1st Choice Lending: Rose Medlen, Mortgage Broker NMLS #1679201

08/25/2025

TODAY

As I sit and have my cup of coffee with Jesus, I was reflecting on a quote from St. Augustine. It says, “God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them." So the question that we need to ask ourselves is what am I filling my hands with?

Am I filling my hands with worry, wringing them daily? Am I filling my hands with busyness? Am I filling my hands with greed, or envy, or anger? Maybe I fill my hands with violence, or disrespect, or idleness. Maybe I close my hands all together and keep out love, and grace, and peace!

Please click here to continue reading on my website: https://craigsinspirations.com/posts/coffee-with-jesus/Open-Hands-08-25-25

Have a blessed day!

08/01/2025

Good Morning! Today is Friday, August 1. The U.S. added just 73,000 jobs in July and the numbers for prior months were revised much lower.
Kamala Harris told Stephen Colbert that U.S. democracy is "broken."(I will pass on commenting 🤣)
President Trump hit Canada with 35% tariffs and kept the global baseline at 10%.

Finding Balance: With more than 1.1 million homes for sale nationwide, the country’s housing market is rebalancing, offering buyers more choices after years of sellers dictating prices and contract terms.

07/25/2025

Good Morning! Today is Friday, July 25. President Trump and Jerome Powell (who controls interest rates) sparred over renovation costs at two of the Federal Reserve's buildings that Jerome Powell is spending).
The fertility rate dropped to an all time low in 2024 with less than 1.6 children per woman. The extreme heat that has been over the central US is shifting east for the weekend.

Rates Don't Budge: Mortgage rates remained mostly unchanged last week. Note. If your Fico is 760 to 800 with 20 % or more equity in a property your interest rate will be much better opposed to some one with a 660 Fico Score and or having less equity on a purchase or refinance. Normally appraised value less total of new loan amount determines equity.

07/23/2025

Guts. I don't have any. Don't think I can grow and balls at my age🤣Bakersfield Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty for His Role in $25 Million Fraud Scheme

July 22, 2025 – Victor Cruz, 40, who was a tax return preparer in Bakersfield, pleaded guilty on Monday, July 14, 2025,. to helping Miguel Martinez, a Mexican national who was in the United States illegally, submit fraudulent individual federal income tax returns that claimed $25 million in refunds, Acting U.S....

07/21/2025

Good Morning! Today is Monday, July 21. Israeli forces fired on crowds of Palestinians trying to secure food over the weekend. Lawmakers called for the release of more information related to the Epstein case. A Bangladesh air force jet crashed into a college campus, killing at least 19.

Scared Sellers: Nervous would-be sellers are opting to wait before putting their house on the market because they don't want to cut prices.
Mortgage Tech: Mobility Market Intelligence has launched ChatMMI, a conversational AI that delivers pros wide-reaching mortgage and sales data.

“The balance of power in the housing market has shifted toward buyers because listings have piled up and demand has slowed down. Prospective sellers are feeling discouraged by this new reality. Some are reacting by staying put or renting their homes out instead of selling—especially if they’re at risk of taking a haircut.
Shifting Markets: One in seven pending home sales fell through last month as buyers are getting cold feet or finding a better option.

Score Changeup: Mortgage lenders will soon have the choice to use either FICO or VantageScore to evaluate creditworthiness. Is that good for borrowers?
Breaking Ground: Chicago has taken a step closer to the city's first affordable housing complex exclusively for Native Americans.

Mapped: See where the most homeowners are behind on their mortgage
Retiree Strongholds: Baby boomers are sitting on a staggering amount of housing wealth.

07/21/2025

Bakersfied, Ca June Report by local Appraiser. No surprise it is getting to be more and more of a buyers' market. Market characteristics report for the Bakersfield single-family market for June 2025. This is only a snapshot, but some disquieting changes have taken place. Fifty-seven percent of the monthly indices are red, and eighty percent of the annual indices are red. Supply continues to increase, while demand declines, resulting in a decline in the median price. With new listings increasing, it appears that the supply side will continue to grow.

07/16/2025

Rate sheets catching a break today, and should be similar or even a bit better than yesterday. This is actually a pretty great win, considering that mortgage bonds lost ground through the day yesterday and before a strong open it was looking like we'd see much worse rate sheets to start the day. Reprice risk today is moderate, although bonds are holding strong early in the day we could easily see them lose ground. Also, although today's gains are great, it doesn't mean we are ready to see a reversal to the recent trend that rates are creeping higher. This is simply a day where rates are catching their breath. Rates look likely to continue creeping higher from here. Rose

06/24/2025

BUYERS BAKERSFIELD, CA MARKET: Assuming a seller has no other major debt, per this report from a local appraiser, a buyer SHOULD earn $108,800 to qualify for a medium-priced home.
Sales volume increased 3.3% from the previous month and decreased 18.5% compared to last
year's period, while the state's volume fell 4%. Housing supply increased 7.1% from last month,
with 930 current listings on the market, 49% higher than last year.

The median marketing time declined to 46 days, with the state at 21 days. The market has 2.67
months of unsold inventory, while the state has 3.8 months. The foreclosure market remains non
existent, with only 21 REO sales in the past year.

Interest rates on 30-year fixed mortgages increased to 6.82%, nine basis points higher than last
month and 24 basis points lower than the previous year's period. The current affordability index
is 29%, compared to the state’s 17%. Bakersfield’s minimum median family income to qualify
for a median-priced home is $108,800, while the state’s is $218,000.

The Bakersfield MSA’s unemployment rate declined to 8.9% last month, as 1,300 people left

06/22/2025

one thing you commonly read and hear is that sugar causes cancer. But several reliable sources say that there are only two foods which are known to cause cancer: processed meats and alcohol.Hmm???