Force Four Entertainment and Oprah Winfrey have given me the go-ahead to finally release more information about the new reality show where my mortgage team plays a big role. The show is called Million Dollar Neighbourhood and it was filmed in Aldergrove, BC. Filming completed this past December and it’s been one heck of a ride since August.

The show premieres Sunday January 22nd on OWN at 5pm PST & 8pm ET. CLICK HERE for more details and the trailer. Believe it or not but it’s already picked up American syndication! The concept of this show has never been done before and it couldn’t come at a better time. I am honored to have been selected as the lead mortgage broker for the show.

Please navigate here for the full 7 page discussion: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/ask-a-mortgage-broker-variable-or-fixed/article2231134

Thanks again to Gillian at the Globe and Mail for allowing me the opportunity!

“Vancouver mortgage broker Jessi Johnson says a mortgage broker can help you with all aspects of a mortgage, from figuring out how much you can truly afford, to determining the best mortgage product for you, to finding ways to save you money and pay off your mortgage faster.

In addition, you should expect your mortgage broker to review your mortgage a few times a year to see how you can pay it off faster, whether it’s still the right product for you, and if it’s still competitive. “It’s very rare that you’re going to get that service from a bank,” he says.”

“Mr. Johnson says you should look for someone with several years experience, who is licensed, and has the title AMP – accredited mortgage professional. Mortgage brokers are regulated provincially so you can check with your provincial regulator on the website for the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals. The organization also has an online directory that can help your search for a broker.

“Like every industry there are rookies, so be careful when researching your broker, get a good idea about their experience before proceeding,” he suggests.

Many brokers now do the bulk of their work online, Mr. Johnson says, and that’s not an issue as long as there’s enough communication with the client either via e-mail or over the phone – and their online application process is secure. “To be honest, the majority of our clients don’t leave their living room, and I don’t blame them,” he says.”

“Mortgage brokers are paid their fee by the lender, not by the person who is using the mortgage broker’s service, says Mr. Johnson. “There’s no cost for the client.” Be aware though, whether you’re doing a new mortgage, a refinancing or renewal, to ask whether there are any legal or appraisal fees, he says. Legal fees for a new mortgage can be about $1,000, but sometimes a lender may cover both legal and appraisal fees; you just have to ask.

Right now, one of the big questions for those looking for a mortgage is whether to go for a fixed or variable mortgage, says Mr. Johnson. While historically variable mortgages have had better rates than fixed mortgages, that’s not necessarily the case right now.

“Any time the fixed and variable rates are very close I do recommend going fixed and they are close right now,” he says. Up until recently about 90 per cent of the mortgages he arranged were variable, but now more are fixed.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/home-cents/why-use-a-mortgage-broker/article2232577

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Whatever the reason, Vancouver mortgage broker Jessi Johnson has been selected to appear on a new reality series about finances. He’s not giving away any details about the show, except to say it will hit “North American television” in 2012. And he’s pretty thrilled about it.

Jessi won’t even tell us who’s behind it. Is it the Donald? He has a thing for hairstyles, you know. How about Mark Burnett? A third big fish in the reality-TV world is Pilgrim Films & Television, which relies heavily on Whitecap Alpine Adventures owner Lars Andrews. When he’s not running his B.C. ski lodge, Andrews is the coordinating producer of the Emmy-winning Out of the Wild.

Here’s one thing you can bet on: Jessi won’t be appearing on Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew. Gary Busey and Dennis Rodman can relax—they don’t have to worry about being upstaged by a local mortgage broker.

CLICK HERE to view the story on Georgia Straight’s website

By Charlie Smith (Georgia Straight)

Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight

“I had heard about this occurring back in the day – in the 80s or 90s – but it hadn’t ever encountered this until recently,” Jessi Johnson, president of Verico Jessi Johnson Mortgage Team, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “I’ve had about three or four recent cases where the banks were willing to eat the penalty in order to keep a refinancing client”. The scenario is similar to those of a handful of brokers working the increasingly competitive Vancouver market, as banks and large credit unions sharpen their elbows in order to grow and retain clients. That contest has been largely limited to rate wars. The newfound willingness of banks to assume responsibility for penalties attached to premature closing is a relatively new and disturbing addition to the battlefield, said Johnson. Other brokers suggest the tool is being applied at the branch level, and outside of any corporate-wide policy directive. The effects, regardless, are the same. When it comes to a lender eating a penalty that is larger than the commission they’re paying brokers,” said Johnson, “we as brokers can’t compete. Thankfully, we’re seeing it used in a limited number of cases and it represents an unsustainable strategy for the banks.”

Banks, and other institutional lenders have traditionally used penalties , including an IRD – a rate equal to the difference between the original mortgage rate and the interest that the lender could charge today for the same mortgage– to compensate themselves when a client opts to pay off a fixed-rate mortgage prior to maturity. That penalty has actually grown as lenders lower their rates to keep pace with falling bond yields. It makes the willingness of some lenders to now forfeit those charges all the more remarkable.

Todd Fralic, an industry veteran and partner at Quantus Mortgage Solutions in Calgary, has seen the approach before, although without the rate match that Johnson and others are pointing to.

“It happens,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “But usually, in our experience, the banks make it up on the back-end, with a slightly higher rate. Nothing surprises me with the banks offering deals that don’t seem to be good business.”

They’re not necessarily alone, with some brokers themselves offering to pay a prospective client’s penalty in order to get them to break an existing mortgage.

“Well I think having business is better than not having business, so in my opinion you should do whatever it takes to retain a client,” Jackson Cunningham, a broker with TMG The Mortgage Group in Vancouver, told MortgageBrokerNews. “Although I prefer to see something in writing from their bank before I will buy down a rate or pay for a penalty.” Still it’s not necessarily an approach he’s used, despite recently losing deals to banks that have, at least in one case, offered the eqivalent of prime minus 115 in order to retain a client.

Eating penalties may be even less sustainable for brokers than the banks, said Johnson, suggesting he’s done better by salvaging the client-broker relationship after the deal goes south…to the competition. “I’ve lost the deal but not the client,” he told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “I plan to actively maintain my relationship with the client in hopes of winning back their business in the future.”

CLICK HERE to view the story on CMP’s website

By Vernon Clement Jones (CMP Magazine)

“Leads from social media – Facebook and Twitter – and our newsletters account for 20 to 25 per cent of our leads,” Jessi Johnson, president of Verico Jessi Johnson Mortgage Team, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “It’s hard to know exactly what percentage of that is specifically from Facebook or Twitter or the newsletter, but I’m using social media to help me stay on the radar of prospective leads and to help me cement name recognition.” Johnson, in fact, has 15,000 followers on Twitter, one of the highest in the industry. It’s a carefully selected list of potential and existing clients, although the idea is to create a social connection as well as to help position himself as an expert on mortgages, said Johnson, one of the industry’s first to incorporate social media lead-generation methods into his marketing strategy. “About 25 per cent of my Tweets and my Facebook posts are personal,” he said. “If you talk mortgages all day, you’re going to bore people to death.”

Lam, who also opts for a softer sales technique, agrees.

“Rather than use Social Media as blatant request for business, we try hard to create content that is engaging,” he said. “Ultimately, we want our users to dialogue with us.”

Still, for brokers, the volume of users is key, say experts, with the most effective networks measured in the tens of thousands of followers and Facebook friends. Gaining that kind of audience is a challenge in itself, according to brokers who make a point of following prospective clients first in hopes they’ll reciprocate.

“By following someone, you’re paying them a compliment and they’ll usually follow you,” said Johnson. “You have to be on social media these days: it is the new method for communication; I have friends that don’t even read an email; you have to keep pretty active on it, though. Having a Twitter account of 200 or 300 people isn’t going to do anything for you.”

Still, even ardent believers in the power of social media to grow referral and, ultimately, deals, suggest it’s best used as a complement to more orthodox marketing tools, not a replacement.

CLICK HERE to view the story on CMP’s website

By Vernon Clement Jones (CMP Magazine)

I would like to take this time and state that the Best Customer Service award is only possible because of our amazing Account Manager Traci Merkel. We are honoured to have been nominated for one award, led alone four. Thank you Canada for noticing our efforts!

Canada’s national mortgage broker magazine and national awards have nominated Jessi Johnson and his team for four awards in 2011.

• Best Customer Service (individual office)
• Best New Brokerage (under 25 brokers)
• Best Branding
• Best Internet Presence

I would like to take this time and state that the Best Customer Service award is only possible because of our amazing Account Manager Traci Merkel. We are honoured to have been nominated for one award, led alone four. Thank you Canada for noticing our efforts!

Best regards,

Jessi Johnson and team