Mon, Sep 24 2012, 11:31 AM
Welcome to the first business day since the autumn equinox. This is the
day when the tilt of the earth's rotational axis is perfectly perpendicular t...
Fri, Sep 21 2012, 11:00 AM
"Rob, I'm a new LO in Connecticut. What's the scoop on this news
about loans in my state being more expensive than others for home loans?"
Under the...
Thu, Sep 20 2012, 10:22 AM
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Here's a loan officer in
Washington facing 10-14 years for falsifying documents .
Will those in the ...
Wed, Sep 19 2012, 11:27 AM
"Rob , how the heck are we supposed to know what any financial asset is
worth? For many years the government has given farm subsidies, sugar cane
s...
Tue, Sep 18 2012, 11:22 AM
And now for something completely non-mortgage related...For you astronomy
& space explorations fans out there in Northern California, if you're
arou...
Mon, Sep 17 2012, 11:57 AM
We, including my old college roommate "Slugbreath," find
ourselves in "Unmarried and Single
Americans Week." The Buckeye Singles Council "National...
Wed, Sep 12 2012, 10:21 AM
The U.S. Government now has a $16 trillion deficit. On the other hand, it
made about $12 billion on the AIG stock sale - congrats. To put those numbe...
Tue, Sep 11 2012, 11:01 AM
Is it easier to finance 500 non-owner loans than it is 5? It is kind of
looking that way .
But speaking of lots of loans, and lost in the chatter...
Mon, Sep 10 2012, 10:03 AM
One of Coke's slogans several years ago was, "Always
Coca-Cola." Unfortunately for SunTrust, who invested in the company almost
a hundred years ago,...
Fri, Sep 7 2012, 11:42 AM
In 1970, Marian McQuade began a campaign to establish a day to honor
grandparents which finally paid off in 1978 when President Jimmy Carter signed
...
Thu, Sep 6 2012, 11:49 AM
I'll be standing in line Saturday in Austin, TX to enter the UT
football game. For something non-mortgage related, but interesting from a human
natu...
Wed, Sep 5 2012, 10:40 AM
Yes, most kids are back to school. How many is that? The Census Bureau
reports that there are about 80 million
children and adults enrolled in scho...
Tue, Sep 4 2012, 11:08 AM
Yes, it's Tuesday already - and football season. Wasn't it just Memorial
Day? Here's a quick one told to me by a college football referee in Ohio:
"...
Thu, Aug 30 2012, 10:18 AM
I can't walk by a magazine stand in a grocery store or an airport without
seeing a bunch of folks on the covers who are either in better shape than I...
Tue, Aug 28 2012, 11:03 AM
There's an old saying that there are no Republican folks songs. But now,
at least, there are Yiddish curses for Republican Jews: link
Continuin...
Mon, Aug 27 2012, 11:10 AM
Well, this is the week that many Secondary Marketing folks have been
dreading. It is the last week of the
month after a sell-off, and there are ple...
Fri, Aug 24 2012, 11:53 AM
As I've gotten older I've developed the unusual ability to stare at
something and not see it. I am particularly good at doing this with car keys on
...
Thu, Aug 23 2012, 11:34 AM
I was in Kansas yesterday, and saw a sign, "Ladies, if a man says he is going to fix something, he will.
There is no need to remind him every six mo...
Wed, Aug 22 2012, 2:24 PM
This is a frightening statistic, probably one of the most worrisome in
recent years: 25% of mortgage bankers and Realtors in the country are on
medi...
Tue, Aug 21 2012, 11:01 AM
Per the Mayans, we have four more months to live. But just in case the
sun comes up on December 22nd, it's good to have some retirement money stashed...
Mon, Aug 20 2012, 11:25 AM
If you have some spare change sitting around, a $1.7 billion portfolio of
non-performing, federally insured home loans will be offered for sale at
a...
Fri, Aug 17 2012, 11:53 AM
Yes, the mortgage volume pie is shrinking , but rest assured that the
pieces are growing larger for the remaining originators.
Psssst! Want a coo...
Thu, Aug 16 2012, 10:55 AM
Who doesn't like to have a little exercise when they travel? But this
might make some nervous .
This morning we had the weekly Initial Jobless ...
Wed, Aug 15 2012, 10:56 AM
Yesterday afternoon, per the Census Bureau, the U.S. population reached a
milestone that is very meaningful to mathematicians: 314,159,265 residents,...
Mon, Aug 13 2012, 10:25 AM
I love it when regulators and politicians become upset about the
environment which they've helped create - unintended consequences. One
suggestion l...
Fri, Aug 10 2012, 10:46 AM
"Wanna tell you a story, about the house-man blues.
I come home one Friday, had to tell the landlady I'd-a lost my job.
She said that don't confro...
Thu, Aug 9 2012, 10:45 AM
Greetings from Washington State, and...Oops! Did I have the wrong
headline in the subject line? (Those files are really thick, you know.) Incorrect...
Wed, Aug 8 2012, 11:00 AM
Who says that privacy is alive and well? No one. Check this out .
"Rob, folks wonder about Realtors charging 5-6% commissions,
regardless of tran...
Tue, Aug 7 2012, 12:16 PM
It is hard for the lending industry to talk about the mounting costs of
paperwork, regulation, and compliance when the public actually sees that
cl...
Mon, Aug 6 2012, 9:43 AM
Fortunately, on this 67th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb
attack on Hiroshima, there is little going on with rates (the 10-yr is
basica...
Sun, Aug 5 2012, 8:54 PM
The mortgage and real estate industry doesn't always solely bear the brunt of
Congress's actions, or lack of actions. When Congress left for a five w...
Fri, Aug 3 2012, 12:17 PM
What say we end the week with something light, but near and dear to my
heart: stuff . Whether it is my grandfather's army uniform from the
Spanish ...
Thu, Aug 2 2012, 10:31 AM
That commercial sector is rockin' and rollin', up 25% for the 2nd quarter
from a year ago. Granted, most of that was due to increases in originations...
Wed, Aug 1 2012, 1:53 PM
"Big money goes around the world,
Big money underground.
Big money got a mighty voice,
Big money make no sound."
The world is watching Ol...
Tue, Jul 31 2012, 10:24 AM
In mortgage banking, just like gymnastics, you have to get up after you
fall down .
Totaling through May, California (133,000), Florida (92,000...
Mon, Jul 30 2012, 10:17 AM
"Rob, with the Wells news earlier this month, and FAMC's comp change
last week, I am hearing rumors of all kinds of price and investor changes .
On...
Mon, Jul 30 2012, 10:01 AM
Earlier this week I was in Ontario, visiting the headquarters of a
well-run mortgage shop, so this note was very relevant: "Rob, what are you
hearin...
Fri, Jul 27 2012, 11:01 AM
"Rob, do you have any idea how long an originator, broker, whoever,
has to keep a copy of the loan file? That is probably a question that has
many...
Thu, Jul 26 2012, 10:19 AM
To no surprise to the industry, Wells Fargo remained the largest
U.S. mortgage originator in the second quarter although its market share
dropped ...
Wed, Jul 25 2012, 10:09 AM
"Rob, I've read that wholesale lending accounted for only 5% of
Wells Fargo's volumes. Only 5%? What are you hearing about its remaining
business an...
Tue, Jul 24 2012, 9:49 AM
"Rob,
when do you think that the CFPB will go after us Realtors?" I am not
convinced that it will, although there are plenty of arguments why it mi...
Mon, Jul 23 2012, 10:19 AM
"Rob, do you think that there is any chance that investors will
start lowering their minimum net worth requirements?" In my opinion, no .
In this e...
Sat, Jul 21 2012, 10:07 AM
Happy 1 st birthday to the CFPB - it opened for business on
July 21, 2011.
Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, the CFPB issued the first
enfor...
Fri, Jul 20 2012, 11:41 AM
On Thursday, Fannie 3.5% securities (composed of 3.75-4.125% 30-yr
mortgages) traded at a 6 (yes, six) point premium . Put another way, 106.
Fannie...
Thu, Jul 19 2012, 9:56 AM
Yesterday we all learned what lock desks and pricing engines already
knew: mortgage applications in the U.S. jumped last week by the most in a month....
Wed, Jul 18 2012, 9:56 AM
With the withdrawal of Wells Fargo from the wholesale channel,
correspondent reps from the aggregators are receiving renewed interest from
mortgage...
Tue, Jul 17 2012, 10:50 AM
Someone just sent me 90 seconds of amazing footage of a CFPB auditor
graduating from the program .
(I especially like the nonchalance of the other ...
Mon, Jul 16 2012, 11:23 AM
I was very excited when my son came home the other day and said,
"I've decided what I want to do when I get out of school - I am going to be
a buil...
Mon, Jul 16 2012, 11:17 AM
em·i·nent
do·main : Noun - "The right of a government or its agent to expropriate private
property for public use, with payment of compensation."
...
Fri, Jul 13 2012, 9:32 AM
I was going to start today's commentary (from San Diego) with a reminder
to, "Be careful what you wish for," or a reminder that no one, at the
start...