Rates
As indicate in last week’s blog, the main focus would be North Korea, and they didn’t disappoint, unfortunately. Last weekend with the detonation of the Hydrogen Bomb, investors fled stocks and dumped their money into Bonds and gold.
This caused mortgage rates to drop to their best levels of 2017, and put the bonds into a new trading range. So far this week, we have been able to keep in that trading range, and with the IRMA going to trash Florida over the weekend, we anticipate more traders going into bonds.
We are also going to anticipate that North Korea will launch another missile this weekend, the news isn’t going to be if they launch one, but how, it direction, and angle.
With all of this going on, rates really have nowhere to go but down. Float them if you feel lucky about the hurricane and North Korea.
TRID & House Bill XX2017 (it hasn’t been assigned a bill number yet)
Bill by Rep. Hill (R-ARK) will be introduced shortly, in hopes of cleaning up TRID a little by better defining what fees we have to put on the borrowers Closing Disclosure and Loan Estimator. Right now, we have to over disclose the Owner’s policy on a purchase for the CD and LE. Where as in Idaho, it is customary for the Owner of the home (Seller) to pay for this.
Right now, we disclose it on the Buyer’s side, and then just give them a credit at closing, thus confusing everyone in the transaction. This should clean up things a little.
Equifax Hacked
If you have not heard, Equifax was hacked in July, it is estimated that 143,000,000 people in the US have had their identities stolen. And with most stories about hacking or false accounts opening up, that 143 Million number will probably grow, A LOT.
So let’s just say, it is more than likely that everyone in the US, had their identity hacked in July. A duck is a duck.
And they will probably come out and say something like.. at this point in time we do not see any evidence that hackers have tried to access accounts…or something like that. But good hackers will wait a year or two, after the “Free” monitoring is complete, and then start hacking. 
So, what can you do, check out this web site: https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/
Check your information and enroll in their “free” service, and then, as I have always said, check your credit report 1x per year at www.annualcreditreport.com This is the FREE federally mandated credit report. You HAVE TO go in 3x and pull your Equifax, Experian, and Transunion credit report. Make sure you pull ALL Three, because some lenders/creditors only report to 1 bureau.
And!!!
Send this out to all of your existing and past clients. Although people are reading and hearing about this, have this information coming for a trusted source will re-enforce it. And YES I was hacked.
HUGE Real Estate Firm acquires another HUGE firm.
Berkshire Hathaway’s HomeService of America bought Long & Foster, which was the American’s largest independent Real Estate Firm.
The have over 11,000 gents in 230 offices, AND they also owned Prosperity Mortgage, 12, 000 employees, AND they owned Long & Foster Insurance a title company. This is a pretty aggressive move by the Oracle of Omaha, and shows that the industry is going into a consolidation mode.
Does it really affect anything in Idaho, nope. Will it in the future, maybe. Just something to watch as the online Real Estate Companies grown, like Zillow…what did I say, Real Estate company…Zillow. Yep, they are now selling Real Estate in 3 States.