14 summers-end party prep tips – PLUS 5 steps to a super-efficient home office

Summer parties are always special. Here are some tips to help you plan your party so you can relax and enjoy it! 1. Take inventory. Before you invite everyone, see what party supplies you need and get them now. 2. Timing is everything. Summer weekends can fill up quickly. Think about throwing your party Friday after work or Sunday at brunch time. 3. Make it potluck. Ask guests to bring beverages or food that needs little preparation. That leaves you free to put together one or two fancier menu items. 4. Start cleaning when you invite. Do a little each day and you'll get it all done without stress. 5. Plan whenever you can. Put your playlist together over lunch. Do the menu while you commute. Make dishes ahead in the week preceding. 6. Practice. Pick a few menu items and special beverages. Then practice making them, so you can quickly whip them up at the party. 7. Consider comfort. Have sunscreen and bug spray on hand, S'mores supplies and blankets if people stay into the cool summer evening. 8. Do a grill check. Make sure you have propane and a clean cooking surface and that everything works properly. 9. Offload the fridge. Party food takes up lots of fridge space, so where do you chill the beverages? Fill up coolers or tubs with ice, and put in the cans and bottles. When the ice melts, the water can be recycled by watering outdoor plants or emptied onto the lawn. 10. Be ready with nibbles. Offer a couple of simple appetizers for guests to enjoy right away. Keep it simple–chips and salsa, raw veggies and dip. 11. Have backup. If you underestimate your food or get some last minute guests, know your backup options. Check that a takeout place will be open and if they'll deliver. 12. Simplify cleanup. Copy the caterers. Take an out of the way area such as the garage and set up barrels for trash and recycles. If you use dishes and flatware, put out a few buckets with soapy water. Let everything soak overnight, then finish cleaning the next day. 13. Build up a stash of party supplies. Buy one upgrade a year, such as cloth napkins that cut paper waste and don't come apart on sticky fingers. 14. Hunt for bargains. Keep an eye out at discounters for party platters, cake stands, candles, and serving bowls. HOW TO CREATE A SUPER-EFFICIENT HOME OFFICE Whether you have a home office for your job, for household bills, or both, here's how to set it up to get more done in less time. 1. Ditch the junk. We're talking about equipment you don't use, files you don't look at, records you don't need, and paper clutter in general. These all slow you down when you're looking for things. If you haven't opened a file or used something in a couple of years, recycle or trash it. 2. Replace single-purpose items with a multipurpose device. Get a printer, copier, and scanner in one machine. Replace old backup drives with a new high capacity, high speed drive. 3. Fine tune the layout. Arrange desk, shelves, and storage units so that everything can be accessed quickly and easily. Keep technology within arm's reach. 4. Organize storage. Use boxes, bins, or drawers for different items–one box for computer stuff, one for small office supplies. Keep often-used items by your desk, and put away the rest. 5. Repeat annually. Once a year, or sooner, go through steps 1–4 all over again. When you're ready for a new home office in a new home, we can help with the financing. As soon as you'd like to take advantage of today's opportunities to upgrade, downsize, or buy your first home, we're happy to answer any questions. We can also help with refinancing your current home or funding home improvements. Please call or email us any time. We're always here for you... Have a great day! P.S.: Mortgage rates are still at historically attractive levels. When buying or refinancing, it's smart to start the process early. Please call or email us to explore the appealing options available now.

Weekly Newsletter

In This Issue... Last Week in Review: Key housing and labor market news was released, but events from overseas dominated the headlines. Forecast for the Week: Look for important news on inflation, manufacturing, and consumer attitudes and spending—all in the second half of the week. View: Recharge your job satisfaction with these four easy tips. Last Week in Review "It's a small world after all." The economic calendar may have been fairly quiet, but plenty of headlines from overseas led to a volatile week in the markets. Here are the takeaways. Starting at home, research firm CoreLogic reported that home prices, including distressed sales, rose by 7.5 percent on an annualized basis in June. This is down from the 8.3 percent increase recorded in May. Price gains have been easing after the big increases that were recorded in 2013, due to modestly rising inventory and less than expected demand. CoreLogic is forecasting a 5.7 percent increase from June 2014 to June 2015, which is further evidence of a slowdown in gains. Also of note, Weekly Initial Jobless Claims fell by 14,000 in the latest week to 289,000. Claims are now at eight-year lows as the labor market continues to improve. In addition, the four-week moving average of claims reached the lowest level since February 2006. This news is significant, as jobless claims are a leading indicator of the health of the labor market—and improvement in the labor sector is a key tenet of our continued recovery. Ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, the fighting in Gaza, U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, and more debt woes in Europe are some of the biggest headlines from the past week. When there is uncertainty like this in the world, we often see "safe haven" trading in the markets. This is where investors move their money out of Stocks and into less risky assets like Bonds—including Mortgage Bonds, the type of Bond on which home loan rates are based. Stocks have gotten clobbered recently but our Bond markets have benefitted—and as Mortgage Bonds improve, so do home loan rates. The bottom line is that home loan rates remain near some of their best levels of the year and now is a great time to consider a home purchase or refinance. Let me know if I can answer any questions at all for you or your clients. Forecast for the Week The second half of the week heats up with several important reports. On Wednesday, we'll learn key details about consumer spending habits with Retail Sales for July. Weekly Initial Jobless Claims will be released, as usual, on Thursday. Last week's number hit lows not seen since before the recession. Friday's packed calendar includes July's Producer Price Index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level. Also look for the Empire State Manufacturing Index and Consumer Sentiment Index for August. Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result. The chart below shows Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS), which are the type of Bond on which home loan rates are based. When you see these Bond prices moving higher, it means home loan rates are improving—and when they are moving lower, home loan rates are getting worse. To go one step further—a red "candle" means that MBS worsened during the day, while a green "candle" means MBS improved during the day. Depending on how dramatic the changes were on any given day, this can cause rate changes throughout the day, as well as on the rate sheets we start with each morning. As you can see in the chart below, geopolitical headlines have helped Mortgage Bonds improve. Home loan rates remain near some of the best levels of the year and I will continue to monitor them closely. Chart: Fannie Mae 4.0% Mortgage Bond (Friday Aug 08, 2014) The Mortgage Market Guide View... 4 Tips to Recharge Your Job Satisfaction With the amount of time people spend working, job satisfaction is an important part of life. If you ever find yourself in a rut, here are four tips that can help. Keep your eyes on the prize. Measurable goals (like number of homes built or percent increase in revenue) are key to business success. Equally important is translating how goals represent something invaluable (like dreams realized and happy families). Tie measurable goals to the bigger picture and focus on that vision to inspire you. Set boundaries and expectations. Technology expanded the workday with anytime, anywhere access to email and calls. Clearly, the lines between professional and personal time have blurred—and both sides can suffer from lack of focused attention. So what's the solution? Set specific, appropriate work hours. In email and voicemail messages, let others know your work hours and a realistic timeline of how quickly you'll respond. Condition yourself to not constantly check emails and voicemails when you are off work—or, at the very least, commit to a schedule (e.g., after the kids are in bed or after your favorite TV show). Schedule a Power Hour. An uninterrupted hour each week will recharge you. Use a Friday Power Hour to organize and prioritize for the next week. Use a midweek Power Hour to catch up on industry reading or write handwritten notes to clients. Create new challenges. Join an organization to meet new people and gain a fresh perspective. Present a seminar with community education or at a local club to share your expertise. Start a blog and commit to at least one 250-word weekly post. These four tips can reignite your passion for what you do. As always, please feel free to pass them along to your team, colleagues and clients! Sources: ehow.com, entrepreneur.com, forbes.com, humanresources.com, inc.com, mayoclinic.org Economic Calendar for the Week of August 11 - August 15 Date ET Economic Report For Estimate Actual Prior Impact Wed. August 13 08:30 Retail Sales Jul NA 0.2% HIGH Wed. August 13 08:30 Retail Sales ex-auto Jul NA 0.4% HIGH Thu. August 14 01:00 Jobless Claims (Initial) 8/09 NA 289K Moderate Fri. August 15 01:00 Producer Price Index (PPI) Jul NA 0.4% Moderate Fri. August 15 01:00 Core Producer Price Index (PPI) Jul NA 0.2% Moderate Fri. August 15 08:30 Empire State Index Aug NA 25.6 HIGH Fri. August 15 10:00 Consumer Sentiment Index (UoM) Aug NA 81.8 Moderate The material contained in this newsletter is provided by a third party to real estate, financial services and other professionals only for their use and the use of their clients. The material provided is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment and/or mortgage advice. Although the material is deemed to be accurate and reliable, we do not make any representations as to its accuracy or completeness and as a result, there is no guarantee it is without errors. As your mortgage professional, I am sending you the MMG WEEKLY because I am committed to keeping you updated on the economic events that impact interest rates and how they may affect you.

Market Update

QUOTE OF THE WEEK... "The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit."--Moliere, French playwright and actor INFO THAT HITS US WHERE WE LIVE... If the great French dramatist were alive today, he probably wouldn't be concerned by signs of slower growth in the housing market. Perhaps we shouldn't be either. Pending Home Sales dipped a miniscule 1.1% in June, but climbed for three straight months before that. This National Association of Realtors (NAR) index of contracts signed on existing homes was also above the 100 "average" level of contract activity for the second month in a row. The NAR's chief economist said he expects existing home sales to edge up in the second half of the year. That economist also observed, "The good news is that price appreciation has decreased to its slowest pace since March 2012 behind much-needed increases in inventory." He added, "With rents rising 4% annually, potential buyers are less likely to experience sticker shock." Corroborating that, the S&P/Case Shiller 20-City Composite index showed prices up 9.3% year over year in May, down from April's 10.8% year over year gain. Analysts say the expanding inventory that's slowing these price gains is a favorable trend, as it maintains affordability while increasing options for buyers. BUSINESS TIP OF THE WEEK... In business, preparation is more critical than planning. When the unexpected happens, plans go out the window. But if you're well-prepared, you can adapt with composure, and not panic. >> Review of Last Week NOBODY'S LAUGHING... Funny week on Wall Street. Funny strange, not funny ha-ha. The Dow suffered its biggest weekly loss since January and the S&P 500 registered its worst weekly drop in over two years, while the Nasdaq dipped more than 2%. The strange part was that all this selling happened amidst a flurry of decent economic data. The Q2 GDP–Advanced reading had the economy growing at a 4% annual clip, after its Q1 –2.1% decline. Plus, Consumer Confidence hit its highest level since October 2007 and ISM Manufacturing solidly beat estimates. But the economic good news was bad news for investors who fear it may cause the Fed to raise rates sooner. That too was a strange reaction, given the Fed's statement Wednesday that they expect to keep rates low a good while longer. But there were disappointments. Pending Home Sales, the Chicago PMI manufacturing read, and Michigan Consumer Sentiment all fell short of expectations. The July Employment Report also missed, with 209,000 new nonfarm payrolls, although this was the sixth month in a row the number was above 200,000, describing a sustained if not especially strong recovery. The Unemployment Rate ticked up to 6.2%, yet that happened because the labor force grew, a good thing, showing more people are now hopeful they'll find a job. The week ended with the Dow down 2.8%, to 16493; the S&P 500 down 2.7%, at 1925; and the Nasdaq down 2.2%, to 4353. It was a mixed week in the bond market as global concerns brought in "safe haven" investors but inflation worries sparked some selling. The 30YR FNMA 4.0% bond we watch finished the week down .03, at $105.15. For the week ending July 31, Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey reported national average mortgage rates little changed from the week before. They remain near their lows for 2014. Remember, mortgage rates can be extremely volatile, so check with your mortgage professional for up to the minute information. DID YOU KNOW?... Unit Labor Costs, coming this week, is defined as the ratio of hourly compensation to labor productivity; increases in compensation increase Unit Labor Costs and increases in productivity reduce them. >> This Week’s Forecast SERVICES SECTOR EXPANDS, PRODUCTIVITY UP, LABOR COSTS EASE... After last week's tsunami of economic data, we now get a trickle of reports. Tuesday's ISM Services are expected to continue to show expansion in the sector of the economy that provides over 80% of our jobs. Unfortunately, the trade deficit is also forecast to expand in the June Trade Balance report. Productivity is predicted up for Q2, causing a smaller gain in Unit Labor Costs. This could keep inflation in check going forward.