Fri, Nov 12 2021, 10:45 AM
Forget mortgages… As snow hits the Upper Midwest and rain hits the East Coast, according to the USDA, nationwide frozen turkey inventories are 24 perc...
Wed, Nov 10 2021, 11:11 AM
I recently spent some of my day receiving a COVID test, and the nurse asked me, “Have you had a sudden loss of taste?” I replied, “No, I’ve always dre...
Mon, Nov 8 2021, 11:26 AM
Starting today I’m in Oklahoma City for the OMBA Conference . The median home price here is roughly $150,000 and housing prices are up nearly 7 percen...
Fri, Nov 5 2021, 11:02 AM
Nothing brings women together quite like an unclear dress code. Dress codes have been all over the map during the pandemic, and as companies adjust to...
Thu, Nov 4 2021, 10:58 AM
Excuse me while I rant a bit. Let’s throw some money questions your way on a Thursday. Do you have any Rice Krispies at your store? If you do, buy the...
Wed, Nov 3 2021, 11:02 AM
Real estate investors, agents, and lenders were keenly interested in Zillow’s earnings call yesterday. Those of us listening in learned that the compa...
Mon, Nov 1 2021, 11:14 AM
November already? A feast for giving thanks for the harvest began in 1621, and was celebrated intermittently by various colonies/states for the next 2...
Fri, Oct 29 2021, 11:27 AM
I got some exciting news yesterday: Snickers are gluten free! Actually I don’t care (the more gluten the better… does the government allow us trick or...
Thu, Oct 28 2021, 10:59 AM
I have to go to Target later today to buy Halloween candy because I went to Target last week and bought Halloween candy. Get it? Here’s another questi...
Wed, Oct 27 2021, 10:58 AM
While huge blocks of servicing are hitting the market, Cenlar has had better days than yesterday. (“We take seriously our regulatory obligations and w...
Tue, Oct 26 2021, 10:46 AM
Lenders and servicers don’t like weather extremes. Hurricane season is nearly over. While the East Coast is bracing for a storm, however, it’s feast o...
Mon, Oct 25 2021, 10:50 AM
Given my emails and hallway chatter in San Diego last week, what’s on people’s minds? The state of the housing market is one, and Ivy Zelman, CEO of Z...
Fri, Oct 22 2021, 10:31 AM
Semper Fi! Tomorrow marks the 38th anniversary of the 1983 bombing in Beirut of a U.S. Marine barracks in the largest conventional explosive blast in ...
Thu, Oct 21 2021, 10:57 AM
Thousands of people in the residential lending biz headed to the San Diego aerodrome and flew home. Plenty were sore from wearing dress shoes everywhe...
Wed, Oct 20 2021, 10:27 AM
Someone here in San Diego asked an audience, “Who out there misses their Blackberry?” and many raised their hands. Technology… an interesting thing. H...
Tue, Oct 19 2021, 10:34 AM
The MBA's conference, which began with a capacity crowd at mPower , is packed with meetings and sessions, and I am sure glad that I’m not going betwee...
Mon, Oct 18 2021, 10:20 AM
One discussion topic here at the MBA’s annual conference, besides how rates are pressing higher, is how wonderful the San Diego weather is. But there ...
Fri, Oct 15 2021, 10:52 AM
Life is full of decisions. One space or two after a period in a sentence? Move to a state with no state income tax, or stay put? Wells Fargo is no lon...
Thu, Oct 14 2021, 11:00 AM
Labor strikes are back in the news, but this time of year is *** cancer awareness month . Did you know that 1 in 8 women get *** cancer, and it can at...
Wed, Oct 13 2021, 10:35 AM
Those heading to the conference in San Diego should pack stylish, yet sensible, shoes given the amount of walking. (Today’s audio version of the comme...
Tue, Oct 12 2021, 10:57 AM
People ask me for advice all the time. For example, I tell guys, “Don’t ask your wife when dinner will be ready while she’s mowing the lawn.” With the...
Fri, Oct 8 2021, 10:21 AM
The definition of the word “holiday” seems open to debate, as some states, and companies, working on holidays like Monday’s. Words are important. It’s...
Thu, Oct 7 2021, 11:23 AM
The human brain is an amazing thing. Some readers can instantaneously identify the song, and album, if I only said, “Play it pretty for Atlanta.” Othe...
Wed, Oct 6 2021, 10:57 AM
This budget thing is out of control. In a blow to privacy, did you know that the proposal would require banks, credit unions, etc., to report to the I...
Tue, Oct 5 2021, 10:08 AM
Paul P., writes, “Hope is a good companion but a poor guide.” But the nation is hoping that the share of loans in forbearance continues to decline. An...
Mon, Oct 4 2021, 10:35 AM
Residential lending is filled with technology shifts. (STRATMOR is offering up technology survey results below.) I am a luddite when it comes to that ...
Fri, Oct 1 2021, 10:37 AM
Although most states don’t “fall back” and change the clocks until November 7th, losing 3-4 minutes of daylight a day is now readily apparent, and it’...
Thu, Sep 30 2021, 10:20 AM
The end of the third quarter is here already. The fate of Fat Bear Week hangs in the balance given the possible government shutdown. (Although the odd...
Wed, Sep 29 2021, 10:37 AM
Why is breakfast in bed “luxurious” but breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed is labeled “depression?” That’s something to consider. Today there’s so mu...
Tue, Sep 28 2021, 12:29 PM
Seen on a chalkboard outside a bar: “Beer shortage coming soon. Panic buy here!” Moving from booze to bonds, thinking that the Fed would buy $5 billio...
Mon, Sep 27 2021, 10:28 AM
I could tell that my cat Myrtle was miffed Sunday. I’m sure that she, given her position at the top of the food chain, believes that I shouldn’t be wa...
Fri, Sep 24 2021, 10:37 AM
First off, my apologies to Ernest Hemingway whose name I mistakenly wrote as “Earnest.” Thank you to those who pointed that out. Second… Okay… I see m...
Thu, Sep 23 2021, 11:05 AM
This morning the Mortgage Bankers Association's Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA) released, The Impact of Climate Change on Housing and Ho...
Wed, Sep 22 2021, 10:35 AM
Once a week it is Wednesday… but this one is noteworthy. An equinox is the instant of time when the plane of Earth's equator passes through the geomet...
Tue, Sep 21 2021, 10:41 AM
A sign in the window reads CURED MEATS. Inside, a salami takes his first steps since the accident. A prosciutto learns to forgive. There are all kind ...
Mon, Sep 20 2021, 10:46 AM
Someone asked me if I had plans for the fall. It took me a moment to realize they meant “autumn,” not the collapse of civilization. Lots of folks are ...
Fri, Sep 17 2021, 11:19 AM
Some things stick with you , some don’t. Many of the topics covered here in Atlanta’s NAMMBA Connect 2021 will stick with folks since they mirror what...
Thu, Sep 16 2021, 11:01 AM
I’m getting old. I can remember the lyrics from a Steppenwolf song that I haven’t heard in 20 years but I don’t remember what I had for lunch yesterda...
Wed, Sep 15 2021, 10:25 AM
How ‘bout some random Q&A for Hump Day? Did you know that almost 2,400 of your co-workers are already registered for the National MBA conference next ...
Tue, Sep 14 2021, 10:41 AM
When Miley Cyrus licks a hammer and dances around naked, it’s considered “art.” When I tried it, I got kicked out of Home Depot. Go figure. How is you...
Mon, Sep 13 2021, 11:23 AM
On HGTV, people can flip a whole house in a month. Meanwhile, I’ve been “getting ready to vacuum” for a week now. There isn’t a lot of mirth in reside...
Fri, Sep 10 2021, 11:11 AM
Thank you to Virginia’s Marc A. who, after reading my comment about companies keeping customers on hold due to “higher-than-normal call volume,” sent ...
Thu, Sep 9 2021, 11:18 AM
I don’t think I’ve ever made a call, in recent years, to any number that wasn’t “experiencing high call volumes…” Owners of lenders are certainly fiel...
Wed, Sep 8 2021, 11:21 AM
If you wait long enough to cook dinner, everyone will eat cereal. Follow me for more recipes! It’s a good time to be long real estate, and one recipe ...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 11:13 AM
Yes, it’s Tuesday already. Good morning to everyone except my wife who, at 2AM, mid-dream, sat bolt upright in bed and terrifyingly shouted into the d...
Fri, Sep 3 2021, 12:11 PM
“It was the third of September that day I’ll always remember … Papa was a rolling stone… Wherever he laid his hat was his home. And when he died, all ...
Thu, Sep 2 2021, 11:07 AM
“Yeah, I think I’ll put up some plywood and buy some water and just wait out this supposed hurricane. Those scientist/weather people are just exaggera...
Wed, Sep 1 2021, 11:12 AM
Overheard recently: “I just want a man who will make me laugh as we count his family’s money on his rock-hard abs.” Lenders are doing okay, money-wise...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 10:48 AM
I received some exciting news that I wanted to share with my readers. I received an invitation from a mortgage periodical to receive an award, if I pa...
Mon, Aug 30 2021, 11:01 AM
The Texas Mortgage Bankers Association conference is in full swing. Folks tell me that servicing is a big topic in informal hallway discussions. MCT d...
