Survivor

Sugarbush, as they are named in South Africa. Proteas are survivors.

Thinking about the protea plants I left behind at the ranch. I will miss their syrupy smiles in summer and Fall.

Also melancholic about changes, leaving a home behind.

This reminds me of a topic I don't often discuss, but I have some useful knowledge that time revealed. 

I spent $300,000 on legal fees in my divorce and the spending was fueled by a mean ex who hired five attorneys and my own legal counsel who could see how much I was earning and thought we could recover from the master of disguise. Often I thought I would write a book on the best way to get divorced and save your capital. I believe mediation is a better solution to our court system. Fighting and court appearances cost dearly and those who lose cannot recoup the lost time, money, energy, and heart of your children.

With our court systems closed, three million American households in forbearance, and many people out of work the stress on families is enormous. Like in 2009 I believe the divorce rates are going to climb as couples were locked down in a bind of heavy darkness. If I can suggest anything: seek counsel from your pastor, priest, rabbi, and health care providers. Exercise, eat healthy, and talk about the stress. If things are dangerous (mine was) then you have to get out. If there is abuse get the perpetrator to move in with other family.

Be a survivor my friends. Much love to all. Pandemic and political chaos will pass.

Proteas don't like alot of water, they love a pine needle mulch, and sun.

 

My Mortgage Is Morphing to SOFR

 

The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) is a comprehensive method of weighing the daily cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by Treasury securities. SOFR is the sum all trades in the Broad General Collateral Rate plus bilateral Treasury repurchase agreement (repo) transactions cleared through the Delivery-versus-Payment (DVP) service offered by the Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC), which is filtered to remove a portion of transactions considered “specials”.   The SOFR is calculated as a volume-weighted median of transaction-level tri-party repo data collected from the Bank of New York Mellon as well as GCF Repo transaction data and data on bilateral Treasury repo transactions cleared through FICC's DVP service, which are obtained from DTCC Solutions LLC, an affiliate of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. Each business day, the New York Fed publishes the SOFR on the New York Fed website at approximately 8:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time .b For more information on the production of the SOFR, please see Additional Information about the Treasury Repo Reference Rates.

 

Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), is based on closed transactions in the Treasury repurchase (repo) market, where money trading happens daily. A repurchase agreement (RP) is a short-term loan where both parties (banks-lenders- financial corporations) agree to the sale and a future repurchase of assets within a specified contract period. The seller sells a Treasury bill or other government security with a promise to buy it back at a specific date and at a price that includes an interest payment. This is the market where investors offer borrowers overnight loans backed by their U.S. Treasury bond assets. It is a clearing house for cash where the rate of repayment is agreed upon. The SOFR is now considered the better way to view the American economic cash flow and rate of return on a daily basis that is averaged monthly.

COFI index became outdated as banks merged, fewer participants allowed for real market measure as the few big banks could control the index. The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco will discontinue the three Eleventh District Weighted Average Cost of Funds indexes after the publication of the December 2021 COFI on January 31, 2022. The FHLB will no longer calculate the Semiannual Weighted Average Cost of Funds Indices for the 11th District and for California after the publication of the indices for the July-December 2021 period on February 15, 2022.  COFI index was used for most Adjustable Rate Mortgage loans prior to 2009. Lenders and servicers already began transitioning Adjustable Rate Mortgages to LIBOR some years past. Now we will see them roll to SOFR indexes.

London Inter-Bank Offered Rate – the index used to set many adjustable mortgage rates Due to interest rate manipulation stemming back to as early as 2003, LIBOR will be discontinued, on December 31, 2021. Approximately $350 trillion worth of financial contracts reference LIBOR globally. Lookup LIBOR scandal to see how Deutsche Bank (DB), Barclays (BCS), Citigroup (C), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) cooperated to control the index from 2003 to 2012.

SOFR has been selected by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac its preferred alternate index for mortgage contracts sold to them starting next month.

SOFR ARMs eligible for sale to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will use an index based on a 30-day compounded average of SOFR (SOFR Index). The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (New York Fed) publishes 30-, 90-, and 180-day compound SOFR averages.

 

So you got this far into a dry discussion about why your mortgage index is changing to SOFR. New ARM home loans sold will start with the SOFR index. Older existing mortgage serviced or maintained by banks, mortgage lenders, entities etc. will transition to SOFR as the preferred index that measures the pulse of interest rates. Consumers won’t have much choice in the change, read your promissory note, typically the index can be rolled to like kind. The challenge now is for lenders and servicers operating systems to make changes in calculations in a time where the cost of servicing loans in forbearance and grey clouds may be difficult. As a consumer you can ask for a copy of your original promissory note and any ARM riders to check what you signed long ago.

If you need help just call me.

C G   949  784  9699

 

Handmade wreaths by C G

https://carolineg.swmcretail.com/

Flower arrangement I made for you since you read the whole thing :)

 

Creating Wreaths

 Every year I make wreaths for friends and family.

I'm working on a video to show you how easy it is to collect greens and things that will make your holiday special. Or you can call me to make you one

Your Ducks in a Row

 It's been a difficult year. 

Maybe you took a forbearance or skipped a payment.

It's time to get the mortgage current or come up with a new plan.

There's no shame in this, we saw the crash of 2008 and we survived.

Let's chat about what options are available to lower your monthly or

increase your income.

Let's put 2020 behind us and smile that we overcame it all.

(949) 784 - 9699