Thu, Dec 26 2019, 1:14 PM
“I hate it when people ask me what I’ll be doing in six days. Come on folks. I don’t have 2020 vision.” You can be guaranteed that the Republicans wil...
Tue, Dec 24 2019, 9:02 AM
Where are the well-known Democratic presidential hopefuls on housing issues? As with most politicians, it’s a little vague . While we’re on politics, ...
Mon, Dec 23 2019, 12:38 PM
There sure are lots of people, borrowing lots of money, for lots of houses out there! And the bump in activity is coming from non-bank lenders and is ...
Fri, Dec 20 2019, 9:01 AM
As we zip toward the end of the decade, do you want the U.S. economy to be “Hotter than the hinges of hell?” Probably not, as rates would shoot higher...
Thu, Dec 19 2019, 9:16 AM
Sure the world noted that Sweden’s central bank hiked its rate to 0%. But in this country, Michigan is making mortgage news. First, United Shore/UWM h...
Wed, Dec 18 2019, 8:57 AM
My background is in capital markets, with a razor-sharp mind for figures. Not anymore. Remember when you’d have dozens of phone numbers memorized? Now...
Tue, Dec 17 2019, 8:50 AM
Mark Twain famously said, “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21,...
Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:56 AM
No one wants their labors to go to waste, whether you’re an underwriter who is over-ruled by the head of credit, or an MLO who finds out your approved...
Fri, Dec 13 2019, 8:57 AM
While the markets are talking about Boris Johnson’s victory in the U.K. (“get Brexit done”), here’s your trivia of the day: Every month that starts on...
Thu, Dec 12 2019, 9:06 AM
We never see the headline, "Psychic Wins Lottery!" No one has a crystal ball, but originators often ask their capital markets staff about the directio...
Wed, Dec 11 2019, 9:41 AM
Aloha! As any servicer with borrowers in Hawai’i knows, if you’re going to ask, “Is Ms. Keihanaikukauakahihuliheekahaunaele* home?” or “Do you live on...
Tue, Dec 10 2019, 9:26 AM
If you knew the value of the house was going to decline, or that the borrower has bad credit and would default, would you make the loan? There’s alway...
Mon, Dec 9 2019, 9:24 AM
With the Fed content with rates hovering here for the foreseeable future , lenders can focus on other things. "Rob, are you hearing that real estate a...
Fri, Dec 6 2019, 8:53 AM
I hope that you didn’t lay off your compliance department earlier this year, because there’s a lot going on. For example, from out of California comes...
Thu, Dec 5 2019, 10:33 AM
In the lending world, folks are talking about the change in FHA loan levels . Economists and investors have their eye on debt. Have a balance on your ...
Tue, Dec 3 2019, 9:39 AM
There’s an old saying among economists regarding predicting the future. “You can put a date on it, and you can put a number on it, but you can’t do bo...
Mon, Dec 2 2019, 8:14 AM
Did your company make any money in the 3rd quarter? I hope so, and I hope the 4th quarter is looking bright as well. (Just like I hope that MLOs on yo...
Fri, Nov 29 2019, 8:53 AM
There are seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and each region has a President. For 2019, the annual salary for the ...
Wed, Nov 27 2019, 9:18 AM
Loan officers know that rent is a “piece of the puzzle,” “a part of the equation” in the homebuying decision. They should be glad to know that the typ...
Tue, Nov 26 2019, 8:54 AM
“Rob, with the announcement a while back that Quicken Loans inked a mortgage deal with Charles Schwab, and now with Schwab buying TD Ameritrade, do yo...
Mon, Nov 25 2019, 1:14 PM
An LO from Wyoming recently reminded me that, “At the end of the day we sell a product driven by rates.” And we may be at, or near, these rates for a ...
Fri, Nov 22 2019, 8:48 AM
Many believe that 3-D printed houses will be the wave of the future in construction, and there’s someone in this article talking about printing 1,000 ...
Thu, Nov 21 2019, 9:05 AM
Government shutdown worries, the impeachment hearings, the trade war, video of a bear stuck in a car near Lake Tahoe … Is there anything good happenin...
Wed, Nov 20 2019, 8:49 AM
A new analysis from the real estate brokerage firm Redfin shows the typical homeowner in the United States now stays in their house for 13 years, five...
Tue, Nov 19 2019, 1:50 PM
A pass rate of 51% on July’s California bar exam may not seem like cause for celebration, but it’s the first time in six years that a majority of peop...
Mon, Nov 18 2019, 8:53 AM
Do you dread “Smonday?” (That’s when Sunday stops feeling like a Sunday, and the anxiety of Monday kicks in.) Here is something to dread. All this tal...
Fri, Nov 15 2019, 8:59 AM
This week I’ve been running football quotes in the joke section at the bottom. Thanks to Gary B. who sent Chuck Noll’s, “Pressure is something you fee...
Thu, Nov 14 2019, 8:54 AM
Some people save $2.95 a day by making coffee at home rather than stopping at Dunkin’ or Starbucks. It adds up! Something didn’t add up for WeWork whi...
Wed, Nov 13 2019, 8:57 AM
I continue to see headlines as I head to balmy Kansas today. There was, “A Court Ruling Makes Mortgages Vanish Into Thin Air.” This is a headline no l...
Tue, Nov 12 2019, 8:38 AM
Everyone has a different opinion about the economy. “Nobody’s right, if everybody’s wrong” or “Everybody’s right (eventually), if nobody’s wrong.” How...
Fri, Nov 8 2019, 8:37 AM
As rumors swirl about Michael Bloomberg entering the race for president, MLOs are winding down for the year (a few have written to me saying that, aft...
Thu, Nov 7 2019, 9:00 AM
Thanksgiving will be here before you know it, and with it, pumpkin pie. (Yes, I know that this is a mortgage commentary, but even pumpkins have their ...
Wed, Nov 6 2019, 8:58 AM
Besides sudden news, like PennyMac filing an antitrust lawsuit against Black Knight for anticompetitive behavior (“…market-dominating LoanSphere® MSP ...
Mon, Nov 4 2019, 8:50 AM
Who says there’s nothing new under the sun? Here’s a 14-year old’s clever cure for the blind spot in cars . Uber launched a new division known as Uber...
Fri, Nov 1 2019, 9:02 AM
Welcome to “Bring Your Kid’s Candy to Work” Day, when candy bowls at receptionist’s desks and lunchrooms are brimming with treats worth a gander. What...
Thu, Oct 31 2019, 9:06 AM
Halloween already! Who wouldn’t want to live in the scary Tombstone, AZ, Sleepy Hollow, NY, Kill Devil Hills, NC, Yellville, AR, Transylvania County, ...
Wed, Oct 30 2019, 9:07 AM
Partnerships and acquisitions are flying around like monkeys in the Wizard of Oz. (Okay, that was a reach, but I saw it in the bookstore yesterday so ...
Tue, Oct 29 2019, 8:19 AM
As noted in the commentary very early yesterday, a shade ahead of the actual details, the big news was the HUD/DOJ/False Claims Act announcement. Cutt...
Mon, Oct 28 2019, 8:28 AM
The Bank of Russia has reduced its benchmark interest rate to 6.5% from 7%, the sharpest cut in two years, and the EU has granted a Brexit extension t...
Fri, Oct 25 2019, 8:44 AM
There are plenty of well-paid people in the mortgage biz. It is good to keep things in perspective: The U.S. median household income was $63,179 in 20...
Thu, Oct 24 2019, 12:07 PM
With only one week until Halloween we are reminded that time flies. Dating back 2,000 years to the Celtic festival of Samhain, Halloween is an ancient...
Wed, Oct 23 2019, 9:08 AM
Last week the Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey showed that retail applications dropped almost 12% last week from the week before. Refis were down...
Tue, Oct 22 2019, 8:27 AM
I am often asked about a primer for capital markets. Much of the training is “on the job,” but for anyone serious about learning the topic, here’s a g...
Mon, Oct 21 2019, 8:19 AM
Great MLOs keep up on events not only impacting their loans but on events impacting the everyone else’s loans as well. For example, the Supreme Court ...
Fri, Oct 18 2019, 8:15 AM
Here’s a little trivia for you. What does San Francisco have six of that Manhattan has none of? Dirt roads ! I don’t know if the cost of maintaining a...
Thu, Oct 17 2019, 8:57 AM
52% of Agency biz (e.g., Freddie and Fannie) is first-time home buyers. Over at HUD, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), first-time h...
Wed, Oct 16 2019, 8:54 AM
Sen. Patrick Moynihan once said, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.” In a question guaranteed to generate opinions,...
Tue, Oct 15 2019, 8:52 AM
Scholars disagree on how much sleep we need, what time is the best time to wake up, and what time to go to work. But then again, scholars disagree on ...
Fri, Oct 11 2019, 8:22 AM
Fun with HMDA! Compliance folks everywhere know that yesterday the CFPB (“educate through education rather than enforcement”) issued a final rule amen...
Thu, Oct 10 2019, 9:12 AM
I am in Chicago with the FHLBank Chicago, and, despite the congestion and energy on the streets, the numbers tell us that the local economy is slowing...
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