Where R Rates / MBS Market Update

RATES ARE IN THE GREEN

That’s right folks. Green does still exist in the color palette for mortgage bonds : ) Green yesterday and green this morning.

Yesterday we had quite a swing to bring us from being way down to ending the day up. There was about a 40 BPS swing from the worst of the day to the best of the day.

We had a few things that caused it. The natural attrition of the market is what started us in the hole yesterday with the upcoming election and potential fiscal policy change, to unknown Fed decision and the thoughts of inflation not going down as it should.

Then we had the JOLTS (Job openings and quotes) number come in showing not great things for the labor market which is one of the biggest items the Fed and the markets are watching. This really helped mortgage rates. We had a 7 year auction yesterday afternoon really give us a boost with an A rating of demand meaning investors are finally saying ok, now we can make some money on these bonds and they started buying them up which gave us demand for treasury bond like products such as our mortgages.

This morning we had ADP come in showing better than expected results. As in double expectations which could have been a pretty big hit as that is good for the labor market and polar opposite of what the Job Openings report from yesterday was showing. Then GDP came in below expectations which is good for mortgage rates. This means that GDP had a little more pull than the ADP numbers. Let’s hope that holds for today.

On the national applications front we were down .1%. Applications to refinance were down 6% and applications to purchase a home were up 5%. For those of you with a flat pipeline right now purchases are doing well and I hope you are as well.

Stay strong my friends and get out there and market as people are buying and refinancing. Make sure you are the one they are calling.

GREEN is GOOD for Rates – RED is BAD for Rates

Click Here to Understand BPS

Product & Guideline Highlights

FLIPPING APPRAISALS
From time to time you need to change products to provide the best financing for your clients. What happens when the appraisal is already back and you need to swap products?

FHA TO CONVENTIONAL
Yes, you can use an FHA appraisal for a conventional loan. The main caveat to this is the appraisal must be able to process the xml through the system. Most of the time there is no issues. From time to time it may require some tweaking.

CONVENTIONAL TO FHA
This is not an option. The reason is that the FHA appraisal must be inspected ON or AFTER the case number assignment date. Many times you can reach out to the AMC and see if the appraiser will do it at a reduced cost. The reason most do not is that they are required to re-inspect the property for FHA guidelines and not just change the product type.

TO VA OR FROM ANOTHER PRODUCT TO VA
You must have a VA appraisal to do a VA loan and VA appraisals will not pass through the xml system so you cannot use them on other products.

Make it a great day!

Jackism of the Day

YESTERDAY – TODAY – TOMORROW

The amount of time that we spend thinking about what happened yesterday or anytime in the past and the amount of time we worry about tomorrow. These moments take away from what we can accomplish today.

I read this quote:
There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done.
One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow.
Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and Mostly Live.

There is something special about being in the moment no matter where you are located. What I call being where your feet are. To be present with whomever you are with and for whatever reason you may be there.

This is important during times of family gatherings, work meetings, webex or zoom calls where you are fully committed to the task at hand vs multi-tasking and getting very little out of what is happening at the moment.

Then there are times when we are alone. Our morning rituals, getting our day started, working uninterrupted with your DND on and just staying focused and motivated on the here and now.

Darren Hardy taught me a box and shelf method that truly helps focus on what matters in the moment.

The concept is when you have multiple goals or projects or to do items that you want to accomplish the fastest and most efficient way to complete them is to focus on one thing at a time.

For example, on any given day I have multiple goals or items that I have set for myself to complete. Most days I write 3 articles as you read here each morning, a marketing piece for direct partners, exercise an hour a day, spend time in reading, journaling and prayer. Time spent with my wife plus a couple other things.

The picture I want you to get is this. When you are focused on one of these areas it is important to only focus on one of these areas and nothing else. Thinking of yesterday or what is to come tomorrow or even later in the day is not going to benefit you in any way to accomplish what and where you are right now.

When I go to write, in my mind I pull the project of writing off of my shelf, open the box and put it on my desk. Then I write, that is all I do, that is all I am thinking about. Nobody can get me. My phone is on DND and I don’t look at my emails. I am in the zone and you can’t get to me. 

When I am finished writing I put my writing project back in the box and on the shelf and then I pull the next item down from the shelf and I am all in focused on the marketing piece. Again, nobody can get to me. When completed it goes back on the shelf and I do not think about it again until I pull it back off the shelf and back in front of me.

That is how I can accomplish multiple projects on the same day without them running in to each other. Once I shelf it then it is no longer part of what or where I am. I no longer think nor worry nor ponder about that specific project. Now I am not literally putting them on the shelf. I am doing that in my mind and it is a great way to stay focused.

In between each of these tasks which almost all of them are completed by 9 AM each morning then I focus on my partners which are my clients. 

The best use of the box and shelf method is family time. To be able to put your work in to a box and put it on the shelf until you take it back down the next day is the greatest gift you will ever give yourself and your family. It is also the hardest one.

Today, as you think about what you need to do and being present with where you are think about taking it off the shelf. Focusing solely and only on that one item and then work until it is completed. Then put it back in the box knowing you have completed what you set out to do and place it on the shelf until you are ready to focus on it again. 

Do this with everything you are trying to accomplish. I guarantee you will get more done than you ever thought possible with a much better peace of mind about life. Today is the only day you have. Tomorrow there is nothing you can do about today and yesterday can never be changed. Let your focus be on the here and now. Everyone one around you including yourself will be better because of it.