Tue, Sep 6 2022, 10:26 AM
Now that we have passed the unofficial end of summer, am I allowed or not allowed to wear white on Zoom calls before 2023’s Memorial Day? Maybe darker...
Fri, Sep 2 2022, 10:29 AM
We have witnessed a change in our work environment. From the Central Coast of California, Jeff O. sent, “Yesterday I had convened a zoom meeting of ma...
Thu, Sep 1 2022, 10:07 AM
Tony H. writes, “I just switched my 30-year home mortgage to ‘student loan.’ Follow me for more financial advice.” I have been fielding questions abou...
Wed, Aug 31 2022, 10:49 AM
My cat Myrtle has a certain amount of “girth,” as they say. But I tell her that she carries it well as the calories from line-caught halibut have far ...
Tue, Aug 30 2022, 9:54 AM
Nature “always bats last.” Terrible flooding in Pakistan, flooding in Mississippi impacting its drinking water supplies. Severe temperatures in China,...
Mon, Aug 29 2022, 10:43 AM
Remember a few years ago when lender’s IT departments were thinking that blockchain was the answer to… whatever problem they thought it would answer? ...
Fri, Aug 26 2022, 10:03 AM
Abraham Lincoln famously stated, “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.” There are always rumors out there. The latest to cross my desk, ...
Thu, Aug 25 2022, 10:14 AM
Nothing is simple or easy in this world. Take pine nuts. Simple, easy, right? Nope. A staple of pesto, and some salads and desserts, those in the Unit...
Wed, Aug 24 2022, 10:36 AM
Lenders continue to adapt, and LOs are adding value by being subject matter experts and marketing accordingly. (For example, today’s podcast features ...
Tue, Aug 23 2022, 10:33 AM
Mortgage rates dropped after mid-June. Momentarily switching gears, given their role in cakes, breakfasts, custards, and breads, if eggs didn’t exist,...
Mon, Aug 22 2022, 10:35 AM
John Kenneth Galbraith said, “The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” How about forecasts of how dramatic th...
Fri, Aug 19 2022, 10:37 AM
“The officer said, ‘You drinking?’ I said, ‘You buying?’ We just laughed and laughed.... It’s Friday morning and I need bail money.” No one ever struc...
Thu, Aug 18 2022, 10:45 AM
Today is World Breast Cancer Research Day, a global recognition of the life-changing research (past, present, and future) to end breast cancer. That w...
Wed, Aug 17 2022, 10:09 AM
In Florida there are approximately 3,000 lakes, not enough to make it onto the leader board of states with the most named lakes (Minnesota, Wisconsin,...
Tue, Aug 16 2022, 10:03 AM
“Common sense is not a gift. It's a punishment because you have to deal with everyone who doesn't have it.” This is a tough market, and common sense u...
Mon, Aug 15 2022, 10:43 AM
Florida is the source of a sizeable percentage of home loans and fine lenders, as well as plenty of “Florida Man” stories. (Don’t read if easily offen...
Fri, Aug 12 2022, 10:43 AM
Loan officers who’d like to learn a thing or two about the current prospecting environment are invited to listen in today at 2PM CT/noon PT as Steve R...
Thu, Aug 11 2022, 10:33 AM
We began 2022 thinking that this might be the “Year of Non-QM.” The product certainly has its advantages for some borrowers, and lenders & investors. ...
Wed, Aug 10 2022, 10:40 AM
Big and small, they aren’t the first and won’t be the last. Residential lenders everywhere are ruminating on Notarize laying off 75 percent of its leg...
Tue, Aug 9 2022, 10:46 AM
Singer/actress Olivia Newton John AND author David McCullough, both dying to start the week? (I just finished “Mornings on Horseback.”) After I die, I...
Mon, Aug 8 2022, 10:21 AM
How much would you pay for a company responsible for a funny video? How ‘bout $1.7 billion bones? Amazon, catching the eye of the FTC, has made an off...
Fri, Aug 5 2022, 10:48 AM
Please answer the short questionnaire at the end of the Commentary. Okay, just kidding. I have grown to really dislike a survey request after I stay a...
Thu, Aug 4 2022, 10:43 AM
“Senility has been a smooth transition for me.” So quipped an attendee here at the Michigan Mortgage Lenders Association conference in Grand Rapids. T...
Wed, Aug 3 2022, 11:11 AM
As rumors of correspondent, wholesale, and retail company cutbacks or closings continue to bounce around our biz, how about this non-mortgage tidbit. ...
Tue, Aug 2 2022, 11:14 AM
“How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts?” Lenders, and their underwriters, work with income, value...
Mon, Aug 1 2022, 10:16 AM
Both basketball player Bill Russell and Nichelle Nichols, Lt. Uhura on Star Trek,” passing away!? Meanwhile, today I head to Chicago, the #1 city for ...
Fri, Jul 29 2022, 10:16 AM
It’s a zany world we live in, and forecasts and predictions mean little (as seen by interest rates this week). Where should we start? Rumors of mortga...
Thu, Jul 28 2022, 11:10 AM
My cat Myrtle has some publicity once in a while, although she doesn’t want people knowing she can only hear out of one ear. Freddie Mac had some publ...
Wed, Jul 27 2022, 12:01 PM
“Common sense is not a gift. It's a punishment because you have to deal with everyone who doesn't have it.” Common sense tells us that what goes up, m...
Tue, Jul 26 2022, 10:37 AM
What in blazes?! The Choco Taco has met its demise?! Food is something we all have in common. Last week’s, “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. ...
Mon, Jul 25 2022, 10:08 AM
Here at the California MBA’s Western Secondary in Orange County, besides talk of Utah’s Pie and Beer Day yesterday, or maybe it is Pioneer Day, most o...
Fri, Jul 22 2022, 10:57 AM
“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” What a gift it is to be able to read. Where are you reading thi...
Thu, Jul 21 2022, 10:21 AM
Just because something is interesting doesn’t mean it’s important. The demand for mortgages hit a 22-year low, which is both. And here’s an observatio...
Wed, Jul 20 2022, 10:37 AM
“Having plans sounds like a good idea until you have to put on clothes and leave the house.” Capital markets teams have plans, and STRATMOR’s current ...
Tue, Jul 19 2022, 10:53 AM
From Salt Lake City, Rich B. sends, “My mind is like an internet browser: 17 tabs are open, 4 of them are frozen, and I don’t know where the music is ...
Mon, Jul 18 2022, 11:08 AM
Everyone is watching the value of their 401(k) plan go down. You should be watching it go down from “across the pond,” sitting at a sidewalk café in P...
Fri, Jul 15 2022, 11:32 AM
Dang these five-day work weeks seem long! My cat Myrtle doesn’t seem overly concerned with work, days or weeks, as long as that line-caught ocean salm...
Thu, Jul 14 2022, 10:27 AM
Real estate agents love it when loan officers give them referrals. That’s not always easy. Is giving a real estate agent a book on becoming a producti...
Wed, Jul 13 2022, 11:34 AM
Sue W. writes, “After I say, ‘That’s crazy’ twice, please wrap up your story.” There are a lot of stories out there now as residential lenders tighten...
Tue, Jul 12 2022, 10:39 AM
I mentioned yesterday that 4 out of 3 people have trouble with math, but it doesn’t take a genius to do subtraction. 6 - .2 = 5.8, right? Wouldn’t you...
Mon, Jul 11 2022, 11:13 AM
Did you know that 4 out of 3 people have trouble with math? I do too, as suggested by my capital markets background, but I know enough to understand t...
Fri, Jul 8 2022, 11:08 AM
Dang, is there any good news out there? Japanese ex-Prime Minister Abe was tragically assassinated. Rates stink, especially compare to 2020 and 2021, ...
Thu, Jul 7 2022, 10:42 AM
Many youngsters don’t know the “Shave and a haircut? Two bits!” knock, or musical notes. Some things are timeless, like British Prime Ministers coming...
Wed, Jul 6 2022, 10:55 AM
“I'm a multitasker. I can listen, ignore, and forget all at the same time!” We won’t, however, soon forget this part of the business cycle. “Rob, than...
Tue, Jul 5 2022, 11:34 AM
“What do you get when you cross the Atlantic Ocean with the Titanic? Halfway.” We’ve crossed the halfway point of 2022, and where’s everyone’s attenti...
Fri, Jul 1 2022, 9:58 AM
This morning, at the beginning of the third quarter of 2022, I learned about this morsel: The most common national holiday around the world is indepen...
Thu, Jun 30 2022, 10:49 AM
“Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels… Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields.” Yes, at the end of today we’re halfwa...
Wed, Jun 29 2022, 10:39 AM
We’re all trying to save a few pennies. We have the increase in postal rates coming soon and perhaps pick up a roll, or ten, of Forever Stamps. It’s n...
Tue, Jun 28 2022, 10:59 AM
You can rest assured that no animals were harmed in the making of this commentary! But the harm felt by stockholders during the last several months ha...
Mon, Jun 27 2022, 10:56 AM
“I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.” Management teams at lenders and vendors can’t be indecisive in this environment. Who’s going to be rig...
