Thu, Aug 29 2013, 9:55 AM
Affordability has a strong impact on homeownership. Not surprisingly,
per the NRA, I mean the NAR, four of five states with the lowest
homeownersh...
Wed, Aug 28 2013, 10:53 AM
There are lots of training videos out there. But there aren't many 0%
down payment programs from the government - the USDA is about it. Here
is on...
Tue, Aug 27 2013, 10:00 AM
I am spending some time in Kansas, and some of the discussion is about
how hiring is so much more interesting and fun than eliminating staff.
Obvi...
Mon, Aug 26 2013, 9:42 AM
Here is an e-mail from Gary B. up in Washington: "Rob, I work for a mortgage bank, and we'd heard that that LOs have to be fingerprinted every three ...
Sat, Aug 24 2013, 3:55 PM
With so much going on in the lending, banking, and real estate business, let's take a look at some thoughts from readers across the nation " in the tr...
Fri, Aug 23 2013, 10:42 AM
When S&P downgraded the United States (remember that?), it did
absolutely nothing to Treasury rates, and certainly didn't seem to
motivate Congres...
Thu, Aug 22 2013, 11:01 AM
Many parents of young adults grapple with the, "Do we help little Sage buy a home, or let him rent?" question. The Wall Street Journal reports 37% ...
Wed, Aug 21 2013, 11:05 AM
There is a lot of continued controversy and focus over the various
compensation plans for loan officers and regulatory audits. Obviously,
these c...
Tue, Aug 20 2013, 10:20 AM
One can have a lot of fun with statistics. If I own one dog, and
adopt another, my dog population has gone up 100%. The same can be said
for the c...
Mon, Aug 19 2013, 10:07 AM
I am heading off to Indiana this morning, but still had time to catch
this OCC release about a company to cheat consumers who are trying to
rebuil...
Fri, Aug 16 2013, 10:14 AM
Hundreds of lenders across the nation are targeting purchase business. When was the last time refis accounted for less than 50% of MBA's weekly appl...
Thu, Aug 15 2013, 11:36 AM
Here is an interesting note I received from a capital markets VP in
Florida: "Rob, I have nicknamed my company's sales staff the 'If
only's.' It s...
Wed, Aug 14 2013, 9:51 AM
Per the recent post regarding the STRATMOR Group's mid-year survey,
over 50 lenders have responded to the STRATMOR Survey on what actions
lenders ...
Tue, Aug 13 2013, 10:04 AM
They say that sensational headlines sell newspapers, but when
incorrect, the retraction shows up on page B3 at the bottom. In this
case, "Presiden...
Mon, Aug 12 2013, 9:30 AM
Periodically I am asked, "Do you know how many LOs there are in the nation? "
And folks periodically write and ask, "How many lenders are there in ...
Fri, Aug 9 2013, 9:57 AM
Those in the lending industry are more concerned with the future, but
we (along with the public, regulators, Congress, and so on) continue to
be r...
Thu, Aug 8 2013, 9:56 AM
Watching loan officer ads is a full-time job. The Mortgage Bankers
Association of the Carolinas wrote up this compliance tidbit: "Are lenders requi...
Wed, Aug 7 2013, 10:15 AM
Reverse mortgages are alive and kind of well. HUD and Congress want
them to be weller. Before it took off for a month of R&R, Congress
authorized ...
Tue, Aug 6 2013, 10:11 AM
"What is the difference between ' Secondary Marketing ' and ' Capital Markets '?
I keep hearing the two terms used interchangeably. Is the Secondary...
Mon, Aug 5 2013, 9:33 AM
"What do you hear about Bernanke's replacement?" First off, most of
the "news" articles are merely editorials - don't expect anything before
Septe...
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 ...