Lock Watch for the Week of 10/29/2018 Volatility-O-Meter:Big week of reports against a backdrop of a market in serious motion and on the eve of a pivotal election. Fasten your seatbelts... Economicalendar (all times are Pacific):Mon, 10/29: Personal Income and Outlays (5:30am) and Dallas F...

10/29/2018

One Thing Leads to Another

23 Comments

One Thing Leads to Another It just may be the most frustrating aspect of the home loan process for both borrowers and their real estate agents. We, the mortgage originator, ask for a specific item, or "condition," required for the loan approval and then upon receipt and review of that item, we c...

10/26/2018

Lock Watch for the Week of 10/22/2018

3 Comments

Lock Watch for the Week of 10/22/2018 Volatility-O-Meter:A transition week, perhaps? Will we get away from the stock market volatility of the last couple of weeks and settle in or will the week end's GDP report set the tone? Economicalendar (all times are Pacific):Mon, 10/22: Quiet.Tues, 1...

10/22/2018

Just Don't Pull My Credit

4 Comments

Just Don't Pull My Credit This is going to be brief. Why? Because the concept is very simple: For most, making a credit inquiry when getting a mortgage pre-approval will not hurt their FICO score. If you: A) Pay your bills on time,B) Maintain a fairly low balance to limit on your credit cards, ...

10/20/2018

Lock Watch for the Week of 10/15/2018

1 Comments

Lock Watch for the Week of 10/15/2018 Volatility-O-Meter:This is getting interesting. The stock market sell-offs last week will dictate what the mortgage market does this week too, and nobody knows what that is going to be. Saudi Arabia will be in the mix too, but if all of these elements go th...

10/15/2018

Are the Lights Going Down on Real Estate?

43 Comments

Are the Lights Going Down on Real Estate? You know what's on a lot of my clients' minds right now? No, not Journey of the the 1970's, but the real estate downturn of 2007/2008. Many of these prospective buyers are getting a sense that maybe this is the top of the market and that perhaps they sh...

10/10/2018

Lock Watch for the Week of 10/8/2018

2 Comments

Lock Watch for the Week of 10/8/2018 Volatility-O-Meter:In the unlikely event of a water landing... Economicalendar (all times are Pacific):Mon, 10/8: Market closed (Columbus Day).Tues, 10/9: Quiet.Weds, 10/10: PPI (5:30am), 3-Yr Note Auction (8:30am), 10-Yr Note Auction (10am).Thu...

10/08/2018

Debt Con Goes DEFCON

10 Comments

Debt Con Goes DEFCON Back in the Cold War era, the Joint Chiefs of Staff implemented a new system to indicate military readiness and they called it the 'defense readiness condition,' or DEFCON. They gave it five levels, "1" being imminent nuclear war. So let's use this model --- along with some...

10/05/2018

Lock Watch for the Week of 10/1/2018

3 Comments

Lock Watch for the Week of 10/1/2018 Volatility-O-Meter:Lots of FOMC member speeches throughout the week and the jobs report on Friday. Economicalendar (all times are Pacific):Mon, 10/1: PMI Mfg Index (6:45am), ISM Mfg Index and Construction Spending (7am).Tues, 10/2: Quiet.Weds, 10/3:...

10/01/2018