The Morning Shot

A study at Harvard Medical School found that people assess our competence and trustworthiness within the first quarter of a second of looking at us! I don't say this to be insensitive, but rather to remind us that everything we do speaks - everything verbal and nonverbal about our person is a part of our sales presentation whether we like it or not.

Fredrik Eklund is the famous Bravo TV realty star of Million Dollar Listing New York and author of The Sell – The Secrets of Selling Anything to Anyone. Eklund is not just famous for being famous on a television show, but whose mega successful sales strategy has garnered a reputation for being New York's #1 real estate broker and having secured over $2 billion in closed residential sales.

When reading The Sell over this past weekend, I found it fascinating how much emphasis Eklund puts on the need for sales professionals to stay healthy and dress well – google his name and we can see just how seriously he lives out that mentality. If we refer back to the Harvard study for just how quickly a person assesses our competence and trustworthiness however, this heavy emphasis on our external presentation makes total sense. In Eklund's words, "think of yourself as a present: it doesn't matter what's inside a gift if it isn't wrapped well, because the outside is what makes you interested. So dress well, avoid wearing black and gray, find your own style and make sure your hair looks nice. When you feel good about your appearance, you'll project more confidence."

Dr. Vivian Zayas at Cornell University was once quoted as saying "individuals make impressions and judgements about people very quickly, very easily, and with very minimal information. And once those judgements are made they tend to be hard to undo. They're quite sticky."

Dressing well does not necessarily mean dressing expensive, but dressing in a manner that appropriately reflects the level of professionalism we bring to our work. Let's for a moment walk in our prospective clients shoes: how would we prefer the individual who will be guiding us through the biggest financial decision of our lives to carry themselves? Would we be more keen to trust the sales professional with well fitting clothing and manicured hair to handle our transaction? Or one that appears to have just rolled out of bed and put together the closest particles of clothing they could find to call an outfit? Again, the cost of the outfit isn't what matters, but how we care for it and apply it to our presentation does. The sales professional that buys well fitted clothing, gets up early enough to spend the necessary time caring for their hair, makeup and eating a healthy breakfast, echoes volumes to our clients for how we care about both ourselves and our business.

In the words of renowned costume designer Edith Head, "You can have anything you want in life if you dress for it."     

1. Do you have a real estate topic for our next blog? Send us a message at [email protected]
2. Want to join me for lunch? E-mail [email protected] and let's get something on the calendar!
3. Looking to grow your real estate business by leveraging key mortgage concepts? Join us for our Elevate conference and RSVP to [email protected]. Our next event is October 26th, 2017 at the Marriott Courtyard in Boynton Beach!

The views of this blog, "Your Morning Shot" podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage.

 Have you ever noticed what cars, furniture, homes and appliances have in common? They're all primarily sold with the help of financing options – loans. Understanding what these industries have in common makes it easier for us to understand what makes them different, and from a sales perspective will allow us to improve our sales technique.

Let's imagine for a moment that we are in the market for a new couch. This weekend we'll head over to the local furniture store to look and see what's available. When we arrive at the store and peruse around, we notice how furniture prices significantly vary. So we start by wandering through the store looking for items within our purchase price when we begin to notice that every single price tag has two numbers listed – the sales price, and the monthly payment price if we were to use a financing option. Well this is interesting...

My first inclination in walking around was to find items within my budget, and stick to that area of the store. Yet all of a sudden I've come to find that there is a whole new world of couches that, though they don't fit my purchase price budget, definitely fit my monthly spending budget. I was unknowingly boxing myself into one corner of the store when half the building can make financial sense!

Can we see the relationship here? How often does an individual box themselves into remaining a renter because what they imagine to be required for buying a home is something far beyond what they actually need? If we ask 10 people at random what they think is needed to buy a $250,000 home what do you think they'll say? $40,000-$50,000 in down payment? 750 credit score? $3,000 a month in mortgage payments?

The reality is that when it comes to the majority of loan programs available to first-time buyers, down payment will typically be similar to first, last and security for renting while the monthly mortgage payment will be equal to or less than the cost of rent. Now our clients just need help to see this reality for themselves in the same way they do when shopping for a couch, phone or car. 

Let's stick with the $250,000 home to use as an example; our prospective buyer is under the impression that it is more affordable to rent this home than to buy. Now we know that on average a home like this will rent for $2,250/mo., and in order for our client to move in they will need the standard three months' rent upfront reflecting first, last and security, which totals $6,750. This would mean our client is in a position to put $6,750 down on a home and pay $2,250/month for as long as they live in the property. 

Here is where having a good working relationship with a mortgage lender becomes so important. To help your client determine whether it is more financially sensible to rent or buy this property, your lender can show them what it would take to buy as a first-time homebuyer. As it turns out in this scenario, they qualify for low-down payment programs that require as little as 3% down. Since the going interest rate for this client at the time is in the 4's, their total monthly mortgage payment after factoring in taxes, homeowners insurance and mortgage insurance would be less than $1,800.

Now a home that might be typically  advertised as "Own This Home for $250,000" could be more attractively worded as "Own This Home for $7,500 Down and Less Than $1,800/mo.! "Think that might turn a few heads your direction?

1. Do you have a real estate topic for our next blog? Send us a message at [email protected]
2. Want to join me for lunch? E-mail [email protected] and let's get something on the calendar!
3. Looking to grow your real estate business by leveraging key mortgage concepts? Join us for our Elevate conference and RSVP to [email protected]. Our next event is October 26th, 2017 at the Marriott Courtyard in Boynton Beach!

The views of this blog, "Your Morning Shot" podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage. This is not a commitment to lend. Restrictions apply.

On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen announced they would raise the federal funds interest rate by a quarter-point. This is the fourth increase since December 2015.

For those a little unsure as to what the fed funds rate is or why it matters to us in real estate, note that the federal funds rate is viewed as the base rate for determining the level of all other interest rates in the U.S. economy – but it is not the only rate that governs the entire economy. Case in point, with the rise in the fed funds rate, mortgage rates have sunken to a seven-month low dropping from 4.32% at the end of December to 3.89%.

But why is this?

When the Federal Reserve determines whether to raise or lower interest rates, they must assess the health of the economy as a whole. Lowering interest rates is a method used for boosting economic activity during difficult times such as the Great Recession of 2008. Conversely, when the Fed raises rates, it is seen as an indicator of confidence for the U.S. economy. However, the Fed Funds rate is the interest rate set for banks to lend money to one another on overnight transactions, and serves as a better gauge for the impact on other loans and CDs. Interestingly, mortgage rates are more influenced by the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which the Fed actually has no control over.   

So while it is understandable for many of our colleagues to sit uneasy with this announcement, we must use the facts of our reality to direct our thinking and action.

First, investors initially fell in love with the prospect of President Trump's prospective impact for the growth of the economy. As a result, Wall Street fled from bonds to stocks, and the market ballooned to all-time highs. However, the excitement of those same investors has softened, and anxiety due to uncertainty of much international conflict is leading them back to perceived safety – safety found in bonds, in particular, U.S. Treasury bonds. The result of this shift is reflected in the declining yields for the 10-year Treasury note, and corresponding decline in mortgage rates.     

Second, home prices are rising because the demand for homes is outpacing the supply available to buy. If we couple this with declining interest rates, we can only conclude that this change can only have a positive effect on the housing industry and our business as a byproduct.

Let us not be fearful just because the consensus tells us to do so – our success will be dictated by our ability to make sound decisions based on the facts, and the facts once again supports acting from a contrarian point of view. Let us remain focused.   

1. Do you have a real estate topic for our next blog? Send us a message at [email protected]
2. Want to join me for lunch? E-mail [email protected] and let's get something on the calendar!
3. Looking to grow your real estate business by leveraging key mortgage concepts? Join us for our Elevate conference and RSVP to [email protected]. Our next event is October 26th, 2017 at the Marriott Courtyard in Boynton Beach!

The views of this blog, podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage.

BIG NEWS out of Fannie Mae recently, the Washington Post's Kenneth Harney reported last week that Fannie would be raising its DTI ceiling from the current 45% mark to 50% as of July 29th. In Fannie Mae's research, DTI is the #1 reason mortgage applicants are rejected nationwide, and a significant portion of those rejected applications belong to millennials early in their careers.

For those of you who may not be as familiar with what DTI stands for or how lenders use it for making approval decisions, allow us to provide you with just a bit of clarity. DTI stands for an applicant's "Debt-to-income" ratio. This ratio essentially compares an applicant's gross monthly income with the monthly payments for all debt accounts – such as credit cards, auto loans, and student loans – along with the projected payments of the mortgage being applied for. As an example, if a homebuyer has a gross monthly income of $7,000, and $3,000 in monthly debt payments including the prospective mortgage, than we would divide the $3,000 in debts by the $7,000 in income to get a DTI ratio of 43%.

When it comes to getting a mortgage approval, the lower the DTI ratio, the more confident a lender is in the likelihood of the borrower not falling behind on payments.

However here's the kicker – research analysts at Fannie Mae studied nearly 15 years' worth of data to analyze borrowers whose DTIs were in the 45-50% range. What they found raised a few eyebrows at the lending giant, that is, a significant number of them actually have good credit and are found to reflect traits of those applicants not prone to default. As a result, Vice President of single family analytics went on to say, quote, "We feel very comfortable. What we're seeing is that a lot of borrowers have other factors in their credit profiles that reduce the risks associated with slightly higher DTIs. As a result, analysts concluded that there's some room to treat these applicants differently than before."

Let's keep in mind, the fact that the DTI ceiling has been raised does not assure us that borrowers with higher DTIs will be approved – all applications will still require a review by Fannie Mae's automated underwriting system in order to weigh all the variables of the application. However, the changes will likely have the biggest impact on those borrowers who were previously boxed into FHA programs solely due to their DTI levels.

Agents – Fannie Mae has set out to continue fueling the current real estate boom by expanding the number of buyers that can enter the market. This is a fantastic opportunity to expand our horizons for increasing our millennial clientele, or go back to clients previously declined due to DTI and help them ReAwaken their American Dream! Let's turn some more houses into homes!  

Want to join us?

Thank you all for listening. We're always here to support you, so connect get with us on Facebook or LinkedIn @mattweaverspeaks.

If you have a real estate topic for our next shot or blog, please shoot us a message on Facebook @mattweaverspeaks, we love listener requests!

If you're in the South Florida area and want to meet for lunch, send me a message on LinkedIn and let's get something on the calendar!

We also have our next Elevate conference upcoming in October in Boynton Beach, so if you're looking for a great seminar on how to grow your real estate business by leveraging key mortgage concepts, send me a message on Facebook @mattweaverspeaks to secure your seat today!

The views of this blog, podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage.

Playoff sports are incredible to witness –the world's most extraordinary athletes, competitors of the highest level competing on the biggest stage of their lives. This year has been particularly special as we had a David vs Goliath story in the NHL playoffs, and the highly anticipated rematch from last years NBA finals on steroids. When I reflect on the type of individual that makes it to the highest echelon of physical competition, I can't help but wonder…what is the mentality and perspective a world-class athlete has towards everyday situations, and how do they approach it?     

With that, a timely article was published by Business Insider about one of the biggest names in sports today – Steph Curry, point guard for the Golden State Warriors. Those of you who may not know, Curry became the NBA's very first unanimous MVP last year – and was awarded the title two years in a row.

Here's the interesting thing about Curry – though he's ranked by many to be one of the top 3 players in the NBA, he is not even paid like the top 81! Many of you may be as shocked as I was to hear this, maybe even a little taken back or frustrated as to how he could allow himself to be so grossly underpaid!    

But when asked about his salary relative to his peers in an interview with Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News, Curry said he leaned on the advice of his father – never count another person's money – an approach that ultimately has proven itself to be far more effective in getting what he wanted.

In 2012 the reality for the Warriors was this - a contract with Curry was risky. While a gifted shooter, he had seemingly been plagued with ankle injuries that prevented him from performing at an MVP caliber level. Curry shares the story for when he was about to sign his contract in a Phoenix hotel before their opening night game, and how he knew he was taking less money than other players; saying quote, "I'll be able to take care of my family with this. Blessed to be able to know I'll be playing at least in the NBA for four years and see where it goes from there. You can't think 20-20 hindsight, go back and worry about what other guys are making."

This mentality of putting production first and compensation second is exactly the kind of attitude that separates the champions from the participants. In the words of the late Earl Nightingale, "Our rewards in life will always be in exact proportion of our contribution, our service."

Curry was in the game, period. Ink on the dotted line gave him the opportunity to prove to the world just how much his production was really worth…and according to Business Insider, if he re-signs with the Warriors this summer as expected, it will be the largest contract in NBA history at five-years/ $207.4 million.    

Thank you all for listening. We're always here to support you, so connect with us on Facebook or LinkedIn @mattweaverspeaks.

If you have a real estate topic for our next shot or blog, please shoot us a message on Facebook @mattweaverspeaks, we love listener requests!

If you're in the South Florida area and want to meet for lunch, send me a message on LinkedIn and we'll get you out an invite to our next luncheon!

We also have our next Elevate conference upcoming in October in Boynton Beach, so if you're looking for a great seminar on how to grow your real estate business by leveraging key mortgage concepts, send me a message on Facebook @mattweaverspeaks to secure your seat today!

The views of this blog, podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage.

            I came across a really great article earlier in the week from Real Estate Staff writer Craig Rowe. In it, Rowe describes how he observed the successful marketing efforts of DirecTV and how their strategy can be applied to real estate. His observations presented a tremendous amount of value from that alternative perspective, which is why I'd like to share them with you today.

            Rowe shares his experience about the day he had to end his relationship with DirecTV; he wasn't necessarily frustrated with the service, but that he was "physically unable to continue service." Where he lives experiences a tremendous amount of snowfall, enough that this past winter it nearly ripped the dish and parts of off his roof of the house. Though he terminated service, the direct mailings and persistent efforts of DirecTVs marketing team continued to gently remain in front of him in the hopes of eventually winning back his business at a future point in time – which he is now very much considering when he moves into his new house later in the month.

            When Rowe looked back on the experience to better understand how they did such a phenomenal job of keeping him engaged without being overbearing to win back his favor, he found 3 primary drivers for their success:

1. Consistency – it works, it really does. He points out that while he grew tired of the phone calls, the phone representatives were never rude, always apologetic would cordially close the call when asked- as a result, Rowe never ended a phone call mad. What did he learn from this experience? "If your cold call prospect isn't ready to move yet, tell them that's ok – but never promise to not stay in touch." I like how he puts that, never promise TO NOT stay in touch.
2. A dedication to a direct mailing - this strategy helped to keep DirecTV in front of him. However, it was not the loud or flashy gloss type post cards that made it from his mailbox to the house and sometimes even opened, it was the low-key creative mailers difficult to recognize as marketing materials. Rowe suggests getting a little more creative with a direct mailing strategy above and beyond the "Just Sold" cards. Something that if we received in the mail ourselves we would not immediately throw into the recycling bin.
3. Incentives to communicate. Rowe joked that when they offered him a serious discount on Sunday NFL ticket if he signed up again, it made it that much harder to resist. Understandably, this can be difficult due to budgetary constraints, but getting creative and thinking of some type of free giveaway or deal for getting in contact with us can help tremendously – thanks to the internet generation, people love the words "deal" and "free".

While we are real estate professionals, Craig's article serves as a great reminder that this should not limit our learning to only that of other real estate professionals. Successful marketing comes in all shapes and sizes, and by paying attention to the methods other companies in other industries have used to earn our business, we can bring a unique flavor to our sales strategy for growing our own.

            Thank you all for listening. We're always here to support you, so connect get with us on Facebook or LinkedIn @mattweaverspeaks.

            If you have a real estate topic for our next shot or blog, please shoot us a message on Facebook @mattweaverspeaks, we love listener requests!

            If you're in the South Florida area and want to meet for lunch, send me a message on LinkedIn and we'll get you an invite to our next luncheon!

            We also have our next Elevate conference upcoming in October in Boynton Beach, so if you're looking for a great seminar on how to grow your real estate business by leveraging key mortgage concepts, send me a message on Facebook @mattweaverspeaks to secure your seat today!

The views of this blog, podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage.

          There has been a lot of activity in the headlines recently in regards to the conflict between Zillow's new Instant Offer pilot, the real estate community and the National Association of Realtors. If you have not been in the loop to the happenings of this situation, have no fear, Your Morning Shot is here!

          Let's get some background – real estate news outlet Inman reported that, Zillow Instant Offers allows homeowners to receive all-cash offers from a group of 15 (large-scale private investors) along with a side-by-side comparative market analysis from a local Zillow agent advertiser to assess the viability of these offers. Though this model points to a process excluding the traditional use of a real estate agent, Zillow claims the test aggressively encourages homeowners to use agents for managing and closing the transaction if they don't feel comfortable handling the sale directly with the investor. To reiterate, the current platform is specific to cash-only deals in two test markets, Orlando and Las Vegas, with a limited list of 15 large private real estate investors permitted to make offers.

Zillow's website describes the process in 5 steps:

1. The prospective seller shares details of the home online by answering some questions and providing photos.
2. Investors can view this information and sellers should receive offers within 2 business days if the home qualifies to an individual investors criteria. A comparative analysis will also be provided to the seller for assessing the offers submitted by investors.
3. Using Zillow as the intermediary, the seller may select an offer and connect with the Zillow verified investor.
4. The seller will schedule a free
5. Zillow describes sellers being able to "close on their schedule."

Obviously, this pilot program has caused an uproar within the real estate community as concerns loom over technology's impact on our business. At least two petitions have been launched calling on the National Association of Realtors to act – one of these petitions collected more than 12,000 signatures since debuting May 31st. Though the concerns of the real estate community have reached the ears of NAR's leadership, the Association shared on their blog that quote "NAR cannot sponsor or encourage a boycott of Zillow. It would be unlawful for NAR to discourage members from using any product or service provider."

NAR has just cause for maintaining this position as they've experienced the consequences of seeking to get boycotts of third-party vendors. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice sued them over industry attempts to curtail the content of property listings and control what companies could publish them – this act was deemed anti-consumer, and the case was settled in 2008.

While we do not personally perceive this format to necessitate any grave concern to our colleagues at this time, it certainly points to the need for ongoing thought and discussion for the impeding technological revolution of the real estate industry and how to utilize it to our advantage.

Interested in connecting with me? (three options)

1. Do you have a real estate topic for our next blog? Send us a message at [email protected]
2. Want to join me for lunch? E-mail [email protected] and let's get something on the calendar!
3. Looking to grow your real estate business by leveraging key mortgage concepts? Join us for our Elevate conference and RSVP to [email protected]. Our next event is October 26th, 2017 at the Marriott Courtyard in Boynton Beach!

The views of this blog, podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage.

          As real estate agents, time is an incredibly valuable and very limited asset. How much time you spend with each client on each individual transaction must be allocated appropriately in order to be of maximum service to your clients, and for growing your business to the level you strive to achieve. One way that many successful realtors have found helps with this delicate balance is by doing the up-front due diligence of their buyers, in particular, for assessing the credit worthiness of a particular buyer and the impact it has on their timeline for being able to submit an offer. With that in mind, we thought we might share some tips and hints we've learned over the years to help give you an edge and maximize your efforts.

          One of the most common concerns that arise when a prospective buyer is introduced to a mortgage lender is how having their credit pulled will affect their scores for getting qualified. It is important first to understand the two types of credit pulls, most commonly referred to as "soft or hard pulls". A soft pull is when a person or company checks your credit report as part of a background check and does not require your permission. These types of inquiries have no impact on our credit scores. A hard pull is most associated with financial institutions or credit card issuers for use in making lending decisions. Hard inquiries may remain on our credit report for two years, but only influence a person's credit score between approximately 2-5 points.

          An additional piece to keep in mind, and very important, when it comes to mortgage applications the credit bureaus provide prospective buyers a 30-day window to shop around without any negative impact on that person's credit scores. This practice was deliberately put in place to help encourage prospective buyers to ensure they work with a lender they trust, and will provide the best deal for themselves and their families.

          Another issue many buyers are unaware of is how credit card balances affect our scores. Conventional wisdom might say that having a 0 balance on our credit cards would be the best since it shows how capable we are of paying everything off. This however is not true, and can unfortunately cost clients points off their scores unnecessarily. When we spoke to one credit company, they shared with us that maintaining a 25% credit balance on our cards provides for the greatest impact on our scores. Remember, it is our responsibly utilizing and repaying credit that results in favorable credit scores!

One other interesting thing to consider, if you're working with younger first-time home buyers with less credit history, in general it's suggested that the magic number for minimal trade lines on a report is three. So keeping that in mind, if a client needs some score improvement, have them take a look at their soft pull report from say Credit Karma, they might consider taking out a credit card and use the 25% balance rule to help them get to where they want to be.

Lastly, some great news in the way of regulatory updates. We learned that beginning July 1st of this year, excluding bankruptcies and foreclosures, public records added to credit reports after the 1st will be removed from credit reports once satisfied. As an example a judgement, once paid, will be removed. This will be huge going forward.

Interested in connecting with me? (three options)

1. Do you have a real estate topic for our next blog? Send us a message at [email protected]
2. Want to join me for lunch? E-mail [email protected] and let's get something on the calendar!
3. Looking to grow your real estate business by leveraging key mortgage concepts? Join us for our Elevate conference and RSVP to [email protected]. Our next event is October 26th, 2017 at the Marriott Courtyard in Boynton Beach!

The views of this blog, podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage.

     An interesting question was posed to us recently, "with interest rates expected to continue to rise, how will this impact the housing market and purchase demand?" As real estate professionals, whether as a realtor or loan officer, the idea of rising rates can trigger a great deal of anxiety for the impact on our business. Though published in December of 2016, our friend Diana Olick at CNBC published a wonderful piece that provides for one perspective that may allow for some relief to our discomfort – the article, entitled "How rising mortgage rates may not matter for housing", offers an interesting forecast for the environment we might expect to see this year. The title alone may entice a deep sigh of relief, but let us not be hasty, for as the ancient proverb goes "hope for the best and prepare for the worst" – it is important to consider all opinions when attempting to make sense of things. 

          The premise of Diana's article is as the title reads, that interest rates may not necessarily have the type of negative impact on housing that conventional wisdom might expect – she goes on to say that "after all, increasing rates are indicative of a stronger economy, and a stronger economy favors housing." Additionally, Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae, pointed out in an interview with National Mortgage News that "if interest rates are rising because the economy is growing more rapidly, then, typically, incomes also rise, and the rise in incomes offset the increase in the size of the mortgage payment, and housing goes just fine."

          It is important that we still take a moment to pause and recall that interest rates, even though having risen from a national average of 3.5% to 4.25%, still remain at near historic lows. Berkshire Hathaway Home Services President Stephen Phillips points out how "it may not seem that way to recent, first-time buyers and those considering a home purchase", but ask any baby boomer and they will be happy to share with you about the time when interest rates were in the double digits.

          Nonetheless, according to researchers at Zillow "buying a home is less tied to current mortgage rates and more closely linked to a consumer's financial well-being. Life events, such as job changes, promotions or change in the number of people in the household are the precipitating factors for a purchase." Vice President of mortgages at Zillow Erin Lantz added to the company's survey results that "rising rates may impact the location or size of the home they hope to purchase, but buyers that are fully committed to buying a home are unlikely to be swayed by the Federal Open Market Committee's decision to raise rates." This opinion continues to be observable in today's market as one of the most pressing issues regarding housing has absolutely nothing to do with home prices or annual housing expenses, but rather the supply of homes available to purchase. We recall from last week's shot that the National Association of Realtor's recently reported that there were only 1.83 million existing homes available for sale, 6.6% below the number available at the end of the first quarter of 2016, and exclaiming we had the strongest quarterly sales pace in exactly a decade!

          Maybe another more prevalent version of the aforementioned proverb from earlier from the legendary Zig Ziglar can better provide for a compass for which to navigate - "expect the best, prepare for the worst, capitalize on what comes."

Interested in connecting with me? (three options)

1. Do you have a real estate topic for our next blog? Send us a message at [email protected]
2. Want to join me for lunch? E-mail [email protected] and let's get something on the calendar!
3. Looking to grow your real estate business by leveraging key mortgage concepts? Join us for our Elevate conference and RSVP to [email protected]. Our next event is October 26th, 2017 at the Marriott Courtyard in Boynton Beach!

The views of this blog, podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage.

How often do we sit and admire, or in some cases sit in envy of, another's success and think, "they must've been born with it". Athletes, artists, entrepreneurs that made the big stage who apparently were simply blessed to be "born with it."

          In author Robert Greene's book "Mastery", he seeks to explore our innate perception of there being some natural link between inborn talent and the mastery of a skill or field. However thankfully, after much research it is his opinion that no such natural link exists. In one example, Greene describes Charles Darwin's younger cousin, Sir Francis Galton. While Darwin was just an ordinary young boy showing no real sign of having any sort of exceptional intellect, Galton had a higher IQ and was considered an extraordinary genius. Yet it is Charles's contribution to science for the theory of evolution and his book On the Origin of Species that can still be recalled by many around the world today.  

          So if we can accept that the Darwin family example provides some evidence to support the idea that mastery does not actually depend on whether you're born "gifted" or "ordinary", than what steps can be taken to become a master in their own right? In Greene's words, follow the same steps as every other great master before us throughout history: they each sought to discover their field, engaged in some type of apprenticeship, developed a creative and open mind, then went on to utilize these experiences to achieve mastery. Pick any of your favorite masters and their respective professions and you will most likely find the same path taken no matter the skill or trade. 

          We should pay very careful attention to the piece on apprenticeship and recall the famous quote from Sir Isaac Newton that says "if I have been able to see further than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." There is tremendous research that has gone into the value and importance of developing relationships with personal and professional mentors, and based on Greene's research it is made evidently clear to be one of the most critical components for the ordinary to become masterful.

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The views of this blog, podcast, and on this site in general are solely those of the authors, Matt Weaver (NMLS-175651) and Zack Lewis, and do not express the views or opinions of Finance of America Mortgage.