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 in lending and real estate, right? How about anyone who is buying a place to live in a converted office building or mall? I hope so, as that is certainly “a thing.” Obviously, it takes a different skill set. Speaking of which, here at the MBA’s conference in Manhattan someone was telling me, “Many companies have momentarily stopped reducing overhead and are prepared for an increase in volume: ‘re-flate.’” Overhead is obviously a topic: If an LO doesn’t need a branch or manager, why should their borrower pay for them, and the overhead, through worse pricing? And in terms of cutbacks, is “furloughing” just IMBs kicking the can down the road? On the banking and credit union side, those institutions have proven adept at finding other places for personnel not needed in residential lending, through what is allowed in their licensing or through their various departments. And on we go. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Black Knight. From point-of-sale through post-closing, the company’s trusted loan origination system, Empower, as well as its integrated, end-to-end origination solutions deliver unmatched capabilities, functionality, and support to increase processing efficiencies and lower operational costs for lenders, as well as improve the homebuying experience for borrowers. Listen to an interview with Black Knight’s Frank Poiesz on, “What is automated technology versus what is artificial intelligence?”)