Coaching and teaching - many through the mortgage process and others on the field
I’ve shamelessly stolen this from a recent online post – and, would you believe it, I can’t even source it.
Now that I’ve turned 50, the document below rings completely true. I bet a number of my teammates (and coaches today) would absolutely agree.
If you are a high school or college play (or aspire to be), read through this list and learn. Apply it to what you are doing today…..
Historically, mortgages in the U.S. were traditionally financed by banks. Interestingly, these institutions also operate other lines of business, like offering deposit accounts, safe deposit boxes, and insurance products.
But today, mortgage lending is anything but old-fashioned, and as buyers are looking to lenders other than banks to fill the void.
Fortunately, these newer financial institutions continue to create innovative mortgages that fit the diverse needs of borrowers, rather than forcing consumers to conform to rigid standards. The end result is more people with the financing to afford the home they need, rather than being shut out of homeownership entirely.
The trend away from banks and toward nontraditional lenders is a relatively recent development that is reshaping the financial landscape in the U.S. This can be seen in a report of the top U.S. mortgage lenders by market share in 2011 compared to 2016. Get this, in 2011, 50 percent of all home financing was underwritten by the five biggest banks in the country.
Just five years later, however, six of the top 10 mortgage lenders by volume were considered “non-bank lenders” that focus on home loans almost exclusively.”
Why are more homebuyers choosing non-bank lenders over traditional banks?
Much of the shift has to do with the increasingly strict standards that banks adhere to when vetting mortgage applications. Prospective homebuyers were expected to have stellar credit scores, high income and significant net worth already established before being approved for a traditional loan.
However, this is not the financial reality for millions of Americans. The new lenders can be a better alternative for families that have imperfect credit for one reason or another and just need a second chance.
Secondly, the new mortgage lenders are much more in tune with their customers and provide a far better experience. There is a much greater level of personalization, With the larger banks, on the other hand, customers can just become a number.
These new lenders have dramatically increased their market share purely on the basis of the superior service and support they provide.
Finally, the speed in which mortgage lenders can close transactions is much quicker than those of traditional banks. There are fewer layers in these organizations decision making can be made at a faster pace.
Traditional banks are not known for their efficiency, and the result for mortgage applicants is a long, drawn-out process of signing paperwork and enduring waiting periods
Many mortgage lenders can close loans in under 25 days, where that is not the case with larger institutions.
The need for non-prime products is growing, as conforming loan rules have tightened. Working with a lender that can only provide standard, conventional products will limit a legitimate and legal funding resource for many customers.
A bank statement loan or a loan on a non-warrantable condo are examples of “non-prime” products. A bank statement loan, among other things, can support the private business owner who has significant expense associated with their business and can still satisfy credit and ability to repay. These are individuals who will not qualify under the conventional guidelines of Fannie/Freddie but still have the ability to service a mortgage on time.
For investors, there are products that utilize the rent from the property to qualify for a loan. In this option, the debt coverage ratio measures the ability to pay the property’s monthly mortgage payments from the cash generated from renting the property.
Lenders use this ratio as a guide to help them understand whether the property will generate enough cash to pay the mortgage expense.
The debt coverage ratio is calculated by dividing the property’s month net operating income (NOI) by a property’s monthly debt service. The monthly debt service is the total of the mortgage principal and interest payment, taxes, insurance, and any HOA fees.
When you are shopping for you lender, make sure that he/she has a wide variety of products available and takes the time to understand your individual needs. That will make all of the difference – and it would be my pleasure to help!
If you don’t follow The Arizona Diamond Report and Ron Benham, you really should. Ron is one of the “go-to” guys on the prep baseball scene here in Arizona and beyond.
His site exists to give college coaches a reliable source of player information. The majority of the area’s MLB scouting personnel also frequent The Diamond Report.
His site is one that I visit regularly, and I recommend that you do, too.
His recent blog post is called “Here Comes the Summer: A Primer for Parents and Players”. It’s a must read – please do click on the link and read the entire piece.
With that said, here area a number of key items that stand out to me – and I really hope players and parents follow this advice:
First off, if you expect to get much bang for your buck at these tournaments, you will hopefully have been communicating with colleges beforehand. If not, you won’t be on a follow list, and you generally become background noise.
This is so cliché, yet at the same time so true: You never know who’s watching.
Even at an event that has few to no college coaches, there may be someone in attendance who can have an impact on your future. The baseball world is a small place, with relationships that stretch across the country. Don’t make the fatal mistake of taking pitches off.
Catchers: I say this every year, and yet this remains one of my biggest pet peeves. Please show me your arm in between innings. You may not have a live game opportunity to flash that hose, but in between innings we are paying attention. Chuck that rock like your life depends on it.
This also goes for infielders. We don’t see you in pre game like in high school, so in between innings show off that cannon.
Please run out ground balls. It’s amazing to me that in an event that is supposed to be a “showcase” , I continually see players half-assing their way down the line as I stand there stop watch in hand. Running times are a vital piece of the evaluation process, don’t ignore this.
Body language is another incredibly important piece of the puzzle. Remember, baseball is a game of failure. Players that fail in MLB 70% of the time are called All Stars. The key is how you respond to failure. Throwing your helmet, tossing your bat in disgust etc, are sure ways to get your name crossed off by coaches.
Pitchers: it’s inevitable that you will encounter an umpire with a postage stamp sized strike zone. It happens in college too. However, the worst thing you can do is to react negatively to a questionable strike zone. Treat it like it is a part of the game and show that you are in control of the situation. 
Act like you are serious about the game. College coaches have a job to do. Their job is to win baseball games. They are looking for players who can help them do that. If you look like you are not a serious player, coaches can’t treat you seriously. Don’t goof off in the dugout. Many of you look like you are only out there to hang out with your buddies and have a good time. Play the game and conduct yourself like you mean business.
It’s amazing to me how things have changed in regard to ballpark decorum. I watch the way parents interact with their players during games and I just shake my head.
If I were to design a baseball field, it would have dark shades from dugout to dugout to prevent parents from placing their chairs right next to the on-deck circle. Unfortunately, virtually all the fields in the summer are wide open, and mom and dad have been sitting there for tournaments for the better part of a decade.
If you insist on being that close to the action, please try not to interact with your son during the game. He doesn’t need coaching. He doesn’t need you to break down the pitcher for him.
Your player should be mature enough to ensure that he has proper hydration for the game, so you shouldn’t have to hand drinks and snacks to junior in the dugout. It’s just a really bad look.
Don’t be that parent who constantly complains about balls and strikes and questions every call on the field. We will find out who you are and who belongs to you.
Finally, acting like a fool during a game puts unneeded stress on your young player. Baseball is a very difficult game to play. It becomes almost impossible when a player is nervous or stressed out. Don’t contribute to this.
The Federal Reserve lifted the federal funds rate last month by a quarter percentage point to a range of 1.75 percent to 2 percent. The Fed has indicated that there will most likely be two more rate hikes this year.
Most financial experts expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates at least 3 times in 2019, as well.
Mortgage interest rates don’t necessarily move in step with the federal funds rate, as they are more closely tied to the 10-year Treasury Bond. So, borrowers today looking to get a mortgage aren’t directly affected by the latest Fed hike.
However, the federal funds rate does contribute to the longer-term trends of the 10-year Treasury, and long-term fixed mortgages as a result.
With the Fed likely lifting rates multiple times over the next couple of years, the trend for long-term mortgage rates is up.
Many experts are forecasting that mortgage rates could move near the 6% range sometime in 2019.
Why is the Federal Reserve raising rates?
Well, it’s a bit complicated, but there are some very good reasons – and they are all designed to help foster stable, economic growth.
Between 2009 and 2014, the US Federal Reserve created $3.5 trillion during three phases of what was called “Quantitative Easing”. It was the Federal Reserve’s response to help reduce the dramatic market swings created by the recession about 10 years ago.
This seems to have helped the economy avert disaster, but their impacts were far from ideal. Nonetheless, the economy slowly lifted off as consumers rebuilt their balance sheets and asset values rose.
Today, the Fed is slowly reversing this stimulus program. They’re raising short-term rates and shrinking their bond and mortgage back securities portfolio.
The consensus thinking is that the Federal Reserve members fear that inflation will take hold if they keep interest rates artificially low.
Historically, when the bonds owned by the Fed mature, they simply reinvested the proceeds into new bonds. It essentially keeps the size of the balance sheet stable, while having very little impact on the market.
However, when quantitative tightening began in October of 2017, the Fed started slowing down these reinvestments, allowing its balance sheet to gradually shrink.
In theory, through unwinding its balance sheet slowly by just allowing the bonds it owns to mature, the Fed can attempt to mitigate the fear of what might happen to yields if it was to ever try and sell such a large amount of bonds directly.
Essentially, the Federal Reserve is changing the supply and demand curve and the result is a higher yield in the 10-year treasury note.
Inflation is beginning to inch up as the labor market continues to improve. Most indicators suggest inflation has been climbing in recent months. If you look at both the Producer Price Index and the Consumer Price Index, you will see the trends.
This is a general reflection better economic data, rising energy prices, and increased employment.
Rising inflation is a threat to government bond investors because it chips away at the purchasing power of their fixed interest payments. As mentioned earlier, the 10-year Treasury yield is watched particularly closely because it is a bedrock of global finance. It is key in influencing borrowing rates for consumers, businesses and state and local governments.
Positive labor and economic news keeps coming in (as predicted over the last 6 months), and the prospect of inflation will put pressure on bonds and interest rates.
So, it is safe to say that we will continue to see pressures in the bond market and mortgage interest rates overall. These increases do look to be gradual for the time being, but consistent and into 2019, for sure.
With that said, home prices are increasing nationally at nearly 6%, so the increase in interest rate will be more than offset by the increasing value of one’s home!
Secondly, home buying power is still extraordinarily high, despite rising home prices and rate hikes. Find out more about that here.
In reality, now is a fantastic time to purchase. Contact me for more information, as it would by my privilege to help you.
Two of my favorite and “go-to” mental guys in the baseball world are Dr. Ken Ravizza and Tom Hanson. I’ve mentioned them before – and I’d highly recommend that you read their book, Heads-Up Baseball 2.0.
I’ve worked with Ken for 30 years…he’s made me a better teacher of the mental game and helped me help players become better at being what I call ‘present moment guys’ – Joe Maddon
You can also go here to learn more about them and their other content.
Their latest article has to do with a great hitting lesson that they were a part of – and here’s the link to the complete post. I’d invite you to check it out in full.
Here are a few key highlights:
Yesterday I, witnessed what I considered to be an outstanding hitting lesson. I’ll take a few moments now to explain what made it so powerful. The bottom line: The player came in feeling frustrated, a bit lost, and out of sync with himself. He left feeling excited, renewed, re-connected with what makes him good, and highly confident.
Before the first swing was taken, the coach took the time to connect and listen to the player. “What’s been going on?” “How have you been feeling?” “WHAT have you been feeling?” Questions like that… and then he took the time to hear the player’s responses, and ask follow up questions.
This put the player at ease, made him feel respected, and gave the coach essential information. The dialogue made it less likely that the coach would pile additional thoughts on top of what the player was already thinking.
Here’s the secret sauce to the whole thing: The player likes, respects, and trusts the coach. 
Contributors to this are all of the elements listed above that address how the coach relates to the player, plus the coach is a “learner” who is open-minded and always looking to get better (as opposed to a “knower” who has all the answers.
“It’s the relationship, stupid” is a worthy mantra for coaching. Not a buddy, like “lets catch a movie after the lesson,” but a respectful, adult-to-adult relationship. As Joe Maddon said: “With a great relationships, anything is possible. With poor relationships, almost nothing is.”
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