Today's Mortgage Solutions

A newsletter provided for my clients, professionals & consumers in the great Colorado marketplace. The purpose of the newsletter is to remain informed of current consumer topics and pending economic indicators that effect the mortgage and real estate markets.

U.S. Treasury Bonds

Maturity

Yield

Last
Week

Last
Month

5 Year	2.26	2.28	2.52
10 Year	3.34	3.36	3.67
30 Year	4.39	4.37	4.67

Hopes for an economic recovery later this year have propelled stocks into bull-market terrain, but even the bulls are worried that the stock rally may cool down as corporate America starts the confession season when it warns about earnings disappointments. In other words, confession may be good for the soul, but not necessarily for the stock market. And though many strategists believe the rally has yet to run out of steam, some are starting to caution that the stock market is ready for a "correction" -- a decline, in Wall Street jargon -- because it has risen too far, too fast. "The case for a bull market is very strong and the bear market is behind us. But the stock market is overvalued, and the time for a correction is past due," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer at First Albany Corp., who estimates the broader S&P 500 index is overvalued between 10 percent and 20 percent.

On Friday, the blue-chip Dow ended slightly higher, but the Nasdaq fell more than 1 percent as investors locked in recent gains. The S&P 500 finished slightly lower. For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 2.4 percent, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 2.51 percent and the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.97 percent.

Economic Indicators for this week that could impact the mortgage or real estate markets include...

Wholesale Inventories	June 9th
Export Prices	June 12th
Import Prices	June 12th
Initial Claims	June 12th
Retail Sales	June 12th
Producers Price Index	June 12th

When Refinancing or Purchasing Real Estate, Don’t Forget the Will or Trust!

Recently a nationwide group of mortgage professionals, at the time when a customer applied for a loan, asked the question “have you established a trust or do you have at minimum, a will in place?” A surprisingly high percentage, three out of four applicants, have not addressed these important estate planning procedure’s for probate avoidance. Most home owners and those in the process of buying a home are not aware of the consequences of neglecting this important issue.

Just like its kissing cousin taxes, death is an inevitable truth and estate planning is the financial tool that can help you deal with it.

Here is a quick checklist with some of the benefits of estate planning to see whether it applies to you:

· It can help you avoid federal and state estate taxes, so more of your estate is passed on to your beneficiaries.

· It allows you to say who gets what (to avoid family fights over your marble bust and other treasures, for instance).

· It helps you to provide for children or other remaining family members and especially for any special concerns such as care of minors or handicapped family members.

· It avoids delays in the distribution of your estate.

· It reduces the cost of administering your estate (and you know how much it costs to shuffle paperwork nowadays).

There’s a lot of thinking and decision-making you may need to do in this important area of financial planning which is why so many consumers prefer to work with a qualified estate planning professional. Tax laws are constantly changing and keeping up on all the changes and how those changes can impact an individual can be extremely time consuming. You can go to the Internet for information, however be sure that your source of information has been recently updated and is not outdated.

Of all loan applications nationwide a very small percentage is actually conducted on the web. Most consumers will buy a CD or book on the net or use the web to obtain information. However, with issues as complicated as mortgages, real estate transactions and estate planning, the personal touch will always be required.

The purpose of this newsletter is not to give legal, insurance or tax advice. The goal of this newsletter is to stimulate thought for our clients and those professionals we network with. If you are a client receiving this newsletter and have not addressed the issue of probate avoidance and estate planning, begin the process immediately.

If you are a will, estate or family planning professional receiving this newsletter or know of one, please contact our office to introduce yourself and your services to us. We are always seeking to grow our referral network and expose professional services to our client base. The loan professional that has made this information available specializes in providing financial solutions for those buying, selling or refinancing real estate.