Napoleon Hill really knew what he was talking about when he said:
“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit”, and when you think about it, real change only seems to happen when a new normal forces us to find new ways to do what we’ve always done.

So let’s review for a minute. People have been needing shelter and housing since the beginning of time, and every day people need housing…and the financing to buy it!

And the one thing that never changes: People still prefer to do business with those they know like and trust.

In today’s market, this golden rule still exists, but what has changed is how we have had to create new ways to serve those same customers in a “different” marketplace.

So although the market and the marketplace have changed drastically, there are those professionals who understand that service survives any market fluctuations and ultimately thrives in what others refer to as a “bad market”. Here are a couple of great leaders that have turned their production from drab to dazzling by filling a need:

Meet Denise Buser:

Realtor Denise Buser, a 13 year veteran real estate agent knows the challenges of immigrant families trying to start a new life in our country. Her own family relocated from Italy to this country and struggled with the many nuances of trying to have the great American dream…home ownership.

Denise saw a need to help other ethnic families in her Long Island area and opened a specialized real estate division catering to minority buyers and sellers. She is the first in her area to offer these special services through Casa Latina Royal Real Estate Company, catering to the Spanish speaking and multi-cultural borrowers in her marketplace.

This franchise specifically targets multicultural communities and includes any and all ethnicities. They have agents that speak Polish, Spanish and the list goes on.

Denise says, “Often there is a misconception that these families can’t afford homes, and that is so wrong! They need guidance and help to get themselves prepared to buy, and when you invest in them, the rewards are staggering! We help them establish better credit, help them budget to save money each week, and even help them organize their business books so we can get them to qualify for loans in the future. I could never do this without my lender partners who are willing to invest in this niche for future production.”

Denise added; “I work with my lender partners to set them up for buying by strategizing the appropriate ways for them to responsibly buy a home. FHA has proven to be the best thing in the world for many of these people, who often can save the 3.5% down and if this tax credit comes through the flood gates are going to open up! That’s why they are here in America…to own the dream and their referral network is endless. If you help one family, you get the whole neighborhood!”

She went on to say, “But without my lenders, I can’t do anything for them…it’s a true partnership! If we didn’t have a powerful partnership with the same objectives, my deals wouldn’t go anyplace!

Denise says they now have families in their pipeline that she and her partners have in process to repair their credit, or as they recover from short sales they are working together to get them in affordable housing as next year’s buyers. They want to spend the rest of their life in their home, and my lender partners help me do that…we all win!”

Cleary, Denise and her lending team have penetrated a niche that is paying off now and into the future.

Eric Zantonelli, loan originator from Stillwater, Oklahoma works with his agent partners to help them bridge the buying gap if the agent’s prospects don’t have the FHA down payment. Eric studied and became well versed in utilizing the USDA Rural housing program which, in his opinion, is one of the very best loan programs around. He found that most consumers, as well as most real estate agents, knew very little about this special financing program.

Eric counsels his agents to consider this RURAL program when buyers who qualify simply not have the 3.5% to put down that FHA requires and the property meets the USDA location guidelines.

He says, “An important time sensitive benefit for using this program is that USDA has not updated its maps since the year 2000 and there are now brand new neighborhoods in some larger towns that still qualify, that will not once the maps are redone.”

To secure prospects for this special financing, Eric says, “I have been using call capture and financing signs to help Realtors show people how they can buy their (agent’s) listings, that may be located just outside of the larger population areas, and still are within meet USDA location guidelines, with no money down. My agents are happy, their buyers and sellers are happy and everybody wins!”

By being a resource for financing opportunities that are less well known, Eric’s realtor partners are comfortable in knowing he is working on their behalf to secure the best financing for their customers and clients. Eric says, “Realtor loyalty is hardly an issue when you can truly be a resource to your team that helps make transactions happen”.

There are hundreds of ways to be of service in today’s market, as customers are buying and selling every day. I’ve been writing and studying   agent and LO success stories for several years and one thing is clear: Realtors that establish strong alliances with expert loan originators save money, and make more sales!

For more articles on Realtor-Loan Originator Relationships, visit www.TerriMurphy.com

Terri Murphy, author, speaker and consultant to the Mortgage Industry can be reached at: Terri@TerriMurphy.com or www.WomensWisdomNetwork.com