Mon, Jan 8 2024, 10:38 AM
California is home to approximately 39 million residents, which is about one-eighth of the U.S. population, more than the entire population of Canada,...
Fri, Jan 5 2024, 10:43 AM
Now is about the time when you stop saying “Happy New Year,” either because it is no longer relevant, or you’ve forgotten who you’ve said it to. Lende...
Thu, Jan 4 2024, 11:00 AM
“My dad always said to me, ‘Work until your bank account looks like a phone number’ so I did. Account balance: $9.11.” You can work harder, or you can...
Wed, Jan 3 2024, 11:03 AM
“Affordable” means many things. There are residential lending industry jokes about making a loan on anything with axles or a license plate. (Like “don...
Tue, Jan 2 2024, 10:28 AM
Our Federal Reserve doesn’t control events around the world, like a ship being stuck in the Suez Canal, or the current Red Sea geopolitical aggression...
Fri, Dec 29 2023, 11:35 AM
“What do you call a gal who’s had too much to drink? A cab.” Of course, anyone who’s been drinking should stay away from California’s 40-foot waves. D...
Thu, Dec 28 2023, 10:54 AM
If someone reports their company for tax evasion in the U.S., he or she will receive 30 percent of the amount collected. Have you ever loaned someone ...
Wed, Dec 27 2023, 10:54 AM
Susan Toste writes to Ira Selwin who sends me (see how these things work?), “Can you believe it is 364 days until Christmas and people already have th...
Tue, Dec 26 2023, 10:43 AM
Did you receive any SM under the tree this weekend? Call it snail mucus, or snail mucin, it’s all the same to me, which, as a kid, represented a trail...
Fri, Dec 22 2023, 11:38 AM
“If you know someone who has an intense fear of store Santas, would you say they were suffering from Claus-trophobia?” For individuals or companies, d...
Thu, Dec 21 2023, 10:43 AM
“What do you call a Christmas wreath made out of $100 bills? Aretha Franklins.” It’s cutting-edge humor like this that keeps readers coming back for m...
Wed, Dec 20 2023, 10:39 AM
Here’s what happened when a company relied on forecasts and rate predictions during late 2022 for its business in 2023. You’d have a come-apart! Speak...
Tue, Dec 19 2023, 10:56 AM
Change is constant: How ‘bout U.S. Steel, the Pittsburgh steel producer that played a key role in the nation’s industrialization, being acquired by Ni...
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 14 2023, 11:21 AM
Everyone’s above average, right? This morning I head to Chicago where residents have the dubious honor of being the worst when it comes to estimating ...
Wed, Dec 13 2023, 10:07 AM
“I'm at a place in my life where errands are starting to count as going out.” No one’s getting any younger, and like time marching on, technology does...
Tue, Dec 12 2023, 10:14 AM
Today I head to Northern California, home of plenty of technology. The other day I went to the doctor and the receptionist handed me a tablet and said...
Mon, Dec 11 2023, 10:58 AM
If olive oil is made from olives, what is baby oil made from? The regulatory framework, some would say “tangled web,” facing lenders is made from hund...
Fri, Dec 8 2023, 11:15 AM
“What do you call James Bond having a bath? Bubble 07.” In different bond matters, mortgage rates will always be higher than Treasury rates, in part b...
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...
Wed, Dec 6 2023, 11:29 AM
Yesterday I was driving across Northern California to the coast (Gualala), and in Sacramento I asked the McDonald’s drive-through clerk (hey, only the...
Tue, Dec 5 2023, 11:33 AM
My cat Myrtle doesn’t have a lot of rizz, and there are those that will argue that no cat has any charisma whatsoever. But plenty of marketing people ...
Mon, Dec 4 2023, 10:43 AM
“People would learn more from their mistakes if they weren’t so busy denying them.” Here’s a little trivia for the compliance folks in the coffee room...
Fri, Dec 1 2023, 12:04 PM
Yesterday, a clown held the door open for me. It was such a nice jester. On the flip side, it’s not nice being taken advantage of and lenders are feel...
Thu, Nov 30 2023, 10:42 AM
Home schooling is the goodest thing I ever did for my two kids. Hopefully, they both learned that an inverted yield curve doesn’t automatically create...
Wed, Nov 29 2023, 11:20 AM
There is always non-mortgage financial news. Mark Cuban is both selling his share in the Dallas Mavericks and leaving Shark Tank. Berkshire Hathaway’s...
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, ...
Mon, Nov 27 2023, 11:16 AM
The mortgage industry does not move in unison, unlike some groups. (You’ll need sound.) But consistency is important. For example, Starbucks fans can ...
Wed, Nov 22 2023, 9:42 AM
“I threw my phone from the roof, and it broke. I guess airplane mode wasn’t working.” Plenty of folks will be traveling soon. Here’s some trivia for t...
Tue, Nov 21 2023, 10:30 AM
“This commentary is only available while supplies last!” In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims, working hard in Plymouth Colony after coming to North Amer...
Mon, Nov 20 2023, 10:30 AM
When you own your own home, you don’t have to deal with unreasonable landlords. (Warning: uncensored.) And then there are those who own their own home...
Fri, Nov 17 2023, 11:13 AM
Talk can be humorous. "That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'm just the one to do it." (Attributed to a congressio...
Thu, Nov 16 2023, 11:02 AM
“Every disaster movie starts with the government ignoring a scientist.” Vendors and lenders can’t ignore red ink. Here in Kansas City, one of the disc...
Wed, Nov 15 2023, 10:36 AM
Besides Janet Yellen’s In-N-Out foray, it is a rough environment out there: Hope you don’t want a Wells Fargo HELOC. Or just ask Citizens who is exiti...
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...
Mon, Nov 13 2023, 11:52 AM
Whether it is an obscure band or an eatery in San Diego, a well-known palindrome is “tacocat.” Huh? Yes, it’s the same spelled backward or forward. Yo...
Fri, Nov 10 2023, 11:47 AM
My cat Myrtle is enthralled with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Okay, I made that up. She’s only interested to the extent that it impacts the supply of...
Thu, Nov 9 2023, 10:21 AM
Originators: Want to add value for your potential current or previous clients who are veterans? Send them a link to Veteran’s Day discounts and free m...
Wed, Nov 8 2023, 9:54 AM
You should know that caffeine increases the power of aspirin and other painkillers, which is why it is found in some medicines. You should also know t...
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...
Fri, Nov 3 2023, 10:08 AM
The upcoming credit price changes were not discussed yesterday at the counter in Paul’s Pancake Parlor here in Missoula, but they might have been. As ...
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...
Wed, Nov 1 2023, 10:45 AM
This morning it’s off to Missoula, Montana, for me to spend some time with the folks at MAMP. (Few states have as many different species of mammals as...
Tue, Oct 31 2023, 10:56 AM
“Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.” Corporate changes are the name of the game. Atlanta’s Crescent Mortgage’s bank owner is alignin...
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...
Fri, Oct 27 2023, 10:59 AM
The unofficial Chrisman LLC sarcastic slogan is, “We do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy.” Hopefully, there are no...
Thu, Oct 26 2023, 12:32 PM
It is said that if all the hunters on opening day(s) of deer season in Wisconsin were grouped together, they would comprise the sixth largest army in ...
Wed, Oct 25 2023, 9:49 AM
Here in the Milwaukee area (yes, the autumn colors are stellar), I attended a Newrez joint venture event and one of the conversation topics (besides l...
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