Thu, Apr 5 2018, 9:13 AM
My father was in the U.S. Navy for 20 years (1942-1962) and his first home loan in 1967 was a VA 30-year fixed rate mortgage. That was obviously pre-i...
Wed, Apr 4 2018, 9:14 AM
As residential origination volumes and margins contract, plenty of lenders are looking at construction, non-QM, bond, government, ARM, SBA, and USDA l...
Tue, Apr 3 2018, 9:13 AM
If anyone ever asks you, the average parking space is 180 square feet, which works out to 242 parking spaces per acre. Reuters reports that, due to Vo...
Mon, Apr 2 2018, 9:15 AM
This year the usual Tax Day (April 15) falls on a Sunday, and the next day is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in D.C. That means you have until midn...
Thu, Mar 29 2018, 9:13 AM
In the time I spend with loan officers (and I am fortunate to meet some top-notch producers), I hear plenty of stories about walking a real estate age...
Wed, Mar 28 2018, 9:13 AM
Supply and demand drive markets and prices, including luxury items and especially housing. What do you give the person who has everything? How about a...
Tue, Mar 27 2018, 9:20 AM
Studies indicate 1.2 billion people worldwide do not have proper shelter. A startup in Austin, Texas decided it would work to change that. Using a hea...
Mon, Mar 26 2018, 9:04 AM
Interesting economic times, the latest example being gunmaker Remington filing for bankruptcy. Lenders wish things weren’t so interesting: Independent...
Fri, Mar 23 2018, 9:14 AM
The Census Bureau defines millennials as those born between 1982 and 2000, which means this year their age ranges from 18 to 36. Many will argue that ...
Thu, Mar 22 2018, 9:13 AM
“Skin in the game” is a key component for lower delinquency and foreclosure rates, as borrowers have come up with required down payments. Mortgage inv...
Wed, Mar 21 2018, 9:15 AM
Ever wanted to read a story, or recommend it to those who might find it interesting, titled, “Blockchain-Based Residential Real Estate Network Democra...
Tue, Mar 20 2018, 9:12 AM
The first day of Spring! Converting empty warehouses, grain elevators, under-utilized shopping malls, or Toys-R-Us stores to new housing? Perhaps. The...
Mon, Mar 19 2018, 9:08 AM
For me the last seven days included California, Texas, Nevada, and Illinois. What am I seeing? Some companies are doing well. Others aren’t, and unfor...
Fri, Mar 16 2018, 9:13 AM
Lenders charge an interest rate commensurate with the risk, and potential for not being paid back. But disasters and taxes can complicate things. Mort...
Thu, Mar 15 2018, 9:16 AM
Rumors continue about companies going out of business, scaling back, or being sold. But let’s talk about progress in pushing forward transitional lice...
Wed, Mar 14 2018, 9:15 AM
As this week marks the 10 year anniversary of JPM Chase taking over Bear Stearns, the residential lending industry is rife with rumors about companies...
Tue, Mar 13 2018, 9:12 AM
As I head to head to Chicago today to attend the Illinois MBA Conference , I won’t win any Brownie Points mentioning that a United Van Lines National ...
Mon, Mar 12 2018, 9:11 AM
Rates have gone up, refi volumes are dropping, and LOs are having plenty of discussions with potential borrowers about “rent vs. buy.” SmartAsset has ...
Fri, Mar 9 2018, 9:15 AM
Let’s end the week with a non-mortgage related note about nature. You Tube has a live webcam a live webcam in the San Francisco Presidio of a Red-Tail...
Thu, Mar 8 2018, 9:11 AM
In these days of fleeting texts, emails, and photos that last for one look, it is nice to think that some things last. News broke that a record-breaki...
Wed, Mar 7 2018, 9:11 AM
How about this note I received from the owner of a non-bank lender in the Northeast. “Rob, in your conversations with CEOs, is anyone talking about cu...
Tue, Mar 6 2018, 9:10 AM
“Rob, in past decades, near the end of every credit cycle, lenders seem to head back down the credit score scale and seem to be more aggressive with u...
Mon, Mar 5 2018, 9:13 AM
The Senate is set to vote this week on a bill by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, that would revise several sections of the Dodd-Frank Act . Among the bill's...
Fri, Mar 2 2018, 9:16 AM
As various parts of the nation are hunkered down due to weather, just think of “2.4 million.” That is a lot of anything, especially when that is how m...
Thu, Mar 1 2018, 9:12 AM
Welcome to March. What happened to January and February? This commentary occasionally discusses “tiny homes” (yes, okay with the Agencies if comps can...
Wed, Feb 28 2018, 9:09 AM
As an industry we don’t want headlines about the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spending $31,000 on a dining set spending $31,000 o...
Tue, Feb 27 2018, 9:13 AM
Every home owner was, at one time, a first-time home buyer, right? Now it seems that every lender, investor, politician, and special interest group is...
Mon, Feb 26 2018, 9:03 AM
As local, state, and national organizations plunge into another year’s worth of conferences, there is some good news for those that imbibe in adult be...
Fri, Feb 23 2018, 9:10 AM
Are you an LO interested in receiving a $5 Amazon Gift Card for your participation in a short survey? Tobe Agency, a digital marketing agency focused ...
Thu, Feb 22 2018, 9:12 AM
Jobs & housing drive the economy, and yesterday we learned that Existing Home Sales fell 3.2% in January, according to NAR . Lawrence Yun, NAR's Chief...
Wed, Feb 21 2018, 9:12 AM
Why couldn’t the sesame seed leave the gambling casino? Because he was on a roll. In an admittedly weak segue, rolls are made in kitchens, and LOs may...
Tue, Feb 20 2018, 9:12 AM
Welcome to Day 1 of the longest period in the United States without a federal holiday: President's Day to Memorial Day. Some will think, “That’s a dra...
Fri, Feb 16 2018, 9:11 AM
Mortgage rates are greatly influenced by supply and demand. And if both the U.S. government and individuals need to borrow money, the government usual...
Thu, Feb 15 2018, 9:08 AM
If you claim that many areas of the nation have few houses for sale, no one will disagree. (“Rob, when are those big funds that own tens of thousands ...
Wed, Feb 14 2018, 9:19 AM
Two men are sitting in a bar when Mark Zuckerberg walks in. One of the men says to his friend, “This is awesome! On average, everyone in this bar is w...
Tue, Feb 13 2018, 9:13 AM
Every lender has seen rates move higher, and nearly every lender has seen the inventory of homes for sale decline. With rates moving higher, which sho...
Mon, Feb 12 2018, 9:11 AM
People are usually surprised to learn there are more boating licenses issued in Wyoming then in Hawai’i. Arizona and flooding? CoreLogic research find...
Fri, Feb 9 2018, 9:14 AM
Here’s a riddle for tonight’s Happy Hour for snowed-in Chicagoans: What do New Day Financial, Nations Lending Corp., Freedom Mortgage Corp, LoanDepot....
Thu, Feb 8 2018, 9:13 AM
People are usually surprised to learn there are more boating licenses issued in Wyoming then in Hawai’i. Arizona and flooding? CoreLogic research find...
Wed, Feb 7 2018, 9:10 AM
Amazon Go opened its doors in Seattle as the first digital grocery store without any cashiers. (One initially simply downloads an app to use the digit...
Tue, Feb 6 2018, 9:12 AM
As all the pre-printed “Patriots: 2018 Super Bowl Champions” t-shirts are being shipped off for donation to 3rd world countries (yes, that is what hap...
Mon, Feb 5 2018, 9:12 AM
I know plenty of folks in Nebraska. And people who went to school there but left soon afterward. But I don’t know Elsie Eiler, who is the only residen...
Fri, Feb 2 2018, 9:06 AM
The total number of slot machines in Las Vegas is down 23 percent from its peak in 2001, partially because slot gambling never really clicked with you...
Thu, Feb 1 2018, 9:14 AM
Whale oil manufacturers… switchboard operators… real estate agents? “Knock does everything a traditional real estate agent does and so much more.” Lau...
Wed, Jan 31 2018, 9:11 AM
“Rob, are you hearing an issue regarding ‘individual CRMs?’ Where LOs are purchasing their own CRMs, which move with them to various companies, and th...
Tue, Jan 30 2018, 9:23 AM
Opening today’s note with something non-business related, before the commentary comes out Wednesday (tomorrow) morning, we’ll have a full lunar eclips...
Mon, Jan 29 2018, 9:12 AM
Lenders in the US should be aware of what’s going on in the United Kingdom’s mortgage community – it won’t make any investor in mortgages feel better ...
Fri, Jan 26 2018, 9:13 AM
When I grow up I want to… live in a shipping container live in a shipping container ? Hey, don’t laugh… they’re here, and some suggest are a piece of ...
Thu, Jan 25 2018, 9:13 AM
Yes, rates have gone up, but residential applications have been up for three straight weeks. There is little denying that employment, housing, and the...
Wed, Jan 24 2018, 9:16 AM
“The kids convinced me to make popcorn for breakfast. That makes me either the best or worst dad ever – not sure which.” Breakfast at home is a fond m...
