COMMENTS: Properties with low LTVs. Small loans OK! Short and long-term programs for any scenario
(probate, rehabs, refi, purchase). Fast & professional service
CA: Katiana Jimenez, Investment Manager, x2
................................................. katiana@ windvestcorp.com .... Fax 619-285-0741 ...... 877-285-0777
ZINC FINANCIAL LLC
www.zincfinancial.net
2525 Alluvial Ave., Suite 281, Clovis, CA 93611 .............................................................866-949-2931
COMMENTS: Investor rehab loans for non-owner-occupied investment properties in AZ, CA and NV.
7-day fundings. Minimum FICO 625. Loan sizes $30K-$400K
submit@zincfinancial.net ........................... Fax 866-602-8892 ..........866-949-2931
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terms and availability may not reflect the latest changes. Please contact lenders directly for the most-recent program details. If you believe data is inaccurate or misrepresented, please e-mail: matrixfeedback@scotsmanguide.com.
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« tools and tips »
By Chris Jones
Branch manager
City 1st Mortgage Services
Baby Steps
to Being the Best
You don’t always need a large niche to be
the local — or national — leader
those communities, members talk
to one another more freely and with
greater credibility than they do in the
public at large. Potential borrowers in
your niche will gravitate to you.
Consider, for example, if you were a
specialist in single-parent loans. You
could have a half-dozen clients at
any given time. Not only do they talk
to each other, but divorce attorneys
in the area also could know you and
refer their clients to you.
trying to do 100 loans a month, you
don’t need to dominate a large market segment. A smaller one will do.
The local bowling league has more
people in it than loans you can do
in a year. Another option could be a
local university’s booster club. You
could join the club, attend meetings, get a URL that’s indicative of
your interest and brand yourself with
the right colors. The next thing you
know, you have carved a niche with
local football fans.
conventional wisdom is that the
broader the net you cast, the more
fish you will catch.In general, that’s
true. But it has its limits.
Here’s an example, direct from a
phone-book advertisement: “We
SPECIALIZE in: Purchase or Refinance;
First-Time Homeowners; Debt Consolidation; Construction Loans; One-Time
Close; Cash for Any Reason; Less than
Perfect Credit.”
How can anyone specialize in what
looks like a list of almost every loan
Past Article
by Chris Jones
“HVCC Fact and HVCC Fiction,”
residential edition, September
2009
View;this;article;and;more;at
scotsmanguide.com
out there? Will borrowers identify
themselves as this company’s ideal
clients based on that ad alone?
If anything, the only thing the company can compete on is price — which
might not always end well.
If you have a niche, however, you
can become the prime option for a
particular market segment.
How to start
To specialize, pick one thing you do
well, and do it better than anyone. You
can gain a reputation for this particular expertise. And within that segment
of the market, people will talk.
Think about it. Who knows first-time homebuyers better than other
first-time homebuyers?
Star Wars fans know Star Wars fans.
Gardeners know other gardeners.
By far, the best marketing you can
have is a viral, word-of-mouth campaign. Communities form around
the most-amazing things. And within
Keep scope in mind
Now you might be saying to yourself that a loan for a single mother is
the same as a loan for anyone else.
In terms of the actual loan program,
you’re probably right.
“Don’t be afraid that
specializing
will make you less
marketable. It won’t.”
But getting to the loan program,
you could encounter additional hurdles in your niche that you might not
with other loans. There are divorce
decrees, alimony and child-support
documentation, split-equity issues,
title and appraisal complications,
and a fleet of other things. Although
other brokers might not be willing
to compete in that niche, it could
be yours to own in your area. Size
doesn’t always matter. Unless you’re
•••
Regardless of your interest, a market segment exists that you can fill,
even if that segment has no unusual
financial issues that distinguish it
from the general population. Don’t
be afraid that specializing will make
you less marketable. It won’t.
What it will do is give you a connection to a community that will help you
form a true specialty.
With hard work and dedication,
that specialty could be an area in
which your company becomes the
best on the block and beyond. That’s
a competitive advantage far better
than price. •
Chris Jones, branch manager with City 1st
Mortgage Services, is a seven-year industry professional in brokering and banking.
Previously in financial services, national
politics and Main Street entrepreneurialism,
Jones brings a local-community perspective with a national understanding. Raised
outside Washington, D.C., Jones lives in Lehi,
Utah, with his wife, Jeanette, and their eight
children. He blogs for Zillow.com and can
be found at www.lehilender.com, chris@
lehilender.com or (801) 787-2162.
