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"It's impossible said pride. It's risky said experience. It's pointless said reason. Give it a try said the heart." Unknown Victor and Vera Vossen leaned into each other as they sat together on the swing on their front porch. It was a rare moment to relax and enjoy watching the sunset from their farmhouse in the country. The Vossens admittedly were city folks. But their dream of being self-sustaining and making a profit living on their rural homestead took shape shortly after the pandemic.
Victor's employer allowed him to start working from home. Vera was already running her business from home, even when they lived in the big city. As they sat on the porch swing, Victor and Vera reflected on the lessons learned when they left the city for life in the country. Within the first month of living in the rural farmhouse, their dream seemed…
The PGA tour is underway now with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am scheduled for Feb 3-6 and the PGA Championship taking place MAY 19 – 22, 2022 at Southern Hills CC, Tulsa, OK. Eager golf fans are ready to be a part of the game be it live on the course or watching via streaming apps.
I have long been a Pebble Beach resident and have spent many enjoyable days on the course with friends and well-known sports names. My dear friend the late actor James Garner and I were regular players there and he really wasn’t someone you wanted to make much noise around when he was concentrating! As you know, Pebble Beach isn’t just the No. 1 public course in America. Pebble Beach is the No. 1 Golf Resort in America. Reminiscing about old friends and neighbors and a stunningly beautiful course led me to revisit the change in months for the…
Obviously, the media surrounding Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ stance on his personal decision to not get the COVID-19 vaccine to inoculate him from the virus that is raging our country is of great concern to the National Football League as well as the effect it has on the rest of our country. As a member of an organization (Green Bay Packers) does a single individual have that right to not participate? Does his individual decision affect his teammates?
As you ponder the situation with Rodgers also consider the case of Novak Djokovic, arguably the best male tennis player in the world. Djokovic, a Serbian professional tennis player was recently denied entry into Australia to play the 2022 Australian Open and was deported from Australia after losing an appeal against visa cancellation. He was denied an opportunity to seek his tenth trophy which would break his own record as well as…
Your phone rings in the middle of a typical routine day. You click to answer, and the voice on the other line delivers a message that spins your life into a completely different reality. So, what do YOU do when you are smacked from your blindside? Try these four steps if the unexpected circumstance negatively affects your income or your expenses.
1st- Don't panic. Take deep breaths, pray and put together a plan. A clear mind and a hopeful heart will help you create a sound strategy. Where do you need to be? What products and services does your family absolutely NEED? 2nd- Restructure your budget to have money left over each month to put into savings and for emergencies. If you need to lower overall payments with creditors, call them to see if you can get the interest rate or minimum payments reduced. Can you pick up…
I have shared for the last six months my concerns about inflation, higher mortgage rates, and what all of this will mean to the housing and mortgage industries. I maintained the position of: “If you like it, LOCK IT” so everyone could avoid the unpleasant rise in rates that was before us. We have dealt with significant volatility on an almost daily basis, but sooner or later we had to break away from the bottom of the rate market in a meaningful way, and it appears that point has come. Mortgage rates have gone up significantly since the beginning of the year as we have lost about (depending on which coupon you track) 200 bps and as treasuries continue to climb. The FED is painfully behind the curve as they finally had to admit inflation was real and that they were surprised by how bad things really were. The good…
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” Colin Powell Are you ready for the economic changes coming in 2022? Game changers this year are the rise in inflation to 40-year highs and the promise from the Federal Reserve to raise their rates multiple times throughout the year. Mortgage rates tend to go up with inflation and the rates on most equity lines and credit cards go up when the Federal Reserve rates go up. Here are some maintenance tips you don’t need to ignore: YOUR CREDIT AND CREDIT SCORE Keeping your credit score high allows you to enjoy getting lower interest rates when you borrow to buy a car or a house. You have a high credit score if your score is 760 to 850 on the FICO scoring system. A good score is 740 to 759. If your…
2022 is here and the first full week is ending. What a powerful first few days it has been for sure. After a record setting 2021 for mortgage purchase dollar volume of more than $1.6 TRILLION in closed purchased loans, is everyone ready for an even better 2022? It will be better for you the better your balance of purchase to refinance volume is. I know many of you may not been aware at the record dollar volume for any number of reasons, but if you were a purchase focused originator, your dollar volume should have been the best it’s ever been! If it wasn’t, you really need to take stock and pay attention, you won’t have trillions of dollars in refinances to carry the load. The strategies on the purchase side require some effort and consistency, and it isn’t about calling realtors and setting coffee or lunch appointments. You…
“A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.” Successories You just parked your car in the driveway, unpacked your suitcase and holiday presents and swept the last of New Year’s confetti out of the floorboard. Once inside the house, you flip on the news to get the latest financial headlines. Inflation, higher interest rates and increasing real estate values are the headlines. It’s time for another road trip—a financial road trip, using your real estate to protect your finances.
No one has a crystal ball, but history tells us that inflation erodes the value of our money and higher interest rates reduce our buying and borrowing power. Which road do we take to protect ourselves against inflation and rising rate market forces? Here are the routes some homeowners decided to take to protect their wealth based on…
“It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.” www.inspirational-picture-quotes.com Are you thinking about buying a home this year but not sure if this is a good time to do it? Let’s explore the trail map for real estate and mortgages in 2022. Ask yourself these questions to give you confidence and make your journey more enjoyable.
Questions to Answer: How long do you plan to keep this property? 1. (Will the property appreciate enough using conservative predictions to allow you to sell at a profit?) If you need to sell within the next two to three years, could you rent it for more than your house payment and maintenance costs? 2. Does the house payment fit comfortably enough into your budget to cover the mortgage payment and repairs on the home if you could not sell later and did not want to rent…
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Yesterday was a bad day for bonds. A poor 7yr note auction pushed the UMBS 30 2.5% coupon down 36bps to a floor of support at 101.80, while the 10yr T rose 8bps to 1.55, which is just 5 bps below the current ceiling of resistance of 1.60. I always get nervous when the markets move sharply right before a holiday weekend, and with this weekend bringing in the New Year, it bears watching closely. As I have maintained for a while now, if you like it, LOCK IT! I am interested to see activity in the housing markets this weekend. With buyers still hungry for homes and the excuse of waiting to after the holidays are over now past, it will be very interesting to see the first few weeks of January go, especially if we see mortgage rates ticking up as well. So be aware of the markets…
The FED had it’s meeting this week and made some observations and projections that they supported with their “FACTS”. While Jerome Powell has tried to bury his whole “tapering” comments with a simple shrug of the shoulders and the comment that we won’t use the word transitory any longer, it doesn’t absolve the facts that keep getting shared are just as big a fantasy going forward. So how about we just get real here for the next few minutes. With all the data the FED looks at, it’s hard not to see they almost always ignore reality. CPI & PPI are significantly flawed measurements because one doesn’t take a real measure of costs, especially food, energy, and housing. When they do look at those numbers, the measurements they use so far behind the reality, it almost makes it a moot point. The other makes assumptions as to how much of…
The last few days of 2021 are upon us and now we begin the final countdown to 2022. A simple checklist of tasks and items will help create a smooth transition form year to year and allow you to enjoy as much time as possible enjoying family and friends. 1. Get very clear as to your calendar. What loans are left to close, is everything complete on those files, are they scheduled to be completed, and is everyone on the same schedule? 2. When are people open and when are they closed? Never assume everyone is working the same schedule as you are, even in your own company! 3. What are your targets for events and time off? Don’t play the holidays by ear! Be aware of what you want and need to do! 4. Personally contact everyone of your unclosed pre-approvals from 2021 and find out status, update as…
“The Only Bad Time to Buy Property is LATER” simplimihomes.com You have searched for several weeks, looking for the right house to make your new home. You finally walk through the door of the perfect house, but other people are making competitive offers to buy this same house. How much do you offer to pay without paying too much?
Here are five points to consider: 1. Set up your budget and stick to it. Review your bank statements and credit card statements. How much is your income? What expenditures can you eliminate or replace with something less expensive? What debts can you restructure to help your cash flow? After considering all of this, determine the maximum house payment you can comfortably afford. How much can you comfortably pay down at closing without disturbing your emergency fund? Make allowances in your budget for repairs and unexpected events. …
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