http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/topic/rob-chrisman Pipeline Press - Rob Chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05292026 Fri, 29 May 2026 16:07:14 GMT 6a1987b25402e87793dc31b9 Rob Chrisman U.S. home foreclosures are accelerating: filings rose 26 percent year-over-year in Q1 2026, to roughly 119k, the highest in six years. It’s expensive to own a home! The last time they hit this level (early 2020), government relief programs and pandemic stimulus caused them to decline. As everyone in our biz knows, the increase has been driven by soaring home insurance bills, property taxes, and homeowner association fees rather than mortgage defaults alone. Meanwhile, anyone who thinks that there is a general shortage of homes should re-think that or refine their opinion. Elliot F. Eisenberg, Ph.D., penned, “Existing housing inventory is rising and while still below pre-Covid levels, April’s reading is the best since 2020. However, sales activity is flat as a hockey puck. That combination is pushing up months-of-inventory, putting downward pressure on home prices. To wit, the latest Case-Shiller data, for the month of March, shows home prices falling 0.22 percent month-over-month and rising 0.7 percent year-over-year, less than inflation. Real home prices are declining.” (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by NFTYDoor, the white-label HELOC platform for banks, credit unions, and brokers. Close in zero days with warehouse funding. Power your home equity lending with NFTYDoor. Today’s features an interview with Pineapple's Shubha Dasgupta on the progress and process of mortgages being originated on the blockchain, and the use cases and benefits to the mortgage and bond markets.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05282026 Thu, 28 May 2026 15:55:30 GMT 6a183ae0d10b34b69c965359 Rob Chrisman What is something that small and mid-sized lenders can’t offer? Chase rolled out a program for borrowers to earn 100,000 Chase Points. (Bilt and UWM rolled out something similar a while back.) But, nearly every lender can help borrowers with the cost of a mortgage, and STRATMOR’s current blog is “Pricing That Can Help Borrowers.” In addition, in the credit world two new automated features for the FICO Score Mortgage Simulator were announced yesterday designed to help lenders move beyond manual “what-if” credit simulations and generate personalized borrower action plans more efficiently. The program “automates credit action planning for borrowers based on target score goals or budget, offers early score potential estimates, and is built directly on the mortgage FICO Scores used in lending decisions (FICO Scores 2, 4 and 5). (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by NFTYDoor, the white-label HELOC platform for banks, credit unions, and brokers. Close in zero days with warehouse funding. Power your home equity lending with NFTYDoor. Today’s features an interview with Sagent’s Sridhar Sharma and Shane Leonard on how the latest and greatest in underwriting technology is reducing friction in the mortgage origination process.) Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services “500 loans or 50,000. You get the same elite servicing platform. At MSF Servicing, no portfolio is too big or too small. That's because we've eliminated the minimum loan count requirements that leave smaller servicers locked out of top-tier platforms. Whether you're managing 500 loans or 50,000, you'll have access to the same experienced team, the same state-of-the-art technology, and the same high-touch level of service, with no thresholds, no gatekeeping, and no compromises. Our servicing platform was purpose-built to scale without sacrificing quality. Boutique relationships and complex portfolios run on the same infrastructure that grows as you do. Finally, your borrowers will love the MSF mobile app, which delivers real-time account access, seamless payment tracking, and intuitive self-service, on their schedule. All backed by a dedicated borrower portal and multilingual support in 200+ languages that enhances your brand at every touchpoint. For more information, contact Rick Smith (860-989-9006). Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05272026 Wed, 27 May 2026 15:06:03 GMT 6a16e59d1e61d32424e895b5 Rob Chrisman How ‘bout this one: A firefighter went to the college graduation ceremony for a baby he helped deliver many years ago. Loan originators can be involved in many life events of their clients as well, as the months and years roll on, something that a software program can’t do. They’re also in a great position to explain the nuances of the summer home buying season to clients. They know that rates aren’t the only thing making homes unaffordable. The median home price rose from $274,900 in Q4 2019 to $414,900 in Q4 2025, according to the National Association of Realtors. That has affected affordability much more than the rise in mortgage rates (the average 30-year fixed rate increased from 3.90 percent at the end of 2019 to 6-something percent today, let’s say about 6.16 percent because I saw that number somewhere). If we apply those rates on top of the median home prices in question and assume a 20 percent down payment, we get monthly principal and interest payments of $1,037 at 3.90 percent and $1,341 at 6.16 percent if the home costs $274,900. With a median home price of $414,900, those monthly payments go to $1,566 at 3.90 percent and $2,024 at 6.16 percent. Higher prices are impacting affordability significantly more than higher rates. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by NFTYDoor, the white-label HELOC platform for banks, credit unions, and brokers. Close in zero days with warehouse funding. Power your home equity lending with NFTYDoor. Today’s features an interview with NEO Home Loans Ryan Grant on the evolution of interactions between mortgage professionals and borrowers, and how companies can best provide support to origination staff.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05262026 Tue, 26 May 2026 15:25:51 GMT 6a1594143652316f7c08f18e Rob Chrisman The gap between where rates are and where households “need them to be” is suppressing labor mobility, distorting retirement decisions, and reshaping expectations about generational wealth building: 56 percent of working Americans have either turned down a job requiring relocation or say they would, and 20 percent have already turned down a job, promotion, or career opportunity because it required moving. LOs will tell you that the attachment to low rates is behavioral, not just financial. Polls show that the majority of homeowners with mortgages would consider moving if they could transfer their current rate, and a portion of those would move immediately. Generational wealth expectations have shifted, with the minority of Americans believing their children will ever be able to afford a home. If you recall, this year’s State of the Union Address did not include proposals for housing construction, zoning reform, first-time buyer credits, or changes to housing finance policy, and this data helps explain why rate drops alone won't be enough. It is hoped that Trump administration moves before the midterms will shift the landscape. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by NFTYDoor, the white-label HELOC platform for banks, credit unions, and brokers. Close in zero days with warehouse funding. Power your home equity lending with NFTYDoor. Today’s features an interview with THE David Lykken on transformation in mortgage lending over the past five-plus decades, as well as lessons on leadership.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05222026 Fri, 22 May 2026 15:49:18 GMT 6a104e977e28046878555045 Rob Chrisman Wanna know the new buzz acronym? Residential Transition Loans (RTL): financing for properties in transition, including fix-and-flip, bridge, and rehab deals. Catch the wave… people always need to borrow money! Now, if only income guidelines by the Agencies matched how incomes have changed. Change is constant: “Rob, if you think inflation is bad, home insurance price increases in many parts of the nation are worse. When is the government going to address that?” I don’t know the answer to that: the government certainly is involved in lending, but not much so with insurance companies. Interestingly, insurance companies’ use of data analytics is way above that of the mortgage industry’s, although servicers and others are certainly catching up on risk-based pricing. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by TransUnion. Discover how data-driven mortgage intelligence is helping lenders identify in-market borrowers, strengthen portfolio performance, personalize outreach, retain customers, and drive smarter growth in an increasingly competitive housing market. Today’s has an interview with Insellerate’s Josh Friend on increasing loan officer and sales manager efficiency.) Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services “Why are you paying onboarding fees to stay in a servicing relationship you don't love? Don't let onboarding and de-boarding fees keep you in a bad servicing relationship. At MSF Servicing, we believe partnerships should start with alignment, not invoices. That's why our onboarding fees are structured to the specific engagement. For initial transfers, we partner with you and help negotiate the de-boarding fees. We invest in the relationship first because we're confident about what we deliver next. Of course, we do so much more than collect payments. Our platform also supports full loan origination capabilities (FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional) paired with a disciplined retention strategy designed to maximize lifetime borrower value while reducing runoff, managing outcomes, anticipating risks, controlling narratives, and optimizing performance at every stage. Finally, our private-label and co-branding options allow your brand to stay front-and-center while our systems run seamlessly in the background. For more information, contact Rick Smith or call 860-989-9006. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05212026 Thu, 21 May 2026 15:15:52 GMT 6a0efc579374949f98aa988e Rob Chrisman Lots of folks were leaving the MBA’s National Secondary yesterday, and many comments and questions were heard. “Did you hear that Jerry Seinfeld is doing a show at the MBA National in October?” (True) “Ginnie Mae began ratcheting up its cybersecurity efforts in 2024. Why aren’t others?” (Good question; I’m sure they are at some level.) “Most lenders are selling loans to the Agencies through their ‘cash windows’ on a whole loan basis rather than through MBS execution.” (True; Freddie and Fannie have increased gfees, so when capital markets staff are seeking every basis point in price, they are nudged toward the window.) During the day, FICO announced that the next generation UltraFICO Score, a “brand new scoring model that combines the trusted FICO Score with real-time, consumer-permissioned cash flow data built through a partnership between FICO and Plaid, is available for lender use… it examines how money actually moves through a consumer's everyday accounts, including cash inflows and outflows, account balance stability, and spending behavior.” (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by TransUnion. Discover how data-driven mortgage intelligence is helping lenders identify in-market borrowers, strengthen portfolio performance, personalize outreach, retain customers, and drive smarter growth in an increasingly competitive housing market. Today’s has an interview with TransUnion’s Satyan Merchant on the accelerating shift toward mortgage credit score competition, exploring how lenders should adapt to increasing model choice, evolving credit report innovation, operational complexity, alternative data, and the growing role of dynamic credit insights across the full mortgage lifecycle.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05202026 Wed, 20 May 2026 15:43:52 GMT 6a0da70eb40197620ba9e2cc Rob Chrisman Here in New York, as over a thousand of us head to airports (hopefully avoiding manholes… tragic), the mood has been pragmatic. Not overly optimistic, not somber, just realistic. No one is arguing that the war hasn’t driven up worldwide oil prices, impacting inflation and borrower psychology, impacting lending. The Mortgage Bankers Association now predicts a Federal Reserve rate hike to arrive in 2027, so any lenders or originators hoping for lower rates, well… At this point there isn’t a lot of reason for rates to drop unless higher oil prices slow the economy further. We knew that a second Trump Administration would impact the economy and regulatory environment, and along those lines… SCOTUS Justice Kennedy built a constitutional protection into fair lending disparate impact doctrine for mortgage lenders in a 2015 case and then accidentally ensured it would never work. Read attorney Brian Levy’s latest Mortgage Musing to find out about fair lending compliance in the second Trump term and sign up for free on Substack to get Levy’s Musings delivered directly to your email box. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by TransUnion. Discover how data-driven mortgage intelligence is helping lenders identify in-market borrowers, strengthen portfolio performance, personalize outreach, retain customers, and drive smarter growth in an increasingly competitive housing market. Today’s has an interview with LendingTree’s Rob Bhatt on how home insurance costs are rising far faster than both inflation and household income growth nationwide.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05192026 Tue, 19 May 2026 15:55:21 GMT 6a0c5788107097c225509350 Rob Chrisman One of the discussion topics here in New York at the MBA conference is, just like every other conference, artificial intelligence, and one of the questions is, “Who’s accountable if something goes wrong?” Any one of us in capital markets will tell you that, in the case of Freddie, Fannie, investors, and so on, lenders are held ultimately accountable for anything that goes wrong. In the event of a buyback, or default, a lender can’t point at an AI vendor and say, “You cover the losses.” Make sure that with any software that you buy you know where it came from and how it was designed, and ask lots of “what if” questions. Sprinkling some AI fairy dust over some legacy technology that is years old can cause serious issues. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by TransUnion. Discover how data-driven mortgage intelligence is helping lenders identify in-market borrowers, strengthen portfolio performance, personalize outreach, retain customers, and drive smarter growth in an increasingly competitive housing market. Today’s has an interview with Acrisure’s Kristen Britton on how lenders are balancing speed, automation, fraud prevention, and human oversight as remote closings reshape mortgage risk, identity verification, and the future framework of trust in digital transactions.) Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services The ICE 2026 Borrower Insights Survey shows a 10 percent year-over-year drop in borrowers who say they are definitely satisfied with communication with their mortgage servicer. Pair that with the survey finding that 96 percent of borrowers say personalized communications remain important to them. These findings suggest servicers need tools that go beyond basic payment processing and to deliver relevant, timely outreach that satisfies borrowers and supports retention. ICE Servicing Digital offers the communication tools to help turn transactional relationships into lasting ones, including surfacing personalized refinance scenarios, current rates and tappable equity alerts directly to borrowers. Read the blog for more insights into borrower communication preferences and how to strengthen borrower relationships. Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05182026 Mon, 18 May 2026 15:43:17 GMT 6a0affd00e022c5036757f11 Rob Chrisman For those of you who like maps, here’s one of the states’ closing costs. And here’s something for companies who have training programs: New hires should check out the Business Glossary from MISMO. It covers business processes, events, calculations, documents, forms, regulations, AI terminology, and more. LOs of various ages tell me that people in their 20s not only are inclined to rent to “see how the weather is” but also because of money. LendingTree’s latest report shows U.S. homeowners with a mortgage now pay 37 percent more per month than renters, underscoring how sharply monthly housing costs have climbed in recent years. “Rent wins in every major metro, even in the tightest markets. When it costs so much more to own than to rent every month, it forces people who want to own a home to face some tough decisions, including potentially having to relocate to another city in search of reasonably priced property. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by TransUnion. Discover how data-driven mortgage intelligence is helping lenders identify in-market borrowers, strengthen portfolio performance, personalize outreach, retain customers, and drive smarter growth in an increasingly competitive housing market. Today’s has an interview with Lower’s Craig Montgomery on how strategic leadership is shaping lender growth in 2026 through effective team building, evolving production trends, competitive retail execution, and strong real estate agent relationships.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman https://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/opinion/pipelinepress-05152026 Fri, 15 May 2026 14:57:35 GMT 6a070e15887b04ef1b9da253 Rob Chrisman As the legal and proxy battles are waged among Two Harbors, UWM, and CrossCountry, today I head to New York for the MBA's Secondary & Capital Markets Conference. John Wooden said, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” and across the land, over a thousand people are avoiding failure by preparing, lining up sessions, meetings, and hallway chats, along with social events. Participants had better prepare for sticker shock: $30 cocktails. Several topics are dealing with the regulatory environment, and I received this note. “Rob, whatever happened to the confusion and lawsuits about funding the CFPB? Is the organization alive?” Good questions. Yes, it is alive, and, in general, that’s a good thing. For example, if LO comp regulations are changed, who else is going to do it? Each state? On the funding question, there was some lawsuit news you should know about. Specifically, in a decision that delivered a direct rejection of the Trump Administration’s CFPB plans, a federal judge has ruled that the Bureau must continue to request funds from the Federal Reserve Board. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by nCino, and its Mortgage Suite that supports a modern homeownership journey. This week at nSight 2026, mortgage leaders will explore how AI, intelligent automation, and connected experiences are reshaping lending operations and borrower engagement. Hear an interview after 9AM ET with Click n' Close’s Delores Lopes on the role of a COO in this technological age, as well as women in leadership roles.) Mortgage News Daily 0 http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/rss/chrisman