all FICO scores, the best way to improve your credit rating is to understand the factors that make up your FICO score, and to take the right actions that can make a positive impact on your score.

Find out more here from The Mortgage Reports and Britt Scearce

What’s Included In Your FICO Score

The FICO credit score takes into account a combination of all of the information found in your credit report.

Your FICO score is made up of the following:

Payment History: 35% of your overall FICO
Total Amounts Owed: 30% of your overall FICO
Length of Credit History: 15% of your overall FICO
New Credit: 10% of your overall FICO
Type of Credit in Use: 10% of your overall FICO

To find out what is impacting your FICO score you will want to review your credit reports. You can obtain a free copy of your credit report from each of the three main credit reporting agencies — Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian — at www.annualcreditreport.com.

Your scores are generated based on a snapshot of the information on your credit report as of the particular moment that the report is pulled. Correcting errors is crucial, therefore, to ensure the highest possible FICO score.

Here are things you can do in the short term to improve your score:

1. Verify your accounts are current

“Payment History” makes the largest impact on your FICO score at 35% of your overall score. It is vital, therefore, that you keep current on all of the accounts reporting to your credit report.

When reviewing your credit report, should you find any accounts that are past due, catch them up as soon as possible and pay at least the minimum payment required by the due date.

2. Dispute your inaccuracies

Should you detect any errors on your credit report, you will want to request a correction as quickly as possible. In order to make a correction, use the information on your report to contact the credit bureaus, and also the creditors which provided the erroneous data to the bureaus. Getting even one late payment removed from your credit report can improve your FICO score dramatically.

3. Ask for a little grace

Sometimes, a creditor may be willing to “help you out”. In cases where you make a relatively small slip-up, with a creditor you’ve never been late with, you can sometimes get a late-payment waived. It’s always a good idea to make a phone call and to ask for a little grace. This works best if you catch the delinquency early and bring the account current right away.

There are many examples of creditors removing a late payment from your credit report if there’s a legitimate story behind what happened, and if you can explain what steps you’ve taken to avoid a repeat occurrence.

4. Settle up collections, charge-offs, judgments and liens

Old collection items, credit card charge-offs, and judgments and liens can hurt your FICO score, too. If you’ve got any of these on your credit report, it’s time to contact your creditors and collection agencies and to settle up one-at-a-time.

In many cases, you can negotiate with your creditors to remove a trade line completely in exchange for settling an account for its full balance. You need to call your credits first, however, to find out.

5. Improve your debt utilization ratio

Another way to improve your FICO is to improve your “amounts owed”, or debt utilization ratio. Debt utilization makes up 30% of your FICO credit score. This is a measure of how much you money you owe to creditors as compared to how much credit is available to you. The FICO scoring model takes into account the utilization of each individual credit account; and the utilization of all of your credit accounts combined.

For example, if you have five credit cards, each with a $2,000 limit, you have a total $10,000 available credit over all five accounts. If you carry a $1,000 balance on one of the five accounts, you would have a 50% utilization on one card and a 10% utilization over all of your credit.

In general, debt utilization of 30% of less is good for FICO scores. Utilization over 30% is often bad.

Now that you are armed with this – get to work and see what you can accomplish to improve that score. Give me a call, as I’d be more than happy to coach you through this process, as well!

The Top Benefits of Home Ownership

November 28, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

There are obvious reasons to buy a house. Interestingly, there are a number of fantastic secondary benefits of owning a home that most renters are not yet aware of.

Not least, of course, is that you have somewhere to live. But there are a number of other upsides that are considerably less apparent, and they aren’t all about money. Here’s a great piece from Peter Morgan at The Mortgage Reports that outlines a few of them….

Buying A House Is Generally A Fantastic Investment

The U.S. Census Bureau has a table of historical home values on its website that starts in 1940 and ends in 2000. It uses constant year-2000 dollars for all figures to account for inflation.

Home Ownership Gets Easier Over Time

Paying your mortgage over time means you’re building equity each month. An asset you can sell or borrow against in the future.

Although, when buying a house for the first time, there can be a little financial strain. You have to come up with a down payment and cope with unexpected homeownership costs. You may feel the pinch for a few years.

But gradually things get easier, trust me on that!

Build to Your Tastes, Not Your Landlord’s

Do you want a bunch of pets? Does taste in decor matter to you? Do you like walls painted in crazy shades of pink, or do you spend your weekends tearing apart engines or woodworking in your shop?

No problem. When you own your own place, there’s no landlord to tell you those aren’t allowed.

Improve Your Credit Score

Buying a house can improve your credit score, especially if you don’t have a long credit history or many installment accounts. That’s because your mortgage –provided it’s managed well — helps drive up your credit score by showing you are a responsible borrower when you make your payments on-time and consistently.

Wealth Accumulation via Forced Savings

You can view the equity you build in your home as you make payments every month as a type of saving. Unlike renters, you’ve no choice but to increase your net worth. The Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies confirms this. In fact, on of their studies showed that homeowners acquire 46 times as much net wealth as renters.

For every $1,000 accumulated by non-homeowners, those who own a home acquire $46,000.

Benefits for Your Family

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) website links to studies and reports that make some pretty extraordinary claims for the benefits of homeownership, including:

Better mental and physical health
Improved community engagement
Higher educational attainments for the children of homeowners

Of course, you have to choose to involve yourself in your neighborhood, and to support your children’s efforts.

Contact your Realtor or Mortgage Lender for more!

The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of American Financial Network, Inc.

Mortgage Approval After One Year of Self-Employment?

November 21, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

Self-employed mortgage applicants must prove stability of employment and income, usually going back two years. This is a bit tougher than it is for regular salaried employees.

Traditionally, mortgage lenders have required two years federal income tax returns in securing a mortgage for purchasing or refinancing real estate. There’s been changes to the way mortgage lenders underwrite mortgage loans.

Fortunately, there is a way to use just one year of tax returns to qualify for a mortgage. This can help newer business owners, as well as those who experienced a down year in the past.

Whether you are looking to buy a home or refinance one, you may be able to qualify by showing only your most recent year of income. Check out this article by The Mortgage Report’s Adam Lesner for more.

Getting Approved As A Self-Employed Applicant

Generally, a self-employed borrower is any individual who has 25% or greater ownership interest in a business.

According to conventional mortgage guidelines published by Fannie Mae, underwriters consider the following factors to approve a self-employed borrower.

The stability of the borrower’s income
The location and nature of the borrower’s business
The demand for the product or service
The financial strength of the business
The future outlook of the business

Two points stand out here when getting approved as a business owner: stability and consistency.

The way underwriters measure stability is by looking at length of history in that business specifically, and in that field.

They typically want to see a two-year history in the respective industry. This is where you may be granted an exception if you haven’t been self-employed the whole two years in that line of work.

Ask The Lender To Use Different Approval Software

In some cases, the underwriter won’t ask you to provide a full two years’ worth of tax returns.

Most applicants’ files are run through computerized underwriting systems, then verified by real person. The underwriting software, in some cases, will ask for the most recent year of tax returns only.

The one-year requirement typically comes from “Loan Prospector,” which is Freddie Mac’s loan approval software. Fannie Mae’s version of the software is less likely to give you a one-year requirement. Most lenders can approve loans via Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.

If you have been self-employed less than two years, ask your lender to try running your scenario through Loan Prospector. There’s a chance this system will require you to document less self-employment than would another system.

If you receive the reduced, one-year requirement, it’s important to understand that your tax return must reflect a full year of self-employment income.

For example, if you became self-employed in April 2017, that year’s tax returns are not going to reflect a full year. If you started your business in November 2016, then your 2017 tax returns will demonstrate a full year of experience running your business.

Give your me a call to find out more – as there are multiple alternatives that we can examine!

Use Assets as Income in Loan Qualification

November 9, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

A little-known change in Freddie Mac’s rules could be a big help to qualifying retiring Baby Boomers and other savvy homebuyers who have limited incomes, but substantial financial assets, for a low-rate conforming, conventional mortgage.

Without a steady income, how do they qualify for a loan? By utilizing assets as income, that’s how!

Loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — which means most loans issued these days — can use assets such as IRAs and 401(k)s to help applicants meet income requirements. The provision “lets you take advantage of your holdings to a greater degree,” says Keith Gumbinger, vice-president of HSH Associates, which publishes mortgage information and rates.

How Does It Work?

Assets that can be counted under these rules include retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s, lump-sum retirement account distributions and annuities.

“The borrower must be fully vested, and the retirement assets must be in a retirement account that is immediately accessible,” says Brad German, a spokesman for Freddie Mac. That means the money cannot be subject to an early-withdrawal penalty and cannot currently be used for income.

The formula takes 70% of qualifying assets, subtracts what will be needed for down payment and closing costs and divides the remainder by 360, the number of months in a standard loan, to arrive at a monthly income used to determine the applicants’ maximum payment and loan amount.

HSH.com says, for example, that a borrower with $1 million in assets could count $700,000. After taking out $10,000 for closing costs and dividing by 360, the borrower could show $1,917 in monthly income.

That, of course, is not enough for a gigantic loan. But it could be very helpful if the borrower needed a relatively modest loan for the gap between the cost of a new home and the proceeds from selling an older one. And Social Security, pension and other income sources could help the borrower get a bigger loan.

There are some catches, however. To be counted, the assets, including interest earnings and dividends, cannot be used for current income, HSH says.

If you would like to find out more about utilizing your assets as income for your next home purchase or refinance, reach out to your mortgage lender for more details.