Mess Quote of the Day: “Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived.” – Anne Lamott
This Week in Economic History: It was on April 11th, 1921 The state of Iowa became the first U.S. state to levy a tax on cigarettes. (*note: as a kid the tax on candy cigarettes never bothered me).
Wuss’up This Week: Every day reports about our economy are released into the wild, and it’s these reports that can sway interest rates in either direction. Today we have the Consumer Price Index (expected 0.4%), tomorrow Weekly Jobless Claims (expected: 210k), and on Friday the Consumer Sentiment Report which measures how we feel about the economy. Any report that’s good for the economy will sway rates the wrong direction and vice-versa if the reports come in bad.
Interest rates ticked up last week but are still beautiful. A 30-year fixed jumbo rate (that’s any loan over $484k) can be found in the low-4s, and a 30-year fixed conforming rate (under $484k) in the mid-to-upper 4s. Adjustable rate mortgages on both ends are anywhere from .25 – .50% less. As usual rates will vary based on credit score, type of home, the equity you have in your home, and if your home is just like the Flintstones house.
Don’t Forget to Remember: Any purchase or refinance loan closing with me between now and April 30th will get their appraisal fee waived (a $450 credit!). Grab a cup of instant karma and pass this info along to any friends, family, coworkers, or people who want to know interesting facts about earth.
Mess Quote of the Day 2: “When my kids assure me they will clean up their mess, I know how my dentist must feel when I assure him I will floss.” – @ParentNormal
Timeout for Trivia: Congrats to those who last week guessed Eddie Murphy. Want to be entered into a drawing to win a Dr. Seuss One Fish, Two Fish T-shirt? Simply email me the answer to this week’s Who Am I? question. Good luck: “My superhero film premiered on this date in 2014. I actually made my big-screen debut seven years earlier that was not a superhero film but I guess you could call it kinda super. I’ve appeared in two films with the word ‘Land’ in them, the first in 2009 which broke the record for money made on that type of movie (beating the gross box office receipts previously held by Dawn of the Dead, but since broken by World War Z), and the second one I took home an Oscar. Am I Hollywood royalty? No, but I did play a king in 2017.”
