Wed, Aug 14 2024, 11:51 AM
This morning I head through Chicago to Michigan to the MMLA Conference, where one of the discussion topics will be the NAR changes and how they impact...
Tue, Aug 13 2024, 11:44 AM
“I ordered a book titled, ‘How to scam people online’ two months ago. It still hasn't arrived yet.” Let’s open today’s Commentary with a couple topics...
Mon, Aug 12 2024, 12:22 PM
With almost three more months of political jabbering, here’s a town in Kentucky that keeps politics in perspective with qualified candidates. In a mix...
Fri, Aug 9 2024, 11:35 AM
“How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?” How do you tell when interest rates are “where they’re supposed to be?” Arguably, rates, based on ...
Thu, Aug 8 2024, 11:51 AM
Do you believe there is no opportunity out there, or nothing you haven’t heard of? First of all, there’s an interesting “moonlighting” commercial job ...
Wed, Aug 7 2024, 12:04 PM
Some things are surprising, like this video of a small child being chased by a wild pit bull. (Parental discretion may be advised.) What if you’re a l...
Tue, Aug 6 2024, 11:11 AM
“Borrow money from pessimists: They don't expect it back.” We are re-entering conference season, and mortgage conference attendance is all over the ma...
Mon, Aug 5 2024, 11:48 AM
This morning I head to Orange County, which has the same population as Arkansas or Nevada, for the CAMP conference where the economy will be discussed...
Fri, Aug 2 2024, 12:02 PM
Remember when Intel was “the cat’s meow” in the IT and chip world? Intel is laying off 15,000 to save $10 billion in costs. Big numbers… Sometimes you...
Thu, Aug 1 2024, 11:46 AM
Thank you to Ira S. who points out that today marks the Spirit Halloween Stores opening. The origins of Halloween go back thousands of years via dozen...
Wed, Jul 31 2024, 11:46 AM
“Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.” Joking aside, competitors out there sure aren’t being lazy. Who wants your previous clients...
Tue, Jul 30 2024, 12:54 PM
Is it a surprise to anyone that millions of renters could afford to buy a home with their mortgage payment not exceeding 30 percent of their income? D...
Mon, Jul 29 2024, 12:03 PM
Language has oddities. For example, plurale tantums: items that are usually referred to in plural, often preceded by “pair of” even when there is only...
Fri, Jul 26 2024, 12:00 PM
The only thing constant is change. After 53 years, Southwest Airlines is ending its 100 percent open seating policy! (I don’t mind lining up.) People ...
Thu, Jul 25 2024, 11:38 AM
As lenders continue to deal with change (the latest rumors have Flagstar is selling its mortgage group to Mr. Cooper; rumor only, ask your rep for rea...
Wed, Jul 24 2024, 12:05 PM
In Utah every year, July 24th commemorates “Pie and Beer Day,” the day in 1847 when the first group of pioneers reached the Salt Lake valley and their...
Tue, Jul 23 2024, 11:49 AM
Before President Biden quit his reelection bid, markets had been pricing in a “Trump Trade.” This meant investors placing bets on a steeper yield curv...
Mon, Jul 22 2024, 12:18 PM
No way, President Biden decided to drop out of the presidential race on National Ice Cream Day! The markets (take your pick… stock, bond, currency, wh...
Fri, Jul 19 2024, 11:32 AM
I get asked if I think our industry puts too much emphasis on what the Federal Reserve is doing, and its being able to control inflation. In a word, m...
Thu, Jul 18 2024, 11:49 AM
It’s not just Americans who can’t afford U.S. homes. International purchases of U.S. homes over the past year declined 36 percent to 54,300 properties...
Wed, Jul 17 2024, 11:48 AM
Is anyone else seeing those sensational, “yellow journalistic” headlines saying that real estate is plummeting? Think again. The American Enterprise I...
Tue, Jul 16 2024, 11:29 AM
The percentage of refinances of overall volume has fallen dramatically from a few years ago, leaving purchases to be the basis of business out there. ...
Mon, Jul 15 2024, 11:39 AM
Yes, I know that this is a mortgage commentary, but some things are way above that. (Warning: tissues may be required; what’s happened legislatively s...
Fri, Jul 12 2024, 11:37 AM
“I’m sorry, but you can’t always be ‘experiencing a higher volume of calls than average.’ That’s not how averages work.” The “average” person has a st...
Thu, Jul 11 2024, 11:40 AM
I have good news and bad news, which do you normally prefer receiving first? Today (7/11) is Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven (good news), where Citigroup exec...
Wed, Jul 10 2024, 11:48 AM
“The only time I get asked for sex is on application forms.” Ba-dum-ching! Speaking of applications, most lenders will agree that the loan officer sho...
Tue, Jul 9 2024, 11:43 AM
“Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line until it is no longer important to you.” To state the obvious, serving customers can make or br...
Mon, Jul 8 2024, 11:48 AM
During a recent password audit, it was found that a blonde was using the following password: "MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofySacramento". W...
Fri, Jul 5 2024, 11:47 AM
Before the internet, everything worked fine without it, right? Just ask the members, whether they be depositors or borrowers, of credit union Patelco,...
Wed, Jul 3 2024, 11:43 AM
Did you know that there were 2.5 million estimated people living in the newly independent nation of the United States in July 1776? Per the Census Bur...
Tue, Jul 2 2024, 11:36 AM
Cracker Jacks, Quaker Oats, Ferris Wheels, and 1893 Chicago have something in common. World’s Fairs, and World’s Expos, have pretty much gone away due...
Mon, Jul 1 2024, 11:53 AM
Do you know anyone in a “Situationship?” You know, a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established? People in man...
Fri, Jun 28 2024, 11:38 AM
“They” say that as you age, life is like a toilet paper roll: the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. Dang. But… 2024 almost half over? Wha...
Thu, Jun 27 2024, 11:55 AM
“What did people from the Midwest call a small can of pop? A Minnesota.” (Say it out loud to your 3 rd grader.) While we’re on a “pop,” lenders in th...
Wed, Jun 26 2024, 11:25 AM
“Don’t waste a good crisis.” Continuing data breaches constitute a crisis, the latest example being LendingTree Inc., cloud-based data analytics firm ...
Tue, Jun 25 2024, 11:54 AM
Everyone’s above average, right? If you are a lender and making money, you’re in the majority. It’s not that you’re not special, it’s just that with c...
Mon, Jun 24 2024, 11:41 AM
“I saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by… switching to reverse and leaving the scene.” The word on the street is that Guaranteed Rate is chang...
Fri, Jun 21 2024, 11:27 AM
Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer” was a hit 40 years ago. (Yes, 40 years.) There are plenty of beaches in Hawai’i, but here in Honolulu at the MBAH confer...
Thu, Jun 20 2024, 11:49 AM
Taylor Swift sang of a “Cruel Summer” and vendors and lenders hope that it isn’t. “If you ever get cold, stand in the corner of a room for a while. Th...
Tue, Jun 18 2024, 11:34 AM
It’s been 55 years since Bryan Adams’ Summer of ’69. (That’s 55 years prior to the latest CFPB action against a lender.) Here in Hawai’i, the populati...
Mon, Jun 17 2024, 11:42 AM
This week includes Juneteenth, a reminder of how slow news traveled in the past, as well as the Summer Solstice. Here in Hawai’i, in terms of daylight...
Fri, Jun 14 2024, 11:51 AM
“In Florida earlier this week we celebrated with a couple of adult beverages: Metamucil and Ensure.” Every state has its quirks, and every state is ma...
Thu, Jun 13 2024, 11:42 AM
This morning I head to Chicago, IL, a state with 972 licensed mortgage banking companies. Illinois has had its share of severe storm damage (heck, in ...
Wed, Jun 12 2024, 11:35 AM
Florida became a state in 1845. Sixteen years later, kites were used in the American Civil War to deliver letters, news, and newspapers. Now we have… ...
Tue, Jun 11 2024, 11:51 AM
I head to Sarasota, Florida this morning, not to look for Florida Man, but for the MBA Florida Conference. A big topic will be homeowner’s insurance. ...
Mon, Jun 10 2024, 11:55 AM
“It's half the price of living at home!” Meet the people swapping dry land for a perpetual cruise. Meanwhile, back in the real world, residential loan...
Fri, Jun 7 2024, 11:44 AM
Huh? Michigan passed California in legal weed sales? The folks here in San Diego don’t seem to mind, and many on the street are doing their part to ke...
Thu, Jun 6 2024, 11:41 AM
“My granddad was responsible for 25 downed German planes in WW II. To this day, he is still known as the worst mechanic the Luftwaffe ever had.” On th...
Wed, Jun 5 2024, 8:28 AM
I head to San Diego today, home to an estimated 300-500,000 roaming feral cats! Cat fans are quick to point out that the word "homeowner" has the word...
Tue, Jun 4 2024, 8:18 AM
"Hey Rob, thank you for continuing to highlight the insurance issues we're having, like in yesterday's commentary. Insurance companies are monitoring ...
