Thu, Aug 22 2019, 9:01 AM
Thank you to everyone who wrote yesterday correcting me that Hawai’i’s 1959 statehood is 60 years old and not 50. I know it’s not the case, but someti...
Wed, Aug 21 2019, 8:43 AM
Congratulations to Hawaii which became a state fifty years ago today. We’ve had plenty of economic cycles, small and large, in fifty years, although i...
Tue, Aug 20 2019, 8:45 AM
Why is a 43% DTI, a line many view as “drawn in the sand,” so critical to the ability of a borrower to repay a loan? What about reserves or utility bi...
Mon, Aug 19 2019, 9:10 AM
Builders can’t complain too much about material prices anymore. Building materials prices rose only 0.7% in July, and are down overall year-over-year....
Fri, Aug 16 2019, 8:27 AM
Some international rates have gone through 0 percent and are now negative. The low rates and high volumes have caused lenders to focus less on long-te...
Thu, Aug 15 2019, 8:51 AM
Plenty of economists watch builder activity and mood swings as early indicators of future economic health. Builder confidence in the single-family 55+...
Wed, Aug 14 2019, 8:58 AM
Data compiled by the American Bar Association shows that average lawyer pay has nearly doubled since 1997! Mortgage loan originators enjoy comparing t...
Tue, Aug 13 2019, 9:22 AM
As we digest the news that CIT is buying Mutual of Omaha Bank , others are looking at demographics. Families moving create jobs, right? From 2017 to 2...
Mon, Aug 12 2019, 9:19 AM
While the world is watching 0% or-.5% interest rates in Denmark , in this country Zillow is competing with lenders, real estate agents, and mom & pop ...
Fri, Aug 9 2019, 9:20 AM
Critics of the “new and improved” 1003, aka URLA, for loan applications must be quite pleased with the indefinite delay of its required rollout announ...
Thu, Aug 8 2019, 9:06 AM
Are there “non-profit” lenders and/or real estate companies in the private sector? (I’m talking business model, not tax status.) Sure there are. Here’...
Wed, Aug 7 2019, 9:24 AM
For me the first three weeks in August includes time in California, Washington, Nevada, Tennessee, and Michigan. Did you know that roughly 80% of new ...
Tue, Aug 6 2019, 9:00 AM
With this downward move in rates lenders across the nation are girding their loins for margin calls from broker/dealers on mortgage-backed security po...
Mon, Aug 5 2019, 8:39 AM
Blame mental health. Blame gun control. Blame “the system” or background check procedures. There’s plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the t...
Thu, Aug 1 2019, 9:57 AM
Well, we sailed through another perfectly good month, and many lenders had a superb July funding month. And there is great optimism about August’s num...
Wed, Jul 31 2019, 8:18 AM
Large investors often shy away from monies that are not in the mainstream banking sector. (Accounts in cryptocurrency jump to mind.) Can you blame the...
Tue, Jul 30 2019, 9:31 AM
Who’s in your wallet? How about 33-year-old Paige Thompson? Working for Capital One’s “cloud company,” she is accused of hacking into more than 100 mi...
Mon, Jul 29 2019, 8:57 AM
As the residential lending industry continues to buzz about the CFPB addressing the definition of a Qualified Mortgage , with proponents hoping that t...
Fri, Jul 26 2019, 10:19 AM
You should become, if you’re not already, familiar with the term “Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR).” The Consumer Financial Protection Bur...
Thu, Jul 25 2019, 9:17 AM
If you, or your borrowers, want $125 from Equifax, or to receive free credit reporting, here’s what you should do. The official settlement website has...
Wed, Jul 24 2019, 9:00 AM
Today, in Utah, it is either Pie & Beer Day, or Pioneer Day, I can never remember which. Words are funny things. How about “partners,” as in Amazon’s ...
Tue, Jul 23 2019, 8:57 AM
During my travels someone recently told me that the “x” at the end of Cajun names was attributable to illiterate Cajuns “making their mark.” But inste...
Mon, Jul 22 2019, 8:54 AM
There are more stars in the universe than words ever uttered by all the humans who ever lived. (That’s a good line for tonight’s Happy Hour.) Money, o...
Fri, Jul 19 2019, 9:20 AM
Some people pray for ice cream, and their prayers will be answered as this Sunday is National Ice Cream Day. An MLO prayer? “Dear Lord, just give me o...
Thu, Jul 18 2019, 8:46 AM
There’s a lot going on out there! Rocket Mortgage is creating new technology that will allow the State Farm agents to offer a Rocket Mortgage loan as ...
Wed, Jul 17 2019, 10:04 AM
I encounter plenty of people in the mortgage biz, from part-time receptionists to owners, who are focused on helping consumers. It’s a good thing! And...
Tue, Jul 16 2019, 9:01 AM
Although lots of small lenders don’t seem interested in being acquired any longer (“Hey, our pipeline is full and we’re making money again! Autumn is ...
Mon, Jul 15 2019, 8:47 AM
You don’t think your spouse listens to you? What about Google? You bet: “Google Very Angry After Contractor Leaks Over a Thousand Assistant Recordings...
Fri, Jul 12 2019, 9:16 AM
Glenn Freezman sent, “I have a step ladder. I never knew my real ladder.” Toddlers, drunk people, and yoga pants don’t lie. What about statistics? Den...
Thu, Jul 11 2019, 9:09 AM
In honor of World Population Day today, the Census Bureau tells us that the world’s population will hit 7.58 billion this month. But why believe that?...
Wed, Jul 10 2019, 9:59 AM
There are still, surprisingly, people who deny that climate change is occurring. There are plenty of low-lying areas of this country that are threaten...
Tue, Jul 9 2019, 8:48 AM
I find it amusing when someone tells me, “The stock market is too risky for me. I have my money with some investment gal/guy.” What do you think they ...
Mon, Jul 8 2019, 8:55 AM
Welcome to “Work from Bed Day” around the nation. Okay, I just made that up, but it sounds enticing. Perhaps it would lead to greater worker satisfact...
Fri, Jul 5 2019, 9:47 AM
The IRS has only been with us since 1862, modern nationwide income tax since 1913. But, just like the gfee income “share” with Freddie and Fannie, and...
Wed, Jul 3 2019, 9:05 AM
I was in Park City, Utah recently, and the real estate agents gave me an interesting statistic: it is believed that 80% of the land and buildings are ...
Tue, Jul 2 2019, 10:10 AM
This weekend I helped my son change apartments in San Francisco, and all over were billboards for ZeroDown.com : “Smartest Way to Buy a Home.” And if ...
Mon, Jul 1 2019, 9:12 AM
Huh? We’re in the 3rd quarter of 2019 already? To where did the first six months fly off? I am hearing from some lenders that solid April, May, and Ju...
Fri, Jun 28 2019, 9:09 AM
VA lenders are talking about the “cap” being removed as the Department of Veterans Affairs can now back loans that exceed the conforming loan limit. P...
Thu, Jun 27 2019, 9:32 AM
Did you know that in 2018 the U.S. birth rate dropped for the fourth consecutive year? In fact the number of people born in the United States last yea...
Wed, Jun 26 2019, 8:35 AM
When I grow up, I want to own… 16,000 single family homes? Yes, here’s an article about how artificial intelligence has helped a landlord, and fund, a...
Tue, Jun 25 2019, 9:08 AM
Guys with an eyepatch and three fingers sell the best fireworks. Who does the best job selling mortgage products to consumers? Regulators, Agencies, a...
Mon, Jun 24 2019, 9:32 AM
I start the last week of June in Park City, Utah at a STRATMOR meeting and with a correction. In discussing tax laws in Saturday’s commentary I wrote,...
Fri, Jun 21 2019, 9:06 AM
That mortgage prices change every day, and often during the day, is about as surprising as sheriffs finding marijuana on Willie Nelson’s tour bus. Pri...
Thu, Jun 20 2019, 10:13 AM
“Enable” is such a vague, over-used tech term. The same with “repurpose.” But over the next 10 years Google is going to “repurpose” (aka, re-zone) a l...
Wed, Jun 19 2019, 8:51 AM
Good loan officers pay attention to demographics. For example, according to a new report from the United Nations, the population of the planet could r...
Tue, Jun 18 2019, 8:56 AM
With the backdrop of a global bond market rally today, let’s look back at Randy Newman singing, “It's money that matters, hear what I say. It's money ...
Mon, Jun 17 2019, 9:19 AM
I find builder’s naming policies amusing. Let’s call a subdivision “Hidden Valley” or “Lonesome Pines” when it isn’t hidden or lonesome anymore with 5...
Fri, Jun 14 2019, 9:05 AM
“The City of Baltimore, Maryland suffered a ransomware attack on May 7, 2019. Due to the attack, the City is currently unable to record documents unti...
Thu, Jun 13 2019, 8:49 AM
At the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs) are communic...
Wed, Jun 12 2019, 8:45 AM
In the tech world, the question of, “What is real, and what isn’t?” is becoming more of problem to determine than ever before. The latest is in re-pro...
