Rates
Two Russian soldiers walk into a bar in Ukraine….
And the punch line is, US mortgage rates fall through the floor!
Holy cow, rates this week have been nothing but down, and not to US economic news, but due to Ukraine and Russia, bullets and helicopters.
Europe is dumping their money into the US, similar to when we had the PIIGS episode a few years ago. If it wasn’t for this, rates would of pretty much gone up, some estimates by .25 to in the high 4’s:
-Pending home sales, up 3.4% vs est of 1.0%
-Consumer Confidence 82.3 vs est of 83.0 close enough.
-ADP private payroll 220K new jobs vs est. of 210K prior period.
-Chicago PMI 63.0 vs 56.7
-ISM MFG 54.9 vs est of 54.3
-Construction spending 0.6 vs 0.5
-And the biggy, Unemployment 288K jobs vs est of 210K, with last 2 months revised up +36,000.
Now 1st quarter GDP did come in at 0.10% vs est. of 1.0%, a big miss, but dismissed due to weather (although how much longer can we blame weather?)
So the US economy is chugging along, Federal Reserve announced that they are going to reduce their bond buying again, and employment is looking good. So what to do.
It is like catching a falling knife, some times you can do it, lucky, and some times you can’t.
With that being said, it is notable that depending upon close today, interest rates will be at their lowest levels of 2014!
I am still sitting neutral, lock them if you can, or gamble, but be warned, as soon as the Ukraine situation goes away, I would suspect bond traders are going to rethink where rates are, and we will see rapid movement up in rates.
Also don't foget to download my own Mortgage calculator App in the green box to the right.
Features:
-Current Rates, which I update regularly.
-Compliant calculations with APR, Mortgage insurance, taxes and insurance.
-Email and send direct to clients.
-Scanner feature, send me documents without having to fax them or drop them off at the office.
-Its FREE!
CFBP
Well more info came out of the CFPB this week, regarding closing procedures and how they are going to change them for the better (yeah right!) and streamline the process.
Has the government EVERY streamlined a process?
So I saw this quote and thought I would share it with you:
Overloading the borrower with "CYA" closing documents is a big concern of lenders and regulators alike. Over the weekend I received this note from Steve Sherwood, president of Alerus Mortgage: "A wise attorney, when asked if the client should read all of the closing documents said, 'If you make all of your payments on time there is nothing in the documents that can hurt you. If you don't make your payments on time, there is nothing in the documents that can help you'." Well said.
Rural Development
I saw an article this week that indicates RD is updating their well testing rules:
1-Test has to be from a State certified lab, FYI there is only 1 in the treasure valley.
2-Has to test for lead, nitrates, nitrites, and coliform.
3-If the test comes back positive, and the property requires a water treatment for the well, the loan will be denied!
I am getting a little more clarification from the head of Idaho RD, but make sure you are testing for these items.
Also, for you that have been in my CE classes this is a repeat, but make sure a Licensed and Trained professional is taking the water sample, and that does not include, the buyer, seller, listing agent or selling agent or loan officer.