Happy Friday the 13th...

Well maybe not so much if you are looking at locking a loan.
Bonds are once again up today currently with a yield of 4.81%.

Check out the last week or so: http://www.patagoniafinance.com/bondlook.html

In periods in time like this I see two related items happening.
A "less than honest loan officer" (and there are plenty of them out there) will be spouting rates that were real rates, but last weeks real rates. Quoting today's rates wouldn't get you a loan if the borrowers were comparing you to a quote they got last week.

And then there are the borrowers themselves.
One of the issues that is inherent in the mortgage process is a real, honest to goodness, accurate way for borrowers to compare loan options. The idea is there, but in reality there is simply no way to compare. In the end the borrower typically will go with the better salesman, or be hooked by a false rate and fee structure, or just a rate that was good last week sometime.
We in the profession know this all too well.
Many of us fight the good fight, many others go over to the dark side, resorting in less than honest sales tactics.

The moral of the story is...
If you are a loan originator, and always do the best for your clients, keep the faith, stay on the path, educate your clients as best you can.

If you are a borrower, educate yourself as best you can, but in the end, if you find a loan officer you trust, and that loan officer has your best interest at heart, you'll going to be better off placing your trust in them and listening to them, insead of spending time chasing around rate and fee qoutes.

I've heard very good originators say to their clients, "You want the best rate? I don't have the best rate. The best rate happens in an instant and then is gone. You want the best fees? I don't have those either. On the other hand, if you want the very best loan package for the situation you are in right now, and the best loan package for what you plan for in the future, I can put the best package together for you, that's what I do."

Or using the gas station metaphor, I wouldn't send my wife alone in the middle of the night, to a gas station in a questionable part of town just because I received a card in the mail saying they had the best prices in town. How do I know the rate will be the same when she gets there. Is the gas station run or frequented by shady figures?
What about the quality of that gas?
I know, rates are rates - right?
If that's is true, then can you tell me why all those people going into foreclosure bought Option ARMS? They were sold those loans based on rates or fees, plain and simple.

And then there's the medical metaphor:
Assume you need your galblader removed. It isn't a pressing issue, just something that needs to be done soon. Insurance and co-payments aside, do you shop for the right surgeon by rate and fees? What if the lowest one quoted you with minimal sedation, a single pint of blood, and the very minimum of after patient care. It might look good on paper, but what happens when you have complications? Or need extra blood? Feeling a little pain? Follow up appointment? Just take the stiches out by yourself, that wasn't included.

I'll jump off my soapbox now, just be careful out there!

Back to mortgage matters:

Yesterday prices improved, albeit slightly, for the first time all week. The Federal Reserve released its Beige Book report detailing economic conditions throughout the U.S. by region. It is relied upon heavily by the Federal Reserve during FOMC meetings when determining monetary policy. Unfortunately A-paper prices are worse this morning after the release of the Retail Sales data. Retail Sales were expected higher but actually -.4%, which should help prices. But then everyone realized that the weakness in the data was due to reduced spending on gasoline, and all other spending is strong! We still have the University of Michigan survey ahead, estimated at 86. On the “good news” side of things, Wall Street firms report that demand for mortgage-backed securities continues to be strong. And Econ 101 taught us that higher demand leads to higher prices, at least relative to Treasuries.