We are only 5% into the New Year, and I have already locked 25% of the total number of loans I did in all of 2014. We are officially in a REFINANCE BOOM due to SUPER-LOW INTEREST RATES! Last month I posted a short video titled “Will Mortgage Rates Go Even Lower?” They indeed have done so, as 30-year fixed rates have plummeted well below 4% and 15-year fixed rates are nearing 3%. Rates are re-approaching levels seen in Spring 2013, when mortgage rates hit their all-time lows.
The Refi Boom has spread like wildfire. In one instance, I had one client refer a friend, who referred another friend, who referred another friend, who referred another friend…all in a single week! Thank you Ben for spreading the word about The Blue Waters Group and helping your friends save money.
If you’d like to discuss your refinance options, reach out to me ASAP. No one knows how long these low rates will hang around so let’s collectively seize them while they’re here.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,200 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 20 trips to carry that many people.
In the last few days mortgage rates have dropped suddenly. I’ve called many clients to advise of refinance opportunities, but I thought it would be more effective to do a quick video and ASK YOU TO CALL ME if you’d like to discuss your refinance options.
In short, many economic triggers have fired off in recent days, and today may be the biggest factor of all…The Fed’s last meeting of 2014. Again, give me a call to chat in greater detail and how the current market may be able to help you lower your monthly payment, take cash out, or BOTH!
In the last year, 1,014 homes and condos sold in Folsom.
691 different agents represented the buyers of those homes.
I represented the most Folsom buyers of these 691 agents.
In other words, I currently am Folsom’s #1 Buyer’s Agent!
Word has clearly spread that The Blue Waters Group is one of the best at not just helping you with financing your home, but also buying and selling too. This is solely thanks to you as all of my Folsom-buying clients were referral or repeat clients.
I can’t emphasize this enough; my business growth is thanks to you.
I don’t have a multi-media advertising campaign; I have your referrals to those you care about.
I don’t have a marketing department conjuring up catchy radio commercial jingles; I have your endorsement.
And I don’t have clever Facebook ads getting in the way of your News Feed; I have your repeat business.
Thank you for your trust to refer me to your loved ones. I have always worked hard at earning and keeping that trust, and I hope this latest distinction as Folsom’s #1 Buyer’s Agent is validation of your trust in me and of my faith in you to keep our business thriving through your referrals.
Mia Hamm, arguably the world’s greatest female soccer player ever, once said “it is more difficult to stay on top than it is to get there.” Now is not the time for me to hit cruise control. My goal is to continue increasing our market share via word-of-mouth so The Blue Waters Group becomes one of the most recognizable real estate names in Folsom and beyond. Would you continue to help me spread the word about our comprehensive buying, selling, and financing services?
Please keep up the great referrals to your friends, family and neighbors. Consider adding a review to Yelp, Google, Facebook, or even a video testimonial here to help us reach more and more new clients.
This past Spring my wife and I made a huge decision. I actually hinted at it in this prior blog post. After spending the last 10 years in our first home, we decided to move. Oddly, our new home was only 2 houses down the street from our old home, but it was a perfect opportunity to move up to a larger home without leaving the neighborhood and friends we’ve come to adore. After all, real estate is all about location, and we feel we have a pretty awesome location.
The transaction was a piece of cake. After all, I do it every day. The inspections, the loan approval, the paperwork all came naturally. But when it came time to actually move, I was not prepared for the physical toll and time commitment it would take to settle in.
On the first day of moving we had our 3 kids “helping.” Within the first hour our 1-year old, Ollie, had wandered off, shattered a light bulb on the dining room floor, and scraped himself up walking into unfamiliar rose bushes. It was in those first moments we knew things were going to be tough. We’ve been in our new home for 3 months now, and the garage is still a disaster. We keep moving furniture around to find the right place for everything. We have half a dozen boxes still sitting at the bottom of the stairs. And we simply moved down the street!!
If you’ve ever moved, my hat’s off to you!
The funny thing about all of this is I’m an expert at every step of the home buying process, right up until I hand you the keys and say “congratulations!” I equate it to an OBGYN doctor who delivers a newborn to first time parents. The doctor works a seeming miracle bringing a new life into the world, but unless they have kids of their own the doctor has no idea the sacrifices and adjustments new parents will make on behalf of their new baby.
So my hat is off to you. I have a whole new level of respect and awareness for my clients who willingly cross the battlefield of moving on the road to homeownership. From now on, my congratulations will come with much more understanding of what’s to come. As such, I’d like to help with your next move.
One of the most time-consuming things we dealt with in our move was assessing and repairing sprinklers. Sprinkler systems are not checked in a routine home inspection, yet they are an important piece to your landscaping health and appearance. When you buy a home with me in the Folsom or surrounding area, I’ll provide a sprinkler assessment inspection from the Sprinkler Repair Guys, a locally owned and operated company that I personally know and work with. Having a knowledgeable resource for a system that will inevitably need some tweaking will be a small way to help you make your next move just a bit easier.
The Folsom Telegraph’s Real Estate Editor was kind enough to interview me last week as Folsom’s REALTOR of the week. Here is a link to the interview, which includes a question about my favorite movie. If you email me back with the correct answer, you will enter a drawing for 2 tickets to see that very movie in IMAX at Esquire!
The last two weeks have been the busiest of the year for The Blue Waters Group. More clients have closed on their purchases, sales, and refinances than any other 2 week period in nearly 2 years. Perhaps that’s why our group has found the desire to have some fun and blow off some steam.
Check out our latest video to see what we’ve been up to.
Also, for the last two years, The Blue Waters Group has helped spearhead the 131,000 Challenge to raise funds and awareness for homeless veterans. This week we were nominated for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and we are not the team to back down from a challenge!
Go to www.ALSa.org for more info and to donate to ALS.
Last month I received one of the highest compliments I can receive from a dear client; I felt I had to share the story with you. Ironically, I’m not sure if he even meant it as a direct compliment, but I took it as such and it made my day. Here’s how it transpired:
On the Fourth of July, I was working with some long-time clients who wanted to purchase a home they saw earlier in the week. They have been living in a 2-story and it is simply time for them to downsize. With that said, however, they haven’t moved in nearly twenty years and a lot of anxiety and complexity began to set in. Should we sell first? Buy first? What furniture are we going to get rid of? In talking about the logistics of selling their current home, I advised him to tell all of his friends that they were selling to help market the property. His casual response was, “you know Matt, most of my friends are in real estate.” He meant it as a good idea to effectively spread the word, but I heard a much more significant statement, one that meant the world to me.
You see, Brian is a wonderful man. He is well-known and well-liked in the community. It comes as no surprise to me that he has an abundance of friends, many of whom are in real estate. The fact he has chosen me and The Blue Waters Group to help him navigate a very delicate transition in his family’s life speakes volumes to the amount of trust and respect he has in our team. As a business where we feel earning one’s trust is more important than simply getting their business, this indirect compliment is one of the highest we can receive.
As I reflected more on this, I realized we receive this compliment every single time someone chooses to do business with us. You, too, undoubtedly have other friends, family, and acquaintances who are real estate professionals. Recent estimates figure there are more than 500,000 licensed real estate agents in California. Some know more than others, but the simple fact is you probably didn’t choose to do business with us due to a lack of alternative options. It takes more than being your friend or acquaintance to earn your business and trust in real estate. Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest, scariest, most important financial decisions most of us make in our lives. You don’t want just anyone helping you through that.
A big thanks to Brian and all of our clients who choose to do business with The Blue Waters Group. We know you choose to do so not simply because you know us, but because you trust us. Please know we will steward your trust reverently and cherish it always.
Last month marked the end of basketball season for my daughter’s 2nd grade team. League rules request we nominate Most Valuable and Most Inspirational Players, and those are the only two players who receive trophies. Many of the players, including Maddison, were disappointed at not receiving trophies and I can say I understood where they were coming from. Many moments in children’s lives include awards, praise, and ceremonies for rather ordinary milestones (kindergarten “graduation,” for example). My words to the disgruntled players were, “we don’t play basketball for a trophy. We play because we love the game.” I’m not sure if my words sunk deep with them but they did so with me the very next day. Ironically enough, I was in their exact shoes at a work luncheon and was reminded why we don’t do things to get trophies.
Every year, the Sacramento Association of REALTORS recognizes Masters Club members, agents who close more than $3.5 million in transaction volume in a calendar year. This is a distinction many agents wear proudly and I was honored to be a part of the 2013 Class. An awards luncheon at the Hyatt downtown sounded like a great date opportunity for my wife and me. We purchased two tickets and looked forward to receiving my plaque. We arrived on-time but the place was already packed with well over 500 people. We ran into many colleagues and friends but no open seats; it was impossible to find two spots together. Everyone sat down as the program commenced; Mary and I stood in the corner peering for chairs. It became clear to me that instead of getting a trophy today I was going to get standing-room only treatment. After a few minutes of circling the perimeter of the room I looked at Mary and suggested, “Ella?”
The Hyatt was a popular place that day!
We abandoned the luncheon just after the pledge of allegiance. We walked a couple of blocks and had an amazing lunch at Ella under the warm spring sun and spoke of some rather important life-changing decisions (more on that in a future post). It was an absolutely perfect day, a day that reminded me of what are the real fruits of my labor. I don’t love my career for the trophies and accolades, but rather working with people I care about, helping clients who value my service and the opportunity every now and then to have a date with Mary in the middle of the day.
Enjoying a quiet, private lunch outside at Ella Dining Room!!!
I’m sure my Masters Club plaque is waiting for me at the association’s office, but I’m in no rush to go pick it up. After all, I didn’t do it for the trophy.
Next Thursday March 13th, we hope you will join us in the 2nd Annual 131,000 Challenge at Folsom Connections Business Expo. As you may recall, this is a campaign The Blue Waters Group launched last year that raises funds and awareness for our nation’s 131,000 homeless veterans. As you would surely agree, this is a staggeringly high number and one we can’t sweep under the rug.
The Challenge addresses this issue in a fun & inspiring fashion. Willing attendees will do push-ups or sit-ups at Folsom Connections, and pledging businesses and individuals will give funds for each completed repetition. It will be one of the more energetic things going on at the biz expo; be sure to stop by and give your muscles or money. You can read more about The 131,000 Challenge here, and info about donating to this cause here.
If our country’s 131,000 homeless veterans are not enough reasons to come visit us at Folsom Connections next week, let me give you one more…free food! 12 area restaurants will be serving lunch samplings during the event. This is our region’s largest business expo & admission is free! Stop by on your lunch break, work up an appetite cranking out some push-ups for homeless vets, then grab some grub! We’ll see you next Thursday!
131,000 Challenge at Folsom Connections Business Expo
Folsom Sports Complex (66 Clarksville Road, behind Home Depot)
Thursday March 13th 10 AM – 2 PM
Matt Sundermier's Memos on Real Estate & on Life 
