My mother-in-law is 85 years-old, and I love her but she can be a real pain. Technologically challenged, I’m constantly on the phone explaining to her how to reboot a computer or set her alarm – average call lasts about three days. I imagine it’s very similar to in the movies when the control tower is trying to instruct someone who has never flown before how to land a 747. She’s also nuts with pictures – she owns a flip-phone so it’s always on me to take photos whenever she wants one. My wife nicknamed me the Photo Butler, and I’m not kidding – I take a TON of pictures whenever we come in to visit. “Oh, Barry – take a pic of..” comes out of her mouth every few seconds which I’m convinced is some form of Tourette’s, but whatever – I’m a good son-in-law so I do it. However I hit my limit a couple of months ago when she asked me to take a picture of the hummingbird in her back yard. I told her my phone ran out of film and hallelujah – that ended the picture requests for the rest of the weekend. A few weeks later she called me and said, “I know phones don’t take film. I was going to buy you some but found out from the Google that you fibbed.” (*That’s not a typo, she calls it ‘The Google’). To which I replied, “You can also see much better bird pictures on The Google compared to the ones I take.” Phew… that felt good to get off my chest. Okay, with that said let’s get the blog started with a couple bird quotes and notes about interest rates, etc.
Bird Quote of the Day: “I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth, then I ask myself the same question.” – Author Unknown
Today in Economic History: It was on this date in 1884 when the first convention was held for the newly formed Anti-Monopoly party. I know, doesn’t sound like much of a party to me either, but this crew opposed actions of big businesses at the time. Such actions included dominating product markets by crushing any attempts for competition. (*This is a good time to mention that this blog is brought to you by Amazon) While this party was not able to get their nominee into the White House, their views helped influence the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890.
Wuss’up This Week: Pretty busy week for economic reports that can sway interest rates in either direction. Today we’ve got the Consumer Price Index, tomorrow Jobless Claims, and Retail Sales on Friday. Last week we saw the April Employment numbers come in way, way, lower than what was predicted. There were one-million expected new jobs, the actual number that came in: 266k. This should’ve helped rates come down a lot but they only dropped less than a sliver. The main reason you ask, Mortgage Fans? It’s not as bad as you think because a big chunk of people are making more on their unemployment benefits (which expire in September) than they were when they were working. Believe me when I tell you if I could make more money doing nothing but sitting on my couch and watching Judge Judy reruns instead of currently working while Judge Judy is on in the background… you get the idea, would anyone be motivated to look for work? Expect this number to get better the closer we get to the end of the summer.
Interest Rate Update: I feel like I could cut & paste last week’s update here because there has been no change in the last seven days. But I’m better than that, Mortgage Fans, so I’m going to type out word-for-word last week’s summary while my daughter dictates it to me. A 30yr fixed conforming loan (*that’s any loan at $548k or less) can be found in the high-2s/low-3s while jumbo 30yr fixed loans (*over $548k) are still in the low-3s. Take a look at the conforming 15yr fixed rates (low-2s) and conforming & jumbo ARMs – both in the 2s as well! As usual rates will vary based on if it’s a purchase or refinance, type of home, equity in the home, your credit score, and if you like positive wholesome pics.
Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase or refinance loan that closes with me I will waive $575 in lender fees! Grab yourself a cup of instant karma and pass my info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or jumbotron people on dates that can use this gift.
Bird Quote of the Day 2: “Do bird watchers not know about TV?” – @lamenidcolesalw
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who guessed Neve Campbell last week. Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Hannibal Lecter Face Mask? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “It’s my birthday week and I guess I should celebrate by bragging about the SNL record I hold. (*extra prize to any of you Mortgage Fans who guess what record it is). But let’s go back in time, did you know I was a pilot? Yep – on Snakes on a Plane. Ten years before that I starred in a movie that Nickelodeon produced about a fast food restaurant (the two-word title is something you’d never really be able to get at any fast food restaurant, in this blog’s author’s opinion). Anyway, are they still looking for an Alex Trebek replacement, I’ll take that job!”
