Scott Fowler's (sfowler) Blog

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Mortgage and Lending - Guaranteed Rate (NMLS ID #2611) - NMLS ID #107432
RECENT BLOG POSTS
It's not often that a mainstream media publication taunts renters into buying homes, but that's exactly what Smart Money does in its latest issue. The Smart Money Web site "lead-in" reads 5 (Lame) Excuses for Not Buying a Home.  That's a forceful title! It's unfortunate that renters could feel an...
05/16/2008
Retail Sales measures total receipts at stores that sell tangible "things" and -- aside from weak demand for automobiles and automobile parts -- Retail Sales displayed surprising strength in April.  So much strength, in fact, that many experts are changing their predictions about the U.S. economy...
05/15/2008
According to the FBI's 2007 Mortgage Fraud Report, more than 46,000 cases of suspected mortgage fraud were reported last year.  This led to bank losses exceeding $813 million. If you're looking for reasons why mortgage underwriting is measurably more difficult in 2008 -- add "mortgage fraud" to ...
05/14/2008
Just like real estate markets differ from town to town, so does the Cost of Living. Courtesy of CNNMoney, this helpful calculator measures the change in living expenses a person would face when moving between any two major cities in America. The key expenses compared are: Groceries Housing Utilit...
05/13/2008
  When the everyday "Cost of Living" increases, our dollars don't go as far as they used to.  Economists call this inflation. One popular method of measuring inflation is to track prices for 84,000 individual items and lump them together into a "basket".  If the overall price is higher, then the ...
05/09/2008
When real estate news is reported on television or in the papers, it's usually told as a national story.  Unfortunately, stories like these aren't helpful for everyday Americans because real estate is not a national market.  Real estate is local.The graph above was used by Fed Chairman Ben Bernan...
05/08/2008
Four times annually, the Federal Reserve surveys 84 different banks about general banking conditions.One of the survey questions asks about current mortgage lending standards and whether they are loosening or tightening.The chart at right is from the April 2008 survey and it illustrates what we a...
05/07/2008
The ubiquity of "free" credit reporting services like FreeCreditReport.com, TrueCredit.com, and AnnualCreditReport.com have helped breed a new generation of credit-aware Americans.Because credit ratings have more importance to everyday life than in years past, this is a welcome development.  For ...
05/06/2008
The Federal Open Market Committee adjourns from its two-day meeting at 2:15 P.M. ET today.  Markets expect the Fed to lower the Fed Funds Rate by 0.250 percent in its press release but it's not what the Fed does that matters to economy right now.  It's what the Fed says.If the Fed states that fut...
04/30/2008
RealtyTrac released Q1 2008 foreclosure statistics and the data follows an interesting statistical phenomenon most commonly known as the "80/20 Rule".The 80/20 Rule states that 80 percent of the effects come from 20 percent of the causes.In this case, 80 percent of bank repossessions in the first...
04/29/2008
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Scott Fowler

Branch Manager / VP Mortgage Lending
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Daily commentary on mortgage industry. Every thing you need to know in plain English!