Fri, Aug 5 2016, 10:49 AM
“Q: How do you transfer funds even faster than electronic banking? A: By getting married!” That’s my attempt to ease into the news that the IRS increa...
Thu, Aug 4 2016, 9:17 AM
Here’s an interesting number: $765,000. The Transportation Security Administration announced in May that it had collected that amount in loose change ...
Wed, Aug 3 2016, 9:27 AM
Huh? There is now a
robot that can build a house in two days ?
Sounds pretty good to me... It is certainly a step toward lessening the labor
const...
Tue, Aug 2 2016, 9:54 AM
Gotta hand it to Vancouver.
The city has gained a reputation as a place for foreign buyers - primarily
Chinese - to buy housing and park their money...
Mon, Aug 1 2016, 9:14 AM
Have you ever heard of the AARMR? I know – as if this industry needs yet another acronym. Pronounced by those “in the know” as “armor,” it is the Amer...
Fri, Jul 29 2016, 10:28 AM
"Buy land - they're not
making any more of it." And the reverse is happening in Louisiana. Say what you
want about global warming, or inappropriate ...
Thu, Jul 28 2016, 9:44 AM
I don’t know how it is that we only have two business days left in July – time flies. For me this month has included Honolulu, Denver, Sacramento, San...
Wed, Jul 27 2016, 8:51 AM
One of the biggest challenges faced by business owners today is attracting and retaining great people. Millennials and those with diverse ethnic backg...
Tue, Jul 26 2016, 9:13 AM
The capital markets are always changing, and the latest news to turn some heads is that JPMorgan Chase is streamlining its operations and will no lon...
Mon, Jul 25 2016, 9:47 AM
Every day we have news coming out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Some of the news is attempts at changing the structure of the two – being under gover...
Fri, Jul 22 2016, 11:03 AM
All the housing statistics this week made my head spin. How good would you be at building your own house? Here’s a short 10 question quiz that will ...
Thu, Jul 21 2016, 10:39 AM
Happy 6th year-old-birthday to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Or is it the CFPB’s 5th “birthday”? For those new to the...
Wed, Jul 20 2016, 10:22 AM
Remember when someone was "fired" instead of "managed out?" Then there's a good old-fashioned purge like what Turkish President Erdogan did yesterday ...
Tue, Jul 19 2016, 9:22 AM
Summer time… barbecues, time in the sun, fun on the water – unless you’re in Michigan and you believe that rivers flow in circles and one spends thr...
Mon, Jul 18 2016, 10:45 AM
Rates have crept back up to pre-Brexit levels. Will the rates borrowers locked in during the last week of June be the stuff of cocktail party bragging...
Fri, Jul 15 2016, 12:00 PM
During Happy Hour tonight you can work this one into the conversation: Minnesota has 90,000 miles of shoreline. Is that a lot? It is more than Califor...
Fri, Jul 15 2016, 12:00 PM
Who is Gary Johnson? He’s the Libertarian candidate for president this year. And given the “unusual” presidential situation this year, and the current...
Wed, Jul 13 2016, 10:28 AM
“Cuz they ain’t makin’ any more of it” is the traditional response to the question about why should anyone buy real estate. But builders, straining to...
Tue, Jul 12 2016, 11:54 AM
Lou Holtz observed, "Never tell your problems to anyone....80% don't care and the other 20% are glad you have them." People who don’t understand econo...
Mon, Jul 11 2016, 9:35 AM
I certainly see “out of office” replies increase during the summer. But some people seem to take as little vacation as possible, sometimes making thos...
Fri, Jul 8 2016, 11:51 AM
The nation’s thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the five Dallas police officers who were killed and six others wounded after snipers fired...
Thu, Jul 7 2016, 10:20 AM
Doug T. writes, “There's a strange new trend in the office: people are putting names on food in the company fridge to keep them cold. Today I had a sa...
Wed, Jul 6 2016, 11:06 AM
Huh? Uber has a new update that allows users to file a lawsuit against the company directly in the app? What will they think of next? In a more seri...
Tue, Jul 5 2016, 10:13 AM
Last week we noticed that Ginnie Mae volumes had passed Freddie Mac , so the absence of big banks doing that business was certainly taken up by non...
Fri, Jul 1 2016, 11:24 AM
The Fourth of July is Monday...the date of the Declaration of Independence (quibble all you want about late signers); the next commentary will be Tues...
Thu, Jun 30 2016, 10:34 AM
The last day of June, and 2016 half over? How did that happen? (Regarding time flying Linda B. writes, “Thank the Good Lord, I am Benjamin Button.”) J...
Wed, Jun 29 2016, 9:58 AM
Huh? People burned while walking across fire at a Tony Robbins event in Texas? Imagine that! Speaking of incendiary activities, an amendment passe...
Tue, Jun 28 2016, 10:21 AM
How could it have been 30 years since everyone was watching “Top Gun” in the theaters? Yes, time flies, and before you know it, well, you’re old. Wher...
Mon, Jun 27 2016, 10:12 AM
Everyone is talking about the future of the European Union. Tad Dahlke sends, “Brexit to be followed by Grexit, Departugal, Italeave, Fruckoff, Czech...
Fri, Jun 24 2016, 11:17 AM
At Happy Hour tonight, besides talking about refis, you can throw this one out: the number of homes worth $1 million has doubled in the last 4 years ...
Thu, Jun 23 2016, 10:04 AM
Jobs and housing make up the lion’s share of our economy, and the two intersect when a house is being built. But what is the exact impact? For any LO ...
Wed, Jun 22 2016, 11:03 AM
I've mentioned the upcoming changes to the 1003 form, the Uniform Residential Loan Application, and mentioned that the "target implementation date is ...
Tue, Jun 21 2016, 10:45 AM
Today I am in Kansas City, where it is “only” 96 degrees. Phoenix hit 119 degrees this week. Let’s ask the folks over there what they think about hou...
Mon, Jun 20 2016, 10:40 AM
To start off the week, besides the first full moon on a summer solstice since 1967, here’s an interesting Bloomberg chart about the Federal governme...
Fri, Jun 17 2016, 9:11 AM
There are plenty of owners remodeling their houses. (If you want to take the time, the National Association of Home Builders ranks the 25,000 ZIP code...
Thu, Jun 16 2016, 10:00 AM
If you’re a loan officer and need some data for a presentation to some real estate agents, here’s a decent source. Using data collected by the U.S. Ce...
Wed, Jun 15 2016, 9:58 AM
The Fed’s latest report on household debt and credit finds US households owed $12.25 trillion at the end of the first quarter, up 1.1% from the end of...
Tue, Jun 14 2016, 10:14 AM
"In about five years, I see myself with the same job title, about the same salary, and significantly more responsibilities." Time has a way of flying....
Mon, Jun 13 2016, 7:58 AM
Everyone's thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the horrible shooting in Orlando. But yes, Father's Day is coming up, and the first presidenti...
Fri, Jun 10 2016, 10:08 AM
For laughs all you have to do is read the news, and this story will fit right in with anyone’s 5th grade sense of humor. The Union Recorder reports on...
Thu, Jun 9 2016, 10:15 AM
Today I am in Albany for the NY MBA conference , but yesterday I was in Las Vegas with its hordes of retirees. People who say they want to live to be...
Wed, Jun 8 2016, 9:13 AM
In reviewing Fannie MORA and Freddie CORE reviews it's clear that seller/servicers continue to struggle with establishing and implementing an internal...
Tue, Jun 7 2016, 10:13 AM
Welcome to a day of primary elections in New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico, South & North Dakota…and California. As one pundit pointed out, “The problem...
Mon, Jun 6 2016, 9:45 AM
Uh oh: New York state’s financial regulator sent a letter to 28 fin tech companies seeking information about their online lending activities. But ...
Fri, Jun 3 2016, 9:41 AM
“Rob, do you know of any banks looking to buy pools of home equity lines of credit?” Ah, the Holy Grail for plenty of non-bank lenders. You can check ...
Thu, Jun 2 2016, 9:53 AM
Last night in Texas I had dinner with Seattle AE Bryson Bede and regional manager Dennis Waller from Parkside Lending. The discussion was focused ...
Wed, Jun 1 2016, 9:36 AM
Fed Chair Janet Yellen appears to be doing her part to warn the markets that the odds of a short-term rate hike in the next few months are pretty goo...
Tue, May 31 2016, 10:17 AM
Research by the EBRI on retirement finds while 67% of workers plan to work for pay in retirement, only 27% of retirees do so. Of the retirees who work...
Fri, May 27 2016, 10:01 AM
Do you think your company’s computer system is immune from hacking? It’s not a matter of “if” but “when” – just ask Equifax about its data breaches...
Thu, May 26 2016, 10:23 AM
According to Reuters, the NY state financial regulator is gearing up to launch an investigation into the entire online lending industry . (The regu...
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