Today, 11:54 AM
“An eye for an eye, Tooth for a tooth. Vote for me and I'll set you free! Rap on, brother, rap on. Well, the only person talking about loving thy brot...
Mon, Oct 21 2024, 11:46 AM
Sports have a lot of fans, and heroes. With only 10 days until Halloween, what a great time of year to be a sports fanatic. You never have to leave yo...
Fri, Oct 18 2024, 12:14 PM
A while back I parked my car outside a government office building in Sacramento. "Sir, you can't park here," said a cop. "This is where our politician...
Thu, Oct 17 2024, 11:43 AM
Today would have been the 65th birthday of comedian Norm Macdonald. And while that may make your head shake, here’s something else that definitely wil...
Wed, Oct 16 2024, 11:46 AM
An attorney will tell you, “Never miss a good chance to shut up.” Today I head to the Portland/Vancouver area for a few days with Banner Bank. Oregon ...
Tue, Oct 15 2024, 11:44 AM
Some things aren’t what they seem to be. What about places… what if you moved and your new home wasn’t how it originally seemed to be? There is a tren...
Fri, Oct 11 2024, 11:48 AM
Preparing for the next hurricane in Florida? Or Louisiana? Or Texas? Call this really smart or really humorous, it’s up to you. (And no, I don’t know ...
Thu, Oct 10 2024, 12:52 PM
Hey, I like a good raccoon swarm as much as the next guy, but you couldn’t pay me to walk out there in that yard. Speaking of pay, a common question i...
Wed, Oct 9 2024, 11:39 AM
Should it concern us that, a few days ago, it was pointed out that from now until Nov. 26, there’s at least one football game on TV to watch every day...
Tue, Oct 8 2024, 11:51 AM
Here in Philadelphia and many other parts of the nation, the weather is autumnal. But that doesn’t matter for the thousands upon thousands of uninsure...
Mon, Oct 7 2024, 11:43 AM
Yesterday I flew west to Philadelphia (“Philly”) to spend some time with the Spring EQ sales team. It is a well-known fact that the process of boardin...
Fri, Oct 4 2024, 11:56 AM
As Maui grapples with rebuilding, and parts of the Southeast deal with continued rescue or recovery issues, where would our lives be without some levi...
Thu, Oct 3 2024, 11:53 AM
Tis the time of year when pumpkins have magically appeared in bins outside supermarkets and on porches. Which state grows the most? It’s hard to beat ...
Wed, Oct 2 2024, 11:43 AM
Whether it was Richey May’s lock picking kit, Maxwell’s milk frother, Total Expert’s socks, or Byte’s locally made sweet treats, there was plenty of v...
Tue, Oct 1 2024, 11:42 AM
We find ourselves in the 4th quarter of 2024. October is here! Do you want to beat the rush for buying the Halloween candy that’s most popular in your...
Mon, Sep 30 2024, 11:43 AM
Well, this is the week that many have been waiting for: Fat Bear Week! The nearly 600 mortgage folks here in Las Vegas at the ACUMA event can talk abo...
Fri, Sep 27 2024, 11:49 AM
“Who was the first person that used technology? Moses. He had two tablets that were connected to the cloud.” Technology is a two-edged sword. On the o...
Thu, Sep 26 2024, 11:39 AM
We’re all following Hurricane Helene and its impact on lives and housing stock in the news. Will Rogers famously said, “All I know is what I read in t...
Wed, Sep 25 2024, 11:54 AM
“My people skills are fine. It's my tolerance for idiots that needs work.” Fortunately, in our business we have very, very few of those, and certainly...
Tue, Sep 24 2024, 11:59 AM
Today I leave Illinois, with the world’s largest corn maze, and head to Nebraska, with the world’s largest ball of stamps, things that make life inter...
Mon, Sep 23 2024, 11:39 AM
Summer has officially come and gone; the autumn equinox was yesterday. Columbus Day, Halloween, Veteran’s Day, and Thanksgiving are in the coming mont...
Fri, Sep 20 2024, 11:48 AM
“Someone asked me if I had plans for the fall. It took me a moment to realize they meant ‘autumn’ and not the fall of civilization.” The Autumn solsti...
Thu, Sep 19 2024, 11:58 AM
“A Native American, pirate, and Frenchman walk into a bar. The bartender says, ‘Gentlemen, hau, arrrrrrr, oui, today?’” No one has to sound out “s-u-m...
Wed, Sep 18 2024, 11:53 AM
“Q: What does a dyslexic pirate say? A: RRRRRRA!” Humor aside, many in our industry have faced adversity, dyslexia and more, and I received this note:...
Tue, Sep 17 2024, 11:43 AM
Does it give you a sense of permanency if you think about how you’re looking at the same moon as pirates did 300-400 years ago? There’s a lunar eclips...
Mon, Sep 16 2024, 11:48 AM
The Pirate goes to the dermatologist and says, “Arrg, I got moles.” The dermatologist says, “Don’t worry, they’re benign.” The Pirate replies, “Arrg, ...
Fri, Sep 13 2024, 11:44 AM
“I pay you to handle my loan and give me a good program with a competitive rate, not predict things you can’t.” At a recent event, a top originator to...
Thu, Sep 12 2024, 11:52 AM
“Honey, what did you do today?” “Well…” People do some cockamamie stuff against all odds. What are the odds of a lender or LO retaining their client a...
Wed, Sep 11 2024, 11:47 AM
When I board an airplane, it is to go from point A to point B, like today from Denver to San Francisco. As long as it’s on time and somewhat economica...
Tue, Sep 10 2024, 11:54 AM
Every once in a while, a new loan program is “invented.” Lenders have to make sure they’re doing it correctly. (Don’t try this at home.) At events aro...
Mon, Sep 9 2024, 11:54 AM
Forget ATR. What about ATN? The Ability to Nap. Here in Denver, at The Mortgage Collaborative event, napping is not on the agenda… Every lender out th...
Fri, Sep 6 2024, 12:11 PM
“The credit card company called me to report suspicious activity... I asked what kind of suspicious activity, and they said someone made a payment.” “...
Thu, Sep 5 2024, 11:47 AM
“If you were born in September, it's pretty safe to assume that your parents started their new year with a bang.” Are originators getting a “bang for ...
Wed, Sep 4 2024, 11:53 AM
I don’t know what, exactly, separates irony, satire, or paradox. Whatever category this falls into, it’s a classic tale of biblical proportions. (Othe...
Tue, Sep 3 2024, 11:39 AM
It was the third of September, a day I’ll always remember… Will September 18th be remembered as the day that the Federal Reserve lowers fed funds for ...
Fri, Aug 30 2024, 11:48 AM
(In honor of labor, there is no Commentary tomorrow; Tuesday will be the next one. But in honor of August 31 being National Bacon Day, we celebrate wi...
Thu, Aug 29 2024, 11:45 AM
“Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?” The future is always murky, at best, even to those who tell us that they can predict things. Fannie M...
Wed, Aug 28 2024, 11:50 AM
How dedicated are you to mortgages? This dedicated? I hope not. Owners and CEOs of smaller companies are certainly dedicated to our business, but are ...
Tue, Aug 27 2024, 11:41 AM
Why can’t lending be simple… like “The Revolutionary Haircutting System You've Come to Love!” They even have the forethought to take the summer off. V...
Mon, Aug 26 2024, 11:38 AM
A pair of scissors is not trivial. Did you read the story on how thirty-six flights were cancelled, and 201 delayed, at a Japanese airport after a pai...
Fri, Aug 23 2024, 11:41 AM
“There's a fine line between a numerator and a denominator. Only a fraction of people will find this funny.” Our business is a business of numbers. My...
Thu, Aug 22 2024, 11:55 AM
“Great news! I got the whole plane to myself! The large group going to the psychic’s convention all cancelled at the last minute.” (No, this didn’t ha...
Wed, Aug 21 2024, 11:32 AM
This morning, I head from Los Angeles to Orlando, FL for the big NAMMBA Connect event. I received this question. “Rob, in your travels, are you hearin...
Tue, Aug 20 2024, 11:52 AM
Sometimes things are confused with other things. (What do racoons think of Tesla trucks? Those trucks are easy to make fun of.) There isn’t a lot of c...
Mon, Aug 19 2024, 11:35 AM
A quick note for anyone coming to the California MBA’s Western Secondary via LAX and taking a ride share to the venue: grab the lime green shuttle bus...
Fri, Aug 16 2024, 12:03 PM
On a sad note, entrepreneur “Famous Amos” passed away a few days ago. Cookies are a major food group for me, and here was a fellow who had fun and mad...
Thu, Aug 15 2024, 11:55 AM
Looking at the attendees of various mortgage events around the nation over the last several months, I remember back to when a “new hip joint” meant so...
Wed, Aug 14 2024, 11:51 AM
This morning I head through Chicago to Michigan to the MMLA Conference, where one of the discussion topics will be the NAR changes and how they impact...
Tue, Aug 13 2024, 11:44 AM
“I ordered a book titled, ‘How to scam people online’ two months ago. It still hasn't arrived yet.” Let’s open today’s Commentary with a couple topics...
Mon, Aug 12 2024, 12:22 PM
With almost three more months of political jabbering, here’s a town in Kentucky that keeps politics in perspective with qualified candidates. In a mix...
