Rocket Fuel Newsletter – 06/03/23

close up of male hands with newspaper and coffee

Nothing says governmental bureaucracy quite like suspending an arbitrarily created debt ceiling in order to avoid an economic disaster, but we did it!

Check out the details of the big Biden-McCarthy compromise, what ONE+ by Rocket Pro^SM TPO can do for your clients and more!

Fuel Up! 🚀

ONE+ By Rocket Pro TPO
We hope by now you’ve heard the news about ONE+ by Rocket Pro TPO! ONE+ allows clients to put as little as 1% down on a home, while we provide an additional 2% grant, instantly boosting equity. Plus – no mortgage insurance payment for your client!¹ With the recent debt-ceiling deal signaling the end to the COVID-era pause on student loan payments, this is a great opportunity to help our community achieve the American Dream.

May Jobs Report Sizzles
Friday’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics came in hot – the U.S. added 339,000 jobs in May, beating estimates of around 200,000 jobs. Meanwhile, unemployment remains low, ticking up just 0.3% from April to 3.7%.

Can You Spell That For Me?
The Scripps National Spelling Bee took place this week, its 95th edition. Test your spelling prowess with this quiz from Merriam-Webster, using some of the winning words of the last century.

Dave Hemingway, Motto Mortgage 365

Tell us about the beginning of your career? What got you started?

I was working as a newly trained Realtor for a Re/Max brokerage in March 2019 – after 6 months or so the owner called me up one night and said that despite me putting in the effort, real estate didn’t seem to be a good fit, but he was opening a Mortgage Brokerage and if I put the same effort into that as I did trying to be a realtor then maybe that would work for both of us.

I started a week later as an LOA, got licensed as an LO in June 2019, got promoted to Loan Officer early 2020 and haven’t looked back!

What’s your niche in your market?

We always go the extra mile to get it done. If I get a call at 10pm from a realtor referral and they need pre-qualifying ASAP, I’ll get it done! If clients can’t manage the technology, I will set an office/home visit. I try and make the process as easy and painless as possible.

What is something you are incredibly proud of within your business?

Motto Mortgage has over 255 franchised offices in 40 states. We are just a small Motto Mortgage brokerage from Arlington, TN, yet each year we seem to be well up the leaderboard compared to many much larger offices. In 2022, one of our Loan Officers, Tom Bauman, finished 5th in volume in the whole country (our office also finished 5th). With Rocket, we’re proud to be a Pinnacle partner and received awards for being a Top Purchase Broker and Top 100 Mortgage Broker in 2022.

What are you most excited about for the future?

The next refi boom of course!! Who knows when it’s going to be, but it’s coming and it’s going to be epic!

Why Rocket Pro TPO?

I love working with Rocket for many reasons: fast turn times, sensible underwriting, a vendor team that does some of the processing and competitive rates to name a few. Oh, and an awesome Account Executive – Vera Augustyniak!!!

We Have A Deal!
President Biden and Speaker McCarthy reached a deal on spending cuts in exchange for a revised debt ceiling over Memorial Day weekend.

Political sickos can comb through the full text of the bill in the “In The Weeds Reads” section below, but in general, Biden and the Democrats agreed to spending cuts and caps while McCarthy and the Republicans agreed to make these cuts and caps temporary while also tabling the next debt ceiling until after the 2024 election.

Specifically:
- Suspension of the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025
- Spending caps for 2024 and 2025, and targets for 2026-2029
- Raising the maximum age for work requirements to receive food stamps from 50 to 54 (through 2030)
- Ending the current pause on student loan repayments (beginning in August 2023)
- Recovering unspent pandemic relief funding
- And more

The House passed the bill late Wednesday night with bipartisan support, but not without objections from both sides.

Progressive Democrats criticized Biden for agreeing to additional work restrictions for food stamp recipients and for limiting non-defense discretionary funding for several years, both of which progressives see as an affront to their legislative goals.

McCarthy has a similar problem with the Freedom Caucus in the House, who had a laundry list of demands for McCarthy in negotiating a deal. This group, however, can (and might) strip the speaker of his title. Recall from May 20’s Caffeinated Trends that it takes just one House representative to call a vote to oust the speaker – McCarthy just called the Freedom Caucus’ bluff with this deal.

If the Freedom Caucus decides to act, it will put the entire House on record for whether they vote for chaos (ousting McCarthy) or stability (keeping McCarthy). If they don’t, the Freedom Caucus will be all bark and no bite, and essentially lose whatever power they had over the House agenda.

Markets have responded well across the globe due to the level of bipartisan support that the bill received (314-117), namely 2-year Treasury bonds, which rose 2.7 basis points now that the debt ceiling conversation has been kicked down the road until 2025.

This week we have two great events for you: IGNITE Live and Pro Talks!
We kick off the week with IGNITE Live Monday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Fawaz will share advantages we offer your business as our partner.
Register for IGNITE Live now!

Round out your work week with our next Pro Talks featuring an inspirational guest, Erin Brockovich! Join us Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, live from All Access. Register for Pro Talks now!

Hey Fawaz! 👋 When's the next time we're live in front of our partners?!

Bob Simon led all solvers last week with a time of 22 seconds, just 2 seconds faster than Josh Wescott. Six others completed the puzzle in less than a minute, and nine more finished in less than two minutes.

This week’s puzzle gets 3 Rockets out of 5. 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.