Thu, Oct 5 2023, 10:04 AM
Hal M. writes, “Monday is a holiday. The observance reminded me of the small Italian parade we had in Maine on Columbus Day. All the marchers were und...
Wed, Oct 4 2023, 10:27 AM
I head to Vancouver, WA, this morning for a Banner Bank event and will probably have the option of Wi-Fi on the plane. How is it that NASA is able to ...
Tue, Oct 3 2023, 11:00 AM
How will you always know that this Commentary is not produced by some AI thingy? Because of mistakes like yesterday, leaving Illinois off the list of ...
Mon, Oct 2 2023, 10:32 AM
As President Jimmy Carter celebrated his 99th birthday seven months into hospice, welcome to the 4th quarter! (Will lenders experience any “Q-4-ia”? S...
Fri, Sep 29 2023, 10:25 AM
Shutdown or no shutdown, the National Park Service’s Fat Bear Week is approaching, focused on how these behemoths tip the scale. Here’s your tip of th...
Thu, Sep 28 2023, 10:23 AM
Seen on someone’s laptop here in Phoenix: “If Pete Davidson can date a Kardashian, you can be a homeowner.” From a business viewpoint, if you think mo...
Wed, Sep 27 2023, 10:44 AM
Today I head to Phoenix area for the AzAMP annual conference, and am reminded that, “Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.” The mortgag...
Tue, Sep 26 2023, 10:27 AM
As if lenders and vendors don’t have enough other stuff to worry about, the budgetary standoff in the U.S. doesn't look like it will abate soon, raisi...
Mon, Sep 25 2023, 10:00 AM
Are you gradually eating dinner earlier? Join the trend. Want to know another trend that isn’t so benign? Along the lines of the STRATMOR piece below,...
Fri, Sep 22 2023, 9:59 AM
Sometimes I send this Commentary out from some pretty nice places, sometimes not. Today comes from the tarmac at the Newark Airport, in Row 22, sittin...
Thu, Sep 21 2023, 10:10 AM
Who can think of September 21st without thinking about Earth, Wind, and Fire? Yesterday I was on a United Airlines flight out of San Francisco to Sava...
Wed, Sep 20 2023, 11:16 AM
Today is 092023 and I head to Savannah, GA for the SECUREN (credit union) conference. Did you know that the last day of 2023 is 123123? In other “fun ...
Mon, Sep 18 2023, 10:06 AM
If you want something sobering, almost mesmerizing, here’s a short drone video of the flood damage in Libya (at the 15 second mark you can see how it ...
Fri, Sep 15 2023, 8:34 AM
“Happy” 15-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers going belly up. “I was struggling to understand how lightning works and then it struck me.” One of the ...
Thu, Sep 14 2023, 11:15 AM
This morning I head from Chicago to Orlando along with 74 million others (yearly). More fun with numbers: Although the MBA thinks we’ll fund about $1....
Wed, Sep 13 2023, 10:15 AM
McDonald’s taking 9 years to eliminate its self-serve soda pop machines. (Couldn’t they take 5 hours and just move the machines behind the counter?) I...
Tue, Sep 12 2023, 9:36 AM
Yesterday I listened to the CFPB’s Rohit Chopra discuss home loans. Today I head from Nashville to Chicago, both known all over the world. Here, the U...
Mon, Sep 11 2023, 11:07 AM
One of the topics here in Tennessee is how lenders can help real estate agents or clients. Wanna maybe help your client or favorite real estate agent ...
Fri, Sep 8 2023, 10:09 AM
Inflation and price increases can be widespread and impact many, like gasoline or flour, or can be very specific and impact only a small portion of th...
Thu, Sep 7 2023, 10:18 AM
“My mother used to say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Wonderful woman, lousy surgeon.” There is some great food in various part...
Wed, Sep 6 2023, 9:59 AM
This morning I head to Dallas, Texas, where, if you ask Redfin, prices are up 5 percent for the year. Or Zillow will tell you prices are down 2 percen...
Tue, Sep 5 2023, 10:40 AM
It was a rough weekend. My cat Myrtle, resting comfortably at the top of the food chain, was visibly miffed at me not nominating her (again) for the v...
Fri, Sep 1 2023, 10:06 AM
Some things in life are fleeting, like a frosty glass of rose, enemy troops singing Christmas carols in the trenches during WWI, or the time when lend...
Thu, Aug 31 2023, 9:37 AM
The great thing about inflation is if you spend the same on groceries, the bags are lighter and easier to carry home. Restaurants and food companies r...
Wed, Aug 30 2023, 10:02 AM
Studies have shown that women who have large backsides live much longer than the men who comment on them. Studies also show that there are three basic...
Tue, Aug 29 2023, 10:18 AM
“What did the happy real estate agent put on her sign? I have lots to be thankful for.” (Feel free to use that gem at your next presentation at Sotheb...
Mon, Aug 28 2023, 10:31 AM
As the rumor spreads that millions of women are lined up to be weighed at the Fulton County Jail, we head into late summer and early autumn, rarely a ...
Fri, Aug 25 2023, 12:00 PM
What color of front door “sells” the best? Some say black, although in a related topic red is the most popular. Doesn’t that mean red sells the best i...
Thu, Aug 24 2023, 10:51 AM
“I’m not a fan of elevator music. It’s bad on so many levels.” Whether or not you think that the environment and value of owning stock in lenders and ...
Wed, Aug 23 2023, 11:02 AM
As the Western Secondary winds up, and weary capital markets staff & vendors head home from Orange County, perhaps humming “California Gurls,” working...
Tue, Aug 22 2023, 9:59 AM
Phantom Planet sang, California here we come, right back where we started from.” Many here at the Western Secondary have spent their entire career in ...
Mon, Aug 21 2023, 10:59 AM
For those attending the Western Secondary, remember, it never rains in Southern California. Except for now. Here’s one person who won’t be seeing So C...
Fri, Aug 18 2023, 10:49 AM
As numbers approaching a thousand head to Orange County, CA, for the California MBA’s Western Secondary, keeping an eye on the remnants of a hurricane...
Thu, Aug 17 2023, 10:28 AM
Time flies, and we’re more than halfway through the 3rd quarter. Few lenders and vendors look forward to heading into the autumn or winter of any year...
Wed, Aug 16 2023, 10:00 AM
If I am not borrowing money, the impact of higher rates isn’t a big direct hit to my lifestyle or spending. But if I had a credit card from Kohl’s, pa...
Tue, Aug 15 2023, 10:37 AM
Sorry the commentary is a little late this morning. I received an email from my IT department that I needed to change my username and password. It too...
Mon, Aug 14 2023, 10:27 AM
For anyone attending the California MBA’s Western Secondary starting this weekend, here’s a challenge too good for any tennis players to pass up. Augi...
Fri, Aug 11 2023, 10:22 AM
As the MMLA conference wraps up (congratulations to Dan Grzywacz, CMB, and nearly 40-year industry vet, who was this year’s James T. Barnes Award winn...
Thu, Aug 10 2023, 10:02 AM
A general discussion topic of those here at the MMLA conference in Michigan is the ups and downs we’re all facing. While mortgage applications drift d...
Wed, Aug 9 2023, 10:55 AM
“Once things were so tough for me, I worked at a cheap pizza shop to get by. I kneaded the dough.” Things are indeed tough out there. The other day I ...
Tue, Aug 8 2023, 10:41 AM
Lending continues to be intertwined with legal and compliance issues. Here’s a story from overnight that is catching a lot of attention: “Equifax stoc...
Mon, Aug 7 2023, 10:39 AM
Jordan Peele met his famous comedy partner Keegan-Michael Key around 2002 at Second City in Chicago, and eventually performed this classic routine tha...
Fri, Aug 4 2023, 11:40 AM
Planet Home’s Michael B. reminds me, “I miss every shot I don’t take.” The topics here in Orlando at the FAMP convention include not only prospecting,...
Thu, Aug 3 2023, 10:50 AM
Mark Weber sends, “Can I take my 2.5 percent loan to another property? Remember the portable loan idea? When will we see real estate agents advertisin...
Wed, Aug 2 2023, 8:26 AM
“If you have no interest in banking, you are not a loan.” (Best said out loud to a 6th grader.) Cutting edge humor aside, this morning I head to Orlan...
Tue, Aug 1 2023, 10:05 AM
Overheard last night at a bar here in Austin, Texas: “It’s hotter than the hinges to the gates of hell.” Not so hot, as residential lenders know, are ...
Mon, Jul 31 2023, 9:49 AM
“Yesterday I completed a chore I’ve been putting off for four months. It took me 20 minutes. I will learn nothing from this.” That sums up a lot of my...
Fri, Jul 28 2023, 10:56 AM
Mortgages are only part of our lives, right? I only know what I read online, although Abraham Lincoln once said, “Don’t believe everything you read on...
Thu, Jul 27 2023, 10:54 AM
“I’m trying to organize a hide and seek tournament, but good players are really hard to find.” Good LOs (trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courte...
Wed, Jul 26 2023, 10:40 AM
Today's Fed meeting announcement is the last one until September 20. Mortgage rates, of course, are prone to moving around even without the Fed’s dire...
