Did someone say, “National Margarita Day”? (Splendid timing, especially as vendors and lenders contemplate a rate and volume environment that may not change much for months, and compensation & personnel adjustments continue.) In 2023, the United States was the leading recipient of Mexico’s tequila exports, importing 84.8 million gallons of tequila from South of the Border. This has nothing to do with residential lending, other than plenty of folks in our biz enjoy a tasty margarita. While we’re on taste, the other day I mentioned a joke about vultures saying clowns taste funny which blog poster and attorney Brian Levy took as an invitation to “poke a little fun at this bear” in his most recent post. Levy’s most recent Mortgage Musings edition is titled, LO Comp, Bozo Buckets and “P&L Branches” and offers a spirited and insightful discussion of a couple LO Comp related issues that have been in the news (including this daily commentary). (Found here, this week’s podcast is sponsored by Truv. Truv lets applicants verify income, employment, assets, insurance, and switch direct deposits. Unlock the power of open finance, with Truv. Today’s has an interview with PRMG’s Kevin Peranio and Truv’s Richard Grieser on verification across income, employment, assets, and insurance.) Lender and Broker Services, Products, and Software “As rates decreased in January, IMBs saw an increase in dwell-time and warehouse expenses. In January, dwell-time was up 3 days from the 15-day average. While rates are down for borrowers, overnight SOFR rates averaged 5.32 percent. With the additional 3 days of dwell, for the average IMB costs increased by nearly $70 per funded loan, a 170 percent increase from December. With full automation from funding of loans through Purchase Advice reconciliation and paydown activities, OptiFunder now offers the most comprehensive Warehouse Management System available, allowing originators to get loans from the primary to the secondary markets quickly and efficiently. Top IMB's are using funding automation to save time and capital. Meet with us at Lenders One Summit or at the ICE Experience to see how you can streamline funding through loan sale to lower dwell and warehouse expense. Sign up for our monthly newsletter for more warehouse trends.”