Fri, Aug 2 2013, 11:14 AM
Happy Friday, August 2 nd . The U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) notified everyone that its offices are
closed today due to ...
Thu, Aug 1 2013, 9:57 AM
"Do you ever hear about Freddie or Fannie doing anything illegal with
regard to foreclosures?" Wow - that question is way above my pay grade!
And ...
Wed, Jul 31 2013, 9:43 AM
I used to look at my dog and think, "If you were a little smarter,
you could tell me what you were thinking." And she'd look at me like she
was sa...
Tue, Jul 30 2013, 9:45 AM
Uh oh, just as I head to New York, this comes up. When the new MIP rules
went into effect, disclosures needed to be updated. A very informal
pol...
Mon, Jul 29 2013, 9:38 AM
I am visiting Montana, and Butte just wrapped up "Evil Knievel Days"
over the weekend. (I had an acquaintance who was married to his sister -
thei...
Fri, Jul 26 2013, 10:25 AM
I am fortunate enough to do a little speaking, and in fact next week
am heading to New York for a Sterling National Bank event. But I
received thi...
Thu, Jul 25 2013, 9:50 AM
"America is the only country where a significant proportion of the
population believes that professional wrestling is real but the moon
landing wa...
Wed, Jul 24 2013, 10:20 AM
It is hard to drive by a corner without seeing a gas station or a
bank these days. That doesn't mean banks are all huge, especially here
in Colora...
Tue, Jul 23 2013, 10:10 AM
I want one of those jobs where people ask, "Do you actually get paid
for doing this?" Most folks involved in lending or real estate rarely
hear th...
Mon, Jul 22 2013, 9:25 AM
We'll see a lot of housing news this week. Recently May 2013's, and
before that April's, national and regional prices showed continued
improvement...
Fri, Jul 19 2013, 10:16 AM
When my wife says, "I need to talk to you," every bad thing I've ever
done flashes before my eyes. All humor aside, at some stage of the
game, poi...
Thu, Jul 18 2013, 10:13 AM
I really like July, since the Tour de France is so much more fun to
watch than CNBC in the early morning. Besides, I freely admit that I
make up 9...
Wed, Jul 17 2013, 9:40 AM
Huh? I head to Southern California today, but the big news comes from Illinois. Cole Taylor Mortgage looking for a buyer ? It probably won't be the...
Tue, Jul 16 2013, 11:29 AM
Everyone has complaints about something. Mortgage lenders are the target of plenty of complaints. As one reader noted, "This is a classic self-fulfill...
Mon, Jul 15 2013, 10:05 AM
Sure lots of depository and non-depository lenders made big bucks last year. But what about this year? Probably not .
Last
week I was remiss in ...
Fri, Jul 12 2013, 1:50 PM
"Rob, has the CFPB or the Federal Reserve put out anything on ARM loans?" You bet it has. It is a nice primer , with pretty colors, easy-to-read prin...
Thu, Jul 11 2013, 5:32 PM
At this point , no one expects too much fundamental change to the agencies before 2015.
(This year will continue to see groundwork being laid; ne...
Wed, Jul 10 2013, 9:49 AM
I received many inquiries about the source of metric definitions
(doesn't that sound highfalutin!). The accounting definitions that help
compare f...
Tue, Jul 9 2013, 1:56 PM
Here in San Francisco at the CMBA's Western Secondary conference ,
someone reminded me of my April 1 (April Fools) edition three months
ago. "The...
Mon, Jul 8 2013, 10:08 AM
Bananarama sang, "It's a cruel ... cruel ... cruel summer, Leaving me
here on my own, It's a cruel ... it's a cruel ... cruel summer, Now
you've g...
Fri, Jul 5 2013, 12:57 PM
On this half-staffed Friday, let's take a look at what is the CFPB is up to. Quite a bit, but one can start by digesting the 171 pages currently out...
Wed, Jul 3 2013, 10:01 AM
Okay, this week is dragging, many folks are off anyway, locks are bumping along the bottom, so I am going to switch things up a little, and put the jo...
Tue, Jul 2 2013, 11:25 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas received this question: "Can we close a loan if we discover that the borrower did not sign his/her l...
Mon, Jul 1 2013, 9:25 AM
Bond markets are closing early on Wednesday, and we all have a day off Thursday ( read more... ).
Thursday is the 4th of July. Everyone living in th...
Fri, Jun 28 2013, 12:56 PM
Huh? This is the last business day of the first half of 2013? Where
does time go? And there will be plenty of folks on vacation next week,
with it...
Thu, Jun 27 2013, 10:43 AM
The MBA reported that independent mortgage banks saw their profit per loan take a tumble during the first quarter, down about $500 per loan
...
Wed, Jun 26 2013, 9:47 AM
"May a lender decline a mortgage applicant because the applicant
became involved in a lawsuit subsequent to his or her initial loan
application?" ...
Tue, Jun 25 2013, 8:04 PM
From May 1st lows through yesterday's highs, the yield on the 10-Year
Note has risen from 1.614% to 2.667% and at the same time, the 3.5% MBS coup...
Mon, Jun 24 2013, 1:17 PM
The National Association of Realtors, America's largest trade organization and a group that you'd want on your side, said that Congress should consid...
Fri, Jun 21 2013, 1:57 PM
Welcome to the day with the misnomer, "The longest day of the year."
Every day has about 24 hours - this one, in the northern hemisphere,
happens ...
Wed, Jun 19 2013, 10:54 AM
Here in Colorado, all eyes are on the 500+ houses destroyed by the recent fires. FEMA
is also watching, as it is the damage caused by flooding in ...
Tue, Jun 18 2013, 10:44 AM
I am in Colorado this week for the Richey May President & CEO
Roundtable meeting, but here is some news regarding Ohio. When we think
"The Federal...
Mon, Jun 17 2013, 9:41 AM
The United States does not have the only government that is knee-deep in controlling lending and real estate. Beijing,
which already has China's st...
Fri, Jun 14 2013, 12:06 PM
NAR has been invited to testify at an upcoming Congressional hearing about the Qualified Mortgage rule (QM) .
The House Financial Services Subcomm...
Thu, Jun 13 2013, 10:27 AM
Are you looking forward to a day off tomorrow? Me neither - the
commentary never sleeps - but agencies like HUD and the IRS do. These,
and other a...
Wed, Jun 12 2013, 12:44 PM
In spite of a lot of chatter and proposed legislation about phasing out Fannie & Freddie ,
much of the industry is behind the agencies. Not only do...
Tue, Jun 11 2013, 12:41 PM
The plain fact is that people need , and for the most part want ,
a roof over their heads. According to an online survey conducted by
Harris Int...
Mon, Jun 10 2013, 10:16 AM
I am in Atlanta for a couple days, visiting with the Atlanta Mortgage
Bankers Association. Some of the conversations involve the $76 million
that ...
Fri, Jun 7 2013, 11:49 AM
Yes, mortgage rates are higher than where they were a month ago. We aren't in an " ARM market " quite yet although intermediate ARMs
are seeing some...
Thu, Jun 6 2013, 11:44 AM
Remember all those folks that had their 401(k)'s tied up in stocks
like Countrywide, Bank of America, Lehman Brothers, National City,
WAMU... the ...
Wed, Jun 5 2013, 11:33 AM
Yesterday the commentary mentioned a question, "Rob, how can I gear up my consumer direct division to go after purchase business?" I
received this n...
Tue, Jun 4 2013, 11:16 AM
"Rob, how can I gear up my consumer direct division to go after purchase business? "
That is a good question to which I don't know the answer - wis...
Mon, Jun 3 2013, 9:53 AM
Underwriters and loan originators are acutely aware of a trend
reflected in a stat the Census Bureau recently released: the number of
businesses w...
Fri, May 31 2013, 2:14 PM
"The guy next door" as well as multi-billion dollar venture capital
funds know that, right? Well, the housing industry is hoping that
venture capi...
Thu, May 30 2013, 10:50 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register recently which mean that the long drawn-out saga...
Wed, May 29 2013, 11:34 AM
Traders report that there has been " little resistance to higher rates ." What does that mean? Mortgage banker origination has been heavy (hitting ove...
Tue, May 28 2013, 9:59 AM
In Saturday's edition of the commentary, the question was raised by CG from Wisconsin regarding paying loan officers different rates based on differen...
Sat, May 25 2013, 2:09 PM
The mortgage industry is filled with smart business people who just want to know "the rules of the game" rather than the uncertainty that seems to exi...
Fri, May 24 2013, 10:03 AM
T he IRS, furlough days, and the possible impact on 4506 transcript processing . I first heard about it through a Mountain West Financial e-mail: "T...
Thu, May 23 2013, 2:58 PM
The Fed giveth, and the Fed taketh away. Both stocks and bonds fell on Wednesday after a Q&A session with Ben Bernanke , and minutes from the latest ...
