Tue, Jun 27 2023, 10:27 AM
Dang there’s a lot going on in Texas. One week it’s raining “hail the size of goat balls” (not my term; it was the phrase used by the woman mortgage b...
Mon, Jun 26 2023, 9:49 AM
How can it be that it’s been 14 years since Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication? (A drug that is used for the induction and maintenanc...
Fri, Jun 23 2023, 10:43 AM
Time is an interesting construct. The solstice is officially behind us, and we can officially hum “The Boys of Summer” with impunity. Time… “5,000 yea...
Thu, Jun 22 2023, 10:16 AM
“So, HBO Max is now just ‘Max.’ Your move, Peacock.” Lenders continue to cogitate on their next moves as rates remain stubbornly high and inventory av...
Wed, Jun 21 2023, 9:50 AM
I realize that this is a mortgage commentary, but our business touches many aspects of many lives. Today is the summer solstice, marking the astronomi...
Tue, Jun 20 2023, 9:40 AM
I am fortunate to travel around some (no, I am not on the missing Titanic tourist submarine, nor personally shepherding the new Credit Trigger Bill in...
Fri, Jun 16 2023, 10:16 AM
Competition is the mainstay of many businesses and individuals. How does UPS compete to hire drivers for their trucks? One way might be to offer air c...
Thu, Jun 15 2023, 11:08 AM
Here’s a couple informal reads on the economy. When I have a few extra ducats in my pocket, sometimes I’ll spring for the more expensive Shrimp Alfred...
Wed, Jun 14 2023, 10:49 AM
Don’t forget to put your flag out today for Flag Day. To warehouse banks, a “red flag” is a client who loses money for months on end, or for several q...
Tue, Jun 13 2023, 10:38 AM
Sad?: “Invitations to the Unabomber's funeral were mailed out, but no one wants to open them.” Hopefully not sad: for anyone wanting to know about com...
Mon, Jun 12 2023, 10:09 AM
People ask why I have a problem with sensationalist headlines. Who you gonna believe, Realtor.com who tells us that foreclosures are spiking, or CoreL...
Fri, Jun 9 2023, 10:30 AM
Imagine my surprise at finding tag (like on the playground) is an organized sport. Imagine my surprise at finding two gas stations at the same interse...
Thu, Jun 8 2023, 11:09 AM
There’s a lot going on, and not only jawboning about a potential Fed rate increase next week. We have the smoke drifting down from Canada and slowing ...
Wed, Jun 7 2023, 10:50 AM
Mortgage news temporarily aside, how about the government contemplating a law that would require cars to have AM radio?! AM radio goes farther than FM...
Tue, Jun 6 2023, 10:45 AM
Well, what should we start with today? How about how California and Texas ranked highest on the United States Postal Service’s annual list of states w...
Mon, Jun 5 2023, 10:42 AM
It isn’t as if building or lending products, or ways of doing business, were handed down by Trappist monks. Change is always afoot, for better or wors...
Fri, Jun 2 2023, 9:53 AM
While lenders are grappling with steadily increasing Agency repurchase requests, it’s National Donut Day! Someone had better offer those folks at Stat...
Thu, Jun 1 2023, 9:54 AM
The United States has about 336 million people. Did you know that 1/3 of them live within a 500-mile radius of Nashville? This is a cool site for anyo...
Wed, May 31 2023, 9:09 AM
A biologist, a chemist, and a statistician are out hunting. The biologist shoots at a deer and misses five feet to the left. The chemist takes a shot ...
Tue, May 30 2023, 10:35 AM
Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services What do dozens of decision-makers know that would lead them to invest in their origination techno...
Fri, May 26 2023, 11:12 AM
Did you know that wheat futures prices are at a 2-year low? And lumber prices continue to drop? Those numbers should help reduce inflation. During the...
Thu, May 25 2023, 9:34 AM
My notes from the MBA’s conference this week continue, including talk about new home sales being +4.1 percent for the month (+11 percent year over yea...
Wed, May 24 2023, 10:26 AM
As the MBA’s Secondary Conference in New York wraps up, and jokes are made about who actually paid for Fannie’s reception (informally titled “The Repu...
Tue, May 23 2023, 9:47 AM
Does your company have a decent product for a borrower who crowd-funded their down payment? How about a house with a granny unit in the back? Trends i...
Mon, May 22 2023, 10:31 AM
If you’re staying here in Manhattan, space is at a premium. I don’t recall the last time my room had a bathroom where one could turn the shower on, fl...
Fri, May 19 2023, 10:10 AM
For me, yesterday involved a trip from Connecticut to Northern California, with talk of a lack of inventory, relatively high mortgage rates, and loan ...
Thu, May 18 2023, 9:14 AM
This Commentary has made a name for itself in covering breaking, shocking news that other, lesser outlets are too timid to even mention. “One day I ho...
Wed, May 17 2023, 10:47 AM
I head to Connecticut early today for the CMBA conference, but on another personal note, congratulations to Robbie Chrisman, host of the daily mortgag...
Tue, May 16 2023, 9:19 AM
While Academy Mortgage is in the headlines again about its data breach and ransomware, from which no company seems immune, remember that, “In a democr...
Mon, May 15 2023, 9:54 AM
“When I was young, I was poor. But after decades of hard work, I am no longer young.” The quip about “The greatest cause of death is birth” aside, we’...
Fri, May 12 2023, 10:02 AM
If I had a dollar for every time someone called me a boring nerd, I'd have a mean daily income of $5.64 with a standard deviation of $1.25. Turning “b...
Thu, May 11 2023, 10:51 AM
In Boston, “wicked pissa smart” is a compliment. I’ll argue that success in lending isn’t based on trying to predict where interest rates are going, s...
Wed, May 10 2023, 10:20 AM
“We are going to have a sales contest this month. The winners will get to enter next month’s contest.” Hardy har har, right? (Note: watch Glengarry Gl...
Tue, May 9 2023, 8:50 AM
Wanna track your credit score minute by minute, regardless of whether you speak English, Spanish, whatever? I have no idea why any sane person would w...
Mon, May 8 2023, 9:28 AM
Amidst the seemingly week mass shootings and violence, individual deaths stand out. Heartfelt condolences go out to Jennifer and Dan Gilbert, of Rocke...
Fri, May 5 2023, 10:46 AM
Airbnb rolled out some changes in an effort to take business away from hotels. Mexico has about 400,000 Airbnb listings, and I mention this because to...
Thu, May 4 2023, 9:55 AM
Inflation? Yes, inflation! Yesterday I flew from San Francisco to Cody, Wyoming for the WMLA Conference, and indulged in a breakfast at SFO of a slice...
Wed, May 3 2023, 10:45 AM
If I tried to carry my cat Myrtle around like in this short video, there would be conflict. We all continue to hear conflicting information about home...
Tue, May 2 2023, 10:07 AM
If you’re really happy when a scheduled conference or Zoom call is cancelled, does that mean you’re in the wrong line of work? (Asking for a friend.) ...
Mon, May 1 2023, 9:25 AM
Did you know that cows snooze laying down for the four hours of sleep they need a day? Did you know that horses sleep standing up? These tidbits may c...
Fri, Apr 28 2023, 10:08 AM
“Rob, earlier this week you posted some ‘units funded’ information from the MBA showing a dramatic decline from a few years ago... Dollar-wise, certai...
Thu, Apr 27 2023, 10:27 AM
Born in Ukraine, Golda Meir said, “Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard there is nothing you can do about it." (Doubtfu...
Wed, Apr 26 2023, 10:14 AM
There are 3 things that tell the truth: small children, drunk people, and yoga pants. HMDA data is close behind. Warning: sobering thoughts ahead, and...
Tue, Apr 25 2023, 9:51 AM
While here in Denver I received an email. “Rob, does what’s going on in Florida impact lenders?” I had to figure out if the author was asking about Di...
Mon, Apr 24 2023, 9:31 AM
I head to Colorado Springs this morning, the scene of $3,000 mountain bikes in bike racks on top of $500 cars. There are roughly 380 bank branches in ...
Fri, Apr 21 2023, 10:17 AM
California, home of nearly 25 percent of home loans, is doing some interesting things, utility-wise. Last year came AB 205 which instructs the state’s...
Thu, Apr 20 2023, 10:44 AM
Merry 420, which coincidentally was the yield on the 2-year Treasury note early today. Data and lawsuits about data… What’s in your wallet? Or maybe I...
Wed, Apr 19 2023, 9:57 AM
“Yesterday I asked my kindergartener what she did in school, and she replied ‘nothing,’ then later I went on Instagram and her teacher had posted a pi...
Tue, Apr 18 2023, 8:48 AM
“Last week I told a joke over a Zoom meeting. It wasn’t even remotely funny.” Working remotely from home, or at least adopting a hybrid model, is some...
Mon, Apr 17 2023, 9:28 AM
A friend of mine who lives in her own unit in a mobile home park was telling me that her rent is about to go up by a huge amount, and said that, “That...
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