“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 market predictions:

Lower Rate-Lower Payment-The Smiths refinanced and lowered their interest rate and freed up a few hundred dollars per month by lowering their mortgage payment.  They plan to take part of the extra money and pay off variable rate debt. The other part of their savings is to take some memorable vacations. 

Refinance to Shorten Term and Pay Off Mortgage Sooner-The Millers have ratcheted down their mortgage rate and eliminated ten years off their mortgage term. Now they can retire without being tied down to a mortgage payment. 

Refinance Using Cash Out to Restructure Finances- The Garcia family took this opportunity to refinance  and pull cash out using a fixed mortgage rate program. The Garcia’s used the cash out to upgrade and modify their home for their own enjoyment and to open the door for other family members to live with them to reduce living costs.  John and Jane Doe bought an additional house to create more positive cash flow each month from the rental income.   

The Johnsons had been renting an apartment for years but finally broke away from paying their landlord’s mortgage.  They bought their first home and locked in a fixed-rate mortgage that will help them build wealth and keep their budget on track.  They don’t have to worry about the landlord raising their rent every year. 

The opportunity is here now but will be gone one day, and we don’t know when.   Consult with your financial advisors and do something today. Don’t regret missing the opportunity. 

Home values are predicted to continue to increase in 2022, but at a more moderate pace depending on how high interest rates climb.  Inventory of homes for sale will still be tight but more homes are predicted to hit the market throughout the year.   

The Millennial generation is leading the charge when it comes to buying homes.  The Millennial generation and the emerging Generation Z appear to be keeping the outlook strong for the future on home sales and strong real estate values.  

Find more tools and resources for overcoming common barriers to mortgage approval from the book by Jo Garner  “Choosing the Best Mortgage: The Quickest Way to the Life You Want”  on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

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 need a real plan and strategies that work!

First and foremost, you will need to keep yourself informed about the REAL markets you live in and what national news impacts your community and what doesn’t. For example, a higher conforming loan limit means much more in some markets than in others. For other areas a change to the FEMA map can make a huge difference. You need to keep informed and know what information really impacts your community and your business so you can provide real options and opportunities for your clients and referral partners. We will go into this more in the coming weeks.

Today, you need to focus on information that could impact the rate markets. Today we have the jobless claims at 8:30am and tomorrow we have the Jobs Report for December. Following yesterdays FED minutes that really shook the market, there is a chance that one or both could be market movers!

Questions or comments: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.