Fluctuation: Weights and Rates

So James hasn’t had solid food in eight days. And he’s still going to CrossFit. He’s lost so much weight that the other day I mistook him for Hayley. But then I noticed the blueberry/spinach juice stains on his upper lip and came to my senses.

Speaking of fluctuation, the ole Boss Chad is dealing with a pesky problem. Here’s the thing.

After clients meet with my ole Bosses to discuss a mortgage, often they take the information home, review the interest rate and how that will translate into their monthly payment, and kick back and reflect on the ole Bosses’ cordiality and knowledge.

Now, some of these folks sit and ponder their numbers for a day or so, and then call someone else for a quote [insert hissing and booing sounds here]. And sometimes the new quote from the much less fabulous mortgage banker shows a lower interest rate. Then the client stops calling my ole Bosses and finally emails to say, “I’ve found someone who can give me a lower rate.”

But ah HA! Here’s the part everybody has to understand. Mortgage interest rates fluctuate every single day. Just last week Chad went through this with one of his perspective clients, but you know what? All rates had dropped in the 24 hours since Chad had last talked to his client. If the client would have simply given Chad a call back after speaking with the sub-par lender, he would’ve found out that Chad’s quote would’ve gone down as well.

Market swings happen, and sometimes they happen very quickly. Make sure that when you are shopping for a mortgage, you compare real-time pricing. We’ve seen interest rates swing as much as .375 % in one business day. That number seems small, but when I plug that difference into my own interest rate for my mortgage, it equates to $50 a month. That’s real money people! Factoring in all my payments plus interest, it is a difference of $18,000 over the course of my loan.

Did you hear that? $18,000. Do you know what I could do in an Anthropologie with $18,000?

So here’s what you should remember. First of all, my ole Bosses are the best mortgage bankers in the country, so really you are in perfect hands if you simply email them and ask them to take care of your mortgage needs from start to finish. But if you are going to call around, make sure you are comparing real-time prices. Even a few hours can make a difference. And for crying out loud, do not believe the flashing interest rate on the side of your Hotmail account.

If you’d like to speak to either of my juice drinking, Crossfit training, P90X watching, mortgage banking ole Bosses, email me or contact them directly.

Finally, James “cleanse” ends Monday. I will be sure to report on all the results.