All right, Cute Family Story Time...Plus Markets

Try to visualize a mom walking through the HEB parking lot, holding both kids' hands, and the little one stopping in mid traffic, "STOP! Wait a minute mommy, I have to do something". Afraid her son was hurt, the mom stops, and proceeds to watch her little 4 year old pick his nose in the middle of the bustling street.  

The hysterical things these little kids do really makes life worth living!

In the Markets:

After some really volatile weeks, there were no major surprises in the last 5 days, ending rates nearly unchanged. The big story NEXT WEEK will be the Fed meeting on Wednesday, and will shed some light on a possible future rate hike, if any. Stay tuned! Read more HERE!

Enjoy the weekend, and as always, we would be HONORED FOR YOUR NEXT REFERRAL!

~Jen

Foundation Do's and Don'ts! Plus, How 'Bout Them Jumbo Rates?!

Happy Monday!

If you weren't able to attend our monthly learning event last week, here is a RECAP! We had a foundation company owner speak about some pitfalls with foundation inspections, and WOW! Some eye openers.

Did you know:

• In Houston there are over 200 foundation repair companies
• In Texas, there is NO REGULATION for foundation inspectors. i.e. no licensing, education requirements, bonding, or set procedures.
• Insurance will NOT cover foundation repair unless you can prove that it was caused by a leak. Once they send 'their' inspector out, then it is to be proven also that the foundation did not cause the leak! In other words...hardly ever happens.
• If a seller gets multiple quotes for foundation repair, they are required to disclose all of them to a buyer
• Houston has many foundation issues because of our SOIL, clay and porous!

How to ensure that the foundation company is reputable:

1. Ask: a) Are you bonded, b) Do you have Texas Workers Comp? c) Are the workers employees or contractors? D) On the warranty include any future pro-ration requirements , e) Does the warranty have a definition of settlement at repair?
2. Get a copy the insurance!
3. Call the insurance company to verify! (the presenter told us of fraudulent ones)
4. Be sure at inspection they use the 'yellow' gadget  (a zip level machine!)
5. Get a copy of the warranty and/or settlement definitions and re survey post repair

IN THE MARKETS:

A record week in mortgage rates. Concern about economic weaknesses in China, Europe and other world markets was the driver of rates this week, for fear that weakness overseas will slow economic growth in the US. Read more here!

JUMBO RATES are not far from the lowest I have seen in 20 years!! Wow! Call us TODAY to start the process!

Enjoy your week, and as always, we would be HONORED FOR YOUR NEXT REFERRAL!

~Jen

Quitting is not an option!

Just 6 short days ago from writing this, we moved the kids, my parents in law, the nanny and the dog Lola to a new house. Amidst the boxes, unwrapped decor, pictures waiting to be hung, and winter clothes mixed with summer...it's been challenging to keep everything and every ONE together. My darling husband was in deep thought the other day, and decided to let me know that all our 'stuff' that he sees laying around is just that, and why do we need so many things? Why do we even own anything at all?  

Okay, while he is right on one hand (spiritually) , on the other, why is he telling me this NOW?

So my cheerleader hat came on, and I let him know that we should go ahead and just give up, quit. He asked what I meant? What was I talking about?  

EXACTLY. Quitting is not an option!  

It's easy to get out of sorts when things are not in their place, scattered all over. This happens in our families, friendships, and teams all the time! Change has a way of challenging our innermost fears, and the easy way out is to just quit.

So next time the thought of giving up creeps in, DON'T! Dig in wherever you are. Clean slate the past and move forward.

In the markets

Interest rates ended last week lower after officials noted that weak growth in other countries could slow growth in the US.   

Here is the link to our newsletter that explains more about what rates did last week.

As always, enjoy your week!

~Jen

Create Raving Fans!

Well, you guessed it, just watch my tip of the week video and you will see that I am in the process of moving houses!  We have heard a lot of banter from our agents that things are slowing down (listing agents have houses sitting longer, and buying agents have buyers that are waiting for sellers to get realistic about their prices). Do we see a market correction coming?

Either way...it's still a GREAT TIME TO BUY with rates still in the 4-s , and also to implement something NEW to your Raving Fan Service. Check out this week's 'Tip of the Week'  to LEARN HOW! And you can spend less than $25 per client to get started today!

In the markets

While the US economy continues to show moderate growth, last week investors grew more concerned about the pace of economic growth outside the US. As a result, they shifted assets to bonds at the expense of stocks, which helped mortgage rates end the week a little lower.    

Here is the link to our newsletter that explains more about what rates did this week.

As always, enjoy your week!
~Jen