Paramount Pool and Spa Systems

Update: Sign up for the Finance Q&A Webinar on March 24 here: http://www.1paramount.com/webinar/pcf/

Are you linked to Paramount Capital’s new website?  There are now 96,000+ reasons to do so, if you are not!  In 2010, www.newpoolfinancing.com received over 96,000 visits, and if January and February of 2011 are any indication of what’s to come, that number is going to increase dramatically.

We are very pleased to announce that our new website is up and running!  Not only do we have a great new look, but we have added new resources and features for Paramount dealers and their customers.  Here are some of the new features and some highlights of the services we provide to our Paramount dealers:

–NEW Resource page for your website (log-in required)

– Increase your leads and visibility: Newpoolfinancing.com received over 96,000 visits in 2010

–Customized finance link and web-page for your website

–Free service for your customers

–NEW professional, clean look and application process

–NEW automatic email response to you and your customer anytime an

application is completed on your customized finance link

The finance link that we offer exclusively to Paramount dealers has taken on a life of its own this past year.  Depending on how and where you place the link on your website, really determines its effect on your business.  We are seeing a lot of Paramount dealers receive a large increase in phone activity and leads through the link.  To help capture this business and to further offer better service, we have created an automated response email customized to each dealer’s finance link.  Now, any customer that applies on a dealer’s customized finance link, not only will the customer receive an email response acknowledging the receipt of the application, but the dealer will included on that email, thanking the customer for choosing Paramount Capital and that dealer!  This allows dealers to know who has exactly applied on their finance link.

Website activity is up, applications are up and approvals are up.  Our lender programs continue to get better.  Let Paramount Capital help your business thrive in 2011!

Scott Pleasant/Finance Manager

The Federal Open Market Committee recently (Dec. 1) released a report showing slow but continued improvement in the economy for October thru November. The report in general was positiveshowing increased consumer spending.  Consumer confidence also recently showed some improvement.  While these are good trends it will still take some time and more positive economic news to see any real impact on lending and financing overall.  Credit rating and debt ratio remain the two most important factors for consumers in obtaining a loan right now.  The large banks are once again posting large profits but have not loosened their lending guidelines due to a number of factors.  Some of which include employment, the economy as a whole and the banks anticipated losses from ongoing and future foreclosures (along with the government reviewing all banks foreclosure processes).

Interest rates remain very attractive, both on the secured and unsecured sides of lending.  Mortgage rates are still hovering around historic lows for both 30 year and 15 year terms.  Rates for home equity lines of credit (HELOC) and second mortgages are also doing very well.  Unsecured loans and credit lines of credit carry higher rates than mortgage/secured products but continue to be low, relatively speaking.  Here at Paramount Capital, we continue to educate customers on the current “cost of money” as it compares not only to the past but also to the near future, as rates will have to rise at some point.  Interest rates have remained historically low for quite some time now, so it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when interest rates will rise.  The Federal Reserve will have to raise interest rates when the economy demonstrates sustained economic growth and to combat possible inflation. If a customer is in the market and wants/needs to finance, it is a great time to take advantage of the current interest rates and overall cost of financing a pool.

Despite the conservative lending market that continued this year, 2010 produced some successes here at Paramount Capital.  One of which was our ability to partner with new lenders and offer some of the most aggressive lending programs out there. It has been refreshing to find and work with excellent lending institutions that still believe in “make sense” lending.  We will continue to be proactive and aggressive in getting out in front of new lending opportunities and programs in 2011.

The enhancement of the Paramount Capital web-link program this year was also a success worth highlighting (available to all approved Paramount dealers only) and we are excited to announce a whole new look to our site for 2011.  With applications for 2010 up over 2009, along with a large increase in traffic on our Paramount Capital website, we feel this is a great time to enhance and improve our website for our dealers and their customers.  Keep an eye out for our official announcement but our target date is early 2011.  There will be a whole new look to the site and we are very pleased to announce a new “resource” page/tool for the site, where Paramount dealers can go and utilize different marketing tools, icons, and announcements to compliment and enhance their current websites for financing. The Paramount Capital website link is providing leads for many of our dealers and our goal is to help all our dealers in communicating to customers that there are financing options out there and that Paramount dealers can provide that thru their partnership with Paramount Capital’s services.

Last week, Paramount Capital Finance announced that one of our partnered lenders just extended their loan terms on a popular UNSECURED program. For now this program is only available in the following states: AL, AZ, CA, FL, NM and TX

We received an email early last week from Frank and Tammy, a wonderful couple building a new pool for their daughter who has Epilepsy. They had some great words to say about our finance manager, Scott Pleasant. With permission, here is a little bit of what they wrote:

Madison was diagnosed with Epilepsy at 18 months and has struggled to gain control over her seizures. Unfortunately she has suffered some brain damage because of the seizure activity over the years and she is unable to enjoy many of the activities that kids her age enjoy. Swimming always came natural to her and she loves it! She has limited speech and couldn’t say swimming she would always call it “fun”. So when Madison says she wants to go “fun” she means she wants to go swimming.

We got the pool bug 5 almost 6 years ago when we saw how her face lights up when she is in the pool. Unfortunately we had just moved into a new home and new it would be a few years before we could get a pool. A few years ago we made a serious attempt at purchasing a pool but still did not have enough equity in the home. As Madison got older it became more important to us to get her that pool. Her seizures have robbed her of childhood friends to play with and the ability to do fun things together. As her parents we are determined to make her life as enjoyable as possible and that means a pool! So we decided to try again this year. So this blog will not only be about the journey of building a pool but also about the wonderful people we have met along the way.

So far we have encountered three wonderful people. John Higdon & Chris Miazga from Venture Pools and Scott Pleasant from Paramount Capital. The first time we met John was the night we got home from the hospital. Madison had a seizure inside of a Target Store the night before and we spent the next 24 hours in two different ER’s. So when John came to the house Frank and I had not slept at all but we didn’t want to lose our appointment because the pool meant too much to us and to Madison. John was wonderful – he forgave all the sleep deprived comments and gibberish. He understood our need for safety and shading in and around the pool. He listened and made the entire process easy and stress free!! We certainly needed that after the night we had in the emergency rooms in Rockwall and Medical City. I am not sure how many changes we went through but John acted as if it didn’t bother him in the least. It’s important that you are happy with your pool and that’s all that matters he kept saying. He was truly amazing. Once we settled on the pool we wanted it was time to work through the financing which is where we began talking with Chris Miazga with Venture. Unfortunately purchasing a luxury item like a pool in these economic times is not the easiest thing to do. In fact I think we were told it would be easier for us to purchase a 50k car than a pool. I guess cars really are easier to repo than a pool! Chris didn’t give up and he was great through the entire thing very informative and helpful.

It was during the finance process we came across Paramount Capital and spoke to Scott Pleasant. I will say this – his last name is very fitting. He was extremely pleasant to talk to and work with throughout the entire finance process. He explained each step of each process discussed our options with us and guided us in the right direction. I genuinely believed Scott had our best interest at heart. I just can’t say enough wonderful things about our experience with Scott at Paramount Capital.

In the mail today we got a package from Scott. He sent a goodie bag filled with pool toys, t-shirt and hat all of which were wonderful and truly unexpected. But what I loved the most was the hand written card to my beautiful daughter wishing her “fun” in her new pool. I had told Scott that Madison calls swimming fun and not only did he remember but he thought enough of her to send her a card with a great goodie bag and anyone who knows Madison knows she loves her bags!!

We appreciate this family for sharing their thoughts and experiences with us. If you’d like to follow how the pool is coming along, you can check out their blog at: http://franktammymadison.blogspot.com/

We are in the process of developing a more efficient way for builders to link Paramount Capital Finance to their websites.  The web link is proving to be an excellent tool for our dealers and I would like to encourage our dealers to utilize this service.  You can still get a link on your site now while we are waiting for IT to complete the backend of the new process.  We’ll let everyone know when the new process is completed and ready to go.

The link is a great tool for our builders. It enhances your site with an option for your customers.  It provides a secure way for your customer to apply, while also providing us in the financing dept., a great way of tracking your customers’ applications.  It is a very efficient and streamlined system for your customers and the pre-approval process.

You can call me or just put a request in online:

https://www.newpoolfinancing.com/contactus.html

Thanks,

Scott Pleasant

Finance Manager
480.946.6147