Phil Grossfield's Blog

My Schedule…and A Little Extra:  Despite attending an Oscars party last night I didn’t watch even 2 minutes of the show…but that’s not too surprising.  The only movies I saw were Lincoln, Silver Linings, and of course Brave.  I LOVE movies but with two young kids it’s difficult to get out and when we do get a babysitter we are resigned to just grab some kidless peace with dinner and cocktails, can you dig it?  Sometimes I truly wish we lived near family…how lovely would it be to drive by my parents house, open the mini-van doors, push the kids out into a roll, and take off with the tires squealing?  But alas, we have no family in town so we have to hire someone to watch the kids…and that’s okay I guess.  Anyway, I thought Lincoln was tremendous but what do you expect when you put Daniel Day Lewis and Steven Spielberg together?  And I really liked Silver Linings although my wife wasn’t a fan.  But since I haven’t seen any of the other movies it’s hard to judge…kind of like voting for a political candidate whose name you don’t recognize.  My Mom and Dad said Les Miserables was the best movie they ever saw, even better than Gone With the Wind which made my jaw drop to the floor, but my parents are closing in on 80 so you have to take that into consideration (sorry Mom).  The only movie on the list I am going to make a point to see is Argo…I have heard great things about that one.  And that’s the end of my thrilling commentary on Oscar night…almost as exciting as the show itself.  |||  Fannie Mae is defining rate & term and cashout transaction differently with respect to the payment of real estate taxes, but the new definition will not affect CA loans in most cases…read My Important Reminders below.

My Schedule:  I have appointments today at 10a and 3p.

My Market Watch:   Interbank continues to be aggressive with rates…we are on the top of the list.  When Interbank is this aggressive Capital Markets tends to be a little trigger happy meaning that even slight fluctuations in the stock/bond markets can prompt a mid-day re-price.  Early tomorrow morning Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks to the Senate and any time he opens his mouth traders are going to listen carefully.  I used to say that when Alan Greenspan showed up for anything traders were instantly making predictions about market direction based on the clothes he was wearing.  But Bernanke is expected to address the Fed’s intentions with respect to continued Quantitative Easing…the Fed’s strategy to buy bonds which continues to drive the artificial low rate bond market we are all currently enjoying.  Specifically, he is expected to tell us whether the Fed is going to continue buying bonds through 2013.  Needless to say, tomorrow morning should be interesting….   My Disclaimer

My Fun Stuff:   Embrace Life  |  Bionic Hands Video  |  Bionic Eyes Video  |||  All My Fun Stuff

My Important Reminders:

• New Fannie Definition for Rate & Term/Cashout:
  • The definition of a limited cash out loan has been amended.  If you include the payment of real estate taxes in the loan amount, and you are not escrowing/impounding (meaning you are waiving impounds), then Fannie will consider the transaction cashout. HOWEVER, California does not allow a lender to require an escrow account, so, the rule does not apply in CA…how do you like them apples?!  Beautiful, eh?!  But if the real estate taxes are more than 60 days delinquent, then even in CA Fannie considers it a cashout transaction….kind of the exception to the exception.
  • None of this is applicable to a HARP/DU Refi Plus transaction.
  • So, to clarify the beautiful rule in California, we are not affected by this rule change, not even a tiny little bit, as long the payment of real estate taxes is not more than 60 days delinquent, got it?

• PURCHASE SUBMISSIONS.  Effective immediately, all purchases will be assigned to a Senior Underwriter team who will exclusively underwrite, condition, and clear conditions.  This is contrary to our normal queue-strategy for refinances using junior underwriters.  Interbank is doing this at the suggestion of the Account Executives who voiced their opinion that we need a more timely, consistent and predictable process for purchase transactions to give our clientele continued confidence to send them in.
• APPOINTMENTS.  I am setting up appointments for the next several weeks…please let me know if you’re interested in an office visit.  I will be sharing my insight on how to get new business in 2013 and what to prepare for as the year progresses….
• STILL WANTED.  We are looking for Senior Underwriters, Loan Coordinators, Junior UWs, Doc Specialists and Funders. Referrals are greatly appreciated.  Remote positions are available.