Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Random thought on Buying a Car

My Dad decided he was going to buy a Volkswagen Van last week. Turns out he called a dealer in a nearby town and some fool tried to get him to 'come in and talk' before giving him a price. My dad is not online and doesn't have the patience (or skills) for internet research. He's not afraid of calling around to get a price, however, and I'm amazed that this guy pulled the old 'let me ask my finance manager' routine.

He ended up calling another dealer in a bigger city and they simply gave him a price. After calling Costco to find out if they had a better deal, he tried one more dealer (as dealer #2 didn't have an option/color combo he wanted). After all was said and done, he got the deal he wanted on the car he wanted and idiot #1 in Evansville Indiana will NOT be getting his business! I wish I was so 'flush' that I could turn away customers!

Are you (or your staff) turning away sales? I'm sure not! While we're a small firm, it makes me wonder how larger organizations are faring--are they unwittingly turning away business due to outdated practices/poorly trained staffers? I hope so as our customers get to see the value of our SERVICE! Thanks for your support!

Headlines of the day tell an interesting story

I really don't need to do more than quote the headlines to give you an idea of what is going on. From the Atlanta Business Chronicle's email update: "EXISTING HOME SALES RISE" AND "REPORT: HOUSING PRICE DECLINES SLOW" Both good news, right? Absolutely! But remember this one as well: "MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS FALL, RATES RISE". Here's the takeaway from all this--the more 'cheerful' news about the economy will (hopefully!) get people off the fence. However, what really needs to happen is to get these people hopping NOW as rates will continue to go up as the markets improve. It's a fact-rates tend to go down when 'bad things' happen so take advantage of what's left of the economic malaise affecting our country. Don't wait for North Korea to rattle their sabres and spook the market-it's time to act now (and my usual caveat applies-rates may go up/down/remain the same, but will your LENDER or program be there when you decide to get a loan? I sure hope so!)

Cheers! Bo

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Read this headline: "Mortgage rates rise as outlook improves"

What does that mean? It means GET OUT THERE AND LOCK NOW and/or BUY NOW! For the article, go to the Atlanta Business Chronicle's site or click here. Good luck! Time is of the essence!