Townstone Financial

Townstone Financial

By Barry Sturner and Zach SchwartzBusiness
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Townstone Financial episodes

  • Townstone’s State of the Market 2024!
    Did you complete your annual mortgage and financial check-in? If now, set up an appointment today at: https://townstone.com/consultation-request/
    We will help you with your home purchase, refinance, cash-out, debt-consolidation, and movie recommendations!
    Starting with some good news: Mortgage rates start the year at their lowest point in the last 6 months!
    But the bad news: Insurance for home and autos is becoming the new “pain-point” for consumers as insurance companies are increasing premiums and even canceling renewals outright! Many home and car buyers don’t even consider their insurance cost when making their purchases, but that will be changing quickly.
    Boeing is in the news again as the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered airlines to ground dozens of Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft for urgent inspections. This order comes after a door plug blew out in the middle of a flight on Friday when the nearly brand-new aircraft was flying at around 16,000 feet.
    Fortunately, no person was hurt, but we can’t say the same thing about the stock. Writing this before the show airs: Zach predicts Barry will see this as an opportunity to buy some Boeing stock on discount (UPDATE: he was wrong).
    As always, FREE 1 on 1 consultations available at: https://townstone.com/consultation-request/
    24 min
  • U.S. Treasury Debt at the Limit?
    Let’s start with some facts:
    1. Interest Payments - Analysis from Bloomberg last month estimated that annualized interest payments on the US government debt pile topped $1 trillion. This is consistent with the $981 billion that the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported for July 1st, 2023.
    2. The 2023 budget of the United States federal government has total expenditures at around $6 trillion
    3. The cost of servicing US government debt is about 16% of total US government spending
    That 16% could be going to fixing roads and schools, providing healthcare, or anything else you want your government to be doing. Instead, it’s going towards nothing, just paying interest.
    If you want to look on the bright side, at least treasury debt isn’t at 100% of domestic GDP… but take that with a grain of salt. The data from the Fed for 2023 isn’t available yet, but as of 2022: total federal debt was 94% of the total GDP. The only other time it was this high was during WWII and the economic boom that followed allowed the government to bring that back down almost immediately following the war.
    Where is the next economic boom coming from? Now, the government can simply print more money to pay the increasing debt service, but how does that work when the Fed is trying to limit inflation?
    As always, FREE 1 on 1 consultations available at: https://townstone.com/consultation-request/
    22 min
  • The FED Backs Down!
    Yesterday (12/14/2023) was the 3rd time in a row that the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee didn’t raise rates. Did we just go from a “pause” to the official end of the tightening cycle? If Zach was a gambler, he thinks we did….
    The Fed Funds rate at 5.50% is the highest level since 2001. There have been 11 rate increases during this cycle. What’s notable is that this “pause” that started a few meetings ago allowed the market to develop a hypothesis that the Fed could cut rates more aggressively in 2024. In late October, the 10Y Treasury yield touched 5% but has since moved below 4%!
    Some further thoughts/analysis:
    1. Restarting the tightening cycle could be hard for the Fed. It’s likely we’re done increasing rates and yesterday’s statement is very “dovish.”
    2. Inflation hasn’t slowed to the 2% range the Fed is seeking. This will keep the market/traders/borrowers trying to interpret what “higher for longer” means in Fed-Speak.
    3. Expectations of rate cuts in 2024 were already reflected by the drop in rates we’ve seen since November, but the FED’s comments yesterday has further solidified those 2024 expectations.
    WATCH THIS SPACE! THINGS ARE GETTING SPICY!
    As always, FREE 1 on 1 consultations available at: https://townstone.com/consultation-request/
    21 min
  • Purchase Program Rundown
    Purchase Program Rundown
    Here's just a TASTE of our purchase mortgage products:
    "ONE+" gives you a credit of up to 2% of the purchase price with NO PMI
    "Purchase Plus" gives you a credit up to $5,250 of the purchase price with discounted PMI pricing
    "HomeRady/Homepossible" gives you reduced PMI pricing along with a great base rate with only 3% downpayment required
    How do you know if you qualify? Well, you fill out a free consultation at townstone.com for a 1 on 1 where we discuss your scenario and options to make sure you get the best possible loan for your situation.
    With mortgage rates at their lowest levels since September, it might seem like a boon for upcoming homebuyers, but there's another side to that coin: Zach and Barry discuss those implications.
    As for this week's non-mortgage gripe: Did you know about 10% of US Government spending is for debt servicing/interest on the money it owes? Like many economists, we argue that this is simply unsustainable. So, what do we do? Cut spending? Increase tax rates? Default on the debt?
    There's no easy answer, so the best thing you can do is make sure you get the best rate and program in your personal life by working with Townstone on your next mortgage.
    As always, FREE 1 on 1 consultations available at: https://townstone.com/consultation-request/
    32 min
  • The BEST Cyber Monday Deal!
    Do you know what's better than a discounted TV this Cyber Monday? A lower rate or payment on your monthly mortgage!
    You could save thousands of dollars over 30 years vs. the 1-time savings you get with one of these so-called deals from Amazon or Wal-Mart.
    Rates continue to drop as we head towards the end of the year. If you haven't checked on market rates recently, you should absolutely fill out a free consultation request at Townstone.com to see what we can do for you.
    As always, FREE 1 on 1 consultations available at: https://townstone.com/consultation-request/
    23 min
  • So about The Beatles…
    So about The Beatles…
    Paul, John, George, and Ringo (better known as The Beatles) released a new single. Zach is unimpressed.
    Mortgage rates hold steady as we start the week, but there's no telling where things will go from here.
    Thanksgiving is coming up, but are you more excited for the sales that come the day after on black-Friday? Let us know if there's any good ones out there!
    Speaking of deals though, saving on your mortgage is much more important than ANY of those deals you'll find in the weeks to come.
    For the best deal on your mortgage or home equity line/loan, you gotta go with Townstone.
    As always, FREE 1 on 1 consultations available at: https://townstone.com/consultation-request/
    30 min

About Townstone Financial

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Whether you are purchasing a new home or refinancing your existing home, the Townstone Financial team of state and nationally licensed, FBI background checked mortgage professionals will find a loan program which best fits your specific financial situation.