Mon, Jul 25 2022, 10:08 AM
Here at the California MBA’s Western Secondary in Orange County, besides talk of Utah’s Pie and Beer Day yesterday, or maybe it is Pioneer Day, most o...
Fri, Jul 22 2022, 10:57 AM
“Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.” What a gift it is to be able to read. Where are you reading thi...
Thu, Jul 7 2022, 10:42 AM
Many youngsters don’t know the “Shave and a haircut? Two bits!” knock, or musical notes. Some things are timeless, like British Prime Ministers coming...
Fri, May 13 2022, 9:28 AM
English grammar… what a hassle. Is it "lay" or "lie"? - Are you sure you're using them correctly? “Than” versus “then?” One should use “than” only wit...
Wed, Apr 27 2022, 11:03 AM
Change is mandatory. Progress is optional. Are signing bonuses a sign of progress? Perhaps not, and more a continued sign of the competitive times. “A...
Mon, Apr 18 2022, 10:58 AM
Notes to start off the week?! First off, there are some darned clever people around, and this ditty (thank you to John H. for sending) sung to “Americ...
Wed, Apr 6 2022, 12:17 PM
Grammar is important. What’s the difference between a kleptomaniac and a literalist? A literalist takes things literally. A kleptomaniac takes things,...
Mon, Mar 28 2022, 8:47 AM
This isn’t a commentary. It’s a “next level experience!” How are we in the week ending the first quarter already? Here’s some news that will be greete...
Fri, Mar 25 2022, 11:08 AM
“A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.” Lenders sometimes grapple with the former, always deal with the latter. In my trave...
Mon, Mar 14 2022, 11:51 AM
Today’s commentary: 100 percent the truth except for the stuff I make up randomly. I am not making up the Federal Reserve’s meeting this week with tra...
Wed, Mar 2 2022, 10:03 AM
Loan originators spend their time making people’s days (unlike this film clip). Builders hope that they make people’s days, and I spent some time this...
Mon, Feb 14 2022, 12:14 PM
Sometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life outta nowhere, makes your heart race, and changes you forever. We call those people cops. (Where di...
Thu, Feb 10 2022, 12:07 PM
Everyone has a story about something they said or asked that they shouldn’t have. “When are you due?” is a good one, as is asking, “When did you turn ...
Tue, Feb 8 2022, 8:47 AM
America's national debt topped $30 trillion for the first time, according to figures from the Treasury Department on Tuesday. Why might it matter for ...
Thu, Feb 3 2022, 11:31 AM
Andy Rooney died over ten years ago. Many will say that Bill Mahr has taken his place, albeit with saltier language and a political bent. In this piec...
Tue, Feb 1 2022, 11:43 AM
Hundreds of billions of servicing are being bought & sold out there. With Freddie & Fannie servicing trading at 5:1 (mid 3’s for Ginnie servicing), gi...
Tue, Jan 25 2022, 11:31 AM
Numbers are interesting things. “1” is the number of dogs, that I know of, rescued by a drone dragging a sausage and leading the dog to safety out of ...
Mon, Dec 27 2021, 11:07 AM
I hope that you’re not reading this while stuck due to the thousands of cancelled flights or road closures in Northern California! Kudos to Carol K. w...
Wed, Dec 22 2021, 11:23 AM
Yes, you should know that today is a date palindrome. Of course people in Ohio, and Florida, know that Key West is farther west than Cleveland . Utah ...
Mon, Dec 13 2021, 11:31 AM
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. If you haven’t seen a video this one from a drone ) of the destruction in the South and Midwe...
Thu, Dec 9 2021, 10:59 AM
Want to know who’s in trouble for what? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its Supervisory Highlights report yesterday, which “shi...
Fri, Dec 3 2021, 10:56 AM
Huh? Someone told me that “reality” shows are all scripted out ahead of time and there’s a standard recipe! What the heck?! There are some things wher...
Mon, Nov 22 2021, 11:02 AM
Time flies. For example, Thanksgiving week is here already. Debbie Harry, of Blondie fame, is 76 years old. Better.com has already been around five ye...
Fri, Nov 5 2021, 11:02 AM
Nothing brings women together quite like an unclear dress code. Dress codes have been all over the map during the pandemic, and as companies adjust to...
Mon, Oct 4 2021, 10:35 AM
Residential lending is filled with technology shifts. (STRATMOR is offering up technology survey results below.) I am a luddite when it comes to that ...
Fri, Oct 1 2021, 10:37 AM
Although most states don’t “fall back” and change the clocks until November 7th, losing 3-4 minutes of daylight a day is now readily apparent, and it’...
Tue, Sep 28 2021, 12:29 PM
Seen on a chalkboard outside a bar: “Beer shortage coming soon. Panic buy here!” Moving from booze to bonds, thinking that the Fed would buy $5 billio...
Fri, Sep 17 2021, 11:19 AM
Some things stick with you , some don’t. Many of the topics covered here in Atlanta’s NAMMBA Connect 2021 will stick with folks since they mirror what...
Tue, Sep 7 2021, 11:13 AM
Yes, it’s Tuesday already. Good morning to everyone except my wife who, at 2AM, mid-dream, sat bolt upright in bed and terrifyingly shouted into the d...
Tue, Aug 31 2021, 10:48 AM
I received some exciting news that I wanted to share with my readers. I received an invitation from a mortgage periodical to receive an award, if I pa...
Fri, Aug 6 2021, 11:04 AM
We live in world of numbers. It has been 76 years since an atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Let’s hope nothing close, with its 140,000 instantaneou...
Tue, Aug 3 2021, 11:09 AM
As the industry digests Fannie Mae’s earnings announcement this morning with its $7.2 billion of net earnings in the second quarter of 2021, did you k...
Wed, Jul 28 2021, 11:05 AM
I didn’t sign up for a 401k. I can’t run that far. Understanding numbers is important, as is accurately reporting them. For example, yesterday I mista...
Thu, Jul 15 2021, 11:20 AM
Ask any manager. It was much more fun to announce, “We’re hiring!” than it is to mutter, “We’re laying off.” Currently there are plenty of rumors abou...
Tue, Jul 6 2021, 4:07 PM
The Urban Institute (UI) says it appears that the current sellers' market is having a negative impact on government backed loans and the borrowers who...
Tue, Jun 29 2021, 10:57 AM
Ginnie Mae sent out a press release last week could create some confusion for those readers who only skimmed the lede. The opening paragraph states th...
Mon, Jun 28 2021, 11:37 AM
The White House has announced another key appointee to a federal housing post. Julia Gordon has been named Assistant Secretary for Housing at the Depa...
Mon, Jun 28 2021, 11:16 AM
Seattle will hit 110 degrees F today. Change is afoot. Last week changes of personnel within the CFPB and the FHFA (hence Fannie & Freddie) captured o...
Mon, Jun 14 2021, 10:44 AM
Elaine F. reminded me of a quote from Hemingway: “Never mistake motion for action.” And basketball coach John Wooden said, “Never mistake action for a...
Thu, Jun 3 2021, 10:52 AM
Here’s your pro tip of the day: occasionally blow on the wine in your coffee mug to convince the rest of the Zoom meeting that it is tea. Speaking of ...
Wed, May 26 2021, 11:08 AM
Do you think that creativity is waning? Hardly. Some great products and ideas come out of the mundane. Wonder what happens to your unused hotel soap a...
Wed, Apr 7 2021, 10:01 AM
Does the CFPB have jurisdiction of all mortgage-related agencies, borrowers, and servicers? We’ll see, as yesterday, and this proposal should not come...
Wed, Mar 31 2021, 11:03 AM
The newly installed Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released her first quarterly report on the agency to Congress o...
Wed, Mar 31 2021, 10:54 AM
What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? Short. (There’s the cutting-edge wit this commentary is known for!) Time can play tricks on ...
Thu, Mar 25 2021, 10:16 AM
After spending millions of dollars studying the issue, a blue-ribbon panel found that statistics show that teen pregnancy drops dramatically after age...
Tue, Mar 9 2021, 9:56 AM
Does anyone agree on anything anymore? In the past, state trivia was fun because everyone agreed on it. No one will disagree that Alaska is the northe...
Mon, Mar 8 2021, 9:43 AM
Let’s start the week with a gaggle of questions. Do you feel old knowing that Taylor Swift is older than the four Beatles were when they broke up? Hav...
Fri, Feb 26 2021, 9:11 AM
Deadlines for COVID-19 related relief for borrowers with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSE) mortgages were extended by the Federal Housing Finance Agenc...
Tue, Feb 23 2021, 10:56 AM
(To listen to the audio version of today’s commentary, please click here .) Being home schooled was the goodest thing I ever did! Disparities in mortg...
Thu, Jan 28 2021, 10:33 AM
The stock price of American Airlines back to February 2020 levels. Investors seem to be “buying hope.” In Mortgage Land, though I am beginning to hear...
