http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/topic/rob-chrisman Pipeline Press - Rob Chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06182026 Thu, 18 Jun 2026 15:35:48 GMT 6a33e5b6cc25bd518336926d Rob Chrisman Lots of people who bought cars during the pandemic are deeply underwater on those vehicles, meaning the amount they owe is considerably higher than the actual value of the vehicle. Among car buyers who traded in a car to buy a new one, 30 percent had negative equity on their trade-in, owing an average of $7,200. One thing that may have caused the surge is the emergence of the 84-month (seven year) car loan; 42.6 percent of underwater buyers had an 84-month loan, about double the level of a decade ago. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Truework, the one verification solution to replace in-house waterfalls. Verify any borrower with a VOIE solution that automates the entire process to quickly deliver the most accurate and complete reports with broad GSE coverage. Hear interview with National Consumer Reporting Association’s Eric Ellman on the nomination of Brian Johnson to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, based on his extensive experience in financial services regulation and his understanding of how to balance consumer protection with access to credit, mortgages, and housing.) Broker and Lender Products, Software, and Services Borrower outreach isn't broken. The experience is. Most servicers have no shortage of communication channels. The challenge is creating a connected experience that helps borrowers understand their options and the next steps. Clarifire’s latest blog explores where communication breaks down during default servicing, why early delinquency engagement matters, and how workflow automation can reduce confusion, improve responsiveness, and drive better outcomes for both borrowers and servicing teams. Discover how connected workflows, intelligent intake, and self-service tools can improve borrower engagement and servicing outcomes. Read "Closing the Borrower Communication Gap" at eClarifire.com, where Brighter Automation® creates better outcomes. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06172026 Wed, 17 Jun 2026 15:44:51 GMT 6a328907421e7aeef4ef19b2 Rob Chrisman Here in Honolulu, as it is in places like Florida and New York, the condo market and HOA fees are of paramount importance, as are the affordability impact of special assessments. Even though the inventory of houses for sale has steadily increased in many areas, some people want more. One idea being bantered about is changing, or eliminating, the capital gains tax on the sale of primary residences. Money talks, and as this veteran LO points out, a housing crash won’t fix affordability. A crackdown on H-1B visas is causing Indian buyers to leave the Dallas housing market, meaning skilled professionals who transformed the region now face exile. That story and the following ones offer a look into the challenges facing homeowners and renters around the world, from San Francisco to the United Kingdom. The impact of demographics on lenders will be one the topics on today’s Mortgage Matters at 11AM PT with Sue Meitner, CMB, the President of Centennial Lending Group (a division of SMP) and sponsored by Lenders One. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Truework, the one verification solution to replace in-house waterfalls. Verify any borrower with a VOIE solution that automates the entire process to quickly deliver the most accurate and complete reports with broad GSE coverage. Hear an interview with Addy AI’s Michael Vandi on importance of AI in improving efficiency and competitiveness, especially as a productivity tool for originators.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06162026 Tue, 16 Jun 2026 14:55:52 GMT 6a3143a0e325c6b7cfbf3e13 Rob Chrisman Sure, we have a Fed meeting, but the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates. Will they all head off on vacation after this week? Perhaps. Given the increase in the “out of office” replies I am seeing, and children in airports, summer vacation is in full swing. (Apparently families will change their spending habits to accommodate the run up in fuel costs; my local gas station won’t let me go above $100 per visit on my credit card.) In an extreme example to time management, the U.S. Congress has only 16 legislative days left on its agenda until the election; the rest of the time is vacation and campaigning to keep their jobs. In other words, don’t look for much from Congress until January. Certainly, no politician wants to cut spending despite the deficit continuing to escalate. What would you tell your kids if their incomes weren’t doing much but they were ramping up their spending? (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Truework, the one verification solution to replace in-house waterfalls. Verify any borrower with a VOIE solution that automates the entire process to quickly deliver the most accurate and complete reports with broad GSE coverage. Interview with TrustEngine’s Dave Savage on why the mortgage professionals who will thrive are those who obsess over delivering a modern, technology-enabled consumer experience, embrace AI to scale advice and efficiency, and focus on educating and advocating.) Broker and Lender Products, Software, and Services Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06152026 Mon, 15 Jun 2026 15:26:18 GMT 6a2ff1583b3c697b5b933f5c Rob Chrisman This morning, I head to Honolulu for the MBA Hawai’i annual conference. The “Pineapple State” is known for banks and credit unions dominating residential lending. Robber Willie Sutton is famously quoted as saying, "I rob banks because that's where the money is." Large, unexpected moves in money make the headlines, and Saturday’s Commentary highlighted the collapse of a condominium property management company. Another headline is making the rounds where $17 million in escrow funds disappeared overnight: a Palm Beach law firm sued a bank over a cyber-attack. Ginnie Mae has gained a recent reputation for ratcheting up its cyber security. While companies are focused on security, MLOs have their eye on trends and demographics, and National MI’s Spring 2026 Economic Market Snapshot has its 2026 rate outlook coming in at 6 percent and higher on average, is seeing nearly half of buyers ages 45–59 put less than 20 percent down (leveraging cash or betting on market appreciation?) and first-time buyer activity that rose during February’s rate dip. Yup, don’t bet your career on 30-year mortgage rates in the 5’s. See the full Economic Market Snapshot. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Truework, the one verification solution to replace in-house waterfalls. Verify any borrower with a VOIE solution that automates the entire process to quickly deliver the most accurate and complete reports with broad GSE coverage. After a period largely out of the public spotlight, Ally Carty returns to the industry conversation to discuss her transition from Guild Mortgage to SoFi and what she learned from stepping back. She reflects on burnout, the pressures of building a personal brand, and why authenticity - not algorithms - remains the foundation of effective content and leadership.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06122026 Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:48:16 GMT 6a2bfd8bad321c89d2a07771 Rob Chrisman Every time I use my credit card at the supermarket it can impact my credit score which were invented in 1958. What might be the credit score of the United States with its $1.78 trillion deficit in 2025? Gas stations and supermarkets are two daily places where we see inflation. Trader Joes, with its 630+ locations, is known for many things, not the least of which is its flowers and their prices. “Shrinkflation” has hit the chain, and anyone who has purchased flowers lately know that the bunches have gone down from, say, 12 flowers to 8. Either raise prices or make portions smaller… Yes, inflation is a problem, and lenders should know that, although the Fed doesn’t set mortgages rates, few, if any, experts predict that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates this year. That would add fuel to the inflationary pressures being created by both another foreign war and a deep-in-the-red federal budget that seemingly no one is concerned about balancing. I remember when the Republicans stood for fiscal restraint, but does anyone in politics care about the flood of newly created U.S. Treasury debt or reducing spending? (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX. From application to underwriting to post-close, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Hear an interview with The Disciplined Investor’s Andrew Horowitz on how investors assess what assets to invest in, and a portfolio manager’s perspective on the current economic environment, and risk diversification as it pertains to MBS.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06112026 Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:51:01 GMT 6a2aace7045c61355598b986 Rob Chrisman Broker and Lender Products, Software, and Services On the PGA Tour, the player who enters Sunday’s final round in first place only goes on to win about one-third of the time. Getting close and finishing the job are two different things. Optimal Blue's May Market Advantage report found a similar dynamic in mortgage pipelines: Purchase loans accounted for more than 81 percent of total lock volume, while refinance share fell to its lowest level since June 2025. But the more notable shift came after borrowers locked. Purchase pull-through fell 539 bps month over month, while refinance pull-through dropped 1,332 bps. On the secondary side, cash executions gained share at the expense of agency MBS executions in May. See the full scorecard here. Equity Prime Mortgage (EPM) doubled their underwriting output without adding headcount. The key was rethinking where skilled underwriters actually spend their time. By embedding the ICE Mortgage Analyzers into their Encompass® workflow, EPM automated routine data validation and cut turn times from five to six days down to 24 hours. For lenders looking to scale, their story is a practical example of what the right tools, implemented with intention, can make possible. Read the customer story to see how they did it. “Purchase volume is tight, and rates are not giving you much room to work with. So where are you finding your next deals? There is $34.5 trillion in home equity across the country, and $14.5 trillion of it sits with seniors. This is also the group driving a large share of today’s mortgage activity. But here is the challenge: many of these borrowers are boxed in by DTI ratios on traditional products. However, with a reverse mortgage, scenarios that would normally be dead ends could still be viable. Getting started comes down to recognizing these opportunities and knowing how to respond when they show up. Fill out the form, and we will reach out to walk you through it step by step. Finance of America | NMLS 2285” Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06102026 Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:51:58 GMT 6a295a0834014ba8d1ace41c Rob Chrisman “Rob, everyone knows that the GSEs (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) don’t use credit scores for loan approval. They use it for pricing. The GSEs have created their own scoring system and it’s just the investors that utilize the score.” True dat. It takes a while to test the impact of credit scores on defaults, delinquencies, pricing, and prepayment speeds, and staff in our biz interested in any Agency pilot programs about credit are encouraged to reach out to their F or F representatives. People seem to like lists and rankings. ATTOM released its ResiScore, an AI-powered neighborhood intelligence offering that ranks residential areas based on projected housing market performance. If you have a client in the market to buy a home, you certainly welcome lower prices and lower rates (although if they’re also selling a home, you want to get the best possible price on that). But higher prices impact affordability much more than rates. Realtor.com estimates that one of two things would need to happen for monthly mortgage payments to fall back to 2019 levels: Household incomes would need to rise 56 percent, or mortgage rates would need to fall to 2.65 percent. In other words, it’s not happening anytime soon. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to underwriting, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Hear an interview with Automax.ai’s Humza Ahmed on how residential property appraisal technology is evolving, the way it's built for UAD 3.6, and what is dramatically reducing turnaround time.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06092026 Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:48:38 GMT 6a28058d565fdd7433125e6f Rob Chrisman “Rob, have you heard that retail and DTC lenders have stepped up their training and monitoring of loan officers?” Absolutely. The same granular examination that is applied to borrowers is being applied to LOs, and not only with credit checks and background searches. Originators are expensive, as are leads, and the analysis of LO performance is critical. How do you train LOs, and how are they overcoming objections? I recently attended an Insellerate event where Aithena was demonstrated: a real-time AI voice “call with a borrower” for training. It was impressive! (No, this is not a paid ad.) We’ll see more of that going forward, leading to the “Will AI systems be licensed in NMLS?” (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to underwriting, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Hear an Interview with Google’s Sarah Armstrong on how AI search can make the home buying process feel less daunting and time-consuming by calculating finances, summarizing lengthy documents, or visualizing renovations.) Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services Quick question: When was the last time you referred business to your realtor partners? That’s part of what’s making the new lender lead program from Inside Real Estate generate industry buzz right now. The company that acquired BoomTown (now operating as BoldTrail) has quietly rolled out an exclusive lead product built for lenders focused on retail growth and agent relationships. Borrowers come into the experience actively searching for both financing guidance and a real estate agent connection, giving lenders the opportunity to engage early and collaborate with agent partners. Some lenders are reportedly seeing qualified applications and active borrower engagement within the first week. But exclusivity matters here: markets are limited, and several states are already nearing capacity. Might be worth seeing if your territory is still available: Schedule a strategy call or Email/text Mike Ensch at 562-644-2373. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06082026 Mon, 08 Jun 2026 15:29:31 GMT 6a26b6822825bbcf640f3c53 Rob Chrisman Remember when talk of a “re-IPO” of Freddie and Fannie dominated residential lending news? That has certainly quieted, Pulte’s attentions are diverted, and you can certainly buy stock in them now: share prices for both are down about 30 percent this year so maybe they’re a bargain. For those new to the biz, the FHFA oversees F&F, and the FHFA’s Director is Bill Pulte who is not without his critics and videos why. Meanwhile, in more constructive videos and interviews, housing affordability dominates the conversation, but Pennymac CEO David Spector argues the real solutions extend far beyond mortgage rates. In a candid interview with Robbie Chrisman, Spector shares his views on housing supply, homeowner lock-in, regulatory reform, and how technology could fundamentally reshape the mortgage experience. Hear from a couple veteran LOs about how the lowest rate isn't always the best mortgage advice and how the best mortgage solution isn't always the obvious one. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to underwriting, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Hear an interview with Littler’s Colton Long on how employers are increasingly responding to employee departures with legal action over alleged non-solicitation, confidentiality, and trade secret violations.) Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-06052026 Fri, 05 Jun 2026 14:53:57 GMT 6a22c3229619d8f06b522546 Rob Chrisman Today we’re going to learn about the facts of life. Trivia-loving basketball facts’ fans know that this is the first time the NY Knicks have led in the finals since the night of OJ’s White Bronco car chase. Homeowner’s insurance has become the “you can’t avoid it and you can’t afford it” fact of life for some homeowners in some areas. Rate is selling yoga pants. The increase in credit union’s mortgage activities is a fact and unmistakable, and you can bet CUs will continue to press their “resi” lending advantages. Lastly, and it’s a fact that people in our biz enjoy following money around, every time someone in Europe taps a card at a cafe in Lyon or a pharmacy in Munich, the transaction data leaves the continent. The data flows through servers in the United States, is processed by Visa or Mastercard, and then goes back to Europe. The money moves but the data stays somewhere in America. We’re talking about $24 trillion in annual transaction volume through those two networks. Card payments represent 56 percent of all cashless transactions in the EU. Virtually none of it runs on European infrastructure! (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian and the Experian Verify Hub. The platform brings manual submissions in-house and consolidates post-submission activities into a single environment, aiming to provide more streamlined access, faster insights, and a more cohesive user experience. Today’s has an interview with MeridianLink's Larry Katz on how to simplify the complexity behind lending while empowering financial institutions to focus on what matters most: the people and communities they serve.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman