Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

DeForest Family Home - Life in the Slow Lane!

13 June 2007 - Madison, Wisconsin

Terrific home in DeForest, Wisconsin is ready for you. Solid 2X6 construction, split plan upstairs and a fourth bedroom and third full bath below. Wide open sloping backyard can be accessed from finished walk-out basement or from a raised deck. Front yard and drive are flat for the NBA aspirants - Neighborhood Basketball Association.

Super DeFo schools are close by as and nice part-time jobs for your teens are a short walk away. Need to travel? A two-minute drive to the interstate will get you to Wisconsin Dells in 40 minutes or to Madison's Capitol dome and colorful State Street in 25. Flying? Take the "back way" to Madison's newly-remodeled airport and be parked and running through the concourse in a quarter-hour. A boater or fisherman? Lake Wisconsin is a 20 minute scenic drive. Need more water and a romantic getaway? Niagara Falls is a short twelve hour drive to the east.
The home has a nice big living room, a generous kitchen, and beaucoup cabinets. Double sinks in the master bath allow one person to get ready as another showers behind a closed door adjacent. Ahhhh...privacy.


Back deck allows you to look down on your fellow man and faces south - plenty of sunshine streaming in from that spacious area. Appliances and fridge included, plus water softener and the Peace of Mind-generating one year Home Owner's Warranty. Window coverings stay (who wants to start from scratch?). Pull down attic storage give storage above and there's plenty below in the utility room and two totally-oversized closets. Nice, big downstairs family room and that mysterios bonus room - use it for exercise, a music room, or den.


Any interest? - call Linda Laitinen from Keller-Williams Premiere Realty Team. She'll hook you up the right way. Tell her you got the word on Blogger.









Thanks.

Art Blanchet


Your Home-Your Money

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Shop Your Lender BEFORE You SIgn - 12 Easy Steps to Saving Your Credit and Identity

6 June 2007 - Madison, Wisconsin

Got a mortgage loan? Not sure it's the best deal? Think there's smoke and mirrors? You are not alone. But how do you scan the mortgage landscape without having your credit dinged to oblivion - or get lenders calling you the next two years (which is NOT an exaggeration!)?

Listen here as we relate a realife adventure of a client and friend as we explain how to compare-shop lenders and keep the credit unscathed. "Peter" followed these instructions (12 Steps) exactly and only gained, gained, gained.

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Reality Radio at its useful best! We help when we can.

Art Blanchet

Bill Quigley

Your Home-Your Money.com

Friday, May 04, 2007

RADON, ASBESTOS and LEAD - OH MY!

4 May 2007 - Madison, Wisconsin


The Mortgage Guys rip one from the podcasting archives in this favorite about Home Inspections.


#22 - RADON, ASBESTOS and LEAD, OH MY!


Nope. We're not in Kansas any more Toto - we're in Real Estate! Now it's time to find out what's more dangerous - the Wicked Witch of the West or Your House. To do that, you need a home inspection...


"I'm ALREADY paying for an appraisal - now you say I should pay for a Home Inspection?!?!" Welllll...after you listen to this this recorded interview with Kimberly St. Louis, a Certified Home Inspector with A-Pro Home Inspections (a-pro.net/madison), you may want to spring for it! Kimberly talks to The Mortgage Guys about just what an inspection is, who benefits from it, and discusses the powerful information contained in the report.


Whether you are buying a brand new yellow brick home or live in a century-old castle (flying monkeys and all), Kimberly says a home inspection might save you thousands of dollars and even uncover health and safety hazards (a little fire, Scarecrow?).


Don't worry, Bill Quigley and Art Blanchet will get you all the info you need, and it won't cost you a tin', man.


http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/audioPop.jsp?episodeId=1071



(FREE "Podcasting & Real Estate" webinar coming your way - email us at info@yourhome-yourmoney.com (Subject: Podcasting) to queue up. Details will be forthcoming.)

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Don Imus Has Distracted Me Today

A little departure from mortgages might be necessary here. I cannot let the Don Media Circus pass without making some sort of footnote entry. It happened, so I'll mention it here ONCE.


I am flustered - I find this Imus thing to be so morally ambiguous that I'm not sure what to think. There is no doubt his flippant remark was stupid and insulting - and I DO think the racial underpinnings were something we really didn't need to hear over the airwaves - certainly not 100 times in three days, either. It was a stupid remark - and he deserved censure.


He also personally insulted young women athletes he knew nothing about. As a father of three young women, I was angry at his abject ignorance and thoughtlessness. It was MEAN to say those things.


Perhaps even more deplorable than what Imus himself said is that it launched the programs of the reactionaries and opportunists. A raging tirade was unleashed with many self-aggrandizing semi-political celebrities vying for the spotlight and trying to expand a stupid, callous remark by one has-been into a national agenda. The spotlight grabbing and self-serving spillover has been sickening.


Who are the victims here? Who was injured? We can certainly broaden the scale to include an entire race, or even an entire gender - isn't that what's already going on?. However, it appears to me that while we can go that route, the true victims were the Rutgers players and their families. And how did they react? They met with the offender - discussed the matter - and forgave him. The victims forgave the offender. Who has greater demands on justice than the victim?! Certainly the politicians do not.


A year ago the Amish community was shattered when a man - known to them - kidnapped, bound, and slew their precious daughters. What was their reaction? They forgave the offender, forgave his family, attended his funeral, and reached out in healing to the family of the very man who had harmed them so deeply - a man who had taken innocent lives. The Amish leaders did not launch a a diatribe against those they perceive to be different or even oppressive. They did not blame society. They didn't say it was television, or music or media either. They simply, quietly offered forgiveness and closed the books on the painful matter. They will heal and grow. They are now also admired and respected as a result of adhering to the ideals to which most of us can only wish to aspire.


Imus made a stupid remark, but it was his stupid remark. It did not represent any other individual on the planet. The Rutgers team behaved well. Everyone else in media did not.


"He who takes offense when none is intended is a fool. He who takes offense when it is intended is usually also a fool." - Brigham Young. The court of public opinion seems to be presided over by very, very foolish judges.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

FREE SWEEPSTAKES at Your Home-Your Money - $1000 Monthly Prize

11 April 2007

Our website is provided by ALAMODE.com. We pay for the hosting service and template. We can modify it within certain limits, so it is unique. ALAMODE really strives to support us and help us provide tools, value, and information (much of which we customize) to our visitors and clients alike. It's a good relationship.

ALAMODE now sponsors a monthly Sweepstakes with a nice prize. It is absolutely FREE for visitors to enter - their goal is to increase traffic on the websites and give us - THEIR customers - something to give back to our visitors. It's a nice perk that doesn't hurt anyone or cost money. We are accountable to RESPA, so the contest is open to everyone (of age).

If interested, take a minute or two to enter. Rules are posted on a link provided on the entry form. It's not very invasive and as a result of your entry you get put in our (Bill and Art's) database, where you occasionally can get special emailed reports, ideas, and info. You can opt out (and get eliminated from our personal list) any time.

You don't need to be a client or customer to enter - just a visitor. We appreciate you reading this blog, so we decided to share to chance to win through Blogger, too.

Here's the blurb:

We wanted to make certain you got this, so we posted it on our blog page. Thanks for visiting and looking around. To enter go to www.yourhome-yourmoney.com/sweepstakes or click HERE. Good luck, too!


Visit our website and get registered (click on the word "SWEEPSTAKES" in the right-hand column.) for our monthly sweepstakes drawing and you could win $1,000! That will go a long way to a down payment on your dream home, some new landscaping, or your next home loan payment. Either way, it’s cold hard cash – so register now!


While you’re there, check out all the ways we can help you with any of your real estate needs!



  • Thinking of looking at some homes? It pays to pre-qualify and we can help you in just minutes. Give us a call at 608-831-HOME (4663) to get started right away.

  • Need to refinance? Rates are great right now and we can help you with refinancing. Get out of that nasty ARM and take advantage of excellent FHA products only one-quarter of brokers can offer.

  • Want a hassle-free loan? Then you’ve definitely come to the right place. Our loan process is super easy for you and we don’t drown people in excess paperwork.

  • FREE Reports, loan calculators, and borrower's tools. All here for your use.

  • Listen to our podcasts, Ten-Minute Lessons, and radio archives. Here you'll find a great discussion about some of real estate's most pressing issues - and simple solutions - as they pertain to your home and your money.

You don't need to be our client to enter the sweepstakes - just fill out the entry form and you're in! Don't forget to come back every month - or more often if you want!


Good luck with your entry! We hope you’re the next lucky winner!


Bill Quigley
Art Blanchet

608-831-HOME (4663)

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Mortgage Lessons Learned from Tiger Woods

4 April 2007

Reprinted form Tom Domin's Mortgage Marketing Toolkit article pages. As some of you may have figured out, I like Tom and his advice, tools, and helps. He asks what appears to be a more-than-fair price for his materials, but also gives away much for free. While his info is geared toward Mortgage Professionals, there is much in the way of truth for all pros here. I also like this article as I am a Tiger fan and enjoy the stats. (Art Blanchet)

A Valuable Mortgage Lesson Learned From Tiger Woods

Unless you've been living in a cave or under a rock the last few years, you've seen first hand how Tiger Woods has become one of the most dominate forces in men's golf.

We watched as he won the CA Championship at Doral Golf Club this past weekend by two strokes. Woods won this event for the sixth time, more than any other tournament. Tiger is believed to be the first player to win a tournament six times on six courses - in Spain, Ireland, Atlanta, San Francisco, London and Miami, the latter on a Blue Monster course where he has won the last three years.

There is no doubt we are witnessing the performance of a truly great athlete. His dedication and preparation is truly amazing. He finished at 10 under par at 278 and earned $1.35 million for his second victory of the year, and 56th of his career.

You're probably asking...Where's that mortgage lesson you talked about? OK...Here we go!

On every hole that Tiger plays (whether it is practice or sanctioned play) a gentleman follows Tiger closely...charting each stroke and documenting the results. He maintains a low profile and you would find it difficult to pick him out from the gallery that follows Tiger on every hole. He documents each hole, of each round, at each location that Tiger plays.

Just so you know, the gentleman's name is Hank Haney and he is the "Swing Coach" of Tiger Woods. Tiger pays Hank one million dollars a year plus expenses to perform this function. Hank Haney charts each stroke from tee to green, analyzes each stroke, and then recommends the appropriate practice to correct the problems that he may have noted.

Hank Haney doesn't organize Tiger's travel plans or make hotel reservations, and he doesn't chart the golf course (that's the job of Steve Williams, Tiger's caddie of six years). As a side note, Tiger pays Steve some 10% of all purse monies. Hank Haney gets paid to do just one thing...to be Tiger's "Swing Coach."

Today, most of the top pros on the tour employ a "Coach." We picked Tiger to underscore our point here: Why would a man so naturally talented and currently so dominating in his profession, be willing to invest such a huge amount of money into his game?

The answer is simple! He's investing in his business...his livelihood...and, his future. He knows that to stay ahead of his competition he needs to invest, or better yet...re-invest in his business at every opportunity. With tour earnings of $9.9 million in 2006...Tiger spent more than 20% of that amount to improve his business

I am always amazed by the number of Loan Officers/Mortgage Brokers who don't spend more than fifty dollars a year on their own professional growth. We're in a profession that's changing daily and by leaps and bounds, and most mortgage folks refuse to invest in their business.

There's no doubt, you began a strong mortgage career, and you really got into it - but then you fell asleep at the switch and forgot to do those basic things like read industry publications or new books by sales masters. You don't go to sales seminars. You don't listen to audios or view videos on sales-related topics. You don't have any paid subscriptions to newsletters that could improve your mortgage knowledge or capability. In short, you don't constantly re-invigorate and improve your business or yourself.

If you want to survive and prosper in the Mortgage Business today...you need to be a "Tiger."

************************************************************************************************

About the Author: Tom Domin has over twenty-five years of experience in Real Estate and Mortgages. Tom is the author of "101 Ways to Originate Mortgages" available at http://www.101WaysToOriginateMortgages.com/ and publisher of "Tom's Mortgage Tips" a twice monthly Mortgage Newsletter that is geared for Mortgage Professionals. You can sign-up by visiting http://www.MortgageMarketingToolKit.com

Copyright (C) 2007 Sunset Management Solutions, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

FSBO vs Realtor - The Truth Will Set You Free

31 March 2007


FSBOs are your friend. When you consider (depending upon the source) that about 70% of FSBOs are eventually sold by Realtors, there is a massive market out there. Can they be YOUR market?


One simple tool - one idea: You can help a FSBO with a CMA to help them price their home (per local real estate laws and guidelines) and in turn possibly become their Buyer's agent - they're moving somewhere.


We took this concept a little further.


We recently did an eight-show radio (WTDY) series of FSBO episodes that incorporated other industry pros (realtor, mortgage, attorney, HOW, title, whatever) instructing FSBO owners on how to sell their homes. We were sincere and focused and offered all the advice and marketing techniques at the disposal of our impromptu "team." Did we hurt ourselves in this market?


We doubt it. Ignorance can indeed be bliss - we painted a very real picture of pitfalls, responsibilities, costs, and obligations, yet we still encouraged. But people are people and each will respond differently to the info. Some might do it, some might be overwhelmed and call right for help away, and some might ignore us - but no one made any enemies by offering the help and opening a dialogue.


Consider yourself - how many self-help books do you read and how many do you REALLY follow?! Information itself use useless without implementation. FSBO sellers are no different.


We can embrace the FSBO and build relationships or we can consider them lost forever. Since 70% sell through somebody, that somebody could be you. Even if all the free info changes that to 60% or 50%, that's still a big fat opportunity.


If you send an email I'll point you to the audio archives (podcasts). Or catch a link on our home page. Or go to the player in the right-hand margin.

Art Blanchet


Bill Quigley