Stetson Lowe - UTAH MORTGAGE BLOG

Dont Wait Until it is to Late Refinance Your Loan Now!

Hello everybody and thanks for all of your emails and phone calls inquiring about rates.  Simply put, they are Amazing.  There has probably never been a better time to lock in a low fixed rate on a refinance or purchase here in Utah or anywhere around the country (if your fortunate to still have equity in the area which you live).

I hope every one had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years celebration.  By now you have all made your new years resolutions and are still sticking to them, good for you keep it up.  I have hardly had a spare minute to breath but I have made some personal and business goals or resolutions that I am very excited about this year.  Planning is the key, a wise man once said "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."  I truly believe that.

Just as the title to this post states, Don't Wait Until it is to Late Refinance Your Loan Now.  Take action this year, don't be fence sitter guy who sits on the fence for so long waiting for the "perfect opportunity" that he ends up with nothing but an aching butt with slat prints firmly imprinted.  Have the courage to take action, call me and fill out a loan application or visit my website www.refinanceinutah.com either way you can be well on your way to saving $1000's of dollars just by spending 15 minutes with me on the phone or on my site. 

No one know's where the bottom is and if someone tells you they do run don't walk away from that person as they are just as full of it as Bernie Madoff the latest schemer to swindle billions, yes I said billions of dollars away from his unsuspecting investors.  I have yet to meet someone that would be unhappy with a 4.875% 30 year fixed loan and if you meet that person let them know there are hot-lines for people who are that negative and cynical:)

From Saint George to Logan and everywhere in between I can take care of you and your family and friends with world class service.

Speaking of Saint George and World Class Service my family and I were fortunate enough to spend a few days down at The Inn at Entrada this last week for new years.  If you ever get the chance to stay there Do It.  We had a beautiful 3 bedroom casita.  I loved the huge windows across the back that over looked the 16th hole of the Entrada Golf Course and behind that was amazing views of Snow Canyon and red rock buttes.  It was a little piece of Heaven carved out and put in Santa Clara Utah.  You can check out their website at http://www.innatentrada.com/ It was the perfect place to get away for a few days and go for some hikes, watch bowl games and eat really really good food.  The warm cookies and mild delivered to your door each night is a nice touch too.

I will try and post some pictures from our trip in the next few days.  I cant wait for the golf season to get started again up here and I know it will be here before we know it.

The Fed's are finally spending that money that they pledged (and I blogged about) back in July.  They have changed the way they are using it though, initially they were going to buy troubled or bad MBS (mortgage backed securities) from banks to free up their balance sheets and liquefy some of their assets.  After further review the ruling on the field is that they are now showing up to the bond auctions and buying their own bonds.  They are actually bidding against the private sector from what I have been told in an attempt to inject more capital into the bond market, lesson the credit freeze and kind of artificially drive down the yields on these bonds thereby lowering long term mortgage rates and creating a refi boom which leads to home buying, remodeling, debt consolidation and ultimately creates jobs and spurs on the anemic economy.

This would be their attempt to make this recession as short as possible and try to help people stay in their homes and keep more foreclosures from hitting the market.  We will have to watch and see what the long term will bring with this play.  I know an artificial bubble of any kind is never good.  We have all seen the .com bubble burst and most recently we witnessed the commodities bubble and more specifically the Oil bubble go POP.  Is this bond market going to be the next bubble that literally over night pops like a balloon that floated up and hit my grandma's old asbestos ceiling?  Proceed with caution and we all need to take advantage while we can.

2008 was not my year in the sporting world.  The cougs ended the year by laying an egg that Mother Goose would be proud of, the Red Sox went down, the Jazz showed up to the playoffs with their bags packed in the back seat of the escalades and Ferrari's just waiting by the exits for their series to be over, OK I shouldn't include all the Jazz in that statement but I still have a bad taste in my mouth for the biggest dud C Booz.  New England lost Tom Brady right out of the gates this season and they actually did better the rest of the year then I would have ever guest.  The bitter sweet ending to the sporting year for me was watching and actually cheering at times for Utah while they were laying a whooping on Bama.  My hats off to those guys for this season and for how they finished it off but I hope I never have to watch that again.  A nice 2nd place finish in the Mountain West Conference would be just fine with me for the boys in Red.  The one bright spot in the sporting world for me in 2008 was when the US Ryder Cup team layed a gold old fashioned butt kicking on the Europeans.  That was as close to a championship that any of my teams made it to this year and I was pumped when Sergio plunked two in a row in the water when he was playing match play against Anthony Kim, that was euphoric for me.

I do have to give props to the US Basketball team for representing very well and of course to Michael Phelps who is the only swimmer I can still name off of that team and probably will be the only swimmer I will ever remember again in my life time, what he did was very Tigeresk don't you think?  Maybe even more dominant?

I feel like 2009 is going to be a very very big year in my life and in many of our lives.  We have a new President and for better or for worse he's there so I wish him the best.  I don't envy him in anyway coming in to take over this mess but then again I don't think anyone in their right mind envy's Bush and all that he has had to take on in his 2 terms as President.

I hope America can use this time to take a step back and reevaluate ourselves as a country and as a people.  I would love to see us all go back to when a hand shake was a deal.  When your word was your bond and when everyone was looking out for their own best interest but never at the expense of another.  I hope we are weeding out the Madoff's of the world right now and getting back to how it is supposed to be. 

I can always hope....

Stetson Lowe - Utah Mortgage Insider - www.utahloantips.com

30 Year fixed for 5.25% Simply Amazing

It has been a long time since someone has been able to lock in a 5.25% fixed rate on a mortgage in Utah, but the wait is over.  I have locked several loans in the last week at that exact rate.  With the recession finally being officially called it seems investors had enough of the stock market and started pouring huge sums of money into the bond market which has paid out as much as 7% so far this year and gaining every day.

The government is even buying it's own bonds in an attempt to give some liquidity to the bond funds and lower yields that were stuck at an unnatural point much higher then where the market indicators show they should be.

We broke through that invisible floor last week when the government announced its pledge to spend up to 600 billion to purchase bonds and mortgage backed securities.  That coupled with the recession call and continued economic weakness all have contributed to the bottom falling out of long term fixed rates.

If you are at or above 6% you can really save money by locking into one of these incredible 5.25% 30 year fixed loans or you can do as many of my clients have done and shorten your term to a 25 or 20 year loan while maintaining  close to the exact same payment.

If you are considering home improvements, debt consolidation, or buying a home there really will not be a better time to lock in your low rate I can promise you that much.

Thanks for those of you that have called in and please if you haven't yet called give me a quick ring to see what we can do to save you money 801-655-5111.  We can still get you closed by Christmas if you call me in the next few days and you wont have a January payment so it will give you time to catch up from the Christmas whirl wind of spending and fun.

Happy Holidays Everyone.

Stetson Lowe - Utah Mortgage Insider - www.utahloantips.com - 801-655-5111

Here is a news clip that explains the market right now and applies fairly well to whats happening in Utah. The only part I would disagree with is when she says the bank are requiring assets right now, I just got 3 loans approved with showing $1 in their bank account, score and a good payment history is still what the banks are looking for the most.

Utah Mortgage Update

Sorry I have been away for so long but I am back and ready to Blog each and every week again and sometimes more if you need it.

I was in Disney Land this past week with my family and I couldn't help but realize that it really is a magical place.  I was there for an entire week and each day I was excited to go (tired but excited).  I think that being around so many people that were having fun and checked their worries at the gate was refreshing.

Every day now I am asked the question "Is this mortgage market killing you? Is that hard that there is no money to lend?"  Initially I would give in to the depressed feeling and go along with the questions when asked, nod my head and agree.  But the truth is, the mortgage market is NOT that bad.  I had 2 loan closings while I was in the Magic Kingdom last week and they both closed in less then 2 weeks start to finish!  The conservative lenders that I have always worked with and will continue to work with are doing just fine and have billions of dollars to lend, and they are eager to lend it.

It is true that our economy is really struggling right now and that home values have receded, but again every market it cyclical and all economies have corrections and down turns, this one is just a lot bigger then most.

The banks that were greedy and engaged in buying junk bonds or sub-prime mortgage backed securities are toast or are losing billions every year, but there are a handful of lenders that never looked at a sub-prime loan and they are reaping the rewards for being conservative in the face of all the other banks that were turning huge profits there for a while.

It is true that I can not get any one with a pulse a loan.  I never did anyway.  Chances are the loan officer or company you got your last mortgage from is no longer in the business.  I say that based on the 1000's of people and companies who have failed to renew there licenses this year.

Now more then ever it is really important that you work with a loan officer that uses cutting edge technology and has maintained relationships with the lenders and banks that still have billions of dollars to lend.

The bond markets have been soaring these past few weeks as foreign investors are dumping billions of dollars into US Bonds as they are still seen as one of the safest investments in the world.  This is giving investors nice returns (7%) year to date on one of the bond funds, it also drives the yields down on long term bonds which is awesome for mortgage rates that are down to 6% and below on some programs Apr of 6.255%.

I have also been working very hard to roll out my commercial financing programs which will include financing for apartments 5+units, offices, medical buildings, franchised hotels, warehouses, storage units, gas stations, raw land and much more.

Give me a call today if you are looking to refinance or purchase this month or next, now is a great time with rates being low and you can skip your December payment!

Talk to you soon,

Stetson Lowe - Utah Mortgage Insider - www.utahloantips.com - 801-655-5111

Wachovia Ingested by Citi - Market Throws a Hissy Fit Over Bailout Rejection

 777

777 and NO I am not talking about a new Boeing luxury dream liner, I am talking about the number of points the Dow shed today while I was busy closing loans.  -6.98% to be exact, the largest single point loss in the Dow Jones history!  Let me clarify that it is not the largest loss by percentage, that still stands somewhere near 20%.  By the time I fired up the old lap top this morning at 8 am or so the Dow was already getting beat like a pi~nada at a fiesta and Bonds were being bought up as faster then the traders could hit buy on their trading domes. 

As the day progressed there came news that the proposed Bail Out hadbeen declined in its current form.  This sent the Markets into a giant hissy fit, temper tantrum that would have had my 2 year old running for cover.  He is the king of those types of fits and this one put him to shame.

The Dow was in a full scale avalanche and taking everything in its path with it.  I have been watching the markets closely for years now and have not seen a day like today, to be honest I would be fine not seeing another one like it, wouldn't hurt my feelings a bit.

Wachovia the nations 3rd largest bank by assets called it quits when the FDIC stepped in and helped broker "a deal" with former banking giant CITI.  There was a time when CITI was on top El Numero Uno, and with todays purchase  or virtual taking of Wachovia, CITI could be poised for another run at the big Kahuna #1 spot.  They will have a lot of work to do to catch JP Morgan and the solid acquisitions they have been making as of late (bear stearns, Washington Mutual).  It will be interesting to watch these 2 players and see what transpires over the next 5 years with them.  It was no surprise that Wachovia threw in the towel, it had been rumored for the last few months that they were on the brink of being down graded which can have nasty consequences in the banking world and severely affects one's borrowing power. 

It continues to amaze me that these big banks like the big oak tree's of their industry, have weathered all sorts of financial storms and have grown despite them, are now being chopped down and sold off as firewood probably never to be thought of again as the years go on.

There are many that are trying to use this bail out to further their political agenda's and for that shame on them.  This is serious business the likes not a single person in the White House, the TTreasury, the Federal Reserve Board, the Congress or the Senate have ever seen.  My prayer tonight is that there is a thread of inspiration left on Capital Hill.  That between the hundreds and even thousands of people involved in this legislation will know that we need to put aside any and all agenda's for a few weeks while this initial package, this literal crutch to the economy is put in place.  It's time to put our way of life, our dreams and our liberties first and go to work to figure out what is best for Our Country and not just Our Party.  I say this to both sides of the isle.

In the meantime we as Americans need to be wise and use good judgment each and every day.  Don't cancel your trip to Disney land and certainly don't stuff the mattress with what would become worthless money.  Be Smart.

Now will be a great time to lock in a LOW fixed rate mortgage and lower your interest rate by over a point for a lot of you.  When the markets suffer one of the silver linings for all of us is that long term fixed rates are low low low.

I heard someone say that if they increased the tax credit for first time home buyers to $25,000 from $7500 that it would spur on the housing sector like you wouldn't believe, and we all know what a stagnant, lifeless housing market which we are in right now can do to the economy.  On the other hand if we could get the fence sitters off the fence with a larger tax credit that may pay much larger dividends in the future and stop this economic spiral in its tracks.  Something to chew on....

Here are links to the proposed bailout legislation, abbreviated summaries, and Statements by Key Government Leaders.

Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

One Page Summary of the Act

Section by Section Summary of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

Treasury Secretary Paulson Statement on Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

FederalReserve Chairman Bernanke Statement on Emergency Economic Stabilization Act

We will see the Dow below 10,000 if not tomorrow it will be soon.  My prediction my be bold but it would not surprise me to see it hit 8,000 this year (next 12 months).

Keeping you informed,

Stetson Lowe - The Mortgage Insider - www.UtahLoanTips.com

P.S. BYU being voted into the top 10 in the AP poll helped a little to off set the sting of a day like today.  Go cougs keep giving us something to cheer about!

700 Billion Bail Out Package - What do you think?

This past weekend secretary Paulson and President Bush presented a 700 Billion bailout package that includes but is not limited to the government exchanging government debt (good debt) for troubled defaulting mortgage backed securities (bad debt).  This plan would allow banks to rid their balance sheets of this bad debt and allow them to free up capital or reserves set aside to compensate for this bad debt.  When rumors of this plan hit the press on Thursday or Friday (I cant remember what day) last week it sent the markets into orbit to the upside with traders gladly grabbing hold of this news and running with it.  They haven't had much to run with lately, that being said I was still surprised how much a rumor at that point could affect the markets.  It's actually a little bit scary.  We saw today after the official package had been announced traders are not so optimistic about the plan, if it has what it takes to make it through congress, and there is even some doubt as to what effect the package would have on our current situation. 

Why make our children pay?

The question I pose is why make our children and their children pay for mistakes that bankers and CEO's made over the last decade?  And why are we trying so hard to make sure none of these institutions fail?  I know there are going to be some of you morons out there that are screaming at your computer right now while you read this all hyped up on Diet Coke and No Doz because you haven't been able to stop watching the news and reading on-line message boards about how the market was mere ticks away from totally imploding, well I would say to you go put the tinfoil back on your head and keep looking for Elvis.  Tinfoil heads is our economy troubled? Yes!  Are there steps that should be taken to help ease the credit fears? Yes! Is the only answer to throw 700 Billion at the banks and say here's a free do over?  No do overs are for kick ball in elementary school when the pitcher throws the ball and you don't get the baby bouncies you called for.  Do overs should not be issued to Investment Banks and Traditional Banks who's CEO's were still pulling down 20+ million a year right up until they got their butts kicked out the door or they closed down the shop. 

I am not going to pretend to have all the answers, all I am saying is lets ease up on the dose of the main stream media who will say anything in their teaser to get you to keep your remote locked in on the next story, to suck the logical thought right out of very intelligent peoples brain's until they no longer have the ability to think with logic and understand that our country is in dire need of REFORM not free handouts.  It has been said that the democrats never have seen a tax they didn't like, well that may be true but in all fairness I might add that sometimes it seems that the republicans never have seen a debt they didn't like either.

I enjoyed this interview with Ron Paul immensly because even though CNN's Wolf Blitzer threw everything and the kitchen sink at Paul including stirring the emotional pot by saying "they are saying people could lose their life savings, their IRA's, their 401k's, it has been said this could be like the great depression" Ron Paul just shunned that aside and kept saying very calmly "No the real problem is what we are doing to our dollar by creating money and credit out of thin air."  "Inflation is what we really need to be worried about.  It wont matter if every one still has their savings and social security checks if they dont buy you anything."  I felt he did a great job.  CNN and others are going to continue to stir that pot because that is what gets the message boards blown up with conspiracy guy making comments all day long about the end of the world and his love for Art Bell.  Bottom line is we need to save more.  Spend less then you make!  Seems so simple yet our entire country seems to struggle with it. 

Interest rates are still amazing, home prices have dipped significantly, it's time to buy.  Call me guys, even you conspiracy guy give me a call but don't give me your social or date of birth over the phone "they are listening" HA enjoy the interview with Ron Paul.

Stetson Lowe - The Mortgage Insider - www.UtahLoanTips.com

THE GREAT BAILOUT OF 2008

In this tumultuous year of 2008 that will undoubtedly go down in history as one of unprecedented government intervention in the private banking and business sector, Sunday September 7th may very well be the day they talk about in economics classes maybe even high school history classes. 

September 7, 2008 was the day I predicted would come in a blog post back on July 7, 2008(read it for yourself if you don't believe me).  It was on that day even in the midst of Henry Paulson the United States Treasury Secretary stating that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were well funded and had adequate liquidity and that the US Government would not need to step in or take action, it was on that day that I predicted that in fact there would be a Big Huge Government bailout as I called it.  Well as it turns out I was right on about one thing, that there would be a government bailout, but I have to admit that even I may have underestimated just how Huge this bailout would be.

September 7, 2008 Paulson announced the Governments plan to take over Mortgage Colossal Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  This is NOT just a plan to lend these Government Sponsored Entities more money at discounted rates which the FED had announced (1 week after my prediction) would be the case if it became necessary.  This is a full fledged take over of the companies, the kind where the government walks in to the CEO's offices and says thank you but your services are no longer needed please kindly show yourself to the door we'll take it from here.

Many are outraged that the CEO's are being kindly shown the door when they feel that both have been involved in some of the biggest accounting scams in modern day history.  Accounting errors to the tune of around 6 billion dollars.  Just to give you an Idea of how massive an error that is I will compare it to a little company we all remember called ENRON.  The CEO of that company and accounting overstated earnings to the tune of $550,000,000, compare that with the $6,000,000,000 in earnings restatements that came after a government probe of the Fannie and Freddie.  We all know what happened to the Enron executives still in prison and dead.  What has happened to the Fannie and Freddie execs that were padding their earnings in a way that would have made the Enron execs proud?  From what I have heard so far they took early retirement and are probably sipping on pina coladas somewhere in  the Cayman Islands.  Oh it was not without punishment, one of the CEO's a former adviser under president Clinton was fined 24 million for his wrong doings. 15 million of that fine came in forfeiting stock options he still held which enabled him to buy stock at $71 per share.  When the order was made the stock was at $9 a share, Ooohhh you guys really showed him forcing him to give up $15,000,000 in options that you couldn't have forced him to exercise at gun point.  Abetter thing to do would have been to make him exercise those options and buy that stock at $71 per share don't you think?

Sorry about getting off on that tangent, I don't have a lot of patience for the individuals who are ultimately responsible for the whole mess that our industry, our market and our country are in right now that is directly affecting my own family and those of millions more.

The Take Over and What it Will Mean To Us

It was necessary lets just get that out of the way right now, it was necessary to ensure the stability of our lending market going forward.  Do I like it?  Absolutely not!  When was the last time that the government ran any for profit business and did a better job then the private sector?  Granted anyone could have done a better job then the scandalous bonus seeking greed filled execs that have been there over the last 8 years, but prior to that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and provided an absolutely necessary and vital role in our US Housing Market and thereby in our Economy as a whole, and they have done it pretty well.  What I would like to see is for there to be some accountability, some punishment handed down to the preferred share holders of Fannie and Freddie, a literal wake up slap for those that have continued to invest in these companies over the last 4 years that they have been under continued investigation and shown that they were at fault for some serious wrong doing.  As it stands right now the stock holders are not going to be wiped out.  Which means that they are not helping to offset the amount of money that the US Government and we as the tax payers are going to invest to stabilize and rebuild these firms. 

How Much Is This Going To Cost?

I laugh now as I think back to when the credit crisis first began and there were analysts who went out on a limb and said they thought the crisis might cost US Banks upwards of 200 billion.  We flew past that number in about 4 months and the limb those analysts went out on must have snapped like a twig under the weight of that mis guided estimate.  Oh what the banks would give now to have the bleeding stop at 200 billion.  Some of the latest reports are that we are nearing the Big T 1 Trillion for US Bank.  Fannie and Freddie alone could exceed that number and could be as high as 1.2 Trillion that the US Gov will need to pump into these deflated and defeated lenders over the next few months and years.  I would only hope that the government will turn them back over to the private sector as quickly as possible, it doesn't need to be a complete charity act the Fed's should make a profit on the deal where possible but I would implore them to sell them back to the private sector as quick as they can.  Give Mitt Romney a call as well, he would be up to the task of reshaping and reforming these companies and he happens to have 4 years on his hands before he will get the Nod from the GOP for president. 

Your comments are welcomed.

Keeping you informed,

The Mortgage Insider - Stetson Lowe - UtahLoanTips.com

I dont agree 100% with all of the views expressed in the video below but I do believe there are some valid points made and therefore have chosen to add it to my blog. Enjoy.