Thu, Nov 14 2024, 12:08 PM
Demographics matter. Although I am sending today’s Commentary out from a Dunkin’ near Columbus, Ohio, yesterday I found myself visiting a supposedly h...
Thu, Oct 31 2024, 11:45 AM
I recently went to my favorite local Mexican restaurant, and there was a sign in the window, “Sorry, we are closed due to short staff.” Someone had wr...
Fri, Oct 18 2024, 12:14 PM
A while back I parked my car outside a government office building in Sacramento. "Sir, you can't park here," said a cop. "This is where our politician...
Tue, Oct 1 2024, 11:42 AM
We find ourselves in the 4th quarter of 2024. October is here! Do you want to beat the rush for buying the Halloween candy that’s most popular in your...
Thu, Sep 26 2024, 11:39 AM
We’re all following Hurricane Helene and its impact on lives and housing stock in the news. Will Rogers famously said, “All I know is what I read in t...
Mon, Aug 26 2024, 11:38 AM
A pair of scissors is not trivial. Did you read the story on how thirty-six flights were cancelled, and 201 delayed, at a Japanese airport after a pai...
Fri, Aug 16 2024, 12:03 PM
On a sad note, entrepreneur “Famous Amos” passed away a few days ago. Cookies are a major food group for me, and here was a fellow who had fun and mad...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Wed, May 8 2024, 11:25 AM
After a very long travel day filled with odd, time-sucking delays, when I arrived in Birmingham I was happy to hear Alabama on the Uber car’s radio si...
Tue, Apr 2 2024, 11:53 AM
“I think it’s disgraceful that after 55 years, people don’t know who Neil Armstrong was… or even the type of trumpet he played.” Time flies. Did you k...
Tue, Mar 19 2024, 10:37 AM
One never knows what one will learn at a mortgage event, like yesterday learning from Lender Toolkit’s Alex K. that Collinsville, Illinois has the lar...
Mon, Mar 18 2024, 11:05 AM
Lenders are refinancing borrowers who took out intermediate ARMs 3, 5, or 7 years ago and whose rates have gone up. Some here in Las Vegas, walking ar...
Mon, Mar 4 2024, 10:58 AM
Last year I mentioned that today is the only day that is also a command. A few folks corrected me, saying that “March first” fits that bill as well. L...
Wed, Feb 28 2024, 11:09 AM
At the TMBA’s Secondary Conference in Houston a topic is obviously interest rates and the economy… And the fact that the nation’s interest payment exp...
Wed, Feb 7 2024, 11:11 AM
When this commentary gig gets old, I think I’ll take up… throwing needles? But so far so good, putting this out six days a week. Yesterday I glanced a...
Mon, Feb 5 2024, 10:39 AM
“If I had a dollar for every girl that found me unattractive, they would eventually find me attractive.” New York Community Bancorp, buyer of Flagstar...
Mon, Jan 29 2024, 10:57 AM
“Sometimes it takes me all day to get nothing done.” But things are always changing. When I was a kid I “got a drink of water.” Now kids “hydrate.” Re...
Wed, Jan 24 2024, 11:10 AM
As attendees head home from the MBA’s IMB in New Orleans, plenty will be eating airplane chow. Maybe you should buy vittles on the ground instead. Giv...
Mon, Dec 18 2023, 11:35 AM
Yesterday the U.S. Government took a step addressing robocalls! But in that vein, sorry for the delay in sending out today’s Commentary. I received an...
Fri, Dec 15 2023, 11:30 AM
Here in Chicago, there are several restaurants that are “the place” to have afternoon tea. Tomorrow is the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. ...
Thu, Dec 7 2023, 10:58 AM
Time flies (see joke at bottom), and here we are at Pearl Harbor Day already. “I'm a multitasker. I can listen, ignore, and forget all at the same tim...
Tue, Nov 28 2023, 10:09 AM
While we await the release of the changes in the official conforming loan limits later today (many lenders and MI companies went to $750k in October, ...
Tue, Nov 14 2023, 10:32 AM
This morning I head to Kansas, greeted by the news that Southwest is raising drink fees for the holidays. Has the “Let’s circle back after the holiday...
Tue, Nov 7 2023, 10:22 AM
Yes, WeWork has filed for bankruptcy, but if you look at GDP and employment, our economy is doing pretty well. Did you know that the Dallas metro area...
Mon, Nov 6 2023, 10:39 AM
Do you use make up? Charles Revson of Revlon observed, back in the days when you could observe these things, "In the factory, we make cosmetics; in th...
Thu, Nov 2 2023, 10:31 AM
The talk here in Missoula is about general inflation, and continued reductions & cutbacks as our biz hunkers down. Yet a mortgage publication just rai...
Mon, Oct 30 2023, 10:46 AM
“Hey, just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.” Lenders, who paid out bucks, believe that they are right and within their rights in “cl...
Thu, Oct 5 2023, 10:04 AM
Hal M. writes, “Monday is a holiday. The observance reminded me of the small Italian parade we had in Maine on Columbus Day. All the marchers were und...
Fri, Sep 8 2023, 10:09 AM
Inflation and price increases can be widespread and impact many, like gasoline or flour, or can be very specific and impact only a small portion of th...
Fri, Jul 21 2023, 11:02 AM
Isn’t ice cream a great food!? In fact, I worked in an ice cream plant in my early 20s. Did you know that Moose Tracks ice cream was named for a minia...
Tue, Jul 18 2023, 11:08 AM
There’s a definite shift going on in banks as continued layoff rumors in jumbo and portfolio divisions are rampant. At the other end of the job chain,...
Mon, Jul 3 2023, 10:25 AM
The other night my cat Myrtle began squeaking in her sleep and moving her paws. She was either dreaming about a Chupacabra, a CFPB exam, or the Depart...
Wed, Jun 21 2023, 9:50 AM
I realize that this is a mortgage commentary, but our business touches many aspects of many lives. Today is the summer solstice, marking the astronomi...
Fri, Jun 9 2023, 10:30 AM
Imagine my surprise at finding tag (like on the playground) is an organized sport. Imagine my surprise at finding two gas stations at the same interse...
Tue, May 30 2023, 10:35 AM
Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services What do dozens of decision-makers know that would lead them to invest in their origination techno...
Tue, May 23 2023, 9:47 AM
Does your company have a decent product for a borrower who crowd-funded their down payment? How about a house with a granny unit in the back? Trends i...
Tue, Apr 18 2023, 8:48 AM
“Last week I told a joke over a Zoom meeting. It wasn’t even remotely funny.” Working remotely from home, or at least adopting a hybrid model, is some...
Tue, Apr 11 2023, 4:50 PM
Mortgage rates didn't do much today (the average lender drifted microscopically, and Wednesday's CPI data has infinitely more power to move the needle...
Mon, Mar 27 2023, 10:36 AM
“Once you lick the frosting off of a cupcake, it becomes a muffin. And muffins are healthy. You’re welcome.” Adding another expense to a transaction i...
Fri, Mar 17 2023, 10:32 AM
It hasn’t been a good few weeks for banks whose names begin with “Si” (Silvergate, Silicon Valley, and Signature, with Silicon Valley Bank declaring C...
Wed, Mar 8 2023, 9:00 AM
Last week my son asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I replied, “I didn’t know he could!” The weather here in Palm Springs, California is much different...
Fri, Feb 24 2023, 10:32 AM
As attendees from the MBA’s servicing conference headed home this week, they may have learned that some airport lounges are cutting back on free guest...
Thu, Feb 23 2023, 10:05 AM
Remember, not all math puns are terrible...just sum. Analyzing residential servicing is a combination of math and psychology. If you were an instituti...
Wed, Feb 22 2023, 2:14 PM
Earlier this morning, HUD released details of a long-anticipated plan to reduce the annual MIP (mortgage insurance premiums) that are currently charge...
Wed, Feb 22 2023, 10:27 AM
The MBA’s servicing conference is taking place, and it is an important subject, along with the impact of the 30bp cut in MIP for FHA borrowers. Owning...
Mon, Jan 30 2023, 10:07 AM
Want to really let someone know that you’re no longer interested in them? For $10 the San Antonio Zoo is offering a special Valentine’s Day greeting f...
Thu, Jan 26 2023, 9:26 AM
The most dangerous statement in the English language is, “But we’ve always done it this way.” Referral business has always been a mainstay in our biz,...
