Clint Hammond

38bp gain on our benchmark Fannie Mae 6% mbs. to close the day at $101.72. Lower energy costs, lower than expected drop in gasoline and crude inventories, and a higher than expected Jobless claims number sent the stock market on a free fall with the Dow diving 344 points to close at 11,188, the NASDAQ dropped 74 points to close at 2,259 and the broader S&P 500 Index lost 38 points to close at 1,236.

This flocking away from stocks obviously bode well for us and investors rushed to the safety of the bond market. I see the jobs numbers being better than expected which should tell us that bonds won't fare well and you would expect a recommendation to lock here. (You would if you've been paying attention the last several months...) But here's your curve ball, the "Birth/Death Ratio" which estimates the number of new business created and dissolved uses averages to determine the net for changes in the number of businesses operating. It then figures how many new jobs that would create. In other words to put it mildly it's a stab, at best, based on averages. The economy is in a sharp downtrend so previous average will surely overstate the number of new jobs in the current market. I expect continued negative revisions for the past two months which should balance out the two and make that a wash as far as impact on bonds goes. Unemployment, currently at 5.7%, is most likely going to swell higher and that will have a downward push on the mortgage interest rates. Considering we poked through the ceiling of resistance at the 200 day moving average and continued higher through the next resistance level, we may be have those flipped to a floor of support if things go as I've stated tomorrow. That should make for lower interest rates over the next week or so at least, pending any uunforeseen shake up, and possibly longer. So for now, tentatively I recomend floating because the risk/reward is in your favor.

Check back tomorrow and lets see if I'm right. Go Gamecocks, heading to watch the game but call me tomorrow and I'll gladly help walk you through my thought process!

Well, I didn't get my entry in yesterday but I'm giving myself a free pass. It's been a hectic couple of days so I apologize. So here we go.

+ Use "mortgage people" on your team to move listings. Dropping the sales price $10k has less impact than offering $5k to go towards a seller buy down. The seller buydown will reduce the monthly payment 10 fold over a price reduction and isn't the monthly payment more often than not the deciding factor?? Plus, you'll earn a higher commission on the higher price, your seller will walk away with $5k additional proceeds from sale, the buyer is in the house and has much more comfortable payment. Not to mention that the monthly reduction opened up your market of possible buyers by a good 15% of the prospective market. Nice huh?

+ Use your financial planner for down payment planning. Since we're in this for the long haul, or should be anyway, with our clients then that means working with the young couple who doesn't quite have their down payment saved/stashed away. Normally that'll go right into the savings account and earn a stellar .003% A.P.Y. and we'll wait and wait for that down payment to show up. Your CFP however, may be able to look at cash on hand, stream of income, outgoing obligations, and working with the your mortgage planner, the two of them may be able to cut that wait time in half. Now you're selling a home, I'm writing a mortgage, and the financial planner has a client for life. Nice?

+ Use your CPA for several deals to get them moving and moving now. First time buyer? Your CPA partner can fully explain the income tax credit associated with the recent housing recovery act and clear up any misinformation and make those buyers jump. They can also explain that just because your client has a low rate on the home they purchased in 2003, that doesn't mean that the higher rates offered today is going to be a proportional increase in their financial burden. An explanation of "yes, the rate is higher but so is the tax deduction for interest paid on your primary residence. Meaning that spread between your 5% rate and the offered 6.25% isn't all bad and the cost is worth the upgrade in home and square footage."

These aren't in the "Realtor wheelhouse" so to speak but these tools can help you move listings and qualify buyers quicker. Working alone is harder, less fun, less efficient, and less productive. None of those are attractive in the least when you compare them to the alternative of team work, strategic financing, and wealth building for your clients. You can't lose!

Released On: Report: Impact on Mortgage Rates (Potentially):

Wed., September 3- Beige Book Moderate

ADP National Employment Report HIGH

Crude Inventories Moderate

Thur., September 4- Productivity Moderate

ISM Services Index Moderate

Initial Jobless Claims Moderate

Fri., September 5- Unemployment Rate HIGH

Hourly Earnings HIGH

Non-Farm Payrolls HIGH

Average Work Week HIGH

Looks like Friday has the potential to be a big moving day. My suggestion as of right now and obviously subject to change, is this: if you are currently in process and you have the option of locking in a rate, then see what that rate is and what the impact of that rate is. If you are comfortable with it and tend toward caution rather than risk, lock that rate in. "Known" is always better than unknown and pending the data that is due out in these reports, rates couldn't certainly move dramatically in either direction. So take stock of where you are and what you have on the table and have a long conversation with your mortgage professional about what the best course of action is for you and your unique situation. If have been on the fence with a purchase decision or have been holding out with a refinance, that same conversation could prove very beneficial to you and spark a decision to either wait and see or move forward now.

Give me a call and I will certainly be happy to go through these options with you and give you my opinions based on your overall situation.

Hope this helps!

As you and your team begin to better groove your process, you learn to become an extension of one another. This makes several areas run smoother than they otherwise would. You learn the strengths that each member brings to the table and when it's best to bring in that member to help you finish out the total sale. Admit to the client, "You know, that's not my area and I would hate to tell you something that I couldn't stand behind, but I can get us an answer to that question right now." Pick up the phone and call that member and you now are displaying to your client that A) you know what you don't know and that's a huge step if you think about it. It's honesty and shows weakness but it shows that you have the strength and the confidence to know when something is out of your arena and clients appreciate that. B) You would rather make a phone call and spend your time doing something that you don't get paid for in order to insure that their needs met, regardless of what that need is. C) That you are actually listening to them.

The other thing that begins to make itself known is where other team members weaknesses are. No one is perfect and everyone is going to have a slip up now and then. If you think about it, people you work with and even you I bet, don't just make random mistakes. There are most likely "areas of fault" where it may not be the same thing every time, but it's in the same category so to speak. One may not be as organized, one may not be on time very often, someone may not be good at this or that and those weakness can certainly lose deals and butcher clients if there is no safety to help keep it all "tight" when working for a client. But when you have someone 'watching out' for you, it adds a level of comfort. If the team is looking out for the customer, then that means that all areas of the clients needs are being monitored by each member of the team. I have yet to find an instance where one set of eyes is better than many.

I don't know everything, that's for sure. But I know someone that knows what I don't know, and that's the next best thing right?

Each day for the next 6 days, I will have a similar post. I will work market updates in as well but this will be in addition to those so hopefully this will be an informative week.

Teams and teamwork are so crucial and vital to our industry and as much as you may hear about it or read about, I still sense that the importance is often overlooked. I don't have to tell you how fractured the process of purchasing a home is, layer upon layer upon layer of processes need to be started, worked through, and completed in order for there to be a happy borrower/buyer/client leaving the closing table. The biggest issue is that so many of these process are being done down parallel work channels that are related and tied to each other only in that they are working towards the same goal. I work on getting a loan approval and a package out but I have to depend on an appraiser, an attorney (paralegals), and Realtors, etc., all to complete my end and none of which do I have direct control over. The Realtor has to depend on me, the home inspector, the listing agent/selling agent, etc., not to mention the fact that everyone, including our clients, are depending on the two/three/four/or more transactions removed, in either direction (all of which include the same fragmented processes themselves) in order to make it all happen and happen smoothly. If you think about it, it's almost amazing that anything ever closes because it is set up NOT TO HAPPEN.

One way to help tie things together is to work as a team. No one can truly be a jack-of-all-trades because then you are truly master of none. In order to sell to your potentially and take things to the next level, you build your team so that you can keep a better handle on the process, bring them into one place where it's easier just to know what's going on. Ultimately, this provides a higher level of service for your client and isn't that really where the focus should be? It's a win/win situation because you will have higher level of volume, greater pull through rate from application to close, higher income level and you will also have a reputation as being one who best serves their clients.

The "Perfect Team" consists of the Real Estate Agent, a mortgage professional that knows financial markets and has the resources available to solve problems, a CPA, a Financial Planner, and attorney who has solid and reliable paralegals on staff. When this team is active and dedicated to the cause, it is unstoppable regardless of the market, rates, home prices, etc., this is the platform on which success is built.

This team can address every aspect of the consumers financial life. Improving your clients financial well being is or should be at the heart of our business. We're in a high dollar industry and one that should NEVER be focused on volume. It should focused on people. If you focus on people and always make sure that your client is at the heart of every decision, you win. Winning sometimes means telling people no, it might mean redirecting a buyer to a lower price point, it might mean doing a lot of things that on the surface work contrary to your own self interest. We're all commission right? But that's where greed takes over and greed is what got us where we are today as an industry. If you do the right thing, it may not pay dividends for you right now but it will long term. Taking care of your clients and doing the right thing is always the best practice and there honestly shouldn't even be an alternative. If you move away from a volume driven plan to a people driven plan, the volume will take care of itself.

Hope this helps, enjoy the last 2 and a half hours of your Labor Day and lets get loans closed and houses sold.