Wanting Lower Rates! Vintage Photos! and Superheroes!

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Want Quote of the Day: “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Adair

Possible Game Show Answer: Maine is the only state name with one syllable.

Today in History: It was on this date in 1988 when Freedomfest concert was held in London’s Wembley Stadium. The event marked Nelson Mandela’s 70^th birthday and aimed to raise awareness about apartheid in South Africa.

Wuss’up This Week: In last week’s blog I predicted 77k new jobs which would’ve been much lower than expected. However, before I issue an apology for that bad prediction I’d like to point out that March’s report of 185k new jobs was revised a couple of months later down to 120k new jobs. I know you’re thinking, ‘Big deal, Barry – that was just one month.’ Well, April came in at 177k new jobs and then was revised a couple of months later down to 147k new jobs. Last week’s number of 139k new jobs still has time to be revised down to my prediction. In the meantime, we’ve got a few reports coming out this week that can sway interest rates in either direction, starting today with Housing Starts and Building Permits. Oh, and uh, we also have this little thing called the FOMC Interest-rate Decision at 2pm. Current odds of holding rates steady: 98.2%. Current odds of a 25 bps cut: 1.8%. Small odds yes, but let’s remember what my brother pointed out during the speech he gave at my wedding: “The odds that Barry could find a woman – a living one – to marry him were at around 1%.” Stranger things have happened, Mortgage Fans…

Interest Rate Update: Ugly week for rates last week. We started off okay, finished weak. Today we find both conforming (*loans at $806k or less) and Jumbo (*over $806k) in the very high-6s/low-7s, with ARM rates about .25%-.50% lower (*although keep in mind those ARMs carry prepayment penalties). As usual rates will vary based on type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you like vintage photos

Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase loan that closes with me I will waive $450 in lender fees (and much more on a refinance)! Grab yourself a cup of instant karma and pass my info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or Milky Way (galaxy) fans that can use this gift.

Want Quote of the Day 2: “My girlfriend makes me want to be a better person – so I can get a better girlfriend.” – Anthony Jeselnik

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Congrats to those who guessed Bruce Springsteen last week! Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Revolutionary Superheroes T-shirt? Simply email me the answer to this week's Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday today, and Barry says my 2007 suspense/serial killer movie is highly underrated, and that bothers me! It’s unsettling. It’s troubling. It’s…. Anyway, in 2007 people may ask me if I was in a Batman movie to which I laugh and say, ‘no but I did play a penguin in a mockumentary film.’ How about a third film in 2007 – this one is a science fiction film that spun off two more sequels and starred a beautiful actress (in the first two) whose last name is an animal (or a color if she would’ve taken her ex-spouse’s name). Speaking of sequels, I starred in an Oliver Stone-directed movie that was the sequel to an ’87 flick that starred two leading men (*not two and a half men). Last hint: in 2014 I starred in a WWII film whose one-word title can mean intense, wild, or violent anger.”