When it comes to real estate, today’s agents must juggle multiple balls ranging from real estate law, sales and marketing to lending. As the landscape for mortgage lending has changed, real estate agents often find themselves having to become more knowledgeable about the in’s and out’s of mortgage qualifications. “Today’s agent must keep up with a lot more than in the past. Not only do they need to be great at marketing properties, but they must also have knowledge about lending guidelines. For example, most lenders will not allow personal property, such as a car or furniture, to be a part of the sales contract. There is a lot to know, so having a great lender with up to date knowledge is critical,” said Brad Korn, a Realtor with Keller Williams in Kansas City.
In recent years, the housing market has been red hot in several markets. The demand for housing has out paced the supply and created shortages in multiple metro areas. Real Estate agents have also been faced with tight lending regulations which has lead to fewer qualified buyers and contracts that have fallen apart in the last minute. “Real Estate agents have been extremely busy keeping up with the demand and that has cut into their time for education which is why I created the Mortgage 101: How to Keep Your Contracts from Falling Apart classes,” said Cyr, a licensed mortgage loan officer and branch manager for CMG Financial in Nashville, Tennessee. “We offer these classes both at our training facility as well as at the agents office.”
The Mortgage 101 classes go over 12 areas that can cause a mortgage to be declined for financing and agents learn ways to discover issues in advance before taking on listings or buyers that may not qualify. “I learned a ton at one of Carey Ann’s classes! These classes will not only help agents, but also consumers too, because agents who attend will become more knowledgeable and be able to pass that onto the clients,” said Monte Mohr, a Realtor with ReMax.
Real Estate Agents must attend a certain number of continuing education classes each year to maintain their license and while the Mortgage 101 class does not qualify for continuing education, the agents we spoke with see it as a “must attend” class for their business. “The Mortgage 101 classes are less than 60 minutes and reveal issues that keep loans from being approved. Everyone we have spoken too, has found the class to be a real boost to their bottom line,” said Cyr.
As of now, Carey Ann Cyr is offering these classes free in the Middle Tennessee market. She plans to release a Kindle book this year so more agents can get the information they need to grow their business. To find out more about the classes call Carey Ann at (615) 456-4456 or email her at CareyAnn@cmgfi.com.