The Lending Coach

Coaching and teaching - many through the mortgage process and others on the field

Page 73 of 82

Find A Lender That Will Take the Time to Know You – A Mortgage Is Personal

Another-Happy-Homeowner1

A real estate transaction and mortgage is personal.  The right mortgage, for example, should reflect your goals – both long and short term.  A mortgage is certainly not 15 minutes on the web with a completed application and a rate ready to lock.  Especially for the self-employed borrower.

In the past weeks, I’ve had multiple questions from Realtors and borrowers asking me about the “quick and easy on-line loan application”.  On the face of it, the filling out of the application is relatively quick and it seems to be pretty easy.

The problem is this process can actually be more expensive – and, most importantly, almost never reflects the goals of the borrower.

Source: The Mortgage Reportsrefinance totter

Which brings me to the article linked above.  Give it a read – it’s a good one.  Towards the end of the article, the author discusses the differences in loan underwriting systems. It’s a little bit of “inside baseball”, but one of the key differences between these systems is the need for tax returns.  In many cases, one will yield an eligible finding with only one year of tax returns – while the other requires two.  The subtle difference in two underwriting programs can be the difference between credit approval and denial.

The point is this, you must have a relationship with a loan officer who knows the subtle details.  The subtle details of borrower qualification relative to the borrower’s circumstances can be the difference between getting the loan approved or being denied.

piggybanks marchingI spend a lot of time working with real estate agents.  I want to build profitable relationships with the agents to help them grow their business.  Key to these relationships is my ability to know a borrower and find a way to secure funding within the limits of regulation and law.  This requires both product knowledge and understanding of borrower needs.

“The Champion’s Mind” – Dr. Jim Afremow

Gold Medal Mind

“What separates the top few from the many in a sport?  Mentality.  The importance of the mental side of athletics was once brilliantly summed up by basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: ‘Your mind is what makes everything else work.'”

Dr. Jim Afremow is a mental game coach, licensed professional counselor, and the author of The Champion’s Mind: How Great Athletes Think, Train and Thrive. He is the founder of Good to Gold Medal, PLLC, a leading coaching and consulting practice right here in Phoenix, Arizona.  His book (it’s also available as an audio book) is really worth checking out.Champions Mind

Dogged determination requires keeping your feet moving forward through inconveniences, discomfort, and insecurities to reach your goals.”

Here’s an excerpt from his book:

“Mental toughness is built by doing something that is hard over and over again, especially when you don’t feel like doing it. Our society has conditioned us to believe that there should be no discomfort, to stop when we are uncomfortable. But the discomfort we feel when we’re doing a challenging workout is an important part of the strengthening process. Push through your down days when you’re not feeling your best (unless, of course, you are injured or ill).”

I’d encourage you to learn more about  Dr. Afremow’s book here.

Dr AfrenowFor over 15 years, Dr. Afremow has assisted numerous high school, collegiate, recreational, and professional athletes. Major sports represented include MLB, NBA, WNBA, PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, NHL, and NFL. In addition, he has mentally trained several U.S. and international Olympic competitors. He served as the staff mental coach for two international Olympic teams, the Greek Olympic softball team and India’s Olympic field hockey team. From 2004 to 2013, he served as a senior staff member with Counseling Services and Sports Medicine at Arizona State University.

What is APR….and is it all that important?

Mortgage-APR-Is-Most-Often-Inaccurate

There is a lot of regulation around APR and home mortgages – and anything with this much regulation must be important, right?  Lenders and loan officers spend a lot of time calculating, managing, and disclosing APR.  It is a big part of everyday life in the lending industry.

Candidly, APR is confusing and hard to understand.  I have heard it called many things – average percentage rate, about percentage rate, approximate percentage rates…for the record it is Annual Percentage Rate, so let’s clear up some of the confusion.

Source: The Mortgage Reports

What is APR and is it all that important?

APR (annual percentage rate) is the interest rate plus the costs associated with the loan.  This mysterious number is intended to give an apples to apples comparison between two different loans.  

Theoretically, if the consumer compares the APR of two loans, the loan with the lowest annual percentage rate is naturally the best loan for the consumer.  APR is designed to protect consumes from hidden costs, bait & switch, and deceptive marketing schemes which have been used in this industry.

Equity Prime - Michael NelsonHang On A Minute – Does APR Tell the Whole Story All Of The Time?

APR is certainly helpful and an important part of the lending process.  However, loans are complex and ultimately one number alone does not automatically find the best loan for a particular borrower.  Please do check out the article I have attached with this post that details  APR – the good and the bad.  APR is a complex calculation with many variables. If these variables are not exactly the same between loans, the loans are not apples to apples comparisons.

Remember, the borrower must look at a refinance or purchase of a new home relative to their particular needs.  The borrower’s debt, savings, down payment, anticipated time in a home, family, etc all play an important part in selecting the right mortgage.  While APR is important, one number can’t take into account all the variations and nuances in the life of a borrower.

APR Michael NelsonEquity PrimeWe Need to Help Our Customers Understand Hard Concepts!

I have said this before and it is worth repeating – lenders (such as myself) and real estate agents must  educate clients on  appropriate real estate and lending options.  If you are a borrower – make sure you have the right professionals supporting your real estate needs.  The right professionals care about your needs and take the time to do the research required to recommend the correct products.

A big thanks to my friend and colleague, Mike Nelson, for really bringing together the key pieces of APR!

11 million Americans spend half their income on rent

half-pay-check-rent-780x439

The number of renters dedicating at least half of their income toward housing hit a record high of 11 million people in 2014, according to the annual State of the Nation’s Housing Report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Source: Money Magazine

While renters are paying more, affordability is improving for those who own their homes. The number of cost-burdened homeowners declined in 2014 for the fourth consecutive year, according to the report, thanks to low mortgage rates.

Over 11 million spend nearly 50% of their income on rent and  21.3 million are spending 30% or more of their paycheck to cover the rent — also a record high.

Personal finance experts generally suggest budgeting around 30% of monthly income to cover housing costs.  But according to the article, that’s getting harder to do with rent prices rising faster than wages.piggybank-house

Last year saw the biggest surge in new renters in history, according to the report, bringing the number of people living in rental units to around 110 million people — or about 36% of households.

Middle-aged renters made up a lot of the new demand, with 40% of renters aged 30-49.

And renters are sitting on both ends of the pay scale: almost half of new renters in 2015 earned less than $25,000, while top-income households have been the fastest-growing segment of new renters for the past three years.

What’s really fascinating about this phenomenon is that housing prices are relatively affordable and interest rates are extremely low, both based on historical norms.

Sports Performance 101: Visualization

Basketball thinking

Visualization is one of the primary techniques used in sports psychology today – and one of the most underutilized by athletes.  An athlete’s performance is often the result of what’s happening inside his or her head, or more specifically the movies and soundtracks playing inside that head!

Performance visualization is used by virtually all great athletes and research has shown that, when combined with actual practice, improves performance more than practice alone. Imagery also isn’t just a mental experience that occurs in your head, but rather impacts you in every way: psychologically, emotionally, physically, technically, and tactically.

Think of mental imagery as weight lifting for the mind.sport_psychology-300x198

There are two keys principles to keep in mind when practicing visualization. The first is, your practice needs to be consistent. 10 minutes a day every day, will always beat an intense hour long session once a week. It helps to make a commitment to practice your visualization the same time every day.  First thing in the morning as close to waking as possible is ideal. This is because the mind is still slightly lucid at this time, which makes it easier to conjure up images.

The second key principle is you must stay positive in your thinking.  Even if you can’t quite see crystal clear images yet, you will still gain huge benefits from your visualization practice.  Trust me, it still works.  For some people that will be feeling the image, or just getting a sense of what it might look like.  Wherever your current level is, nurture it and allow it to grow.

Accept that you can’t always perform the way that you visualizedClayton-Kershaw-Alone-on-Bench

Research has also indicated that the act of envisioning a relevant muscle movement can potentially result in electrical activity in the specific muscle, despite the fact that there is the absence of the actual movement of the muscle. That same electrical activity bears a resemblance to the electrical movement that occurs during the actual movement. In this regard, the relevant muscles are primed for the upcoming physical activity.Jason Day

Finally, check out this video  from one of my favorite sports psychologists, Dr. Patric Cohn.  I’m a big fan of the good doctor, as he really values and emphasizes the power of visualization in sports. Although this isn’t the most dynamic video you’ve ever seen, it’s content is extremely powerful.

Best of luck to you out there!

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 The Lending Coach

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑