Today, 11:49 AM
My cat Myrtle was always up for a battle with a lizard in the yard. On a larger scale, the ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu said, “Every battle is ...
Mon, Sep 15 2025, 11:53 AM
“Someone posted that they had just made synonym buns. I replied, ‘You mean just like the ones that grammar used to make?’ I am now blocked.” That was ...
Fri, Sep 12 2025, 11:38 AM
“Rob, we’ve said ‘no’ to more expansion possibilities than ever before. Are you hearing other lenders doing deep dives on LOs and branches and also no...
Thu, Sep 11 2025, 11:41 AM
“All I know is what I read in the papers,” Will Rogers quipped. In news in the papers from our Census Bureau, AI use at large companies is in decline....
Wed, Sep 10 2025, 11:46 AM
“Rob, I hate it when mom and dad fight. Will this Pulte/Bessent, FHFA/Treasury tussle impact mortgage rates?” Probably not; it hasn’t so far. Director...
Tue, Sep 9 2025, 11:42 AM
Tomorrow I head from Boise to Jackson for the Mississippi Mortgage Banker’s Fall Conference. Certainly a topic in my email in-box and at events is how...
Mon, Sep 8 2025, 11:43 AM
“When the economy is good, people drink. When the economy is bad, people drink. The moral? Invest in alcohol.” Here in Boise at the PNMLC, the comment...
Fri, Sep 5 2025, 11:29 AM
The Fed looks at Twitter to gauge the financial sentiment out there? Yes: TFSI! The Federal Reserve certainly finds itself in a maelstrom these days… ...
Thu, Sep 4 2025, 11:46 AM
“Apparently you can’t use ‘beef stew’ as a password. It’s not stroganoff.” How’s your privacy? Or another question: Why wouldn’t you tell your recent ...
Wed, Sep 3 2025, 11:40 AM
“Twas the third of September, the day I’ll always remember… Wherever he laid his hat was his home, and when he died, all he left us was a loan…” Okay,...
Tue, Sep 2 2025, 11:37 AM
What’s old is new again? In Vermont, one man is refurbishing payphones for people to use for free. Very cool. Debt isn’t old or new, but how we treat ...
Fri, Aug 29 2025, 10:17 AM
“The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.” Proportionality is important, whether in a restaurant or in a lender watchi...
Thu, Aug 28 2025, 8:57 AM
“Remember how when you were little you could just rip off your diaper and run around naked and everyone thought it was so cute and funny? Anyway, I ne...
Wed, Aug 27 2025, 11:43 AM
I was today years old when I realized that the shovel was literally a groundbreaking invention. The best ads and marketing focus on rates and products...
Tue, Aug 26 2025, 10:19 AM
There are some “big-hitters” in the mortgage, finance, and housing world who will tell you that the Trump Administration’s plan to sell shares in Fann...
Fri, Aug 22 2025, 8:49 AM
A few years back someone told me, “Two lenders merging in this environment is like two drunks outside a bar holding each other up.” That isn’t quite t...
Wed, Aug 20 2025, 11:35 AM
“I asked a German girl if Germans are afraid of numbers. She said 9!” Numbers make up the bond market, and a steeper yield curve (the difference betwe...
Tue, Aug 19 2025, 11:53 AM
14 fonts Apologies first! Yesterday I mistakenly wrote, “ARMs now account for nearly 50 percent of applications…” Thank you again to those who wrote,...
Mon, Aug 18 2025, 10:37 AM
As I type this, I’m at the doctor’s office, and some guy a few seats over is booing all the names being called that aren’t his. Do you boo the product...
Fri, Aug 15 2025, 11:45 AM
“The difference between me and Superman is that he has super vision. I require supervision.” We’re halfway through the third quarter: Will your compan...
Thu, Aug 14 2025, 11:42 AM
“I somehow managed to make it through high school math while only being able to remember even numbers. What are the odds?!” As the California MBA’s We...
Wed, Aug 13 2025, 11:42 AM
I received this note from Dallas. “I like ‘dillos, but I don’t support giving them guns because... I would never armadillo.” Speaking of which, Texas ...
Tue, Aug 12 2025, 11:46 AM
“Nothing refreshes my memory about what I need at the grocery store like coming home from the grocery store.” Remember adjustable-rate mortgages? Here...
Mon, Aug 11 2025, 11:48 AM
About 25 miles to the north of the California MBA’s Western Secondary, a mobile robotic microfactory is building fire-resistant homes in Palisades Fir...
Fri, Aug 8 2025, 11:52 AM
People gearing up for the Western Secondary in Southern California see that “technology” is on the agenda. (Of course, it is always on every agenda, r...
Thu, Aug 7 2025, 11:51 AM
We’re back traveling and packing for the plethora of conferences. Packing and intellect sometimes collide: for the life of me, I can’t seem to grasp t...
Wed, Aug 6 2025, 11:53 AM
As the MMLA event wrapped up in Michigan, a large number of people around the nation (and some from here) are gearing up to travel to (or within) Cali...
Tue, Aug 5 2025, 11:48 AM
“An economist’s left leg is on fire, and his right leg is frozen. He says, ‘On average I'm perfectly fine.’” For those out there continuing to scratch...
Mon, Aug 4 2025, 11:54 AM
How can we be on the waning days of summer already? Didn’t the school year just end? Here in Central Michigan at the Michigan Mortgage Lenders confere...
Fri, Aug 1 2025, 11:48 AM
Soon I will head to Michigan. Isolationists beware: Federal records revealed by a Freedom of Information Act request have found that the government of...
Thu, Jul 31 2025, 11:43 AM
As hundreds of attendees add Bob Seger, Madonna, Eminem, and Stevie Wonder to their playlists in preparation for the MMLA conference starting this wee...
Wed, Jul 30 2025, 11:43 AM
Is it just a matter of time until insurance companies tell us where to live, what to make out houses out of, and what, exactly, we’re allowed to plant...
Tue, Jul 29 2025, 11:48 AM
Yesterday, Tampa set a record for its all-time high temperature (at least since man began keeping track, for you sticklers) while rain caused flooding...
Mon, Jul 28 2025, 11:50 AM
“Since it started raining, all my husband has done is look sadly through the window. If it gets any worse, I'll have to let him in.” (My son Robbie fi...
Fri, Jul 25 2025, 11:50 AM
If you want to see an unscripted moment where politics and the central bank collide, thank Ken Sonner for sending over this clip of President Trump an...
Thu, Jul 24 2025, 11:41 AM
July 24… While much of the nation swelters, if you live in Utah, it’s Pie and Beer Day. Uh, I mean, Pioneer Day. The average home in Utah now costs $5...
Wed, Jul 23 2025, 8:28 AM
The residential lending industry touches all facets of life, and the best LOs are not focused strictly about mortgages. I start off this Commentary wi...
Tue, Jul 22 2025, 11:53 AM
You may not believe in climate change, but your insurance company and mortgage servicer certainly do. It is a fact that warmer air can hold more moist...
Mon, Jul 21 2025, 11:51 AM
“Sometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life outta nowhere, makes your heart race, and changes you forever. We call those people cops. (Where d...
Fri, Jul 18 2025, 11:54 AM
With all of this talk about replacing people in our biz, could this be a future mortgage banker’s conference? Delta is moving toward eliminating set p...
Thu, Jul 17 2025, 11:52 AM
“I forgot to put the seat belt on my five-year-old boy this morning and as we were leaving the trailer park, somebody shouted, ‘You're an irresponsibl...
Wed, Jul 16 2025, 11:52 AM
JPMorgan told FinTechs that it will charge for access to its customers’ bank information. The fees would bring big bucks to JPMorgan but eat into the ...
Tue, Jul 15 2025, 11:53 AM
Here’s a cool password: 2 444 66666 8888888 9. (You can figure it out.) I’m no IT wizard, but some are. Do you want AI to open your emails and create ...
Mon, Jul 14 2025, 11:50 AM
In news for fans of the wholesale lending channel (more below), heading into the baseball All Star Break the Philadelphia Phillies, owned in part by F...
Fri, Jul 11 2025, 11:40 AM
Don’t forget to snag your free Slurpee today at participating 7-Elevens! Speaking of edible things, I like my Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, and Raisin ...
Thu, Jul 10 2025, 11:46 AM
Lenders and servicers have entire sets of policies and procedures based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declaring an emergency in a ...
Wed, Jul 9 2025, 8:33 AM
If you think that everything is great in the U.S. economy, maybe it’s not. At least in New Jersey. While many residents are frolicking on the Jersey S...
Tue, Jul 8 2025, 12:17 PM
We’re in the summer travel season. TSA will be eliminating its “shoes off” policy, and many will be sampling today’s rollout of Spicy McMuffin breakfa...
Mon, Jul 7 2025, 11:51 AM
The nation is gripped with the flooding in Texas, the loss of human life and property, and how best to prevent future similar occurrences given the in...
Thu, Jul 3 2025, 11:48 AM
Tomorrow is the 4th of July, the only time of the year Americans say the day and month in the correct order. We find ourselves in the traditional “dog...
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