Are you interested in growing and becoming a GREAT leader?  I wanted to share a link to the first ever EntreLeadership Podcast by Dave Ramsey - hosted by Chris LoCurto. The live EntreLeadership program teaches the in's and out's of growing your business - you can check it out on-line to possibly attend one of the live programs near you. Chris LoCurto has been one of Dave Ramsey’s key leaders over the past 10 years, serving as Vice President of Live Events and overseeeing The Total Money Makeover LIVE!, a concert-like show on personal finances. He helped this event grow from 1,600 to 11,000 attendees. His blog, Chris LoCurto has incredible insights in leadership principles - and I highly recommend you put it on your daily reading list.  Together, Chris and Dave developed and built EntreL... 08/20/2011

The Absorption Rate is the ability of the real estate market to absorb or sell all of the houses for sale in a given amount of time. For example, if 100 homes are sold every month and there are 1200 homes for sale, it will take 12 months to sell all of the homes currently for sale. If there are 2400 homes for sale, the absorption rate will be 24 months or 2 years for all of the homes to sell.  It is important to remember that this does not take into account the number of houses will be listed, and there are new listings daily!  July 2011 Absorption Rates for the Shreveport/Bossier City Area:  Currently, there are 1832 homes for sale in Shreveport/Bossier City. Last month 338 homes actually sold. That’s a 5.4 month supply of homes if no more homes come on the market! Last month 571 homes... 08/17/2011

Do you ever feel like Josey Beth? Just peeking over the edge? If you are a sales professional, are you hiding out in a basket (or your office) when you should be networking? Reaching out to potential clients? Making those sales calls? Setting up a database? OR - are you just sitting......peeking over the edge? Waiting.....Hoping......? As a sales professional myself, there have been times when I have FELT like doing just this!  But to succeed, we can't operate on our "feelings" - we must get out of our "basket"! Enjoy this picture taken by my photographer daughter, Beth Lee, of my youngest granddaughter, Josey Beth Lee!!     08/12/2011

I have always heard that "knowledge is power" but I say that ACTION is power! Yes, we would all agree that we DO need knowledge. But it is very common to see a very "knowledgeable" person whose talent is wasted because they never take action. The following are a few tips for taking action, to break through INACTION.  This is probably the single biggest key to success, in business and in life - taking action!Don't over-analyze tasks. Sure you need to think things through, but you can over-think them too. If you worry too much about getting it perfect before implementation, you can lose momentum, lose your window of opportunity, or worst of all...never do it at all. Break a large project in to bite-size pieces – your action steps. If a project or plan that you know will improve your busin... 08/11/2011

From all of the pricing indices - on a month-over-month basis - it appears that home values have gone up slightly over the last quarter.  Because of this, some are calling the  "bottom" to the housing market – at least from a price standpoint.   However, it is important to realize that prices are determined by supply and demand. So what about "demand"?  Demand has indeed shown improvement in many parts of the country.  BUT ........what about "supply"?   Enter the legal system and thus "legal issues". Foreclosures coming to market have been slowed dramatically by the courts as  banks still struggle with getting it right and completing the proper paperwork.  Eventually, this inventory will find its way to the market.  When it does, it will put downward pressure on values. Here is a chart ... 08/10/2011

Federal Reserve Statement.....Can You State That in English? Tuesday, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current target range of 0.000-0.250 percent.  With a vote of 7 to 3 - this was the first time in 5 meetings that the nation's Central Bank was not unanimous and the first time since 1992 that the FOMC adjourned with as many as three dissenters. In its statement, FOMC had some criticisms about our economy - imagine that! Growth has been "considerably slower" than expected Labor market conditions have deteriorated Household spending has "flattened" AND .......The Fed noted that the housing sector remains depressed. Duh..... So....did they have anything NICE to say? Well, they did state that business investment in equipment and softw... 08/09/2011

The burning question..........what will be the impact of the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating on mortgage interest rates? Volatility and uncertainty rule the day for sure. This morning, I will share with some possible scenarios: Mortgage rates normally run parallel to the country’s Treasury bonds. When many people are buying Treasury bonds the return on those bonds decrease. When less people are interested in buying bonds, then the return on those bonds must increase in order to draw more buyers. If bond returns increase or decrease, mortgage rates normally follow. Many experts feel that the downgrade in the country’s credit rating will cause people to see greater risk and therefore be less likely to invest in our Treasury bonds. That would necessitate returns to push upward as any i... 08/08/2011

Can we have a little perspective today? Somewhere today, a mother....father....brother.....wife.......son......daughter......grandparent.......is mourning.....Today, those family members, friends and America are mourning the loss of 30 U.S. troops who were killed when Afghan insurgents shot down a helicopter carrying the most elite forces in the U. S. military— Navy SEAL's along with Air Force and Army personnel. This death toll will surpass the worst single day loss of life for the U.S. - led coalition in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001. We don't know what the markets will do tomorrow. There is uncertainty about interest rates. It's dought in some areas of the country and flooding in others.But......for some individuals today, none of that matters. If you have suffered a loss s... 08/07/2011

  My almost "Speechless Sunday" with a photo of my daughter, April Giddens, who recently was named the Louisiana 2012 Teacher of the year! As a VERY proud mother, I just had to share.  One of the awards is the use of the 2012 Mercedes Benz you see here for one year. Also pictured are her children (and my grandchildren) Hannah, Timothy and Emma.     08/07/2011

Have you ever dreamed about the Perfect Purchase Transaction? Close your eyes and think about it for a minute: Few inbound phone calls. Your cell phone rings with only new clients. Clients leave so ecstatic with your service that they hand you three names of people they know who are ready to sell their homes or want to buy in your area. You enjoy shorter workdays during the process because everything clicks. Okay, WAKE UP! The dream has ended. Yet, that dream is possible. Although you work in an innately reactive business, it is possible to be proactive and stave off the reactive nature of day-to-day dealings. How? You must create a system. You need to take the time to think through each step of the process and ask yourself, "How can I make this better?" or "How can I take this reactiv... 08/07/2011

More than once as a mortgage banker, I have had clients react with shock and disbelief when we share their credit score with them. "But I always pay my bills on time!" many will exclaim. To which we have to inform them the cold, hard truth - your credit score  is determined by more than merely timely payments on your debt. Your personal credit rating can also be "downgraded" when you max out your credit cards and you are making the minimum payments; when you apply for credit numerous times to various financial institutions; when it appears that you are living on borrowed money and borrowed time  and from your financial activity it looks like you are a financial disaster just waiting to happen. Many people were shocked and in disbelief with the news that the credit rating of the United S... 08/06/2011

  At 8:30 AM ET Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the July 2011 Non-Farm Payrolls report - the JOBS REPORT. Mark it in your calendar. If you've been watching mortgage rates fall to new all-time lows this week and if you or your clients fear a mortgage rate reversal, Friday, August 5, could be the day. The safe move would be to lock your rate today.  Rates COULD fall when the jobs report is released, but there's much more room for rates to RISE. 08/03/2011

  BREAKING NEWS- USDA Loans Will Have Monthly Mortgage Mortgage Insurance as of October 1, 2011. For the first time in the history of USDA, the Single Housing Guaranteed Loan Program has Implemented an Annual Fee. The annual fee will be calculated based on the guaranteed loan amount and based on the average annual scheduled unpaid principal balance for the life of the loan. Effective October 1, the upfront guarantee will decrease from 3.5% to 2% for purchase loans. The up-front guaranteed fee for refinance loan transaction will remain at 1 percent. In addition, an annual fee of .30 will be calculated when the loan is made and every 12 months thereafter until the loan is paid in full or no longer outstanding and the guarantee cancelled or expired. This change will basically increase the ... 08/02/2011

What Direction for Mortgage Rates?  It depends......Upon Two Events This Week: The resolution of the U.S. debt ceiling debate, due Tuesday; and,  The July Non-Farm Payrolls report, due Friday. Mortgage rates will be volatile as markets grapple with the expectations for the above events, and their eventual outcomes. Sunday evening, for example, congressional leaders reached an agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by $2.1 trillion, and to introduce $2.5 trillion in budget cuts within 10 years. The deal must pass Congress, however, and until it does, speculation will push mortgage rates around. Friday’s jobs report could swing mortgage rates also.  After starting the year strong, the 2011 jobs market has faded. Net new jobs have dropped 5 months in the row and the national Unemployment... 08/01/2011

  At Team Thaxton, we are dedicated to bringing you the most current and important housing news each and every day. It's hard to get involved in the ’what ifs’ of politics.  But I will say that the current debate in Washington has caused somewhat of a paralysis with some potential home buyers.  There is uncertainty.  People just don't know what is coming next. As always, I will be working hard to bring clarity to the confusion. We will share the best information we can find as this situation evolves.  Stay tuned!   08/01/2011

Tiburon located in North Bossier off Swan Lake, is two distinct communities: Village of Tiburon and Tiburon.  The location of Tiburon is ideal as it is only about 10-15 minutes from Barksdale Air Force Base, and minutes from shopping on North Airline Drive.  This community also has convenient access to both I-220 and I-20. The Villages at Tiburon are afforable new starter homes starting as low as $210,000 and custom homes up to about $320,000.  All homes in this community are a minimum of 1500 square feet.  The HOA dues on this side are $175/year. Builders featured in the Villages of Tiburon include: Vincent Rice Builder Hunter Black Homes Johnson Builder, LLC Randall Builders Avery Homes Tiburon features larger homes and lots, with a minimum of 1850 heated square feet.  Homes start as... 07/31/2011

Setting expectations with the home buyer - how important is it?  VERY!  If you read my blog from a few days ago, "Homebuyer Dissatisfaction With Real Estate Companies is Up Says J. D. Powers.  So How Is It that My Clients Are Satisfied with THEIR Realtors?", you know that setting expectations is crucial for home buyer satisfaction with their real estate agent.   By failing to do so, you run the risk of causing resentment and disappointment is sure to arise. In this challenging real estate and financial climate, it's more important than ever to make sure your clients know what to expect ahead of time. Here’s a script that can help: "Have you purchased/sold a home in the past three months? No? Okay, then this will be somewhat like you've never purchased/sold a home before, even if you've ... 07/30/2011

Recently I received the book "Go for No: YES is the Destination - NO is how you Get There" by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz. The book was from my corporate office as the "Book of the Month" and I placed it on the "stack" of books I plan to read. Since I read one or two books per week, I am constantly taking from and adding to the "stack". How timely that this book was the next in the infamous "stack" to read when I was sleepless at 3:00 A.M.   When a message comes to me two or more times in the same 24 hours, I usually think that God has something He wants to say to me! At the time, I had just read one of  Rebekah Radice's blog post where she made the comment that ".....one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve is the fear of failure". I re met Rebekah a few months ago at a ... 07/29/2011

J. D. Power and Associates 2011 Homebuyer/Seller Study reveals that even though conditions in the real estate market maintain that it is a buyers' market, home buyers indicate they are less satisfied with real estate company services compared with last year's study, while home-sellers during the same time period are more satisfied.  The study is detailed in a recent article from National Mortgage Professional magazine. Ok - it's a buyers' market but buyers are LESS satisfied than sellers?  WHY?  Jim Howland, senior director of the real estate and construction practice at J.D. Power and Associates says, "Although the current real estate market—with the confluence of low home prices and historically low interest rates-creates the perception of a buyers' market, there are still traditional... 07/29/2011

Testimonials are not about bragging or tooting your own horn. Sharing your successes with your client base and associates is an essential part of growing your business and your reputation within the community. And a great way to do this is by utilizing testimonials in your marketing efforts. Not only do testimonials get attention, they can also create a sense of confidence in the idea of doing business with you. The following are a few simple steps for gathering positive feedback from your clients: When clients thank you for completing a phenomenal deal, ask them to write a testimonial for you about their experience. If they're too busy to write it themselves, write it for them. Then have them simply approve and sign it. Make sure you secure their permission to use the testimonial in yo... 07/28/2011