The percentage of mortgage holders who were behind on their payments dropped to the lowest level in two years during the fourth quarter of 2010, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report today.

At 8.22 percent, the seasonally adjusted delinquency rate was down from 9.13 percent during the third quarter and 9.47 percent from a year ago.

The percentage of mortgages in foreclosure climbed from 4.39 percent during the third quarter to 4.63 percent during the last three months of the year, matching an all-time high.
Fewer loans are entering the foreclosure pipeline: the percentage of loans only one payment past due — 3.25 percent — was at the lowest level since 2007, and the foreclosure start rate fell from 1.34 percent during the third quarter to 1.27 percent.

The percentage of loans three payments or more past due was down from an all-time high of 5.02 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2010 to 3.63 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of 2010 — a drop of almost 28 percent over the course of the year.

All but two states saw a drop in the 90-plus-day delinquency rate, and the increases in those states were “negligible.”
“While delinquency and foreclosure rates are still well above historical norms, we have clearly turned the corner” in the foreclosure crisis, MBA Chief Economist Jay Brinkmann said in a statement.

While unemployment remains high, the economy added more than 1.2 million private-sector jobs during 2010 and first-time unemployment claims fell during the second half of the year, Brinkmann said. Absent a significant economic reversal, he said, “the delinquency picture should continue to improve during 2011.”

I unknowingly used this strategy when I was severely struggling and it launched my career. And now that I’m a veteran agent with a lot of ‘market lessons’, I understand the psychology behind why it works so well and I use it all the time.

In fact, I just sent out the email I describe in the video – and within a week, I got 2 listings and sold a buyer a home.

Check it out…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Put this into practice, and let us know your results.

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service that’s fantastic for gathering and tracking  information and for sharing information with your Center of Influence. That’s a wordy way to say it’s not just for the Kardashians to let everyone know where they’re eating lunch

It is a great tool for serious business application as well. This helpful video will give you the basics to get started. Then going forward I’ll share more advanced training on using Twitter from a real estate sales perspective.

My best advice to agents that are interested in learning how Twitter is to go ahead and create a Twitter account,and get started.  After you’ve completed that task begin to slowly follow others who have Twitter accounts.

Don’t be bummed if initially no one is following you.

You have to  begin by following others and then as you Tweet others will pipe up.

I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback on this post. (If you’re an advanced user, please share your best tips below)

You can let us know your thought by simply leaving a comment below. Or once you have your Twitter account up and running, Tweet me @EricPointer

I think about clients that I’ve had the pleasure to serve, many of whom I call friends. I look at the deal folders and I am reminded of how blessed I am. I think about the relationships and the people that I’ve served and the lives I’ve been invited to participate in and I’m grateful.

I think about my family and especially my wife and how through the hard times she remained full of grace and I’m grateful.

I think about our kids and how much they’ve grown, both of whom have careers of their own now and I’m grateful.

I think about the resources that have been generated by serving others and how now in turn I’m able to use those resources to serve other through micro-lending, child sponsorship, etc.

Those are just a few personal things I’m grateful for, but here are 5 things Luke and I came up with that we are thankful for as real estate agents:

#1. I’m Still Here.
The market meltdown has dramatically reduced the number of people in our profession. And I thank God that he has guided my steps and allowed me to thrive not just survive. I have incredible respect for all the agents that are left. If you’re still here – you should be thankful and PROUD.

#2. My Knowledge Is Needed Now More Than Ever.
With the market change, buyers and sellers need our help now more than ever. Most still don’t know what or how Short Sales, Foreclosures, Deficiency Judgments, REO purchases, BPOs, etc. work. I’m grateful that I get calls for advice in all these areas.

#3. The Internet Has NOT replaced me.
Contrary to popular belief, the internet hasn’t replaced the agent. According to the most recent NAR statistics – it’s true 74% of buyers use the internet to find a home. But, the stats also show that 69% of them also say they used an agent to find a home. So I don’t fear the internet – I harness it. Instead of replacing me, it just makes business and property searches for my buyers easier.

#4. Mortgage Rates Are LOW.
Besides making home ownership super affordable, buyers will be jumping over each other now at the slightest hint of rate increases. The talking heads and media headlines that hint at ‘impending rate increases’ will keep our pipeline full of buyers that are worried they’ll miss the boat.

#5. The Foundation Is Being Repaired.
Let’s face it. Things got out of control: Artificial inflated prices, shady lending practices, everybody with a pulse getting loans (and real estate licenses), etc. – this is not the stuff a stable and viable housing market is built on. Though we may not be done with the carnage, the housing market’s foundation is being stabilized. And my business’ future with it.

There are many more things we could add to the list, but those are the top 5 that we discussed.

As we were working on this post, I was thinking about you, your family, your struggles and triumphs and I wonder what you are grateful for?

Click here for the details

Check out the Preview Here
What It Takes to Be Number 1

The Wisdom of Wolves Movie

Is Calvin Curry’s Short Sale Marketing System all that?

Read our review below to see what we think..

Luke and I are extremely busy managing our team and keeping up with theRockStarAgent.com and agentAMP.com, but when we have a chance to see what Calvin Curry is up to we jump at the chance.

After having spent significant time reviewing Calvin’s Curry’s  Short Sale Marketing System we’ve learned that it has something for everyone looking to target short sale listing leads.

It includes easy to implement Done-For-You marketing campaigns for:

• Direct Mail Campaigns
• Craigslist Ads Campaigns
• Pay-Per-Click Keyword List
• Pre-qualification Phone Scripts
• Sales Tools and Training
• Step-By-Step Training Videos
• Bonus FREE material access

Any one of these alone is well worth the price of admission

Calvin begins by asking: Why is it so tough to generate short sale listing leads?

He says we are looking under the wrong rock and our messages are NOT on target and he’s right. Calvin drills down  into the ‘psychology of  homeowners‘ who find themselves in a position where they must go short or foreclose. He begins with the ‘end in mind’ (from the seller’s perspective) to figure out what sellers, who are facing the prospect of foreclosure, go through…their thought process.

To verify Calvin’s assumptions, we’ve spoken to our own Short Sale specialist, the one who meets with our struggling homeowners, and sure enough, Calvin’s assumptions are on point.

Calvin points out that we should “Target the mindset NOT the problem“…i.e. Sellers who want to stop their Foreclosure vs. Marketing that assumes that the initial impulse of a seller, who in distress, is to sell their home – it isn’t in most cases. But to cover all the bases, Calvin provides 3 different campaigns for each of the 3 marketing strategies mentioned earlier…

Calving strongly encourages  marketing that targets the underlying mindset: Sellers initially want to prevent foreclosure NOT sell. This is huge paradigm shift for most agents who target market short-sale prospects. Calvin explains why it is so important to position ourselves properly to best serve distressed sellers and then he provides effective campaigns so REALTOR(S) won’t have to reinvent the wheel…

Calvin provides Done-For-You Direct Mail, CL ads and Pay-Per-Click Keyword List for those who are into PPC and know how to manage there own accounts and for anyone who wants to avoid the hassle of creating Mail Pieces and CL ads.

All this Done-For-You material makes implementation and management easy.

The Verdict

PROS:

Without question the most important piece of the system, other than the mental paradigm shift, for us has to be the Done-For-You Campaigns – all of them.  Agents that are implementing any one of these campaigns must be  experiencing a flow of short sale leads. All the information is clear and concise and it is easy to download…

(Kudos to Calvin for making it easy to get at the material and to personalize it. There is nothing more frustrating than getting excited about implementing a program and running into technical issues.)

CONS:

There aren’t really any cons to speak of.  But we’d  have loved to have had a couple of agents pipe in and tell us how they used the material and the difference it has made. We’re sure that those testimonials will be posted shortly…

Bottom Line:

Calvin Curry’s Short Sale Marketing System massively over-delivers and when you consider you get  a 50.00 rebate if you provide feedback and you are one of the first 200 to do so, it’s an absolute winner.

It might already be sold out by the time you’re reading this, you can check here:

http://theRockStarAgent.com/calvin-short-sales