Thu, May 30 2013, 10:50 AM
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register recently which mean that the long drawn-out saga...
Wed, May 29 2013, 11:34 AM
Traders report that there has been " little resistance to higher rates ." What does that mean? Mortgage banker origination has been heavy (hitting ove...
Tue, May 28 2013, 9:59 AM
In Saturday's edition of the commentary, the question was raised by CG from Wisconsin regarding paying loan officers different rates based on differen...
Sat, May 25 2013, 2:09 PM
The mortgage industry is filled with smart business people who just want to know "the rules of the game" rather than the uncertainty that seems to exi...
Fri, May 24 2013, 10:03 AM
T he IRS, furlough days, and the possible impact on 4506 transcript processing . I first heard about it through a Mountain West Financial e-mail: "T...
Thu, May 23 2013, 2:58 PM
The Fed giveth, and the Fed taketh away. Both stocks and bonds fell on Wednesday after a Q&A session with Ben Bernanke , and minutes from the latest ...
Wed, May 22 2013, 12:51 PM
Yesterday the commentary mentioned a rumored shut down of MGIC's Capital Markets Group . I received this e-mail: "MGIC has indeed reorganized certai...
Tue, May 21 2013, 11:13 AM
If you're like me and rest your weary eyes each night by reading the Fair Housing Act of 1968, then you don't need to be told that the act " prohibit...
Mon, May 20 2013, 9:32 AM
Here in Austin, at the Texas Mortgage Banker Association's yearly conference, the talk is not so much about the Millennial generation but about how ...
Fri, May 17 2013, 1:18 PM
Among the nation's 30 largest metro areas included in a recent Zillow study, Pittsburgh (39%), Tampa (33%), New York (30%), Cleveland (29%) and Miami ...
Thu, May 16 2013, 9:27 AM
"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see." Hedge funds and investment banks have a lot of talent, and perio...
Wed, May 15 2013, 11:42 AM
Where's the Fed's head when it comes to housing? I can't say for sure, but Fed Governor Duke's speech on " The Mortgage Market and Housing Condition...
Tue, May 14 2013, 10:13 AM
"Rob, why would Warren Buffett recommend stocks and not bonds? And do they always move in opposite directions?" The answer is no, they don't alway...
Mon, May 13 2013, 10:16 AM
It is a time to celebrate those 65 and older through ceremonies, events and public recognition - in which most of which the folks in this group have n...
Fri, May 10 2013, 12:11 PM
Yesterday I was speaking to a group from International City Mortgage (a solid company on the rise, adding their own servicing, selling to the agen...
Thu, May 9 2013, 11:15 AM
The employment picture continues to evolve. For example, earlier this week BB&T announced it will consolidate 37 markets into 23 and eliminate 14 re...
Wed, May 8 2013, 10:13 AM
What's in a name? Plenty - just ask anyone about how the name Fifth Third came about, or the confusion resulting from RFC to GMAC to Ally to...Green L...
Tue, May 7 2013, 10:49 AM
"Rob, do you know if an LO, AE, or correspondent rep has a matching 401(k) plan with their company, are bonuses including in that? Has the CFPB ruled ...
Mon, May 6 2013, 10:34 AM
How about some historical perspective to help LOs learn a little history on assumable loans? I recently received this note: "FHA and VA had assumable ...
Fri, May 3 2013, 10:49 AM
The seminar, earning, and agency news just won't stop! Richey May & Co ., an accounting firm based in Denver that specializes in serving mortgag...
Thu, May 2 2013, 10:56 AM
Lots of lenders do loans in rural areas, and lots of lenders do loans with escrow accounts, and/or escrow holdbacks (different, of course). The CFPB i...
Wed, May 1 2013, 10:35 AM
CMC, along with several other companies, hedge pipelines, which reminds me of a note I recently received. "Rob, I work for a mid-size wholesale compan...
Tue, Apr 30 2013, 10:44 AM
Innovation among vendors appears to be alive and well, as does taking customer surveys. Have you ever read reviews of hotels on Trip Advisor or produc...
Mon, Apr 29 2013, 11:15 AM
The demand for capital never goes away - it is matter of supply and demand setting the rate and price for certain types of loans. Putting political na...
Fri, Apr 26 2013, 10:43 AM
Flipping over to the non-agency sector, uh oh: is the demand for "private label," nongovernment-backed residential mortgage securities dropping, or ...
Thu, Apr 25 2013, 10:20 AM
I will be on a flight to Washington to speak to the Washington Association of Mortgage Professionals meeting tonight; otherwise I would listen in ...
Wed, Apr 24 2013, 10:15 AM
In spite of all the increased regulations and underwriting criteria that require borrowers to actually qualify, mortgage applications are hanging in t...
Tue, Apr 23 2013, 11:02 AM
We were reminded that the CFPB's " Final Rules " aren't necessarily final when it issued proposed clarifications to rules dealing with servicer-held e...
Mon, Apr 22 2013, 9:39 AM
Wells Fargo has decided that it time to embark on a $100 million expansion in Iowa : This is in spite of the industry concerned about less volume an...
Fri, Apr 19 2013, 1:08 PM
Like it or not, a lot of those people buying homes use a government-related housing program. FHA & VA lenders know that biz is good. Ginnie Mae has ...
Thu, Apr 18 2013, 10:32 AM
Earlier this week I received a note from the owner of a mortgage bank in Pennsylvania. "Rob, with all this 3% cap talk going on [editor's note: it i...
Wed, Apr 17 2013, 12:42 PM
"Does the price of gold impact mortgage rates ?" No, not really, but both move based on supply and demand, political uncertainty, current events, an...
Tue, Apr 16 2013, 11:25 AM
Given current rates , and thus the rates at which millions of people are refinancing, the home lending industry has become keenly interested in wh...
Mon, Apr 15 2013, 4:59 PM
Senior management at lenders everywhere were keenly interested in the results from Wells Fargo and Chase for the 1 st quarter, given that they are ...
Fri, Apr 12 2013, 9:44 AM
Well, the rate lock renegotiation discussion continues, and here is one angle that I hadn't seen raised. "Lately we have been working/wrestling with...
Thu, Apr 11 2013, 10:01 AM
Not to be outdone, the CFPB published its " Small Entity Compliance Guide for the Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage Rule. " "Our
goal with thi...
Wed, Apr 10 2013, 5:44 PM
I received several notes on the practicality of the renegotiation of locks . "One Capital Markets person noted, "LOs seem to forget that it is a real...
Tue, Apr 9 2013, 10:13 AM
The plot thickens in the Access National branch closure story . Prior to the weekend Virginia-based Access National announced that it is closing its 3...
Mon, Apr 8 2013, 12:32 PM
According to the U.S. Census Bureau fewer domestic households have debt, but those who do, have more of it. It's research team writes, "The percentage...
Fri, Apr 5 2013, 9:55 AM
Yesterday I was in Denver, speaking at the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association, and, besides the increasing need for capital among lenders, the rumo...
Thu, Apr 4 2013, 12:14 PM
Here is what the public sees: a story from Bloomberg noting, "More American homeowners will be able to use their properties as cash machines again a...
Wed, Apr 3 2013, 8:31 AM
I am continuing to hear that a) pipelines and fundings are ahead of where they were in 2012 in early April, but that pipelines and fundings are down...
Tue, Apr 2 2013, 5:04 PM
In 1981 Jimmy Carter handed the reins to Ronald Reagan. The prime rate hit 20.5% , and yes, people still bought houses. (It has been at 3.25% for the...
Mon, Apr 1 2013, 11:43 AM
There continues to be a debate about whether or not 30-yr mortgages/liens are a good idea or not .
The MBA's president - Dave Stevens - weighed in ...
Tue, Mar 26 2013, 11:08 AM
Remember in the "old days" when we didn't have government-sponsored refi programs like HARP? I seem to remember the rule of thumb being, "If you could...
Mon, Mar 25 2013, 11:02 AM
I am visiting Pennsylvania this week, from where I coincidentally received this note from a Realtor: "Rob, what's the scoop on Blackstone ?" I think ...
Fri, Mar 22 2013, 1:25 PM
David Stevens, the president of the MBA, is on TV today talking about the undeniable housing recovery. But a lot of that is all-cash transactions. M...
Thu, Mar 21 2013, 3:52 PM
I have a lot of pretty interesting Freddie & Fannie news below , but let's start with this note. "Rob, my ops folks complain about the oddest things....
Wed, Mar 20 2013, 2:11 PM
I've been visiting Colorado this week, where some of the conversation involves yesterday's sentencing of two individuals for fraud. "The elaborate sch...
Tue, Mar 19 2013, 12:21 PM
With all the potential change going on with Freddie & Fannie, some states may be taking things into their own hands - or trying to. For example, in Te...
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