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All About Mortgage Escrow Accounts For Home Loans

June 14, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

When you’re buying a home — whether as a first-time home buyer or an experienced one — there’s a better-than-average chance you’ll encounter confusing jargon, and unfamiliar terms and phrases.

One such term is “escrow”.

Escrowing your taxes and insurance reduces your lender’s risk, and can earn you a lower, better mortgage rate quote. Escrow can also simplify your life.

In mortgages, escrow refers to the accounts used to pay a homeowner’s property taxes and hazard insurance.

Each month, you send to your lender 1/12 of the annual amount due for taxes and insurance along with your usual mortgage payment. Then, when the bills come due, the lender pay them on your behalf.

Believe it or not, you will actually get a lower rate on your mortgage, because escrowing your taxes and insurance makes it less likely your home’s tax bill won’t get paid; or, that its insurance coverage will lapse. When you escrow, the lender doesn’t have to worry about a seizure on the property by tax authorities, nor do they need to fear losses from property damage resulting from inadequate insurance coverage.

Escrowing reduces your lender’s risk, so your lender rewards you with a lower, better mortgage rate quote.

Source: All About Mortgage Escrow Accounts For Mortgages

Athletes: Overcome Performance Anxiety

June 13, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

I’m a huge fan of Dr. Patrick Cohn and subscribe to his twitter feed (@Peaksports) for great insight on the mental side of athletic participation. He has put together a great piece on performance anxiety for athletes.

One of the biggest obstacles for players is pressure – how to want it and how to deal with it. I’d suggest reading this post from Dr. Cohn so you can get a better understanding of how to actually practice and simulate these types of situations.

When you practice under game-like situations, you build confidence in those situation. So when you are in competition, you are doing what you have practiced often.

This type of practice doesn’t eliminate anxiety, nor does it guarantee that you will make every game-ending play, goal or shot.

Specificity practice increases confidence which helps you perform in anticipated situations.

As Cohn says, Villanova head basketball coach Jay Wright knows the value of being mentally prepared in critical situations. He credits mental preparedness for his team’s ability to produce in the clutch:

“We do practice that. We have certain plays with less than four seconds, from four to seven seconds. Every coach has this. Zero to four, four to seven, seven to 12. We have plays. So we know what it is. We practice it every day. I didn’t have to say anything in the huddle. We have a name for it, that’s what we’re going to do. Just put everybody in their spots.”

Dr. Cohn is right on in stating that If you anticipate and prepare mentally for different game scenarios, you will have a feeling of “deja vu” instead of being overwhelmed by the unexpected.

Click below for more…..

Overcome Performance Anxiety With This Practice

Should sellers pay closing costs?

June 7, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

Offering or at least being willing to pay your buyer’s closing costs increases the number of potential buyers when you are selling your home – and increases your odds of selling the property more quickly.

There are a lot of home shoppers out there who are struggling to come up with down payment, moving costs and closing costs. Offering or at least being willing to help with closing costs could increase your potential buyer pool by 25 percent or more depending on your location.

Why do you want to pay for the buyer’s closing costs? Because paying your home buyer’s closing costs could mean selling your home faster and putting more money in your pocket. That’s all.

Even if you’re in an area where some buyers have plenty of cash on hand, you might find that those buyers can still be hard to please. They may not be looking for the discount that a real estate investor is seeking, but they often want to get a better deal because they know they’re stronger buyers. You’ll see this when you look at the recent comparable sales in your neighborhood.

If your neighborhood is attracting young families shopping for their first home, then the comparable sales data might show that all your neighbors are paying closing costs when they sell.

The author correctly states that there are very few absolute rules in real estate – and maximizing your net is the name of the game. It may seem unfair or it may sound counter intuitive that paying your buyer’s closing costs can increase your net, but it just might.

Source: The Washington Post

Hitters – Attack Like You Know Its Coming!

June 4, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

Attention Hitters – Stop Evaluating a Pitch Out of the Hand

I’m a big fan of Justin Dedman’s blog, “Hitting Mental”, as he does a fantastic job of highlighting the cognitive side of hitting. I’d highly recommend that you visit this post on how hitters should treat each individual pitch.

Many hitters try to evaluate pitches out of the hand instead of thinking about hitting it. Of course, we don’t want to be swinging at pitches out of the strike-zone, but our brains must think “Hit! Hit! Hit!”, not “Is it good? is it good? is it good?”

“Waiting to see a pitch out of the hand is foolish. Even the best hitters in the world cannot recognize spin until 10-12 feet out of a pitcher’s hand. At this point, a 90 mph fastball will be on top of you in less than three tenths of a second. That’s the amount of time it takes for you to blink. To then take the barrel to the baseball with an aggressive swing is nearly impossible. We end up with a lot of near-misses, or in reality, near-hits. Weak contact. Foul balls. Strike two. Ahhh, just missed. Yes. Yes, you did just miss. And that is all you are going to get in this at bat.”

Hitters need to be committed to the pitch they believe is coming. As Justin says, “This isn’t guess hitting. This is hitting.” Be ready for the next pitch and stay loose. Make a decision and get your body and your mind ready to attack that pitch where you can drive it

Source: Justin Dedman’s “Hitting Mental” Blog

Mortgage Loan Term versus Mortgage Loan Rate

June 1, 2016 / Tom Bonetto

My good friend and colleague, Mike Nelson, has put together a fantastic primer regarding the importance of the term of the mortgage loan versus the interest rate of that same loan. I’d highly recommend clicking HERE for more.

Mike’s point is a very good one – don’t get emotionally invested in the lowest possible interest rate. It’s a big factor, for sure, but it isn’t the be-all-end-all of the conversation. It’s very important that you identify your goals before you make any binding decisions.

“Customers always want to talk about interest rates. It is the first question I get – how low are your rates? My answer is this: the interest rate is important for sure, but the term of the loan should get equal consideration.”

Is it the single lowest possible monthly payment, or the lowest interest to be paid out over the course of the loan? These are just a few questions to consider – so make sure you get with a reputable mortgage professional in order to find the best loan for you.

“I can’t tell you how many times I have worked with borrowers who are so fixated on the lowest possible interest rate that they will finance $5,000 in points to have a rate discounted by 1/8 or 1/4 – without a considering the term of the loan.”

As Mike talks about, if you are sure you will stay in the house over the course of the next 25 to 30 years – spending thousands of dollars on discount points can be a financially sound decision.

However, if there is a possibility that you will sell or refinance a 30 year mortgage in the first 7 to 10 years of the loan – have your loan officer do the math and calculate the “actual” cost of the $5,000 discount. Most of the time you will be surprised at just how much more money that “low” interest rate actually costs.

It would be my privilege to help you and anyone you know find the right mortgage product that best suits their needs!

Source: Mike Nelson’s “Observations From A Loan Officer” – Efficient Selling Blog

The Lending Coach

Page 76 of 82

All About Mortgage Escrow Accounts For Home Loans

Athletes: Overcome Performance Anxiety

Should sellers pay closing costs?

Hitters – Attack Like You Know Its Coming!

Attention Hitters – Stop Evaluating a Pitch Out of the Hand

Mortgage Loan Term versus Mortgage Loan Rate

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