Mon, Dec 12 2011, 10:00 AM
Any time I
see "Jodie Foster," "housing scheme," "estranged father
"and, "cargo containers" in one sentence, I scramble for the latest edition of
P...
Fri, Dec 9 2011, 9:57 AM
If it's a
slow Friday afternoon in the office today, and you enjoy optical illusions .
I'd like to say that there are no illusions in Washingto...
Thu, Dec 8 2011, 9:53 AM
If you
made a Christmas wreath out of $100 bills would you have Areath-a Franklins?
I have been retained by a very well-capitalized mortgage ban...
Wed, Dec 7 2011, 10:33 AM
Pearl
Harbor Day is here and the holiday party season is nearly upon us, and it is
always good for mortgage bankers and Realtors to have some fodder...
Tue, Dec 6 2011, 10:36 AM
In news
that should surprise no one, the Census Bureau reports that the U.S. population 65 and older is growing
faster than any other group and is ...
Mon, Dec 5 2011, 10:17 AM
"Rob
- my rep just wrote her clients an e-mail regarding gifts for this holiday
season. Instead of contributing to the trade imbalance and sending o...
Fri, Dec 2 2011, 10:26 AM
What is
Barack buying Michelle this year? A little non-owner unit, perhaps, but not
thanks to Freddie Mac's HomeSteps , which is owner-occupied onl...
Thu, Dec 1 2011, 11:06 AM
Sometimes
in the financial markets there is just too much going on to comprehend. For
example, yesterday the Fed (the U.S. Central Bank), in conjun...
Wed, Nov 30 2011, 11:35 AM
According
to a recent survey by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the typical U.S. homebuyer spent less and
borrowed less in 2011 . NAR's...
Tue, Nov 29 2011, 11:50 AM
Ineptocracy
(in-ept-o-cra-cy) - a system of government where the least capable to lead are
elected by the least capable of producing, and where the ...
Mon, Nov 28 2011, 10:23 AM
Hey, if
you're still originating loans now, you may-as-well stick around another year,
right? The 2012 NMLS Streamlined Renewal
Process is underwa...
Fri, Nov 25 2011, 11:23 AM
If you say
"raise up lights" really fast, it sounds like "razor
blades" in an Australian accent.
If you say "VA Funding Fee" really fast, nothi...
Wed, Nov 23 2011, 11:18 AM
"Well
it's been ten years and a thousand beers, and look at the mess I'm in -
A broken nose and a broken heart, and an empty bottle of gin.
Well...
Tue, Nov 22 2011, 10:37 AM
The
inability of the Super Committee (maybe not so super) brought forth a flurry of
political jokes. (For example, a driver is stuck in a traffic ja...
Mon, Nov 21 2011, 10:05 AM
Lots of
people in the real estate & mortgage businesses make a lot of money. As we
head toward Thanksgiving, sometimes it is a good thing to remembe...
Sun, Nov 20 2011, 9:54 PM
"They've
invented a microwave fireplace. Now you can sit by the fire all evening
in just three minutes."
It takes
less than three minutes to br...
Fri, Nov 18 2011, 10:03 AM
If you
changed residences between 2010 and 2010, congratulations: less than 12% of the U.S. population moved during that time , the
lowest recorded...
Thu, Nov 17 2011, 11:01 AM
One week
until Thanksgiving - time flies. What's in a name? Plenty. For example, the
name of the Athletic Director at the University of Texas is DeL...
Wed, Nov 16 2011, 10:01 AM
Say what
you want about zoning laws in Houston, but mosques and pig races don’t mix
anywhere: http://www.youtube.com/embed/dUr1NxJDC94?rel=0 . ...
Tue, Nov 15 2011, 10:25 AM
This has
nothing to do with mortgage banking or real estate, but it is definitely worth 30 seconds for anyone
who drives or has a pet .
In S...
Mon, Nov 14 2011, 10:10 AM
Let's say
that you have a warehouse line with Bank
of America , or anyone else for that matter. You come into work and either
the line is frozen, ...
Fri, Nov 11 2011, 11:23 AM
Here we
are at 11/11/11: Veterans Day. Veterans Day originated as "Armistice Day" on
Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I....
Thu, Nov 10 2011, 9:37 AM
We now
have two weeks until Thanksgiving, first celebrated in the fall of 1621.
Yesterday we discussed how six states account for two-thirds of U.S....
Wed, Nov 9 2011, 10:04 AM
We have
fifteen days until Thanksgiving, first celebrated in the fall of 1621 when the
Pilgrims held a three-day feast to celebrate a bountiful harv...
Tue, Nov 8 2011, 10:58 AM
The scene:
a town in Europe in 1350 devastated by the Black Plague, a man walking along
crying, "Bring out your dead, bring out your dead..." Scene ...
Mon, Nov 7 2011, 9:58 AM
Everyone
received an extra hour this weekend - and don't forget that Friday the bond market is closed in the
U.S. So if any company is generating ...
Fri, Nov 4 2011, 10:00 AM
Take your
pick: this is really cool, really irritating, or merely mesmerizing. But don't
forget to change your clocks this weekend: http://www.beek...
Thu, Nov 3 2011, 11:02 AM
No one
said mortgage servicing (or lending) would be any fun. The Las Vegas City
Council, on the 15 th , will consider a proposal that would make l...
Wed, Nov 2 2011, 11:31 AM
Following
the tragic death of the Human Cannonball at the Springfield Autumn Fair, a
spokesman said "We'll struggle to get another man of the same
...
Tue, Nov 1 2011, 10:59 AM
Seven
billion is a lot of people. I guess that's about how many of us there are in
the world: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15391515 .
(And no, ...
Mon, Oct 31 2011, 10:07 AM
Welcome to
Halloween. On this day every year Ops managers across the nation struggle
between month-end funding and shipping more loans, or in judgin...
Fri, Oct 28 2011, 9:39 AM
For those
out there that like maps, who are Native American or Alaskan, or who live in
Native American areas, here is a nifty illustration (Oklahoma...
Thu, Oct 27 2011, 10:10 AM
If you
have $100, maybe you can buy a house. For the next year, in some states buyers need a down payment of only $100 to purchase a
HUD-owned REO ...
Wed, Oct 26 2011, 10:29 AM
Mobile
homes: personal or real property? This may shed some light on the issue.
First RMIC, then PMI, now...Genworth ? And at some point eve...
Tue, Oct 25 2011, 10:57 AM
We have six
days until Halloween, after which, it seems, the pumpkin lots magically
transform into Christmas tree lots. Halloween goes back to Celti...
Mon, Oct 24 2011, 11:18 AM
A
song that studies the demographics of the East Coast? "I want to
find myself relaxin' with the other Anglo Saxons." http://biggee...
Sun, Oct 23 2011, 9:46 PM
(Editor's
note: occasionally there is too much news & information to stick with the
usual Monday-Friday commentaries. And thus we have today's. Sorr...
Fri, Oct 21 2011, 11:18 AM
Tomorrow
is college football day. For you college football fans out there: http://www.robchrisman.com/references/a_and_m_letter.pdf .
And yes, ...
Thu, Oct 20 2011, 12:05 PM
Here is a
notable take on Realtors, for better or worse, titled " Five Rules to
Remember When Dealing with Real Estate Agents " .
Have you
comm...
Wed, Oct 19 2011, 10:31 AM
Men have
always wanted a manual for women. (I am sure somehow, that just like the
manuals for cell phones and cameras, we'd flip through and look fo...
Tue, Oct 18 2011, 10:40 AM
"Buy
real estate - they're not making any more of it." Most of the time that is
true, but here is a somewhat interesting 50 seconds of the entire si...
Mon, Oct 17 2011, 10:43 AM
For bank closures on Friday, and I am simplifying
things, in NC the depositors of Blue Ridge Savings Bank were warmly embraced by
Bank of North Ca...
Fri, Oct 14 2011, 10:16 AM
How much
does a media room cost in Arizona? $2.5 million... when it's attached to John
McCain's listed house .
MetLife Mortgage , suddenly th...
Thu, Oct 13 2011, 10:54 AM
What are
political ads like in Texas ?
As was
noted in yesterday's commentary, one of the questions that folks in the
mortgage conference hallw...
Wed, Oct 12 2011, 11:47 AM
Want a very
telling pictorial of the current state of banking?.
The MBA
conference has ended, and it is off to New Mexico for me, and then Se...
Tue, Oct 11 2011, 10:38 AM
Sweet
home, Chicago...Chicago's City Council published an ordinance that would require banks, mortgage servicers and
institutional investors to mai...
Mon, Oct 10 2011, 9:40 AM
At this
week's MBA conference in Chicago I have noticed conference participants doing
their very best to look very busy, even when standing in a lob...
Fri, Oct 7 2011, 10:34 AM
Pssst...efha.com
is for sale. It was designed as a retail site, and the sale includes the domain
name and redesigned screenshots. Visit efha.com
fo...
Thu, Oct 6 2011, 9:41 AM
roduction
jobs come and go. On one side, Kinecta
Federal Credit Union is continuing to grow its business and is hiring Retail Mortgage Loan Cons...
Wed, Oct 5 2011, 11:35 AM
The
English language has different nouns for the various groups of animals. We call
a bunch of cows a "herd." We call a group of geese a "gaggle," a...
