12-21-18: Why Me? A case for Dennis Smith as your preferred mortgage professional
Question of the week: Why me?
Answer: As most of you head out for a long holiday weekend to be spent with family and friends, you will be having some conversations over eggnog or platters of hors d’oeuvres (picturing Clark Griswold and Cousin Eddie with the moose glasses). During those conversations, the topic of real estate and mortgages may come up. Cousin Eddie thinking of buying a new home, adding on to the current home, or worried about his equity line going up. Or perhaps sister Susie and brother in-law Lance finally see what others saw and are formally ending their marriage, she wonders what their options are regarding their home. Maybe the conversation is with you and your siblings over Mom and Dad’s home—your first Christmas without one of them and now the reality of dividing the assets which includes where you grew up, what options do you have? If/when such conversations occur it would be appreciated if you were to say, “I know a guy who can help, call Dennis…”
For thirty years I have helped families with many scenarios where a mortgage is able to solve problems. A family purchasing their first home, or their third. Siblings purchasing some investment property. Mom and Dad refinancing an equity line they used to put their kids through college. Sister buying out her brothers’ share in the family home from mom and dad’s estate.
Why me for these scenarios? Primarily because my staff, partners and I combined have more than two centuries experience in the mortgage industry—that is a lot of mortgages used to solve a lot of scenarios. We are adept at taking a problem and creating scenarios for our clients to consider for solutions. We are adept at communicating those solutions in plain English. We are adept at showing only the scenarios that we know will work and be able to close.
So, do we only do complicated or non-standard transactions? No, we thrive on “simple” or “normal” mortgage scenarios such as purchasing a new home or refinancing an existing mortgage. But, because of our experience we know that the “normal” transactions can quickly become complicated or possibly a bad situation for our client.
Properties that have unpermitted square footage, or not in condition that would be approved by underwriting. Condo projects with shaky budgets and financials. Job losses, maternity leave, unknown issues on credit reports, cloudy title, tax returns filed by someone else using your social security number, appraisals that come in under the needed value.
These are just a few of the countless surprises that can, and do, pop up during transactions. Numerous times per year we are called by agents as an issue has come up on their transaction where their client, or the buyer of their client’s home, is using a different lender and they do not know how to solve an issue; they call us because they know we can provide different possible scenarios so they can move forward.
I have always told my clients, you might be able to find another lender that will quote a lower rate; note “quote” because we only quote what we can close—this, we have discovered through the years, is not always the case with some of our competitors in the mortgage industry. Our rates are excellent, and our value is among the best in the industry. I use “value” because of what we provide in the way of service and experience to make our clients’ transactions as smooth as possible, with them knowing every step of the way what is happening, why it is happening and what will happen next. All at or below the same rate and price of almost all other lenders in our markets.
Our business is referral only. How have we been in business for so long counting on word of mouth for our business? Tremendous service, products and rates. Plus the ability to work out solutions for practically every scenario where a mortgage is needed.
“I didn’t know getting a mortgage could be so easy.” This is perhaps the most common comment we get from our clients, regardless of the difficulty of the transaction, it is easier than they think it will be due to our clear communication and honest answers from first contact through closing.
I thought long and hard before using this space to toot the horns of Stratis Financial and Dennis Smith; it is hard to speak well of oneself without feeling like a braggart or boastful. Every now and then however we do need to boast a bit about what we do and how we do it. I hope you read this as intended, to remind people about what we do and how we do it with the desire that our name is passed along to others who are in the market for some assistance with their mortgage needs.
In closing I want to thank the thousands of individuals and families that have told clients, families, friends, co-workers and neighbors, “hey, I know a guy who can help you, call Dennis…”
Have a question? Ask me!
Pre-holiday week is not short on economic news. A data dump of economic news today before everyone heads out for the above-mentioned eggnog as reports were issued for Gross Domestic Product, personal income and spending and inflation. The third and final revision to 3rd quarter GDP was revised down to 3.4% growth from the earlier rate of 3.5%, mostly due to a revision in consumer spending in the quarter. The spending thus far in the 4th quarter has been very strong with November spending up 0.4% from October, and the October consumer spending was revised up from a 0.4% increase to 0.8%. In November consumers hit the credit cards as personal income was up 0.2% for the month after increasing 0.5% in October—that is back to back months where spending has outpaced incomes. With the increase spending and demand inflation bumped up a bit to 1.9%, below the Fed’s target rate of 2.0%. Overall the news is a bit mortgage rate unfriendly and in a vacuum would lead to rates increasing a bit.
But there is no vacuum in nature or economies. To paraphrase Jan Brady, “Fed, Fed, Fed.” The only questions investors had prior to the Fed announcement was whether the rate increase would be the expected 0.25%, or would there be a surprise increase of 0.5%; the other question was what, if anything, would the Fed say about 2019 rate increases? The Federal Reserve did what was expected and raised their discount rate 0.25%, which resulted in an increase in the prime rate to 5.5%. On the second question, the Fed announced that it anticipated raising rates twice in 2019. This was news as for the past year plus the Fed had been telling the public its intention was to increase rates three times in 2019. The news whipsawed rates as investors reacted first to the rate increases in the future, then reacted to the stock markets’ reactions to the news. As a result, both the bond markets (which determine mortgage rates) and stock markets had chart lines that mirrored Colossus or some other roller-coaster with lots of ups and downs.
Rates for Friday December 21, 2018: Rates drop for the third Friday in the past four for conforming and the fourth Friday in a row for high-balance; almost solely attributed to the corresponding decline in stocks as investors have sold stocks and purchased long-term fixed rate assets, such as mortgages. The risk is getting in the mindset that rates will continue to drop for some period. I say this due to what I have mentioned in prior WR&MU’s, the Fed is selling about one trillion dollars in assets accumulated post-recession to push rates lowers. If rates drop when the Fed is a buyer of fixed rate assets what is the reasonable expectation when the Fed becomes a seller of those same assets? Correct, rates will go higher. One reason the Fed has decided not to raise rates three times in 2019 is quite possibly because the knowledge that selling its assets will result in rate increases. In the meantime the 30 year conforming rate is at its lowest in four months.
FIXED RATE MORTGAGES AT COST OF 1.25 POINTS LOCKED FOR 45 DAYS:
30 year conforming 4.375% Down 0.125%
30 year high-balance conforming 4.50% Down 0.125%
Please note that these are base rates and adjustments may be added for condominiums, refinances, credit scores, loan to value, no impound account and period rate is locked. Rates are based on 20% down with 740 FICO score for purchase mortgages.
Very special wishes for a happy birthday to my wonderful wife Leslie! With our at home daughter we are going to dinner and then a movie (the new Spiderman) this evening and then on Sunday a celebratory brunch as our oldest daughter returns from her first semester at school in Boston. It is the first year that Leslie gets the present for her birthday, and we get the same present for Christmas, of a child returning from being away for several months—I can think of no present better!
From our family to yours a very happy Christmas holiday with your family and friends.
Dennis
Past Weekly Rate & Market Updates can be found on my blog page at my website www.DennisCSmith.com/my-blog
