Rocket Fuel Newsletter – 05/27/23

close up of male hands with newspaper and coffee

$600k can buy a house or a broken guitar ... which one are you picking? 

Fuel Up! 🚀

PCE Inflation On The Rise
Inflation on consumer items, a.k.a. PCE inflation, came in slightly higher than expected at 4.4% year-over-year. While no single metric rules them all, the Fed tends to place an emphasis on PCE inflation, so even though all other major inflationary indicators dropped month-over-month, the rise in PCE could potentially trigger another rate hike next month. 

Finding Nirvana In An Unplayable Guitar
Kurt Cobain’s smashed Fender Stratocaster sold at auction last weekend for $596,000. The guitar – signed by Kurt and two other Nirvana members – has since been repaired, but it remains unplayable.

Although the new owner won’t be able to play it, its musical significance undoubtedly makes the guitar a better major purchase than the NFT of the first tweet that has depreciated by 99.999%. 

Fawaz Celebrates 12 Years!
Special shoutout to our own Mike Fawaz on his 12th anniversary with Rocket! Here’s to another 12 (and more!) of impacting the outcome for the broker community! 

Here’s a throwback to his earlier days at Rocket Mortgage as a mortgage banker. We expect Fawaz’s guitar to sell for much more at auction than Kurt Cobain’s. 

Mark Mikhail, Trademark Financing Corp.

  • How would you describe your brand? 
    • By being a Rocket Pro TPO partner I would describe my brand as headache-free mortgage loans. By taking the “what if” out of all transactions it really helps me provide certainty to all transactions.
  • What do you feel would take your business to the next level?
    • I personally feel that hiring more loan officers and purchasing leads are two things that would tremendously help my overall monthly volume. 
  • What are you most excited about for the future?
    • I’m most excited about growing my company and brand to one day become a direct lender. 
  • Why Rocket ProSM TPO?
    • Rocket Pro TPO gives me that confidence I need when talking to referral partners and borrowers. When I make promises about closing dates or turn times, I really am confident that we can make it happen. Other lenders give me a sense of doubt where I’m scared of the “what if” scenarios. 
  • What is your “why”?
    • My why is helping borrowers attain the dream of homeownership. It really makes a huge difference in my life when someone comes to me and tells me that there’s no way they can get approved, yet we make it possible. It truly feels that we are making a huge difference in their lives.

Amid a competitive housing market, rising home prices and higher interest rates, homeowners are considering options to update or renovate their homes instead of selling and buying a new home. However, inflation and workforce reduction have caused many Americans to become more cautious about how they spend their money. Is that stopping them from making these home improvements? 

Find out in the latest Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC survey!

Fawaz made his way to beautiful Glendale, California, last week to visit our good friends at MBE Realty. 

  1. The Fed’s Christopher Waller Speaks And Stresses Uncertainty
  2. HUD Provides Funding To Help Youth Aging Out Of Foster Care
  3. FHFA Director Addresses The House Committee On Financial Services
  4. The Rise And Fall Of M2
  5. Mortgage Applications Decrease In Latest MBA Weekly Survey

Did you hear the news? ONE+ by Rocket Mortgage® has arrived!

Clients get the benefits of 3% down, but with only a 1% down payment. 

  • Eligible clients put 1% down.
  • We cover the other 2%.
  • No MI required by the client.

And with an area median income limit of 80% or less, ONE+ can benefit a wide range of borrowers.1 Watch the replay to get the details!
Not a Rocket Pro TPO partner? Connect with us today!

Hey Fawaz! đź‘‹ How is ONE+ different from other programs?!

Last week’s puzzle was tough! Only two solvers finished in less than a minute, and just six more were able to finish between one and two minutes. Hats off to Bryan for his 22-second solve!

This week’s puzzle gets 3 Rockets out of 5 Rockets. Click here to solve! 

1Client will be required to pay a 1% down payment, with the ability to pay a maximum of 2.99%, and Rocket Mortgage will cover an additional 2% of the client’s purchase price as a down payment. This offer is only available on conventional purchase loans. Primary residence only. Cost of mortgage insurance premium not passed through to client. Offer valid only for home buyers when qualifying income is less than or equal to 80% area median income based on county where property is located. Must lock rate on or after 5/22/2023. Offer only available on loan amounts of $350,000 or less. Not available with any other discounts or promotions. Offer cannot be retroactively applied to previously closed loans or loans that have a locked rate. This is not a commitment to lend. Rocket Mortgage reserves the right to cancel this offer at any time. Acceptance of this offer constitutes the acceptance of these terms and conditions, which are subject to change at the sole discretion of Rocket Mortgage. Additional restrictions/conditions may apply