Luis L. Bair's Blog

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Purchase Volume Takes a Hit, Responding to Rising Interest Rates

Rising interest rates continued to take a toll on mortgage applications during the week ended April 19. Even purchase mortgage volume fell victim to the increasing rates after rising for six consecutive weeks. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, declined by 7.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the Index was down 6 percent. The Refinance Index had surged 39 percent at the end of March co-incident with the largest one week drop in mortgage rates in 10 years but has now erased most of those gains. It declined another 11 percent last week and the refinancing share of total applications dropped to 39.4 percent from 41.5 percent during the week ended April 12. The...(read more)

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from Mortgage News Daily http://bit.ly/2UTnXOF

Purchase Volume Takes a Hit, Responding to Rising Interest Rates

Posted To: MND NewsWire

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from Mortgage News Daily http://bit.ly/2UTnXOF

3 Ways Spring Cleaning Can Connect Your Home With Nature

Your outdoor space is whatever area of your home base that you go to when you want to comfortably connect with nature. READ MORE...

from Apartment Therapy| Saving the world, one room at a time http://bit.ly/2ZxOfET

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Bazaar Daily Finds

What are you looking for? We've just relaunched our marketplace as BAZAAR – the best place on the web for designer vintage furnishings and accessories READ MORE...

from Apartment Therapy| Saving the world, one room at a time http://bit.ly/2vkFFvv

3 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Whirlpool Tub

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

Are you buying your first whirlpool bathtub? Let us help you narrow down the choices. Start by asking yourself the following questions:

Will it fit in the bathroom?
Make sure to measure your bathroom before you even look at a whirlpool, including any space you might gain taking down dividing walls or showers. "Most whirlpools come in three standard sizes," says Morey. "Five feet, five and a half and six. But you can't just consider the tub size — they're all designed to be dropped into a deck, and that will take up more space, with the bare minimum adding at least a half-inch to your measurements on all sides.

"If you think you'd like to hold a lot of stuff like candles and oils near the water, you'll also need extra space on the deck," says Morey. "If you're over six feet tall, you may want to forfeit deck space for more tub room." Source: HGTV

Is your current heating system enough?
If you choose to heat your whirlpool with your existing in-home heating system, make sure it can handle the amount of water needed to fill the whirlpool. With an external system, the water in the tub will get cool quickly due to the circulating jets, so you will need to frequently refill the tub with hot water. A 50 gallon quick recovery system should be sufficient.

The other option is a self-heating system. A self-heating whirlpool comes with its own internal heating system that circulates the tub water and reheats when necessary. This is a good energy-saving option and the best way to keep your water temperature consistent. Source: DoItYourself

Which type of jet should you pick?
Choose between water jets or air jets. Water-jet whirlpool tubs force water through jets, giving more pressure and a forceful massage. In air-jet whirlpool tubs, air is forced through tiny holes for a lighter massage. A combination whirlpool tub uses both, but will be more expensive and may use more energy.

One drawback of water-jet and combination tubs is that you can't use bath salts or oils, as these will damage the pumping mechanism.
Another water-jet and combination tub drawback is that some water stays in the jets, and mold can develop if they're not regularly cleaned out. Source: WikiHow

We can help you figure out which brand or type of whirlpool tub will work best for your needs. Find out more when you call us today!

Contact:
Perfect Bath
Phone: Toll Free 1-866-843-1641
Calgary, Alberta
Email: info@perfectbath.com

The post 3 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Whirlpool Tub appeared first on Perfect Bath Canada.

from Perfect Bath Canada http://bit.ly/2W6LBE4

3 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Whirlpool Tub

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

Are you buying your first whirlpool bathtub? Let us help you narrow down the choices. Start by asking yourself the following questions:

Will it fit in the bathroom?
Make sure to measure your bathroom before you even look at a whirlpool, including any space you might gain taking down dividing walls or showers. “Most whirlpools come in three standard sizes,” says Morey. “Five feet, five and a half and six. But you can’t just consider the tub size — they’re all designed to be dropped into a deck, and that will take up more space, with the bare minimum adding at least a half-inch to your measurements on all sides.

“If you think you’d like to hold a lot of stuff like candles and oils near the water, you’ll also need extra space on the deck,” says Morey. “If you’re over six feet tall, you may want to forfeit deck space for more tub room.” Source: HGTV

One drawback of water-jet and combination tubs is that you can’t use bath salts or oils, as these will damage the pumping mechanism.
Another water-jet and combination tub drawback is that some water stays in the jets, and mold can develop if they’re not regularly cleaned out. Source: WikiHow

We can help you figure out which brand or type of whirlpool tub will work best for your needs. Find out more when you call us today!

Contact:
Perfect Bath
Phone: Toll Free 1-866-843-1641
Calgary, Alberta
Email: info@perfectbath.com

The post 3 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Whirlpool Tub appeared first on Perfect Bath Canada.

from Perfect Bath Canada http://bit.ly/2W6LBE4

This Simple Change Makes Your Closet Look Like a Showroom

If your closet closely resembles an upended store at the mall, one simple change creates a sleek space. READ MORE...

from Apartment Therapy| Saving the world, one room at a time http://bit.ly/2vrIP0F

10 Garage Organization Ideas That Will Change Your Life

Garages often require more TLC than the rest of our homes. They're a dumping ground for failed projects, items you can't seem to part with, tools, gadgets, cars, and more—and keeping the mess in check can feel impossible. If you're ready to set aside a weekend to transform your garage space but don't know where READ MORE...

from Apartment Therapy| Saving the world, one room at a time http://bit.ly/2Pr0GxV

Before and After: A Budget Refresh for a Tiny Patio

This easy makeover proves you don't have to sweat to create an inspired space. READ MORE...

from Apartment Therapy| Saving the world, one room at a time http://bit.ly/2Zukjtf

MBS RECAP: Week's Important Events Still to Come

Posted To: MBS Commentary

With each passing day this week, we're reminded that the most important events are yet to come. In fact, we may well be looking at only one significant event in the form of Friday's Q1 GDP reading. There are a few other contenders before that but none with nearly as much street cred as the 1st GDP report for the quarter. Incidentally, next week's events make Friday's GDP look like child's play, so we can't even be sure those GDP is the right event to look forward to! In the meantime, it's been a tedious and boring sideways grind to start the week. Yesterday was the "moderately bad" version of tedious while today was its foil. The net effect is trading levels that are still slightly weaker than last week's closing levels, but well off the weakest levels...(read more)

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from Mortgage News Daily http://bit.ly/2DyaO2Z

MBS RECAP: Week's Important Events Still to Come

Posted To: MBS Commentary

Forward this article via email: Send a copy of this story to someone you know that may want to read it.

from Mortgage News Daily http://bit.ly/2DyaO2Z

Runners are the Bigger, Badder Upgrade You Didn’t Know Your Bathroom Needed

These bath runners will give an upgrade to your everyday, run-of-the-mill bath mats. READ MORE...

from Apartment Therapy| Saving the world, one room at a time http://bit.ly/2PpR8D7

This TV Doubles as a Transparent Display Case—Can Anything Be More Clever?

Just when you thought you had the latest and greatest model of TV, a new design concept arrives on the tech scene. READ MORE...

from Apartment Therapy| Saving the world, one room at a time http://bit.ly/2vkeRLT

Mortgage Rates Move Up Despite Market Gains

Posted To: Mortgage Rate Watch

When bonds make "gains," it means that bond prices are moving up. The price of a bond is like the amount that a lender is willing to pay for the right to collect a certain amount of interest. The more the lender is willing to pay, the lower that lender's "yield" will be. Looked at another way, the lower your interest rate would be in the case of a lender making you a mortgage loan. For that reason, we expect to see mortgage rates fall when bonds are making gains (mortgages are based primarily on bond prices/yields). But in today's case, rates went a bit higher even though bonds improved. As is often the case, the discrepancy results from the timing of bond market movement over the past few days. Bonds weakened yesterday and rates logically moved higher. The catch is that bonds continued to...(read more)

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from Mortgage News Daily http://bit.ly/2PyQaEV