Posts made by author 'Frank Malone, Managing Broker - Gulf Shores'

These market trends are a blessing and a curse. Cycles that go on for years in one direction are abnormal and they can weaken aspects of your business and your focus. Other than relationships, do you know the most consistent aspect of a successful business? 

INVENTORY.

Why does anyone brave the aisles of Walmart? I was there today shopping for one thing . . . bags of dirt, just a few bags to complete my honey-do list for the day. I did not got to Rouses or Publx; I went to the place that I knew would have what I needed. Walmart has INVENTORY, therefore I go to Walmart.

We are wearing out the discussion about where our market is headed, where interest rates are going, and everyone trying to figure it all out. Honestly, we do not have to know the future. We cannot control the direction of the market.

But, what we can do is be 

Click Here to Read More...

In 2011, the Alabama State Legislature established the Strengthen Alabama Homes Act. The Strengthen Alabama Homes (SAH) program provides grants (when funds are available) to Alabama residents for residential wind mitigation on existing, owner occupied, single family homes. Funding for this program comes from the insurance industry in Alabama and is not funded from the state's general budget, nor is it tied to a federally funded program. Many of you are probably aware of this program that provides a grant up to $10,000 towards the cost of mitigation or roof replacement to bring the property to FORTIFIED or Silver Standard.  

A client of mine recently contacted me to tell me that he is going through the SAH program, and the new FORTIFIED roof is being installed this month. The SAH program is paying his contractor $10,000 towards the cost of the roof replacement. The thou...

Click Here to Read More...

Way to go AAC and Stephanie Sandefur for the GET LIT company challenge. Usually these Broker Bits are random ramblings of ideas, testimonials, risk management, real estate experiences . . . and the like. This one is, in a way, kind of like that.

GET LIT, Bellator's Back-To-School Literacy Challenge (click here to learn more) aims to sponsor adults and children who can not, or have trouble, reading. We are knee deep into our fund raising and I hope we knock it out of the park! GET LIT was the first time that I really thought about what it would be like if I couldn't read. Without even knowing it, we probably read more things per hour than we speak or hear. Certainly we take it for granted. I wonder what it would be like if that skill was taken away?

An article in The Atlantic by John Hudson dated JULY 2, 2012 stated "In an Education Week article last year, the magazine highlighted a report by sociology professor Donald Hernandez who compared reading scores and graduation rates of almost 4,000 students. 'A student who can't read on grade level by 3rd grade is four times less likely to graduate by age 19 than a child who does read proficiently by that time. Add poverty to the mix, and a student is 13 times less likely to graduate on time than his or her proficient, wealthier peer,' read the report."

The GET LIT challenge is the result of someone getting involved. As a company, we may only end up sponsoring 10 adults or children, instead of our 44 – 55 goal. And that is okay, because over 200 Bellator members were made aware, or at least received an awareness renewal of the literacy problems that our community faces. That touch to 200+ people will eventually help thousands of people over time, just from this one idea. That is what it is all about, and it starts with someone's idea and passion, and most importantly, someone's ACTION.

We certainly have a lot of community involvement going on within Bellator. It's really crazy if you think about it . . . our communities really operate on volunteer time. Charities, committees, commissions, boards, PTO's, fund raisers, ticket takers, game announcers, tutors - you name it! If all the volunteering stopped, our world would crash around us. Volunteering is crucial to the survival and betterment of all the communities where we work and live.

Involvement and volunteering could possibly have the highest return on investment than any activity a REALTOR® does. Does volunteering pay back more than the cost of Zillow leads? Does getting involved market yourself to others in the community? You bet your sweet "butterfly effect" it does. To the point where it may cost you more not being involved than it does giving some hours of your time.

It is not about the payback. As said above, if all the volunteering stopped, our world would crash around us. We need to be involved just to keep the community humming. With the grace of a growth mindset, the involvement payback is exponential. I can not think of a better "win-win" for us all.

AAC and Stephanie, thank you for the GET LIT challenge. We and many others will benefit from your ACTION. There are so many opportunities in the world that can use volunteers, be aware and get involved. You will be grateful.

From a Washington Post article on December 28, 2021:

"Across most housing markets, the new conforming loan limit will be $647,200 in 2022, an increase of $98,950 compared to 2021's limit of $548,250. Borrowers who need to finance a larger sum for a home purchase will need to apply for a jumbo loan, which often has stricter guidelines for borrowers, larger down payment requirements and sometimes higher interest rates because of the risk associated with a bigger loan."

This increase in the loan limits are adjusted every year by the same amount as the Federal Housing Finance Agency's average home price increase in each 3^rd Quarter of the year (2021 vs 2020). The increase is a newsworthy 18.05%, and it makes sense that the conforming loan limit would increase in lock step. In 2021, if you ha...

Click Here to Read More...