Welcome to the July episode of Learn With A Lender with Joel Schaub of Guaranteed Rate!
In this episode Joel shares the importance of finding mentors that inspire you to get to the next level in your business. Joel believes growth is incremental so he recommends aiming for daily discipline and small victories instead of large leaps. He also talks about the importance of finding professional partners who want to give back and help you grow. Joel also discusses mortgage rates and shares a tip for talking to buyers about dollar amount instead of rate percentage. Last, Joel encourages our listeners to explore their passions and to find a way to contribute to your community.
If you’d prefer to watch this interview, click here to view on YouTube!
Joel can be reached at joel@rate.com and 773.654.2049.
Transcript
D.J. Paris 0:00
On this episode of Keeping it real is brought to you by Joel Schaub at guaranteed rate. As a realtor it’s important to partner with only the most trusted name in mortgage lending. Joel has 1000s of satisfied clients and gives $1,500 of his commission back to your buyers on every closing. He is known for his ability to close even complex deals start to finish in only 14 days to learn what 1000s of others already know. Make a note to call Joel at 773-654-2049 or email joel@rate.com Guaranteed Rate is an equal housing lender licensed in all 50 States Consumer Access Number 2611 And now on with the show
Okay, welcome to another episode of Keeping it real, the largest podcast made by real estate agents and for real estate agents. My name is DJ Parris. I’m your guide and host through the show and today, once again is our monthly series learn with a lender with Joel shop from guaranteed rate. Now Joel is the vice president of lending at guaranteed rate. He has been doing loans at a high level since 2003. And has got to that level because of what he does specifically for agents and which is he gives part of his commission back to the buyer on every transaction. Now last year alone, Joel gave back over $291,000 in closing costs to buyers who worked with him and that put Joe’s volume in the top 1/10 of 1% of all loan officers nationwide. Now out of 400,000 loan officers in the country. Joel is ranked number one 137 year to date he has done 234 transactions is highest amount every year to date for just under 87 billion in closing and in the last 40 days alone. Joel did 81 On time closings for $28 million again in the last 40 days. 81 closings incredible and today alone. Joel has six closings that he’s working on in between doing a being so kind to be on our show. Now, if you’re looking for a loan officer, we cannot more highly recommend Joel he’s the very best we’ve ever worked with. Joel can be reached at Joel at email him by the way. joel@rate.com. Or you can shoot him a text message or call him at 77335 Sorry, 773-654-2049. Let’s say hello to the biggest Cubs fan. I know Joel Schaub Welcome once again to the show,
Joel Schaub 2:43
DJ, thanks so much for having me. And the numbers and all the accolades, all that stuff, none of it matters, it matters that I’m here with you again, good to see you. Happy Friday to you,
D.J. Paris 2:53
good to see you. But here’s one thing that I think does matter. And this is important is that Joel is all about giving back. And if you know him personally, you know this to be true. But maybe many of our listeners wouldn’t really know that. But this is what he’s how he’s choosing to spend his time in between six closings that he is overseeing today. That really shows Joel’s dedication he is he is really the guy who walks that talk he gives back. He’s also there for his customers, it’s really an impressive package. So we’re super thrilled to have you.
Joel Schaub 3:24
Well, I find that the more you give, the more you get. And the idea here is that it actually strengthens me and those around me by being able to be on the podcast and enjoy. So I did take some time I stepped outside. That’s why it’ll kind of go depending on how the sun is you’ll either see me really good or not. But everyone can hear me loud and clear. And so we’re outside, I just take a little bit of time. And I encourage agents to do that as well. Because no matter how busy, you get, there’s always somebody that’s more busy than you. And I always think of the story that I didn’t do over 80 closings in the last 40 days. And there were years where I could never do 80 closings. And I remember being so busy doing three or four transactions a month, and never knowing how you could get to 60. But then now that I hit that number, I look at people that do even more. And it always kind of reminds me of I always use the story of like Mark Cuban has the same number of hours in the day as I do. And this guy’s got all these businesses from Shark Tank. So as a realtor, find somebody that you kind of look up to, that maybe is doing a little bit more and either closings or transactions and just strive to that level. You don’t need to take big leaps. But you have the same number of hours in the day. And so if you can find ways to just get incrementally better, I didn’t go from two or three closings to 80 in a 40 day period. overnight. It just takes time. And you just got to keep refining yourself and tuning into things like this. You do such a good job of putting this on and you’re consistent in the same way Realtors need to be
D.J. Paris 4:57
Yeah, thanks. Yeah too. piggyback on what Joel said, you know, once you identify the person who’s doing just slightly more production than you, or is maybe just, you know, closing at a higher rate than you or whatever it is that you’re looking to aspire to reach out to that person, there’s nothing more flattering than saying, Hey, can I buy you a cup of coffee, I would just want to pick your brain. I would love to learn how you got to that level. And most you’ll find that you think they get that question a lot, they probably don’t. And it’s a super flattering thing. And maybe they’d say, they don’t have time, but more often than not, you’ll find that they do. That’s how we get guests, we say we’d love to feature you on the show. And they go okay, you know, most almost every time they say yes, so reach out as well.
Joel Schaub 5:39
And being on this podcast, you’d be surprised I’m literally getting dozens of Realtors all across the United States that reach out to me and just ask me questions. And they’re shocked when I reply within minutes, like I give a full reply. And it does strengthen my skills helps you find that the people that are most willing to give back are the ones that are out there really doing it. And so you want to partner with somebody that’s going to give back so this is the segue, right? If you’re a realtor out there, find somebody local, right? I’m the mortgage guy in my market. I’m right here. Right now. I’m going to show you Wrigley Field right behind me. Okay, so I focused on a certain area, even though I’m nationwide, what I do is I make sure that the agents around me get something for working with me, right? So if you’re a realtor out there, and you don’t have a good mortgage partner, these mortgage guys want to help you if they’re not helping you find another one. Okay, yeah, so a good mortgage partner is going to be there to answer the phones get the mortgages done, but more importantly, contribute to marketing. Right? They should be doing something that’s RESPA compliant, that contributes to your marketing dollars. And I spent over $100,000, annually I’m spending all RESPA compliant to help Realtors go through either Zillow, right? There are different types of leads, events that they’re putting on marketing, co branding. So even if you have a mortgage guy that’s helping you see if they will contribute money. That’s my advice.
D.J. Paris 7:09
Yeah. Great. Well, I also want to talk about rates, everyone’s talking about rates, it’s dominating the news again. So we would be remiss if we didn’t at least have a quick conversation about your opinion about what’s going on with rates?
Joel Schaub 7:23
Well, it seems like every time we get on we talked about rates are lower than they were last time, right. And it’s happened once again. So when we talk about rates, I want to kind of differentiate this, right, we’re talking about conventional mortgage rates, where most of the United States the conventional loan size is 510. And below, I’ve earned $10,000. Above that Jumbo. There are over 100 counties that are above that, but just talking about rates, the 30 year fixed rates are below 3%. It’s crazy. 15 year fixed rates. I had a client two days ago that we locked in at 2.25% for 15 years. Oh my gosh. So these rates are in the twos. There’s a lot of opportunities right now. And as agents, what, what it means is you can’t just go talk to buyers and say rates are low that rates don’t really mean anything rates mean one thing, what it means for the mortgage payment. So if you can talk in terms of dollars and not percentages, you’re going to close more transactions. One example. A buyer doesn’t write the rate on their check every month when they mail it in what do they write they write the dollar amount, right? Yeah, so if you can talk in terms of what this house costs today, and what it may cost, if you waited a year or two, you’re going to get buyers that understand those numbers, for example, a $300,000 house today with a 30 year fixed rate that’s now below 3%, could be about $200, less than if they waited next year, and rates go back above for $200 a month. I mean, it’s a serious number for borrowers that helps them get into a home and a lower payment or afford more house. So the pro tip, if you will, if you’re a realtor, is using the stories about rates but putting it into terms of actual dollars so that you can educate and teach and empower buyers to get out there and make those decisions, especially when we’re talking about first time buyers.
D.J. Paris 9:24
Yeah, for sure. And even for people that have that aren’t first time buyers, what a great opportunity to call and say hey, here’s where rates are, you know, and here’s, you know, you may want to reach out to your lender to possibly refinance or to convert from a 30 to a 15 maybe now’s a great time to put more principal into the property. I know we did this years and years ago before I knew Joel
I pay more for the knees.
But I wouldn’t have known that as the homeowner unless somebody told me.
Joel Schaub 10:11
They’ll you’re exactly right. And it’s a good thing that you did. So what does it do? It allows a realtor to have another nice touch with your past clients versus the normal conversation, you are sometimes afraid to call. But when you actually can provide some value, it really goes a long way, instead of calling that buyer that closed last year and saying, if you know any friends or family, I’m never too busy. For that line, just can we
D.J. Paris 10:38
just can we just retire? we retire that saying the I’ve never too busy for your referrals? And do you know anybody that’s like, I just feel that that those days are over, let’s provide value, Joel, you are all about providing value?
Joel Schaub 10:52
Well, you can actually touch your past clients and just in a really great way where you just remind them Did you have a really good experience with your mortgage professional, just reach out to him right now. And I’ve covered this on past podcasts for you guys, you can ask the lenders for the best rate in the market right now, which is really low. And then you want to do a follow up right away and say, what rate would I get for no closing costs? Yes, that’s the big deal. You don’t have to go pay 1000s of dollars to refi. These banks want your money right now, it’s not hard to get a mortgage, it just takes a little bit extra time. Okay, so instead of being done in two or three weeks, expect that you’re going to take four to six weeks. But four to six weeks to save hundreds of dollars a month, it’s, it’s a really good time to reach back out to whoever did your mortgage, and just ask them those two questions. One, what’s the lowest rate? And what does it cost, right to what’s the lowest rate I could get without any costs, and then do a little bit of analysis, because sometimes you’ll find, you don’t need to take the best rate in the market. Sometimes the best rate in the market is what makes the mortgage guys the most money. So again, what’s the no cost rate right now. And if it saves you a half a point or a percent off your mortgage, and you didn’t pay anything, it’s a pretty good transaction for you as a buyer.
D.J. Paris 12:06
So also caution, everyone out there who is rate shopping to also be really aware of what the institution that is behind that rate is able to do. So right now we’re seeing incredibly low rates and banks are competing, and one is getting lower than the next. But then the question is can that can that lending institution actually close this transaction? And well, number one is Can my client even qualify for that type of rate? And then number two is, is that lending institution even capable of it. So sometimes the lowest rates are visually very exciting and appealing, but might not always translate into a closed transaction.
Joel Schaub 12:45
Yeah, especially if you’re a realtor, right now, I find a lot of times the number one thing that’s helping get buyers over the edge, when there’s multiple offers as a strong financing package, it looks a lot better that you have somebody that’s known in your market for actually closing on time than an out of state lender. Even if that out of state lenders, me, if you’re in another state, sometimes it’s better to have somebody that the other agents know is known for closing transactions on time, we win transactions consistently in my market by not coming in at the highest price. Realtors here know my name, they know our branding, they know that we do deals in two weeks sometimes and we win transactions that are less than the top price because they know the deal is gonna get done.
D.J. Paris 13:34
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. So definitely, you know, find find a lender, have a conversation with Joel, he will let you know if he’s the best fit. You know, he services all 50 states, but definitely reach out. And if he’s not the best fit, he’s a, you know, a generous enough person to, you know, push you in the right direction for sure. Let’s talk about COVID. So COVID is on the rise, unfortunately, again, specifically. Yeah, up there. You’re okay. On your rooftop Florida, we know is suffering greatly right now other states as well. We have, you know, additional travel bans in place. So So what’s going on right now with respect to closings and COVID?
Joel Schaub 14:13
Well, this is something that I predicted a while ago, and it’s really starting to come true now. And it’s the speed in which these type of pandemics actually move the industry forward. Okay. And so when you’re doing these many transactions, one of the big things that we’ve seen happen is the influx of digital closings, Flash closings, and doing all of the documents remote. Okay, so it’s going forward at a lightning speed. So last year, we did a little over 30,000 transactions on a digital platform and it was kind of new. And so now when buyers don’t want to go to the closing table, or they want to be at a closing table for just 30 minutes instead of two or three hours. This is what We’re seeing most of these mortgage companies, and you’ll see it a lot next year. But they are going to allow the buyers to do all of their documents, the day of the closing right from their phone or from a computer and only wet sign a few documents, and it’s happening left and right. Okay? Wouldn’t that be great, it’ll get to sit at a title company for two hours.
D.J. Paris 15:19
Absolutely, I’m sure everybody is wishing that they did not have to sit there with their client, the client doesn’t want to be there, the agent, of course, they want to be there to service the client. But if they could all be done remotely, obviously, that’s a no brainer for everybody.
Joel Schaub 15:31
And it’s not just remotely, but what it is, is the ability to do this. And the reason I bring it up here on this is that, as agents, we’ve gotten away from going to our closings, right, especially if you’re busy. If you’re doing several closings, you’re finding yourself saying I’m not going to go to the closing. Do me a favor, do yourself a favor, start going back to closings when it’s safe to do so. Okay, and work with a lender on the buyer side that will do digital closings, all of the closings that we’ve been doing for the last couple of months, the buyers have been in and out of the title company and under 45 minutes. That’s awesome. So as an agent, you don’t want to go sit for two hours, right. But you could go for a half hour, 45 minutes, that’s the most happy time the buyer has they have their keys. And especially if they don’t have to sit and sign every single document, if they can do it the morning of digitally, you are there for the best part of the transaction, or it should be the best part of the transaction. So we’re seeing a lot more of this coming up. More and more mortgage companies like the one I worked for have been able to do things that we wouldn’t have thought because a lot of the counties and municipalities were against digital closings. And I think by middle of next year, we’re going to see full digital closings in a lot of counties.
D.J. Paris 16:51
And remember to for every all the agents out there listening that you are getting paid very handsomely to help somebody assist in the transaction to be there at the very end, especially if you’re partnered with a lender who’s able to do it more quickly, is really important when you know you’re getting a sizable amount of money to go to that closing. Now, if you have to sit there two or three hours, of course, that’s difficult. But if you’re working with lenders that have improved technology to be able to, you know, to do some of this more quickly, it’s a great thing you should definitely if you can go to your closings, you’re getting paid very well to do it.
Joel Schaub 17:25
Now I fully understand, okay, if here’s the rule that I think if you’re doing under $20 million a year of production in your market, you should be going to almost all of your closings, that’s how you’re gonna get referrals. I fully understand there’s a lot of people on here that they hear that and they go, I could never attend all of the closings that I should have. And that’s fine. But the idea here is a lot of people got completely away from going to closings. And what you’ll find right now is that if you’re working with the right team, these closings are one of the best places to be, you can go and be done in under an hour. But just do it safely. Right. Yeah. That’s really good. I know this was coming. And I think there’s gonna be a lot more of that to come here in the future. So it’s just a little pro tip for the realtors out there.
D.J. Paris 18:12
Yeah, and we are moving more away from face to face activities. Zoom has made it possible for us to have conversations with clients, where we’re not necessarily right in front for safety reasons or just for convenience. But this is a place as Joel said, where you get to go to the end, where every assuming that closing goes through smoothly, everyone’s happy, you’re getting paid as well. It just is a great place to ultimately, you know, get some referrals from the client remembering, hey, my person was there. I know I’ve done closings, where my where my agent wasn’t there. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. But it would have been I would have felt better about it had they have been there. So so this is something that is great advice. Joe, I know you have a crazy and this is one of your craziest days ever. Let’s, let’s let’s go ahead and conclude the episode. So Joel can get to the rest of his closings, because he doesn’t want to miss them either. What is but everyone listening, if you’re not working with a lender who’s taking good care of you good care of your clients who isn’t investing in your business, Joel mentioned the various different ways where he participates in agents growth, right? He can participate that and help you in that way. And also help you maybe even put events together and all sorts of ideas. But if you don’t have a lender that is doing that for you, now’s the time to find one and Joel is is are always our recommendation. But what’s the best way someone who is listening who’s either you know, somebody who’s looking to work with with a loan officer, whether they’re an agent or a customer? What’s the best way they should reach out?
Joel Schaub 19:42
DJ we’re not done yet. It won’t be a keeping it real podcast unless we touch base on one final thing. And I want to help agents grow and the idea here that we always hit on is how can you find ways in your local market to be giving back? Okay, so before we go, the idea here that I’ve always done is I found one or two things that were just passionate that I was passionate about, and then branded myself around that so that it just is authentic. It’s really easy to speak from the heart and talk about you and your brand when you’re talking about things that are authentic to you. So I live really close to Wrigley Field, this is I’m at my home right now I’m up stairs. And behind me is where the Chicago Cubs play. And it’s a neighborhood. So anybody that’s been in Chicago, it’s a big city, but there’s so many neighborhoods. And what you got to do is find what is passionate for you. And then find ways to use social media, and be the person in your neighborhood. So always be giving back, things like this. It’s by way of giving back. But if you’re an agent, just come up with a couple of different charities or things that you’re passionate about, and you will elevate your business. Okay. With that said, You can reach me joel@rate.com. And then my phone number is 773-654-2049. And on all the social media platforms, it’s Cubs fan, mortgage man, and DJ, it’s a Happy Friday. I hope you have a good weekend. Stay safe, and we’ll be seeing it again soon. Right.
D.J. Paris 21:15
We will end before everyone. Before we conclude, I want to remind everyone to tell a friend think of one other real estate professional that could benefit from hearing this great conversation we just had with Joel and pass this podcast over to them, you can find us on our website, keeping it real pod.com Send it to your friends. We just got a message right before he went on from one of our listeners who said I’m a brand new agent and I’ve gone through, he said of at least a dozen other podcasts for real estate agents. He said ours was the highest quality. So I really appreciate that. But that was because someone had shared this podcast with him. So please share it with one other person and also follow us on Facebook facebook.com forward slash keeping it real pod. Reach out to Joel You need a good lender on your team. He’s the guy Joel, we will see you next good luck with all the rest of your closings. And I want to come up and see your rooftop deck one of these days. So one of these days. I’ll pop over there. Thanks again. All right. Thanks, Joe.
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