Are you using LinkedIn? If you are a serious Realtor, you should be...

We all know that Facebook is a great tool, not just for keeping in contact with your friends, but for you business as well.  But did you know that Linked In has now passed MySpace for the 2nd most often used social media networking tool?  Check out my tweet on that here (http://t.co/IXdtTGZ)

With that being said, can you afford not to use it?  And the truth is, it's where people actually go to network "professionally," right?  But like any website where people can search for you, you want to be on the top of the list, right? If you're a Realtor in Provo, for instance, you want your name on the top of the Linked In search when someone looking for an agent searches "Real Estate, Provo."  Here's what you do to put you in the top 5 of the search you want:

First of all, if you  haven't joined Linked In, then join and create a profile, as complete as you can.  Then do a search using the terms you think others would use if they were looking for your type of service.  Where did you find yourself in the lineup?  Or did you find yourself?  Now, do the following....

1. Make sure the "top" of your profile (where the picture is) has your city location as well as your expertise.  For example, mine shows "Provo, UT area/Real Estate."  Since there are only the two choices of Real Estate or Financial Services on Linked in for this portion, I had to use Real Estate.  Not a bad thing, as you can focus more in the next sections for your own profession.
2. Put your occupation (or what you think people will use as a search term) in BOTH the current and past employment sections.  (Mine says "Mortgage" and "Loan Officer" in both, so if people search for either one they find me!
3. In the Summary section, put the same key terms you used in numbers 1 and 2.

Now, do that same search again.  How far did you move up?  When I did these simple steps I moved from way down the line to the number one position for anyone who searches, "Mortgage, Provo" or "Orem" and also "Loan Officer, Orem" or "Provo" on the entire Linked In site. 

Linked in search for Mortgage/Provo

We all know that marketing is about more people seeing you and your product, so being "on top" of the list is much better than somewhere closer to the bottom.

Much success to you and look for more tips in the future!

How does one know they can afford a home...? (For Realtors)

At Axiom we promote the use of what we call "3 Ways to Buy" flyers.  These go on the back of your property flyers and of course they promote Axiom and our loan officers, but they also show potential buyers "3 Ways" to purchase the property that are most likely to be used with that particular home.  When someone can see the payment, they can more clearly see themselves in that home! That means more potential buyers/clients for you as the Realtor.  Isn't that what you want?

Thanks to the Means Family!

I received this gracious letter from Robert and Ginger Means, a great family for which I had the opportunity to help finance their new home. This is the the reason I do what I do.

Thanks again, Robert and Ginger!

And if you need help on a purchase or refinance, know you'll get the same type of service.

Much success to you today!

Dave

Great, basic tips for homeowners

Here is a great article on the basic tools needed by every homeowner. Do you have your basic set?

20 basic tools every homeowner needs

Have a great day!

Some useful info for those about to close on a home loan

Click on the link to see news about a new law in Utah regarding the funds you bring to your closing.

Utah's "Good Funds" law

Have a great day!

Dave

Have you seen our new billboards?

This just came out from CoreLogic®: The top lenders with regard to number of purchase loans and transaction ($) amounts in the counties where Axiom does business in Utah were listed and Axiom came out on top in both categories for 2010.

1) AXIOM FINANCIAL
1,673 units, 7.69% of total units sold
$319,234,312, 7.61% of total transaction amounts

Here's a link with the news.

Thanks to all of our Axiom clients and from me, especially to my clients who were part of this. I'll always be grateful to work with you and work with a company like Axiom.

Just remember, it's always best to work with number 1! :)

Dave

CoreLogic® is a third party business partner offering analytical and statistical reporting of the mortgage and real estate industry. Based on CoreLogic’s year-end reports of resale (purchase) mortgage loans for 2010 including Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah, Iron & Washington counties, Axiom Financial closed more combined residential resale loans than any other lending entity.

® CORELOGIC, is a registered trademarks of CORELOGIC.

Why you need a trusted mortgage advisor

You really don't want this to happen to you...

You need a mortgage advisor who knows their stuff. At Axiom we are trained and retrained to know changes in laws and loan requirements. Our corporate office stays on top of exactly these types of changes referred to in the article. When the condo rules changed, for instance, we had a 4 hour meeting and follow up to make sure we knew the rules.

Knowing the ropes in a fast-moving industry....another reason I'm with Axiom.

Dave