Manny Kagan

Mortgage Solutions for You

*Interest rates are subject to change without notice and do not constitute a commitment to make any loan at any specific rate.

Recently one of the major banks announced BIG NEWS, reported in the San Francisco Chronicle. They lowered the credit score on FHA loans from 660 to 600 FICO.

For us, it is just business as usual.

At least one of our lenders can go down as low as 580 fico with 3.5%down payment!

History repeats itself. As before the meltdown, it is our government who is trying to help those who have less than stellar income and do not have money for the down payment.

Will it last?

Whom do you know that might benefit from our tailored mortgage solutions?

Do not keep me as a secret.

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Lessons I’ve Learned About Sales in Havana

“We all sell. The difference is what and the price.”

Someone asked me why we went back to Cuba less than a year after our first visit there. The first trip that we took in February 2013 was a discovery–curiosity of the “forbidden fruit”. Though Americans can legally travel to Cuba, you need special arrangements to get there. On our second trip, we went with Cuba Explorer, a travel agency located in Canada, which organizes trips to the island for reasonable prices and with a great itinerary and service. On our second trip last December, we went to Havana because I felt I needed to meet its beautiful people again and to photograph them.

Two weeks before going on the trip, I decided to put together 52 images (out of 4,500 I brought back from the previous trip) into a book, I titled, Soy Cubano, I am Cuban. It includes portraits of the people I met on the streets, as well as some of my thoughts. I called it a “Book of Gratitude” and each page has the words “Thank You” in one of the 52 languages of the World, as well as my aphorisms (someone coined them Mannyisms).

As on the first trip, we met a lot of interesting people. I wanted to photograph more children, and there were quite a few of them. Children are beautiful in any country of the world. When our daughters Alona and Tamar were born, I realized that they came to this world to be my teachers. With more teachers, the wiser one becomes. Just take a look at King Solomon—the wisest man who had one thousand wives, and who knows how many children.

One phenomenon in Havana is that parents did not mind when I photographed their children and even thanked me for it. ¡Muchas Gracías! But there were other ones—primarily boys who did not mind being photographed, in exchange for a dollar. I usually do not pay to take photographs, but those kids would swarm around you in the tourist areas asking for a dollar—even before you could see them.

Those kids on the streets asking for a dollar and never accepted “No” for an answer. They were not discouraged and persisted to ask for a dollar from any subject, and were not shy to come back.

There are quite a few other beggars on the streets of Havana. Some dressed up in colorful garbs and even had a state license to pose for the tourists for the same dollar (or local equivalent, the cuc—pronounced, kook). Yet others were just street vendors, or musicians. We learned to have enough change in our pockets to help subsidize the meager socialist government contribution.

As soon as the United States will abandon the embargo, thousands of American tourists will flood Havana. Cubans are getting ready and they are building many new hotels as well as opening new, very beautifully decorated restaurants. By that time, begging teenagers will become more persistent and entrepreneurial. Be sure that you have enough change when you visit there. For me, the trip is worth every penny.

Please call or email me for advice on how to visit Cuba.

P.S.

If you enjoyed my photos and like my writing, please check out my book Soy Cubano, I am Cuban. It is available as an e-book for $9.99 on BLURB or you may also purchase a hardcopy here. (The links are also on my website.) I am grateful to you, if you buy one, and send it as a gift to your friends.

DO NOT KEEP ME AS A SECRET.

SMILE AND PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND

Mortgage Solutions for You

*Interest rates are subject to change without notice and do not constitute a commitment to make any loan at any specific rate.

As a general rule, a purchase transaction which requires a mortgage, can be closed within 30 days. We found an exception! One of our lenders, Freedom Mortgage, claims that they can close a mortgage in 12 days or less.

To do this, we need to have a COMPLETE borrowers’ file in our possession to submit for an approval. Not one of the required documents can be missing.

The real estate property itself cannot have any issues and everyone, and I mean everyone, will cooperate to reach the desired objective.

Then we can say Hallelujah!

Whom do you know that might benefit from our tailored mortgage solutions?

Do not keep me as a secret.

SMILE AND PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND

What Is An Enneagram?

“Unless you know yourself, you cannot know others.”

A few years ago, our daughter Alona discovered the Enneagram.Enneagram is a model of human personality, which is principally used as a typology of nine interconnected personality types of human nature. (See the different enneagrams here.)

Alona excitedly called my wife Elfa to share her discovery. When the news reached me, I was not surprised. Not only did I know about it, but I also had a cassette tape set (remember those?) with the program. Since we were planning a family vacation to Hawaii, Elfa decided to transfer the tapes into CD’s and take them with us on the trip. During our drives from one beach to another, we listened to the description of each personality type and tried to identify which one belonged to us.

When it came to number 7, which sounded like my type, I vehemently denied it. (Apparently, it is one of the traits of number 7.) Seven is the perpetual child in a candy store, who wants everything at the same time. This is why I help tailor mortgage solutions for my clients, as well as write and photograph, and teach at the same time.

The reason I’ve chosen to write about this subject is that you have an opportunity to celebrate April 1^st (April Fools Day) at the West Portal Library, with Beatrice Chestnut, author of a new book “The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge”. She will share some of her knowledge and expertise. April Fools Day was first mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Talesin 1392. You can get this book at the Public library.

I regularly visit the West Portal Branch Library. When I find out about a specific book I want to read, my first step is to check it out on Amazon and then I take a trip down the hill from our house on the weekend. If some books are not directly available in the San Francisco library branches, they can be ordered from other affiliated libraries and sent to your preferred location. There is always a friendly librarian who can help you.

Besides borrowing books from the library, you can learn a lot from different teachers. Melissa Riley (West Portal Library 415-355-2886) organizes lectures, which are very interesting. To find more, please contact her at[email protected].

Hope to see you on April 1^st!

Here is a link to a flyer of the Beatrice Chestnut event plus future events at the West Portal Library.

P.S.

There are different types of categories of people with Enneagrams. In Cuba, we met a lot of people who could be a good representative of one of the types of the Enneagram. You have to travel there to find out. Meanwhile, enjoy the images of children from my book Soy Cubano, I am Cuban. It is available as ane-book for $9.99 on BLURB or you may also purchase a hardcopy here. I am grateful to you, if you buy one, and send it as a gift to your friends.

kids5

DO NOT KEEP ME AS A SECRET.

SMILE AND PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND

*Interest rates are subject to change without notice and do not constitute a commitment to make any loan at any specific rate.

I arranged a mortgage for clients two years ago with a major bank. When the interest rate recently came down, we started the process of refinancing into 30 years fixed with the target 4.25% for a Jumbo loan. The clients did not send their documents on time and we missed the rate.

Meanwhile, their bank contacted them and offered refinancing with no cost for 3.50% fixed for 5 years and I almost lost a client!

Luckily, I found another bank who offered 3.375% fixed for 5 years with no closing costs.

We will celebrate after the loan is closed!

You can read about the comeback of Adjustable loans in this Wall Street Journal article.

Whom do you know that might benefit from our tailored mortgage solutions?

Do not keep me as a secret.

SMILE AND PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND

Do Not Be A Fool

“Setting goals is easy. I’ve done it many times.”

After we placed an ad on Craigslist announcing that that we were looking for new agents who want to specialize in commercial loans, I was surprised by the enthusiastic response. Within a month, 5 new agents joined our company. This presented an opportunity for me to create a training program, to help them get better results. I pulled all the manuals I had from years ago when I myself had a coach. Most of the sales training courses start with the suggestion to get results—to set goals. This makes perfect sense. If you do not know where to go, how do you plan to get there?

To paraphrase Mark Twain, setting goals is easy—I’ve done it many times. (He was referring to smoking.) It works for some, (like quitting smoking), however it seems that after the majority of us set lofty goals, there are always obstacles, or excuses why, despite our best intentions, the results are not there. Our weight doesn’t go down and our savings doesn’t go up. Surprisingly, I found the answer or a possible solution to the issue in an obituary.

There was a beautiful write-up about Sid Caesar, an iconic comedian from the 1950’s. There he was quoted,

“Everybody wants to have a goal: I gotta get to that goal, I gotta get to that goal.” He said. “Then you get to that goal, and then you gotta get to another goal. But in between goals is a thing called life that has to be lived and enjoyed—and if you don’t, you’re a fool.”(NY TIMES 2/12/14).

To a certain extent, it was an “a-ha” moment for me. Instead of setting production goals, why not focus on the goals of how to enjoy life? Our work is an important part of our lives; it serves two purposes. For those who enjoy what they do (that includes me), earning money is an added bonus. Therefore, the amount (goal) depends very much on our needs, which can be increased or decreased.

But of course there are the basics—like living expenses. Plus there are extras—paying off debts, private schools for our children, our yearly subscription to the opera or symphony, dinners in fine restaurants, short trips on the weekends, and longer vacations. But what many overlook is the rule of paying myself first— before other bills. This is the basis for emergencies and retirement. After adding up all of the costs, we arrive at the amount that we need to enjoy our lives. This is The Goal.

But all the money in the world will not help one enjoy life. Do not set goals for that reason; just enjoy it. To enjoy my life, my goal in 2014 is to help 200 clients to reach their goals.

Please help me do it.

P.S.

I wrote this story while in The Sea Ranch, where we come to recharge our “batteries”. Flocks of birds were flying in front of our window. They do not set goals and just go with the flow—being attuned with nature. It reminded me of something Jesus said:

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26).

Hope that my images of the birds will serve as a reminder.

DO NOT KEEP ME AS A SECRET.

SMILE AND PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND

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*Divorce settlement special. Cash-out is usually up to 60% LTV. Interest rates are subject to change without notice and do not constitute a commitment to make any loan at any specific rate.

A couple was going through a divorce where a husband wanted to keep the house. They agreed that the value of their home was $800,000. The current mortgage had a balance of $350,000.

To enable him to keep the property, he had to give his ex-wife his share of the difference or $225,000. As a result, his new loan was $575,000 or 72% LTV. For most of the lenders, this transaction is called a “cash-out refinancing”. This triggers an increase in the rate and limits the LTV to 60%.

We found a different solution.

Our lender did not consider it as a cash-out because of the divorce and we were able to close the loan with a low 30 year fixed rate.

To help couples find tailored mortgage solutions, please contact Manny Kagan.

Whom do you know that might benefit from our tailored mortgage solutions?

Do not keep me as a secret.

SMILE AND PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND

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Can You Afford To Retire?

“Retirement is not a physical act, but rather a mental state. ”

Next week on March 11^th, two financial experts (Larry Weiss CFP®, CPA, and Kathryn Amenta,Financial Advisor) and I, will conduct a seminar, “How to Retire Within Your Comfort Zone”.

What prompted me to bring the subject of retirement to your attention was a conversation we had with Peter Karp, who is doing a very good job managing our retirement account. Peter shared some good news with me: “You are not ready to retire. You need to generate revenue for at least two more years.”

I call it “good news”, since I am not planning to retire for another 30 years. Not only that, but I am not even planning to slow down. I would rather start building what I call a “start-up”.

Who said that only young people can do it?

Sure, I do not have their energy anymore, but I have something more valuable—wisdom about how to enjoy my life while doing it. I call my new idea “We R Village”. I will write more about it as we progress.

In my work, I see the whole financial picture of our clients. Not many are ready to retire, even when after working for many years for the same institution, they are laid off. Only a few companies offer pensions nowadays, and it is usually not enough. Real estate properties often become a source to supplement retirement income, if they have enough equity. Some homeowners choose reverse mortgages.

I had a conversation recently with a friend who will retire after working for a major bank for 40 years. Her 401K plan has a significant amount of savings as a result of matched contribution throughout the years. She told me that younger employees are opting out and not participating in this opportunity. They want to have money—NOW! What will they do years later?

Do not get caught! It is never too late to get yourself ready. Look at me!

Hope to see you at the event!

EVENT INFORMATION:

Date: March 11th, 2014
Time: 6:30 pm to 8:30pm
Where: 33 Arroyo Drive, South San Francisco, CA 94080
What: Retirement Seminar

Click here to reserve your seat today!

Call 415-794-4360

(Click to enlarge)

P.S.

In Havana, I met some men, who looked like they were in their retirement age, that either continue to work, or just enjoy life.

DO NOT KEEP ME AS A SECRET.

SMILE AND PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND

Meet Up with Manny!

Meet up with Manny and his friends for a night of sharing common interests and ideas. You will have the opportunity to meet people with common real estate interests who own or want to buy commercial or apartment buildings, share, or address any ideas and concerns.

This month’s Meet up event will take place on:

March 13th at 2345 24th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94116, from 6:30-8:30pm.

Our special guest speaker, Lawrence Souza, will present on “Managing Real Estate Portfolio Risks”.

Lawrence Souza has over 23 years of experience in institutional real estate and securities strategic research. He is a real estate and financial professional, professor, economist, advisor and broker. Mr. Souza has undergraduate and graduate degrees in political science, public administration, economics, finance, and information systems; is an adjunct professor at University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, and Golden Gate University; and is a registered representative and investment advisor.

Interested? Let’s meet up!

Please spread the word and remember to RSVP.

Looking forward to seeing you on March 13th!

MEET UP DETAILS:

Date: Thursday: March 13, 2014
Address: 2345 24th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94116
Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm

RSVP on Meetup.com:
http://www.meetup.com/Bay-Area-Commercial-Real-Estate-Financing/events/169662052/