Category Archives: North Salem

Branding Your Blog: You’re Doing it All Wrong | North Salem Real Estate

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A while ago, on this very blog, I read a post about how to make a five-dollar logo for your blog.

There were a few things about that post I disagreed with, but chief among them was the assumption that a cheap logo was somehow all you needed to brand your blog.

A logo does not make a brand.

Logos are important, but what’s most important is to have a crystal clear brand promise. This is important in every line of business, particularly in blogging, where competition is brutal and securing a loyal readership is the only way to make your overnight success last more than a few days.

Your brand promise should be felt in every single post

The most important part of your brand is largely invisible—at least, at first.

It’s the promise you make to a visitor the first time you meet.

It is more than just a half-hearted promise to try and be interesting and entertaining. It is a promise to deliver a specific and predictable result every time.

Whether you commit to always making your reader laugh out loud or go into deep thought, to giving her investment advice she can act on immediately, or a gluten-free recipe that her children will like, your brand is the one aspect of your blog or business that people can always trust that you will never compromise on.

Don’t try to do everything yourself

It should be said that DIY brands rarely look as good, or work as well, as the owners think they do. On the contrary, 100% homemade brands often look unprofessional and unreliable.

Unless you’re an expert marketer, designer, copywriter, and web developer in addition to your day job, there are lots of things you don’t know and skills you don’t have. You should admit that to yourself, and invest in some outside expertise. It doesn’t have to break the bank. You can pick one area and start there, but please do make building your brand a priority.

It’s what sets you apart, helps readers quickly understand what you are about, and creates loyal followers.

If you really only have $5 to spend

If you really don’t have more than $5 to spend on design, you’ll be better off spending your fiver at Starbucks. After all, you’re not very likely to get a good logo and visual identity for that kind of money.

So sit down with your grande latte and your free wifi, and be sure to take in your surroundings, because there aren’t many who do brand as well as Starbucks.

What’s special about Starbucks is not just the coffee. It’s that they stand for way more than that. Their brand promise is about community and you can feel that in every single touchpoint, from the comfy chairs, to the online community.

Think about how your brand can show (not tell) what it stands for, like Starbucks does. Even if you exist only in the online world, the types of topics you cover, the products you offer, and the other blogs you link to all serve to create an impression for your brand.

Color can be a great differentiator

Another thing you can learn from Starbucks is the effective use of color. You can see that green from miles away, and instantly recognize the store as a Starbucks.

So take a few minutes to pick a fresh color scheme for your brand. Something that really makes you stand out in your space. Your colors shouldn’t conflict with the promise you’ve made—for example, a site promising inner peace and a site promising playfulness should probably choose different colors—but that’s the only rule.

Almost everything is allowed, and bravery is usually rewarded.

Start out with a single, strong color you’d like to use, then use a tool like Kuler to find other colors that go well with it.

Ideally, you’ll put together a palette of colors that is uniquely yours, instantly recognizable to anyone who knows it, and that you can find ways to implement on your blog, across your social media properties, and in your product designs, both online and offline. Be creative.

Watch your tone of voice

It’s no coincidence that Starbucks has its own language (including words like barrista, grande, frappe, and so on.). This vocabulary helps support the brand’s promise that this is not your run-of-the-mill coffee shop.

Think about your blog’s tone of voice. Is it authentic, distinctive, and consistent? Are you falling into the trap of over-complicating things with big, boring words, and overused jargon? Are you conveying your personality and making it easy for people to understand what you are offering and why they should care?

There is a lot of brand power in the way we say things, not just in what we say. Have someone else look at each of your posts before it goes up and make sure you are choosing words wisely. We all know how hard it is to edit our own work.

Invest in your brand—with money, time, and creativity

Now, these are some quick tips. There’s a lot more to learn about brand. But the key message is that it’s always a good idea to invest in your brand. If you don’t have the money to invest, at least invest the time and energy to learn, and the thought and creativity to do a good job with what you have.

How’s your brand looking? Share your ideas for blog branding in the comments.

Julie Cottineau is former VP of Brand at Virgin and executive at Interbrand. Recently she founded her own brand consultancy, BrandTwist, to help small businesses and entrepreneurs, and will soon launch Brand School, an online course about building, growing and monetizing a brand.

via problogger.net

Where Did the First-time Buyers Go? | Pound Ridge NY Real Estate

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With record low interest rates and affordable prices, this was to be the year of the first-time home buyer. Instead, first-timers’ market share has fallen from 39 percent of existing home sales last year to 31 percent in October. What happened?

Asked the Wall Street Journal last May: “It’s been a scary few years for the housing market. But at some point, the nightmare has to end (please?). Is now the time? Should first-time home buyers consider jumping into the market?”

As the year winds down, the answer to those questions, unfortunately, is a resounding no. First-time buyers, who accounted for as much as half of all existing homes purchased at the height of the federal tax credit in 2009 and norm ally account for 40 percent of all sales now have nearly reached the record low of 28 percent recorded in January 2011 when sales plummeted following the expiration of the credit.

Yet these days sales are up while first-timer market share is down. The National Association of Realtors reported September sales rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million in October from 4.69 million in September, and are 10.9 percent above the 4.32 million-unit level in October 2011.

Investors with deep pockets of cash received a lot of the blame for the tough times many first-timers faced this year, by out-competing them for declining numbers of foreclosures and short sales. Yet NAR’s numbers don’t indicate that investors have not gained at the expense of first time buyers. In October, investors purchased 20 percent of existing homes, up from 18 percent in September; they were 18 percent in October 2011. In fact, investor market share is also at low ebb; last year NAR credited investors with 29 percent of all home purchases.

The vast majority of first-time buyers se financing and fingers have pointed at lenders for the problems that buyers have been having getting financing, but conditions may be improving for borrowers with good credit. Lending standards were tightened dramatically in the years following the housing boom, but very few banks have raised standards since 2010, according to the Federal Reserve’s quarterly Senior Loan Officer Survey. Yesterday Ellie Mae reported that 61.2 percent of purchase loan applications closed in October, the sixth straight month that the closing rate has improved, up from 55.2 percent in April. Moreover, Ellie Mae, which processes 20 percent of all originations, reported that October FHA purchase loans, which are popular with first-time buyers, have a lower average FICO score (700) than all purchase loans (750) and conventional purchase loans (762).

However, FHA’s financial problems have made them more expensive for borrowers and unavailable to hose with marginal credit. Mortgage insurance premiums rose this year and will rise again in January (See FHA Audit Leads to Higher Fees).

Down payments, which rose significantly following the housing crash, are also a barrier to first-time buyers. The days of “no down” loans are over but after rising in 2007 through 2010, down payments actually have declined. The median downpayment made by all homebuyers in 2012 was 9 percent, ranging from 4 percent for first-time buyers to 13 percent for repeat buyers. The median down payment was the lowest since 2009 but still far above the levels during the housing boom, when nearly half of first-time buyers made no downpayment at all. Moreover, dozens of downpayment assistance programs sponsored by state and local housing authorities that provide grants and low interest loans for down payments to qualified applicants have plenty of funding available. Down Payment Resource lists local programs for easy access by borrowers.

There is no doubt the younger workers have suffered more than other age groups in the economic down turn. One result has been a lower rate of household formation, a critical predictor of first-time buyer activity. But according to Catherine Rampell at the New York Times household formation has been picking up. Over the last year, though, household formation has been picking up.

She quotes Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics: “Years’ worth of households that have been pent up will be unleashed in the next few years,” he predicted. “That’s one reason why I’m more optimistic than some other people about G.D.P. growth in the next few years. As we move to the mid-part of the decade, I think those households will get formed and that will power a lot of housing construction and consumption.”

To sum up, 2012 didn’t bring the year of the first-time buyer but it did see competition of with investors in decreasing, financing available with good credit, interest rates still at record lows, easing of down payments, heightened household formation. Perhaps 2013 will bring increased inventories of entry-level homes, higher employment and more new households.

Is the Year of the First-time Buyer yet to come?

via realestateeconomywatch.com

Agents, builders get warnings about mortgage ads | North Salem NY Real Estate

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Mock direct mail advertisement illustrating claims that could be misleading.Mock direct mail advertisement illustrating claims that could be misleading.

Federal regulators have sent warning letters to more than 30 companies, including real estate agents, homebuilders and lead generators, warning them that their mortgage advertising on websites, Facebook and in newspapers and direct mailers may be deceptive.

The Federal Trade Commission said it sent letters to 20 companies in a coordinated action with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which issued warning letters to approximately a dozen others.

The FTC said the agencies’ review of about 800 mortgage ads from a wide variety of media “revealed several types of troubling claims that could be misleading to consumers.” The review found potential violations of the Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule and the FTC Act in:

  • Ads that offered a very low fixed mortgage rate without discussing significant loan terms.
  • Ads containing statements, images, symbols and abbreviations suggesting that an advertiser is affiliated with a government agency.
  • Ads “guaranteeing” approval and offering low monthly payments without discussing “significant conditions” on these offers.

A mock mortgage advertisement from a fictional real estate agent created by the FTC as an example of a potentially misleading ad.

The CFPB said many of the potentially misleading practices seemed to be directed at older borrowers, and active-duty military service members, or veterans.

“Some advertisers will use your military or veteran status as a way to approach you, promising special deals or implying VA approval,” the CFPB said. “Others will use the lure of a ‘no-payment’ reverse mortgage to troll for older Americans desperate to find a way to stay in their home when they can no longer afford a mortgage payment. And although mortgage rates are very low right now, an offer promising ‘historically low rates’ may still have hidden traps that turn it into a bad deal.”

The Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule, which took effect in August 2011, has been known as Regulation N since rule-making authority was transferred from the FTC to the CFPB. The rule prohibits material misrepresentations in advertising or any other commercial communication regarding consumer mortgages.

The FTC and the CFPB share enforcement authority over non-bank mortgage advertisers such as mortgage lenders, brokers, servicers and advertising agencies. Mortgage advertisers that violate the rule may be required to pay civil penalties.

via inman.com

FHA changes won’t impact most buyers | Mt Kisco Real Estate

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A bailout for FHA? Don’t bet on it.

And what’s the practical significance of the steps the agency announced last week to avoid a meltdown? What impact will they have for homebuyers and sellers who rely on FHA for affordable financing?

Less than you might think if you read some of the dire reports on Friday’s news: FHA’s capital reserve ratio to support its single-family and reverse mortgage programs plummeted to -1.44 percent, according to an independent audit, representing a negative economic value of more than $16 billion.

You may have also read that in response, the FHA plans to raise its annual mortgage insurance premiums from 1.25 percent to 1.35 percent early next year, and revoke new borrowers’ ability to cancel their premiums once their loan balances hit the 78 percent LTV level.

The agency also is going to expand pre-purchase counseling efforts for applicants with low credit scores and minimal down payments, and step up efforts to promote short sales to seriously delinquent owners who are likely headed for foreclosure.

Taken together, the changes don’t appear to be a big deal for most buyers who opt for FHA loans. In fact, you can argue that what’s not being changed is far more noteworthy than what is:

  • Minimum down payments will still be 3.5 percent. The agency resisted demands that it boost the minimum to 5 percent.
  • There will be no risk-based pricing on premiums, another demand by critics. FHA will continue to its one-price-for-all system in which low-risk borrowers essentially subsidize the premiums of higher-risk borrowers.
  • Underwriting will continue to be generous on key items like debt-to-income ratios.

Whereas Fannie’s and Freddie’s automated underwriting systems cut off applicants who have back-end (total debt including housing) ratios much above 45 percent, loan officers tell me FHA sometimes allows them to push through back-end DTIs in excess of 56 percent, and even front-end (housing) ratios of more than 45 percent.

None of this is changing because, in the words of Bob Ryan, a senior adviser to HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, “we don’t want to overreact” to an audit report that may have exaggerated the gravity of the agency’s situation.

The audit report used house price projections that did not reflect important gains in recent months, for example, and did not take full account of revenues being generated by the agency’s high-performing, low-loss recent books of insurance business.

David H. Stevens, immediate past FHA commissioner and current CEO at the Mortgage Bankers Association, told me it’s doubtful FHA will need a cash infusion next September from the Treasury because “they (the leadership at FHA) have all next year to replenish the fund” with additional tweaks to premiums, increasing the pace and productivity of REO dispositions, and restructuring the ailing Home Equity Conversion (HECM) reverse mortgage program to cut losses.

Continuing increases in home prices will help out a lot, since depressed home values in the 2008 and 2009 vintages of FHA originations have plagued the agency and created the bulk of its current problems.

The decision to retain the 3.5 percent minimum down payment was especially key, said Stevens. FHA can raise or lower premiums anytime, “but once you raise the down payment (minimum), that would be difficult to chip back.”

More importantly, raising minimum down payments would exclude large numbers of first-time buyers with good jobs who are solid credit risks, but simply lack the cash to make the type of down payments required in the conventional marketplace.

Turning away qualified applicants because they couldn’t come up with another 1.5 percent in down payment cash would be an abandonment of FHA’s traditional mission of opening the door to homeownership for moderate-income families, especially first-time purchasers and minorities.

In some local markets, FHA finances well over half of all purchase loans. In the first three months of 2012, it held around a 32 percent market share of new purchase loans nationwide.

Another step FHA didn’t announce last week but soon will: reining in seller concessions to buyers to help pay for closing costs and lender fees.

Seller concessions, like the now-prohibited seller-funded down payment assistance programs that were commonplace in 2004-2008, can distort transactions by cutting buyers’ initial stakes in the property to zero or even negative equity, and have been linked to losses to the insurance fund.

Though FHA has proposed a tiered system that would lower maximum contributions for many sellers to 3 or 4 percent and restrict the current 6 percent maximum to low-balance loans, it has not yet published a final rule.

When I asked FHA Commissioner Carol Galante on Friday for an estimate on the timing of the final rule, she rolled her eyes, lamented the frustrations of jumping through the bureaucratic hoops required to get a new federal regulation onto the street, and said “soon.”

This month? “No.” December? “I hope so.” But even when finalized, the rules will almost certainly give real estate brokers and lenders time to adjust.

So bottom line: 6 percent seller concessions are likely to be available for purchasers into the early first quarter of 2013. After that, they’re history.

via inman.com

The New Myspace According to Justin Timberlake | Mt Kisco NY Realtor

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Although Facebook and Twitter currently dominate the world of social networks, their management probably understand all too well that today’s industry leader can be tomorrow’s joke. Just ask the early adopters and investors in Friendster about how that went. One social network that had all the visitors and content before Mark Zuckerberg’s company drew international attention was Myspace. Back in its heyday Myspace was the place to be, not only for friends and hopeful daters, but artists and musicians plying their wares as well. Myspace has since spectacularly faded away, and for the last several years was only useful for musicians with a core demographic of tween listeners. But last year Specific Media, an advertising network based in Orange County, California bought Myspace for a paltry $35 million, a sure steal of a company that once was worth upwards of $65 billion. And when music and film superstar Justin Timberlake announced he had purchased an ownership stake in the company, a real curiosity began to swarm around the site. On Thursday the first questions were answered, as Timberlake unveiled the first look at a redesigned Myspace, which he oversaw as a leading creative force.

If you remember anything about Myspace, you probably remember how unattractive it was. Pages were clogged with banner ads, and those die-hards who continued to use the site found that their postings landed in the equivalent of an online ghost town. Under Timberlake’s guidance the development team completely scrapped the old site and redesigned it from the ground up. That’s an important distinction, as the new ownership recognize it’s going to take a huge amount of work to turn public opinion about Myspace around. And according to Tim Vanderhook, the CEO of Specific Media, that’s exactly what they plan to do. He acknowledged the great skepticism they will face, and declared that their first mission is to show the online community exactly why they should revisit Myspace.

Based on the unveiled site and the core constituency Myspace was able to hold on to, this new mission will be continuing to help new artists connect with and win over fans. Once Myspace began losing users in droves to Facebook, this was really the only dynamic that still worked. In fact, a survey of users completed last year found that more than 50% of those left on Facebook were hoping to be ‘discovered’. And with Timberlake’s help, this is exactly what Myspace will be about.

The site will give users free music from independent artists, small record labels and the majors alike. Users will create profiles that help them discover music they will enjoy, and artists’ profiles will be designed to help them aggregate fans. And then fans and artists can personally interact, either through private messages or through a Myspace “Connect”, which is basically the same as a “Like” or “Follow” on the other social networks. According to Timberlake, the ease of interaction will empower artists to a sustainable future, and a closer relationship with their fans.

News from the test run of the website was generally positive. The magazine-style layout was clean and smooth, and the images were impeccable. The navigation bar has a music player built-in, and you can continue to listen to songs even as you browse the site. Upgraded browsing functions such as “Discover” will help you find specific types of music or music news, utilizing an algorithm based on your connections and browsing habits and a curated list of suggestions from the staff. There will be no ads whatsoever once the beta launch is complete, although Timberlake did leave the door open for advertisers to come on board. However, those ads will have to be seamlessly integrated in the site, meaning brands will have their work cut out for them if MySpace again becomes a player in the social media game.

via technozeast.com