Interest Rates, Backyard Landscaping & The Weather Man

Spring is finally here! The sunshine and blue skies are a welcomed sight at our household. It also means that we are FINALLY able to get started on the next stage of our backyard landscaping project. We started phase 1 (the demo) last fall, and made quick progress. Demo goes REALLY fast when you get rid of everything! We also encountered plenty of delays, and as a result have had to stare at a lot of dirt—and when it rains mud—for the better part of 6 months!

Scheduling has proven to be the biggest challenge. When our contractors were available, the weather didn’t cooperate. And when the weather was good, our contractors had prior commitments. It felt a little like trying to catch lightening in a bottle. We would try our best to plan ahead, but predicting the weather is 50/50 at best. After all, the weather man seems to be wrong as much as he is right. I went to great lengths trying to control the weather. I know that sounds funny, but I did. I thought if the grounds crew for the San Francisco Giants can keep the infield dry when it rains surely, I can keep my backyard from getting muddy. If I could succeed in keeping the ground dry then maybe, just maybe I’d be able to have the stars align for one Saturday when our contractor was also available. (How did I do? I’m happy to report that I was able to keep the ground dry. But as is often the case when you’re working with a good contractor who is in high demand, they had limited availability.)

Throughout the process, I realize a similarity between my responsibilities as a loan officer and my self-appointed duties as landscape project manager. In the same way that I can’t predict when the weather will be ideal for work on the landscaping project, I don’t know when rates will drop creating the ideal opportunity for our clients to capitalize on a refinance. What is within my control is my ability to keep in touch with our clients to know their needs and goals and stay vigilant to the direction that rates are headed. Much like the weather man’s forecast, I provide an educated forecast of what we anticipate rates to do. But we also stay prepared to reach out to our clients when rates improve unexpected. After all, you never really know when it’s going to be a sunny day!