Mortgage Loans

A Little Present for the Holidays!

Loan Dollar Amounts INCREASE

Caroline Gerardo NMLS 324982 phone 949 784- 9699

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Mortgage Loan Limits UP for California

Some Counties Loan Amounts Increased $15000.+

COUNTY NAME CA /Single Family Duplex Triplex Four Units

ALAMEDA CA $418600 $ 636,150 $ 814,500 $ 984,525 $ 1 ,223,475

ALPINE CA $ 463,450 $ 593,300 $ 717,150 $ 891,250

AMADOR CA $ 424,100 $ 543,000 $ 656,350 $ 815,650

BUTTE CA 17020 $ 424,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

CALAVERAS CA $ 424,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

COLUSA CA $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

CONTRA COSTA CA 41860 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

DEL NORTE CA 18860 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

EL DORADO CA 40900 $ 4 88,750 $ 6 25,700 $ 7 56,300 $ 9 39,900

FRESNO CA 23420 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

GLENN CA $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

HUMBOLDT CA 21700 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

IMPERIAL CA 20940 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

INYO CA $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

KERN CA 12540 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

KINGS CA 25260 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

LAKE CA 17340 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

LASSEN CA 45000 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

LOS ANGELES CA 31080 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

MADERA CA 31460 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

MARIN CA 41860 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

MARIPOSA CA $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

MENDOCINO CA 46380 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

MERCED CA 32900 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

MODOC CA $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

MONO CA $ 5 29,000 $ 6 77,200 $ 8 18,600 $ 1 ,017,300

MONTEREY CA 41500 $ 5 75,000 $ 7 36,100 $ 8 89,800 $ 1 ,105,800

NAPA CA 34900 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

NEVADA CA 46020 $ 4 77,250 $ 6 10,950 $ 7 38,500 $ 9 17,800

ORANGE CA 31080 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

PLACER CA 40900 $ 4 88,750 $ 6 25,700 $ 7 56,300 $ 9 39,900

PLUMAS CA $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

RIVERSIDE CA 40140 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

SACRAMENTO CA 40900 $ 4 88,750 $ 6 25,700 $ 7 56,300 $ 9 39,900

SAN BENITO CA 41940 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

SAN BERNARDINO CA 40140 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

SAN DIEGO CA 41740 $ 6 12,950 $ 7 84,700 $ 9 48,500 $ 1 ,178,750

SAN FRANCISCO CA 41860 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

SAN JOAQUIN CA 44700 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

SAN LUIS OBISPO CA 42020 $ 5 86,500 $ 7 50,800 $ 9 07,550 $ 1 ,127,900

SAN MATEO CA 41860 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

SANTA BARBARA CA 42200 $ 6 25,500 $ 8 00,775 $ 9 67,950 $ 1 ,202,925

SANTA CLARA CA 41940 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

SANTA CRUZ CA 42100 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

SHASTA CA 39820 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

SIERRA CA $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

SISKIYOU CA $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

SOLANO CA 46700 $ 4 31,250 $ 5 52,050 $ 6 67,350 $ 8 29,350

SONOMA CA 42220 $ 5 95,700 $ 7 62,600 $ 9 21,800 $ 1 ,145,600

STANISLAUS CA 33700 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

SUTTER CA 49700 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

TEHAMA CA 39780 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

TRINITY CA $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

TULARE CA 47300 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

TUOLUMNE CA 43760 $ 4 24,100 $ 5 43,000 $ 6 56,350 $ 8 15,650

VENTURA CA 37100 $ 6 36,150 $ 8 14,500 $ 9 84,525 $ 1 ,223,475

YOLO CA 40900 $ 4 88,750 $ 6 25,700 $ 7 56,300 $ 9 39,900

Call C G if you want to know conforming loan amount for any county in the

United States

https://www.carolingerardo.eaglehm.com

call 949 -- 784 -9699

South Coast Plaza Office

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Maximum Loan Limits for Mortgages

Acquired in Calendar Year 2017 and Originated

after 10/1/2011 or before 7/1/2007

(These limits were determined under the provisions of the

Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008)

November 2016

Include business info on homepage.

The most obvious promotional opportunity, your homepage is the best place to share pertinent business information, including an intro to who you are and how you can help clients and prospective clients. About me should be a brief history not a resume. This should be a story readers enjoy. Include details about where you were educated and personal skills.

Develop branding colors, image, selfie, and statement. By statement I mean an elevator speech. This is a one or two sentence about you and your core values. Take time to develop it and say it aloud.
Mine is: I am a creative woman who delivers on my word and offers assistance.

Fill out a detailed biography page.

Be more specific about your goals, certifications, history, past successes and other important facets of your business. This is your chance to let your personality shine.

Fill out your contact page.

The main point to get across here is simple: Tell your audience how they can get in touch with you … .Add links and images of your own. Cell phone, email, fax, and address. Just the facts. Make them large.

Blogger or Wordpress site that you keep updating for life, yes for life. As you develop your blog you will fine tune the site. Always be fixing it. It needs to be done today, not perfect. A blog can be edited as you go. Do not write anything hateful or angry - not ever. What you put on the internet is never really erased. This site is the core to posting original content. It belongs to you, not to a brokerage that you may change over the years. If you don't have the two hundred dollars to basic set up annual fee, then pay someone to customize your website this the the starting point. Once you set the URL name of the blog don't change it. You can start others that dig more specific but time and posting makes this visible. Get familiar with how to post images and one minute videos, about five days a week. Get familiar with your cell phone camera - so close that you understand what every button does and how to hold it without shaking, and free online sites that can help that blurry picture when you don't have the opportunity to re-take it.

Work website, if they provide one, add information: photographs, contact information, listings, if you have no listings put your own home, demonstrate you know about staging, repairs, financing, title, contracts, and time lines. Your brokerage may restrict what you can post here as tightly as only burgundy- this is why customizing your blog site is helpful.

Work on your on-page search engine optimization (SEO).

Creating a quality site that Google will crawl and assign SEO value to is important (assuming you want to get found online, that is), so take the time to add unique content. SEO is constantly changing. Rules of last year no longer apply. Don't pay for this until you deeply understand what it is and how it operates: it's math.

Take 20 one minute videos a week to upload 4 great ones to your Blogger site and save the others to share on other sites. Of the 20 videos two will be good. As you practice with your phone learn to stabilize the images. Improve with practicing. By the time you have 10000 you will have gorgeous videos. I don't suggest upload to utube until you think you have some good ones. DIY How to do How to fix What to clean Articles and Advice get hits. Also humor but that is difficult t balance a professional image with humor, use sparingly.
Watch u-tube videos of your competitors. KNOW who your competitors are. Who is the top listing agent in 10 miles, 20 miles, 50 miles. Who is the king/queen of attracting buyers? This information comes from your savvy lender who has access to reports.

Focus on off-page SEO

On-page is just one side of the SEO coin, though. Off-page SEO tactics include answering user questions on forums and guest posts: like how-to articles. Ask your expert painter, plumber, title person, gardener, and others to write or allow a 1 minute video of a how to plus you write the steps. every website you sign up for make the profile the same. Link all profiles and websites together with links YOU attach. Build a web of arrows to your quiver.

Attend local events and take photos and write about them and upcoming events:

Church, fundraisers, working meetups, parades, open house, realtor events, garage sales,

Blog about the latest news and trends.

The more you post about current events and trends in real estate, the more credibility you gain, so find out what’s going on in your industry and share your opinions on the latest happenings. Don't forget to add tags and search description

Blog about market updates.

Write regularly about secondary real estate information, like providing a unique take on the latest NAR study or discussing the ramifications of a recent jobs report. This info can be found by subscribe to Inman and other real estate sites and reading industry resources. I don't pay for subscriptions, I contribute in exchange. I have sold articles to news outlets but sometimes giving a free article to Huffing ton Post or your local Patch is useful.

Blog evergreen content.

Evergreen content is simply content that isn’t time-sensitive. So you could write educational posts (how-tos) or list articles (like top-10 pieces) that will still be relevant and useful years down the line.

Blog interviews or Q&As.

More blog content, you say? Darn right. Consider talking to industry experts, fellow agents and brokers, and perhaps even those in the mortgage and home renovation/construction business to create unique posts.

Social sharing buttons.

From your homepage to your blog, you’re going to want to build social media share buttons so your visitors can share your wonderful content on Facebook, Twitter and the like. ask me how!

Put out press releases.

Yes, press releases are still a thing. In fact, when published properly — meaning on your site and reputable online publications — they can bring a fair amount of traffic and generate company interest. Can be done for free BUT learn how to write one! Facts and figures and events are great in a press release. Give news reporters something they need.

Submit your site map to Google.

Google uses to learn about all of your website’s info and pages. When Google knows about all of your sites, they’ll become searchable.

Create comprehensive ebooks.

Long-form content like ebooks perform well, and are great resources for your clients. Here, you can dive deeper into subjects like guiding buyers through the home buying process. This is a year-long project. Outline, write, edit and have others edit. Can be uploaded on Amazon for free, print books cost a little

Develop visually appealing infographics.

If you want to get even fancier, put your design skills to the test and create a graphic that showcases interesting stats and noteworthy trends. There are vendors for this but can be done online for free.

Create a SlideShare.

Whether it’s repurposed ebook and infographic content or a brand new kind of visual treat, SlideShare allows you to be simultaneously informative and creative.

Put together a Flipboard or use Google slide presentations

Similar to SlideShare, this provides a unique reading experience for your audience. This is a great way to show company news or feature articles in a visually appealing way.

Create an industry or market report.

If you want to go all out, set aside some research time and put together a study, report or survey to provide prospective buyers and those interested in the real estate market some original insights and perspectives.

Offer information and quotes for a report.

And if you don’t want to put together your own report, put out a feeler to industry journalists, experts and pros who may be working on ones of their own for which you could contribute your two cents.

Promote your work on your personal blog. Listings, buyer stories, links to movers, house cleaners, packers, deals

In addition to business blogs, many real estate agents have personal ones they also attend to from time to time. Every once in a while, mention your work to inform those who may not realize what it is you do.

Get thought leaders to contribute content.

Know of some great real estate or business minds you’d like to feature on your blog? Ask them if they’d like to contribute an original post, such as an op-ed.

Get quotes from thought leaders for your content.

For your own content, ask the same experts if they don’t mind throwing in a quote for your blog post or ebook. Many professionals jump at the chance to get their names in others’ content, so a simple email to these folks is all you need to pique their interest Offer freemium content.

When people fill out a form with their personal info to sign up for something like a newsletter, reward them for their efforts with a free piece of premium content, like an in-depth ebook. Speaking of forms …

Optimize your website forms.

Whether it’s to receive specific info on a listing or sign up for an email newsletter, forms can promote your services and get you new leads. The key is offering a reason for visitors to fill out these forms.

Create a Facebook Business Page.

If you haven’t already done this, just know it’s a surefire way to connect with your audience. After all,many Realtors use Facebook for a reason: Buyers head to the network to scope out listings all the time. Add images, short videos, information to attract interest. Be helpful

Promote yourself on personal Facebook account.

As with your personal blog, you may want to be more subtle with promotion of your business here. Many friends and family you’re connected with likely don’t want to be sold on new listings hitting the market (at least not all the time).

Post your content on Facebook.

That new blog post on single-family home construction rising or that ebook on the small-scale renovation projects homeowners can undertake? Toss links to them on the site to spread your knowledge.
Who are top agents in your farm or market area? What are they doing daily?

Post listings info and photos on Facebook.

Same goes with listings on your IDX: Post info on local homes you can find, and include clear and enticing images of the properties as well.

Create a Group on Facebook.

Want to get local real estate agents and brokers together to discuss the latest industry goings-on (or simply get together for drinks or dinner once a month)? Start a Facebook Group. Who knows? This could bring about your next closed deal.

Like others’ Facebook content.

You’d be surprised how many people connect by simply through Facebook’s like button. After reading a great article or noticing an astute comment, use the feature to let the person in question know you’re a fan of their content or views.

On to Twitter, where you can chirp ’til your heart’s content. Don't bother with haters. Share things that are good and positive. Stay clear of politics and religion but share good causes, then tweet it some more … and more … and even more. One of the great things about the social media outlet: You can reshare over and over and not seem repetitive.

Retweet others.

Just like you would when you find great Facebook content, share others’ content on Twitter who offer unique takes or make interesting quips and comments. Tweet lifespans are pretty short, but do this often enough and you’ll get noticed.

39) Conduct a Twitter Q&A.

One of the more intriguing and valuable ways to utilize Twitter. You can promote a distinct hashtag to use for the Q&A well prior to the event and get queries from a wide variety of people — some of whom may end up in your CRM database after it’s completed.

40) Take part in a Twitter Q&A.

To get a good feel for how these sessions go, you can be the one who asks questions and find others involved in the digital convo to gauge their purpose for joining.

41) Start a LinkedIn Company Page.

LinkedIn is often deemed the professional’s social network, and while you may think you’ll only find other agents and brokers there.

42) Join LinkedIn Groups.

You’ll find there are numerous niche groups on the site that have ongoing, thoughtful conversations. Join in on the fun to promote your brand and share your observations and wisdom.

43) Start LinkedIn Groups.

Similar to Facebook Groups, consider beginning your own small community on LinkedIn. For example, if you want to find Realtors in your region, search for them on the site and invite them to the group. They could end up being valuable connections.

44) Post content on LinkedIn.

Post away with your in-depth blog posts on your LinkedIn Company Page, and be sure to track analytics of those posts with the social platform’s handy-dandy Insights tool. /find timely information and share and ask questions DO not share bikini ads they will go nute

45) Create a Google+ profile.

Make your profile brand in same colors but not mirror the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other profiles. Write your brand statements on a word doc and double check spelling. You may not want to include personal information about your children or home address. Because hackers can grab your information I suggest you enter the wrong date of birth and continue using it on all social media sites. suggest this to your children: don't put home address, home city or date of birth everything we provide is farmed. Similar posting features to Facebook and LinkedIn allow for further spreading of your range of content.

46) Host Google+ Hangouts.

Hangouts allow for you to invite a small group of people to join in on a video chat. A great example of using this expert tool: Providing educational info and advice to qualified leads on the lookout for an agent to help out with their home search.

47) Add people to your Google+ Circles.

Create a circle solely to include real estate pros like yourself and one for leads so you can easily organize your connections. Maybe even your family circle will lead to … well … leads.
Publish photos and videos on Instagram.

Listings, neighborhoods, home interiors and exteriors, interesting amenities, local hot spots for food — the world is your oyster with Instagram and what you can post to the site.

Pin and repin items on Pinterest.

Another visual social medium that allows for some creative posts, such as text overlay covering images of properties you’ve sold to show off your work. Repinning others’ content can also attract those who enjoy looking at incredible real estate photography.

Create educational YouTube videos.

Creating great real estate videos is an art form. Learn from the experts how to develop top-tier videos and create basic ones to start, like how-to clips buyers will find informative.

Create listings YouTube videos.

In addition to educational videos, show off the properties in your area. These can include still photos in a video slideshow or recorded clips of homes’ interiors and exteriors.

Create market update YouTube videos.

With some creative juices, you can make an explanatory video detailing market news and conditions into a captivating one that gets you countless views.
Create client testimonial YouTube videos.

An excellent way to get new business? Allow old business to promote you for you. Put a camera on satisfied clients and let them explain how great you are.

Use Vine.

What kind of message can you get across in six seconds? Not my cup of tea, but you may find ways to post simple information but you can still make short clips of homes for sale to give buyers a glimpse of what you have to offer.

Contribute to Medium.

Lots of great business and marketing content can be found here. The site features unfiltered posts from professionals in several industries and is gaining more readership all the time. If your post gets enough clicks, you could end up on top of the homepage, making you visible to many, many people.

Contribute to BuzzFeed.

The converse of Medium, in numerous respects. However, the website gets millions of views each week (if not daily), so get a post to go viral and you could win in a big way (and if you can involve cats in your post, all the better).
Use Meetup.com to set up events/meetings.

Attend a meetup to understand the format then organize your own to discuss Realtor rule changes or other business matters or with community members to go over local housing conditions. Join Realtor organizations.

Consider becoming a fully certified Realtor and enjoy the array of benefits the National Association offers including ways to broaden your business. Local boards have weekly meetings. Go and meet everyone. Talk, smile, be open

Hold a webinar.

Several oft-used webinar hosting sites make conducting one a cinch. Spread the word you’re holding one weeks in advance to get the biggest audience possible. Join a webinar.

Similarly, listen in on webinars from other pros, organizations and brands to learn new sales and marketing techniques and a whole range of other useful info.

Create your own podcast.

If you have some free time each week, create a podcast. Many real estate pros use these to discuss the latest industry happenings, like mortgage rate news and changes that may affect prospective buyers and sellers. Discuss whatever you’re passionate about.

Join industry podcasts.

Seek out fellow real estate agents who run regular podcasts and ask if you can join one soon. Prepare accordingly for the subject(s) to be discussed, though.

Send out email newsletters to your following.

Email marketing is very much alive and kicking. Emailing your lead lists can move them through the sales funnel with ease. Just be sure to follow best practices, don't use foul language and offer opt out to avoid ending up in recipients’ SPAM folders. Emails MUST be useful or they will delete you.

Comment in forums and message boards.

Think of any major real estate news and information site you visit often: It probably allows for comments, right? Chime in on topics you consider yourself extremely knowledgeable about and help others with any dilemmas they may have.

Join general business groups and organizations.

Many real estate agents and brokers think when they join a group they’re obligated to attend all meetings and events or join in on all webinars and screen casts. Simply sign up for some and determine if they can offer you anything of value, like day-to-day business advice.
Other structured groups like Le Tip can be useful if you commit to attending every meeting and swapping leads. These groups cost money.

Create a Yelp page.

This may scare the bejeezus out of agents and brokers, but if you’ve got plenty of happy clients, see if they’d be willing to give you a positive review.

Speak at conferences.

Okay, this is technically cheating on our part, but remember that attendees of events and conferences tend to tweet/post what speakers have to say. In essence, they spread the word about you to their networks.

Answer questions on Quora and Yahoo Groups.

Similar to message boards, but people with specific questions tend to come to these groups looking for specific answers. Be the one to enlighten them.
Post your services on Craigslist.

Not the first place many agents go to promote themselves, but millions of people use the site to buy products and services each year — and that includes real estate (believe it or not). Be very careful on Craigslist many scams.

List yourself on local directories.

Google, Yahoo and Bing all have local directories, so take advantage of the search engines’ services and add your work info. Update the listings when needed so the details never become dated. this takes time, There are services to do this but I don't suggest paying for them. Build for an hour a day

Ensure your website is responsive.

It can’t be said enough that making the website flow, links work, biography and contact information is current and add new content. Consumers vastly prefer responsive sites they can view with ease on their smartphones and tablets — and even ditch visiting sites that aren’t responsive.

Be open and available.

Sometimes, the best way to promote yourself is to simply be active with audience engagement. If someone emails you, get back to them quickly. If they ask a question on social media, respond to it right away. These personal touches go a long way in building client trust.