You may remember this scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, where Spicoli has a pizza delivered to class.

Mr. Hand: "Am I hallucinating here? Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?"

Jeff Spicoli: "Learning about Cuba, and having some food."

Mr. Hand: "Mr. Spicoli, you're on dangerous ground here. You're causing a major disturbance on my time."

Jeff Spicoli: "I've been thinking about this, Mr. Hand. If I'm here and you're here, doesn't that make it our time? And certainly there's nothing wrong with a little feast on our time?"

Mr. Hand: "You're absolutely right, Mr. Spicoli. It is our time - yours, mine, and everyone else's in this room."

As our time together in 2010 comes to a close, many in mortgage banking, real estate, and MBS trading wonder what 2011 will hold - just like every year, right? For today, at least, the bond markets are closing early, there are no economic releases, there doesn't appear to be any life changing news, rates are slightly better, and many companies are either closed today or closed Monday. And there is "nothing wrong with a little feast on our time." So I decided to push what news there was, along with some good recent notes about licensing issues, back to Monday and pass along a little poem sent to me by a broker, who in turn received it from Debbie Y., a broker coordinator with Guild Mortgage. There are indeed some clever folks out there in the biz.


How to describe last year's story?
With one word.  Regulatory!!

Consumers?  The Feds wish them oh so well!
Yes- good intentions pave the road to hell.

To punish the villains of our industry,
They devised a plan of transparency.

Brilliant idea!  HVCC,
And a "comprehensible" GFE!

That form is now so simplified,
That everyone is mystified.

Each lender sees it differently,
Can the broker get the YSP??

What dates? Which blocks? Are we compliant?
On Amanda we are all reliant!!

What day can we sign our docs?
For each thing there are different clocks!

A three day wait....do we start with zero?
When docs go out we're the hero!

We've never seen so many quirks!
No one's sure how this all works!

When to collect borrower's fees?
Brokers re-issuing GFE's!!

Paperwork brings us to our knees!
We're murdering so many trees!

Re-verify and then once more,
Employers hate us by the score!

When was the appraisal sent?
Where's that pesky document?

Our government in its benevolence,
Never uses common sense.

The only ones who are helped at all,
Are those supplying alcohol!

Happy New Year!