I’m visiting with lenders in Tennessee much of this week, and a fair amount of the talk revolves around conversations with borrowers “unlocking the equity in their homes.” We’ve shifted quickly, which reminds me… What do Howard Johnson’s, Red Barn, Burger Chef, Beefsteak Charlie’s (I could go on… Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlor, Sweet Tomatoes, Chock Full o’ Nuts, although that is trying to stage a comeback…) have in common? They were all wildly popular and profitable, but went out of business. Few companies last forever, and corporate history is littered with big names. In lending, some top lenders from previous years are long gone. In unrelated, but related, news, Better.com was in the news again yesterday for another massive, publicized round of layoffs. (I use the term “publicized” since there are many lenders doing the same thing that don’t make the national news.) The online mortgage startup, which didn’t make many friends when it took plenty of business from other lenders through its pricing, is firing about 3-4,000 workers, half its remaining staff, just months after laying off 900 workers. By the way, any mortgage employee can post their resume here for free, and employers can view them for a nominal fee.  Lender & broker products and services “OptiFunder is an award-winning, time and money saving warehouse management platform utilized by many of the Top 100 Mortgage Originators. Our optimized decision engine for warehouse allocation ensures the best financial performance, while our funding, shipping and Purchase Advice automation reduces an estimated 30-45 minutes processing time per loan. Additionally, we empower Originators with aggregated, real-time warehouse utilization insights and analytics. Our secure platform delivers better data integrity to reduce risk. Intelligent AI/ML decisioning and process automation is the future of Funding, and OptiFunder is delivering it today. Catch us at EXPERIENCE 22, view a short demo or for more information contact Carmel York today to simplify, streamline and save in 2022.”