Phil Grossfield's Blog

You Never Know. It’s astonishing how many people have extremely challenging personal situations. After my post yesterday I received a flurry of condolences, prayers, and personal stories…a few so touching and tragic it made me shudder throughout the day.

Whenever my kids complain about the way someone behaved you might hear me say, “you never know what that person is dealing with today…they might be faced with a tragedy you are unaware of…maybe you should cut them some slack.” Sure, there are enough jerks out there to prove me wrong, but I think it’s safe to say most everyone has some challenging situation going on in their life. And I think it’s also safe to say that each person deals with challenging events in a different way. For example, some people get quiet, some lash out. And others, well, might act irrationally. Believe it or not, I’m capable of all these reactions to emotional situations (there’s a bit of sarcasm in that statement…it’s not that hard to believe). In fact, you might see all those behaviors from me within a couple of hours time. There’s a word for this kind of behavior…it’s called moody. But enough about me.

What drives me crazy is when you feel guilty for feeling. That is, too often we try to appease or lighten our own discomfort by comparing it to the misfortunes of others. I should be grateful compared to what other people are going through in the world. Yeah, I get it…perspective is a powerful tool in dealing with adversity. But everyone’s tragedies and challenges are important to them, particularly at the present time. What we need to remember is some people act irrationally and there may be a very warranted reason for that behavior. I’m not suggesting bad behavior is justifiable, I’m just asking for more understanding. Can you dig it?

The emails I received yesterday had me catching my breath. I am blessed to have this forum where readers feel comfortable enough to share their experiences with me. And I noticed a brightening pattern emerge. For those whose personal situation had closure, each person without exception described a sense of relief and a new perspective. One perspective I found intriguing was put something like this, ‘life is like a line you’re in until you get on the bus to heaven…sometimes God moves you to the front of the line.’ Although these stories were tragic in their present, each person eventually found something positive…something comforting…and something hopeful.

My Schedule: Available all day….

My Market Watch: Bonds Down – Pricing Improved from Morning Gains. The 30-year Fannie Mae bond was up earlier and is now down -25bps. The good news is our IB pricing seemed to come out before the down-tick so we have favorable pricing so far.

The Fed meets today and tomorrow and any comments or discussions as a result have the potential to move the markets and pricing. If I hear of anything I’ll let you know. Home Prices are up again…this is good news for bonds and probably why we saw an early gain. My guess is traders are taking those early gains and selling off, particularly since tomorrow is a scary day considering the Fed meeting. If the selling of bonds continues we could see a price worsening. I’m hoping Capital Markets holds off to see how the morning works itself out….

Perspective. 30-Year Fixed Average Rates: Past 40 years: 8.15% Past 30 years: 7.45% Past 20 years: 6.52% Past 10 years: 5.72%

A word on locks. Even though turn-times are fast, I advise longer term locks or at least a pricing cushion to account for possible lock extensions. Flexibility in getting additional days is not as elastic. I advise 45 day Locks. If you must lock 30 days then be sure to build in additional rebate in case you need to pay for an extension. This is good smart business.

Distinguish Yourself. In order to succeed in this business and in this market, you must find a way to distinguish yourself from other LOs. That is, if you are going to get more reliable referral sources, you must be able to clearly convey several compelling reasons why they should use you….My calendar is getting full – I am scheduling presentations to discuss (1) How to Be Successful In The Future Market, (2) Where to Look For Additional Referral Sources, and (3) How To Distinguish Yourself From Other LOs. Let me know if you’re interested in a presentation….