Phil Grossfield's Blog

My Schedule…and A Little Extra:  My lawn is dying.  The reason…my sprinkler system is broken.  The water is not spraying and when I manually override it the damn side of the house floods…ugh!  Anyone know a reputable company that does sprinkler systems?  |||  This morning my newly turned 5-year-old son threw his shoe at me while I was making breakfast in the kitchen.  He was upset because he really (emphasis on really) wanted me to put his 10,000-piece Lego project together for him in the 10 minutes we had before his Mom took him to school.  I was not pleased but I calmly explained that throwing a shoe in the kitchen could have shattered the coffee maker which was full of hot steaming coffee or it could have started a fire as I was making my wife some eggs on the stove.  SERENITY NOW!

My Market Watch:  Rates/pricing are slightly worse today than Friday…by about 0.125.  DISTINGUISH YOURSELF.  Why do I tell you about market updates?  Why do I explain economic reports and send market updates?  I do it because you need to distinguish yourself from all the other LOs out there that have no blanking idea what is going on in the marketplace.  I’m not suggesting you need to be an expert on market fluctuations, but if you have some basic understanding of the market, it gives you a distinct advantage when you are talking to potential and existing clients.  if you watch the market and you are aware of the direction of stocks and bonds, it gives you (1) something relevant to discuss with your client when they ask you if they should lock their rate in, (2) makes you sound like you are on top of what is going on in the marketplace, (3) helps you look good when you recommend locking or floating and it works out in your favor, and (4) distinguishes you from other LOs.  |||  This week we have two big reports…Jobless Claims on Thursday and the Jobs Report on Friday.  These reports can cause a swing in mortgage rates/pricing because they indicate the strength or weakness in the current economy.  Traders buy and sell stocks and bonds based on their perception of the economy’s strength (amongst other things).  If the reports come in indicating a strong economy, then traders will pull money out of bonds and invest in stocks instead.  When that happens rates/pricing worsens since bonds are being sold off.  On the other hand, if the reports indicate a weak economy, then traders will pull money out of the stock market and invest in less-risky bonds…since money is going into the bond market rates/pricing will improve.  Although this inverse relationship between stocks and bonds is not always true, it holds up most of the time and can usually be relied upon in trying to determine if lender’s prices will get better or worse.

Report = Strong Economy = Traders Buy Stocks = Sell Bonds = Rates Pricing Worsen
Report = Weak Economy   = Traders Sell Stocks  = Buy Bonds = Rates Pricing Improve

So, the next couple days should be relatively light in trading since everyone is keyed up for Thursday and Friday….     My Disclaimer

My Schedule:  Today I am driving my parents around and hitting the local Starbucks wherever I am.  I will be in Del Mar most of the day.

My Fun Stuff:   All My Fun Stuff

My Important Reminders:

• PURCHASE PRIORITY SENIOR UW TEAM.  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.