Thu, Feb 8 2018, 12:27 PM
The National Delinquency Survey (NDS), a quarterly measure of mortgage performance from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), found delinquencies in...
Tue, Jan 30 2018, 9:23 AM
Opening today’s note with something non-business related, before the commentary comes out Wednesday (tomorrow) morning, we’ll have a full lunar eclips...
Fri, Jan 26 2018, 9:13 AM
When I grow up I want to… live in a shipping container live in a shipping container ? Hey, don’t laugh… they’re here, and some suggest are a piece of ...
Wed, Jan 17 2018, 1:54 PM
Several housing authorities recently suggested changes to the form and operation of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, more commonly ...
Thu, Dec 28 2017, 10:05 AM
For further evidence of the uneven recovery among U.S. housing markets , how's this: In the 10 most expensive U.S. metropolitan areas, median home val...
Tue, Dec 26 2017, 9:14 AM
Congrats to The Money Source. It is on a major hiring spree to build an in-house ad agency in the greater Detroit area. The marketing team will serve ...
Mon, Dec 11 2017, 9:22 AM
Lenders making tough personnel decisions can’t “kick the can down the road” like Congress and the President. On Dec. 8, the National Flood Insurance P...
Fri, Dec 8 2017, 10:34 AM
Loan limits will be rising in 2018 for loans guaranteed by the FHA. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced on Thursday it was...
Thu, Dec 7 2017, 9:20 AM
Upset that Richard Cordray has left the CFPB and is officially running for governor of Ohio ? Bored with lending here, and want to go into the home fi...
Fri, Nov 17 2017, 10:12 AM
The interest rate for loans originated (closed) in October inched down 1 percentage point to 4.20 percent, the lowest rate thus far in 2017, and the s...
Fri, Nov 17 2017, 9:22 AM
Here’s a tidbit for Happy Hour tonight. Currently, about 21 percent of filers take the mortgage deduction, but under the new framework only about 4 pe...
Wed, Nov 8 2017, 9:14 AM
“These businesses are in a structurally disadvantaged position, given the challenging rate environment and marketplace,” Sanjiv Yajnik, president of f...
Tue, Sep 19 2017, 9:15 AM
Ginnie, FHA and VA News Lender updates regarding Texas and Florida are quieting down slightly, so let's play some catch up on government programs. Gin...
Mon, Aug 14 2017, 9:22 AM
Time passes by, and we have one week until the first total solar eclipse crossing the US from coast to coast since 1918. Football fans know that the s...
Wed, Jul 26 2017, 9:17 AM
We’re in the midst of state fair season, and with it all the wonderful organic health food. Have you tried deep fried butter? Have a hankering for fri...
Tue, Jul 18 2017, 10:28 AM
How much would you pay to keep your job, or find a new one? Political analysts forecast that two wealthy contenders for the 2018 Illinois governor spo...
Mon, Jul 3 2017, 9:40 AM
We’ve sailed through half of 2017 already. (“Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end, the faster it goes.” Since many folks...
Wed, Jun 14 2017, 8:59 AM
Depository banks are in the business to lend, and are now concerned about commercial lending. What do Cleveland, Memphis, and Chicago have in common? ...
Tue, May 23 2017, 3:53 PM
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released its proposed 2018 budget on Tuesday, saying it will continue to provide rental ass...
Mon, May 22 2017, 8:53 AM
I recently heard a CEO say, “I am fine competing on product, price, and service. But we shouldn’t have to compete on subjective interpretations of rul...
Mon, May 15 2017, 8:56 AM
Economists, like royal children are not punished for their errors. Data revision can be a career strategy for some, and certainly some companies wish ...
Wed, Apr 19 2017, 9:16 AM
The English language is always changing. For example, when did “blackstone” become a verb, as in, “I was ‘blackstoned’ last week and will start collec...
Fri, Apr 7 2017, 9:55 AM
If you think mortgage regulations are running amok, as part of the Affordable Care Act, restaurants with 20 or more locations will soon have to post s...
Wed, Mar 29 2017, 9:47 AM
Back in December the Urban Institute (UI) put a number on the much maligned but somewhat amorphous term "tight credit." It maintained that, between 20...
Fri, Mar 17 2017, 10:31 AM
FHA's mortgage share, which surged following the housing crisis and helped shore up the market, is now in a steady decline. However, the loans written...
Fri, Mar 10 2017, 9:36 AM
The last time I checked Americans enjoy living indoors, especially given storms like today’s in the Northeast. How’s this for a combination of edifice...
Mon, Feb 27 2017, 10:03 AM
If you’re a lender in only one state, just think about the state and federal regulations you must deal with, not to mention the investor or agency rul...
Fri, Feb 17 2017, 10:31 AM
In lender and regulator news, SoFi (Social Finance) is reportedly close to raising $500 million in fresh funds from an investor group led by Silver La...
Thu, Feb 16 2017, 9:38 AM
Bank of America has opened 3 completely automated branches without any employees. Customers can use ATMs or have video conferences with employees at o...
Mon, Jan 23 2017, 9:31 AM
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those that lost their lives in storms in the South and East. On the other coast, Los Angeles has re...
Fri, Jan 20 2017, 3:02 PM
As was being widely rumored yesterday, the newly installed Trump Administration has indefinitely suspended a scheduled reduction in the annual premium...
Thu, Jan 19 2017, 12:19 PM
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) nominee Ben Carson said at his confirmation hearing, "Certainly, if confirmed, I am going to work wit...
Thu, Jan 19 2017, 9:25 AM
How has housing changed in the last 100 years? It’s easy to see when a “vertical flight” is put together, and Trulia posted current listings that were...
Wed, Jan 18 2017, 8:19 AM
Mortgage applications rose on a seasonally adjusted annual basis during the week ended January 13. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its Market Co...
Fri, Jan 13 2017, 11:33 AM
The surprise reduction in FHA annual premiums announced last week by the current Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may not survive long...
Wed, Jan 11 2017, 9:24 AM
While rumors swirl about the topic for the phone call with Stearns Lending’s correspondent-wide staff today (let’s hope its good news), Richard Cordra...
Tue, Jan 10 2017, 9:17 AM
What does $1.38 million, uh, I mean $138 thousand, buy you in South Dakota ? (Of course the heating bill is $3,000 a month...) Buying it may be a litt...
Mon, Jan 9 2017, 11:24 AM
The annual premium paid by borrowers on mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is going down by a quarter of a percent. Housing ...
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...
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...
Tue, Dec 20 2016, 11:32 AM
Back in July, President Obama signed HR3700 The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016. The law makes a number of changes in existing h...
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...
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...
Fri, Dec 2 2016, 9:27 AM
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has now joined the Federal Housing Finance Agency in raising the dollar limits for loans that qualify for FHA...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
