American Mortgage Specialists

Your Bi-Weekly AMS Newsletter

Inside This Issue
AMS Puzzle Winner AMS Puzzle Contest Winner
The puzzle contest winner is announced.

Industry News Industry News
Read what is going on in the Mortgage Industry.

Cheesy Beer Soup David's Cheesy Beer Soup
St. Patty's Day Soup

Help Wanted New Jobs Available
AMS internal job postings


Important Links
   AMSXpress.com
   AMSbank.com
   Comments
   Submit A Story
   Take The Poll




Volume 1 - Issue 11  
Monday, March 13, 2006  

Bill Montgomery Visits AMS
AMS Founder Scott Powers talks with Bill Montgomery
Bill Montgomery
Bill Montgomery speaks to AMS Employees

AZ Attorney General Candidate Visits AMS

By Eric Weight, AMS President

In the last article of the Insider we introduced all of you to Bill Montgomery, the candidate running for the office of Arizona Attorney General. Mr. Montgomery recently addressed the corporate staff of AMS and we are pleased to have him as a guest speaker at the upcoming branch manager meeting this month.

Mr. Montgomery gave the audience an account of his upbringing and career advancement from West Point grad, to decorated serviceman, to accomplished attorney and finally his desire to serve Arizona as Attorney General. He also took time to answer a myriad of questions from the audience that covering topics from illegal immigration, the high crime rate in Arizona, separation of church and state, Sheriff Joe, and of course the predatory lending legislation proposed by his opponent.

I hope you will be as impressed as I have been in getting to know Mr. Montgomery and hear his goals and direction he seeks to take the office of Attorney General. He is a candidate that we can proudly support in his upcoming campaign and we look forward to having him as our guest later this month.











AMS Puzzle Contest Winner

Names Out of a Hat
Tavey Rasmussen picking the winners name out of a hat.

The winner is
Kevin Dupuis

Kevin Dupuis is the winner of the AMS Puzzle Contest for submitting both correct answers and completing the sentence "I've got to hand it to you, you are sharp as a tack". His name was randomly drawn from all the people who submitted correct answers.

Congratulations Kevin you win a $20 Borders Book Store Gift Certificate.



Photo Contest Winners Get Paid!

Photo Contest Winners
L-R: Photo contest winners Amber Robinson and Carol Hill collect their prizes for submitting the first and second place photos.

Recipes
Cheesy Beer Soup

David's Cheesy Beer Soup

Submitted By David McMaster Jr.
Video Game Technician


Ingredients:
1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1 Tbsp. flour

1-3/4 cups milk

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up

1/2 cup GUINNESS

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Few drops hot pepper sauce


Directions:
COOK onion and garlic in butter in large saucepan on medium-high heat until tender, stirring frequently. Add flour; mix well. Cook 2 min. or until hot and bubbly, stirring frequently.

STIR in milk until well blended. Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 min., stirring occasionally.

ADD remaining ingredients; mix well. Cook 5 min. or until VELVEETA is completely melted and soup is heated through, stirring constantly.



Community Affairs Update

Community Affairs Update

By Sheila Pearson
Community Awareness Coordinator

Hello everybody! What a busy quarter so far for American Mortgage Specialists and US Preferred Realty. We are on a roll with no end in sight!

March 4th, was the Annual ABWA Women of The Year reception. Laura Orsini won from our Scottsdale Express Network Chapter.

March 9th, we were involved in supporting VDay Scottsdale 2006. VDay is a global movement to end violence against women and girls. VDay performances are presented around the world in an effort to raise awareness and money to stop the violence.

March 11th was "A Lark in the Park" at the Phoenix Zoo. This was a 5K run to benefit The New Foundation. We handed out our power bars and sports bottles in two different locations. This was great exposure for our banners/company names to be shown to the community. Afterwards we got to enjoy the rest of the day enjoying all of the animals. We have two more events at the zoo next month.

March 24 and 25-Special Olympics-Basketball and Cheerleading Competition.

April 8-National Multiple Sclerosis Society-"Walk On The Wild Side". This 5K run will take place through The Phoenix Zoo and Desert Botanical Garden.

Have a great week!

PARTNERING FOR SUCCESS


Sheila Pearson
sheilapearson@usprefrealty.com




Benefits

Benefits


REMINDER: Unlicensed teams may only meet with the public regarding loans at the Licensed Corporate Office. 1003's must also reflect the address of 1255 W. Baseline Rd. Ste 288 Mesa, AZ 85202.

NOTE: Appraisal disclosures are not to reflect a ' 90 day' time limit.

Mary Parks
Compliance Supervisor



Troys Tech Tips

Troy's Tech Tips

By Troy Gunnell

Buying A PC This Year?

This is going to be a big year for home computers. Both Apple and Microsoft are introducing new hardware and software that promises to make your experience faster and more fun than ever. – Apple’s advances include Macintosh computers running on new Intel processors… that’s happening now… and Microsoft is set to release its long-awaited upgrade to Windows XP called “Windows Vista,” which will be released the second half of this year.

But if you think buying a new computer now will yield the best results, you may want to wait. While both announcements are exciting, both will also probably have their share of bugs. First-generation hardware and software rely on “early adopters” to help them spot the problems. If you’re skilled at troubleshooting any problems that may pop up, by all means, feel free to be first in line. But if you prefer to have the confidence of a tried-and-true system, you may want to wait – even a few months – before investing in the newest and latest.



Just Do I.T.




AMSU

Calendar

You can download a full version of the calendar at: www.amsbank.com/AMSU/AMSU Brochure.doc


March 14th 2006 - Bank Orientation 1-4

March 15th 2006 - Compliance 9-12
                                ILO Training 1-4

March 16th 2006 - Branch Orientation 9a-12

March 17th 2006 - Processing 101 9-12

March 18th 2006 - LO Training 1-5

March 20th 2006 - LO Training 1-5

March 21st 2006 - Processing 102 9-12
                                LO Training 1-5

March 22nd 2006 - Processing 102 9-12
                               LO Training 1-5

March 23rd 2006 - Processing 102 9-12
                               LO Training 1-5

March 24th 2006 - LPA/BM 9-10
                               LPA/Real 10-11

March 27th 2006 - Calyx Point 9-12
                          AMS Express/ Rate Sheet Training 1-4

March 28th 2006 - Bank Orientation 1-4

March 29th 2006 - Compliance 9-12
                               ILO Training 1-4

March 30th 2006 - Branch Orientation 9-12


March 31st 2006 - Processing 101 9-12






Cyber Chat

Cyber Chat

By Steve Bradshaw

Hello AMS!

It has been a busy couple of weeks here in your I.T. Department. We are currently interviewing for additional staff to work on AMSXpress and the rate sheets. We are committed to ensuring that AMSXpress maintain a high level of accuracy so that everybody feels confident in its use. We have some other exciting new tools for you as well, so stay tuned.

We have a number of Branches and Teams now on the Point Data Server and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. If you want to get on board sooner rather than later, please email me and we will get you taken care of ASAP.

Last but not least we just finished negotiating a volume licensing deal with Microsoft. The most immediate impact will be the Exchange upgrade I have been talking about, this will solve many of the email issues we have all been experiencing.

I look forward to seeing all of you in person at the Quarterly Meeting next week.


Steve Bradshaw
Vice President
Information Technology




Weekly Joke

Joke Of The Week

Submitted By Magda Provencio

Irish Smiles

Definition of an Irish husband: He hasn't kissed his wife for twenty years, but he will kill any man who does.

Murphy told Quinn that his wife was driving him to drink. Quinn thinks he's very lucky because his own wife makes him walk.

The late Bishop Sheen state that the reason why the Irish fight so often among themselves is that they're always assured of having a worthy opponent.

An American lawyer asked, "Paddy, why is it that whenever you ask an Irishman a question, he answers with another question?" "Who told you that?" asked Paddy.

Question - Why are Irish jokes so simple?
Answer - So the English can understand them.

Reilly went to trial for armed robbery. The jury foreman came out and announced, "Not guilty." "That's grand!" shouted Reilly. "Does that mean I can keep the money?"

Irish lass customer: "Could I be trying on that dress in the window?"
Shopkeeper: "I'd prefer that you use the dressing room."

Mrs. Feeney shouted from the kitchen, "Is that you I hear spittin' in the vase on the mantle piece?" "No," said himself, "but I'm gettin' closer all the time."

Q. What do you call an Irishman who knows how to control a wife?
A. A bachelor

Finnegin: My wife has a terrible habit of staying up 'til two o' clock in the morning. I can't break her of it.
Keenan: What on earth is she doin' up at that time?
Finnegin: Waitin' for me to come home.

Slaney phoned the maternity ward at the hospital. "Quick!" He said. "Send an ambulance, my wife is goin' to have a baby!"
"Tell me, is this her first baby?" the intern asked.
"No, this is her husband, Kevin, speakin'."

"O'Ryan" asked the druggist, "did that mudpack I gave you improve your wife's appearance?" "It did surely," replied O'Ryan, "but it keeps fallin' off!"

Did you hear about the Irish newlyweds who sat up all night on their honeymoon waiting for their sexual relations to arrive?

My mother wanted me to be a priest. Can you imagine giving up your sex life, and then once a week people come in to tell you the details and highlights of theirs?

Father Guffy roared from the pulpit to his parishioners: "The drink has killed millions - it rots their stomachs and they die in agony. Smoking has killed millions - it coats your lungs and you die in agony. Overeating and consorting with loose women have also killed millions…"
"Scuse me, Father" hollered Reagan from the back, "but what is it that kills the people who live right?"



Help Wanted


Loan Coordinator Position
American Mortgage Specialists, Inc. is now hiring for a Loan Coordinator. This person must have a minimum 2 years of experience in loan processing, underwriting or coordinating. Please fax resumes to Joe West at 480.730.4460 or email joewest@amsaz.com.


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In The Industry

Mortgage Rates Flat in Freddie Mac Report, Up Sharply Per MBA

Article obtained from www.mortgagenewsdaily.com

According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates moved only slightly during the week ended March 2 and what little movement there was served only to narrow the gap between fixed and variable rate mortgages.

Freddie Mac's weekly primary Mortgage Market Survey reported that fixed rate mortgages decreased from 6.26 percent the previous week to 6.24 percent. Fees and points were unchanged at 0.6. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage was unchanged at 5.89 percent as were fees and points, also at 0.6.

Both of the adjustable rate mortgage products tracked by Freddie Mac were up slightly. The 5/1-year ARM increased one basis point to 5.97 percent with fees and points unchanged at 0.6. The 1-year ARM increased from 5.32 percent to 5.34 percent with fees and points reaching 0.8, an increase of 0.1 and the highest this figures has been since the first week of December, 2005.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ended March 3 was much more definitive. The average rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages jumped to 6.31 percent from 6.18 percent the previous week. Points, including the origination fee moved up from 1.19 to 1.22 percent. All data is for 80 percent loan to value originations.

The 15 year rate was also up sharply, from 5.84 percent to 5.97 percent but points decreased from 1.23 to 1.22.

The one-year ARM, the only variable tracked by MBA, was up from 5.69 percent from 5.64 percent with points decreasing to 0.96 from 0.99.

Mortgage application activity was up 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week and 12.9 percent on an unadjusted basis. The Market Composite Index which measures this activity, however, continued its downward slide when compared to the same week in 2005. It declined 17.8 percent.

Refinancing as a percent of all mortgage financing activity increased to 38.5 percent from 38.1 percent and the ARM share of mortgage activity continued to decline. It now represents 27.9 percent of applications as compared to 28.3 the previous week.