Wed, Mar 7 2012, 10:28 AM
There are
some darned clever folks out there. Although this has nothing to do with
mortgages, making a Mercedes "invisible" is noteworthy (scroll do...
Tue, Mar 6 2012, 11:08 AM
As has
been said, there is plenty of blame to go around. Sometimes the press even
notices that not all borrowers are above culpability .
Texas i...
Mon, Mar 5 2012, 9:39 AM
Investors,
those left, have been somewhat busy recently, adjusting
underwriting and documentation guidelines to continue to make current
production...
Mon, Mar 5 2012, 9:36 AM
n the interesting
side, per the FDIC, there were no new banks created in the US in 2011, making
it the first year since at least 1984 that the count...
Fri, Mar 2 2012, 9:55 AM
March is
National Women's History Month. Contrary to what some believe, it is not in
honor of this "classic" 30 second clip . (Sometimes I crack my...
Thu, Mar 1 2012, 10:49 AM
Two-thirds
of the way through the 1 st quarter, and we find ourselves in Irish-American
Heritage Month, which, happily for Chicago, contains St. Pa...
Wed, Feb 29 2012, 11:04 AM
Happy Leap
Year! If you are a real astronomy nut, check out this youtube video .
If you are not, don't bother.
Underwriters
and LO's rarely rai...
Tue, Feb 28 2012, 12:02 PM
Please
excuse any grammar errors this morning - I am still recovering after fainting
during my visit to the gas station last night - $4.20/gallon fo...
Mon, Feb 27 2012, 9:07 AM
When
asked, most people would not want to know the exact date of their death. But an
idea of how an insurance company gauges and calculates your lif...
Sun, Feb 26 2012, 8:53 AM
Up in
Georgia, Central Bank of Georgia was closed by the Georgia Department of
Banking and Finance, which appointed the FDIC as receiver, which in t...
Fri, Feb 24 2012, 9:58 AM
"First
wash all the cars, then wax."
"Why do I have to..."
"Remember deal. No questions."
"Yeah, but..."
"Wax on right hand. Wax off left han...
Thu, Feb 23 2012, 11:59 AM
Money is
money, right? If Congress can place a " mortgage tax " in the form of higher
g-fees, and use the money to help cover a payroll tax waiver e...
Wed, Feb 22 2012, 10:20 AM
Under the
title, "Too much time on one's hands", anyone involved in the
residential construction/remodeling business might find this, uh, interesti...
Tue, Feb 21 2012, 10:38 AM
Welcome to
Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, a rowdy day of hedonism where shipping departments
across the nation have great parties and throw bead neckla...
Mon, Feb 20 2012, 7:35 PM
Out in
Northern California the weather is generally good, and Triserv Appraisal Management Solutions is searching for a Regional
Sales Executive f...
Fri, Feb 17 2012, 10:57 AM
Yes, Wells
Fargo's CEO's was on CNBC this morning talking about the mortgage markets. Investor
news is rarely "headline grabbing," but also this mor...
Thu, Feb 16 2012, 10:03 AM
Citizens
of the U.S. have well-documented accents, but do you ever wonder what
linguistics majors do when they graduate?
At certain
phases ...
Wed, Feb 15 2012, 9:52 AM
Two Brits
were playing chess. Liam said to John, "Hey, do you want to make this more
interesting?" John said, "Sure." So they stopped playing.
On...
Tue, Feb 14 2012, 11:17 AM
This
morning we had the Retail Sales figures. Shopping in Texas can be a different
experience (30 seconds).
Small
lenders can be assured that ...
Mon, Feb 13 2012, 9:47 AM
Sometimes,
at 4AM PST, my cat disdainfully watches CNBC while I work on the finishing
touches in the daily commentary. Cats spend an inordinate amou...
Sat, Feb 11 2012, 2:34 PM
On the
heels of the State of the Union address, the
MBA has issued its annual State of the Mortgage Industry release, and the
assessment is g...
Fri, Feb 10 2012, 9:31 AM
"Fat,
drunk & stupid is no way to go through life son." One probably doesn't
hear that admonishment much in the halls of the Financial Crimes Enforc...
Thu, Feb 9 2012, 9:51 AM
Top Realtors
and loan officers know that words make a
difference in dealing with buyers and borrowers. It may seem obvious, but
word choice, be i...
Wed, Feb 8 2012, 11:59 AM
What,
exactly, qualifies a person as "rich"? It depends who you are - here in
the States the wealth of the top 1% is about 225 times greater than t...
Tue, Feb 7 2012, 11:00 AM
This is
Black (African-American) History Month. The event began as Black History Week
in 1926. For many years, the second week of February was set a...
Mon, Feb 6 2012, 10:14 AM
Some will
call this a useful tool and a time saver - others will say it is another sign
of our privacy going away and "Big Brother" seeing everythin...
Fri, Feb 3 2012, 10:34 AM
The e-mail
wires here in Miami have been burning up with...e-mails.
PHH clients received a note from Norm
Fitzgerald ,
explaining the recent re...
Thu, Feb 2 2012, 9:18 AM
Yesterday,
as I was standing in line at Franklin's BBQ in Austin, Texas, my head began to
spin. Not because of the great smell, or from wondering wh...
Wed, Feb 1 2012, 10:20 AM
Here we
are in February already, which has Valentine's Day. Some guys out there look
forward to that day with about as much anticipation as hugging ...
Tue, Jan 31 2012, 9:52 AM
Do you
think it takes a long time to have a loan purchased by Wells or MetLife? Try
running the world's longest lab
experiment , begun in the 19...
Mon, Jan 30 2012, 10:09 AM
Sorry, did
I hit the incorrect letter? The Administration announced important enhancements
to the Making Home Affordable Program, including the Hom...
Mon, Jan 30 2012, 1:03 PM
Investors
have been busy in recent weeks, and with no college or pro football, no NASCAR,
no baseball, why not read about recent guideline changes? ...
Fri, Jan 27 2012, 9:44 AM
"The trouble with quotes on the
internet is that it's difficult to determine whether or not they are
genuine." So said Abraham Lincoln. But here is...
Thu, Jan 26 2012, 10:45 AM
I was
speaking to my 88-year old dad the other day on the way to Costco for a hot dog
lunch. (No, this is not elder-abuse - he actually likes them.)...
Wed, Jan 25 2012, 10:26 AM
In last
night's speech President Obama asked for creation of special unit of federal
prosecutors to further investigate mortgage lending practices t...
Tue, Jan 24 2012, 10:02 AM
As red-blooded American males prepare for the advertising onslaught
of Valentine's Day (2/14), we are reminded that the media is indeed
powerful -...
Mon, Jan 23 2012, 9:44 AM
Hey, if
you can't beat 'em, join 'em . I bet many
wouldn't mind making nearly a quarter million a year being a "cutting edge"
CFPB regulator - li...
Fri, Jan 20 2012, 9:51 AM
The world
has been watching the ship incident in the Mediterranean, and the fact that the
captain was seen on an island during the event. His quote,...
Thu, Jan 19 2012, 11:11 AM
Basketball
fans know that all-stars Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, Dominique Wilkins,
Elgin Baylor, Reggie Miller, Pete Maravich, Karl Malone, and ...
Wed, Jan 18 2012, 10:29 AM
The
Federal Reserve does other things besides keep overnight Fed Funds at 0% for
years at a stretch. It releases some interesting stats on mortgages...
Tue, Jan 17 2012, 9:48 AM
The
Federal Budget and National Debt numbers are so large that it's often difficult
to get a grasp of just exactly how much money is being discussed...
Mon, Jan 16 2012, 10:55 AM
Remember
in the old days when all you had to worry about was trying to decipher lyrics
from folks like Mick Jagger and Van Morrison? Instead we are ...
Fri, Jan 13 2012, 11:17 AM
There are
folks out there that believe doing Sudoku puzzles will stave off senility and Alzheimer's.
I don't do the puzzles, and don't believe the c...
Thu, Jan 12 2012, 10:36 AM
Did you
know that dolphins are so smart that within 2 weeks of being in captivity they
can train a human to stand on the edge of a pool and give the...
Wed, Jan 11 2012, 10:54 AM
Some would
say it is grim out there, and no, I am not talking about Hostess Brands, the manufacturer
of Twinkies, Ho Hos, and Ding Dongs cake snacks...
Tue, Jan 10 2012, 10:10 AM
Last
weekend I took my daughter, who is taking some fancy economics class in high
school, with me to the used record store. I had eighty three 45 RP...
Mon, Jan 9 2012, 9:41 AM
The IRS
said that taxpayers will have until April 17 to file their 2011 returns, thanks
to two quirks of the calendar this year: April 15 falls on a...
Fri, Jan 6 2012, 9:48 AM
"I would
be moody too if I was standard and poor." I don't know how old that pun is, but
many in the industry continue to wait for the rating agenci...
Thu, Jan 5 2012, 11:44 AM
There sure
is a lot going on for a holiday-shortened week. First off, the Fed sent Congress a little missive on how to fix the housing and
mortgage...
Wed, Jan 4 2012, 10:17 AM
Any ship
can be a minesweeper - once. But not "once in a while." This note
reached me: "Rob, every once in a while you'll mention 'AOT' like everyon...
