Tue, Dec 24 2024, 8:34 AM
In the news, besides American Airlines grounding all flights (it’s back running now), is Burt, the 90-year-old crocodile from Crocodile Dundee, dying ...
Mon, Dec 23 2024, 11:47 AM
Why do ducks have feathers? To cover up their butt quacks. Why did Congress pass a three-month, stopgap funding bill? To cover their… never mind. But ...
Thu, Dec 19 2024, 12:04 PM
When I see a headline with “housing” and “crash” in it, I think it is merely clickbait, and the author is trying to attract readers. For example: The ...
Wed, Dec 18 2024, 11:59 AM
“When a woman says, ‘What?’ it’s not because she didn’t hear you. It’s because she’s giving you a chance to change what you said.” Things are always a...
Tue, Dec 17 2024, 11:20 AM
Number progressions can be deceiving and surprising. Thank you to Eric D. who reminded me of “The Wheat and the Chessboard” example, guaranteed to sur...
Mon, Dec 16 2024, 11:47 AM
You don’t become cooler with age, but you do care progressively less about being cool, which is the only true way of being cool. This is called the “G...
Fri, Dec 13 2024, 12:15 PM
“They say that mafia members are nasty people. But while growing up, I lived next door to one mafia member, and he was actually a nice guy. In fact, e...
Thu, Dec 12 2024, 11:58 AM
What? You’re a builder who’s short on nails? Well, bring in some folks from Japan… they don’t necessarily need them. Of the nearly 300 types of nails ...
Wed, Dec 11 2024, 11:42 AM
“I love Christmas lights! They remind me of the people who voted for (insert name of politician). They all hang together, half of them don’t work, and...
Tue, Dec 10 2024, 12:03 PM
“To the paranoid people who check behind shower curtains for murderers: if you find one, what's your plan?” What’s the Fed’s plan? The Federal Reserve...
Mon, Dec 9 2024, 11:52 AM
“Wi-Fi outages are the new snow days!” Without the internet or cable, would we return to relying on newspapers, radios, and network channels for news?...
Fri, Dec 6 2024, 11:51 AM
“Today’s three-year-olds can switch on laptops and open their favorite apps. When I was three, I ate mud.” Times change. Remember when homeowner’s ins...
Thu, Dec 5 2024, 11:25 AM
Don’t steal packages off of porches… you never know what will be inside them… A very low-tech attempt at dissuading thieves. On the flip side, what do...
Wed, Dec 4 2024, 11:07 AM
My cat Myrtle never had to worry too much about things like… money. Elon Musk, however, can’t seem to catch a break and his $56 billion (yes, with a “...
Tue, Dec 3 2024, 11:59 AM
Tis the season to have some fun, right? How about we start with this interesting musical duo? While the CFPB’s proposal addressing the selling of data...
Mon, Dec 2 2024, 11:51 AM
I recall Zillow doing a study on the color of the front door impacting sales price. What does $22.5 million get you in Charleston, SC, especially if t...
Fri, Nov 29 2024, 8:18 AM
“I was late to my cannibal family's Thanksgiving dinner. I got the cold shoulder.” LOs are experts on family life and demographics. The share of bot...
Wed, Nov 27 2024, 11:39 AM
“Rob, my borrowers would be really happy with rates below 7 percent. When will we get there?” A wise economist with the MBA once told me, “If you’re g...
Tue, Nov 26 2024, 11:47 AM
“If there's anyone out there who has no family and is planning to stay home alone this Thanksgiving, please let me know. I need to borrow some chairs....
Mon, Nov 25 2024, 11:48 AM
“Pro tip” to start the week: Be sure to bring up politics at your family's Thanksgiving dinner. You'll save a lot of money on Christmas gifts. A tip t...
Fri, Nov 22 2024, 11:48 AM
Want a house for a dollar? Italy has them… figure out the impact on comps for appraisals! To the best of my knowledge, my cat Myrtle never lived in It...
Thu, Nov 21 2024, 11:55 AM
This morning I head from Columbia, MO (“COMO”… big thumb’s up for Sophia’s Italian) to Kansas City for the KC MBA luncheon. I have seen very few Tesla...
Wed, Nov 20 2024, 11:48 AM
“I thought swimming with dolphins was expensive until I went swimming with sharks. It cost me an arm and a leg.” Through the wonders of modern air tra...
Tue, Nov 19 2024, 11:13 AM
“What do giraffes and zoning regulations have in common? They both don't exist in Texas.” I am not heading there for a while, but instead head to St. ...
Mon, Nov 18 2024, 11:44 AM
“I didn't make it to the gym again today. That makes five years in a row.” I did, however, make it to the aerodrome over the weekend, which involved t...
Fri, Nov 15 2024, 11:48 AM
"To the person who stole my glasses. I will find you; I have contacts." Here in Cleveland, much of the mortgage talk involves conjecture about where w...
Thu, Nov 14 2024, 12:08 PM
Demographics matter. Although I am sending today’s Commentary out from a Dunkin’ near Columbus, Ohio, yesterday I found myself visiting a supposedly h...
Wed, Nov 13 2024, 11:45 AM
“When I was young man, I met a girl in Tennessee who turned out to be a moonshiner’s daughter. That was a long time ago. But I love her still.” The Co...
Tue, Nov 12 2024, 11:41 AM
What would lenders do without telephones and phone calls? In 1947 area codes were created by AT&T. Metropolitan areas were given low numbers so that p...
Fri, Nov 8 2024, 12:10 PM
Many believe, and with good reason, that there will be some turnover at the CFPB coming up. Here are the pay grades if you’re interested in a job. (I ...
Thu, Nov 7 2024, 10:20 AM
You knew that Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline, more than California, Florida, and Hawaii combined, right? Here at Servion’s Fusion 24 event in...
Wed, Nov 6 2024, 11:24 AM
I went to a Vikings game with a friend and decided I wanted a drink. I wanted the big soda pop, but when I saw the price, I decided… A Minnesota will ...
Tue, Nov 5 2024, 11:46 AM
I think that I read somewhere that there’s an election today (in addition to the Boeing strike ending). Certainly, the sun will come up tomorrow, and ...
Mon, Nov 4 2024, 11:50 AM
Someone’s making money out there, right? Freddie and Fannie continue to earn billions, with a good chunk coming from g-fee income, and see hundreds of...
Fri, Nov 1 2024, 11:21 AM
Not only do most states “gain an hour” Sunday, but I have good news for all my readers. I am getting stronger with age. I can now lift $100 worth of g...
Thu, Oct 31 2024, 11:45 AM
I recently went to my favorite local Mexican restaurant, and there was a sign in the window, “Sorry, we are closed due to short staff.” Someone had wr...
Wed, Oct 30 2024, 11:58 AM
As I head from Denver to the Bay Area early this morning, I thought to myself, “Why are corn farmers great at eavesdropping? Because they have ears ev...
Tue, Oct 29 2024, 11:46 AM
Heard in the hallways here at the MBA’s annual convention in December. “I wonder if the MBA’s volume estimate of $2.3 trillion for 2025 includes all o...
Mon, Oct 28 2024, 11:47 AM
Thousands of lenders and vendors braved the gate lice to fly to Denver (the term for people who crowd around the gate at an airport, sometimes in an a...
Fri, Oct 25 2024, 11:41 AM
“A herd of cows broke into a Colorado weed farm. Police and animal control are on the scene, and the steaks are high.” This will be the last day in th...
Thu, Oct 24 2024, 11:09 AM
Were solid, rounded airplane windows considered “innovation”? Indiana’s Carol K. has the answer. There’s always innovation, in this case entertaining....
Wed, Oct 23 2024, 11:49 AM
“The coast is clear,” and today I head to the Palm Beach Mortgage Professionals Expo hosted by FAMP’s Broward-Gold Coast Chapter. Legal issues will be...
Tue, Oct 22 2024, 11:54 AM
“An eye for an eye, Tooth for a tooth. Vote for me and I'll set you free! Rap on, brother, rap on. Well, the only person talking about loving thy brot...
Mon, Oct 21 2024, 11:46 AM
Sports have a lot of fans, and heroes. With only 10 days until Halloween, what a great time of year to be a sports fanatic. You never have to leave yo...
Fri, Oct 18 2024, 12:14 PM
A while back I parked my car outside a government office building in Sacramento. "Sir, you can't park here," said a cop. "This is where our politician...
Thu, Oct 17 2024, 11:43 AM
Today would have been the 65th birthday of comedian Norm Macdonald. And while that may make your head shake, here’s something else that definitely wil...
Wed, Oct 16 2024, 11:46 AM
An attorney will tell you, “Never miss a good chance to shut up.” Today I head to the Portland/Vancouver area for a few days with Banner Bank. Oregon ...
Tue, Oct 15 2024, 11:44 AM
Some things aren’t what they seem to be. What about places… what if you moved and your new home wasn’t how it originally seemed to be? There is a tren...
Fri, Oct 11 2024, 11:48 AM
Preparing for the next hurricane in Florida? Or Louisiana? Or Texas? Call this really smart or really humorous, it’s up to you. (And no, I don’t know ...
Thu, Oct 10 2024, 12:52 PM
Hey, I like a good raccoon swarm as much as the next guy, but you couldn’t pay me to walk out there in that yard. Speaking of pay, a common question i...
