Fri, Feb 10 2023, 9:17 AM
As I type this piece on Friday morning, I am at the O’Hare aerodrome for a flight from Chicago to San Francisco. O’Hare is packed and humming… What ec...
Thu, Feb 9 2023, 9:43 AM
As noted in yesterday’s commentary, mergers and acquisitions of lenders are in the news across the nation. For curious lenders, it is good to have a g...
Wed, Feb 8 2023, 9:56 AM
“Where can you always find money? In the dictionary.” Plenty of lenders and finding the money to buy other companies while smaller ones are looking fo...
Tue, Feb 7 2023, 9:44 AM
“Ain’t I rough enough? Ain’t I tough enough?” Ain't I rich enough? In love enough?” So Mick Jagger sang. This can apply to many parts of life, but in ...
Mon, Feb 6 2023, 9:50 AM
I travel a fair amount via commercial airplane. (Greetings today from Ft. Lauderdale; this afternoon it’ll be Chicago.) But forget traveling in heavie...
Fri, Feb 3 2023, 9:31 AM
Fun with numbers! 1: the number of Chinese surveillance balloons over Montana. (That we know of.) Did you know that the last day of 2023 is 123123? (Y...
Thu, Feb 2 2023, 9:54 AM
Happy Groundhog Day, where the rodent saw its shadow this morning, so plan on six more weeks of winter. There’s an old Yiddish proverb “We plan, God l...
Wed, Feb 1 2023, 9:48 AM
I’ve never seen my cat Myrtle fly commercial. That aside, time “flies” by, Tom Brady retired again, and here’s a trivia question for your friends and ...
Tue, Jan 31 2023, 9:14 AM
Does technology always trump personal skills? Sometimes. But not all the time. Good LOs use the technology that best suits them in combination with th...
Mon, Jan 30 2023, 10:07 AM
Want to really let someone know that you’re no longer interested in them? For $10 the San Antonio Zoo is offering a special Valentine’s Day greeting f...
Fri, Jan 27 2023, 10:01 AM
Every lender or investor with an “a” in their name seems to be subject to rumors and news in recent months. (More on Flagstar and American Pacific bel...
Thu, Jan 26 2023, 9:26 AM
The most dangerous statement in the English language is, “But we’ve always done it this way.” Referral business has always been a mainstay in our biz,...
Wed, Jan 25 2023, 9:00 AM
There are a lot of topics being covered here at the MBA’s IMB conference. One of them is hedging, and if you want a primer on how lenders are protecti...
Tue, Jan 24 2023, 9:54 AM
Conference attendance in 2023 may be down, given layoffs and budget cuts, but here’s a handy dandy list of events this year and state organizations. (...
Mon, Jan 23 2023, 9:53 AM
Do you know what “splooting” is? Here’s a hint: 4-legged animals do it. (Hey, I don’t make these things up.) Quite the word. Words are very interestin...
Fri, Jan 20 2023, 10:17 AM
What would this opening paragraph be without some fun, non-mortgage stuff? Watch a rare livestream of bald eagles nesting on eggs in California. 32 tr...
Thu, Jan 19 2023, 9:37 AM
“Wet” January is going well for me. Wait… did I get that wrong? If food news is more to your liking, Krispy Kreme has rolled out donuts covered in Bis...
Wed, Jan 18 2023, 4:16 PM
A friend out in California asked me how much, on average, I spend on a bottle of wine. I replied, “About half an hour.” Plenty of wine is being consum...
Wed, Jan 18 2023, 9:49 AM
A friend out in California asked me how much, on average, I spend on a bottle of wine. I replied, “About half an hour.” Plenty of wine is being consum...
Tue, Jan 17 2023, 9:19 AM
Carol K. writes, “Back in my day there was so much cheap toilet paper and eggs that we would throw them at the houses of our enemies.” And then there’...
Fri, Jan 13 2023, 9:15 AM
“When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.” In late 2022 vendors and lenders had a taste of the first part of 2023, and it isn’t ...
Thu, Jan 12 2023, 9:09 AM
“Thirty years ago, we had Bob Hope, Johnny Cash, and Steve Jobs. Today we have no hope, no cash, and no jobs. We are all praying nothing happens to Ke...
Wed, Jan 11 2023, 9:52 AM
Ever been to Noma in Denmark? Me neither, although I did some solo bicycling there, which is so much more reliable than flying domestically this morni...
Tue, Jan 10 2023, 10:37 AM
“Someone asked me to name two structures that hold water. I was like, well, damn.” As the storms continue to hit us in Northern California and Nevada,...
Mon, Jan 9 2023, 10:30 AM
Attorneys across the nation have taken note that the Federal Trade Commission has proposed a rule that would bar companies from requiring employees to...
Fri, Jan 6 2023, 10:07 AM
This is about the time you stop saying “Happy New Year” to people because you’ve forgotten who you’ve said it to and who you haven’t. Lenders and vend...
Thu, Jan 5 2023, 9:11 AM
While California girds its loins for an “atmospheric river and bomb cyclone”, readers should know that I sometimes ask myself, “Why can I remember the...
Wed, Jan 4 2023, 9:21 AM
Don C. shot me a note saying, “My New Year's Resolution is to stop being so condescending! (Rob, condescending means talking down to people.)” Thank y...
Tue, Jan 3 2023, 9:18 AM
I am very happy that my life is perfect. Isn’t yours? When I order scrambled eggs at the diner, the waitress says, “Perfect.” When I pay with a credit...
Fri, Dec 30 2022, 10:15 AM
My cat Myrtle (she/her/hers) doesn’t have a lot of financial savvy, and to the best of my knowledge has no 401(k). In another reminder not to put all ...
Thu, Dec 29 2022, 10:29 AM
What does someone look like when they started working in our business at age 15? Well, there’s always this interview last week with Robbie Chrisman (y...
Wed, Dec 28 2022, 8:23 AM
Have you ever heard the term “scuddle”? It’s an English term from the 1500’s meaning “to wash dishes,” something many of us did plenty of over Christm...
Tue, Dec 27 2022, 10:12 AM
Tired of playing Rummikub with the fam? (Why are those red 11’s always in short supply?) Let’s divert your attention and ease back into residential mo...
Fri, Dec 23 2022, 9:24 AM
Why are you even at work today? Just so you can read, “It’s not a recession unless it’s from the Recession Region of France, otherwise it’s just Spark...
Thu, Dec 22 2022, 9:58 AM
When I see lover’s names carved into the wood on a tree, I don’t think it’s sweet. I just think how surprising it is how many people bring a knife on ...
Wed, Dec 21 2022, 11:05 AM
As Wells Fargo was smacked upside the head with a $3.7 billion fine by the CFPB, sports news included Mat Ishbia and the Phoenix Suns, and the Senate ...
Tue, Dec 20 2022, 9:29 AM
Takeover and M&A rumors continue to swirl, and smarter companies are merely hiring production staff away from lenders rather than pay the baggage that...
Mon, Dec 19 2022, 10:37 AM
Happy Hanukkah (or Chanukah), which began yesterday. Others are looking ahead to Christmas, with some companies closed Friday the 23rd and some closed...
Fri, Dec 16 2022, 10:09 AM
This morning I Head East to Chicago for a handful of days. If you’ve wondered what a pilot sees when landing at O’Hare, here’s a mesmerizing video. (W...
Thu, Dec 15 2022, 9:36 AM
Anyone who has ever gone swimming in the ocean knows that, in a violent surf, the swimmer can’t spend time and energy in the waves near the shore bein...
Wed, Dec 14 2022, 10:13 AM
Here in Southern California for the California MBA’s Legal Issues and Regulatory Compliance Conference, the topics include RESPA, marketing services a...
Tue, Dec 13 2022, 8:58 AM
The Buffalo Springfield sang, “There's something happening here… But what it is ain't exactly clear.” Those were historical times, and a reminder that...
Mon, Dec 12 2022, 10:00 AM
My cat Myrtle has toys and games, namely the end of a shoelace, a ping pong ball, and an occasional bout with the light from a laser pointer. Humans h...
Fri, Dec 9 2022, 10:09 AM
Stage presence during the holidays? Here’s an example . Christmas, and 2023, is roaring our way… What are you telling your bosses? If you’re working ...
Thu, Dec 8 2022, 9:36 AM
Yesterday I spent some time in Northern California with two groups, one of which was CAMP, and while morale is good and everyone is in the holiday spi...
Wed, Dec 7 2022, 9:05 AM
Let’s have a non-mortgage opening paragraph. Today is “Remember Pearl Harbor Day.” (If you like history, you gotta click on that link and see what is ...
Mon, Dec 5 2022, 9:21 AM
“Hey Chet, since you’re the new guy here with the park U.S. Geological Survey in Hawai’i, you’re going to be the one placing the live cam on the volca...
Fri, Dec 2 2022, 10:13 AM
Robert K. writes, “My Mom always said, ‘Work until your bank account looks like a phone number. Well, I did it! ‘Available balance: $911.’” Speaking o...
Thu, Dec 1 2022, 10:24 AM
Our industry continues to be battered. Starwood Capital-backed Reverse Mortgage Funding and its parent company Reverse Mortgage Investment Trust have ...
Wed, Nov 30 2022, 10:13 AM
In the secondary markets, lenders are trying to wring out every penny from loan sales. For example, in today’s podcast (available here) is an intervie...
