Are you a good manager?

Are you a good manager?

Wow.  Now there’s a question to ponder.  I have managed, and been managed, and here are a few thoughts I have on the topic … 

I work in an amazing office.  We have a great culture.  I think most of us would say that we’re a big family … Sometimes family members get their feathers ruffled when a marriage or adoption occurs that brings a new personality into the fold.  If that new personality happens to have a higher position in the pecking order – that can bring uncertainty, and even jealousy, into an otherwise harmonious environment.  Good managers, whether already in the family or the one that just joined, are aware of this and exhibit sensitivity during the transition.  Failing to do this can be the death of a department (or company).  Yes – it really is that serious.  

Lots of people are good at their jobs, but not everyone is a good manager.  Being a good manager means truly caring about the people that work for you; taking an interest in them – professionally and personally.  When was the last time you walked around and “checked in” with your team?  When was the last time you had a “one on one” lunch?  Checking in with folks and taking the time to break bread are two ways to deepen the relationship between you.  When your team feels cared for and valued – they’ll work ten times harder toward your mutual goals.  Another, less time consuming, way to acknowledge your team is with a hand-written personal note.  You’d be amazed how far this goes and it takes less than 3 minutes.  

In my own dealings with everyone from my manager to the contracted janitor to the CEO – I do my best to ensure that everyone knows that I appreciate, and value, them.  I openly acknowledge that my success is not my own – but that of all those who help me every day.  As a result – I find people willing to go above and beyond to help me; and I do the same for them.  

So are you a good manager?  Do people want to work for you?  Does your team know you care?  As you think about these questions remember this, "people don’t quit companies, they quit managers".  

To your success …

Bob Rosenbaum

Aging Parents

Adult children may purchase a primary residence for their elderly parents and it's considered a Primary Residence (not 2nd home, not investment).  This allows for the most favorable rates and terms.

Here are the requirements ... 

·         Adult children purchasing or refinancing (NCO refinance only) a primary residence for elderly parent(s) who are unable to work or have insufficient income to qualify for a mortgage (Max LTV subject to MI eligibility requirements)

o    Elderly parents must be unable to work or not have sufficient income to qualify for a mortgage on their own. The adult child must provide a letter of explanation outlining the intent to purchase a home for elderly parents who are financially limited

o    The parent(s) will occupy the subject property as their primary residence

o    The adult child may already own his or her own primary residence

o    Assisting an elderly parent has no distance requirements on where the adult child’s primary residence is located

o    Property must be registered, underwritten and priced as a primary residence

o    The subject property must be submitted to DU as the primary residence and the borrower’s current primary residence will be listed as other real estate owned

o    The parent(s) and adult child can both apply for the loan, but the child is the primary source of qualification. The parent is not required to be on the loan

o    Title must be in the borrower(s) name, but the elderly parent(s) may also be on the title

The Labor Department reported today that Weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell by 24,000 in the latest week to 297,000, the lowest level since May 2007. The labor markets have been improving since the big chill of winter has given way to the spring thaw.

It Still Makes Sense to Buy Versus Rent

It Still Makes Sense to Buy Versus Rent

By Mortgage Market Guide

Nearly a full third of households are still renting. If you’re one of them, you could be paying a hefty price.

Before talking about purchasing a house, it’s important to note two things. First—and this is extremely important—the housing market is actually localized. So the outlook in your hometown may be different than another city across the state or on the other side of the country. Second, home prices are tied to employment. For example, if someone feels like their job is in jeopardy, it might be enough to stop them from making a move. So, if your local job market is feeling a pinch, the home prices in your area may be down as well.

But with all those factors under consideration, it still makes sense to buy instead of rent. In fact, renting may be costing you a bundle.

Let's look at an example…

If you are paying rent at $1,500 per month and your landlord increases your payment by a modest 5% each year, you would wind up paying just about $100,000 over a 5-year period! Worse yet, after forking over $100,000, you still would have nothing to show for it.

And speaking of having nothing to show for it, how about any improvements you might make to a rental property? It's not uncommon for renters to freshen up the paint, install new light fixtures or plant some nice flowers outside. But guess what… all your efforts, labor and the benefit of that improvement belong to the landlord, not to you.

With convenient down payment options still available for qualified buyers, affordable home prices and low interest rates, the very same money could have been used towards home ownership.

Even using a standard 30-year fixed program, a mortgage of $300,000 could be obtained with a total monthly mortgage payment—including property taxes and insurance—of around $2,200. Assuming a 25% tax bracket, this would be equivalent to the average amount spent on rent during the same period after your tax benefit.

And the benefits of home ownership are quite considerable. Because the mortgage is being paid down each month, equity is being built. After 5-years, the $300,000 mortgage could be reduced to $279,000, adding $21,000 to your net worth!

But if laying out the initial increase in monthly payment and having to wait for your tax benefit to show up next April is a tough nut to crack, the IRS wants to help. Instead of waiting to file for the tax benefits derived from your new home purchase, you can simply adjust the amount of your withholding. This allows you to have less tax withheld from each paycheck so you can handle the new mortgage payment more comfortably throughout the year. In essence, you are taking your tax refund as you go instead of letting Uncle Sam hold it all year, interest free.

Visit www.irs.gov and use the IRS withholding calculator. This very handy tool can quickly show you the impact that a change in withholding will do to your net paycheck. Remember to balance this with the expected refund and it is always a good idea to check with your tax advisor.

Don't fall victim to the national headline hype. Talk to a professional who understands your local market. And remember, buying a home is a big step, but it is almost always one in the right direction.

The week ahead

Forwarded exclusively by:	Bob Rosenbaum The Rosenbaum Lending Group Office: (703) 879-5200 Email: Bob@MyTalentedLender.com website: www.MyTalentedLender.com NMLS#: 649782
Monday, April 21, 2014
Rates At a Glance Mortgage Rates Currently Trending 7 Day Mortgage Rate Forecast This Week's Potential Volatility NEUTRAL NEUTRAL FAIRLY HIGH (by Sigma Research) Realtor Report U.S. Housing Starts Climb in March: The Commerce Department reported that groundbreaking increased 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 946,000. Plus, February's data was actually better than first released. As February's starts were revised to show a 1.9 percent rise rather than the previously reported 0.2 percent fall. Gaines in home building has been difficult as a brutally cold winter weighed on home building in December and January. Activity has also been hampered by shortages of building lots and skilled labor as well as rising prices for materials. Groundbreaking for single-family homes, the largest segment of the market, surged 6.0 percent to a 635,000-unit pace last month. Starts for the volatile multi-family homes segment fell 3.1 percent to a 311,000-unit rate.  This Week's Mortgage Rate Summary How Rates Move: Lenders base their rates largely on the price movement of Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) which are traded in real time, all day, on the bond market.  This means mortgage rates and/or fees (mortgage pricing) often times move throughout the day, being affected by a variety of economic or political events.  It’s important to know that when MBS pricing goes up, mortgage rates or pricing generally goes down.  When they fall, mortgage pricing goes up.  Tracking these securities real-time is critical.  For more information about the rate market, contact me directly.  I am among very few mortgage professionals who have access to live trading screens during market hours. Rates Currently Trending: Neutral Rates have been stable, as reported by Sigma Research. The overall improvement for last week for the MBS market was -66 basis points, which may mean a slight worsening in mortgage pricing. This Week's Rate Forecast: Neutral According to Sigma Research, mortgage pricing is likely to be stable this week. There are few key economic releases this week, and the Ukrainian situation should continue to be monitored. This Week's Potential Volatility: Fairly High Sigma Research says this week the MBS market could see volatility due to movement in the equity (stock) markets, as well as overseas concerns. There are always unforeseen events that may arise which are not expected. We'll be keeping an eye on all breaking news related to mortgage pricing. Bottom Line: If you are looking for the risks and benefits of locking your interest rate in today or floating your loan rate, contact your mortgage professional to discuss it with them. About this Report and Forecasting This information is shared with you by your Most Trusted Mortgage Loan Professional and is provided by RateAlert.com, the industry's Most Trusted source for mortgage interest rate market data, analysis, and alerts. For details about your specific home loan scenario, please contact your Mortgage Loan Professional. All information furnished has been forwarded to you and is provided by thetbwsgroup only for informational purposes. Forecasting shall be considered as events which may be expected but not guaranteed. Neither the forwarding party and/or company nor thetbwsgroup assume any responsibility to any person who relies on information or forecasting contained in this report and disclaims all liability in respect to decisions or actions, or lack thereof based on any or all of the contents of this report.
DC MD VA DE PA To unsubscribe from TBWS Rate Alert e-mails, please click here.  Please do not reply directly to this e-mail. TBWS Rate Alert will not receive any reply message.  For questions or comments, visit our Forums or Contact Support viaSupportTeam@ratealert.com.

Just a quick note: As some of you may have experienced, many closings were cancelled on Monday and Tuesday due to Ellie Mae's Encompass system crashing. 20% of the mortgage industry is on the Encompass software and closing packages were unable to be created.   Many buyers and sellers were left with moving vans packed and no loan docs.  While this is unfortunate, and it has caused a slowdown in response time, we view this as a victory to our file flow process at 1st Portfolio.
 

(See below for national press quoting local and national companies struggling)    

Ellie Mae Technical Breakdown Prevents Mortgages from Closing

Watch the Video below for additional commentary ... 

We currently use the Encompass system and we did not cancel one closing on Monday or Tuesday. It's a policy at 1st Portfolio that we get our loan packages out 2-3 days prior to closing - many companies say they do, but this illustrates who does and who does not. While Ellie Mae is still struggling to fix their system, we have yet to miss a closing as our HUD's and packages were out days in advance.   This is a testament to our streamlined process and having the appropriate model should issues arise. 

Who do you know that we may help?  We will always take excellent care of your referrals!

All the best,

Bob Rosenbaum

------------------------------------------------------

Robert F. Rosenbaum, Jr. 

NMLS License: 649782

Licensed in DC MD VA DE PA & FL

(703) 608-1110  |  Talk/Text

http://www.MyTalentedLender.com  

Notary Public

Ever wonder what drives mortgage rates?

The chart below is an easy to understand explanation of the factors that drive rates and how the market responds ...

Breaking News ... (RATE ALERT)

Consumer Confidence missed the mark ... Came in better than expected and this is a NEGATIVE FOR PRICING/RATES ... 

Consumer Confidence: 82.3 vs est 78.6, this will pressure pricing to the negative.

Richmond Fed Manufacturing -7 vs est of -1..worse than expected but not a factor in pricing.

New Home Sales at 440K vs est of 445K..very close to the mark, not a factor in pricing.

Robert F. Rosenbaum, Jr. 
The Rosenbaum Lending Group
1st Portfolio Lending Corp.
8300 Boone Blvd., Ste 200

Vienna, VA 22182
(703) 879-5200  Office
(703) 608-1110  Cellular
(703) 891-9815  Direct Fax
RRosenbaum@FirstPortfolio.com
http://www.MyTalentedLender.com 
NMLS License: 649782

Licensed in DC MD VA DE and PA
Notary Public

This week in the mortgage markets ...

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Bob Rosenbaum, Jr. 1st Portfolio Lending Corp. The Rosenbaum Lending Group Phone: (703) 879-5200 Cellular (703) 608-1110 NMLS: # 649782 Bob@MyTalentedLender.com www.MyTalentedLender.com

In This Issue   Last Week in Review: The harsh winter weather throughout much of the country had a big impact on the housing market. Plus, the Fed met. Forecast for the Week: Housing reports will be front and center, along with key news on inflation, economic growth, and consumer attitudes. View: Sharing local statistics with clients and referral partners is easy with this resource. Last Week in Review   Time for a change. With spring officially here, the change of season will hopefully lead to a change of direction for the housing market, as the harsh winter weather contributed to several disappointing reports. February Existing Home Sales fell by 0.4 percent from January to 4.60 million units on an annualized basis. While this number was in line with estimates, it was 7.1 percent below the 4.95 million units registered in February 2013. The National Association of Realtors cited the unusually harsh winter weather, tightening of credit, and higher home prices as the cause behind the stagnant sales data. The harsh weather was also blamed for the weak Housing Starts reading for February, which came in at 907,000, making this the third straight monthly decline. In addition, the National Association of Home Builders Housing Market Index came in at 47 for March. Readings below 50 indicate that more builders view conditions as poor, rather than good. On a positive note, Building Permits, which are a sign of future construction, surged by 7.5 percent to 1.018 million. It will be important to see if readings improve once the weather becomes milder around the nation. In other news to note, weekly Initial Jobless Claims rose by 5,000 in the latest week to 320,000. Claims continue to hover near lows seen in November, as the labor markets work through the post-recession malaise. The 4-week moving average, which irons out seasonal abnormalities, came in at 327,000, the lowest level since the end of November. What does this mean for home loan rates? Despite some weaker than expected economic reports, the Fed announced more tapering to its Bond buying program. Beginning in April, the Fed will purchase $30 billion in Treasuries and $25 billion in Mortgage Bonds (the type of Bonds on which home loan rates are based) to help stimulate the economy and housing market. This is down from the original $85 billion per month that the Fed had been purchasing. I will be watching closely to see how this decision impacts the markets and home loan rates as we head further into spring. The bottom line is that now remains a great time to consider a home purchase or refinance, as home loan rates remain attractive compared to historical levels. Let me know if I can answer any questions at all for you or your clients. Forecast for the Week   This week's economic calendar is packed with important data on housing, inflation, and economic growth. Housing data is plentiful this week with the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index and New Home Sales being reported on Tuesday. Pending Home Sales follows on Thursday. We'll get a read on consumer attitudes towards the U.S. economy with Consumer Confidence on Tuesday and the Consumer Sentiment Index on Friday. Wednesday brings February's Durable Goods Orders, which are orders for items that last for an extended period of time. Weekly Initial Jobless Claims will be released as usual on Thursday. Also look for the final reading of Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter of 2013. Ending the week, the inflation-reading Personal Consumption Expenditures data along with Personal Income and Personal Spending will be delivered on Friday. Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result. The chart below shows Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which are the type of Bond on which home loan rates are based. When you see these Bond prices moving higher, it means home loan rates are improving – and when they are moving lower, home loan rates are getting worse. To go one step further – a red "candle" means that MBS worsened during the day, while a green "candle" means MBS improved during the day. Depending on how dramatic the changes were on any given day, this can cause rate changes throughout the day, as well as on the rate sheets we start with each morning. As you can see in the chart below, Mortgage Bonds worsened after the Fed meeting but were able to stabilize. Home loan rates remain near historic best levels and I will continue to monitor them closely. Chart: Fannie Mae 4.0% Mortgage Bond (Friday March 21, 2014) The Mortgage Market Guide View...   Health Website Makes Sharing Local Data Easy Gone are the days of extensive research, compiling information, and sharing numerous website links in order to provide local stats and health data with relocating clients and prospects. Now, finding that information is quick and convenient with County Health Rankings. Through the collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, the website brings together 50 diverse reports resulting in a health ranking for each county in the U.S. How Does Your Community Rank? 1. Visit www.countyhealthrankings.org. 2. Select your state from the map. 3. Once the state map appears, select your county. Within a few clicks, you can see your county's overall ranking, as well as other important local statistics such as: Population Unemployment Education Smoking and drinking Access to recreational facilities Air pollution Poverty Motor vehicle death rates Diabetes And much more! Check your local stats and feel free to pass this resource along to your team, clients, and colleagues. Economic Calendar for the Week of March 24 - March 28 Date ET Economic Report For Estimate Actual Prior Impact Tue. March 25 09:00 S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index Jan NA 13.4% Moderate Tue. March 25 10:00 Consumer Confidence Mar NA 78.1 Moderate Tue. March 25 10:30 New Home Sales Feb NA 468K Moderate Wed. March 26 08:30 Durable Goods Orders Feb NA -1.0% Moderate Thu. March 27 08:30 GDP Chain Deflator Q4 NA 1.6% Moderate Thu. March 27 08:30 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Q4 NA 2.4% Moderate Thu. March 27 08:30 Jobless Claims (Initial) 3/22 NA NA Moderate Thu. March 27 10:00 Pending Home Sales Feb NA 0.1% Moderate Fri. March 28 08:30 Personal Income Feb NA 0.3% Moderate Fri. March 28 08:30 Personal Spending Feb NA 0.4% Moderate Fri. March 28 08:30 Personal Consumption Expenditures and Core PCE Feb NA 0.1% HIGH Fri. March 28 08:30 Personal Consumption Expenditures and Core PCE YOY NA 1.1% HIGH Fri. March 28 10:00 Consumer Sentiment Index (UoM) Mar NA 79.9 Moderate