How your credit report can help you buy your new home

Interest rates may be low, but it could be harder to get a home loan with the Financial Bill currently in Congress. As of June 10, 2010, a section was added to the bill to impose more restrictions on mortgage lending. These restrictions include making sure borrowers actually have the ability to repay the loan (bet you thought that was already part of the process) and requiring lenders to maintain part ownership of every mortgage they sell, including second mortgages. That way, maybe they’ll be a little more careful about selling to people who will have both the capacity and the inclination to repay.

And how will lenders know if you have the inclination, the likelihood, the moral fortitude – whatever you want to call it – to repay and to make payments on time? They look at the credit reports they usually will purchase from one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies. They also look at your credit score, which is calculated by plugging things like your payment histories, employment history and all manner of things about you into a complicated mathematical formula. The higher your score, the more likely you are to pay back your loan.

Your credit report is your opportunity to demonstrate to lenders that you are earnest about your promise to repay your loan. It’s best to view it as a tool that can help you and learn how to make it work for you. A recent post about the Four Myths About Your Credit History on the Equifax Personal Finance blog puts to rest some of the intimidating myths we’ve all heard about credit reports and could be your first step toward looking at your credit report in a new way and making it work for you as a new home buyer.

Welcome to New Homes Camp

Welcome to New Homes Camp where social media marketing and the new homes industry meet in an explosion of information. This fun-filled camp will provide you with all the tools you need to effectively blog, use social media and other tech tools to create a competitive advantage for yourself. Everyone's invited, you just need to be attending REtechSouth. Haven't purchased your tickets to the largest real estate conference in the Southeast yet? Go ahead and head over now, we've got a discount code!

REtechSouth is set to take place March 25-26 at the Gwinnett Arena and New Homes Camp is scheduled for March 25 at 9:30 a.m. The camp features social media greats like Carol Flammer, mRELEVANCE, Meredith Oliver, Meredith Communications, Tice Burke, Trulia, Mitch Levinson, mRELEVANCE and Paul Chaney, Author of the Digital Handshake. It's not often you'll have the opportunity to speak with the industry's leading experts in social media marketing as it pertains to the new homes industry, so make sure you purchase your ticket today. Last year the conference sold out and you'll want to reserve your place at the session now.

For more information about REtechSouth head over to Atlanta Real Estate Forum, the leading source for all the information in the Atlanta real estate industry.

Is Social Media a Good Use of Time

There has been lots of debate and discussion lately as to whether social media marketing is a total waste of time. Like any element of a good marketing program you need a plan for your social media efforts. Once you have identified and set goals, make sure to measure your progress on a monthly basis.

Spending countless hours on social networks posting and Tweeting without a plan can be a huge time suck. To make the most of your time, make sure to create a social media marketing plan and stick to it. Figure out what target audience you want to engage and them determine where to engage them.

Can social media sell real estate? More importantly, can social media sell houses? A really hot post on the topic can be found on Atlanta Real Estate Forum. Titled Social Media Doesn't Sell Houses the post has attracted comments from marketers in the Atlanta Real Estate market as well as around the country.

mRELEVANCE Creates Award-Winning Social Media Programs

mRELEVANCE won seven awards at the 2009 Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association's OBIE Awards Gala in November taking home the lions share of the awards for E-Marketing.

Pictured are mRELEVANCE managing partners with the award for Atlanta Real Estate Forum (front) Carol Flammer and Mitch Levinson with the the mRELEVANCE team (L-R) Michelle Serra, Mike Rieman, Jill Wise and Bo Gilbert.

mRELEVANCE won the following awards:

• Gold OBIE for Best Print Ad – Magazine
  
• Gold OBIE for Best Interactive Application for http://www.atlantarealestateforum.com/
• Silver OBIE for Best Website Associate for the company’s website http://www.mrelevance.com/
• Gold OBIE for Best Website for Heron Bay Golf & Country Club
• Silver OBIE for Best Social Media for Heron Bay Golf & Country Club
• Silver Awards for Best Marketing Campaign/Promotion – Developer for Heron Bay Golf & Country Club
• Gold OBIE for Best Social Media for Bowen Family Homes
  

For more information about mRELEVANCE and their programs and services, visit http://www.mrelevance.com/ or call mRELEVANCE team member, Jill Wise at 770-383-3360 x22. You can also become a fan on Facebook or follow along on Twitter @mRELEVANCE

mRELEVANCE Launches Blog for Circle 75

mRELEVANCE is once again helping home builders and communities reach out to buyers through a corporate blog. In this particular instance, the Atlanta internet marketing, social media and public relations firm partnered with Circle 75. Circle 75 is a luxury Cobb County townhome community with a coveted Atlanta address and desirable live, work, play environment. Since the community is located in one of Atlanta's most vibrant neighborhoods - Smyrna - the blog will be a resource for locals on area events as well as community-specific news.

The Circle 75 blog will be updated frequently, allowing resident to find timely information on happenings in their community and surrounding area, as well as allowing Circle 75 to announce relevant community news and current incentives and promotion for prospective home buyers.

A highly-optimized blog is the cornerstone for any social media campaign, and mRELEVANCE is happy to help Circle 75 improve their traffic, both online and on-site.

mRELEVANCE Managing Partners to Present Social Media Seminars at NAHB's EOC Conference This Week!

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity!!! Okay, it's not really a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it will be a very special treat. mRELEVANCE Managing Partners Carol Flammer and Mitch Levinson will be presenting seminars together on social media at the 2009 National Association of Home Builders Executive Officers Council (EOC) Conference August 12-15 in Louisville, Ky.

These seminars will be jam-packed with helpful information and brought to you by the industry's top experts on how to use social media to sell homes. Carol Flammer is an award-winning public relations and social media marketing expert, strategist and consultant with 20 years of experience. Mitch Levinson is an Internet marketing expert and real estate pro. Together, they will bring two exciting programs to teach executive officers and senior staff from state and local associations how they can use social media in their associations.

The seminars are titled Social Media: Engage in the Online Conversation and Social Media Lab: Building a Social Media Program from the Ground Up. Engaging in the Online Conversation is an introduction to social media and will give attendees a better understanding of this means of communication. The lab will be a hands-on, interactive session that will actually walk participants through setting up some of their own social media tools, including Facebook and Twitter. This session will also present attendees to a new social media tool launched by mRELEVANCE – it's top secret though – attendees will get the sneak peek and first opportunity to experiment with it.

If you are attending the EOC seminar, be sure to attend these two sessions. Get full information on the EOC web site.

mRELEVANCE Partners Present at EOC Conference

mRELEVANCE managing partners Mitch Levinson, MBA, MIRM, CSP and Carol Flammer, MIRM, CSP, CAPS, will be conducting two seminars at the 2009 National Association of Home Builders Executive Officers Council (EOC) Conference August 12-15 in Louisville, Ky. The EOC Seminar provides high-level association management education and motivation specifically related to the home building industry. Levinson and Flammer will be presenting two programs on social media: Social Media: Engage in the Online Conversation and Social Media Lab: Building a Social Media Program from the Ground Up.

Social Media: Engage in the Online Conversation will give participants a better understanding of social media tools and how to utilize them for a competitive advantage. The program will also address social media's influence on search engine optimization and teach participants how to target and interact with buyers. Social Media Lab: Building a Social Media Program from the Ground Up is a hands-on program that will teach the steps to launch an effective social media program and/or ways to improve an existing one, including how to launch a blog, Facebook profiles, Facebook company pages and a Twitter account.

Flammer is an award-winning public relations and social media marketing expert, strategist and consultant. Levinson is an Internet marketing expert with expertise in search engine optimization, Web site development, email marketing, social media and CRM consulting services.

The EOC represents executive officers of local home building associations and strives to enhance the professionalism of its members through innovative services, training, education and networking opportunities. Their 2009 seminar will allow executive officers and senior staff of state and local home building associations to meet and connect to share best practices, successes and plans for the future.