Crabbing in NJ can be Profitable, And TASTEY!

The Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program is conducting research on Blue Claw Crabs

Not only are these guys tasty, but you now have an opportunity to earn $5 and $20 rewards if you catch a crab with a pink or yellow metal tag and you report finds to the research program.

Crabbers can call (609) 896-7755 to report the tag number, Sex, Reproductive status, Date, Depth and Location, Ideally GPS coordinates are ideal for the study

as an alternitive you can visit the website for the NJbluecrabs to report your findings.

Crabbing in the Barnegat bay is one of my family's favorite past time, I cant get them to go fishing with me, but they enjoy crabbing! Now we have to see if we can catch one that is Tagged!

Have a great weekend, and CATCH SOME CRABS!

Rob

Robert Rauf

www.RobertRaufHomeLoans.com

Toms River Fest, Toms River NJ: Huge list of stars!

Toms River Fest is coming soon!

Toms River Fest has a lot to offer the entire family with Midway attractions and games, BMX Demonstrations, Fireworks every night,  Exhibits, Food and MORE...

This is all on top of an exciting line up of stars.

Saturday August 2nd

• Carrie Underwood
• Lifehouse
• Gavin DeGraw
• Push Play
• The Lost Trailers
• Marie Digby
• And Hometown performances from: April Smith, Just Kait and Wiser Time

Sunday August 3rd

• Daughtry
• Avril Lavigne
• Live
• Collective Soul
• mr RAY
• Day Of Fire
• And Hometown performances from: Matt O'ree, Status Green, Jerzy Jung and Linda Chorney

Tickets available at the box office, ticketmaster or online at Toms River Fest's Website

All the information you will need is on the website, The event will be held at the Ritacco Center and Toms River High School North

Have a great Weekend!

Rob

Robert Rauf

www.RobertRaufHomeloans.com

Lavallette, NJ: Free Concerts

FREE Concerts Mark Lavallete Heritage Committee's 21st year

The Lavallette Heritage Committee will have free concerts at 7pm on Sundays at the Gazebo on Bay Boulevard and Philadelphia Ave.

Performers include:

• A Little Bit of Heaven July 20th and August 10th
• The Happy Days String Band July 27
• John Luckenbill's Brass Band August 3
• Fred Lehotay's Rag Timers August 17
• Lakewood Jazz Ensemble August 24
• The Kootz August 31
• 21st annual Heritage Day Festival At 10am September 6th

For more Information call: (732) 793-0225

There is always something to do In Ocean County NJ, Especially during the Summer months

Have a great weekend

Rob

Robert Rauf

WWW.RobertRaufHomeLoans.com

Disney Comes to Toms River, NJ

Disney in Toms River

Since Monday Disney has had a crew of about 100 people setting up for this weekend at Toms River High School North for the inaugural stop of the Disney Music Block Party Tour.

Starting Friday and Ending Sunday there will be a many musical acts including

• Choo Choo Soul
• Dan Zanes and Friends
• Ralph's World
• They Might Be Giants.

Gates open at 2pm and close at 8pm.

Tickets are $36 with a portion going towards the School Districts Technology Foundation.  Tickets can be obtained at the gate, at the school District office at 1144 Hooper Ave Toms River, or by visiting the Disney Music Block Party Tour Web site.  You can call (201) 507-8900 for more information.

Free parking is available at both Toms River High School North and Intermediate North.

Next up for Toms River is "Toms River Fest" in the beginning of August with some Huge musical names coming to town.  Stay tuned for more information!

Have a great Weekend

Rob

Robert Rauf

www.RobertRaufHomeloans.com

(732)740-0175

God's Pharmacy

 God left us great clues as to what foods help what part of our body!

God's Pharmacy! Amazing!

A sliced Carrot

• looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato

• has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All o f the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

A Walnut

• looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Grapes:

• hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

Kidney Beans

• actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones.

• These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears

• target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs

• are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes

• look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives

• assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits

• and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions

• look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Nature provides.... We just IGNORE!

Rob

Robert Rauf

www.RobertRaufHomeloans.com

You just applied, Should you lock or float? This weeks Forecast July 21, 2008

 July 21, 2008

The Economic Calendar is a busy one this week, but there is not one piece of data that is expected to move the market. If you wrote a contract over the weekend you may be asking, should I float or should I lock? This information should help you make that decision:

• Today: we had LEI which was in line with expectations
• Tuesday 22nd Treasury Auction of 20 yr indexed securities
• Wednesday 23rd, Treasure Auctions 2 year notes
• Wed, The Fed release the Beige Book, it is a compilation of data from across the country expected to show sluggish growth, it is not very likely that there will be any surprises in this report
• Thursday 24th: Initial Jobless claims, the summer months are usually discounted by traders, if the number comes in UP 9,000 or more that will be good news for rates... less than 9k could be bad
• Thursday: Existing home sales Expected down 1.2%.... Described as a "yawner" it will only move rates if the month over month gain is significant.
• Thursday: yet another Treasury auction of 5 yr notes. The auctions are expected to be well received which will be supportive of steady Mortgage rates
• Friday 25th: June Durable goods, expected down .3%... the down is anticipated due to weakness in transportation orders, not likely to impact rates
• Friday: June New Home Sales, expected down 1.8% Same deal as Existing home sales... if significantly stronger than anticipated it may move rates, but probably will not be an issue.

Even with this Laundry list of data it will be the trading action in the Equities markets (stocks) and Oil prices (along with any comments from FED governors) that the market will be looking at.  We will need to see steady to lower stock an Oil prices, along with a lack of talk about inflation from the FED for us to see a significant move down in rates.  But ONE bad day in the Stock market can cause a flight to quality and artificially bring rates down. 

It may be a bumpy week, but a blind one at the same time. The safe gamble would be to lock, but my gut says we may improve slightly after the run up in rates last week. The market has a tendency to have knee jerk reactions UP and slow settling back down, So you also have to factor in the amount of time you have till you close in making the decision to lock in your loan.

Have a wonderful week!

Rob

Robert Rauf

WWW.RobertRaufHomeLoans.com

(732)740-0175

This Weeks Economic Data

 July 21, 2008

The Economic Calendar is a busy one this week, but there is not one piece of data that is expected to move the market.

• Today: we had LEI which was in line with expectations
• Tuesday 22nd Treasury Auction of 20 yr indexed securities
• Wednesday 23rd, Treasure Auctions 2 year notes
• Wed, The Fed release the Beige Book, it is a compilation of data from across the country expected to show sluggish growth, it is not very likely that there will be any surprises in this report
• Thursday 24th: Initial Jobless claims, the summer months are usually discounted by traders, if the number comes in UP 9,000 or more that will be good news for rates... less than 9k could be bad
• Thursday: Existing home sales Expected down 1.2%.... Described as a "yawner" it will only move rates if the month over month gain is significant.
• Thursday: yet another Treasury auction of 5 yr notes. The auctions are expected to be well received which will be supportive of steady Mortgage rates
• Friday 25th: June Durable goods, expected down .3%... the down is anticipated due to weakness in transportation orders, not likely to impact rates
• Friday: June New Home Sales, expected down 1.8% Same deal as Existing home sales... if significantly stronger than anticipated it may move rates, but probably will not be an issue.

Even with this Laundry list of data it will be the trading action in the Equities markets (stocks) and Oil prices (along with any comments from FED governors) that the market will be looking at.  We will need to see steady to lower stock an Oil prices, along with a lack of talk about inflation from the FED for us to see a significant move down in rates.  But ONE bad day in the Stock market can cause a flight to quality and artificially bring rates down. 

It may be a bumpy week, but a blind one at the same time. The safe gamble would be to lock, but my gut says we may improve slightly after the run up in rates last week.

Have a wonderful week!

Rob

Robert Rauf

WWW.RobertRaufHomeLoans.com

(732)740-0175

Seaside Heights offers Rebates to Visitors

Seaside Heights

Seaside Heights boroughs Office of Public Relations has introduced a Beach Stimulus Package. This package offers families a rebate when they visit the local beach this summer. The package will be available at certain events, including Free Music Mondays and Free Movies on the beach. Seaside reports the packages will be available on a first come first serve basis.

Through promotions the borough will issue coupons for a free one day adult wrist band for the beach... you can call (732) 793-9100 x 227 for details

Seaside park offers Monday night concerts

Free concerts will be held from 7-9 pm every Monday through August on the Borough hall lawn at 6th and Central Aves.  Big Daddy and the Wild Cats will perform Monday  

The Town suggest that guest bring their own chair or blanket. Beverages, snacks and 50-50 raffle tickets will be available for sale... No pets, and no Adult beverages allowed..

There is always something fun to do in Ocean County!

Have a great weekend

Rob

Robert Rauf

www.RobertRaufHomeloans.com

Mortgage Insurance Change (PMI) makes FHA even MORE attractive

Mortgage Insurance Changes

We have seen Private Mortgage Insurance rates climb.  We just received an announcement that the factors for Monthly PMI (the most common form of PMI) have gone up.

Why?  Much like any insurance company, they do not want to pay out... since they have been paying out more in the past year they have raised rates... You see similar issues in states that have had high pay outs on home owners insurance for storm damage, Fl, LA etc.... Even in NJ Home owners insurance is higher near tidal water because of hurricane pay outs in other states.

What does this mean to you? Increased payments of course. here are a few examples for a 200,000 mortgage with 3%, 5%, 10% and 15% down:

• 3% down (not as common) was $138.33/month NOW $175.00/month
• 5% down WAS, $131.67 per month. It is NOW $156.67/month
• 10% down Was $86.67 per month. It is NOW $103.33/month
• 15% down Was $55.00 per month. It is NOW $63.33/month

 As you can see the difference is not as bad as you increase the down payment.  Historically 15% down loans never go bad so there is less risk, while the lower the down payment the higher the risk, thus higher premiums.

Now more than ever, FHA is more likely to be the way for you to buy a home when mortgage insurance is required (Even with the new changes in FHA MIP )

In the past I would advise that less than 10% down FHA would be the best way to go, now it is something to consider for any down payment lower than 20%. A comparison needs to be done to be sure the right program is picked for YOU. Keep in mind that Conventional loans have interest rate add ons below a 720 credit score.... FHA does not have Interest Rate Add ons for loans at all. There are some lenders that will put their own add ons for loans they feel are risky, (sub 620 credit score is common for add ons).

Now more than ever you need a Loan Officer that understands your needs and will review your scenario to pick the best option for YOU!

I have said it before: What was old is new again. FHA is still one of the BEST ways for some one to buy a home with a low down payment.

Have a great weekend

Rob

Robert Rauf

www.RobertRaufhomeloans.com

(732)740-0175

PMI Changes, FHA is looking even Brighter

PMI Changes

With the declining market and increase in foreclosures we have seen Private Mortgage Insurance rates climb.  We just received an announcement that the factors for Monthly PMI (the most common form of PMI) have gone up.

Why?  Much like any insurance company, they do not want to pay out... since they have been paying out more in the past year with increased foreclosures they have raised rates...

(ever try to get home owners insurance near tidal waters?  this is a common theme too)

What does this mean to your buyer? Increased payments of course. here are a few examples for a 200,000 mortgage with 3%, 5%, 10% and 15% down:

• 3% down (not as common) was $138.33/month NOW $175.00/month
• 5% down WAS, $131.67 per month. It is NOW $156.67/month
• 10% down Was $86.67 per month. It is NOW $103.33/month
• 15% down Was $55.00 per month. It is NOW $63.33/month

 As you can see the difference is not as bad as you increase the down payment.  Historically 15% down loans never go bad so there is less risk, while the lower the down payment the higher the risk, thus higher premiums.

Now more than ever, FHA is more likely to be the way for your buyers to buy a home when mortgage insurance is required (Even with the new changes in FHA MIP )

In the past I would advise that less than 10% down FHA would be the best way to go, now it is something to consider for any down payment lower than 20%. A comparison needs to be done to be sure the right program is picked for the buyer. Keep in mind that Conventional loans have interest rate add ons below a 720 credit score.... FHA does not have Interest Rate Add ons for loans at all. There are some lenders that will put their own add ons for loans they feel are risky, (sub 620 credit score is a common spot for add ons).

I have said it before: What was old is new again. FHA is still one of the BEST ways for some one to buy a home with a low down payment.

Have a great weekend

Rob

Robert Rauf

www.RobertRaufhomeloans.com

(732)740-0175