Landon Butaud - Mortgage Advisor

04/13/2023

If you're curious what mortgage rates are going to do in 2023 (whether you're thinking of buying or you're just curious)....

I don't have the answers. No one really does. But there is a way that you can objectively tell what lenders - the people who live or die by the accuracy of their predictions on mortgage rates - what they think will happen with rates.

Lenders don't just offer one rate at any given time. They offer a range of rates. If you take a rate above the "par" rate, they will give you a credit to your closing costs. Or you can get a rate below the par rate if you're willing to pay the lender a certain additional amount up front.

Normally, lenders price their rates so that you won't break even until around 4.5-5 years. Because they know that in normal times, people tend to refinance by about 5 years into their loan. So, they won't actually start losing money.

But right now, lenders are pricing their rates such that in some cases (not all), it would take borrowers *less than a year* to break even on buying the rate down. That's very unusual for lenders to do. That's also not a universal statement that it's wise to pay points on your mortgage right now.

But why are lenders pricing their rates like that? Because they are so confident that most people getting a mortgage right now will likely be refinancing again in the very near future... because they think rates are coming down in the very near future.

That doesn't mean they're right. It's just a way to objectively figure out what the experts think is going to happen.

Paraphrased and plagiarized from my dad in a recent video on his YouTube channel (Mortgage Mastery Theater).

03/01/2023

Owning real estate is good. But I think there's a common motivation which can make it very bad.

Owning and investing in real estate is really bad if your motivation is to not work. The goal of owning and investing in real estate should not be to not work. That shouldn't be what you are selling or what you are looking for in real estate.

I loved hearing David Greene call this out on a Bigger Pockets podcast.

"A lot of the time real estate investing gets sold as the alternative to hard work - the alternative to working for the man and being a slave to someone else. It paints this picture that if you get out of that world and you just buy a couple houses and you’re done, you can do whatever you want.

"It’s actually the opposite. Responsibility increases when you take over the asset that you’ve invested your money into. It is more pressure on you to perform better at this job."

Work is good. Not working is not good. Freeing yourself up financially to do the type and the amount of work that is best for you and your family - that is good. But not working is not good.

You will get bored and you will get depressed and you will run into problems.

12/05/2022

Monroe homebuyers, listen to this really good news that came out in the housing market over the last week.

To get a mortgage with a local Monroe lender you can trust, please text, call, or email!

[email protected]
206-384-7717
NMLS #2291245

12/01/2022

Recent podcast with Brett Baker. For a time, Brett worked essentially as a CFO for hire and got to see a lot of businesses. He gained good perspective on what to do and what not to do.

Different business owners take different approaches to growth. Some simply want to get to a certain dollar amount in revenue. Some set a goal of a specific n...

11/30/2022

Quick thought for all you current homeowners - or future, current homeowners 😉

I think you should give serious thought to hanging onto your current home when you move. For a lot of you, your first thought is probably, "There is no way I could afford a new place if I didn't sell."

But I think a lot of you technically could afford a new house without selling; it's just a question of whether it is worth it to you.

For perspective, there are programs widely available to buy with as little as 3% down.

If you started thinking about that two or three years before buying, a lot of you could save up what you needed to and scrape that together. Create a savings account and call it "Down Payment."

Of course, you still have to decide, is it worth it? You have two mortgages, and you have to manage a rental property. Is it worth it? I think you have to decide that in your given situation. The answer will be different for each person.

But you should realize what a very possible scenario could be: You could end up having your renters quickly pay off the mortgage on your first house, and then you set yourself up with extra, passive income to gain equity on your new place.

If you can do that and get your new mortgage payment down over the first few years of being in the new place, you end up with a very reasonable mortgage payment (just like before) and extra, passive income every month (not like before). You will have to be up for a little bit of property management, but if you can handle that, I think you will like your new situation.

11/15/2022

Just heard someone talking about the value of reading, and something struck me.

Everyone should read because everyone speaks. Whatever your role is, you serve (or don’t serve) others in the way you speak.

If you want to serve others well in the way you speak, it only makes sense to become familiar with words - lots of words.

In reading, as opposed to watching or listening, there is a much greater focus on the words themselves.

If you’re not a reader, consider becoming one, if for nothing else, so that you can notice new words.

11/15/2022

Got to coach in some fun weather this weekend in Snoqualmie.

My boys kept things interesting - scored in the last 3 minutes to win 1-0. Loving the season with these boys!

11/15/2022

Another episode of our podcast for you. Is money a good motivation for work? Hopefully this discussion will provide a helpful perspective on the topic.

It also includes this week's housing market update and a brief answer to the question of when a job change affects your ability to qualify for a mortgage.

The Dirty Troughs Podcast is a show where Landon and Chris Butaud talk about work (and how to enjoy it), provide a weekly housing market update, and give qui...

11/15/2022

Here's why I think date nights, laughing, and sports all matter.

"That four hours on Sunday drives my entire week."

I listened to a podcast where someone said this, talking about watching football on Sunday. His point was that fun things are valuable because they give us energy for the things that are hard.

You cannot avoid doing hard things, but you can fuel those hard things. We don't need to pursue life circumstances where we "love" every second of our week.

But if we fill our week with enough good (yet still small) moments, then we see the hard things through a different light.

If we laugh enough, then we can set back to our work with the corners of our mouths still stretched in the remnant of a smile, without even realizing it.

Keep up those good things, even if they are brief, and you will see the hard things in a different light.
~
"The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast... Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home."
-C.S. Lewis

11/15/2022

Something we talked through with the soccer team I coach yesterday:
The solution to self-doubt isn’t self-confidence.
The reason you’ve started doubting yourself is because you started thinking about yourself. The solution is to think of others.

11/15/2022

This is a new podcast my dad and I recently started. If you're like me and want to be more disciplined, hopefully this episode will be valuable for you.

The Dirty Troughs Podcast is a show where Landon and Chris Butaud talk about work (and how to enjoy it), provide a weekly housing market update, and give qui...