Phil Grossfield's Blog

Yogi Berra Yogisms.  My father-in-law is a baseball freak…you know, the kind of freak that knows who played third base for the Yankees in 1967.  Me, I can’t even remember Fannie Mae waiting period for a high-balance foreclosure (that’s why I write stuff down).  Yogi was one of his favorites, and for good reason.  Yogi had unconventional wisdom – something I admire greatly.  Here are some of my favorite quotes:

Price, Technology and Unique Products

Why I Chose Ethos Lending

My Chest Exploded!   He went 3 for 4, had 2 RBIs, scored 3 runs, made some good stops in the field and was awarded the game ball by his coach.  I could work out every day doing bench presses and push-ups and my chest would never get larger than it was at my son’s baseball game Friday night.

To put this into context, my son is 7 years old and the week prior was his first baseball game he ever played…he could barely swing the bat or keep the glove on his hand.  I was so damned nervous and felt so bad for him I wanted to implode (I know that’s a dirty word in the finance industry but it accurately describes the situation).  So, I took him to the park a couple of times and we practiced hitting, throwing and catching. My father-in-law also worked with him and then at practice his coach worked with him too.  Then, before his game Friday night I took him to the park early so we could practice.  I pitched to him from the mound and I think that’s when it clicked for him…he got a sense of how it was going to be when he got to the plate…and then WHAM!  He went nuts!  MY CHEST EXPLODED!

Scorpions & TRID Can Mess You Up!

Broker Packages Are Fun, Right?!

Price, Technology and Unique Products

Why I Chose Ethos Lending

Scorpions!   I became aware there was a scorpion in my son’s room when my wife SCREAMED at the top of her lungs.  The blood-curdling scream was so intense I almost bypassed using the door to break through the wall.  It was crawling on her leg…thank goodness she didn’t swat at it or she would have been stung for sure.  Yep, I live near the mountains in scorpion land and yep, we’ve had our fair share of scorpions in and around our house.  They’re nasty little creatures that hurt worse than a bee sting and can actually mess you up if the right one gets you.

TRID can also mess you up if you don’t know what to do.  And from what I understand many lenders are taking many different approaches to handling the change…surprising eh?  But in my opinion, Ethos’ process for TRID is the easiest and best method for you, the Broker.

Sign up for our training which are held every Tuesday and Thursdays at 11:00a PST.  Email me and I’ll send you the Webinar information and a 1-page summary document, or, call me at (619) 549-9797 so we can discuss.

Broker Packages Are Fun, Right?!

Price, Technology and Unique Products

Why I Chose Ethos Lending

Broker Packages Are Fun! Right?  You won’t hear this from Ethos, “All we need is a hair follicle along with a blood and urine sample, okay?”

Nothing is more pleasurable than getting a call from an AE and hearing, “Hey, want to fill out my broker package?!” After all, completing a broker package is fun, right? According to every single broker I have ever worked for my entire career, the answer to that question is a resounding”NOOOOOOOO!”

Maybe that’s because it takes forever or maybe it’s because the paperwork is such a pain in the you know what. And then, after you finally complete it and send what you think is everything to the lender, they almost always come back to you needing more.  In fact, it’s such a pain that one company emerged (get it?) whose sole purpose is to streamline the process.  But from what I hear that’s not a well-accepted nor entirely desirable process either.

I actually pitched to a couple of lenders that we should streamline the process ourselves. I told them that as long as the broker has recently been approved or re-certified at a few other large and well established institutions, whom we know perform all kinds of checks and balances during their approval process, that we should be able to simply get a Broker Agreement, run a background check and forego all the other minutia. But that argument has never been accepted or even given more than a fleeting thought, presumably because the warehouse lenders and other investors would never agree to it.

So what if I told you that completing Ethos’ broker package was fun? Would you believe me? No, I didn’t think so. But what if I told you it would take just 20 minutes or so online including electronic signatures. No, really?  What would you say?

Price, Technology & Unique Products

Why I Chose Ethos Lending

Price, Technology and Unique Products.  Ethos has a simple strategy…Price, Technology and Unique Products.  Not included in this strategy is every loan program under the stars or just loan programs that offer the highest margins.  Instead, we focus on offering the essential mainstream products at an extremely aggressive price, coupled with uncommon products, like Interest Only.  In order to offer such a competitive price, the technology has to be proprietary and superior in order to drive efficiency.

Our industry is broken in many respects and doing business the traditional way just isn’t going to cut it.  The way in which Ethos is handling TRID, and the strategy for operational flow is right on the money.  I’ve been preaching a model like this for a long time and finally found it.  Obviously we have to execute the plan, and as of now we’re on course.  I’m a believer.  Sign up with me now…email me or call me at (619) 549-9797 so we can discuss…

Time To Buy A Lamborghini Aventador.  Yesterday I celebrated my 48^th birthday and once again I found myself asking those annoying annual questions…

• Is this where I thought I’d be by now?
• Good Lord!  I’m going to be 50 in just 2 years?!
• What does it all mean anyway when common-folk in the Game of Thrones are killed for no reason whatsoever?
• I should impulsively buy a Lamborghini Aventador, right now, right?  That makes sense, doesn’t it?

Yes, I decided it’s time to buy the Lamborghini Aventador.  It’s a bargain for just under $4,800,000 if you want the upgrades, and I do of course .  Yes, I’d be divorced and perhaps committed to an insane asylum before the end of the year but that’s okay, right?  A Lamborghini Aventador would be worth it, no?  If only my wife hadn’t made me home-made muffins and a cake yesterday from scratch and bought me football tickets…how am I supposed to justify a Lamborghini Aventador now?  Why does she have to be so damn cool?  Hey, I got an idea!  I’ll start saving for my 50^th birthday…it’s just 2 years away and she can’t deny me a Lamborghini Aventador on my 50^th birthday, right!  Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Why I Chose Ethos Lending

Why I Chose Ethos Lending.  Having met with several of the executive management, including the President and CEO, and after discussing with other AEs I worked with in the past at Interbank, I not only feel like this model has legs, I also feel like it’s a good fit for me.  I’m a high volume rep…I like to be busy and close a ton of loans.  Although I know I will have to help out on specific loan files when necessary, I’m not really interested in getting involved with every single transaction.  I want to be with a lender that sees most of its transactions flow without impediments.  Ethos has the right set-up and technology…its all about the execution…and as of late they are executing brilliantly.

Ethos has been around for more than a year and has reached milestones in volume and an improved customer experience.  It has survived the growing pains of a first year start-up and has improved its operational flow dramatically with the help of truly impressive technology and input from respected AEs.  According to some of my brokers and the AEs that have gone through its growth, the flow has improved dramatically even in the last couple of months.  From what I’m told, once you understand the portal, your loans will flow smoothly, and if not, then that’s where I come into play.  On top of that, the price is consistently hyper-aggressive and they have no intentions of changing that strategy.  For all these reasons, I decided to represent Ethos.  Come join me and let’s give your borrower’s a great rate and your referral sources a great reason to come back.  Call or email me for more information on joining.

Ethos focuses on Fannie, Freddie, Jumbo, and has recently introduced Interest Only.  There are no government loans.  The strategy is simplicity, transparency, efficiency, and hyper-aggressive price.  I like this summary on the website, entitled “About Us.”

What Not To Do.  When traveling with your wife and kids and staying at a nice resort with a 2 story suite…and after having a fabulous meal eating wonderful sashimi and sea bass while drinking far too many beverages of different varities, and after crashing only to be woken up at 3a by your wife with instructions to go up the spiral staircase and turn the air-conditioning down, DON’T SLIP ON THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE ON THE WAY BACK DOWN AND SCRAPE UP YOUR ARMS AND SMASH YOUR FEET INTO THE POLES.  I’m just saying…

My Market Update – July 2, 2015

The 30-year Fannie Mae bond is up +38bps since yesterday’s close. Generally a lender’s pricing improves when the bond is being bought, like this morning.

Almost always a strong Jobs Report, meaning the data gives traders a reason to believe the economy is stronger than expected, influences them to invest in stocks and in the process sell off bonds. When bonds are sold off our rates/pricing worsen.  BUT NOT THIS MONTH…the strong Jobs Report this morning resulted in improved rates/pricing!  The reason is that traders are concluding that the strong Jobs Report will influence the Fed to hike interest rates as early as September, maybe even sooner.  In doing so the Fed would be battling rising inflation, the archenemy of bonds.

WARNING.  Although we’re enjoying this morning’s improvement before the long weekend, there are 2 reasons you might want to lock in today.  First, Greece might see relief over the weekend.  If they do, then global markets would be healthier and traders would feel better about investing in stocks. Typically when investors buy stocks then bonds suffer as a result which would cause rates/pricing to worsen.  Second, the new loan level pricing adjustments (LLPAs) go into effect on Monday. That means the Fannie adjustments get worse.  Let me know if you’d care to discuss this or anything else.  HAVE A GREAT LONG WEEKEND!

My Disclaimer

Inside Out.  I was surprised…it was a really good movie…a smart movie.  The entire time I was watching it all I could think about was how smart it was to put a person’s emotional well-being into an animated world that actually makes sense.  I thought about people I know that seem trapped into thinking one way or another.  Why does their joy seem to be trapped somewhere deep and dark? Have they forgotten how to be happy?  But more importantly, this movie reminds you that all of your emotions have a place…fear can be useful…sadness can be useful.  And without those emotions, we’d be out of balance.  Like most things, there is a delicate balance between our emotions, and if they get out of balance, then our emotional well-being can get trapped.  My wife actually cried during the movie because it made her think about one of her loved ones whose emotional well-being is currently trapped.

I encourage you to see this movie with your kids…ours loved it.  It’s not often I go to a movie with my kids that I come out with a deep sense of satisfaction, like my kids learned something valuable, and so did I.

My Market Watch – June 29, 2015

For an explanation on how traders look for technical signals to decide whether to worsen or improve rates, read My Great Bond Elevator Analogy.

Bonds Rally As Greece Is In Big Trouble.  The 30-year Fannie Mae bond is up +56bps since Friday’s close. Generally a lender’s pricing improves when the bond is being bought, like this morning.

The market appears to be reacting to the Greek dramatic saga. It looks like Greece is not going to get the bailout they so desperately want. Moreover, the banks will be closed in Greece all week and if you have any money in there you can only withdraw 60 euros a day. Can you imagine? Check this out: Greece Shuts Banks In Bid To Prevent Collapse.

This kind of news gives traders a horrendous feeling about global markets and the global economy. Therefore, stocks don’t seem very attractive right now so traders would rather invest in safer bonds instead and when that happens a lender’s rates/pricing improve. Let me know if you have any questions…

My Disclaimer

Yes, Dog Booties

In the cactus infested and hot weather of Scottsdale, Arizona, cactus needles and the blistering 150 degree pavement led to havoc on my dog Pongo.  So, because I enjoy hiking and running with my dog, a pair of Dog Booties seemed to be the answer.  However, getting Pongo to accept his booties was a little challenging, but nothing a bag of leftover bacon couldn’t handle.  Here he is just getting used to his new booties…click the graphic to see a 9 second video: