Ryan Frost

That's right! Free fishing day in Utah is June 4, 2011, this Saturday!

With the largest amount of recorded rainfall ever in Utah and many kids getting out of school this week or next, this is a great opportunity to get your kids outside and do some fishing without the need to buy a license for yourself. The rivers will be high so consider exploring some of the urban fisheries that we have in the valley.

Click here for an interactive map of Utah community fisheries. If you are going to bait fish, plan on keeping your limit of two as 1 in 3 fish hooked with bait tactics will die if released.

Some of the ponds locally are not as inviting for fly fishing due to crowds or surrounding brush. Check out Kidney Pond in South Jordan or The Cove in Herriman which have ample casting room.

Remember to release all largemouth bass as they assist in keeping blue gill numbers down, which helps all species to thrive and grow.

Here are couple of pictures to get you excited. The first is the weather forecast for this week and the second is a picture of Ned Johansen, a Loan Officer here at Compass Lending Solutions after landing a giant splake. If you are in need of a loan analysis call us at 801-676-4400. Rates are phenomenal right now!

This information is on Short term Rate Advice- Lock In Now!

I usually don't give short term advice on whether the public at large should lock in an interest rate. With my own clients I weigh the risk and rewards of waiting for rates to improve or go up carefully, and in most situation we are able to gauge a reasonable time in the loan application process to lock in an interest rate.

This blog post is to illustrate to the activerain community an opportune time to lock in rates for your clients or advise your buyers to have a serious discussion about locking in rates. If you are looking for a great lender and you happen to be lucky enough to live in the great State of Utah, call me and I will take excellent care of you or your client. Closing on time, everytime with a smiling borrower sitting at the table.

This chart is the price of the 4.0% 30 mortgage backed security. It works in an inverse relationship to the rate that the borrower will obtain. We have one month of improving rates followed by three days of being stuck in the same position, with today making a turn for the worse. The difference in interest savings today versus one month ago is in the thousands per year for the average sized loan.

NMLS #204405

The reality of this headline is severe and unfortunately most will read it, shrug their shoulders, and move onto the next piece of doom and gloom media hype.

Those of us in the real estate industry have already had to make major cutbacks, tighten our belts and reinvent our industry and personal business models. Why is it that Congress, with one fourth of our national GDP going to government programs, spending, entitlements etc, has not decided that it is time to seriously eliminate spending waste and elimination projects that are not critical? Don't cut jobs, but remove programs and spending that will not adversely affect a majority of Americans.

We must self impose minor austerity measures now or else the rioting and frustration over the forced cutbacks down the road will be horrendous. Just look at the union fight in Wisconsin. That was a few unions in one state. Imagine if (I say if as if I don't know the word when) we realize we are no longer able to print money to solve our debt problems and we tell baby boomers that their long promised Social Security checks are going to be cut or eliminated all together. This isn't the generation that you want to tick off.

OK enough ranting. The real concern from a real estate standpoint is that our mortgage bonds, while not tied to treasury securities, typically follow their yield curve. If the US public debt is less secure, then we will have to offer higher yields in order to attract investors. Public debt will always be more secure than private debt, even when the private debt is secured by real property as with a mortgage. The reason for this is that the government can use monetary policy to the extent that it is not inflationary to our currency (don't repeat that too loudly, some of us have loans to lock while rates are still good) and even then, they can come to the realization that taxes must be raised in order to cover the public payments.

So if you read this much of this blog post, consider writing your congressional representatives and senators and let them know that, no one is kidding anymore. They MUST get together and balance the budget. This is such a simple step to take when compared to the looming total outstanding debt our nation faces, and the consequences could create a long term burden that will severely affect our housing industry which is the backbone of the American Dream.

Rates have improved 7 out of the last 8 days, but not as much as one would think given the "flight to quality" that bonds offer in uncertain times. With so much unrest in the middle east and Greece again, we would expect a decent drop in rates, but with the price of oil skyrocketing, inflation concerns are rising.

"This is not my favorite subject, but I thought it would be a good post because I am surprised at how often I get past clients who are hesitant to discuss divorce with me, their loan officer, until things are so far down the road that any financial advice I can offer is a mute point. I try to create a friendship with each client and sometimes that means each couple so that could be part of the angst. That said, there are a lot of necessary financial issues that need to be discussed when confronted with the big D. So if you found this blog doing research and you are uncomfortable talking to an expert that you and your ex previously worked with (CPA, estate planner, loan officer, real estate agent), I would say reconsider. They are people you have worked with and can trust. They have fiduciary responsibilties to their clients and would be violating ethical codes of conduct if they shared information with anyone. If you still don't feel comfortable, make sure you discuss the financial ramifications with professionals that you can trust."

1. Check your credit report jointly so that you can see who is on what accounts and what steps need to be taken to split liabilities. Visit annualcreditreport.com. Clicking on the hyperlink will take you to the FTC.gov website, and you can link to annualcreditreport.com from there. There is some good info on the FTC's web page and it allows you to confirm that we are not phishing for your info. You can only check your credit free, once a year. If you apply for a mortgage at Compass Lending Solutions we can also provide you with a copy of the report that we obtain.

2. Cut ALL financial ties and make a clean definitive break from your ex. Don’t let your credit be unnecessarily destroyed. Hope for the best, but plan for the worst. Cut these ties quickly and be adamant about closing all joint accounts. If you own a home together, a refinance may be necessary to divide equity or remove the vacating spouse from the mortgage loan. Sometimes accessing a 401K can be beneficial to payoff joint debts so that a clean break can be made. This should be considered carefully and with some discussion with a tax advisor.

3. Create a budget after the divorce. This goes for BOTH parties. It’s very important after a divorce that you confront your financial needs and your current financial limitations. Will you be getting alimony? Paying alimony? Google Docs has a free customizable budget template that you can access by clicking here.

4. Talk to multiple professionals, not just your attorney. Most attorney's are specialists in a specific field. If you are getting a divorce, you are probably talking to a divorce attorney, who may or may not be a specialist in the secondary financial aspects to consider. Should you file jointly or separately, who gets to write off the kids, the house, the business expenses? These are questions for your CPA. When you own a home, a simple conversation with a good loan officer can provide the answers and options that may be available to you.

5. Make a plan for long term financial goals (retirement, children’s college funds and weddings, etc.) These are all important items that beg for help from a professional advisor and need to be included in your budget.

6. Update beneficiaries on retirement accounts and life insurance policies. If you have children, you may want to discuss this with an estate planner. Creating a trust can be very beneficial in some circumstances to ensure that any monies are directed towards your children without the control of an ex-spouse or someone who you think you can trust. Again, we align our company with like-minded trustworthy experts who we can refer you to if requested.