Fri, Jan 6 2017, 9:43 AM
This month for me includes Texas (a few times), Maryland, Northern California, and Colorado (a few times). It can be cold out there! So far the mood s...
Thu, Jan 5 2017, 9:51 AM
This morning we’ve had the Challenger layoff data and the usual Thursday’s weekly Initial Jobless Claims (and its 4-week moving average). Things aren’...
Wed, Jan 4 2017, 9:19 AM
Any LO looking for opportunity should look no further than this statistic: there were 189,100 multifamily rental units completed between the fourth qu...
Tue, Jan 3 2017, 9:34 AM
(Yes, a paragraph of pure fluff to start the year.) Does anyone handwrite checks anymore? Always a struggle to remember “2017” instead of “2016.” And ...
Fri, Dec 30 2016, 9:15 AM
Overheard: “I have a feeling that my ‘check liver’ light may come on this weekend.” I guess drinking helps some people forget, and it’s been a rough w...
Thu, Dec 29 2016, 9:09 AM
New Residential Investment Corp. (NYSE: NRZ) announced it has entered into an agreement, through its wholly-owned subsidiary New Residential Mortgage ...
Wed, Dec 28 2016, 10:31 AM
"I like to party. And by 'party' I mean take a nap." Lots of folks are taking naps this week, but those on the production side of residential lending ...
Tue, Dec 27 2016, 9:08 AM
How has it been ten years since James Brown passed away? And now George Michael. (I guess no matter how much money you have, or how famous you are...)...
Fri, Dec 23 2016, 10:37 AM
We’ve passed the Winter Solstice, and we can look forward to more daylight in the Northern Hemisphere from here on out. (Good news for readers in Fair...
Thu, Dec 22 2016, 9:37 AM
“Hospitality is the art of making guests feel like they're at home when you wish they were.” (Read that again – it’s pretty clever.) Millions of white...
Wed, Dec 21 2016, 9:11 AM
Hey, don’t know what to get your favorite capital markets guy or gal this year for Christmas? Here's a memorable gift , with a one minute video. Altho...
Tue, Dec 20 2016, 9:49 AM
The whole world is changing! There are 500 McDonalds in the United States that currently offer table service. The bring-your-burger-to-you trial has p...
Mon, Dec 19 2016, 9:07 AM
The cold temperatures sweeping the nation, especially in the Upper Plains, have plenty of folks wondering how Native Americans kept warm during the wi...
Fri, Dec 16 2016, 9:18 AM
The Fed reports US household net worth soared to a record $90.2 trillion in Q3, as the stock market jumped and housing prices increased. One group of ...
Thu, Dec 15 2016, 9:17 AM
As more people under the age of 30 enter residential lending, what is happening on the other end? Well, congrats to SunTrust's Elaine Lee who is retir...
Wed, Dec 14 2016, 9:30 AM
Happy 121416, by the way, in the United States. Plenty of potential home buyers are still paying rent . You’re probably working in an office where the...
Tue, Dec 13 2016, 9:24 AM
What is this, Europe? 20 weeks off for new parents at American Express? While we're on employment trends, I'm not sure if this will come as a surprise...
Mon, Dec 12 2016, 9:44 AM
“The Mile High City” has seen solid appreciation, but NAR expects that to slow in 2017. (Chicago is expected to put in the worst performance of the to...
Fri, Dec 9 2016, 10:28 AM
Here’s something you won’t see in North America: the sale and transfer of 1.3% of the last mass of the continent. It just happened in Australia with t...
Thu, Dec 8 2016, 9:39 AM
“I find it ironic that the colors red, white, and blue stand for freedom, until they're flashing behind you.” The OCC doesn’t have flashing lights, bu...
Wed, Dec 7 2016, 9:27 AM
Today is the 75th anniversary of the Japanese attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawai’i where 2,403 Americans died and 1,178 were wound...
Tue, Dec 6 2016, 9:27 AM
Many years ago, it was a joke in Britain to say that, “the War Office was always preparing for the last war.” To their credit, regulators now often tr...
Mon, Dec 5 2016, 9:50 AM
It is probably not the case that this date is celebrated by mortgage bankers from coast to coast, and forget the jokes about it being the “Mortgage Dr...
Fri, Dec 2 2016, 9:24 AM
Plenty of people are on the roads in December, traveling for the holidays. Ever curious about the basic differences between a road, a street, a boulev...
Thu, Dec 1 2016, 10:00 AM
Numbers can be deceiving. U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro announced that public housing developments in the U.S. will...
Wed, Nov 30 2016, 10:07 AM
Underwriters’ hands are tied in using income from something the Federal Government considers illegal. For example, Washington State had nearly $212 mi...
Tue, Nov 29 2016, 10:11 AM
From Louisiana comes, “I doubt that HUD will be a high priority for Trump – perhaps it will be like Ronald Reagan’s view. Remember the story that Pres...
Mon, Nov 28 2016, 9:54 AM
Happy birthday to Tina Turner who turned 77 on Saturday. (I doubt if her personal information is at risk after HUD was hacked .) I bet Tina, who is a ...
Wed, Nov 23 2016, 10:22 AM
My cat Myrtle is old school. A traditionalist. Even though she has never said it out loud, I know that she doesn’t approve of me putting one space aft...
Tue, Nov 22 2016, 9:53 AM
Another day, another settlement. Ally Financial Inc said it agreed to pay $52 million to settle claims made by the U.S. Department of Justice against ...
Mon, Nov 21 2016, 11:56 AM
“Made up my mind to make a new start…Going to California with an aching in my heart. Someone told me there's a girl out there, with love in her eyes a...
Fri, Nov 18 2016, 10:46 AM
Just how much did rates go up recently? Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed a 37 basis point (.375) jump in the average 30-year rate, ...
Thu, Nov 17 2016, 10:13 AM
The FDIC reports banks paid $37.5 billion in taxes through Q2. That’s a lot. In individual tax news, the Mortgage Bankers Association sent out a joint...
Wed, Nov 16 2016, 10:55 AM
Baby Boomers like lists and rankings. Here is one that I ran across: the 50 highest paying professions not needing a college degree. There are a coupl...
Tue, Nov 15 2016, 10:43 AM
For me this week and last includes time in Knoxville, Las Vegas, Portland, Northern California, Colorado, and Salt Lake City. The mood? Besides plenty...
Mon, Nov 14 2016, 10:14 AM
Time flies, this week we can expect the FHA Annual Report to be released with folks watching for that 2% capital level, and before you know it Thanksg...
Thu, Nov 10 2016, 10:43 AM
The BLS reports 5 of the 10 fastest growing jobs pay less than $25k per year . I wonder what percentage of real estate agents earn that? Realtors have...
Wed, Nov 9 2016, 10:56 AM
Friday is a day to honor veterans. Different people do that in different ways, and one way is for a restaurant chain to offer a free meal to those who...
Tue, Nov 8 2016, 9:53 AM
“It ain’t rocket surgery.” Trulia has a good piece out on the advantages of buying versus renting . Buying a home is 37% cheaper than renting national...
Mon, Nov 7 2016, 10:46 AM
A loan officer walked up to me at a recent sales event and complained, “I’m spending more time promoting myself than I am being myself.” I replied, “I...
Fri, Nov 4 2016, 10:22 AM
Are there any updates to tax information and/or documentation requirements? Yes, a handful. Stearns requires that all loans where tax returns are bein...
Thu, Nov 3 2016, 10:03 AM
With residential applications at a 5-month industry low, it’s time for a pun. "How much does it cost to buy sixty female pigs and forty male deer? One...
Wed, Nov 2 2016, 10:14 AM
It's a global mortgage market, and this news tidbit caught my eye - reminding us that "a rising tide floats all boats." Virgin Money's Q3 IMS shows co...
Tue, Nov 1 2016, 10:03 AM
Who is 29-year old Pete Kostelnick? No, he’s not the cute new AE covering your region. Pete just set a world record for fastest run across America: 3,...
Mon, Oct 31 2016, 10:25 AM
Here we are at Halloween already. Who will win the inter-department costume contest, shipping or accounting? And what could be more horrifying for a b...
Fri, Oct 28 2016, 11:38 AM
Here’s a letter that, as a lender, you probably don’t want to receive from the CFPB. Remember that the CFPB runs HMDA now, and fired this shot across ...
Thu, Oct 27 2016, 10:42 AM
Want to lend money? A common evaluation framework is the Five C's of Credit : capacity, capital, collateral, conditions and character. Let's see what'...
Wed, Oct 26 2016, 9:42 AM
It is well documented that “women spend more time wondering what men are thinking than men spend thinking.” Lemon Drops move over! (For those of you w...
Tue, Oct 25 2016, 9:57 AM
The annual mortgage conference is in full swing, and I am sure that reports of “ 10 vendors for every 1 residential lender ” are exaggerated. Well, ma...
Mon, Oct 24 2016, 9:40 AM
Are you wearing an Apple watch to that important business meeting? Maybe you shouldn’t , unless you don’t mind people listening in . How much does it ...
