What guy hasn’t wanted to usher a gal through to a club like Ray Liotta did, masterfully filmed without cutting away? Unfortunately, breaking the spell of the video, I received this note. “Rob, what have you heard regarding a miscalculation of credit scores by Equifax in late March and early April on a sizeable portion of their pulls?” I have indeed heard rumors, and indeed heard rumors that it potentially impacted thousands of borrowers across the United States, possibly influencing the loan programs and pricing that those borrowers received. Something to do with a coding issue introduced during a technology change to Equifax's legacy online model platform (OMS) possibly resulting in the potential miscalculation of certain credit attributes. Given the seriousness of these rumors, and the potential legal implications of an error of this magnitude, you should definitely reach out and ask Equifax, or ask your credit reporting agency for more information. But
Walking around Memphis yesterday got me to thinking, “I wonder what the part of my brain that used to store people’s phone numbers is doing now.” Maybe being used to store cool ads like the one in the joke section below, or lyrics of old songs? Thank you to VanDyk Mortgage’s Steve Richman who reminded me of Mott The Hoople’s “All The way From Memphis.” In 1973, when that song was released, the Fed Funds rate hit a high of 11.22 percent. Inflation can be harsh. Are you thinking about the price of food and gas a few months ahead of summer vacation season? You’re not alone. Millions of families are wondering what vacations are going to set them back this year, and possibly reconfiguring plans to spend less. Dramatic inflation can have that affect. I bring this up because, as was widely expected given the constant attempt to keep the U.S. economy stable, and battle against runaway prices, the FOMC raised the target range for the fed f
I flew into San Diego yesterday for the MCT Exchange, and it is hard not to notice the number of boats in the harbor. For some quick “fun with numbers” on recreational boating: The U.S. state of Florida has the highest number of registered recreational boating vessels in 2020, with almost 959 thousand, closely followed by California. Hawai’i has half as many as Wyoming. In contrast, the District of Columbia had the smallest number of registered boating vessels, with just over two thousand in 2020. Keeping with the “numbers” theme, I receive my share of questions regarding mortgage-backed security statistics. Anyone doing research on them should check out FINRA’s Reporting of Mortgage and Asset Backed Securities (Securitized Products), a little dry but packed with information. I mention this because, as we know, soon the Fed is scheduled to stop buying MBS every week, and for those of you who like graphs, here is the link to the Federal Reserve&
I received this from a loan officer in Michigan. “Forget the Serenity Prayer! Grant me coffee to change the things I can, and wine to accept those that I cannot.” There are tens of thousands of loan originators around the United States, primarily changing things for the better for their clients but recently some of them were caught taking a fraudulent continuing education class. Unrelatedly, one (former) Ohio Mayor claimed that ice fishing can lead to prostitution. Attorney Brian Levy somehow brings it all together in his Mortgage Musings about the slippery slope and what might happen to those LOs when they return from their 90-day suspensions. Fraud, including kickbacks, unfortunately, is on its way higher according to off-the-record chats with LOs, sometimes making the headlines (for example, a Georgia real estate agent ran afoul of the Department of Justice in committing mortgage fraud). And a quick note before we jump into the commentary: yesterday I published news ab
Andy Rooney died over ten years ago. Many will say that Bill Mahr has taken his place, albeit with saltier language and a political bent. In this piece, Mahr discusses his thoughts on young people in “Gen Z” and “van life” which I found humorous. It reminds us that we are made up of different generations, and given the snow hitting much of the U.S. it isn’t only your parents that walked through the snow uphill both ways to school. The U.S. Census Bureau has not defined “millennials” but most groups tend to group them into those born between 1981 and 1996, which means the 72 million of them have begun turning 41. By the time 2030 rolls around, all “baby boomers” will be older than 65. It should be of no surprise that reverse mortgages, basically available to homeowners with equity who are 62 and older, are a fast-growing piece of the mortgage landscape. Lenders can’t do anything about an environment where higher mortg